The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Makes Generational Investments in Our Nation's Infrastructure & Creates Economic Opportunity for American Workers

Press Release

Last week, a bipartisan coalition in the House passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, an essential part of President Biden and Congressional Democrats' Build Back Better Agenda. This bill focuses on repairing our nation's infrastructure and building the infrastructure of the future, creating good-paying jobs, tackling the climate crisis, and increasing economic opportunity for American businesses, workers, and families. Here's a look at national coverage of this crucial legislation as it heads to the President's desk to be signed into law:

The Washington Post: Congress approves $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, sending measure to Biden for enactment

"House lawmakers late Friday adopted a roughly $1.2 trillion measure to improve the country's roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections…the bipartisan 228-to-206 vote marked the final milestone for the first of two pieces in the president's sprawling economic agenda."

"The infrastructure proposal, nearly half of which constitutes new spending, marks one of the most significant investments in the country's infrastructure since Congress responded to the Great Recession. It seeds new funding in the hopes of delivering urgently needed fixes to the country's outdated inner-workings while setting the U.S. on track to tackle more intractable future challenges, including the fast-worsening climate crisis."

The New York Times: House Passes $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill

"The House passed a $1 trillion bill on Friday night to rebuild the country's aging public works system, fund new climate resilience initiatives and expand access to high-speed internet service, giving final approval to a central plank of President Biden's economic agenda."

"It will provide $550 billion in new funds over 10 years to shore up roads, bridges and highways, improve internet access and modernize the nation's power grid. The measure also includes the United States' largest investment to prepare for climate change: $50 billion to help communities grapple with the devastating fires, floods, storms and droughts that scientists say have been worsened by global warming."

The Wall Street Journal: How the $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Aims to Affect Americans' Lives

"Congress has voted to pass the largest federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade, a bipartisan injection of money across vast sections of the U.S. economy."

"The infrastructure bill stands to improve commuting across the U.S., in cities big and small, whether people travel to work by car, public transit or bicycle "Every kind of commuter in every kind of place has a chance to see benefits directly from this,' said Adie Tomer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and head of its metropolitan infrastructure initiative."

"Projects focused on freight, rather than consumer lines, will get more attention in the coming years when compared with past infrastructure efforts--something that could help clear bottlenecks in supply chains and delivery channels."

The Associated Press: Roads, transit, internet: What's in the infrastructure bill

"The new law promises to reach almost every corner of the country. It's a historic investment that the president has compared to the building of the transcontinental railroad and Interstate Highway System. The White House is projecting that the investments will add, on average, about 2 million jobs per year over the coming decade."

U.S. News and World Report: House Democrats Overcome Major Hurdles, Pass Infrastructure Bill in Big Win for Biden

"In the first of several votes late Friday, the House passed the infrastructure bill crafted by both parties, which includes $550 billion in new spending covering everything from public works to climate provisions. The bill, the largest physical infrastructure investment in history, now goes to Biden's desk for his signature."

NBC News: House passes $555 billion infrastructure bill, sends legislation to Biden's desk

"The spending package would provide new federal spending on bridges and roads, as well as energy systems and transit programs. It would create a program aimed at building and repairing bridges in rural communities, and one to expand internet connectivity in Tribal and rural communities. The bill would further provide funding to protect water systems, particularly in low-income communities."

USA TODAY: 'A monumental step forward': Biden hails House passage of $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill

"After months of political wrangling, the House late Friday night passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to modernize highways, rebuild water lines and provide billions for electric vehicle charging stations, the largest transportation spending package in U.S. history."

""Finally, infrastructure week! I'm so happy to say that,' a jubilant Biden said Saturday at the White House. Biden called passage of the bill "a monumental step forward as a nation.' "We did something that's long overdue, that long has been talked about in Washington but never actually been done,' he said."

CBS News: Biden calls infrastructure bill a "once-in-a-generation" investment after House sends it to his desk

"The House floor erupted in cheers upon the bill's passage. The bipartisan infrastructure bill now heads to the president's desk."

"On Saturday, the president called it a "once-in-a-generation investment that's gonna create millions of jobs, modernize our infrastructure, our roads, our brides, our broadband, a whole range of things, to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity.'"

ABC News: Biden says passage of $1 trillion infrastructure bill a 'monumental step forward'

"The bipartisan infrastructure deal will invest $110 billion in the nation's highways, bridges and roads; $66 billion in passenger rail; $39 billion in public transit; $65 billion in broadband access; $65 billion in the nation's power grid; and $55 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure, among other areas."

The Washington Post: The infrastructure package puts $66 billion into rail. It could power the biggest expansion in Amtrak's 50-year history.

"The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the House on Friday is expected to spur the largest expansion in Amtrak's history while kick-starting repair and replacement projects across the nation's passenger rail network."

"The bill includes $66 billion in new funding for rail to address Amtrak's repair backlog, improve stations, replace old trains and create a path to modernize the Washington-to-Boston corridor, the nation's busiest. It would be the biggest boost of federal aid to Amtrak since Congress created it half a century ago."

Source