Cárdenas Votes to Create Millions of New Jobs, Rebuild America with Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

Statement

Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) voted to create millions of good-paying union jobs with a once-in-a-century investment in rebuilding infrastructure, including roads and bridges, transit, rail, clean drinking water and wastewater systems and high-speed broadband networks. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will repair and modernize crumbling and outdated infrastructure across the nation, ensuring all communities have the infrastructure to succeed in the 21st Century economy.

"Communities across America -- especially those of color -- are facing some of the worst crises due to outdated and crumbling infrastructure," said Congressman Cárdenas. "Now, as we work to Build Back Better, Democrats are delivering a transformational, bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create good-paying jobs here in the San Fernando Valley, strengthen our economy, secure cleaner air and water and make our community a better place to live. I look forward to President Biden signing this historic legislation into law so we can transform our infrastructure and get America moving.

The legislation includes a Cárdenas-led provision that provides $5 billion for clean school buses.

"Clean school buses are the key to fighting the climate crisis, protecting our children's health and creating jobs in our community. I'm proud the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes funding to replace old diesel buses with new, cleaner and zero-emission electric school buses," continued Congressman Cárdenas.

Together, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act are estimated to create an average of 2 million jobs each year over the next decade.

In the wake of the pandemic, poor infrastructure has struggled to keep up with a sharp increase in consumer demand -- resulting in added costs for businesses and delays for consumers. The United States ranks 13th globally in terms of the quality of our infrastructure, and the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the condition of our infrastructure a C-. As the economy continues its strong recovery, President Biden and the Congress are seizing this historic moment to Build Back Better: improving infrastructure in every state in the union, growing the economy and helping Americans get back to work, while advancing justice and opportunity for all.

This Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will:

Rebuild roads and bridges nationwide, including the largest bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system seven decades ago;

Deliver clean drinking water to ten million families and more than 400,000 schools and child care facilities nationwide with the largest-ever investment in American water infrastructure to replace lead pipes and service lines across the nation;

Help clean up pollution, which is an important step in advancing environmental justice;

Expand access to reliable high-speed internet to help more families get online to work and learn;

Make historic improvements to public transit, with the largest federal investment in American history and the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak; and

Support action to address the climate crisis, making down-payments on clean energy transmission, a clean and resilient electric grid, electric vehicle infrastructure and more.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act now will go to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.

Source