Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
ROADS AND BRIDGES: $110 billion for repairing and rebuilding roads, bridges, and major projects – MORE HERE
TRANSIT: $39 billion to repair and upgrade aging transit infrastructure, $66 billion for rail upgrades and expansion – MORE HERE
CLIMATE: $65 billion for clean energy transmission, billions more for electric vehicles, including Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act – MORE HERE
BROADBAND: $65 billion to ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet, including Senator Murray’s Digital Equity Act – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “This is an important investment in our physical infrastructure—and next we’ll get right to work on securing a truly historic investment in American families and workers by passing the budget resolution.”
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today voted to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a major bipartisan infrastructure bill which includes the largest ever federal investments in our roads, public transit, bridges, and clean drinking water, as well as substantial investments in addressing the climate crisis, expanding internet access, creating a new 21st century electric grid, and more.
Notably, the legislation also includes two of Senator Murray’s bills: The Clean School Bus Act which provides federal grants to help transition the nation’s diesel school buses to zero emission, electric buses – the bipartisan package will allocate $5 billion towards zero emission and clean buses, and thanks to Senator Murray funds will be prioritized for communities where air pollution is greatest; and the Digital Equity Act which will provide $2.75 billion in grants to states and local communities to help close the digital divide and make sure everyone has the tools they need to get online and get connected.
Murray was also a leading voice in securing funding for culverts to boost salmon recovery efforts in Washington state, funding for ferries, bridge repair, and the strongest possible climate provisions in the bipartisan package.
“This bill represents a historic generational investment in our infrastructure—it will be the single largest investment in bridge repair since we built the interstate highway system, and the largest investment in public transit and clean energy transmission in history. Washington state families will see the direct benefits of these investments: our kids will breathe clean air to and from school, rural communities will finally have access to reliable high-speed internet, and we are going to put folks from every part of the state to work with good-paying jobs by building out our infrastructure—repairing our bridges, building electric vehicle charging stations, replacing lead pipes, and everything in between. Importantly, I’ll keep working with the administration to ensure the jobs we create are union jobs with strong protections for workers.
“This is an important investment in our physical infrastructure—and next we’ll get right to work on securing a truly historic investment in American families and workers by passing the budget resolution. We’re going to make child care affordable for working families, enact universal pre-k, pass the first ever comprehensive national paid leave program, tackle the climate crisis, move forward on immigration reform, boost the supply of affordable housing, and so much more.”
Below are some of the other key provisions included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- Roads, Bridges, and Major Projects
- Roads: $110 billion for repairing and rebuilding roads, bridges, and major projects. Based on formula funding alone, Washington state would expect to receive $4.7 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs, and be eligible for additional funds as well.
- Bridges: $40 billion for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, which is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. Based on formula funding alone, Washington state would expect to receive $605 million for bridge replacement and repairs, and be eligible for additional funds as well.
- Major Projects: $16 billion for major projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs but will deliver significant economic benefits to communities.
- Safety: $11 billion for transportation safety programs, including a new Safe Streets for All program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians. More than doubles funding directed to programs that improve the safety of people and vehicles in our transportation system, including highway safety, truck safety, and pipeline and hazardous materials safety.
- Addressing Infrastructure Redlining: $1 billion to create the first-ever program to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure.
- See more details HERE.
- Transit and Transportation
- Repair and Upgrade Transit Infrastructure: $39 billion to repair and upgrade aging transit infrastructure, modernize bus and rail fleets, make stations accessible to all users, and bring transit service to new communities. Based on formula funding alone, Washington state would expect to receive $1.79 billion to improve public transportation options across the state, and be eligible for additional funds as well.
- Rail: $66 billion in rail to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize routes.
- Airports: $25 billion for airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies.
- Ports: $17 billion for port infrastructure.
- Capital Investment Grants Boost: In addition to providing a 30% increase to the base Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program, the bill provides a historic and supplementary $8 billion for CIG.
- See more details HERE.
- Climate
- Power Infrastructure: $65 billion for clean energy transmission by upgrading existing power infrastructure, including by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy.
- Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: $7.5 billion to build out a national network of electric vehicles chargers – this is the first-ever national investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States and will be critical toward acceleration the adoption of electric vehicles to cut carbon emissions and support domestic manufacturing jobs. Washington state would expect to receive $71 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the state, and also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.
- Clean School Buses: Includes key provisions from Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act, including invests $5 billion in zero emission and clean American-made buses, which will prioritize students living in communities hardest hit by pollution.
- Electric Ferries: $2.5 billion for electric ferries.
- Climate Resiliency and Western Water Infrastructure: $50 billion to make infrastructure more resilient and protect against droughts, floods and wildfires, in addition to a major investment in weatherization.
- Clean Drinking Water: $55 billion, the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history, to replace all of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines.
- Wildfires: $8 billion in wildfire risk reduction by providing funding for community wildfire defense grants, mechanical thinning, controlled burns, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, and firefighting resources.
- Environmental Remediation: $21 billion in environmental remediation, making the largest investment in addressing the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods in American history, creating good-paying union jobs in hard-hit energy communities, and advancing economic and environmental justice.
- See more details HERE.
- Broadband
- Internet Access: $65 billion to ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet. Washington state will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the at least 241,000 people in the state who currently lack it.
- Digital Equity Act: Includes Senator Murray’s Digital Equity Act, which would help close the digital divide impacting communities across the nation by creating $2.75 billion in new federal investments targeted toward a diverse array of projects at the state and local level that promote digital equity.
- Reduced Costs: The bill will help lower prices for internet service by requiring funding recipients to offer a low-cost affordable plan, by requiring providers to display a “Broadband Nutrition Label” that will help families comparison shop for a better deal, and by boosting competition in areas where existing providers aren’t providing adequate service. Creates a new, permanent program to help more low-income households access the internet. 1,409,000 or 19% of people in Washington state will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.
- See more details HERE.
- Salmon Recovery
- Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration and other key funding: $1 billion for culverts will provide grants to states for the removal, replacement, and restoration of culverts to address flow of water through roads, bridges, railroad tracks, and trails. The bill also includes $172 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) and $207 million for the Coastal Zone Management Program.
- See more details HERE.
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