Ethics & Religion
Column #2,100
November 10, 2021
The New Infrastructure Law
By Mike McManus
President Joe Biden deserves the nation's thanks for Congressional
passage of his $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Law. It is designed to
upgrade America's roads, bridges, ports, pipes, Broadband and other
public works.
It is the most important Infrastructure law since President Dwight
Eisenhower began construction of Interstate Highways. Almost half of the
$1.2 trillion is funding investments in transportation, utilities and
pollution remedies.
Transportation will get a $284 billion boost - $110 billion for roads
and bridges, $66 billion for railroads, $38 billion for public transit,
$26 billion for airports, $17 billion for ports and $15 billion for
electric vehicles.
Some $240 billion is earmarked for utilities such as power
infrastructure, $65 billion for Broadband, $55 billion for water
infrastructure.
Road Safety has $118 billion earmarked that includes $18 billion to
Reconnect Communities and $21 billion for Pollution Remediation, and $8
billion for western water infrastructure.
What surprised me was the vote by 13 Republican Congressmen in favor of
the bill while seven Democrats voted against it.
The new law is far less than the $2.3 trillion Biden initially asked for
last spring.. But it is still a significant amount of new funding for
the next five years. Senators like to call it a $1.2 trillion package
because they are also counting funding that is normally allotted each
year for highways and other projects.
How many jobs will be created? Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's
Analytics, estimates the growth of 660,000 jobs by 2025. Construction
has been one of few industries with slow job growth in recent months.
The bill includes funding and provisions to get more job training
programs started and to hire more women in construction and trucking
industries.
The biggest ticket item in the bill is $110 billion for building and
repairing roads and bridges across the country. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va)
and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were both instrumental in crafting
the bipartisan plan, and it is notable that the bill includes specific
funding earmarked for Appalachian and Alaskan highways.
There is also funding for "transportation research at universities,
funding for Puerto Rican highways and money for congestion relief"
efforts in cities.
Railroads will get $66 billion. Substantial funding is earmarked for the
Northeast Corridor, the heavily traveled route from Boston to Washington
DC. However, some were disappointed that no funds were set aside for
High Speed Rail like other countries.
The plan has $65 billion to improve the Power Grid - updates for older
power lines and cables and investments to ensure that the Power Grid is
not hacked. As part of the bill's efforts to address climate change, the
power grid section also has funding to support the development and
adaptation of clean-energy technology.
Some $65 billion is earmarked to expand Broadband in rural areas and
low-income communities. This has been a bipartisan priority for years,
but the White House estimates that about 30 million Americans still do
not have reliable Internet access, which became a major issue for
schooling and work during the pandemic. About $14 billion will go toward
making monthly Internet bills more affordable to low-income Americans.
Some $55 billion will improve water pipes including $15 billion for
replacing lead pipes and $10 billion to clear up man-made chemicals.
plus funds to provide clean drinking water in tribal communities.
There is also $47 billion to improve cybersecurity and climate change
mitigation.
Public Transit will get $39 billion to replace buses, subways and rail
cars that are in poor shape. There is also money for new US routes and
making public transit fares
accessible to seniors.
A major Biden goal is to strengthen the shift to electric vehicles.
There is $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations. The United
States has about 43,000 charging stations at present. Biden has set a
goal of having half of new cars be electric by 2030, which will require
significantly more charging stations across the nation. The bill also
adds $7.5 billion to replace existing school buses with zero emissions
buses. Specific funding is set aside to help lower income, rural and
tribal communities replace their bus fleets.
There is even money for states to enforce laws that ban open alcoholic
beverages in cars and a provision allowing states to use some of their
funding for recreational trails, and even money to expand a "healthy
streets program" to provide tree cover to mitigate urban heat.
The law is a healthy step in the right direction benefitting all
American citizens. As Dwight Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing.
Planning is everything." Biden deserves our gratitude.
_________________________
Copyright (c)2021 Michael J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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