The Biden administration kicks off “Infrastructure Week” on May 13 by sharing information on the implementation of the president’s infrastructure law across the country, as part of an effort to overcome widespread voter skepticism regarding the effectiveness of his massive spending initiatives.
Since the law was passed in November 2021, $454 billion in funding has been distributed to more than 56,000 projects, the White House said.
The infrastructure projects include various transportation improvements, including more than 257,000 miles of roads, nearly 13,000 bridges, over 300 airport terminals, and more than 450 port and waterway projects. They also include $66 billion in spending for railroads, which, according to the White House, represents the “largest investment in passenger rail since the inception of Amtrak.”
The infrastructure law also funded 180 programs that advance President Joe Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which seeks to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain government clean energy projects are allocated to disadvantaged communities.
During Infrastructure Week, the Biden administration will tout “the first-ever dedicated federal investment in EV charging.” A total of $7.5 billion in funding has gone toward the EV chargers. Another $3.5 billion has gone toward supporting domestic manufacturing of electric batteries, as well as the extraction, refinement, and processing of critical materials.
About $20 billion of clean energy funding went specifically to upgrading the nation’s power grid in line with President Biden’s goal of “a 100-percent carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.”
However, the president’s infrastructure law appears to have gone unnoticed across the nation. According to a new Politico-Morning Consult poll, 54 percent of respondents said they had heard little or nothing about the huge infrastructure spending enacted by President Biden.
According to the poll, only 44 percent of Democrats, 15 percent of Republicans, and 23 percent of independents said the infrastructure law has positively impacted their community.
President Biden has repeatedly criticized his predecessor, claiming that he failed to deliver on his promises of infrastructure investments.
According to the Politico-Morning Consult poll, however, respondents give former President Donald Trump nearly as much credit as President Biden for promoting infrastructure investments. When asked who has done more to support infrastructure improvements and job development, nearly as many voters (37 percent) chose the former president as President Biden (40 percent).
During Infrastructure Week, cabinet members will be scattered across the country to raise awareness of the work that has been done so far and announce further plans.
The White House will also promote infrastructure investments throughout the week, including the funding allocated to more than 1,400 drinking water and wastewater projects, and to help communities replace 1.7 million toxic lead pipes.
According to the White House officials, roughly 95 percent of the construction of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System is complete. This system will consist of over 300 miles of pipeline to deliver clean water from the Missouri River to more than 350,000 people in rural areas of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa.
The White House is also seeking to promote the infrastructure law’s “Affordable Connectivity Program,” which aims to lower the cost of high-speed internet for more than 23 million households across the country.
The White House is urging Republicans to vote in favor of extending the funding for the president’s internet program.
“Without action from Congress, millions of Americans will see their internet bills increase or lose internet access at the end of May,” a White House official said in a May 1 statement.
President Biden emphasized the impacts of his infrastructure bill during his recent campaign stops in battleground states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as part of his “Investing in America” agenda.
The White House highlights that the president’s Investing in America agenda, which also includes the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the American Rescue Plan, has attracted more than $866 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments.
