Joe Biden

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Hits the Ground Running to Build a Better America Six Months into Infrastructure Implementation

May 16, 2022

For decades, Washington policymakers have celebrated "infrastructure week" without delivering anything more than promises. In contrast, President Biden worked across the aisle, forged consensus, and secured the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure and competitiveness.

President Biden promised to deliver results, change people's lives for the better, and build a better America. Six months in to implementing the historic law, that's exactly what he's doing.

The law is already creating good-paying, union jobs, helping fight climate change, advancing environmental justice, boosting domestic manufacturing, strengthening critical links in our supply chains, and ultimately lowering costs for working families.

Since signing the law:

  • 53 states and territories have appointed state infrastructure coordinators, responding to the call from Infrastructure Coordinator Landrieu to appoint an individual to coordinate efforts in a state along with serving as a single point of contact for the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team.
  • The President, Vice President, and Cabinet have traveled on more than 125 trips to over 40 states as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico to demonstrate how the President is delivering on this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

DELIVERING RESULTS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced over $110 billion for the federal government, states, territories, Tribes, and local governments from formula and competitive programs that will change people's lives for the better – improving roads and highways, rebuilding bridges, strengthening links in our supply chains like ports and airports, replacing lead pipes to deliver clean drinking water, building out high-speed internet, and more.

This includes funding for over 4,300 specific projects, touching over 3,200 communities across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Another nearly $100 billion in requests for information and notices of funding availability have been released. The Administration has also unveiled new offices and action plans that will ensure these investments are implemented wisely and well. To showcase the state announced allocations and projects, please visit here.

And, in line with the President's Justice40 commitment, the Administration is ensuring that 40% of the benefits of the climate and energy related investments are delivered to disadvantaged communities.
Outlined at the bottom is a summary of funding announcements, opportunities, and more that demonstrate how President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is upgrading transportation and supply chains, improving water, conservation, and resilience, cleaning up legacy pollution, modernizing the grid and deploying clean energy, and expanding high-speed internet.

ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY

In April, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released guidance to federal agencies to set a strong foundation for effective, efficient, and equitable implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As the President said in his State of the Union, "in my administration, the watchdogs are back." President Biden has a long-standing commitment to collaboration with Inspectors General (IGs) and the broader oversight community, dating back to his leadership as Vice President when he was tasked with implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He has made clear that results and accountability go hand-in-hand, and that to deliver results for all Americans, the federal government must act and support appropriate oversight of its activities in a manner deserving of public trust.

The initial guidance will combat fraud, waste, and abuse in the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The initial guidance also ensures that projects are delivered on time and on budget with accountability, effectiveness, and transparency – collaborating with IGs and the oversight community and providing technical and financial assistance for communities.

As part of his commitment to accountability, President Biden and senior administration officials—including OMB Director Shalanda Young, Infrastructure Coordinator Landrieu, American Rescue Plan Implementation Coordinator Gene Sperling, and OMB Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller— met in April with agency IGs who have been providing oversight to the implementation of the American Rescue Plan and who will provide oversight of implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The President, his senior advisors, and IGs discussed steps they are taking to ensure robust oversight of federal programs.

To make the most of these historic investments and ensure infrastructure projects are delivered on time and on budget, the Biden-Harris Administration also released a new Permitting Action Plan to strengthen and accelerate federal permitting and environmental reviews by fully leveraging existing permitting authorities, as well as new provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Action Plan outlines the Administration's strategy for ensuring that federal environmental reviews and permitting processes are effective, efficient, and transparent, guided by the best available science to promote positive environmental and community outcomes, and shaped by early and meaningful public engagement. The Action Plan is the latest example of the Administration acting to swiftly deliver the benefits of infrastructure investment to the American people through well-designed projects that support the President's ambitious climate and clean energy goals. Putting the Action Plan into place will result in better permitting outcomes, enhanced predictability for project sponsors, and increased accountability across federal agencies to execute efficiently and effectively.

BUILDING THE TEAM

President Biden's s Infrastructure Implementation Task Force, led by White House Senior Advisor & Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, has focused on building the team across the federal government and with state and local partners who will execute on this historic undertaking. In the first months, each agency appointed an Infrastructure Coordinator, senior leaders who are in constant communication, meet as a group multiple times each week to collaborate across the government to deliver results from the law. The federal government is hiring for over 8000 essential and mission-driven roles to implement the law including scientists to combat climate change, engineers to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges, and workers to help ensure that every community in America has clean water, among many others.

Given that over 90 percent of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will be implemented by non-federal partners, the White House also requested in January that Governors and local leaders take a series of preparatory actions, including appointing infrastructure coordinators to manage the flow of funds to their states. Since then, 53 states and territories have made appointments to lead implementation within states, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Those coordinators have met regularly with the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team.

PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR STATES, TERRITORIES, TRIBES, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

In January, the White House released the first edition of its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook to help state, local, Tribal, territorial governments, community members and other key partners unlock the benefits from the historic investments in our nation's infrastructure. The guidebook is a central repository on the law and contains the most comprehensive information to date on 375 programs included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Along with its accompanying information online, the guidebook provides states, territories, Tribes, local governments community members and other key partners with information on funding opportunities, who to contact, and how to get ready to rebuild. In February, the White House launched an "Infrastructure School" webinar series to go more in depth into each of the guidebook's 13 chapters and allow communities the opportunity to ask questions to the agency experts, overseeing implementation of key programs. The Administration has also released a fact sheet on some of the largest sources of competitive funding, particularly for local governments. Infrastructure Coordinator Landrieu has shared these resources during meetings with the National Governors Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, and hundreds of tribes through Tribal Consultations.

While many funding streams in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law specifically set aside funds for underserved communities, the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team has also been engaging states, local governments, Tribal governments, territories, federal agencies, philanthropy, and others to leverage all available resources to quickly deliver the necessary technical assistance and capacity to underserved communities. In keeping with efforts like the President's Justice40 Initiative, the Administration is committed to ensuring disadvantaged communities receive benefits from all available resources in relevant Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs.

In April, the White House released a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Rural Playbook to help state, local, Tribal, territorial communities, community members and other key partners in rural areas unlock the benefits from the historic investments in our nation's infrastructure by providing rural communities with information on the "what, when, where, and how to apply" for funding under the law – so that no community needs to hire a lobbyist to access their government. The Playbook also identifies over 100 programs funded under the law with federal cost share flexibilities and matching requirement waivers for rural communities, making it easier for rural communities to access funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

DELIVERING RESULTS FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN'S
BIPARTIISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW

Upgrading Transportation and Supply Chains

  • Roads: The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $52.5 billion in Federal Highway Apportionment for fiscal year 2022 the largest in decades for all 50 states and D.C. The law invests $350 billion in highway programs over the next 5 years.
  • Highway Safety: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at USDOT announced $260 million in highway safety grants to reduce traffic crashes. The law provides NHTSA with over 4 billion dollars over the next 4 years to improve the safety of our roadways.
  • Rural Highways: USDOT announced $1.2 billion for highways in rural Appalachia for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) toward the timely completion of designated corridors in 11 states in the Appalachian region. The total amount that will be available to the states in Fiscal Year 2022 is $246 million.
  • Bridges: USDOT and FHWA announced over $27 billion in funding to replace, repair, and rehabilitate bridges across the country to all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Tribal governments over the next five years.
  • Major Local Infrastructure Projects: USDOT opened applications for $2.9 billion for major transportation projects through a combined notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for MEGA, INFRA, and Rural programs. Putting these three programs under a single NOFO makes it easier for communities to apply to one, two, or three major discretionary grant programs with a single application and common set of criteria.
  • Public Transit: USDOT announced $20.5 billion in Fiscal Year 22 transit funding and a recommendation of $4.45 billion through the Capital Investment Grants program to advance public transit projects across the nation including in New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Indiana, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Madison, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Memphis. Notably, this includes first time funding commitments for the Gateway Program and Second Avenue Subway. USDOT announced nearly $1.5 billion in funding to help state and local governments purchase low and no emission transit buses and upgrade bus facilities.
  • Airports: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at USDOT announced $3 billion for 3,075 airportsacross the country that can use investments to upgrade critical infrastructure. FAA also announced a $1 billion notice of funding opportunity to modernize airport terminals across the country. The law invests $25 billion dollars in three FAA programs over the next 5 years.
  • Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grants: USDOT released a $1.5 billion notice of funding opportunity for its Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant programs, building off a $1 billion series of awards made to 90 major projects across 47 states in December 2021. Funding under the law allows USDOT to invest $7.5 billion dollars over the next 4 years in this program.
  • Ports & Waterways: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced $17 billion to strengthen supply chains, improve waterways, and bolster climate resilience in fiscal year 2022 for over 500 projects across 52 states and territories using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds and other appropriations. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) at USDOT also announced a $450 million notice of funding opportunity for the Port Infrastructure Development Program grants to improve ports and strengthen the nation's supply chains, building off of $230 million of awards in December 2021. The Ports Infrastructure Development Program will invest $2.25 billion over the next 10 years in our nation's critical port infrastructure.
  • Land Ports of Entry: GSA made $3.4 billion in awards to build and modernize land ports of entry at the northern and southern border. The investments will improve commerce and trade; create good-paying construction jobs; and incorporate new and innovative sustainability features.
  • EV Charging Infrastructure: Vice President Harris announced an EV Charging Action Plan to achieve the President's goal of building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers. USDOT and DOE also formed a Joint Office of Energy & Transportation focused on building out the national network of EV chargers. USDOT and the Department of Energy (DOE) also announced nearly $5 billion that will be made available over the next 5 years under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and released guidance to states, available on driveleectric.gov on how to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure to create an interconnected national electric vehicle charging network.

Improving Water, Conservation, and Resilience

  • Water Infrastructure: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7.4 billion in funding in 2022 for states, tribes, and territories to upgrade America's aging water infrastructure, sewerage systems, pipes and service lines, and more through their State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. This is the first of five years of supplemental funding to the SRFs. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan also issued a letter to Governors outlining the key priorities for water investments, including targeting resources to disadvantaged communities, making rapid progress on lead-free water for all, and tackling dangerous chemicals such as PFAS. The law provides nearly $44 billion over five years to EPA's State Revolving Funds programs.
  • Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan: Vice President Harris announced a Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan to accelerate Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments to replace all of the nation's lead pipes in the next decade and expand access to clean drinking water.
  • Fulfilling Tribal Water Settlements: The Department of the Interior announced $1.7 billion to fulfill Indian Water Rights Settlements, which will break down barriers and help create conditions that improve water resources management by providing certainty as to the rights of all water users who are parties to the disputes.
  • Tribal Water Systems: The Department of the Interior announced $10 million for tribal water systems and another $10 million for irrigation and power in Indian Country.
  • Drought Resilience: The Department of the Interior announced awards of $420 million for rural water projects for drought resilience, and $240 million for aging water infrastructure through the Bureau of Reclamation. This investment in rural water systems includes work related to pipeline connections, construction of water treatment plants and intakes, pump systems, reservoir construction and other efforts to provide potable water to rural and Tribal communities. The Bureau of Reclamation also announced application periods for hundreds of millions of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding opportunities for water infrastructure, some of which are still open. Funding for the maintenance of aging infrastructure, and water recycling and desalination projects have been advertised, with more on the way during the rest of 2022.
  • Watershed Infrastructure Projects: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced nearly $420 million in funding for projects that improve or rehabilitate watersheds, rehabilitate dams, and improve flood prevention through its Natural Resource Conservation Service.
  • Wildlife and Habitat Conservation: The Department of the Interior announced $38 million for the National Fish Passage Program, to support fish habitat across 23 states and in Puerto Rico and a record $1.5 billion in annual funding from excise taxes on guns, ammunition, and archery sales through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program to support state and local outdoor recreational opportunities, and wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. The WSFR Program?contains two funding sources: the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, which was reauthorized as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,?and the Wildlife Restoration Program.
  • Ecosystem Restoration: The Department of the Interior, USDA, and DOD jointly announced a $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge that will combine Federal funding with private and philanthropic contributions for conservation and restoration. The America the Beautiful Challenge is anchored by an initial commitment of $440 million of Federal resources over the next five years to a new public-private grant program, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), that will support locally led ecosystem restoration projects. DOI also announced $68 million for 125 projects for ecosystem restoration, habitat protection, invasive species eradication and post-fire recovery work.
  • Tribal Climate Resilience: The Department of the Interior announced $46 million in funding to Tribal communities to address the unique impacts of climate change in Indigenous communities.
  • Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund: NOAA announced $100 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund which supports conservation efforts in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska and is essential to preventing the extinction of the 28 listed salmon and steelhead species on the West Coast. The jobs and economic benefits of salmon restoration activities are largely realized in local and rural communities.
  • Coastal Resilience Fund: NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $98 million for the National Coastal Resilience Fund, which supports the implementation of nature-based solutions to enhance the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems to these threats. These projects construct or restore coastal habitats that increase the capacity of communities and habitats to withstand and recover from disruptions and adapt to changing environmental conditions.
  • Wildfire Mitigation: USDA announced $131 million in wildfire mitigation investments to begin work on the USDA Forest Services' 10 year wildfire strategy-- Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America's Forests. The initial investment in 10 landscapes in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona will lead to about 208,000 acres of wildfire risk reduction treatments.
  • Flood Resilience: FEMA announced the $60 million Swift Current federal grant initiative that will help four states affected by Hurricane Ida, one of the most intense storms to hit the United States in recent years, become more resilient to flooding. The program will more equitably expedite mitigation grants to disaster survivors with repetitively flooded homes.

Cleaning Up Legacy Pollution

  • Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells: The Department of the Interior launched a new $4.7 billion program to cap and plug orphaned oil and gas wells in order to reduce methane emissions and create jobs over the next decade. The first $1.15 billion in funding is now available to 26 states to create jobs cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells across the country.
  • Abandoned Mine Lands: The Department of the Interior announced the availability of nearly $725 millionin Fiscal Year 22 funding for 22 states and the Navajo Nation to create good-paying union jobs and catalyze economic opportunity by reclaiming abandoned mine lands (AML). The program will help communities eliminate dangerous environmental conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reauthorized the existing fee and provided nearly $11.3 billion to be allocated evenly over the next 15 years.
  • Superfund Site Cleanup: EPA announced $1 billion this year to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country. Until this historic investment, many of these were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding. These funds will help communities living near many of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination finally get the protections they deserve. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a total of $3.5 billion over the next five years for Superfund site cleanup.
  • Brownfield Cleanup: EPA awarded $254.5 million in brownfield clean up grants to 265 communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a total of $1.5 billion over the next five years to advance environmental justice, spur economic revitalization and create jobs by cleaning up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties.
  • Great Lakes Restoration: EPA announced $1 billion over five years for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, including $200 million in FY2022, to accelerate progress in the clean-up and restoration of the Great Lakes' most environmentally degraded sites, securing clean water and a better environment for millions of Americans in the Great Lakes region.
  • Chesapeake Bay: EPA announced $238 million over five years to help restore the Chesapeake Bay, including $40 million this year. This funding will advance efforts to promote environmental justice and counter climate change by supporting projects that that protect public health, improve water quality, and help restore lands, rivers, and streams in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Modernizing the Grid and Deploying Clean Energy

  • Energy Efficient Homes: DOE released a grant application for $3.16 billion in funding for residential energy retrofitting and weatherization. This expanded funding will allow states to retrofit thousands of low-incomes homes to make them healthier and more energy efficient while lowering utility bills.
  • Home Energy Assistance: The Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of $100 million to help families pay their outstanding heating and cooling bills. This funding comes on top of investment in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through the American Rescue Plan and the Continuing Resolution most recently passed by Congress, and is the first installment of the five-year, $500 million investment in the program provided from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
  • Building a Better Grid: DOE launched a new Building a Better Grid initiative to modernize and upgrade the nation's electric grid, increasing reliability, reducing outages and giving more communities access to cheaper and cleaner energy.. As part of this initiative, DOE has released a request for information and notice of intent seeking feedback on $2.3 billion in grid resilience funding for state and Tribal Nations and a request for information for the $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program. DOE also released a request for information for a $505 million long-duration energy storage program to commercialize new technologies that increase grid reliability and enable great amounts of clean energy on the grid. In addition, the Department of Transportation released guidance to help facilitate the use of public highways and other transportation rights-of-way to speed the siting and permitting of transmission lines.
  • Clean Energy and Advanced Batteries: DOE issued two funding opportunities, inviting applications for more than $3 billion to boost production of the advanced batteries, their components, and the critical materials needed for them. Advanced batteries are critical for rapidly growing clean energy industries of the future, including electric vehicles and grid energy storage, and the materials processing components will invest in critical mineral production that is a key component of the President's strategy to increase the security and resilience of U.S. supply chains
  • Nuclear Power: DOE released guidance to seek applications and sealed bid submissions on the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program. The nuclear credit program supports the continued operation of U.S. nuclear reactors, the nation's largest source of clean power.
  • Critical Mineral Research: The Department of the Interior announced over $167 million that will go towards a new facility for the U.S. Geological Survey, which is working on critical energy and mineral programs.
  • Clean Hydrogen Initiatives: DOE established $9.5 billion in Clean Hydrogen Initiatives to help decarbonize industry and the transportation sectors. The Department announced two Requests for Information (RFI) to collect feedback from stakeholders to inform the implementation and design of the Regional Hydrogen Hub and the Electrolysis and Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Programs.
  • Clean Infrastructure Deployment: DOE announced an organizational realignment to ensure the Department has the structure needed to effectively implement the programs and investments in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Energy Act of 2020. A newly created Under Secretary for Infrastructure will focus on deploying new energy infrastructure—including upgrading the electric grid, building new battery and clean energy manufacturing capacity and building new commercial-scale demonstration projects for technologies like hydrogen and carbon storage. DOE will be hiring as many as 1,000 new people for its Clean Energy Corps, the staff of the new Under Secretary's infrastructure offices and other offices at DOE working to implement the BIL.
  • Clean Energy Demonstrations: DOE established the new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, a component of the new Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, which will oversee $20 billion of infrastructure funding to scale up clean energy, create new, good-paying jobs for American families and workers, and reduce pollution while benefiting underserved communities.

Expanding High-Speed Internet

  • Affordable Connectivity Program: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched the Affordable Connectivity Program providing broadband subsidies of up to $30/month for low-income households (up to $75 per month for households on Tribal Lands) and up to $100 towards the purchase of a desktop, laptop or tablet computer. To date, more than 11.5 million households in affordable, high speed internet plans.
  • Lowering Internet Costs: To lower costs for tens of millions of families, the President and Vice President also secured commitments from 20 leading internet providers—providing service to urban, suburban and rural areas where more than 80% of the U.S. population lives to either cut prices or increase speeds (or both), to offer to ACP-eligible households high-speed internet plans for no more than $30 per month.
  • Internet for All Initiative: The NTIA also launched its $45 Billion "Internet for All" initiative – releasing notices of funding opportunity for three of its major programs including the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Middle-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, and the Digital Equity Planning Grant Program. The programs will build internet infrastructure, support the development of digital skills, and provide necessary tools to ensure that everyone in America – including communities of color, rural communities, and older Americans – has the access and skills they need to fully participate in today's society. Through the BEAD program alone, each state is eligible for a minimum of $100 million, with an initial $5 million in planning funds to help create a five-year action plan.
  • Rural Internet: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) accepted applications for the $1.15 billion ReConnect rural broadband deployment program for loans and grants to state, local or territory governments, corporations, Tribes and limited liability companies and cooperative organizations to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet. This funding will be boosted by a $2 billion investment from BIL.
  • Tribal Internet: NTIA has made 34 awards totaling approximately $83 million in funding through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. These awards are part of the Biden Administration's whole-of-government effort to connect everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.? The program, which is receiving an additional $2 billion in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is directed to Tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on Tribal lands, as well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion.

Joseph R. Biden, Jr., FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Hits the Ground Running to Build a Better America Six Months into Infrastructure Implementation Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/355946

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