Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and American Rescue Plan, the federal government is repairing and upgrading roughly 15,000 highway bridges, middle and working-class families are receiving additional assistance this winter to pay for their heating bills, and communities in red and blue states have more funding to improve water systems.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the Department of Transportation is launching a $27 billion program to fix broken down bridges as a part of the historic bipartisan infrastructure law approved in November.
The Associated Press: “Under the five-year program, the federal government will release nearly $5.5 billion this fiscal year to states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and tribes, according to senior administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview the plans.”
The Washington Post: “The bridge program is one of the largest new sources of federal spending in the package and one that encapsulates its bipartisan appeal.”
CNN: “‘This represents the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the interstate highway system,’ the official said.”
Meanwhile, families this winter will have more funding than ever to help offset seasonal heating bills due to an additional $8 billion as a part of the American Rescue Plan.
Detroit News: “Michigan has received $384.7 million in federal heating aid for low-income households for the winter season — more than double what the state would typically be allocated in a non-pandemic year”
Cleveland.com: “In addition to the $140.5 million [Ohio] usually gets for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), it is getting an extra $226.9 million from the American Rescue Plan adopted last year.”
NJ.com: “President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law more than doubled the amount of federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, giving the Garden State $285.6 million”
WCBD: “South Carolina has received a record $80.2 million dollars in home energy assistance funding due to the passage of the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan”
And resources continue to flow into communities across the country for clean drinking and wastewater projects.
The New York Times: “About $55 billion of the infrastructure law’s overall funding is dedicated to upgrading systems around the country that handle drinking water, wastewater and stormwater, including $25 billion to replace failing drinking-water systems in cities like Flint, Mich., and Jackson, Miss.”
Eagle Times: “It includes $3.5 billion for the federal Indian Health Service, which provides health care to more than 2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives, plus pots of money through other federal agencies for water projects.”
WaterWorld Magazine: “‘It represents some of the most significant investments from the federal government ever in clean water utilities — really exceeded only by the construction grants program back in the ‘70s and the ‘80s,’”
Ahead of the 2022 midterms, American Bridge 21st Century launched a $100 million paid media campaign that features small business owners and parents in key states like Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania who are better off thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Biden.
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Published: Jan 14, 2022 | Last Modified: Jan 25, 2022