Current Events: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 2021

On Monday, November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act into law, joined by members of Congress from both parties during a White House ceremony. The legislation will inject $550 billion in new federal spending into all types of sectors including roads & bridges, train, plane, automobile, energy and utility networks. After months of tense negotiations the House of Representatives passed the legislation, which authorizes $1.2 trillion in spending over the next five years, and is considerably lower than one of the originally proposed bills that capped out around $2.3 trillion. The bipartisan bill is set to infuse much-needed funds into the country’s aging infrastructure, whose deficiencies some experts estimate currently cost the average American family over $3,000 a year.

As with most bills of this size, roughly 2,700 pages, there are both champions and opponents of the content of the bill. A Brookings Institute fellow wrote that the bill will move the country to a more inclusive, environmentally resilient and industrially competitive place. One of the 13 Republican Congresspeople who voted for the bill, Rep. David McKinley, said that the bill was “an opportunity for states like West Virginia, to get back up off the mat, and significantly improve quality of life”. Yet some critics say the bill does not go far enough, citing examples like the funds allocated for lead water pipe replacement. While the bill includes $15 billion to address the issue, experts believe it would take $60 billion to replace all lead water pipes in the U.S. The American Society of Civil Engineers, which publishes an infrastructure report card every 4 years, states that the total cost to improve the country’s infrastructure is closer to $5 trillion ($4.6T). This price tag is aligned with the ASCE’s recent report cards, from both 2013 and 2017, on which the U.S. scored a cumulative ‘grade’ of a D+ on its infrastructure.

Oregonians can expect about $1.6 billion in additional federal funds from the bill. This includes funding in key areas for the state, such as wildfire protection, internet broadband expansion, bridge replacement and repairs, as well as improving access to safe drinking water. The Oregon Department of Transportation already has identified a number of projects to put that money to use, including building a new interstate crossing over the Columbia River and renovating portions of Interstate 5. Oregon’s natural resources and wildlife are also included in the funding, which will provide some spending to help farmers, ranchers and communities deal with droughts, as well as investment in restoring wildlife habitats. Additionally, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden pointed out that the infrastructure bill will support prescription drug pricing reforms geared towards some of the most expensive drugs.

This week’s Current Events resources examine the recently passed infrastructure bill as well as some of the expected effects it will have on the United States. The resources shared provide context and various viewpoints surrounding not only the bill itself, but the process in which it was passed as well as the importance of infrastructure in a modern society.

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Essential Questions, Vocabulary & Extend the Resources:

What industries and sectors are being supported through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?
How has investment in infrastructure affected the historical growth of the United States?
In your opinion, what are the benefits and drawbacks on bills that are so long and encompassing?
What role does the federal government play in local infrastructure decisions? In your opinion, what role should the federal government play?
How will local communities, such as your own, be directly affected by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?
What is the relationship between climate change and resiliency and the recently passed infrastructure bill?
What is the process for state and local governments to receive the infrastructure funds? In your opinion, what should be the process?

Click here for a hardcopy of the Essential Questions & Infrastructure Bill Vocabulary

Click here for a hardcopy of the Extend the Resources handout with suggested lesson activities and extensions