Civic Register
| 11.16.21
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Signed Into Law by Biden - What Does It Do?
How do you feel about the bipartisan infrastructure bill’s enactment?
What’s the story?
- President Joe Biden on Monday signed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, which marked the culmination of a process that was years in the making.
- The enactment of the bipartisan infrastructure framework decouples the package from Democrats’ social spending plan, which may receive a vote later this week if House Democrats are able to agree on a final package once
What does the bipartisan infrastructure package do?
- Provides $110 billion in new spending on roads, bridges, and major infrastructure projects; $65 billion in new funding for passenger and freight rail infrastructure; and $65 billion to improve broadband infrastructure around the country.
- Funds energy efficiency and resiliency programs such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage; clean energy supply chain research; nuclear energy, including micro and small modular nuclear reactors;
- Reauthorizes existing surface transportation programs and authorizes new programs at the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) over the FY2022-2026 period, including highway and multimodal transportation projects; public transit programs; and motor carrier safety initiatives.
- The surface transportation section of the package contains a pair of provisions that attracted heightened scrutiny, including a requirement that the DOT mandate all new passenger motor vehicles be equipped with “advanced drunk driving prevention technology that can passively monitor and accurately detect that a driver is impaired”; and a requirement for the DOT to study a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee that was assess fees on drivers based on the amount driving they do.
- Reauthorizes existing water infrastructure programs and authorizes new programs over the FY2022-2026 period, including western water storage projects; drinking water and wastewater programs; and replacement of lead piping in drinking water infrastructure.
- The package’s spending provisions are partially offset by repurposing approximately $210 billion from unused COVID-19 relief funding provided by Congress; $56 billion in forecasted economic growth; $53 billion from states returning unused enhanced federal unemployment supplemental funding; and $28 billion from applying reporting requirements to cryptocurrency.
- The package is projected to increase budget deficits by $256 billion over the next decade according to the Congressional Budget Office.
- Read a full summary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act here.
What they’re saying
- At a bill signing ceremony, President Biden said in part:
“The bipartisan law will modernize our ports, our airports, our freight rail to make it easier for companies to get goods to market; reduce supply chain bottlenecks, as we’re experiencing now; and lower cost for you and your family. The law also builds on our resilience so that the next storm -- superstorm, drought, wildfire, hurricane -- can be dealt with.”
- Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who co-led the Senate’s bipartisan negotiations on the package that began with a group of 10 senators and later expanded to 22 senators, said the following at the signing ceremony:
“Our work was guided by a few simple principles; core infrastructure only, no tax increases, and no linkage to the broader, partisan reconciliation process. Instead, we agreed this would be a truly bipartisan process, working from the middle out, not the top down. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but we got there because we were all committed to ultimately delivering a result for the constituents we represent.”
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who also co-led the Senate negotiations, said the following at the bill signing ceremony:
“How many times have we heard that bipartisanship isn’t possible anymore, or that important policy can only happen on a party-line. Our legislation proves the opposite, and the senators who negotiated this legislation show how to get things done.”
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Biden & Portman-Sinema: White House photos by Cameron Smith / Public Domain)
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The inner structure bill that was passed Nancy Pelosi‘s pride and joy. Out of all of that money inner structure only gets 10% of the money. For inner structure they neglect to tell you that. Why would I be happy. Did Nancy Pelosi get the millions of dollars for her park. Did all of her friends get what they expected from Nancy Pelosi? They say they’re thinking about America ? No they’re not they’re filling their pockets and their friends pockets with our inner structure money.
Less than 5% of this money goes for real infrastructure. Every part of this bill contains restrictions and rules codifying socialist policy, thus, turning our county into an expanded communist country. This entire bill must be killed to save us from the elites who control the government money in our country.
I am thrilled the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill was passed by Congress and signed into Law by Biden. I am thrilled the Climate and Social Safety Net Bill passed the House; now the Senate needs to pass it ASAP. These bills are gamer changers for the American people just like Social Security in 1935, Medicare in 1965 and the Affordable Care Act in 2010. When we take of each other we are a stronger and better nation.
Democrats now need to stand unified and pass this in the Senate. No more arguments or changes. It’s right for the country. Now just do it. Everyone can see all Republicans in the Senate represent NO for anything good for Americans. They will continue to do nothing to support democracy. They are only interested in gaining power and enrichment of themselves. They are the party of corruption, lies, conspiracy theories and insurrection. Vote them out.
Wow much of this is needed, it’s the majority of the bill that is not needed! If anybody does not understand or read the bill they have no clue what they are signing up for. Shame on America!
This will just continue that debasement of the US currency, and the ongoing destruction of the dollar as a fiat currency. Inflation is exploding, and with the passage of this bill it is only going to get worse. This has GOT to be the most short-sighted, destructive, and dangerous bill that could be passed and signed into law. The poor and middle class are already struggling with sky-rocketing food and fuel prices. This will only exacerbate the problem. "Invest" in gold, silver, and Bitcoin as soon as you can if you want to preserve your retirement funds and savings. It will be eaten buy inflation very soon otherwise.
If the money is actually used to fix bridges, roads, highways, rail, and airports, I’ll be happy. If it just goes to port projects then it’ll be another wasted opportunity.
Taxes you and your children both with taxes and inflation and achieves a sorry 1.75% growth rate according to the CBO. 🤦🏻♂️
Thanks Obama
Only 11% goes to infrastructure. This pork bill should never be passed when the FED is broke, inflation increasing, gas prices up, food prices up. heating and electric up and illegals pouring through an open border. People WAKE UP and pull your heads out of the sand. We have to pay for all this. Where do you think they are going to get money to pay for all this??? Why do you think Biden wants IRS to have access to all your accounts??? People are refusing to go to work means less taxes collected and we have all these illegals promised benefits comes out of all our pockets.
It's a waste of tax payers money. Need term limits
Once again, fattening the wallets of the deep state. Well done!
AMEN YES
Now pass BBB #2 while you have the where with all to do it!!!!! Perhaps all that opposed this should be voted out of office as this CLEARLY BENEFITS all of their voters as well as themselves!
Besides being way to expensive if anyone thinks the Transportation Secretary is qualified to oversee the entire agency you had better check his qualifications. His biggest accomplishment is checking the box to fill an administration seat for being gay. I want people who have been in transportation issues for years not someone who was a small town mayor! Not to mention a guy who takes 2 months off to do maternity leave....give America a break!
I like the environmental protections and the infrastructure parts but weren't the parts about raising the minimum wage and taxing the living shit out of the evil wealthy and their evil corporations taken out? This will never be the land of the free if we don't we don't slay our slave masters and break up the plantations they've forced us onto for no one's benefit but their own.
The places that need improvement will never see one dollar of this money. This money will line the pockets of the beer Kratz with the illegal contractors that they are involved with. Know how our government works there a bunch of crooks exceptionally the Biden Harris regime they’re going to destroy this country. They both should be imprisoned arrested for treason against the United States of America for not completing the wall and allowing all the drugs coming across the border killing thousands of Americans daily. It is Biden‘s choice to stop the building of the wall the contractors are still getting paid even though they’re not working. This is how the Biden Harris administration work neither one has been there to see the actual problem but they do know the reports of the illegal immigrants they have released into the United States that are continuing to commit crimes after they cross our borders illegally
Now let's get busy on the rest of the bill!
Very little of the “Bill” has anything to do with infrastructure and a whole lot to do with self interest and party posturing. Bottom line - “Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain, Dorothy”
The name “infrastructure bill” is misleading when only about 10% of true infrastructure is in the bill and the other 90% of the bill is junk. This is how Nancy Pelosi and Communist Democrats gets people fool to accept the garbage bill.