Why the Infrastructure Bill is Important
Congress passed a historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR 3684), on November 5. In a deeply divided Congress, the passing of this bill was a difficult one. The senate had passed HR 3684 by a vote of 69–30 in August. The house finally approved the bill by a vote of 228–206 sending it to President Biden for a signature.
But why is this bill so important? And why was there so much push for it to be passed?
The Infrastructure bill is significant for the country for various reasons. The bill includes $550 million in new federal spending over five years, including everything from bridges, roads, trains, funding for clean water, and a major expansion of high-speed internet. It also includes new initiatives to combat climate change, like funding for electric vehicles and monetizing the power grid. This is a huge once-in-a-generation investment that will continue to impact the lives of millions of Americans for years to come.
This bill needed to be passed because as a nation we’ve been underinvesting in infrastructure for decades which is now starting to show its signs. The major changes in infrastructure happened about 100 years ago and they no longer address the needs of modern society today in terms of moving towards green energy, lifestyles becoming more urban, and population growth and patterns. Another reason why this bill needed to be passed is because the infrastructure framework lasts for decades, and it shapes the way how and where we as a population live. It was long overdue for a new infrastructure bill to be passed that addressed the needs of today’s world.
As important as the bill is, how will congress pay for such a grand investment?
The score provided by the Congressional Budget Office found that the infrastructure would add billions of dollars to the deficit over 10 years. This legislation would roughly add $350 billion to the deficit, when taken into consideration $90 billion of spending in new contract authority, states Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that tracks federal spending.
Lawmakers had heavily relied on utilizing unused Covid-19 relief funds to pay for the legislation, according to the 57-page summary of the bill. However, the CBO found that these measures would only aid with roughly $22 billion in savings, rather than the $263 billion claimed originally by lawmakers.
Some of the other items listed in the bill which will provide the funds to pay for the bill include using savings from rescinding unobligated appropriations for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program for small businesses and non-profit, the Paycheck Protection Program, the Education Stabilization Fund, and relief for airline workers.
The Infrastructure bill also relies on generating $56 billion in economic growth resulting from a 33% return on investment on the long-term projects, according to the summary.
