Biden is signing a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law, unlocking funds for transportation, broadband, utilities

November 17, 2021: -President Joe Biden signed the above $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law, checking off the first piece of his party’s sprawling economic agenda.

The package put $550 billion in new funds into transportation, broadband, and utilities. Biden’s signature following years of failed efforts in Washington to overhaul physical infrastructure, improvements that advocates have said boosting the economy and create jobs.

The legislation put $110 billion into roads, bridges, and other significant projects. It is investing $66 billion in freight and passenger rail, including potential upgrades to Amtrak. It directs $39 billion into public transit systems.

The plan will put $65 billion expanded broadband, a priority after the coronavirus pandemic left millions of Americans at home without adequate internet access. It will put $55 billion into improving water systems and replacing lead pipes.

Funding will go out over five years, and it could take months or years for many major projects to start.

Before signing the legislation, Biden said, “we’re getting this done” after years of failed attempts in Washington. He stressed the direct benefits Americans will feel from the law part of a broader sales pitch he will carry out in the future days and months ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

“So my message to the American people is this, America moves again, and your life is going to be better,” he said.

A physical infrastructure fulfills one portion of Biden’s economic vision. On Monday, he made a case for Congress to pass what Democrats see as a complementary package, a $1.75 trillion investment in the social safety net and climate policy.

The House is aiming to pass its version of the bill this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to tie the plans together to ensure her party’s centrist and progressive flanks backed both.

The president said he is “confident that the House can pass this bill, and then we’re going to pass it in the Senate.”

Many Democrats said that the bipartisan plan did not go far enough to address climate change or build an additional layer of support for households by addressing policies like child care, education, household tax credits, and health care.

Biden is celebrating the infrastructure plan’s passage with lawmakers from both parties helping write and pass it. Nineteen Republicans voted for the measure when the Senate approved it in August, whereas 13 GOP representatives backed it when the House passed it.

Several GOP lawmakers have attended the bill signing. Nearly 800 people, including members of Congress, mayors, governors, and union officials, came to the event.