Passed the Senate as the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" on August 10, 2021 (
69–30) with amendment
House agreed to Senate amendment on November 5, 2021 (
228–206)
Signed into law by President
Joe Biden on November 15, 2021
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), most commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), (
H.R. 3684), is a
United States federal statute enacted by the
117th United States Congress and signed into law by President
Joe Biden on November 15, 2021. It was originally introduced in the House as the INVEST in America Act, and was commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill before it was signed into law.
The act was initially a $547–715 billioninfrastructure package that included provisions related to federal highway aid, transit,
highway safety, motor carrier, research,
hazardous materials and rail programs of the
Department of Transportation.[1][2] After congressional negotiations, it was amended and renamed to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to include funding for
broadband access, clean water and
electric grid renewal in addition to the transportation and road proposals of the original House bill. This amended version included approximately $1.2 trillion in spending, with $550 billion being newly authorized spending on top of what
Congress was planning to authorize regularly.[3][4]
The amended bill was passed 69–30 by the
Senate on August 10, 2021. On November 5, it was passed 228–206 by the
House, and ten days later was signed into law by President Biden.[5]
On March 31, 2021,[6] President
Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion
American Jobs Plan (which, when combined with the
American Families Plan, amounted to $4 trillion in infrastructure spending),[7] pitched by him as "a transformative effort to overhaul the nation's economy".[8] The detailed plan aimed to create millions of jobs, bolster
labor unions, expand labor protections, and
address climate change.[9][10]
Legislative history
Senate passage
In mid-April 2021, Republican lawmakers offered a $568 billion counterproposal to the American Jobs Plan.[11] On May 9, Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell said it should cost no more than $800 billion.[12] On May 21, the administration reduced the price tag to $1.7 trillion, which was quickly rejected by Republicans.[13] A day later, a bipartisan group within the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee announced that they had reached a deal for $304 billion in funding for U.S. highway funding.[14] This was approved unanimously by the committee on May 26.[15] On June 4,
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair
Peter DeFazio announced a $547 billion plan, called the INVEST in America Act, which would address parts of the American Jobs Plan.[16][a] On July 1, the House passed an amended $715 billion infrastructure bill focused on land transportation and water.[17]
On May 27, Republican senator
Shelley Moore Capito presented a $928 billion plan,[18][b][c] and on June 4, increased it by about $50 billion; this was quickly rejected by the Biden administration.[19] On June 8, the administration shifted its focus to a bipartisan group of 20 senators, which had been working on a package tentatively priced around $900 billion.[20][d] On June 10, a bipartisan group of 10 senators reached a deal costing $974 billion over five years; or about $1.2 trillion if stretched over eight years.[22] On June 16, the plan was endorsed by a bipartisan group of 21 senators.[23] On June 24, the bipartisan group met with the president and reached a compromise deal costing $1.2 trillion over eight years, which focuses on physical infrastructure (notably roads, bridges, railways, water, sewage, broadband, electric vehicles). This was planned to be paid for through reinforced
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collection, unspent COVID-19 relief funds, and other sources.[24] By July 2021, the IRS portion of the funding had reportedly been scrapped.[25] Biden stipulated that a separate "human infrastructure" bill (notably
child care,
home care, and
climate change) – later known as the
Build Back Better Act – must also pass, whether through bipartisanship or
reconciliation,[24] but later walked back this position.[26] House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi similarly stated that the House would not vote on the physical infrastructure bill until the larger bill passes in the Senate,[27] despite the fact that reconciliation overrides much of the obstructive power of the
filibuster.[27][28]
White House officials stated on July 7 that legislative text was nearing completion.[29] On July 14, the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced an energy bill expected to be included in the bipartisan package.[30] On July 21, Senate Majority Leader
Charles Schumer put forward a "shell bill" for a vote to kick off debate in the Senate, intending to add the bipartisan text via an amendment.[31][e] On July 25, Republican senator
Rob Portman stated that an agreement was "about 90%" complete, with mass transit being one remaining point of contention.[33] On July 30, Portman stated that this had been resolved.[34] On July 28, Senator
Kyrsten Sinema stated that she did not support a reconciliation bill costing $3.5 trillion, breaking the stalemate and allowing the bipartisan bill to move forward.[35] That day, the Senate voted 67–32 to advance the bill,[36] and on July 30, voted 66–28 to proceed to its consideration.[37] The legislation text was completed and substituted into the bill on August 1.[38] On August 5, Schumer moved to truncate debate on the legislation, setting up a procedural vote on August 7,[39] which passed 67–27.[40] Fifteen or more amendments were expected to receive votes through the weekend.[40] On August 10, the bill was passed by the Senate 69–30.[41] It sets aside $550 billion in new spending.[42]
A procedural vote on a House rule concerning passing both bills passed along party lines on August 24.[43]
House passage
In early August, nine
moderate Democrats called for an immediate House vote on the bill, citing a desire not to lose the momentum from the Senate passage of the bill. They committed to voting against taking up the reconciliation resolution until there was a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.[44][45] While both Biden and House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi had reversed earlier positions to support passing the bipartisan bill separately,[26][46]progressives including
Congressional Progressive Caucus chairwoman
Pramila Jayapal and Senator
Bernie Sanders maintained that it be utilized as leverage to pass the most expensive reconciliation bill possible.[47][48][49] The lack of a deal caused a late September House vote to be postponed.[49] On October 2, Pelosi set a new deadline of October 31.[50] By October 28, Jayapal and other progressive leaders indicated that they were willing to vote on the bill separately,[51] but Sanders and others opposed this.[52][53] On October 31, a majority of progressives signaled that they would support both bills.[54]
Votes on both bills were considered on November 5, but the hesitation of several moderates to pass the reconciliation bill before it could be scored by the
Congressional Budget Office made passing the bipartisan bill unlikely.[55] Negotiations between centrist and progressive Democrats concluded with the centrists committing to passing the Build Back Better Act.[56] The bill ultimately went to a vote, as did a rule to vote on the larger bill once it was scored, passing 228–206; 13 Republicans joined all but six Democrats (members of "
the Squad") in supporting the legislation.[57][58][59] The six Democrats who voted 'No' stated that their opposition was because the legislation had been decoupled from the social-safety net provisions of the Build Back Better bill.[60][61] Biden signed the bill into law at a signing ceremony on November 15.[62]
Provisions
The final version restores the
Superfund excise tax on certain chemicals[63] which expired in 1995.[64]
Overview
According to
NPR, the version which passed the Senate on July 28 is set to include:
$110 billion for roads, bridges and other major projects;
$11 billion for transportation safety programs;
$39 billion to modernize transit and improve accessibility;
$66 billion for passenger and freight rail;
$7.5 billion to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers;
$73 billion to overhaul the nation's power infrastructure, clean energy transmission, and overall energy policy;
An October 2021 report written by the REPEAT Project, a partnership between the Evolved Energy Research firm and
Princeton University's ZERO Lab, said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act alone will make only a small reduction in emissions, but as they say: "We lack modeling capabilities to reflect the net effect of surface transportation investments in highways (which tend to increase on-road vehicle and freight miles traveled) and rail and public transit (which tend to reduce on-road vehicle and freight miles traveled). These significant programs are therefore not modeled in this analysis, an important limitation of our assessment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act".[71]
The Georgetown Climate Center tried to estimate how the $599 billion investment for surface transportation in the bill can impact emissions from transportation. It created two scenarios: "high emissions" and "low emissions". In the first scenario, from the money dedicated to highways, more money will go to building new highways, while in the second, more will go to repairing existing highways. The other spending areas characteristics are not so different. The first scenario sees increased cumulative emissions over the years 2022-2040 by more than 200 million tons, while the second decreases them by around 250 million tons.[72]
In August 2022, the
Boston Consulting Group analyzed the Act and found $41 billion of it would be spent on energy projects germane to climate action, $18 billion on similarly germane transportation projects, $18 billion on "clean tech" intended to cut hard-to-abate emissions, $0 on manufacturing, and $34 billion on other climate action provisions.[73]
The law includes the largest federal investment in
public transit in history.[74] The law includes spending figures of $105 billion in public transport. It also spends $110 billion on fixing roads and bridges and includes measures for climate change mitigation and improving access for
cyclists and
pedestrians.[75] Increasing use of
public transport and related
transit-oriented development can reduce transportation emissions in human settlements by 78% and overall US emissions by 15%.[76]
The law includes spending $21 billion for environmental projects, $50 billion for
water storage, and $15 billion for
electric vehicles.[77] It also includes $73 billion to overhaul the
energy policy of the United States.[75][78] The law also gives $4.7 billion to cap
orphan wells abandoned by oil and gas companies[79][80][81] and $1 billion to better connect neighborhoods separated by transport infrastructure as part of
environmental justice efforts.[82] This $1 billion will be spent through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) discretionary grant program[83] that, among other priorities, promotes: "New or improved, affordable transportation options to increase safe mobility and connectivity for all, including for people with disabilities, through lower-carbon travel like walking, cycling, rolling, and transit that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote active travel."[84]
Energy
$73 billion will be spent on overhauling the energy policy of the United States. The
Boston Consulting Group projects $41 billion of the Act will be germane to climate action in energy.[73] $11 billion of the $73 billion amount will be invested in the
electrical grid's adjustment to
renewable energy, with some of the money going to new loans for
electric power transmission lines and required studies for future transmission needs.[85][86][87] $6 billion of that $73 billion will go to
domestic nuclear power. Also of that $73 billion, the IIJA invests $45 billion in
innovation and
industrial policy for key emerging technologies in energy; $430 million[88]–$21 billion in new demonstration projects at the DOE; and nearly $24 billion in onshoring,
supply chain resilience, and bolstering U.S.-held competitive advantages in energy; the latter amount will be divided into an $8.6 billion investment in
carbon capture and storage, $3 billion in battery material reprocessing, $3 billion in
battery recycling, $1 billion in
rare-earth minerals stockpiling, and $8 billion in new research hubs for
green hydrogen.[78] The DOE has imposed grant requirements on $7 billion of the IIJA's battery and transportation spending, which are meant to promote
community benefits agreements,
social justice, and formation of
trade unions.[89] Finally, the law gives $4.7 billion to cap
orphan wells abandoned by oil and gas companies.[79][80][81]
Water
To support safe drinking water programs, the law provides:
The bill provides $8 billion for helping Western states deal with the
Southwestern North American megadrought. Spending for many related projects is included under the category "Western Water Infrastructure".[93][94]
Bridges
Prior to the enactment of the infrastructure law in 2021, no dedicated federal bridge funding had existed since fiscal year 2013. The law created two new programs specifically to fund bridge projects:[95]
Bridge Formula Program (BFP)
With $27.5 billion over five years, the BFP distributes funds to every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico based on a formula that accounts for each state's cost to replace or rehabilitate its poor or fair condition bridges. Each state is guaranteed a minimum of $45 million per year from this program. At least 15% of each state's funds must be spent on off-system bridges (i.e., public bridges that are not on federal-aid highways), and 3% is set aside each year for bridges on tribal lands. Off-system and tribal bridge projects may be funded with a 100% federal share (as opposed to the standard 80% federal share).[96]
Bridge Investment Program (BIP)
With $12.5 billion over five years, the BIP is a competitive grant program to replace, rehabilitate, preserve, or make resiliency improvements to bridges. Half of the funding is reserved for large bridge projects, which are defined as projects that cost over $100 million. Large projects are funded at a maximum 50% federal share, while other projects are funded at a maximum 80% federal share.[97]
Passenger rail
The infrastructure law is the largest investment in passenger rail since the 1971 creation of
Amtrak (which under the law will receive $22 billion in advance appropriations and $19 billion in fully authorized funds).[98][99] It directly appropriated $66 billion for rail over a five-year period (including the Amtrak appropriations), of which at least $18 billion is designated for expanding passenger rail service to new corridors, and it authorized an additional $36 billion.[99] Most of this funding for new passenger rail lines is implemented through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program, which will receive $36 billion in advance appropriations and $7.5 billion in fully authorized funds.[99] The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program will receive $5 billion in advance appropriations and $5 billion in fully authorized funds, while programs for
grade separation replacing
level crossings will receive $3 billion in advance appropriations and $2.5 billion in fully authorized funds, and the Restoration and Enhancement Grant program intended to revive discontinued passenger rail services will receive $250 million in advance appropriations and $250 million in fully authorized funds.[99] Per the law's requirements, at least $12 billion is available and $3.4–4.1 billion authorized for expanding service outside of the
Northeast Corridor, and $24 billion is available and $3.4–4.1 billion authorized to partially rebuild the Corridor.[100]
To help plan and guide the expansion of passenger rail service beyond the
Northeast Corridor, the infrastructure law also created a $1.8 billion
Corridor Identification and Development Program.[101] The law also expands eligibility for a potential $23 billion in transit funding to these corridors and changes the allocation methods for state government-supported passenger rail shorter than 750 miles, to encourage states to implement more such service.
Highway removal and complete streets
The law includes $1 billion over five years for Reconnecting Communities planning and construction grants, the first of which were awarded in February 2023.[102]
Transit station accessibility
The law established and authorized $1.75 billion over five years for a new All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP).[103] This program is designed to improve the accessibility of rail system stations that were built before the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). At the time of the infrastructure law's passage, over 900 transit stations were not fully ADA-compliant.[104]
Wildlife crossings and conservation
The infrastructure law created the
Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program with $350 million in funding over five years. This is a competitive grant program that funds planning and construction projects that prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve the connectivity of animal habitats.[105]
The law also allocated $1 billion to create the National
Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant program to improve the passage of
anadromous fish such as
salmon.[106]
Transportation safety
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a safety mechanism to prevent
drunk driving, which causes about 10,000 deaths each year in the United States as of 2021, which will be rolled out in phases for retroactive fitting,[107][108] and will become mandatory for all new vehicles in 2027.[109] The technology, which is being developed by NHTSA in cooperation with the
Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and Swedish automobile safety company
Autoliv, consists of a breath-based and a touch-based sensor that stops the car if the driver is above the legal
blood alcohol content, and will be
open-sourced to automobile manufacturers.[110]
Under the law, the
United States Department of Transportation (DOT) will be required to develop regulations for a system that can detect distracted, fatigued, or impaired drivers.[107] The NHTSA has recommended implementing a camera-based warning system for the former, similar to a technology mandated by the
European Union in July 2022.[110]
In May 2022, the US government published a manual on the use of the law, aimed mainly at local authorities. The manual briefly describes the over 350 programs included in the law. Each description includes the aim of the program, its funding and possible recipients, its period of availability, and more. The programs are grouped into four categories: "Transportation", "Climate, Energy and the Environment", "Broadband", and "Other Programs".[111]
By November 2023, around $400 billion from the bill was allocated to more than 40,000 projects related to
infrastructure,
transport, and
sustainability. Public attention has remained relatively low, due in part to slow implementation of projects.[112][113][114]
The White House offers a "Map of Progress" which tracks all spending that resulted from the act.[115]
Macroeconomic impact
According to the
New Democrat-linked think tank
Center for American Progress, the Act, the
CHIPS and Science Act, and the
Inflation Reduction Act have together catalyzed over 35,000 public and private investments.[116] The Biden administration itself claimed that as of April 1, 2024[update], the IIJA, CaSA, and IRA together catalyzed over $688 billion in private investment (including $245 billion in electronics and semiconductors, $165 billion in electric vehicles and batteries, $141 billion in clean power and $77 billion in the clean energy industry) and over $478.4 billion in public infrastructure spending (including $41.5 billion in energy aside from tax credits in the IRA).[117]
Energy and industry
In November 2022, the Biden administration announced it would furnish $550 million for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program for clean energy generators for low-income and minority communities, the first such appropriation since the
Recovery Act in 2009.[118][119] The administration announced the competitive portion would award $8.8 million to 12 communities on October 12, 2023, with the next award applications due in April 2024.[120][121]
On October 24, 2023, the administration announced the first $3.46 billion in grants from the Act's $11 billion grid rebuilding authorization, would go to 58 projects in 44 states. 16 projects are categorized as for improving grid resilience, 34 are categorized as for building
smart grids, and eight are categorized as pursuing grid innovation. The investment is the largest in the American grid since the
Recovery Act 14 years earlier. According to Energy Secretary
Jennifer Granholm, the projects could enable 35 gigawatts of renewable energy to come online by 2030 and 400
microgrids to be built.[122][123]
On October 30, the DOE announced the results of a mandated triennial study that, for the first time in its history, included anticipation of future grid transmission needs.[86] The DOE also announced the first three recipients of a new $2.5 billion loan program it called the Transmission Facilitation Program, created to provide funding to help build up the interstate power grid. They are the 1.2-gigawatt Twin States Clean Energy Link between Quebec, New Hampshire and Vermont, the 1.5-gigawatt Cross-Tie Transmission Line between Utah and Nevada; and the 1-gigawatt Southline Transmission Project between Arizona and New Mexico.[87][85]
On November 15, the Biden administration announced a funding opportunity for the second investment from the grid rebuilding authorization, which would total $3.9 billion, beating the October 24 investment. Grid developers have a deadline of January 12, 2024 to apply.[124][125]
On November 16, 2023, the Biden administration announced the first recipients of $40.8 million in grants from a workforce training program the Act created, which will provide skills for industrial technology, the building trades and
energy auditing.[126][127]
On March 25, 2024, the Biden administration announced the first 33 grant recipients of the Department of Energy's $6 billion Industrial Demonstrations Program to reduce embedded emissions in factories and materials processing, of which the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds $489 million.
Cement and
concrete industry projects received $1.5 billion in total,
steelmaking projects received $1.5 billion,
chemical engineering and refinery projects $1.2 billion, other metals $930 million, and glass, paper, and food and beverage supply the remainder of the $6 billion. These projects are located mostly in
environmental justice communities across more than 20 states, and were selected for their best balancing of deep emissions cuts, market viability, speedy completion, and community benefits. The Biden administration expects these projects to drive 1.4 million tons in carbon emissions cuts.[129]
Hydrogen hubs
The Biden administration awarded $7 billion of the $8 billion appropriation to seven hydrogen research hubs, based in California, eastern Washington, southeastern Pennsylvania, southeastern Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, and West Virginia and affecting projects there and in eight more states, on October 13, 2023. The remaining $1 billion will be used for demand-side economic policies to drive growth in hydrogen use.[130][131]
Several criticisms of the hubs emerged. Jeff St. John, editor in chief of
Canary Media, noted while it does mandate that the DOE create a clean hydrogen definitional standard (which as of October 2023[update] the DOE had not published), and that the DOE selected applicants who pledged
community benefits agreements, the Act does not prescribe metrics or guidelines for measuring emissions from these hubs.[132] Researcher Hannah Story Brown of the watchdog group Revolving Door Project noted that the majority of hub projects announced are powered by fossil fuels, not renewable energy.[133]
Transportation
The bill contains $27 billion in funding for specific, concrete programs within the
Federal Highway Administration that are already implemented to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, all of which was allotted in November 2023. For example, $7.2 billion is allocated to the "Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program" (creating more possibilities for
biking and
walking), $6.4 billion to the "Carbon Reduction Program" (reducing emissions from highways), $69 million to the "Transit-Oriented Development Program" (enhancing
transit-oriented development and improving land use) and more.[134]
On December 4, the Department of Energy released a proposed rule clarifying the definition of "foreign entities of concern" under the Act's car battery materials provisions, in line with the
Inflation Reduction Act's Section 30D.[135]
In 2023 an agreement between seven states was achieved, aiming to preserve the
Colorado River water system from collapse due to poor management and climate change. The United States is heavily dependent on the river for power generation, drinking water, agriculture, wildlands restoration, and native cultural practices. Some states will reduce water use, receiving compensation for it (totaling $1.2 billion) from the federal government. Many other projects for preserving the river such as
water recycling and
rainwater harvesting, are advanced. The funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the
Inflation Reduction Act.[138][139]
The bill provides around $7 billion to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency for helping communities adapt to different climate-related disasters such as
hurricanes,
droughts, and
heat waves. In August 2023, $3 billion was allocated to different related projects, including 124 projects related to resilient infrastructure and communities (located in "38 states, one tribe and the District of Columbia") and 149 projects related to protection from flooding (located in "28 states and the District of Columbia"). From the projects related to infrastructure, 64 use
nature-based solutions. Some of the most vulnerable communities will receive help for free.[141]
In November 2023, the Biden administration announced that $300 million from FEMA's new Swift Current Initiative created by the Act would go to helping communities impacted by floods recover and grow their resiliency.[124][142] It also announced that it would award "$50 million in project awards to improve the reliability of water resources and support ecosystem health in Western states, along with an additional $50 million funding opportunity for water conservation projects and hydropower upgrades."[124]
In March 2024, $120 million was delivered to help
indigenous peoples in the U.S. adapt to climate change. Of this number, $26 million was allocated from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The efforts will include planning, ecosystem management and restoration, planned relocation, and promotion and use of indigenous knowledge.[143][144]
By state
Florida
Around $1.1 billion was allocated for restoration of the
Everglades ecosystems.[145] In March 2024,
Marco Rubio, supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, demanded $725 million more, as the rising levels of water in the
Lake Okeechobee created additional problems.[146]
Wisconsin
In October 2023, $450 million (including $275 million from the bill) was delivered to clean the
Milwaukee River estuary of
Polychlorinated biphenyl, heavy metals, and oil products. This pollution had negative effects on surrounding communities for a long time. This is the most funding ever distributed by a Great Lakes cleanup program.[147]
Reactions
Congress
Republican senators balked at Biden's tandem plan to pass both a bipartisan plan and a separate Democratic-supported reconciliation bill.[148] McConnell criticized Biden for "caving" to his own party by issuing an "ultimatum" that he would not sign the bipartisan bill without a separate reconciliation package.[149] After Biden walked back his comments, Republican senators restated their confidence in the bipartisan bill.[26] A Yahoo! News/
YouGov poll conducted in late June found that 60% of Republican voters favored the plan.[150]
On June 20, 2021, Senator
Bernie Sanders stated that he would not support paying for the bill via a proposed gas tax or a surcharge on electric vehicles.[151]
On June 28, 2021,
Sunrise Movement and several progressive representatives performed a protest at the White House in criticism of the size and scope of Biden's Civilian Climate Corps. Several protesters were arrested for blocking White House entrances.[152]
On July 6, the 58-member bipartisan House
Problem Solvers Caucus stated their support for the bipartisan bill and called for an expeditious and independent House vote.[153] On July 21, a group of 65 former governors and mayors endorsed the plan.[154]
Ahead of a procedural vote on August 7, former president
Donald Trump attacked the bill and said he would support Republican
primary challengers of senators who vote for it.[40] He reiterated his criticisms following the bill's passage by Congress.[155]
Following the bill's passage by Congress in November, Trump criticized it as containing "only 11% for real Infrastructure", calling it "the Elect Democrats in 2022/24 Act", and attacked Republicans who had supported it, saying in particular that McConnell had lent "lifelines to those who are destroying" the country.[155] Various House Republicans also criticized the 13 Republican representatives who voted for the bill.[156]Lauren Boebert described them as "RINOS" (
Republican in Name Only).[156]Mary Miller called them "spineless" and said they helped enact a "socialist takeover".[156]Marjorie Taylor Greene called them "traitors" and "American job & energy killers", who "are China-First and America-Last", because they "agree with Globalist Joe [Biden] that America must depend on China to drive" electric vehicles.[157]Gary Palmer was criticized for touting funding for the Birmingham Northern Beltline that he added to the bill, while neglecting to mention that he voted against the final bill.[158]Paul Gosar was also criticized for taking credit for the bill's funding for
Kingman Airport despite voting against it.[159] Several Republican governors who condemned the bill, including
Kristi Noem of
South Dakota and
Greg Gianforte of
Montana, accepted the funding and directed it to various programs.[160]
Others
On June 22, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
Business Roundtable and
No Labels made a joint statement urging the president to consider a bipartisan bill.[161] The former two groups have lobbied for the plan not to raise corporate taxes, and to instead impose user fees and borrow from other federal funds.[161]
According to an early August Harvard CAPS-
Harris Poll survey, about 72% of voters support the bill.[162]
On September 25,
Peter J. Wallison authored an opinion piece for The Hill in which he argued that Republicans should try to pass the bipartisan bill to prevent it from being used as further leverage to pass the reconciliation bill.[163] Subsequently, Republican House leaders formally opposed the bipartisan bill.[47]
"Historians, economists and engineers interviewed by The Associated Press welcomed Biden's efforts. But they stressed that $1 trillion was not nearly enough to overcome the government's failure for decades to maintain and upgrade the country's infrastructure."[164]
The think tank
Transportation for America praised the House version of the bill,[165] but heavily criticized the Senate version for its shortcomings on safety, climate resilience, long-term transit and rail funding and transit-oriented development, and maintenance spending, though it later noted that the final version that became law made small steps to address them.[166][167][168][169]
The nuclear industry favored the legislation as it signaled continued federal government support.[170]
Polling from Third Way and Impact Research released in July 2022 showed that only 24% of voters were aware the bill was signed into law, despite House Democrats holding over 1,000 events to promote it.[171]
Reception to the drunk driver detection and distraction detection requirements have been mixed.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving praised the requirement as "the beginning of the end of drunk driving".[172] In contrast, the
American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concern that the technology developed could pose a severe privacy risk to drivers if it collects or stores unnecessary data.[173] Writing for Vice, Aaron Gordon also argued that the technology is likely to have an unacceptably high false-positive rate — existing
ignition interlock devices that are sometimes installed after drunk driving convictions are prone to catastrophic failures.[174]
In October 2023, the
Natural Resources Defense Council criticized the IIJA's hydrogen hubs program for its lack of transparency, emphasizing the need for detailed technical reports, public hearings to thwart local
NIMBYism and skepticism of hydrogen, and incorporation of environmental justice advocates into project leadership.[175]
Earlier versions of the bill
The following is the bill summary authorized by the
Congressional Research Service (CRS) for the INVEST in America Act, the original version which passed the House on July 1, 2021:
"extends FY2021 enacted levels through FY2022 for federal-aid highway, transit, and safety programs;
reauthorizes for FY2023-FY2026 several surface transportation programs, including the federal-aid highway program, transit programs, highway safety, motor carrier safety, and rail programs;
addresses climate change, including strategies to reduce the climate change impacts of the surface transportation system and a vulnerability assessment to identify opportunities to enhance the resilience of the surface transportation system and ensure the efficient use of federal resources;
revises
Buy America Act procurement requirements for highways, mass transit, and rail;
establishes a rural bridge rebuilding program to improve the safety and state of good repair of bridges in rural communities;
implements new safety requirements across all transportation modes; and
directs the
Department of Transportation to establish a pilot program to demonstrate a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee to restore and maintain the long-term solvency of the
Highway Trust Fund and achieve and maintain a state of good repair in the surface transportation system."[176]
The specific amounts in surface transportation spending were $343 billion for roads, highways, bridges and motor safety, $109 billion for transit, and $95 billion for rail.[16] Provisions of the bill incentivized prioritizing maintenance and repair spending over spending on new infrastructure, holistically planning for all modes of transport when considering how to connect job centers to housing (including collecting data on reductions in
vehicle miles traveled through
transit-oriented development), and lowering speed limits to increase road safety and encourage building
complete streets. The Senate version, and the final bill, de-emphasized these incentives.[2][165][167][166][168][169]
^The week before, a spokeswoman for Capito had said Republicans seemed to be "further apart" from Democrats regarding the bill than they were at their previous meeting with the president.[13]
^On June 9, the House's 58-member bipartisan
Problem Solvers Caucus presented a plan which would cost $1.25 trillion over eight years. According to The Hill, the plan "calls for
more than $959 billion for traditional infrastructure, including highways, bridges, rail, airports and waterways
[including] $25 billion ... for electric vehicle infrastructure, including electric buses ...
$74 billion for drinking water and wastewater systems
$71 billion for the electric grid and clean-energy programs
^McConnell and some other Republicans indicated that they wished to see the text prior to voting on debating it.[31] The measure initially failed to pass along party lines, with Schumer switching his vote to 'no' so he could recall the vote on another day.[32]
^
abHoffman, Elisia; Jurich, Kirsten; Argento-McCurdy, Hannah; Chyung, Chris; Ricketts, Sam (November 18, 2022).
"How States Can Lead on Reducing Harms From Methane". Center for American Progress.
Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^Tanana, Heather and Nielsen, Miriam (May 24, 2023).
What's going on with the Inflation Reduction Act? (YouTube video). New York, NY: Zentouro. Event occurs at 11 minutes, 19 seconds. Retrieved May 24, 2023.