$1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Passes House,

The U.S. House of Representatives Nov. 5 approved the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which includes $450 billion for highway and public transportation investments and a new, five-year reauthorization of federal surface transportation programs. The legislation passed the House 228-206, compared to the bipartisan 69-30 Senate vote in August.

The measure earned support from 215 Democrats and 13 Republicans. These Republicans broke with their party and joined with 97 percent of Democrats in passing the IIJA:

• Van Drew (R-N.J.)
• Katko (R-N.Y.)
• Bacon (R-Neb.)
• Young (R-Alaska)
• Upton (R-Mich.)
• Kinzinger (R-Ill.)
• C. Smith (R-N.J.)
• Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.)
• Reed (R-N.Y.)
• Gonzalez (R-Ohio)
• Gabarino (R-N.Y.)
• Malliotakis (R-N.Y.)
• McKinley (R-W.Va.)

These are the six Democrats who opposed:

• Bowman (D-N.Y.)
• Bush (D-Mo.)
• Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
• Omar (D-Minn.)
• Pressley (D-Mass.)
• Tlaib (D-Mich.)

See ARTBA’s summary of the IIJA.

Why it matters: The bipartisan infrastructure bill will deliver generational investments in roads, bridges, and public transportation over the next five years. Nearly 90 percent of these resources will be distributed by formula directly to the states.

A recent ARTBA-commissioned report from IHS Markit quantifies the many economic benefits of the measure’s increased highways and transit investment. Find out how your state would benefit.

The delay in House approval of the IIJA in no way overshadows the five-plus year impact ARTBA members and the nation will receive from its enactment. The chart below from ARTBA’s economics team demonstrates the historic context of this measure, an outcome worth the months of engagement and hard work by the transportation construction industry that contributed to this major achievement.

What’s next: President Joe Biden will soon sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. Over the next several months, ARTBA will work with Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure implementation of the IIJA delivers the promised infrastructure outcomes.