New Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework

---

The White House announced an agreement with a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic Senators on a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. The deal calls for $1.2 trillion in total spending and nearly $600 billion in new spending.

According to the White House fact sheet, the Plan makes “investments in clean transportation infrastructure, clean water infrastructure, universal broadband infrastructure, clean power infrastructure, remediation of legacy pollution, and resilience to the changing climate.” Supporters cite the Framework’s benefits, job creation, and improved U.S. competitiveness.

Specifically, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will

• Modernize and expand transit and rail networks;
• Repair and rebuild roads and bridges;
• Build a national network of electric vehicle charging stations;
• Electrify school and transit buses;
• Eliminate lead water lines;
• Expand high-speed internet;
• Upgrade the power infrastructure;
• Create a new Infrastructure Financing Authority;
• Make infrastructure more resilient in general to climate change, cyber-attacks, and extreme weather.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will result in one of the most significant investments in U.S. infrastructure and competitiveness in history. Critics have pointed at the cost, but the Framework also addresses potential funding methods such as unemployment insurance program integrity, the redirection of unused unemployment relief funds, reinstatement Superfund fees for chemicals, 5G spectrum auction proceeds, and others.

A great deal of work still needs to be done by the White House and Members of Congress that support the Framework before it can be approved.