On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a vote of 69-30.
Passage of the bill on Tuesday sends the bill in the House, which will need to pass the bill before sending it to Biden's desk.
Senator Bill Cassidy was one of the five lead Republican negotiators and a member of the bipartisan Group of 22 Senators for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is the largest investment in infrastructure and coastal resiliency in the history of Louisiana.
"This legislation will create tens of thousands of new jobs,” said Cassidy. “The new bridges and repaired highways will shorten commutes. Rural broadband will connect and give all Americans access to Telehealth, online education and other benefits. Flood mitigation, weatherization and coastal restoration will protect against flooding and lower utility bills. Improved water, sewer and drainage will revitalize communities. This bill is good for Louisiana and the United States."
Cassidy released initial information on the agreement including more than $6 billion for Louisiana’s roads and highways and $371 million for Louisiana water revolving funds. During negotiations, Cassidy brought to the table, pushed for, and secured funding for resiliency and energy, which will directly benefit the Pelican State.
Edwards and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Secretary Shawn D. Wilson commended the Biden Administration and U.S. Senate for passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The bipartisan act allocates $550 billion to the states for infrastructure improvements, and Louisiana is expected to receive $5.8 billion over the next five years.
Cassidy says the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes $47 billion for resiliency that will go in part to rebuild Louisiana’s eroded coastlines and waterways and $73 billion for energy infrastructure. The bill will also invest in broadband to expand internet access to tens of thousands of Louisianans who currently do not have access.
The following provisions are included in the bill and will benefit Louisiana:
- Authorizes I-14 corridor: This highway will run from Georgia to Texas, which will include stops in Leesville and Alexandria continuing through Natchez, Mississippi and Alabama up to Augusta, Georgia.
- Eliminates federal red-tape by reforming the permitting process to speed construction projects: Builds on the Federal Permitting Council's efforts to shorten the government approval process for large infrastructure projects by bringing relevant agencies together to reduce inefficiencies.
- $40 Billion for bridges: As a state, Louisiana has the third most bridge deck area in poor condition. This funding will rebuild Louisiana’s bridges, many of which are rated as poor or structurally deficient.
- Invests in Louisiana’s Airports: The bill includes $25 billion for airport improvement projects such as expansions, installations, assisting with planning, rebuilding runways, improving lighting, and air navigation facilities throughout the state.
- $9.55 Billion for Ports and Waterways: This will benefit numerous Louisiana Ports and Waterways such as the Port of Calcasieu, Port Fourchon, Port of New Orleans, Port of Baton Rouge, Port of South Louisiana, Port of Plaquemines, and J. Bennett Johnston Waterway.
- $3.2 Billion for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant Program: This program supports crucial highway and rail projects.
- $65 Billion for Broadband: This funding will expand internet access to Louisiana’s rural and low-income communities.
- $500 Million for the STORM Act: This provides grants to establish a revolving fund for mitigation assistance to reduce risks from disasters and natural hazards. Such funds would provide assistance to local governments in States, including Louisiana, for projects to reduce disaster risks to homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities to decrease the loss of life and property, the cost of insurance claims, and federal disaster payments.
- $7.5 Billion for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grants: These grants support transportation projects of local and regional significance.
- $3.5 Billion for Flood Mitigation Assistance grants: These grants are used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In the last fiscal year, one-third of applications for this program came from Louisiana.
- $17 Billion for Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure priorities: This includes $2.55 billion for construction of Coastal Storm Risk Management and Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction projects specifically targeting states such as Louisiana that have been impacted by federally declared disasters over the last six years. Additional Louisiana projects that will benefit from these dollars include the Southwest Coastal Louisiana and Morganza to the Gulf Projects. There’s $109 million for Louisiana Corps Federal projects to dredge and repair damages caused by Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta, $808 million for Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries, and $251 million for Flood and Coastal Emergencies, which directly benefit Louisiana.
- $53 Million for Lake Pontchartrain: Lake Pontchartrain will receive this funding over five years to support local restoration efforts.
- $2.25 Billion for the Port Infrastructure Development Program: This grant program provides funding to improve port facilities, a top priority for Louisiana ports.
- $491 Million for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community Based Restoration Program: This funding invests in coastal resiliency projects through a habitat restoration program that helps protect the safety and well-being of coastal communities, like those in Louisiana, by buffering shorelines from erosion, reducing flooding, and removing potentially hazardous structures.
- $492 Million for NOAA National Coastal Resilience Fund: This funding will improve the resilience of coastal communities to flooding by restoring or expanding natural ecosystems while enhancing fish and wildlife habitats and increasing protection for communities from coastal hazards.
- $492 Million for NOAA Flood Mapping, Observations, and Modeling: This funding will update and improve mapping and modeling to get a better picture of the risk of flooding in Louisiana and throughout the country.
- $150 Million for the Delta Regional Authority.
- $1 Billion for Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities grants: These grants provide funding for pre-disaster mitigation funding for natural disasters including flooding.
- $5.1 Billion for the SCALE Act: This is the largest government investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology. It includes $2.1 billion for a CO2 loan program to provide flexible, low-interest loans for CO2 transport infrastructure projects and grants for initial excess capacity on new infrastructure to facilitate future growth; $2.5 billion to expand the DOE’s Carbon Storage Validation and Testing program to include large-scale commercialization of new or expanded carbon sequestration projects; $300 million in grants to procure and use products derived from captured carbon oxides; $100 million for front-end engineering and design for carbon dioxide transport infrastructure; and $75 million for states to establish Class VI permitting programs to ensure rigorous and expedited CO2 geologic storage site permitting
- $3.5 Billion for weatherization grants for low-income people and communities.
- $4.67 Billion for orphan well remediation.
- $53 Million for Gulf of Mexico ecosystem restoration.
- $60 Million for States in the Mississippi River and Ohio River Basins to support states’ Nutrient Reduction Strategies and fight hypoxia.
- Expansion of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permit offshore energy storage. This provides flexibility to develop energy storage in future energy development off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites: This bill provides $3.5 billion for cleanup at Superfund sites an increase in spending for remediation with a focus on projects of the greatest hazard to human health. Louisiana currently has 13 sites on the National Priorities List.
- $1.5 Billion for Brownfields Grants: This funding will clean up and reinvest in properties complicated by the presence of hazardous substances or contaminants and prioritized by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
- $8 Billion for Hydrogen Hubs: This creates regional clean hydrogen hubs to demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen. This program is tailor-made for Louisiana’s industry, existing infrastructure, and energy sector.
- Geologic Carbon Sequestration on the Outer Continental Shelf: This allows the U.S. Department of the Interior to permit geologic carbon sequestration on the outer Continental Shelf and will unlock new industries for Louisiana and ensuring the ability to store carbon dioxide.
- $9.04 Billion for Demonstration Projects to support the development of key energy technologies including advanced nuclear reactors, carbon capture, critical minerals, energy storage, and industrial emissions infrastructure. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette recently received funding for a hydrogen technology program.
- $6 Billion for the Civil Nuclear Credit Program: This section provides the U.S. Department of Energy with the authority, in consultation with the heads of applicable Federal agencies, to establish a process to evaluate bids through an auction process and select certified nuclear reactors to be allocated credits. This ensures vital existing nuclear sources like those in Louisiana are kept online and provide reliable, resilient, and clean energy.
- $3.5 Billion for Direct Air Capture Hubs for Carbon Removal: Develops regional direct air capture hubs to aid the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This carves out a pathway for Louisiana to lead in carbon removal and decarbonization while maintaining and growing existing industries and infrastructure.
- $2.13 Billion for Ecosystem Restoration and Resiliency Funding to restore the ecological health of Federal lands and waters and private lands. Working with state partners, like Louisiana, this funding will advance coastal restoration and flood mitigation efforts.
Governor Edwards also commented on the bill's passage in the Senate saying that it will have an everlasting impact on Louisiana.
“Today’s bipartisan vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will have an everlasting impact on Louisiana and is a huge step in the right direction toward helping the state clear a backlog of road and bridge repairs that our state has long needed to address,” said Gov. Edwards. “We are that much closer to receiving nearly $6 billion from the nationwide allocation of $550 billion. This will mean jobs and a much-improved transportation system that our citizens deserve. Of special interest is the investment in ports, which will be of great benefit to our urban and rural ports across the state. In addition, this bill will greatly help to eliminate the digital divide in our state by 2029. It will provide $100 million that will help solve a portion of our broadband access challenges across the state. This has been a long time in coming and took a lot of hard work to pass. I am grateful to Sen. Bill Cassidy for his leadership on the IIJA which will bring benefits to our state for generations to come. I urge members of the U.S. House of Representatives to quickly approve this bill and make the benefits it promises our state and nation a reality.”
“I commend the U.S. Senate for passing the IIJA today and demonstrating the bipartisanship that’s so important for this legislation to pass into law,” said Sec. Wilson. “Infrastructure knows no politics and the IIJA will benefit everybody and all modes of transportation in our state. Our investment of the nearly $6 billion over the next five years will make a sizable impact on the roads and bridges that have been in need of upgrades for years. I join Gov. Edwards in thanking Sen. Cassidy and all those who worked tirelessly to ensure this act passed the senate.”
The IIJA will now move to the U.S. House of Representatives for debate. The IIJA is the largest federal infrastructure investment in history. Nationwide, some of the highlights include:
- $110 billion for roads, bridges, and major projects
- $40 billion for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation (largest bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate Highway System)
- $11 billion for transportation safety programs (over double the current funding)
- $39 billion to modernize public transit and approve accessibility (largest public transit investment in history)
- $66 billion for passenger rail (largest passenger rail investment since the creation of Amtrak)
- $17 billion for port infrastructure
- $25 billion for airports
The IIJA will grow the economy, enhance our competitiveness, create jobs, and make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just. The act provides funding nationwide for roads, bridges, highway safety, public transit, passenger and freight rail, ports, airports, and waterways. Funding is also provided for power infrastructure, clean drinking water, additional protection from droughts and floods, reconnecting communities divided by transportation infrastructure, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, electric buses, environmental remediation, and high-speed internet.
For many additional details and fact sheets about the IIJA, please visit the Briefing Roomsection of the White House’s website.
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