Emanuel Cleaver: It's finally infrastructure week

It's finally Infrastructure Week!

If you haven't heard, I'm pleased to bring you the phenomenal news that the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, with bipartisan support last Friday. 

This legislation makes a generational investment in our nation's roads, bridges, public transit, drinking water systems, broadband, and other critical infrastructure, ensuring that our nation can continue to thrive in the 21st Century economy and accelerating our economic recovery.

Additionally, I'm ecstatic to let you know that the bipartisan public works bill will bring more than $9 billion to Missouri--helping to repair and replace thousands of roads and bridges; remove lead pipes throughout the state; provide high-speed internet to every Missourian; upgrade our public transit system; implement a statewide network of electric vehicle chargers; and so much more. 

Not only will this legislation upgrade the physical infrastructure across the Show Me State, it will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs that will stimulate local economies and provide workers with tremendous opportunities to climb the economic ladder. That's something that every American should be able to get behind, and why President Biden was able to garner significant bipartisan support to get this bill through Congress.

I was incredibly proud to help pass this historic piece of legislation in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with the governor, our state agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, small businesses, and labor leaders to create and implement projects that will position Missouri's Fifth Congressional District as the heartland's hub of economic development and innovation. 

We still have a lot of work to do and projects to get started, but I strongly believe President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill will help our state build back better from the global pandemic--and it's easy to see why.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Missouri was given a C- on its most recent infrastructure report card, with 2,190 bridges and over 7,576 miles of highway in poor condition. On average, each driver in Missouri pays $743 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. My wife, who popped a tire driving over a pothole last month, would be able to vouch for the costs of deteriorating roads and critical infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help save Missourians money by constructing improved roads, bridges, and transportation systems across our state.

According to estimates, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help Missouri:

Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges by providing $6.5 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $484 million for bridge replacement and repairs;

Deliver clean drinking water and remove lead pipes by providing $866 million to replace every lead pipe in the state and improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure;

Improve public transit with sustainable transportation options by investing $674 million to update and upgrade public transit like public buses, school buses, the KC Streetcar, and more;

Upgrade our airports and ports by investing $246 million for airport and port infrastructure;

Connect every Missourian to reliable internet by providing a minimum of $100 million to expand broadband coverage for the 15% of Missouri households who do not have an internet subscription, including 5% of Missourians who live in areas with no broadband infrastructure at all;

Transition to electric vehicles with a $99 million investment to build a statewide network of electric vehicle chargers; and

Strengthen our infrastructure to handle extreme weather and cyber-attacks by giving $21 million to prepare Missouri's infrastructure to better withstand extreme weather events, which have cost the state roughly $20 billion in damages since 2010.

That's not to mention the tens of millions more federal dollars that will be available to Missouri's Fifth Congressional District through a wide variety of competitive grant programs aimed at electrifying school buses and other government vehicle fleets; building bridges that are economically significant; funding for major public works projects that deliver significant economic benefits; enhancing grid flexibility and resiliency; strengthening domestic manufacturing of wind and solar equipment; and more. 

My office and I have already begun notifying local stakeholders of these grant opportunities so they can apply for federal funding as soon as these programs are up-and-running. I expect our congressional district will see tens of millions more dollars in federal grants in the coming years, and I will work my tail off to get as much federal funding as possible during that time.

While this is only the first step in implementing President Biden's economic agenda, it is a giant step forward for Missouri and the Fifth Congressional District. 

Now, Congress can focus attention on passing the President's Build Back Better Act, which would create universal pre-K for America's 3- and 4-year-olds, provide affordable childcare for Missouri families, give a substantial tax cut to middle-class Missourians, make a historic investment in affordable housing, and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices to lower drug costs for seniors--all without raising taxes on families making less than $400,000 and without adding to our nation's deficit. 

I remain 100% committed to seeing this legislation signed into law as well, and I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to find a compromise that works for the American people and our congressional district to make sure that happens.

I hope that you are as excited about the bipartisan infrastructure bill as I am, and I look forward to sharing more good news as soon as this funding starts making its way to our home state. Until then, I will continue my work to pass the President's Build Back Better Act.