Category: Infrastructure

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What the Infrastructure Bill Does for Pennsylvania

  By Infrastructure, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania

Under the formulas contained in the bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring $17.8 billion in new spending to Pennsylvania or over $1,400 for each resident of the state. (The state will be able to apply for additional funds as well that could bring the total of spending in Pennsylvania up to $50 billion.) Funds will be allocated roughly as follows: Roads and bridges. Based on the formula alone, Pennsylvania will receive $11.3 billion for federal-aid apportioned highway programs and $1.6 billion for bridge replacement and repairs. Pennsylvania can also compete for funds under the $12.5-billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges as well as for the $16 billion dedicated for major projects that will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities. These funds are critical. Our state has 3,353 bridges and more than 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by… Continue reading

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The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: A Major Step Forward

  By Environment, Federal Budget, Infrastructure, Statements

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: A Major Step Forward Statement from PA Budget and Policy Center, Keystone Research Center, and 99% PA Campaign In passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last night, the House of Representatives advanced the first of two parts of President Biden’s investment agenda. The over $1 billion infrastructure bill will generate the largest expenditure on the physical infrastructure of our country in decades. It will make huge new investments in roads and bridges, railroads and public transit, clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and repairing the damage to land and water from extractive industries. These and other investments will reduce costs for businesses and consumers, make our economy more competitive, and together with the second part of the Build Back Better plan, create an average of 1.5 million good new jobs per year, many of which will be unionized. It takes time to enact major… Continue reading

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Build Back Better: A Transformative Plan for 21st-Century America

  By Economic Development, Economic Justice, Education, Energy, Infrastructure, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, Taxation, US

President Biden’s Build Back Better framework is an unprecedented and transformative plan to better the lives of all Americans—Black, brown, and white; those with low, moderate, or high incomes; the youngest children and the oldest seniors. It will help families care for children while making quality pre-K available to all 3- and 4-year-olds. It will create hundreds of thousands of good jobs, many in unionized trades and clean manufacturing while drastically cutting greenhouse gases and reducing energy costs for every household. It will reduce the cost of health care and housing for millions. And it will make college education more affordable, boosting the future prospects of our young people and our economy as a whole. It will be paid for by new taxes on the largest, most profitable corporations and the wealthiest Americans while cutting taxes for working people—all while reducing the deficit. The legislative process in America is always… Continue reading

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On President Trump’s Infrastructure Proposal

  By Infrastructure

From Third and State, February 13, 2018 The president has put forward a “plan” for infrastructure spending that identifies no new source of funding, that makes unbelievable assumptions about how much state and private spending can be leveraged by a limited amount of new federal spending and that proposes an end-around of environmental regulations in the guise of streamlining those regulations.  In response to deep and long ignored needs in Pennsylvania and throughout the country for upgrading our roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and water and sewer works – needs that should be met by new investments that could create tens of thousands good jobs – the president has offered a glittering fantasy with little of the substance necessary to meet those needs.  The basic problem with the president’s approach is that he offers a new means of financing infrastructure projects – public private partnerships – when it is funding,… Continue reading