Infrastructure Bill Passes House

What happened: 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.)

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.

Thank you ARTBA members, state affiliates, staff, and partners deployed for your unprecedented advocacy efforts to help pass the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill, including:

• Nearly 1,200 communications were sent to the House over the past few weeks, urging support for the legislation.
• More than 350 state and local groups, led by ARTBA state chapter executives and Transportation Investment Advocacy Council members, sent letters to 49 of 50 state’s representatives.
• 110 national organizations signed an ARTBA-led support letter urging House passage of IIJA.
• State chapter executives and member companies made direct calls and visits to congressional offices throughout the fall.
• ARTBA staff held six Capitol Hill briefings with congressional staff about the IHS Markit study.
• The ARTBA co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition led numerous national, state, and district-specific advertising and social media campaigns throughout 2021 promoting the benefits of infrastructure investment and urging action in Congress.