Senate Passes Infrastructure Bill
On August 10, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), bipartisan legislation to invest in the nation's infrastructure, including funding for roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, electric grid, water systems, broadband, among other priorities. The legislation provides $944 billion in total spending over five years, of which $550 billion is new spending. The bill now moves for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives and then to the President. The legislation packages together several authorizing bills, including the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021, which continues funding the MPO’s operations and programs providing a 32% increase in funding for MPOs over 2020 levels. In addition, the bill provides increased supplemental appropriations for many programs extending the MPO’s capacity to deliver new projects and expand the Board’s reach into transportation adjacent planning efforts.
