ACEC’s Advocacy Team Outlines Key Components of the Senate Infrastructure Bill

ACEC News / Advocacy

August 4, 2021

ACEC’s Advocacy Team Outlines Key Components of the Senate Infrastructure Bill

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the bipartisan Senate bill resulting from the negotiations with the Biden Administration to provide a total of $550 billion in additional spending above the budget baseline in an array of capital programs.

The bill contains a five-year reauthorization of surface transportation programs, a reauthorization of wastewater and drinking water infrastructure programs, and energy policy provisions already approved by various Senate committees.  Those pieces are coupled with supplemental advanced appropriations across a range of infrastructure categories including transportation, energy, water, and broadband deployment.

TRANSPORTATION

According to an initial analysis from the Eno Center for Transportation, the bill gives $567.5 billion in guaranteed budget authority to U.S. DOT for the next five years, including $383.4 billion from the Highway Trust Fund and an additional $184.1 billion in General Fund appropriations.

Here are some of the transportation funding highlights, broken down by mode.

Highways

The package incorporates the text of the five-year reauthorization bill approved by the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee back in May.

That bill authorizes $303.5 billion over five years for highway programs from the Highway Trust Fund, a 34% funding increase over total FAST Act funding levels.  Within those totals, $273 billion would be distributed by formulas to the states.  The funding increases in the bill would be front-loaded, with a $9 billion bump in FY 2022, the first year of the bill (about 18%), and then 2% growth in the following years.

Click here to see the estimated state-by-state apportionments.

Click here to see the 5-year program authorization levels.

In addition, the bill provides $47.3 billion in supplemental appropriations for highways, over and above what is included in the reauthorization portion.  That amount is split into $9.454 billion installments each year between Fiscal Years 2022-2026. 

Of that amount, $36.735 billion is for bridge replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and construction; $27.5 billion will be distributed by formula to the states based on the ratio of costs to rehabilitate bridges in poor or fair condition, and an additional $9.235 billion will be distributed by competitive grants.

An additional $5 billion is appropriated by formula to the states for the acquisition, installation, operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

$3.2 billion in supplemental funding is added to INFRA freight and highway improvement grants, on top of the $4.8 billion authorized in the EPW bill over five years.

Lastly, in addition to the supplemental highway funding, the bill separately provides $5 billion over five years for a new “safe streets and roads for all” grant program, and $1 billion for culvert removal, replacement, and restoration.

Transit

The bill includes a reauthorization of federal transit programs under the FAST Act for an additional five years.  $69.9 billion is provided out of the Highway Trust Fund, an average of nearly $14 billion per year between Fiscal Years 2022-26.  Formula funding grows from $13.355 billion in FY 2022 – an increase of $3.2 billion above current levels – to $14.64 billion in FY 2026.  That portion of the bill also authorizes an additional $3.15 billion per year for capital investment programs (New Starts and Small Starts), subject to annual appropriations.

As with highways, the bill supplements those amounts with advanced appropriations from the General Fund.  Transit formula programs would receive $10.25 billion over five years, including $4.75 billion for state of good repair, split evenly in $2.05 billion increments between FY 2022-26. 

An additional $8 billion is provided for capital investment grants, with $1.6 billion each for fiscal years 2022-26.  Another $1.75 billion is provide to U.S. DOT to make competitive grants to finance capital projects to upgrade the accessibility of legacy rail fixed guideway public transportation systems for persons with disabilities.

Rail

The $66 billion in funding provided for rail is far and away the most significant area of growth in federal transportation programs.

Here is the breakdown across the rail accounts:

• $7.2 billion per year for five years for federal-state partnership grants for intercity passenger rail.
• $1 billion per year for five years for competitive Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants.
• $1.2 billion per year for five years to Amtrak for capital projects on the Northeast Corridor.
• $3.2 billion per year for five years to Amtrak for capital improvements to the national network.
• $600 million per year for five years for railroad crossing elimination.

Aviation

The bipartisan infrastructure package includes a total of $25 billion in supplemental funding for aviation infrastructure between FY 2022-2026.

• $15 billion – $3 billion per year – for airside Airport Improvement Program projects, distributed by the existing formula.
• $5 billion – $1 billion per year – for competitive grants for airport terminal development projects.
• $5 billion – $1 billion per year – for FAA Facilities and Equipment.

Ports

The bill appropriates $2.25 billion over five years for port infrastructure improvements.

Multimodal

The package includes $12.5 billion for national infrastructure investments through U.S. DOT, including $5 billion for megaprojects and $7.5 billion for RAISE (formerly known as BUILD, formerly known as TIGER) competitive multimodal grants.

WATER, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT

The legislation includes the bipartisan wastewater and drinking water reauthorizaton bill approved by the full Senate in April, as well as an energy policy bill approved by the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee in July.

It also contains key supplemental appropriations provisions for those programs for Fiscal Years 2022-26:

Environmental Protection Agency

• Superfund – $3.5 billion
• Brownfields – $1.5 billion
• Geographic Programs – $1.7 billion (Great Lakes etc.)
• Water infrastructure – $55.4 billion
  • $11.7 billion for clean water State Revolving Loan Fund
  • $11.7 billion for drinking water State Revolving Loan Fund
  • $15.0  billion for replacement of lead service lines (49% grants)
  • $1.0 billion for clean water emerging contaminants (100% grants)
  • $4.0 billion for drinking water PFAS (100% grants)
  • $5.0 billion for drinking water emerging contaminants disadvantaged communities

Department Of Energy

• Energy Efficiency and Renewables Loan Fund – $16.2 billion
  • $3.0 billion for battery material processing grants
  • $3.0 billion for battery manufacturing and recycling grants
  • $500 million for clean hydrogen manufacturing recycling
  • $1.0 billion clean hydrogen electrolysis
  • $553 million for hydroelectric incentives
• Electricity – $8.0 billion
  • $5.0 billion for grid resilience
  • $3.0 billion for smart grid investment
• Nuclear programs – $6.0 billion
• Fossil Energy and Carbon Management – $7.5 billion
  • $2.5 billion for carbon storage validation
  • $3.5 billion for direct carbon capture storage hubs
• Carbon Dioxide Transportation – $2.1 billion
• Clean Energy Demonstrations – $21.5 billion
  • $2.5 billion for advanced nuclear reactor demonstration –
  • $937 million for large-scale carbon capture pilot
  • $2.5 billion for carbon capture demonstrations
  • $8.0 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs
  • $5.0 billion for grants for grid upgrade and reliability

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