Biden Administration Promotes His 2021 Infrastructure Bill

The White House is stepping up its efforts to promote the bipartisan, multibillion-dollar infrastructure bill, highlighting its efforts to renovate roads, bridges and airports, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will leave on a four-day, six-state tour beginning Tuesday, visiting Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada and New Hampshire to discuss the infrastructure bill. .

Buttigieg will tout the grants passed in the November 2021 law, which include $12 million for the Port of Tampa and $20 million to help complete the Nevada Pacific Parkway connection and expand dual-access capacity to Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail lines.

In addition, there is another $24.5 million allocated to rebuild the roads and paths that connect to a major amusement park in Ohio.

“This is a transformative bill,” White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu said in an interview with Reuters this week.

Landrieu noted that there will also be funding for public land projects, clean water and power grid projects.

The official explained that US agencies are working closely with states and cities on many funding programs. If states “are late,” he said, “we get on the phone and call them all. We want to tell them again: We’re trying to get you this money. How can we help?”

This week, the Department of Transportation announced the allocation of $1.66 billion for 1,800 new buses.

The 150 grants include $116 million for New York City to purchase 230 battery electric buses to replace aging diesel buses and $280,000 for Fayetteville, North Carolina, to purchase three light transit vehicles.

Last week, the Department of Transportation appropriated $2.2 billion to upgrade highways, bridges and other projects, including $25 million for California’s high-speed rail program.

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