FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Will Make Historic Investments in Georgia’s Growth

Georgians sent President Joe Biden to the White House to bring people together and get things done – and the President is delivering on that promise. Supported by a bipartisan group of Senators, the Biden-Harris administration’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal announced today will grow the economy, enhance our competitiveness, create good jobs, and make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just.

“Infrastructure is a bipartisan issue, and President Biden has brought both sides of the aisle to the table to make historic investments in Georgia jobs, transportation, and connectivity,” said Rhyan Lake, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “For decades, infrastructure in Georgia has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. This Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a critical step towards repairing and rebuilding Georgia roads and bridges, improving sustainable transportation options for millions of Georgians, and connecting every Georgian to high-speed internet. President Biden believes we must invest in our country and our people by creating good jobs, tackling the climate crisis, and sustaining equitable economic growth for decades to come. This infrastructure deal will deliver progress towards those objectives for working families across Georgia and the country.”

President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure plan makes critical investments in:

ROADS AND BRIDGES

• The deal invests $110 billion in roads, bridges, and major projects;
• Repairs and rebuilds Georgia roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians;
• Reauthorizes the surface transportation program for the next five years, building on bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bills passed out of committee earlier this year;
• Dedicates a total of $40 billion in new funding for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation;
• Dedicates a total of $17.5 billion for major projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs but will deliver significant economic benefits to communities; and
• Makes the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

• The deal makes a $39 billion new investment to modernize transit and improves accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities, in addition to continuing the existing transit programs for five years as part of surface transportation reauthorization;
• Repairs and upgrades aging infrastructure, modernizes bus and rail fleets, makes stations accessible to all users, and brings transit service to new communities; 
• Replaces thousands of transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, zero emission vehicles; and
• Makes the largest federal investment in public transit in history and devotes a larger share of funds from surface transportation reauthorization to transit in the history of the programs.

BROADBAND

• The deal invests $65 billion in bringing universal, reliable, highspeed, and affordable internet to every family in Georgia and America; 
• Helps lower prices for internet service by requiring funding recipients to offer a low-cost affordable plan, by creating price transparency and helping families comparison shop, and by boosting competition in areas where existing providers aren’t providing adequate service; and 
• Helps close the digital divide by passing the Digital Equity Act, ending digital redlining, and creating a permanent program to help more low-income households access the internet.

SAFETY

• The deal invests $11 billion in transportation safety programs, including a new Safe Streets for All program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians; and
• More than doubles funding directed to programs that improve the safety of people and vehicles in our transportation system, including highway safety, truck safety, and pipeline and hazardous materials safety.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE

• The bill invests $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers, with a particular focus on rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities; 
• Makes the first-ever national investment in EV charging infrastructure in the United States — a critical element in the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to accelerate the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs; and 
• Provides funding for deployment of EV chargers along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop. 

AIRPORTS, PORTS, AND WATERWAYS

• The bill invests $17 billion in port infrastructure and $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies. 
• Modern, resilient, and sustainable port, airport, and freight infrastructure will support U.S. competitiveness by removing bottlenecks, expediting commerce, and reducing the environmental impact on neighboring communities.

POWER INFRASTRUCTURE

• The deal’s $73 billion investment is the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history. 
• It upgrades our power infrastructure, including by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy;
• Creates a new Grid Deployment Authority, invests in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and promotes smart grid technologies that deliver flexibility and resilience; and
• Invests in demonstration projects and research hubs for next generation technologies like advanced nuclear reactors, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen.

ELECTRIC BUSES

• The deal will deliver thousands of electric school buses nationwide, including in rural communities, helping school districts across the country buy clean, American-made, zero emission buses, and replace the yellow school bus fleet for America’s children. 
• The deal invests $2.5 billion in zero emission buses, $2.5 billion in low emission buses, and $2.5 billion for ferries. These investments will drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, creating jobs and supporting domestic manufacturing, while also removing diesel buses from some of our most vulnerable communities. 
• In addition, they will help the more than 25 million children and thousands of bus drivers who breathe polluted air on their rides to and from school. Diesel air pollution is linked to asthma and other health problems that hurt our communities and cause students to miss school, particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities.

RESILIENCE AND WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

• The deal makes our communities safer and our infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change and cyber attacks, with an investment of over $50 billion; 
• Includes funds to protect against droughts and floods, in addition to a major investment in weatherization. 
• Makes the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.

CLEAN DRINKING WATER

• The deal’s $55 billion investment represents the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history, including dedicated funding to replace lead service lines and the dangerous chemical PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl). 
• It will replace all of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines. 
• From rural towns to struggling cities, the deal invests in water infrastructure across America, including in Tribal Nations and disadvantaged communities that need it most.

OFFSETS

• In the years ahead, the deal will generate significant economic benefits, and it is financed through a combination of redirecting unspent emergency relief funds, targeted corporate user fees, strengthening tax enforcement when it comes to crypto currencies, and other bipartisan measures, in addition to the revenue generated from higher economic growth as a result of the investments.

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