Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)

August 10, 2021 | H.R. 3684

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed by congress and signed into law by President Biden, provided hard working Americans this long overdue investment. It makes historic investment in our nation’s core infrastructure priorities -- including broadband, roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, the electric grid, and water systems-- and invests in communities that have too often been left behind. The IIJA centers around the creation of good union jobs so that our economy can grow sustainably and equitably for all--and for the first time ever includes labor standards on federal broadband funding. This means that the IIJA presents a major opportunity for us to secure good union jobs for CWA members and grow our union.

Major provisions of the legislation include, but are not limited to:

• $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment.
• $55 billion to expand access to clean drinking water for households, businesses, schools, and child care centers;
• $110 billion in additional funding to repair our roads and bridges and support major, transformational transportation projects;
• $89.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transit over the next five years;
• $17 billion in port infrastructure and waterways 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;
• $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers in the United States;
• $65 billion to upgrade our power infrastructure, by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewables and clean energy, while lowering costs;
• $50 billion to protect against droughts, heat, floods and wildfires, in addition to a major investment in weatherization.

The $65 billion in funding for broadband in the IIJA supports the expansion and affordability of broadband by investing:

• $42.5 billion in block grants for states, territories and the District of Columbia to deploy affordable, high-speed networks and support a range of initiatives to bridge the digital divide;
• $2 billion of additional support for rural communities administered through the Department of Agriculture;
• $2 billion in block grants for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, which will be made available to entities for broadband deployment as well as for digital inclusion, workforce development, telehealth and distance learning;
• $1 billion to create the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, a program for the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle-mile infrastructure -- The “middle mile” is a backbone fiber network that connects major arteries and enables “last mile” broadband to the home;
• $2.75 billion to promote digital inclusion and equity for communities that lack the skills, technologies and support needed to take advantage of broadband connection -- Grants can be used to accelerate the adoption of broadband through digital literacy training, workforce development, devices access programs, and other digital inclusion measures;
• $14.2 billion to make permanent the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Fund, building on the Emergency Broadband Benefit, providing $30 monthly  vouchers for low-income families to use toward any internet service plan of their choosing; and
• $600 million for states to use Private Activity Bonds (PABs) to finance broadband deployment, specifically for projects in rural areas