White House uses Infrastructure Week to tout progress on thousands of projects

The White House said it has so far announced nearly $454 billion in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which the president signed in late 2021. The money has been used to fund projects and awards in more than 4,500 communities in all 50 states.

“Across the country, we are breaking ground and cutting ribbons on projects that are unlocking access to economic opportunity,” Natalie Quillian, deputy White House chief of staff, said on a call with reporters.

To date, the administration has launched nearly 13,000 bridge repair projects and improvements on more than 257,000 miles of road. The government has also provided funding for more than 5,000 clean school buses intended to lower emissions, as well as funding to help replace up to 1.7 million toxic lead pipes.

As part of Infrastructure Week, the White House also unveiled an updated map showing where there are projects receiving funding from the infrastructure law. Top Biden administration officials will also travel the country during the week to highlight infrastructure investments, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland among those making the rounds.

“All of this progress is part of the president’s larger vision to invest in America,” Quillian said, citing legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act that have focused on private sector investments and provisions to lower costs.

The infrastructure law has been central to President Biden’s pitch to voters as he seeks reelection. He has traveled the country to highlight bridges, railways and airports that have or will benefit from the bipartisan law, banking on Americans rewarding him politically for his administration’s efforts to make basic improvements in their communities.

Biden routinely seeks to contrast his administration’s focus on infrastructure with former President Trump’s repeated failure to deliver on an infrastructure bill, despite repeated promises of an “infrastructure week.”

“He promised us ‘Infrastructure Week,'” Biden said at a conference of union members last month. “Well, I tell you what, it took four years; he never built a damn thing.”