Congress approved a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. How much will Idaho get?
The $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package passed by Congress last week will guarantee Idaho more than $2.5 billion over the next five years to upgrade the state’s roadways, bridges, pipes, as well as broadband network and public transit system.
The legislation awaits only President Joe Biden’s signature to green light what was a key campaign promise and focal point of the Democratic administration’s economic agenda in his first year in office. Proponents call the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act a generational infusion of funds into the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure after years of deferred maintenance — the largest such expense in decades.
“Tonight, we took a monumental step forward as a nation,” Biden said in a statement after the bill passed the U.S. House. “Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st century.”
How Idaho’s congressional delegates voted on the infrastructure package
The bill passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, with the House backing it by a 228-206 vote, including 13 Republicans — securing a victory for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California. The Senate previously passed it in August with a bipartisan 69-30 vote, including both Idaho Republicans, U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch.
“The bipartisan legislation we passed today makes investments in traditional, hard infrastructure projects to help keep pace with Idaho’s rapid growth,” Crapo said in an August statement, highlighting the direct benefits to the Gem State.
U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, both Republicans, each voted against the infrastructure bill.
As recently as June, Simpson signaled possible support for the bill, after negotiating for an earlier version of the bill to include five Idaho projects with a total price tag of nearly $17 million. The bill that passed no longer included any federal earmarks.
One of the planned projects was $2 million for upgrades along Valley Regional Transit’s State Street bus route in Boise, to add passenger shelters and bus pullouts, and real-time electronic route information at stops. Road and bridge improvements in Ammon, Fort Hall, McCammon and Pocatello made up the remainder of Simpson’s previously sought improvements. Fulcher did not pursue the federal earmarks process.
“I strongly support investing in our nation’s infrastructure needs and have said for years that the country is long overdue for a major investment in our crumbling roads and bridges,” Simpson said in a statement last week. “The last few months have unfortunately revealed that this bill is simply a political carrot aimed at uniting the left to pass the Biden/Pelosi multi-trillion dollar socialist wish list.”
Ultimately, both Simpson and Fulcher cited concerns over the lack of collaboration from the Democratically controlled government with House Republicans, and disdain for Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social spending bill. Democratic leaders initially intended to vote on both packages at once.
“The outrageous spending while we are facing a historic debt and deficits is enough to lose my support,” Fulcher said in a statement. “This infrastructure bill is a bargaining chip, paving the way for later passage of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan — aka the largest expansion of government in our country’s history.”
Package includes investments in state’s transit, electric vehicles
Despite the State Street bus improvements being pulled from the final version of the infrastructure bill, Valley Regional Transit applauded the spending package. The agency won’t know exact funding totals for at least a few weeks, but the nation’s public transit service providers can anticipate an average increase of 43% toward operations and capital needs through federal programs, said Kelli Badesheim, Valley Regional Transit’s executive director.
“VRT is very excited to see the infrastructure bill get passed,” she said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. “VRT focused the last year on studies and design for many capital projects, including infrastructure on State Street and other premium corridors, facility upgrades in Boise and Caldwell, and continued growth of our electric vehicle fleet. We have also been working closely with local jurisdiction partners to secure the needed match required to activate these funds to support the transit needs of our region.”
Matt Stoll, executive director of COMPASS, the region’s transportation planning agency, also praised passage of the federal infrastructure package. He said the bill provides the agency with some funding security to budget in the coming years, as well as compete for national grants to fund priority projects.
“Passage of the five-year bill will allow us to budget and plan through fiscal year 2026 with some certainty of funding levels,” he told the Statesman by email.
In addition, the bill designated billions of dollars to counter the harmful impacts of the nation’s wildfires, as well as funds to combat the effects of climate change.
Idaho also is slated to receive $30 million toward expansion of the state’s electric vehicle charging network, an effort to reduce automobile emissions. Vehicles account for the largest percentage of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thanking Crapo and Risch for supporting the bill, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said the five-year federal investment in infrastructure, with carve-outs for climate action, will help the city achieve its lofty goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
“While this soon-to-be law helps connect us and protects our open spaces, air, and water, it also helps bring more sustainable jobs now and well into the future,” McLean said in a statement to the Statesman. “That’s been one of my goals since I took office, and I am encouraged that the bipartisan infrastructure deal will help us create a resilient and green economy.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been revised to note that federal earmarks in an earlier version of the federal infrastructure package were not included in the final bill.
