A $110 million grant from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will fund the replacement of the 60-year-old Alligator River Bridge on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Asheville Regional Airport broke ground last year in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration on a $15 million project to replace the 62-year-old air traffic control tower. The $35 million grant will fund a terminal expansion project to bring the airport into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In December of this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that: 1 billion dollars High-speed rail connects Raleigh and Richmond. reduce travel time between two cities.
These are all tangible impacts that President Joe Biden’s administration is having in North Carolina and across the nation as it enacts four major infrastructure and clean energy laws in 2021 and 2022, polls show. , this message has been shown to be slow to penetrate the public. voters.
The White House announced Monday that it has allocated nearly $454 billion from bipartisan infrastructure legislation to more than 56,000 projects across the country since the $1 trillion 2021 bill was passed.
North Carolina will accept $9.4 billion The White House says 512 projects are funded by the law. The funding includes about $633 million for water purification projects, including $175 million to replace toxic lead pipes.according to the fact sheet releaseEdited by the White House on Monday.
“In the previous administration, ‘Infrastructure Week’ became an empty punch line, but the Biden administration is committed to delivering infrastructure for 10 years,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian said in a call with reporters. “This will benefit the community for generations to come.” on friday.
The administration wants to convince Americans that Biden’s policies are improving people’s lives, and it is seeking to convince Americans that Biden’s policies are improving people’s lives, with the president struggling in the polls and opening up battleground states such as North Carolina ahead of the November election. Delivering that message to voters will be key to his re-election.
Quillian highlighted programs such as providing rail service, clean drinking water, and internet connectivity to underserved communities as areas where the administration is making significant investments nationwide.
Earlier this year, Biden spoke at the Abbotts Creek Community Center in Raleigh to promote his administration’s investment in high-speed internet for the state’s most difficult-to-reach areas. Currently, more than 900,000 households in North Carolina, or one in five households, have access to affordable high-speed internet, but unless Congress extends funding for the program by the end of this month, Many may no longer be able to access this service.
But as the November elections approach, the administration’s large investments may not be implemented quickly enough to sway voters.
Only 17% of the $1.1 trillion in funding provided by Congress has been spent so far, Politico reported.
“We are working as quickly as possible while also being responsible stewards of taxpayers’ money,” a senior government official said. “This is a major undertaking that involves not only the federal government but also state and local partners.”
The official also mentioned another reason. The delay isCongress drafted a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would release funds annually over five years.
“So we are working as quickly as possible to recover the funds in the year in which they are appropriated and for the purpose for which they were appropriated. However, we are working as quickly as possible to recover the funds in the year in which they are appropriated and for the purposes for which they were appropriated. is planned, officials said.
This week, White House officials will travel around the country promoting these programs in an effort to convince voters that they are having a direct impact.
Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Hsu will also be in Raleigh this week to discuss investments in workforce development.
North Carolina has become a key focus for the Biden campaign, which aims to flip the state to the Democratic presidential nominee for the third time since 1968. The campaign opened 11 offices in the state and had 40 employees as of the end of April. The president has visited the state three times this year to promote his own programs.
