Last year, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that lays the foundation for strong economic growth by creating millions of good paying American jobs and making long-overdue investments to our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
Since its enactment in November, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been delivering on its promise to the State of California.
In California, there are nearly 15,000 miles of highway and over 1,500 bridges in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 14.6% in California and, on average, each driver pays $800 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair.
In order to rebuild California’s roads and bridges, over the next five years, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing California an estimated $30 billion to make improvements to our roads and bridges and more than $9 billion for public transit. Plus, our state and our local communities are well-positioned to apply for additional competitive grants that will be awarded in the coming months and years for transportation improvements for our road, transit, and rail systems.
For our local airports, the Federal Aviation Administration recently allocated over $1 million in Fiscal Year 2022 for the Camarillo and Oxnard Airports for taxiway improvements and infrastructure projects with additional funds coming in future years.
To ensure everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also included significant resources for water and wastewater infrastructure over the next five years. I am pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced over $600 million in FY2022 funds for our state.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes one of the largest investments to combat the climate crisis in history. This bold, transformational, and innovative legislation invests over $365 billion in clean energy infrastructure and climate investments, including over $15 billion in electric grid resilience and expansion, in order to help meet President Biden’s goals of reducing U.S. carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 – and getting to net zero by 2050.
Not only will these investments boost our nation’s competitiveness within the global clean energy market, but the bill creates jobs up and down the supply chain – especially hundreds of thousands of good-paying, American jobs in the manufacturing and construction industries.
This infrastructure package recognizes the devastating impacts of climate change – and the need to protect our communities and our infrastructure. That is why the bill makes a historic investment of $47 billion to help communities prepare for destructive wildfires, severe droughts, powerful storms, and other worsening climate change-related weather events.
In Congress, I am working for a better future for California. That is why I am working to deliver transformational investments in our infrastructure and our working families – and build an economy that works for everyone. I am committed to doing just that.
Sincerely,
JULIA BROWNLEY
Member of Congress
P.S. – Recently, I was pleased to join the Biden Administration in announcing a $5.1 million grant for the Port of Hueneme to make important infrastructure adjustments to reduce pollution, generate millions in revenue, and create hundreds of jobs across Ventura County. Specifically, the funding will help dredge two berths at the port and increase the overall efficient movement of goods through the freight network. This significant funding will ensure that the Port of Hueneme can continue to build a stronger and cleaner future for our region.