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News
United For Infrastructure 2021
The country has several intersecting challenges it needs to address simultaneously: ending the COVID pandemic, rebuilding the American economy, mitigating and adapting to the climate change, and making our communities better for everyone. Infrastructure is key to addressing each of those challenges.
Infrastructure can jumpstart the economy and give people jobs. It can lift up the quality of life in communities that have been underserved. It can make us more resilient to climate change. The only way we tackle the biggest issues of our time is through strategic investment in and prioritization of infrastructure.
When we look back at the past year, the essential nature of transit service, clean water so people can wash their hands, high-speed internet so kids can learn at home and people can work from home – everything comes back to infrastructure. Our economy, public health and safety, and quality of life all depend on the interwoven systems of transit, communications, water, and energy.
The American Society of Civil Engineers recently released its Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, and gave the nation’s infrastructure an overall grade of C-. Drinking water ranked a C- and wastewater a D+. Stormwater received the inaugural grade of D. And the rest of the categories received abysmal grades, too. These grades are unacceptable and a warning flag that we cannot succeed as a nation if we fail to address these fundamental necessities.
The scale of our infrastructure needs demands bold action, a national vision, thoughtful policy, and significant funding from the federal government. We simply cannot take on the magnitude of our critical infrastructure projects through local funding or measures alone.
We’re hopeful to hear of Biden’s continued support for infrastructure investment, and that both congressional Republicans and Democrats are drafting packages to address the urgency. Bills like the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 will help us get our infrastructure on track to better serve the communities and residents around the country. Investing in infrastructure can play a crucial role in the economic recovery, creating both short-term and long-term jobs. When we invest in infrastructure, we invest in ourselves.
So this week, we’re joining other organizations around the country in supporting United for Infrastructure, a weeklong observance dedicated to raising awareness about our country’s infrastructure needs.
We know the benefits of investing in infrastructure. Every $1 invested in infrastructure generates $3.70 in economic growth. Closing our investment gap by repairing and modernizing our roads, bridges, drinking water systems, ports and more will protect 3.1 million jobs in 2039, with outsized benefits for the manufacturing and healthcare sectors.
The cost of inaction is too high. A failed drinking water system is a public health crisis leaving 2 million Americans who still don’t have access to clean drinking water. The average American household is spending $9 per day because of underperforming infrastructure.
The U.S. is wealthiest country in the world, yet we rank 13th for infrastructure, according to the World Economic Forum. It’s time to change that.