Rep. Shalala Supports Plan to Rebuild American Infrastructure

Last week, Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27) joined her colleagues in making a historic investment in América’s infrastructure by passing H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, sweeping legislation to invest more than $1.5 trillion in modern, sustainable infrastructure while creating millions of good-paying jobs and combatting the climate crisis across South Florida and throughout the country.

“The Moving Forward Act is a transformative plan to upgrade and modernize América’s infrastructure after decades of neglect,” said Rep. Shalala. “This plan will have tangible impacts on South Florida by providing billions in funding for improved roadways and expanded mass transit. The Moving Forward Act will also reduce the impacts of climate change by making investments to facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy and preparing our communities for the long-term impacts of climate change, which is an existential threat to our way of life in Miami-Dade County.”

Rep. Shalala testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier in this Congress on the importance of climate-resilient transportation. At the urging of Rep. Shalala and her colleagues, this comprehensive legislative package prioritizes green infrastructure development as part of a comprehensive approach to combating climate change.

“The Moving Forward Act is a transformative plan to upgrade and modernize América’s infrastructure after decades of neglect,” said Rep. Shalala.

The legislation also includes an amendment for which Rep. Shalala advocated that ensures infrastructure reuse projects – like The Underline in Miami-Dade County – are eligible under the DOT’s BUILD grant program.

If passed into law, the Moving Forward Act would:

-Make a nearly $500 billion investment to rebuild and reimagine the nation’s transportation infrastructure by fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, improving safety, reducing gridlock and putting the U.S. on a path toward zero emissions from the transportation sector by cutting carbon pollution, investing in public transit and the national rail network, building out fueling infrastructure for low- and zero-emission vehicles and deploying technology and innovative materials;

-Modernize our energy infrastructure for a clean energy future by investing more than $70 billion to transform our electric grid to accommodate more renewable energy, expand renewable energy, strengthen existing infrastructure, help develop an electric vehicle charging network and support energy efficiency, weatherization and Smart Communities infrastructure;

-Modernize the nation’s health care infrastructure by investing $30 billion to upgrade hospitals to increase capacity and strengthen care, help community health centers respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies, improve clinical laboratory infrastructure, and increase capacity for community-based care;

-$130 billion in school infrastructure targeted at high-poverty schools with facilities that endanger the health and safety of students and educators, as well as create more than 2 million jobs;

-Address structural challenges and upgrade childcare facilities by leveraging a 5-year, $10 billion federal investment to generate additional state and private investments in making sure that child care settings are safe, appropriate and able to comply with current and future public health directives;

-Invest over $100 billion into affordable housing infrastructure to create or preserve 1.8 million affordable homes;

-Protect access to safe drinking water by investing over $25 billion in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and other programs to ensure all communities have clean drinking water and to help remove dangerous contaminants like PFAS from local water systems;

-Deliver affordable high-speed broadband Internet access to all parts of the country by investing $100 billion to promote competition for broadband internet infrastructure in unserved and underserved communities, prioritizing those with persistent poverty;

-Modernize and strengthen the United States Postal Service by investing $25 billion to modernize postal infrastructure and operations, including a zero emissions postal vehicle fleet, processing equipment and other goods;

-Promote new renewable energy infrastructure by incentivizing the development of wind and solar on public lands and building a workforce for offshore wind;

-Promotes investments in our communities by spurring private investment through the tax code, through a revitalized Build America Bonds program, expansions of Private Activity Bonds and significant enhancements to the New Markets Tax Credit and the Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

A fact sheet on the Moving Forward Act is available here.

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