Cheri Bustos: Here’s what the infrastructure bill means

For years, we’ve talked about the need to make a bold investment in infrastructure to rebuild our communities. This week, after tough negotiations, Congress took action and passed a generational and transformative bipartisan package that will rebuild America.

It is the largest long-term investment to rebuild our nation since the creation of the interstate highway system under President Eisenhower in the 1950s. This bill will create millions of good-paying, union jobs while transforming our roads, bridges, waterways and broadband across the country. Here’s a look at what that means for folks right here at home:

It’s no surprise to anyone who has driven in our part of Illinois that our state’s surface transportation is severely lacking. Our state is home to the third-most bridges in poor condition in the nation. More than one-third of our major rural roads are rated in poor or mediocre condition. And our roads have received a “D” grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The bill we passed this week provides $110 billion to repair our roads and bridges. This will make our car rides smoother and our daily commutes safer.

As we look to build rail service in the Quad-Cities, Rockford and Peoria, we know we have to invest in Amtrak. The bill we passed makes the largest investment in public transportation and passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak. This will eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, improve rail safety and help us continue to fix our grade crossings.

Perhaps most importantly, this bill includes significant funding for broadband, ensuring every American has access to reliable high-speed internet.

Broadband access for every home is critical, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced that. As we shifted to work from home, moved small businesses online and began leaning on virtual classes for our children, too many of our families have lacked access to this essential need for the 21st century.

I’ve heard stories of students doing homework in their school parking lots, or sitting outside their local library, just to glom on to any internet access they could. It can’t continue this way in rural America. That’s why this bill provides $65 billion for broadband, helping us extend our network into the smallest communities and creating a program to help keep down costs.

This bill puts almost $17 billion into our inland waterways – critical infrastructure that helps our family farmers transport their goods to a global market.

What all these investments amount to is millions of new jobs across our nation. Jobs rebuilding our communities. Jobs making our infrastructure safer. And jobs improving the quality of life for Americans – regardless of where you live.

While we focus on rebuilding our great nation, it’s also long past time we also rebuild the backbone of our country and our communities: the middle class. In the coming weeks, I’m looking forward to taking additional action in Congress to support middle class families in our economic recovery by passing the Build Back Better Act.

This bold legislation will provide a massive investment in child and senior care, education, families, workforce development, affordable housing and nutrition assistance. It also addresses the climate as an opportunity to create new, good-paying jobs across the country. It’s time we deliver.

• U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos is a member of House Democratic leadership and represents the 17th District of Illinois, which includes Rockford, Freeport, the Quad-Cities, Peoria and hundreds of communities in between.