Washington D.C. - Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) voted to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, transformational legislation that will upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure and create good-paying jobs in North Carolina. This bill will help to fuel our economic recovery by making unprecedented investments in America’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, high-speed internet, and electric vehicles.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a once-in-a-lifetime investment in America’s future,” said Congresswoman Ross. “Democrats and Republicans set partisanship aside to pass a bill that will replace our crumbling infrastructure, meet our urgent transportation needs, and create new economic opportunities for all our workers.

“This package will spur economic growth in North Carolina by creating good jobs that cannot be outsourced, including opportunities in the clean energy manufacturing sector where our state is positioned to lead the nation. It will also support upgrades to our roads and bridges, invest in clean drinking water infrastructure, modernize our outdated electric grid, and expand broadband connectivity to our state’s harder-to-reach communities.

“Wake County is one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S., but our infrastructure has not grown with our community. This historic legislation will fund transportation improvements so that our people can get to work and products from our innovative companies can get to markets around the world. From the folks who pave our roads to engineers designing the cutting-edge infrastructure of tomorrow, this package delivers for the people of our state and our nation. I was honored to vote in favor of the bill and look forward to President Biden signing it into law.”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides investments in key areas outlined below:

• Roads, bridges, and major projects: invests $110 billion in new funds for roads, bridges, and major projects. In North Carolina, 1,460, or 7.8 percent, of the 18,749 bridges are classified as structurally deficient.
• Airports, ports, and waterways: invests $17 billion in port infrastructure and $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs and reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports.

• Clean drinking water: invests $55 billion, representing the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history, including dedicated funding to replace lead service lines and address harmful PFAS contamination. This bill will replace lead pipes and service lines. In North Carolina, chemical companies have polluted the Cape Fear River with PFAS chemicals for years, resulting in serious health consequences for residents. Congresswoman Ross has been a strong advocate for combatting PFAS contamination.
• EV infrastructure: invests $7.5 billion to build out the first-ever national network of electric vehicle chargers in the United States.
• High-speed internet: invests $65 billion in high-speed internet to ensure our rural communities have access to broadband.

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