BUSINESS

Reviewed by Robert C. Kelly
Fact checked by Vikki Velasquez

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced in December 2018 that she would run for the 2020 presidency, pushing for sweeping “big, structural change.” However, in March 2020, she ended her campaign for president.

“Our country is in a time of crisis—the time for small ideas is over,” she said in June 2019 at the California Democratic Convention. “The entire structure of our system has favored the rich and the powerful, pick any issue you care about and it is painfully obvious.”

According to the 71-year-old Harvard Law School professor famous for grilling bank executives and spearheading the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), America’s problems, like gun violence and the racial wealth gap, were all connected to one thing, “power concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and the well-connected.”

Warren’s message during her campaign for president was: the system is rigged and it must be broken and remade. Once seen as a radical philosophy, the direction did garner some support from those disappointed in other Democratic leaders.

Key Takeaways

• Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts ran for the Democratic nominee for president during the 2020 election cycle.
• While she dropped out of the race that Joe Biden ultimately won, her economic plan is still considered a template for the Democratic Party’s platform.
• To Warren, the single biggest structural change America needed was a more equitable, safe, and prosperous society is of its financial and economic system.
• Warren dropped out of the presidential race March 2020.

Big, Big, Big

Warren has coined the term “economic patriotism” to describe a government prioritizing the interests of regular workers and middle-class people over those of the financial sector and giant, multinational corporations.

“For decades, Washington has lived by a simple rule: If it’s good for Wall Street, it’s good for the economy,” she wrote in a Medium post arguing that the financial sector has been sucking value out of the economy instead of benefiting it.

Warren planned to target private equity firms so they’d be “on the hook” for bad investments instead of exiting with tidy profits, expand postal banking for underserved families, and appoint Fed governors that would introduce a real-time payment system for everyday transfers even if it hurt large banks.

Warren also sought new executive compensation rules for the banking industry and a reenergized Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor and curb leveraged corporate lending that has reached record levels. The current “carried interest loophole” allows investment fund managers to count carried interest, or their share of the fund’s profit, as capital gains for taxation, and Warren planned to close it. This is something former President Donald Trump pledged to do as well.

Warren also promised to go after powerful monopolies in the tech, banking, and agricultural sectors by reversing anti-competitive mergers, passing legislation so that large tech platforms like Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG) Google Search and Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) Marketplace were legally considered platform utilities, breaking up vertically integrated agribusinesses like Tyson Foods (TYSN), and pushing for the passing of her 21st century Glass-Steagall Act, which would prevent investment banks from accessing taxpayer-subsidized insurance.

Household Debt and Welfare

Warren sought to slash household debt by raising wages and bringing down costs like rent, health care, child care, etc. She advocated raising the federal minimum wage to $15, closing the race and gender pay gap, and empowering workers by supporting unions and allowing them to elect at least 40% of board members at large U.S. corporations.

Warren also introduced a bill that would cancel $640 billion of the current student loan debt, helping 95% of the 45 million people burdened. She also looked to make tuition free at all public technical schools, two-year colleges, and four-year colleges.

Since the debt ceiling is a dogged concern, Warren said she’d get rid of it or have it automatically increase based on the government’s spending decisions. Warren also advocated for a single-payer, Medicare for All system as was proposed by rival Sen. Bernie Sanders. She said it would cost $52 trillion over a decade, including $20.5 trillion of new federal spending, and save Americans $11 trillion over the same period. Providers, like doctors and hospitals, would have received smaller payments and brought down drug prices.

Trade and Manufacturing

While Trump’s strategy for helping U.S. trade and manufacturing was quite simplistic and focused on fixing trade deficits with tariffs, Warren advocated for America’s trade policy to be dictated by the need to protect workers, farmers, and the environment.

“America enters into trade negotiations with enormous leverage because America is the world’s most attractive market,” she wrote in another Medium post referencing economic patriotism. “As President, I won’t hand America’s leverage to big corporations to use for their own narrow purposes—I’ll use it to create and defend good American jobs, raise wages and farm income, combat climate change, lower drug prices, and raise living standards worldwide.” 

What would have looked like in terms of policy? Transparent trade negotiations with more involvement of the public, representatives from labor, environmental, and consumer groups on advisory committees, labor and environmental standards for trade partners, a multilateral agreement to protect domestic green policies from WTO challenges, border carbon adjustment, reduced exclusivity periods for drugs in trade deals, fair prices for American goods and country-of-origin labeling rules, enhanced border inspection requirements for food imports, ending Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), laws ensuring imposed duties benefit workers, and a new federal office to promote American clean energy products abroad, etc.

When it comes to manufacturing, Warren proposed a Green Manufacturing Plan that would have had the government invest $2 trillion over ten years in green research, manufacturing, and exporting.

Paying for It

Warren’s Green Manufacturing Plan would have been paid for with a Real Corporate Profits Tax that would prevent corporations from abusing loopholes. Under that plan, large U.S. companies that reported more than $100 million in profits (domestic and foreign) to investors would be charged 7% on every dollar of profit above it in addition to its liabilities under the tax laws. Research by University of California-Berkeley economists cited by Warren’s campaign said the tax would have raised $1 trillion in ten years.

When it comes to her health care plan, Warren promised: “not one penny in middle-class tax increases.” A new Employer Medicare Contribution program would have raised $8.8 trillion and companies would have spent 98% of the amount they usually spend on employee health insurance to the federal government. Businesses with less than 50 employees would have been exempt unless they already paid for health care, and large companies with extremely high executive compensation and stock buyback rates would have contributed more.

The rest of the money would have been raised through a variety of ways, such as better tax enforcement, tax on the higher take-home pay of employees, a tax on financial transactions, fees on large banks, a minimum 35% tax on foreign corporate earnings, eliminated accelerated depreciation of assets of companies, and a wealth tax.

Warren’s proposed Wealth Tax legislation was a new concept to most Americans. Essentially an additional tax of 2% to 6% on household net worth over $50 million would have raised $3 trillion over ten years and affect 0.1% of the population. Enforcement would have required additional investments in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Important

On March 5, 2020, Elizabeth Warren delivered a speech, announcing she would be dropping out of the 2020 presidential election.

Warren’s Economic Plan vs. Other Candidates

Warren shared many views as other Democratic candidates; however, there were some fundamental differences between her platform and others. Below are highlights of the more prominent campaigns and plans she ran against.

Warren Vs. Biden

Elizabeth Warren proposed a wealth tax, while Joe Biden did not support it. Warren’s tax plan focused on raising taxes on high-income earners through income tax and capital gains tax rates. Biden favored expanding the Affordable Care Act and adding a public option, eliminating private health insurance.

Warren proposed free public college tuition and the cancellation of student loan debt, while Biden supported making community college tuition-free and expanding income-based loan repayment options. Both Warren and Biden acknowledged the need to address climate change, but differed in specifics.

Warren’s ambitious plan for transitioning to 100% clean energy was ambitious, while Biden’s plan focused on a $2 trillion investment in clean energy over four years and rejoining the Paris Agreement. Warren’s background as a consumer advocate led to a more aggressive approach to Wall Street reform, advocating for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act and stricter regulations on the financial industry. Biden also supported financial reform, but his proposals were generally considered more moderate.

Warren vs. Sanders

Warren and Sanders both supported a single-payer healthcare system called Medicare for All, with Warren’s plan allowing private insurance for supplemental coverage and Sanders’ seeking an immediate transition to a fully government-run system without private insurance. They also both proposed a wealth tax, but with different details.

Warren proposed free public college tuition and the cancellation of student loan debt, while Sanders proposed tuition-free public college and all student loan debt cancellation. Both candidates advocated for stricter regulations on Wall Street and addressing income inequality, but Warren’s proposals were more detailed and focused on breaking up big banks and combating corporate power.

Warren’s plan included more detailed policy proposals and investments in green manufacturing, research, and infrastructure. Sanders campaigned on a “political revolution” and a transformative approach to progressive policies, while Warren proposed significant reforms but was seen as more incremental and focused on detailed policy proposals.

Warren vs. Trump

Warren supported a single-payer “Medicare for All” healthcare system, while Trump sought to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with an alternative plan. She proposed a wealth tax targeting the wealthiest individuals and higher taxes on high-income earners, aiming to redistribute wealth and increase funding for social programs. Trump meanwhile pursued tax cuts, particularly for corporations and high-income individuals, to stimulate economic growth.

Warren emphasized the need for stricter regulation of Wall Street and the financial industry, while Trump pursued deregulation and rolled back certain regulations. Warren also supported a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and comprehensive immigration reform, while Trump focused on tightening immigration controls, border security measures, and travel bans on predominantly Muslim countries. Warren emphasized a multilateral approach to foreign policy, criticized Trump’s “America First” approach, and sought to restore U.S. global leadership.

How Would Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth Tax Work and How Would It Be Implemented?

Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax would impose a tax on the net worth of the wealthiest Americans, helping to fund her proposed policies. Implementation would involve assessing and taxing individuals’ assets, including stocks, real estate, and other investments.

How Does Elizabeth Warren Plan to Address Climate Change and Transition to Clean Energy?

To address climate change, Elizabeth Warren proposed transitioning to clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Her plan involved prioritizing investing in renewable energy. This would be done by incentivizing green technology and implementing regulations to combat climate change and create a sustainable future.

How Would Elizabeth Warren Promote Affordable Housing and Address the Housing Crisis?

Elizabeth Warren proposed various measures to promote affordable housing. This included expanding access to rental assistance, increasing funding for affordable housing programs, and implementing regulations to address housing discrimination and speculative practices.

How Does Elizabeth Warren Plan to Address Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps?

Elizabeth Warren’s plan to address racial and gender wealth gaps involved targeted policies such as increasing access to affordable housing, expanding access to capital for minority-owned businesses, investing in education and job training, and combating discriminatory practices in the financial system.

The Bottom Line

Although Warren was an underdog by most standards, Warren’s campaign did gain some ground. She came in second place in the October-November of 2019 NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls. However, Warren dropped out of the presidential race in March 2020. Even though she failed in her bid to win the Democratic primary, some of her more popular ideas may be adopted by other candidates in the future.

Reviewed by Michelle P. Scott

Infrastructure was a central legislative focus in 2021. “Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st century,” said President Joe Biden in a statement released November 6, 2021, shortly after the House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a 228-to-206 vote. He signed it into law on November 15, 2021.

Progressives had threatened to vote against the measure but, at the last minute, agreed to support it after moderates promised they would back the companion social safety net and climate bill, officially known as the Build Back Better Act (BBBA)—provided an upcoming cost score by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed that the plan would not add to the budget deficit.

Ultimately, the BBBA would not come to pass, though parts of it were later included in the Inflation Reduction Act, a different bill signed into law in 2022.

Key Takeaways

• Infrastructure—originally used to designate building and repairing roads, bridges, railroads, and ports—has been expanded under President Biden to include human or social infrastructure.
• In 2021, lawmakers considered major proposed infrastructure bills.
• The first was the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was agreed to on a bipartisan basis and dealt with traditional infrastructure.
• A second bill, the Build Back Better Act, dealt with social infrastructure.
• Ultimately, the Inflation Reduction Act replaced the Build Back Better Act and was signed into law.

The $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

The 2,702-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contained $550 billion in new spending. The $1.2 trillion figure came from including additional funding normally allocated each year for highways and other infrastructure projects.

New spending included:

• $110 billion for roads and bridges. In addition to construction and repair, the funding also helped pay for transportation research at universities, funding for Puerto Rico’s highways, and “congestion relief” in American cities.
• $66 billion for railroads. Funding included upgrades and maintenance of America’s passenger rail system and freight rail safety but nothing for high-speed rail.
• $65 billion for the power grid. The bill would fund power lines and cable updates and provide money to prevent power grid hacking. Clean energy funding was also included.
• $65 billion for broadband. Funding included to expand broadband in rural areas and low-income communities. Approximately $14 billion would help reduce Internet bills for low-income citizens.
• $55 billion for water infrastructure. This funding included $15 billion for lead pipe replacement, $10 billion for chemical cleanup, and money to provide clean drinking water in tribal communities.
• $50+ billion for cybersecurity and climate change. This resilience funding would protect infrastructure from cybersecurity attacks and address flooding, wildfires, coastal erosion, droughts, and other extreme weather events.
• $39 billion for public transit. Funding here is provided for upgrades to public transit systems nationwide. The allocation also includes money to create new bus routes and help make public transit more accessible to older and disabled Americans.
• $25 billion for airports. This allocation provided funding for major upgrades and expansions at U.S. airports. Air traffic control towers and systems would receive $5 billion for upgrades.
• $21 billion for the environment. These monies would be used to clean up superfund and brownfield sites, abandoned mines, and old oil and gas wells.
• $17 billion for ports. Half of the funds in this category would go to the Army Corps of Engineers for port infrastructure. Additional funds would go to the Coast Guard, ferry terminals, and reduction of truck emissions at ports.
• $11 billion for safety. Appropriations here would address highway, pedestrian, pipeline, and other safety areas, with highway safety getting the bulk of the funding.
• $8 billion for western water infrastructure. Ongoing drought conditions in the country’s western half would be addressed through investments in water treatment, storage, and reuse facilities.
• $7.5 bill for electric vehicle charging stations. The Biden Administration asked for this funding to build significantly more charging stations for electric vehicles nationwide.
• $7.5 billion for electric school buses. With an emphasis on bus fleet replacement in low-income, rural, and tribal communities, this funding would allow those communities to convert to zero-emission buses.

The Cost of the Build Back Better Act

While passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created a path to invest billions of dollars in roads, bridges, water systems, transit, and broadband, the passage of the BBBA and the massive investment in human infrastructure it represents was far from ensured, particularly due to concerns about its cost.

In November 2021, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the BBBA would increase the deficit by $360 billion over 10 years. This figure, the CBO noted, did not include any additional revenue generated from enhanced enforcement of tax collections, though it did include the $275 billion in funding for that enhancement. The Treasury Department estimated that additional revenue would amount to $200 billion. By subtracting the $200 billion in additional revenue from the $360 billion projected deficit, the deficit would be reduced to $160 billion or $16 billion annually.

Critics of the bill maintained that the BBBA was “riddled with design errors” and that if its temporary provisions became permanent, the bill would further increase the deficit. On the other hand, the CBO estimated that it would also lead to major offsets, including through recovered health care cost, business taxes, and retirement plan modifications.

The House of Representatives passed and sent the BBBA to the Senate on Friday, November 19, 2021. In the Senate, the Build Back Better Act was contentious. Discussion centered around gaining support from two moderate Democratic Senators, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), who refused to support the legislation in its original state.

How the Build Better Act Evolved

An Original $3.5 Trillion Proposal

The original Democratic FY2022 Budget Resolution Agreement Framework memorandum was designed to enact President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda as first framed. This proposal, often called an investment in human infrastructure, was far-reaching and ambitious, with a $3.5 trillion price tag. It listed the following amounts and areas to be addressed:

• $135 billion for the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Funding to address forest fires, reduce carbon emissions, and address drought concerns.
• $332 billion for the Banking Committee. Including investments in public housing, the Housing Trust Fund, housing affordability, and equity and community land trusts.
• $198 billion for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This would develop clean energy.
• $67 billion for the Environment and Public Works Committee. These monies would fund low-income solar and other climate-friendly technologies.
• $1.8 trillion for the Finance Committee. This part of the bill was for investments in working families, older people, and the environment. It included a tax cut for Americans making less than $400,000 a year, lowering the price of prescription drugs, and ensuring that wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
• $726 billion for the Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee. This addressed universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds, childcare for working families, tuition-free community college, funding for historically black colleges and universities, and expanding the Pell Grant for higher education.
• $37 billion for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This would have electrified the federal vehicle fleet, electrified and rehabbed federal buildings, improved cybersecurity infrastructure, reinforced border management, invested in green-materials procurement, and invested in resilience.
• $107 billion for the Judiciary Committee. These funds addressed establishing “lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants.”
• $20.5 billion for the Indian Affairs Committee. This addressed Native American health and facilities, education and facilities, housing and energy programs, resilience and climate programs, BIA programs and facilities, Native language programs, and the Native Civilian Climate Corps.
• $18 billion for the Veterans Affairs Committee. This funds upgrades to veteran facilities.
• $83 billion for the Commerce Committee. This would have gone to technology, transportation, research, manufacturing, and economic development investments. It funded investments in coastal resiliency and healthy oceans, including the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund and the National Science Foundation research and technology directorate.

A Modified $2.3 Trillion Proposal

By the time the House passed the BBBA, its scope had been reduced, and its cost was drawn down to around $2.3 trillion. Notable exclusions in the updated version of the bill included Medicare vision and dental benefits, free community college, and an income tax for billionaires. It retained the following provisions:

• $382 billion for child care and universal preschool. The plan is designed to save most American families more than half of their spending on child care by providing two years of free preschool for every three- and four-year-old in America and additional funding for childcare.
• $205 billion family and medical leave. Permanently authorizes the first-ever national paid family and medical leave guarantee for U.S. workers, providing up to four weeks of paid leave.
• $190 billion for Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Credit. The proposal extends the expanded Child Tax Credit for one year and provides additional funds to extend the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.
• $150 billion for home care. This funding expands home care for older people and those with disabilities.
• $175 billion for housing. The plan invests in affordable housing, including the construction and rehabilitation of homes, and investments in rental assistance and housing vouchers.
• $40 billion higher ed and workforce development. The legislation will increase Pell Grants and provide post-secondary education opportunities such as apprenticeship programs for underserved communities.
• $17 billion for the Small Business Committee. This provides for small business access to credit, investment, and markets.
• $40 billion for equity and other investments. According to the White House, spending in this area will be designed to achieve equity through investments in maternal health, community-violence interventions, and nutrition.
• $5 billion in supply chain investments. These investments will safeguard our economy and support domestic job growth.
• $3 billion to support child nutrition. This investment will help expand eligibility and eliminate paperwork so more children can receive free school meals.
• $275 billion in State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction relief. This is accomplished by increasing and applying the cap over the long-term, allowing states and counties to raise more revenue to deliver essential public services.
• $130 billion in ACA credits. This money will expand affordable healthcare coverage, reduce premiums for more than 9 million Americans, and deliver healthcare to the uninsured in states not enrolled in expanded Medicaid coverage.
• $35 billion Medicare hearing coverage. While dental and vision coverage was not cut, Medicare recipients will have coverage for hearing aids and tests. The funding will also cover nursing home transparency and staffing standards and bolster funding for the Elder Justice Act program.
• $559+ billion for clean energy and climate. The plan proposes cutting greenhouse gas pollution by over a gigaton in 2030, reducing consumer energy costs, helping to create more clean air and water, and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

However, despite modifications that significantly reduced the scope and cost of the BBBA from its original form, moderate centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced in late December 2021 that he could not support the proposal. Lacking this critical support, the proposal was effectively dead.

In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in energy production, scale down inflation, and lower health care costs. While this was still a substantial piece of legislation, it fell notably short of Build Back Better’s original aims.

Infrastructure Negotiations Timeline

Though both Democrats and Republicans praised the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, it took nearly three months after it passed the Senate to be approved by the House. Significant challenges remained to be addressed before the previously $3.5 trillion (now $2.3 trillion) Build Back Better bill reached its final stages. Here’s how the process for both bills has gone so far.

• Aug. 10, 2021: Immediately after passing the bipartisan bill, the Senate voted 50 to 49 to begin debate on the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill.
• Aug. 11, 2021: Senate Democrats passed the $3.5 trillion budget resolution 50 to 49. Democrats in the House and Senate began the time-consuming task of drafting a final product.
• Aug. 23, 2021: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to House members on August 10 stating that the House would “return to session the evening of Aug. 23, 2021” to consider the anticipated Senate budget resolution (the $3.5 trillion bill). Hoyer said the House would remain in session “until our business for the week is concluded.”
• Aug. 24, 2021: The House of Representatives did pass the budget resolution, which also instructed House committees to write the $3.5 trillion legislation. To please Democratic centrists eager to pass the bipartisan $1.2 trillion bill, the resolution included a nonbinding commitment to vote on that infrastructure bill by September 27. In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “In consultation with the Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am committing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. I do so with a commitment to rally House Democratic support for its passage.”
• Sept 15, 2021: The memorandum outlining the $3.5 trillion plan recommended that congressional committees “submit legislation to the Committee on the Budget by September 15 to carry out this section, though this date is not binding.” The markup was completed on time and advanced on Sept 15, 2021.
• Sept 27, 2021: The original nonbinding deadline to vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package became the deadline to begin debate on the bill with a new voting deadline of Sept 30, 2021, vis-a-vis Speaker Pelosi’s “Dear Colleague” letter referenced above.
• Sept 30, 2021: The new deadline to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill saw the passage of H.R. 5305 to extend funding and suspend the debt limit through Dec. 3, 2021, but no infrastructure bill. Instead, infrastructure was delayed so progressive and moderate Democrats could work out differences, especially on the still $3.5 trillion BBBA.
• Oct. 24, 2021: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on CNN that Democrats planned to reach an “agreement” on the Build Back Better agenda and a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill sometime in the next week.
• Oct. 28, 2021: President Biden revealed his framework for a scaled-down Build Back Better agenda before leaving for Europe and the G20 summit. Biden’s move was designed to bring progressive Democrats to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill ahead of the passage of the yet-to-be-formally-crafted BBBA.
• Oct. 31, 2021: In her remarks on CNN, Pelosi said the bipartisan infrastructure plan must be passed by October 31, when an extension for transportation funding programs expired. This was the new deadline for at least part of Biden’s infrastructure; however, as of November 4, neither infrastructure bill had been passed.
• Nov. 5, 2021: The House passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which was already passed in the Senate, allowing it to go to the president’s desk for signature.
• Nov. 15, 2021: The president signed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act bill into law.
• Nov. 16, 2021: Vice President Harris and the Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the first and second sets of grants for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, totaling $2.4 million. This program is receiving additional funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Nov. 18, 2021: The CBO score on the Build Back Better Act was delivered to Congress, predicting a $367 billion deficit from the BBBA. Additional, not included, revenue would reduce the deficit to at least $160 billion.
• Nov. 19, 2021: The House of Representatives approved the Build Back Better Act by a 220 to 213 vote and sent it to the U.S. Senate for consideration and amendments. Debate in the Senate was expected to last several weeks.
• Nov. 19, 2021: The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $1 billion in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants to 90 major projects across 47 states. This funding will be boosted by an additional $7.5 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Nov. 24, 2021: The USDA began accepting applications for the $1.15 billion ReConnect rural broadband program for loans and grants to state, local, or territorial governments, corporations, Native American Tribes, and limited liability companies and cooperative organizations. Funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will boost this program.
• Dec. 2, 2021: The EPA announced $7.4 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding for states to upgrade America’s aging water infrastructure, sewerage systems, pipes, and service lines.
• Dec. 13, 2021: The Biden-Harris Administration announced an EV Charging Action Plan to achieve the President’s goal of building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers. The plan is funded by bipartisan infrastructure law’s $7.5 billion allocation.
• Dec. 15, 2021: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $52.5 billion in funding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• Dec. 16, 2021: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at USDOT announced $3 billion in infrastructure funding for 3,075 airports to be used as investments to upgrade critical infrastructure.
• Dec. 16, 2021: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at USDOT announced $260 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law for highway safety programs to reduce traffic crashes.
• Dec. 16, 2021: President Biden announced “a productive call with Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer earlier today, ” he briefed the congressional leaders on a recent discussion with Senator Joe Manchin. The President indicated that Manchin “reiterated his support for Build Back Better funding at the level of the framework plan I announced in September.”
• Dec. 17, 2021: EPA announced $1 billion in funding to clean up 49 Superfund sites across 24 states. Money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites nationwide, stop toxic waste from harming communities, and create good-paying jobs. 
• Dec. 17, 2021: DOI released initial guidance for the states interested in applying for funding to cap and plug orphaned oil and gas wells that reduce methane emissions and create jobs. Initially, 26 states expressed interest in the $4.7 billion funding for well plugging, remediation, and restoration available in infrastructure programs. 
• Dec. 21, 2021: The DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations will oversee $20 billion of infrastructure funding to scale up clean energy, create new, good-paying jobs for American families and workers, and reduce pollution.
• Dec. 23, 2021: The Maritime Administration announced $241 million in Port Infrastructure Development grants to improve ports, strengthen the nation’s supply chains to meet demand from the rapid economic recovery over the past year, and help ease inflationary pressures. Funding for this program will be boosted by an additional $2.25 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• Dec. 31, 2021: The Federal Communications Commission launched the Affordable Connectivity Program, providing broadband subsidies of up to $30/month for low-income households (up to $75/month for households on Tribal Lands) and up to $100 towards the purchase of a desktop, laptop or tablet computer. Funding for this program are provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Jan. 14, 2022: As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the White House announced a $27.3 billion initiative to improve 15,000 bridges over the next five years in U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and tribes.
• Jan. 16, 2022: Senator Tim Kaine, in an interview on Face the Nation, told host Margaret Brennan that although the most recent version of Build Back Better was, in his opinion, dead, the core parts of the legislation—including reduced child care and education expenses, workforce training, and support for workforce health care—would pass.

Funding Freeze

Shortly after returning to office in 2025, President Trump ordered a freeze on funding related to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, including funding that Congress had already authorized. During the freeze, agency heads must evaluate which grants or loans are consistent with the president’s goals relating to “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” according to the presidential memorandum.

Shortly after the freeze was ordered, the government rescinded the memo in the face of widespread legal opposition from nonprofits and local governments. In separate cases, two federal judges granted temporary pauses to the funding freeze, saying that the executive branch lacked the legal authority to withhold funds that Congress had already authorized.

What Is Infrastructure?

Infrastructure refers to the underlying foundation or framework of a system or organization. When used in the context of government programs, it usually describes roads, bridges, railways, and ports that provide the transportation network of a nation, state, or local area.

Infrastructure can also be used to describe the people and systems that make an organization or government function. This type of infrastructure is called social infrastructure.

What Is H.R. 3684?

H.R. 3684 is known officially as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and more informally as the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, passed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 10, 2021. This legislation—now law—provides funding for traditional infrastructure including roads, bridges, railroads, and ports. It is expected to cost $1.2 trillion.

Does the Build Back Better Agenda Include Immigration Reform?

The Build Back Better framework announced by President Biden on Oct. 28, 2021, included $100 billion in funding to achieve certain types of immigration reform including: “Providing long-awaited relief to millions through reconciliation, and making enhancements to reduce backlogs, expand legal representation, and make the asylum system and border processing more efficient and humane.” This investment required a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian that would allow it to be passed on a reconciliation basis—meaning, in this case, it would not require Republican support. Ultimately, the Senate parliamentarian rejected the request to include the immigration reform provision in the infrastructure plan.

The Bottom Line

Major infrastructure bills were a significant subject of debate in 2021. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law in November 2021, sought to improve the infrastructure of the U.S. and the lives of its citizens, by allocating funds to improve roads, bridges, broadband, water, airports, and more. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was a stripped-down version of the Build Back Better Act, and included funding for energy production, lowering inflation, and reducing health care costs.