These realities seem to satisfy some of the broad policy goals implied and directly stated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a $1.2 trillion package to replace aging infrastructure and position the nation on a path toward new forms of mobility and upgraded communications technologies.
Policymakers, advocates, critics and others can get a detailed look at these trends with the new Spending on Infrastructure Toward Equity (SITE) tool, a dashboard evaluating the funding allocation across numerous categories and locations, to give a better understanding of where it is being directed. Released March 13, SITE was developed by the Urban Institute. Users can search according to state, congressional district or county, across major categories like housing, transportation and infrastructure, to see infrastructure funding distribution through the prism of various metrics and categories in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
“One of the research team’s key goals with this tool is to encourage people throughout the country to understand the importance of federal infrastructure investments that they have received,” Yonah Freemark, principal research associate and one of the lead researchers on the project, said via email.
The tool analyzed 85 grant programs funded by the IIJA, and 14 housing programs using annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It also looked at nine grant programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, a companion piece of legislation to the IIJA with a number of initiatives to address climate change; and two programs funded by annual appropriations from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“People may not know the degree to which their community is receiving support for its transportation, housing, energy, water, and broadband systems — but the truth is that every community throughout the United States is,” Freemark said. “At a time in which there are substantial efforts to reduce federal investment, our tool can help people see all the assistance they’re getting from the U.S. government.” (His comments, Freemark noted, are on behalf of the research team, and not necessarily the Urban Institute.)
Expanding broadband access, largely to unserved and underserved rural areas, was a central component of the infrastructure measure. Some $65 billion was directed toward this goal, with $42.5 billion allocated to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD). Funding was mostly directed toward counties with higher poverty rates, and to counties with low population densities.
“In some cases, the outcomes we present absolutely are a product of the way the programs are structured. The BEAD program was intentionally designed to address communities with difficulty getting on the Internet, and it seems to be working out so far. So that’s good news,” said Freemark.
However changes in White House administration can signal changes in policy direction or uncertainty, said Deborah Lathen, president of Lathen Consulting LLC, a human resources and executive coaching firm. Lathen formerly served as the bureau chief of the Cable Services Bureau, now known as the Media Bureau, within the FCC.
“I see we have made great strides. My fear is, I don’t know where we are now. I have more questions than I can begin to answer,” Lathen said during the March 6 Broadband Breakfast podcast. “We’re now in a state of flux, because the rules are going to change.”
When looking at the funding allotment in the transportation sector, the results were more mixed. For example, transit funding has been more directed toward counties with longer commutes, but also, to where median household income is higher. Then again, funding also tends to be higher for those counties with a higher share of people of color, signaling advances in meeting equity goals.
A key piece of the infrastructure law’s transportation component is the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, which includes $5 billion for the build-out of high-speed public electric vehicle (EV) charging on major roadways. That funding has been paused by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Federal Highway Administration drafts new guidance around the program. Luckily, a few states worked fast during the Biden administration to get their funding out the door, and have numerous EV charging sites now open.
The New York Power Authority has led the development of 11 high-speed charging sites in locations like banks, truck stops and fast-food restaurants, providing 50 charging ports according to data collected by the EV States Clearinghouse.
“New York has had the benefit of robust investment from both the public and private sectors in EV charging, which has fueled development of NEVI-funded stations and other DC fast charging stations,” Lynne Smith, a media relations specialist for the New York Power Authority, said via email.
The authority was able to get a jump-start on developing EV charging locations, in part because it launched its $250 million EVolve NY initiative in 2018 to expand EV fast charging along key travel corridors, create new charging hubs in major cities and airports, and establish EV-friendly model communities to encourage residents to transition to driving EVs.
“When the NEVI program was launched in 2022, New York State Department of Transportation developed a strategy to accelerate the project delivery schedule by streamlining the project scope to reduce project delivery risks, while leveraging the ability to use NEVI funds for operations and maintenance,” Smith said.
