Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act IIJA

President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, 2021, after it passed the Senate 69 to 30 with 19 Republican votes and the House 228 to 206. It reauthorized federal highway and transit programs for five years and added about 550 billion dollars in new spending above prior levels, for a total of about 1.2 trillion dollars over the period.

Major pieces included about 110 billion dollars for roads and bridges, 66 billion for passenger and freight rail including Amtrak, 39 billion for public transit, 65 billion for broadband, mostly through the 42.45 billion dollar BEAD program for states, 55 billion for drinking water and wastewater, including replacing lead pipes, 65 billion for the power grid, and 7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers. Much of the money flowed through formulas to states, with the rest awarded in competitive grants.

Spending ramped up slowly, as projects take years to design and permit. In 2025 the new administration paused and rewrote some programs, such as EV charger funding and broadband rules, and canceled some grants, leading to lawsuits by states. The law's highway and transit authorizations expired on September 30, 2026, and Congress worked on a new multiyear bill while considering short-term extensions. Supporters credit the law with repairing bridges and modernizing infrastructure, while critics say it added to deficits and spent slowly.