Bipartisan infrastructure bill ‘huge’ for Iowa, Democrats say

Approval of President Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure package would be a win for Iowa, according to Democratic legislative leaders, but 1st District Rep. Ashley Hinson says it doesn’t do enough to meet the state’s needs.

The plan, stalled in Congress as majority Democrats try to reach agreement on its scope and price tag, “will be huge for this state,” Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said Thursday.

“Republicans for decades have underinvested in public infrastructure. It's time to get caught up,” he told reporters.

The need is evident in Iowa’s crumbling roads and bridges, said Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Ross Wilburn, a state representative from Ames.

Biden’s proposal also includes the largest investment in rural broadband in history, which House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, called “critically important,” especially because of the challenges for Iowans working and learning from home during the pandemic.

Hinson said Thursday she remains opposed to the bipartisan infrastructure package, in part because it’s tied to Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget proposal.

“Unfortunately, I don't think there was enough for the priorities that Iowans want — that's the hard infrastructure, the roads and bridges, locks and dams and broadband,” she said.

By linking the bipartisan infrastructure package to the $3.5 trillion “soft infrastructure” proposal, Democrats have wasted the “possibility for a real bipartisan infrastructure package to move forward.”

Instead, Hinson said, she’s “continuing to advocate for those targeted investments and resources wherever possible, while working to make sure taxpayers get the best deal throughout this entire process.”

As examples, the Marion Republican referred to securing $5 million dollars to upgrade the Port of Dubuque and $2.9 million for upgrades of Lock & Dam No. 11 at Guttenberg.

However, state Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, told 1st District Democrats on Wednesday that Hinson is trying to have it both ways.

“There are many projects that I know she has listed that she wants to fund with infrastructure” despite opposing the bipartisan infrastructure package, said Mathis, who is running for the U.S. House. “And I'm not sure you can have it both ways.”

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