Federal infrastructure package will be an investment in Iowa’s economy

The bipartisan federal infrastructure bill comes at a great time for a state with aging roads, dirty water and a stark urban-rural broadband internet divide.

Congress this month gave final approval to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature. It will be a historic investment in the basic infrastructure needed to grow the U.S. economy.

We were disappointed to see the large majority of Republicans in Congress voted against the bill, including all three of Iowa’s GOP House members and one of our GOP senators.

“The need to make meaningful investments in our nation’s real infrastructure — roads and bridges, locks and dams, and broadband — was sacrificed to advance a partisan, socialist spending spree,” U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson said in a news release.

Contrary to those GOP talking points, this is “real infrastructure.” Most of the funding in the $1.2 trillion package reflects the so-called spending baseline, meaning it’s money federal bureaucrats already planned to spend on basic infrastructure such as highways that would expire without an extension.

The bill includes about $550 billion in new spending for designated priorities, which is a hefty sum but it overwhelmingly goes toward projects that leaders from both parties agree are necessary - hard infrastructure like dams, railroads and drinking water systems.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley was among 19 Republicans backing the bill when it passed the U.S. Senate in August. Explaining his vote, Grassley noted the final version was smaller than the more than $2 trillion initially proposed by Biden. Grassley also pointed out that many of the infrastructure bill’s components were measures that had bipartisan support as stand-alone legislation - including bills on wastewater infrastructure, cybersecurity and broadband.

“Our bipartisan package bundles several bills that have already won bipartisan action in the Senate, all without raising taxes on Iowa families. It’s proof that the Senate is fully capable of delivering on bipartisan policy when given the chance,” Grassley said in a news release.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne was the only member of Iowa’s U.S. House delegation to vote for the bill last week. Her office shared materials estimating the bill would bring $5 billion in investments to Iowa and create thousands of new jobs:

Those are just top-line estimates. Most of the funds will be directed to existing state and federal agencies to allocate through their own internal processes, while some will go to creating new federal grant programs, which entities in Iowa and elsewhere can apply for.

There are several types of projects we hope will be funded through allocations and grants - lock and dam improvements on the Mississippi River, home weatherization and energy efficiency assistance, and modernizing the electrical grid. Those are issues we have been advocating on for years but money to fund them has been hard to come by.

“With this bill, we’re securing the investments we need to expand internet access, reduce supply chain disruptions, and keep our communities safe – all without raising taxes on middle class Iowans,” Axne said in a news release.

We strongly support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, though we have some criticisms of the legislation.

While Biden and Democrats are keen on saying their proposals “pay for themselves,” that’s not true. Congressional budget analysts expect the infrastructure bill to add more than $250 billion to the federal debt over 10 years, and that might be an optimistic projection.

The sprawling package also does little to address the exorbitant costs and long timelines of building infrastructure in the United States compared to other countries. The protectionist “Build American, Buy American” requirements in the bill will needlessly drive up costs.

All in all, it’s a smart piece of legislation that will pay dividends in Iowa for decades. We regret that it didn’t earn more bipartisan support but we are eager nonetheless to see the results.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com