Freight Waves | By John Gallagher
Just before signing into law the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on Monday, President Joe Biden laid out six priorities that a new infrastructure task force will use to guide the rollout of the historic funding package.
According to an executive order signed by Biden, those priorities include:
- Invest public dollars efficiently, avoid waste and focus on measurable outcomes.
- Buy American and increase the competitiveness of the U.S. economy, including through implementing the act’s made-in-America requirements and bolstering domestic manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains.
- Create high-paying job opportunities for millions of Americans by focusing on high labor standards for those jobs, including prevailing wages and the free and fair chance to join a union.
- Invest public dollars equitably, including through the Justice40 Initiative, a governmentwide effort toward a goal that 40% of the overall benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy flow to disadvantaged communities.
- Build resilient infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change and that helps combat the climate crisis.
- Effectively coordinate with state, local, tribal and territorial governments in implementing the investments.
The new Infrastructure Implementation Task Force established by the executive order is co-chaired by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who was named White House infrastructure implementation coordinator on Sunday.
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