Big spending on bridges and broadband

$1.2T

Nineteen Republican senators partnered with Senate Democrats to send a $1.2 trillion legislative package to the House of Representatives in August. Electoral losses in Virginia helped persuade Democrats in the House finally to call for a vote on the deal Nov. 5. A baker’s dozen of Republican House members helped push the legislative package across the finish line over the objections of Republicans who said the deal spent too much and a handful of progressive Democrats who thought it didn’t spend enough. The final deal offers a grab bag of government projects, from traditional road and bridges spending to subsidies for laying fiber optic cables in rural America.

$400B

The amount the infrastructure bill will add to the ­deficit over a 10-year period, according to estimates
by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

100

The definition of acceptable internet download speeds (in megabits per second or mbps), according to the bill, which pledges $65 billion for rural broadband projects.

$109B

The amount of money the bill earmarks for traditional road and bridge projects.

$17B

The package’s allocation for overhauls at American ports and waterways.

$120B

The bill’s allocation for new transportation grants that give the Biden administration more control over which projects to fund.