By Sophia Alexandrou
Last month, President Biden passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that will go to improve state roads, bridges, and transit systems. In addition to transportation infrastructure, this bill will work on water systems, replacing lead pipes, and expanding broadband, giving households across the country access to the internet.
The passing of this bill marks the fulfillment of two of President Biden's campaign promises: achieving bipartisan agreement and getting money allocated into public works projects. This bill also marks an effort to improve worn infrastructure that the president's predecessors have failed to make, and supporters of this bill argue that it will create jobs and boost the economy.
Because funding will be facilitated over the course of five years, it may take months or even years for these projects to begin.
Despite bipartisan agreement, there was still conflict surrounding this bill. While Biden has claimed that the passing of the bill was a smashing success stating, “So my message to the American people is this: America is moving again, and your life is going to change for the better,” many Democrats, who advocated for a $1.75 trillion bill, believe that it does not do enough to address climate change and household support like health care and education. On the other hand, many Republicans believed this bill gave too much money to these causes. Tensions were so high that several members of the GOP who voted in support of the bill even received death threats.
While the passing of this bill was not seamless, bipartisan agreement on anything is extremely rare in the current American political climate. While this bill does seem to introduce several infrastructural improvements to the United States, it is also a great example of all the progress that can be made through bipartisanship and across-the-aisle understanding and agreement.