US President Joe Biden speaks during his visit to Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, USA, on May 8, 2024, as part of his Invest in America agenda.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Biden administration announces $537 billion in funding infrastructure Investment has continued to increase since the passage of landmark government financing bills such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS Act and the Lower Inflation Act.
New regulations in each state white house Data released Monday paint a comprehensive picture of how President Joe Biden has been distributing the money across the country so far.
“We are breaking ground and completing projects in every state and territory,” White House deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian said Friday.
The top 10 investments are geographically dispersed and tend to flow to states with the largest economies by gross domestic product (GDP). Several of the biggest awards went to battleground states crucial to the 2024 presidential election.
These states have received the most infrastructure funding so far:
Experts say Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan are seven key swing states that could determine whether Biden or former President Trump wins a second term in November. Georgia is another of the seven key purple states, receiving the twelfth largest public investment at $10.8 billion. After Trump won these four states in 2016, Biden narrowly won them in 2020.
Florida Also on the Biden campaign’s wish list. Although Trump leads the state in polls, the Biden campaign is looking to use the state’s tough abortion access restrictions to target the former president.
The selection process for public investment includes reviewing project proposals, identifying suitable areas for new development and establishing partnerships with the private sector.
Work is currently underway involving agencies such as the Commerce Department, Treasury Department and Federal Communications Commission, which all have systems and standards for allocating funds.
As a senior administration official said on a conference call with reporters on Friday, about half of the funds are distributed “through the formula.”
“Some are based on criteria like population. Some are more need-based,” the official added.
The official said the remaining funding is awarded through discretionary grants that are competitive among states and agencies based on factors such as “security, economic impact, equity, climate resiliency.”
The new data comes as the White House kicks off “Infrastructure Week,” with Cabinet members including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland traveling across the country to highlight Biden’s infrastructure victories.
The week-long event is a subtle blow to the Trump-era “infrastructure weeks” that often announced infrastructure development plans that were later shelved.
“While Infrastructure Week became a hollow phrase during the previous administration, the Biden administration is committed to delivering infrastructure that will benefit generations to come,” Quillian said Friday.
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