FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2021
CONTACT
Mike Friedberg
202-469-5131
(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, by a vote of 228-205. This legislation which passed the Senate in early August, marks a historic investment in our nation's infrastructure, providing $944 billion in total spending over five years, with $550 billion in new spending.
Of note to the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor, the bill includes $24 billion of funding to the federal-state partnership grants for Northeast Corridor modernization, a program that CNEC members have consistently sought funding for, and $6 billion for Northeast Corridor Grants to increase procurement and deferred maintenance backlog that currently exists on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston.
In addition to targeted rail investments, the package consists of $110 billion in new spending for roads and bridges, $73 billion for power grid upgrades, $66 billion for rail and Amtrak, and $65 billion for broadband expansion. It also provides $55 billion for clean water and $39 billion for transit.
With the passage of a multi-year infrastructure bill supplemented by the rollout of the Northeast Corridor Commission's CONNECT NEC 2035 (C35), there is a clear recognition of the NEC as an invaluable asset poised to stimulate the economy and transform the state of rail infrastructure in the United States, said Michael Friedberg, executive director of the CNEC. "As members of the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor (CNEC), we look forward to working with the administration and Congress to effectively implement these programs and ensure that projects across the corridor receive the necessary upgrades."
CNEC is the business community's voice for strengthening rail infrastructure in order to reduce congestion, create jobs and grow the economy. We represent diverse stakeholders who rely on the Corridor to conduct commerce, access customers, and transport employees.