October 8, 2021
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- After a vote on infrastructure legislation was postponed for a second time, Congress voted to extend authorization for surface transportation programs for an additional month. Democratic leaders have pledged to revisit the bipartisan infrastructure deal (BID) at the end of October, although it could be later than that. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ultimately followed the guidance of House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in moving the temporary extension. DeFazio has remained steadfast that he will continue to fight to extend surface transportation programs.
- The short-term extension was necessary when the promise to moderates to hold a vote was not kept. Progressives are holding firm on their commitment to block passage of the BID until the budget reconciliation package is ready for a vote. However, the complications on the budget reconciliation have only continued. At the end of last week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) let it be known that his desired price tag is $1.5 trillion. Over the next several days, that number has expanded to roughly $1.9 – 2.2 trillion, yet no agreement has been proposed. The progressives are not enthusiastic about this number. Some have indicated that they could accept something in the $2.5 trillion range, but discussions continue. Progressive pleas to Democratic leadership and the White House have been focused on maintaining funding provisions to address climate change and other social spending provisions.
- Before President Biden traveled to Michigan to tout his Build Back Better agenda, he held a virtual meeting with the progressives, excluding a few notable names such as Ilhan Omar (D-MN). The President has made it known that he is open to lowering the overall price tag for the budget reconciliation package and told progressives that he is willing to set income limits for some programs. Biden also met with Manchin on Thursday to discuss the agenda. Overall, it seems the President is open to finding middle ground in his caucus to get a deal done.
- However, much of this week’s focus has been on the debt ceiling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) remained firm on his commitment to keep his caucus from breaking and supporting Democrats on suspending the debt ceiling. This led to Democrats considering all options, including nuking the filibuster. In the 11th hour, McConnell provided Schumer an offer, which Democrats accepted. The deal would suspend the debt limit until December. This means in December, Democrats will once again have to deal with funding the government and raising the debt limit, again.
- Lastly, it seems more likely that the House Ways & Means committee will accept Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) proposals on the international tax provisions as a basis for the reconciliation package. The changes include adjustments to the GILTI, BEAT, FDII, and global minimum rates. For the most part, Treasury and the Senate Finance Committee are aligned on their international tax plans. However, there will be discussions to address the global minimum tax rates, as Secretary Yellen is pushing for a 15 percent minimum rate.
IN THE NEWS
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION NEWS
Biden, Manchin huddle on reconciliation (The Hill 10/7)
“President Biden met with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday about his economic agenda as the president tries to unify Democrats behind a compromise reconciliation package containing many of his priorities. The White House confirmed the meeting, which took place privately before Biden headed to Chicago for an event to promote coronavirus vaccinations Thursday afternoon.”
President Biden Hits The Road To Stump For $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan (KFDI 10/6)
“President Joe Biden traveled to Michigan on Tuesday, warning that the United States risks losing its edge in the global economy if Congress doesn’t pass his twin economic packages. Biden hit the road again to stump for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, which has been stalled in the House by Democratic progressives who want to see a separate $3.5 trillion spending plan approved in Congress.”
Biden renews push for ‘Build Back Better,’ infrastructure spending plans in Michigan (Fox 35 Orlando 10/5)
“President Joe Biden renewed his calls for Washington to approve his ‘Build Back Better’ plan and infrastructure agenda Tuesday afternoon in Howell, Michigan. ‘We’re at risk of losing our edge as a nation,’ Biden said. ‘Our infrastructure used to be the best in the world. Literally, not figuratively.’”
Biden struggles to secure his ‘New Deal’ to transform U.S. economy (Reuters 10/4)
“Last October, presidential candidate Joe Biden flew to Warm Springs, Georgia just days before the national election, to compare his ambitions with those of the United States’ longest-serving president. Franklin Delano Roosevelt ‘would come back to Warm Springs often to think about how to heal the nation and the world,’ Biden said, adding that FDR was ‘the kind of president our nation needs right now.’ President Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ agenda, the multi-trillion dollar jobs, infrastructure, and climate plan that’s on thin ice in Congress now, has drawn comparisons to FDR’s New Deal, which created the modern U.S. safety net and employed millions during the Great Depression.”
Senior White House adviser says Biden ‘expects to get’ both infrastructure and reconciliation bills (The Hill 10/3)
“Senior White House adviser Cedric Richmond on Sunday expressed confidence about passing both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger reconciliation package, saying, ‘We know what we’re doing.’ Appearing on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Richmond made assurances that the Biden administration is not ‘not concerned with process.’ ‘We’re concerned about delivering,’ he stated. Richmond also said that President Biden ‘wants both bills and he expects to get both bills.’”
Biden Pulls Back on Infrastructure Bill, Tying It to Social Policy Measure (NY Times 10/1)
“President Biden, facing an intraparty battle over his domestic agenda, put his own $1 trillion infrastructure bill on hold on Friday, telling Democrats that a vote on the popular measure must wait until Democrats pass his far more ambitious social policy and climate change package. In a closed-door meeting with Democrats on Capitol Hill, Mr. Biden told Democrats for the first time that keeping his two top legislative priorities together had become “just reality.” And he conceded that reaching a deal between the divided factions on his domestic agenda could take weeks.
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS
Democrats Face $2 Trillion Math Problem With Rift Over Spending (BGov 10/7)
“Congressional Democrats are beginning to discuss how to pare down a sweeping social-spending bill that President Joe Biden had designed to transform the federal government’s support for lower-income Americans, in a wrenching effort to get it enacted. Lawmakers have yet to coalesce around a list of priorities, or even begun negotiations with both moderates and progressives present — a hallmark of when a deal is close to being reached. Biden and White House officials, however, have held a series of meetings in recent days with key Democrats, including groups of liberal House lawmakers and key centrist Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.”
McConnell, Democrats reach tentative deal for short-term fix to debt limit crisis (NBC 10/7)
“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not block a debt limit extension into December, in a tentative deal to temporarily end a partisan standoff just 12 days before the government’s deadline to avert default. Democrats appeared prepared to accept the offer to extend the limit until December, according to multiple Democratic senators and two senior Republican aides. McConnell proposed Wednesday that Republicans would not filibuster an extension of the debt limit ‘into December’ as long as Democrats put a dollar amount on the increase, giving them more time to enact a long-term solution on their own.”
Senate Nears Agreement to Stave Off Debt Crisis Until December (New York Times 10/7)
“Senate Democrats and Republicans neared agreement as they met into the early morning hours Thursday to temporarily pull the nation from the brink of a debt default. The deal would punt their showdown on raising the federal borrowing limit to December after Republicans bowed to pressure to stave off immediate fiscal calamity. With the threat of a default as little as 12 days off, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, made a tactical retreat on Wednesday and announced that Republicans would allow Democrats to vote on a short-term extension. He did not, however, lift his blockade of a longer-term increase in the debt cap, demanding anew that Democrats eventually use a complicated and time-consuming budget procedure known as reconciliation to lift it into next year or beyond.”
This is America’s last, best chance for decisive climate action (Vox 10/7)
“The United States — the largest carbon polluter in history — is closer than it’s ever been to taking sweeping and lasting action on the climate crisis. The bad news is that if Democrats can’t pull it off, they may never get another opportunity like this — and the planet certainly won’t. Democratic leaders are trying to pass two major pieces of legislation — the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the up to $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act.”
Democrats downplay deadlines on Biden’s broad spending plan (The Hill 10/7)
“Democrats are already skeptical that they’ll be able to hit new deadlines for getting a sweeping two-part spending package to President Biden’s desk as they ramp up haggling over deep divisions. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have pointed to the end of the month for getting both a stalled bipartisan infrastructure bill and still-being-negotiated social spending bill through Congress.”
Rift widens between business groups and House GOP (The Hill 10/7)
“Lobbying efforts by some of the nation’s biggest business groups are falling on deaf ears with House Republicans just a few years after the two worked in lockstep to craft the 2017 tax bill that delivered massive corporate tax cuts. Even after every major business group in Washington, D.C., urged House Republicans to support the Senate-passed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, only a handful of GOP lawmakers have said they would vote for the measure, according to The Hill’s tally.”
No infrastructure bill but an off-ramp instead (Fox News 10/6)
“Congress may not have an infrastructure bill. But at least it has an off-ramp. Democrats and Republicans forged what appeared to be a compromise on the debt ceiling Wednesday. Lawmakers sometimes steel their positions so deeply that they can’t extract themselves. They’re stuck on a road to oblivion – as the headlights of a crisis careen down the highway at them.”
David Marcus: Biden would be better off with a GOP Senate (Fox News 10/6)
“Be careful what you wish for. Back in January it seemed like Democrats’ victories in the Georgia senate runoffs were the cherry on top of then President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral ice cream sundae. Suddenly what had looked in November like a narrow Biden victory and congress split between parties was total Democrat power. Sort of. Once it was realized that Democrats would control a 50/50 senate by dint of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie breaking vote another thing became instantly clear.”
GOP peels its centrists away from Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure plan (Politico 10/6)
“Democratic leaders’ ambitious domestic agenda is trapped in a political tug of war: The more they yank toward progressives, the more they pull away from centrist GOP forces that rallied behind their infrastructure bill.”
To pass infrastructure bills, Democrats need to put their faith in moral language (Washington Post 10/6)
“More than any piece of legislation in our lifetimes, two fiercely debated bills coming up now in Congress have a chance to ‘bring good news to the poor,’ in the words Jesus used in his first sermon in his hometown of Nazareth. But that potential ‘good news’ for the millions of families and children in America living in or near poverty could easily be lost because of poor messaging and partisan politics.”
Voters have the answer for Democrats on spending (Yahoo 10/6)
“Democrats in Congress are arguing among themselves about whether to pass a massive spending bill, or merely a large one. They should listen to voters, who are pointing the way. A new Morning Consult poll asked voters what they think of the child tax credit Democrats expanded as part of the American Rescue Plan Congress passed in March.”
Biden says infrastructure bills must pass at ‘inflection point’ for US (The Hill 10/5)
“President Biden on Tuesday said the United States sat at an ‘inflection point’ in terms of economic competitiveness, arguing passage of his agenda is necessary to ensure adversaries do not surpass the nation. Biden traveled to Michigan as negotiations with congressional Democrats inch along on passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger package including investments in health care, education and climate-friendly industries.”
U.S. risks losing its ‘edge’ without big infrastructure spending, Biden says (Reuters 10/5)
“President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that failure to pass his huge social and infrastructure spending package could contribute to America’s decline, while lawmakers in his Democratic Party wrangled over its price tag. Squabbling Democratic moderates and progressives dealt Biden a setback last week when they failed to move ahead with his proposed $1 trillion infrastructure bill or a planned $3.5 trillion social spending bill, which is now facing cuts.”
Kyrsten Sinema’s Approval Rating Among Democrats Plummets Amid Infrastructure Fight (Newsweek 10/5)
“Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has suffered a sharp decline in support among Democratic voters in Arizona amid ongoing tensions on Capitol Hill about a proposed $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. Morning Consult Political Intelligence tracking shows Sinema’s approval among registered voters in Arizona stood at just 42 percent in the third quarter of 2021, down from 48 percent in the first quarter.”
Republicans can save trillions while approving infrastructure package (The Hill 10/5)
“President Biden’s breathtaking $5 trillion infrastructure agenda — about $50,000 in debt for each American family — is stalling on broad skepticism on both the goals and means of spending that money. There’s bipartisan agreement on at least some of the goals: Spending $1.2 trillion to fix roads, build new transmission lines, expand broadband, and provide clean water could improve American competitiveness as well as its environmental sustainability.”
Scoop: U.S. Chamber backs off BIF (Axios 10/4)
“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is withdrawing its support of the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill just hours after Punchbowl News reported House Republicans were booting it from its strategy calls, Axios has learned.”
Progressives Stand Firm on Priorities as Infrastructure Debate Continues (Good Times 10/4)
“Progressives on Sunday flatly rejected the latest demands from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key swing vote for Democrats, to shrink Biden’s domestic policy agenda by more than half and to insert a provision to ensure that the federal government does not fund abortions.”
Democrats aim to pass infrastructure, social spending bills by the end of October, Schumer says (CNBC 10/4)
“The party will try to pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a broader investment in social programs by the end of October, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told his caucus in a letter Monday. The party aims to approve the plans before the Oct. 31 expiration of major transportation funding programs, which the infrastructure legislation would renew.”
Progressives flex power to push Biden’s safety net bill. A bigger fight awaits. (NBC 10/4)
“They held the line in a weeklong standoff with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who reversed course and canceled plans to vote on the infrastructure bill, with the support of President Joe Biden. He told House Democrats the votes weren’t there to pass that bill without the larger social policy bill.”
Highway bill’s long and winding road (The Hill 10/4)
“To say the highway bill has been on a long and winding road, filled with potholes, round-abouts and detours, is probably an exercise in metaphoric excess if not overstatement. Whether it will end on an off-ramp to nowhere remains to be seen. An earlier Congress Blog by this writer (Aug. 29) about a supposed iron-clad agreement between a group of moderate Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring the matter to a final vote by a date certain turned-out to be downright misleading.”
PAY-FORS
Global deal on 15% minimum tax rate for multinationals edges closer (The Guardian 10/5)
“Almost 140 countries are edging closer to a global deal on the taxation of multinationals, with agreement on a minimum 15% rate of corporation tax set to be announced as part of a landmark statement at the OECD in Paris on Friday. Governments representing more than 90% of the world economy are understood to be in the final stages of talks on a global minimum rate and other measures designed to stop multinationals shifting profits into tax havens.”
GOP ramps up attacks on IRS proposal for spending package (The Hill 10/5)
“Republicans in recent days have ramped up their criticism of a proposal under discussion by Democrats to increase the amount of information financial institutions report to the IRS about bank accounts. Democrats are considering such a proposal as a way to help pay for their massive social spending package, though they have not finalized details. The plan under discussion would strengthen tax enforcement against the wealthy, Democrats argue.”
Medicaid Incentive for 12 GOP States Could End Under Senate Plan (BGOV 10/6)
“Democrats are mulling whether to rescind billions of dollars meant to encourage states to expand their Medicaid programs, in part to pay for a federal Medicaid-like coverage plan in those states. The debate about whether to rescind the funds divides some Senate and House Democrats. House aides say the incentive money, which Congress provided in March, should remain available instead of being used to offset part of Democrats’ sweeping social spending and tax package. The new legislation’s federal fallback program for non-expansion states isn’t meant to replace state-run Medicaid programs, they say.”
US corporate tax rate would be among highest of developed nations under Dems’ plan, study shows (Fox Business 10/5)
“The U.S. would have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world under a Democratic proposal that would overhaul the nation’s tax code in order to fund President Biden’s ambitious $3.5 trillion economic agenda. The plan, unveiled in September by the House Ways and Means Committee, seeks to generate about $2 trillion over the next decade to pay for programs that would expand Medicare, establish free community college, provide paid family leave and combat climate change.”
We’re one millimetre from a corporate tax deal, France’s Le Maire says (Reuters 10/6)
“The world is one millimeter away from a deal on global corporate taxes and an agreement could be signed in Washington next week or at the G20, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday. An updated draft of a global corporate tax overhaul has dropped ‘at least’ from a proposed minimum rate of ‘at least 15%’, possibly clearing a major hurdle for Ireland as negotiations enter a final stretch, sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.”
Ireland ‘confident’ of signing revised global corporate tax deal (Financial Times 10/5)
“Ireland has said it is ‘confident’ it can sign a revised global corporate tax deal that would ditch the 12.5 per cent corporate rate that has been a cornerstone of its economic policy for two decades. This has raised expectations that the country will now join most of the rest of the world in backing a global minimum 15 per cent corporate tax rate, as a meeting of the OECD in Paris on Friday approaches that EU partners are billing as make-or-break. More than 130 countries agreed in July to the principle of a global 15 per cent minimum tax.”
Senate to try to pass 30-day highway bill Saturday after GOP objection (The Hill 10/1)
“The Senate will reconvene on Saturday to try to pass a short-term extension of federal highway programs after a GOP roadblock prevented what was expected to be a glide path to President Biden’s desk. The Senate was on standby for hours Friday with the expectation that it would try to quickly approve a 30-day extension once the stopgap bill passed the House, where it cleared in a 365-51 vote on Friday night.”
Spain pledges to press ahead with Europe on OECD corporate tax deal (Financial Times 10/3)
“Spain has vowed that it and other European countries will press ahead with plans to introduce a minimum corporate tax of 15 per cent under a groundbreaking global pact led by the OECD, even if equivalent measures fail in the US. In an interview with the Financial Times, María Jesús Montero, budget minister, said it was unacceptable that some groups in Spain paid as little as 6 per cent corporate tax while smaller companies paid 19 per cent, adding that ‘you can’t have this regressive fiscal engineering.’”
SALT-Cap Relief Faces Rollback as Democrats Eye Less Spending (Bloomberg 10/4)
“Democrats risk settling for a less generous expansion of the state and local tax deduction than previously hoped after President Joe Biden conceded that lawmakers will have to scale back his economic agenda to get it enacted. Biden, in a closed-door meeting with House Democrats on Friday, said the cost of the tax-and-social-spending package could potentially end up as a range around $2 trillion, down from a previously planned $3.5 trillion top-line figure. That means lawmakers will likely have to decrease the cost of nearly every spending program and tax credit in the legislation, including a planned increase in the state and local tax, or SALT, write-off.”
STATE & LOCAL NEWS
Nevada committee reviews state’s progress on using $2.7B in federal pandemic relief (8 News Now 10/6)
“Nevada lawmakers who sit on a legislative oversight committee that monitors federal coronavirus relief spending met Tuesday to review the state’s progress in allocating billions of dollars toward priorities including infrastructure, education and backfilling lost revenue. The federal government allocated Nevada $2.7 billion in relief earlier this year, adding to billions sent to the state in 2020. Lawmakers said the funds presented the state with an opportunity to make unprecedented investments and update infrastructure to better serve residents.”
What we know about American Rescue Plan Act funding for local governments in Lane County (Register Guard 10/6)
“Millions of more dollars are flowing into Lane County to help local officials address the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic… Local governments getting direct funds are receiving money in two rounds. They received half starting in May 2021 and will receive the other half in May 2022. Formulas to determine the amount of funding varied. Counties are receiving money directly based on their share of the total population of counties. As one of the most populous of Oregon’s 36 counties, Lane County will get more money than most other counties. Lane County is set to get $74,212,036 that isn’t tied to a set program. That’s the fourth most of any county in Oregon. Population also is a factor in determining how much money cities receive. Metropolitan cities – or those with at least 50,000 residents – are receiving money based on a formula consistent with the method used to dole out money through the Community Development Block Grant program. Cities receive CDBG money based on the measure of community need, which includes factors such as the extent of poverty, population, housing overcrowding and age of housing. Under the CDBG-like formula, Eugene will receive $35,908,037. Only Portland will receive more direct funding. Springfield will receive $13,956,221 under the formula. The remaining cities in Lane County will receive their funding through the state rather than directly from the federal government.”
L.A. County approves $39.3 billion budget for 2021-22 (Pasadena Now 10/6)
“The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved an additional $2.8 billion in funding for initiatives ranging from revamping the county’s youth justice program to cracking down on illegal cannabis grows in the Antelope Valley, signing off on a final $39.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2021-22. That total will be supplemented by another $975 million in federal stimulus funding in months to come, according to county CEO Fesia Davenport. The budget ‘is a milestone of all the progress we have made … as we moved through the pandemic and toward a more just and more equitable future for all of our residents,’ the CEO told the board.”
Lee administration unveils proposal to spend $3.9B in federal stimulus funds (Tennessean 10/6)
“Following months of budget hearings and funding pitches from departments and organizations, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration unveiled a series of recommendations Wednesday to spend $3.9 billion in federal stimulus funds. A draft of the Tennessee Resiliency Plan, released during a Financial Stimulus Accountability Group meeting, proposes funding to improve water infrastructure, expand broadband access, increase hospital staffing and provide relief for the state’s tourism, agriculture and arts industries. The Financial Stimulus Accountability Group, created by Lee in April 2020, includes the governor, his top finance officials, House and Senate speakers, constitutional officers as well as some members of the legislature. The group will seek public input and have further discussions before finalizing the spending plan.”
Twinsburg capital spending plan may increase to $6.29 million in 2022 (Beacon Journal 10/5)
“The city’s capital improvement board recommended to City Council’s finance committee Sept. 28 a capital spending plan for 2022 amounting to $6.29 million. Finance Director Sarah Buccigross said $2.04 million falls under the capital expenditures category and $4.25 million under the infrastructure label. Those two categories in 2021 totaled $4.15 million… The highest amount for infrastructure projects is about $1.5 million for water and sewer line work and road reconstruction on Dooridge Drive, west of Center Valley Park. Road resurfacing of nine streets at $1 million also is proposed. Ravenna Road repaving is planned at an estimated $540,000, White Oak and Birchwood improvements/repaving at about $615,000 and Cannon Road corrugated metal pipe replacement at about $275,000. Buccigross explained the city will reduce local obligations for infrastructure projects with funds/loans from the Ohio Public Works Commission and other federal/state sources, and should be able to use some American Rescue Plan money for certain projects.”
Auditor’s study addresses infrastructure challenges facing Western Mass (Greenfield Recorder 10/5)
“Western Massachusetts communities don’t have the tools necessary to maintain or develop public infrastructure for roadways, buildings and broadband internet, according to a 100-page study the state auditor is set to release on Tuesday. State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump and Division of Local Mandates Director Ben Tafoya held a virtual media roundtable Monday morning in advance of the release of the Office of the State Auditor’s study, ‘Public Infrastructure in Western Massachusetts: A Critical Need for Regional Investment and Revitalization’… The study notes that if not addressed, ‘public infrastructure challenges will further exacerbate the commonwealth’s east-west divide.’ It centered on addressing the connection between the quality of life and adequate infrastructure. Tafoya said the results of the study focused mainly on concerns of shortfalls in investment for municipal buildings, broadband and transportation or roadway infrastructure. According to the report, the Division of Local Mandates (DLM) sent a survey in late 2020 to all 101 communities in Western Massachusetts. Responses were received from 45 communities that show a deep need for continuing investment in infrastructure and a lack of sufficient resources to meet that need. Responses to this survey showed ‘a tremendous need for improvements and changes across all categories,’ Tafoya said.
ARPA spending: Massachusetts lawmakers consider reduced MBTA fares, WiFi investments (Mass Live 10/5)
“As Massachusetts lawmakers this fall decide how to spend about $5 billion in federal COVID relief aid, one Senate committee is considering reducing MBTA fares, bolstering broadband infrastructure and supporting first-time homebuyers — among a suite of other proposals to overcome racial disparities exacerbated by the pandemic… The committee’s report — which recommends using the influx of funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, plus last year fiscal year’s surplus and other budget allocations — is based on priorities gleaned through multiple public hearings, Hinds said. Low-income residents in all corners of Massachusetts lack internet access, and about 750,000 households don’t have a computer, according to the report shared with MassLive. The resiliency committee recommends that Massachusetts invest about $150 million to $200 million to help cover local infrastructure needs, including WiFi and fiber-optic networks. Residents who are eligible for MassHealth or SNAP benefits would automatically qualify for low-cost broadband options, according to the report, which would cost the state between $50 million and $100 million annually.”
Added traffic lanes for I-95, I-84? Only if federal infrastructure bill gets passed, CT lawmakers say (Stamford Advocate 10/4)
“Despite the cars rumbling above and trains whizzing by, federal and state officials gathered beneath a bustling highway overpass to stress the importance of a federal bill that deals with both the physical and human infrastructure, despite persistent roadblocks obstructing that goal in Washington… Connecticut is set to receive $5.3 billion for highways, bridges and everything in between from the federal infrastructure package, but a topline number on the final federal package, which could push forward expansions to health care, child care, infrastructure and education, is still in flux. Though the specific future of the federal funds remains uncertain, the state has a litany of site-specific projects shovel-ready for when funding comes in, according to Giulietti, especially along I-95. Improvements include adding an additional northbound lane to the highway from the state line to Exit 9. The improvements aren’t limited to the interstate highway, either. Giulietti said adding an extra lane on Interstate 84 near Danbury could ease another vehicular chokepoint for local drivers.”
Towns await federal guidelines on spending ARPA funds (The Valley Reporter 10/4)
“Select board members in the Mad River Valley towns are considering how they might spend the windfall of federal Coronavirus American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds but can’t take definitive action until the federal government finalizes the spending guidelines. Local towns will receive funds that range from $390,000 to $1.5 million. In Waitsfield, the town will receive $506,081. The select board has been exploring how the town might spend the funds and this week heard a request from the planning commission to allocate funds for a water, wastewater analysis. Town administrator Annie Decker Dell’Isola noted that the town is also exploring whether it can qualify for water/wastewater ARPA funds that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has received which would allow the town to use its own funds on other projects. Water, wastewater and stormwater are areas where Vermont towns know that they’ll be able to use ARPA funding. Another area that has been identified as a qualifying use for the funds is housing support and affordable housing. Decker-Dell’Isola said that the select board has discussed whether some of the ARPA funding could be leveraged by teaming up with other towns to make the greatest impact.”
Rescue plan spending schedule a ‘marathon’ (Altoona Mirror 10/4)
“The money allocated to municipalities in Blair County, excluding Altoona, which is getting $39.8 million, range from $10,000 to Tunnelhill Borough to $1.2 million for Logan Township, according to a web listing for Pennsylvania municipalities. A sampling of other allocations: Allegheny Township, $643,000; Antis Township, $612,000; Frankstown Township, $726,000; and Tyrone Borough, $508,000.”
Lynchburg Water Resources foresees a need to ramp up spending in coming years (News Advance 10/1)
“Tuesday night offered a first look at water, sewer and stormwater capital needs, and the fiscal impacts associated with the water resources department’s 20-year capital improvement plan… According to the overview, over the next 20 years, the total projected water fund CIP needs are about $250 million, or $12.5 million per year. Currently, the department averages $4 million annually. In the same window, the sewer fund CIP needs were about $394 million, or $19.7 million per year. Currently, the department averages $14.7 million annually. Exact stormwater spending needs are not yet known, but the department is currently assessing the condition of the infrastructure and developing priorities. Among the future water projects are waterline replacement, water distribution system improvements and general facilities improvements. Big-ticket sewer projects include completing the combined sewer overflow program — which recently received $25 million in state American Rescue Plan Act funds — renewing the sewer collection system and extending sewer to unsewered areas.”