Building Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure

February 2, 2021

Infrastructure investment is essential to moving America forward. Yet, so much of our nation’s infrastructure needs to be repaired and modernized to meet today’s demands. Local governments and states have stepped up over the past 10 years with more than $3.8 trillion in municipal bonds to address their most pressing infrastructure needs.

Despite this, 91% of cities report insufficient funding as their top concern and are delaying critical infrastructure investments. That’s right – nine out of every 10 American cities, towns and villages could use federal support to rebuild and reimagine their major systems, and each of those projects would support local jobs and open up new opportunities in communities across the country.

However, a $2 trillion infrastructure funding gap remains for our nation’s transportation and water networks. This number does not reflect the costs of expanding broadband access, addressing climate change, and investing in workforce development and training programs.

The costs of continued inaction were staggering, so in November 2021, Congress took action and passed the largest national infrastructure package in decades. Working with local infrastructure owners, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will prioritize strategic investments in our transportation, water and broadband infrastructure to support a growing and strong economy.

Ready to Rebuild

NLC celebrates the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). and continues to call on Congress to directly invest in cities, towns and villages. Together, we can fix America’s infrastructure and empower local leaders to tackle the needs of their communities and prepare for a better future.

Ready to Rebuild

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About the Federal Action Agenda

The NLC Advocacy Center takes a proactive approach to the decisions and policies coming out of Washington, D.C. In response to those decisions, we have created the Federal Action Agenda as a resource for the latest information and to provide recommendations on how member cities could best respond and implement. Find our up-to-date recommendations and priorities in the Federal Action Agenda.