Center for American Progress

Congress must deliver on bipartisan infrastructure promises to workers with these two steps
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Congress must deliver on bipartisan infrastructure promises to workers with these two steps

Karla Walter writes about how Congress can create good infrastructure jobs for American workers.

Congress recently enacted the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — the largest infrastructure investment the United States has seen in decades. The law will create hundreds of thousands of jobs rebuilding crumbling roads and public transportation systems; supporting advanced energy technologies and clean water infrastructure; closing the digital divide; and modernizing the electric grid. Longstanding laws, new provisions in the IIJA and recent actions by the Biden administration have set standards that these jobs must uphold, such as to pay market wages and prevent discrimination.

But whether these jobs are good jobs — which are currently in short supply — depends on these standards being enforced and requires further action by Congress and the White House.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Author

Karla Walter

Senior Fellow, Inclusive Economy

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