On March 31, 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration released the American Jobs Plan, AKA the infrastructure bill. The estimated cost of the plan, which is subject to negotiation before Congress votes on it, is $2.5 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told the House Democratic Caucus she would like action by the July 4 recess. 

The American Jobs Plan looks to the future by including digital communications in its definition of infrastructure, in addition to transportation, energy and water resources. Within the plan, there are numerous pieces that will create work opportunities for electrical contractors and lineworkers, either directly or indirectly.

• Modernizing the U.S. electrical grid by laying hundreds of thousands of miles of new transmission lines

• Expanding reliable, affordable broadband networks to reach every American, including rural residents who currently lack access to acceptably fast internet speeds

• Modernizing 20,000 miles of highways and roads

• Fixing the nation’s bridges, including the 10,000 small bridges most in need of repair and the 10 large, economically significant bridges most in need of restoration

• Addressing the repair backlog for transit and rail by replacing buses and rail cars, repairing hundreds of stations and expanding transit and rail systems into new communities

• Improving ports, waterways and airports

• Building, preserving and retrofitting more than 2 million homes and commercial/institutional buildings to create affordable, accessible, energy-­efficient and resilient buildings

• Revitalizing distressed communities through efforts such as carbon-capture and hydrogen-demonstration projects, remediation and redevelopment of brownfields into new infrastructure, and “Main Street” renewal efforts

• Replacing lead pipes and improving wastewater treatment and stormwater management infrastructure to ensure all Americans have access to safe, clean drinking water

• Enhancing job opportunities for home careworkers, which may increase opportunities for updating homes to support durable medical equipment and aging-in-place technology.

• Rebuilding and investing in the future of electric vehicles (described in more detail in “Biden Infrastructure Plan Will Invest Heavily in Electric Vehicles”).