April 19, 2021

Rep. Lawson: The American Jobs Plan Will Help Florida’s Urgent Infrastructure Needs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (FL-05) recently highlighted the urgent need to address Florida’s critical infrastructure needs. From the number of bridges and miles of road in each state in poor condition, the percentage of households without access to broadband, to the billions of dollars required for water infrastructure, these pressing needs underscore the importance of the American Jobs Plan.

“To unlock our state’s full economic potential, we need to build up the systems and structures that support our modern economy,” Rep. Lawson said. “The American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create millions of good-paying union jobs while bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century. “With this initiative, we are seizing the opportunity to not only recover from this time of crisis, but to Build Back Better our economy and country. This means not only making monumental investments in key areas of our economy and creating new jobs, but also lifting rural communities and vulnerable families across our state.”

Florida received a “C” grade on its Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers, facing many deficiencies that require immediate attention.

Below are key statistics on the condition of the infrastructure in Florida:

  • 3,564 miles of road and 408 bridges are in need of repair
  • 16 percent of trains and other transit vehicles in the state that are past their useful life
  • 6 percent of households are without access to broadband
  • 1,445,000 renters pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent due to shortages in affordable housing units
  • Florida needs $21.9 billion in modernization costs to ensure safe drinking water
  • 38% of families have few or no childcare options in their communities, preventing parents from joining the workforce
  • More than 1.5 million veterans in Florida rely on VA facilities, which have been chronically underfunded – leading to longer waits and lower quality care
  • An average low-income family in Florida currently pays 8-10 percent of their income toward energy bills because their home has not been sufficiently weatherized
  • Florida has experienced 22 extreme weather events in the past decade, which will only increase in frequency and severity due to the climate crisis.

Led by President Biden and Democrats in Congress, the American Jobs Plan targets these infrastructure needs and more. This initiative is designed to reenergize our stagnant economy as we begin to recover from the pandemic and the recession, as well as lay the foundation for future economic growth and ensure our nation is competitive in the global economy for decades to come.  

The American Jobs Plan will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure:

  • ROADS AND BRIDGES: The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations' transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges.
  • PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment.
  • RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities’ recovery from disaster.
  • DRINKING WATER: The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.
  • HOUSING: The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.
  • BROADBAND: The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.
  • CAREGIVING: The President’s plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
  • CHILD CARE: The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nation’s schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Florida and the country.
  • MANUFACTURING: The American Job’s Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers.
  • HOME ENERGY: The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades.
  • CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: The American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing.
  • VETERANS HEALTH: The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans