The White House is attempting to speed up the completion of projects tied to the new infrastructure law.
Key Details
- The White House held a summit today to speed up the building process of projects tied to last year’s infrastructure law.
- The projects are continuously being plagued by rising prices causing big delays, so the idea behind this summit is to speed up the process and bypass as many delays as possible.
- The projects in the infrastructure law amount to around $1 trillion, bypassing delays and shortages will also help to not spend as much money in the long run.
Why it’s news
Last November, President Joe Biden passed the infrastructure law as an investment in the nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness.
The legislation will rebuild America’s roads, bridges, and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind, according to a White House press release from last year.
The summit meeting was held to discuss the rush the White House is trying to put on the infrastructure building as the projects are being stricken by rising prices, worker shortages, and other delays. The hope of the rush is to speed up the process and escape as many delays as possible.
“This is the first time we’ve tried this in 50 years on this level,” says White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu. “We’re going to really push hard to make it go faster and try to do it better, and try to get at least all the federal agencies focused on accelerating the pace of design, construction, permitting.”
Inflation has caused some project prices to surge as much as 30% causing multiple barriers and delays.
“I just fully expect that the more we work on this, and the better we get, the more money we’re going to save and the more time we’re going to save,” says Landrieu.
