WASHINGTON – This week, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) voted to advance the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act. The committee-passed legislation includes text that mirrors Congresswoman Williams’ Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants Act (H.R. 5267), which she led with Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), to reconnect neighborhoods divided by infrastructural barriers.

“This legislation includes nearly $4 billion for a top priority of mine: reconnecting neighborhoods that were intentionally divided by infrastructure projects of the past,” said Congresswoman Williams. “In Congress, I am focused on increasing equity in our infrastructure, and I will always push for the resources needed to address past injustices.

“With the inclusion of this important priority and so many others, my House Transportation and Infrastructure colleagues and I took a major step to build the infrastructure of tomorrow, today. Our portion of the reconciliation bill will deliver bold and visionary investments in our infrastructure that serve everyone, no matter your bank account or your ZIP code.” 

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s legislation invests nearly $60 billion to make America’s infrastructure more equitable, sustainable, resilient, and reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector—the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s portion of the budget reconciliation bill includes the following key investments:

• $4 billion to support neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access, including reconnecting communities divided by existing infrastructure barriers. 
• $10 billion to support access to affordable housing and enhance mobility for low-income individuals and residents of disadvantaged or persistent poverty communities.
• $4 billion for reduction of carbon pollution in the surface transportation sector—addressing the largest source of transportation greenhouse gas emissions.
• $6 billion to advance local surface transportation projects. 
• $1 billion to the Department of Transportation to support projects that develop, demonstrate, or apply low-emission technologies or produce, transport, blend, or store sustainable aviation fuels. 
• $500 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) hazard mitigation revolving loan fund program. 
• $425 million for grants for the construction, retrofit, technological enhancement, and updated planning requirements of state, local Tribal, and territorial emergency operation centers.
• $9.5 billion to the Economic Development Administration to provide investments in persistently distressed communities, provide assistance to energy and industrial transition communities, invest in public works projects, and create regional hubs. 
• $1 billion to the General Services Administration to invest in high-performance green buildings. 
• $1 billion for climate resilient Coast Guard infrastructure. 
• $2.5 billion to the Maritime Administration to support more sustainable port infrastructure and supply chain resilience. 
• $2 billion to invest in sewer overflow and stormwater reuse projects, as well as a greater federal coast share for projects that serve financially distressed communities.
• $500 million in grant assistance to invest in the backlog of wastewater projects on Tribal lands.

For more information on the committee’s markup, click here. 

CONTACT: PressGA05@mail.house.gov

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