WASHINGTON — You can say it is no longer a pipe dream for the environmental advocates in Texas who have demanded the replacement of 270,000 water lines in Texas that are lined with lead.
“We continue to have serious problems with our water, including sewage overflows, lead in the drinking water,” said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. “Lead in drinking water can cause children to lose IQ points, which can impact their success in life, and that comes with a cost as well.”
Replacing lead pipes used for drinking water is just one piece of President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan that will soon become law, after months of political wrangling. The package passed the U.S. House late Friday night and will unleash the biggest burst of federal spending on roads, bridges, ports, airports and public transit in decades.
“What all of these investments have in common is that they will create jobs — pipe fitters to replace those pipes, electricians, to install those EV charging stations, auto workers, to build the cars that plug into them,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday.
As the state with the most bridges, Texas alone will receive $537 million for bridge replacements and repairs over five years, and $27 billion for roads, according to the White House. Under the plan, the state would receive $3.3 billion to improve public transportation, $408 million to provide charging stations for electric vehicles and $100 million to help expand broadband service.
“In Texas, we have miles and miles of roadways that need improvement and this is a significant benefit to the state,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said in an interview with Capital Tonight.
Thirteen Republicans in the House and 19 in the Senate crossed party lines to support the massive package, but none were from Texas. Many Texas Republicans called the spending irresponsible and have criticized the Biden administration for trying to shift the country from oil and gas to renewable energy sources.
“We need transparency right now to understand the tax increases on all Americans, the outsourcing of energy and manufacturing jobs outside this country, and half a trillion dollars to misguided new green policies that will no doubt bankrupt this country and saddle our children and grandchildren with more debt,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, said on the House floor. “The mis-prioritized placating of green special interests that this administration has rushed to are unbelievable."
Some advocates cite the deadly winter storm last February and recent historic floods in arguing that Texas is already paying the price for having aging infrastructure.
“Our outdated infrastructure is hurting human health, it's hurting our economy, and we're long overdue for a strong investment,” Metzger said.
The infrastructure deal will probably be the only legislation Biden can get passed with bipartisan support, as Republicans are in near unanimous opposition to the Build Back Better Act, his $1.75 trillion package to help families and fight climate change. Due to the slim majorities in the House, moderate Democrats like Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have gotten an outsized say in shaping the final version of the bill.
When asked how critical passing both of these bills to deliver on the campaign promises ahead of the 2022 elections, Doggett said the important question is not the political effect — but rather how it would help families.
“Despite the great jobs report we got last week and the tremendous economy we have going here in Central Texas, nationwide we’re still short something like 4 million jobs from before the pandemic. Independent analysis has shown that if we pass all of this package, it’s going to add about 1.5 million every year, so 15 million over the life of the bill, so that’s economic growth that helps all of us,” Doggett said.