American Jobs Plan Fact Sheet: The Need for Action in the District of Columbia

by Joseph Robinette Biden

 

The Need for Action in the District of Columbia

For decades, infrastructure in the District of Columbia has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear:

The District of Columbia’s infrastructure received a C- grade on its Infrastructure Report Card. The American Jobs Plan will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure.

• ROADS AND BRIDGES: In the District of Columbia there are 8 bridges and over 402 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 2% in the District of Columbia and on average, each driver pays $1,100 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. 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: D.C residents who take public transportation spend an extra 25.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 0.7 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 5% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment.
• RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: The District of Columbia has experienced extreme weather events, costing the city millions in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities’ recovery from disaster.
• DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, The District of Columbia’s drinking water infrastructure will require $1.75 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.
• HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 79,000 renters in the District of Columbia are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200&nsp;billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.
• BROADBAND: Even where infrastructure is available, for many District residents, reliable broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. Nearly 13% of District households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.
• CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The President’s plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
• CHILD CARE: In the District of Columbia, 27% of residents live in a childcare desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nation’s schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across the District and the country.
• MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers employ 1,000 residents in the District and account for $300 million in total output. The American Job’s Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers.
• HOME ENERGY: In the District of Columbia, many low-income families are forced to make tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. 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: As of 2019, there were 15,383 District residents working in clean energy, and 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 District of Columbia is home to close to 28,000 veterans, 14% of whom are women and 41% of whom are over the age of 65. 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.