SERIES: COVID-19’s Long-Term Policy Implications - The Implications of COVID-19 on Infrastructure
The COVID-19 pandemic has rightly become the sole focus of the public health policy world, but it is also having far reaching effects into policy landscapes way beyond healthcare. This blog post is the fourth in a series that will explore how COVID-19 is changing American life, and as a result, impacting various policy areas. This series will explore changing American attitudes, examine new policy ideas, and project on legislative and regulatory activity we may see as a result of the virus in the months ahead.
The saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” During the COVID-19 crisis, there are plenty of proverbial lemons at our disposal to make lemonade policies. Infrastructure policy is one such area of opportunity. As policymakers seek to provide relief to key sectors of the national economy, they are considering the long-term benefits of investing in long overdue critical infrastructure projects.
Infrastructure Legislation to Boost National Recovery
Both Congressional Democrats and the Trump Administration have expressed their willingness to achieve success on a bipartisan infrastructure bill in a future COVID relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and leadership of the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means are interested in pursuing an infrastructure recovery plan that reflects the “Moving Forward Framework,” released in the House on January 29. In addition to traditional “roads and bridges” Highway Bill projects, the measure would include expanded broadband access, 5G deployment, water projects to provide federal grants to low-income households for drinking water and wastewater utility bills, and an extra $10 billion for community health centers.
Senate Republicans led by Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are more reluctant to initiate recovery measures, like an infrastructure bill, until it becomes clearer that the stimulus resources already granted have reached American workers and businesses. Leader McConnell has also cautioned against implementing any policies that are not directly related to the public health emergency.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) unanimously reported last July “America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S.2302).” The bill would authorize $287 billion over five years for surface transportation programs and would be the largest highway reauthorization legislation in history. President Trump urged Congress to move forward with this legislation during his State of the Union address. Senate EPW is said to be working overtime to have the highway reauthorization bill ready to go. Some believe it will be paired with a reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and other related measures. Following what has become a biennial practice in recent years, WRDA was last reauthorized in October 2018 and included 30 projects related to water resources. A 2020 WRDA bill would potentially cover 52 such projects, as recommended by the Army’s chief of engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite. The 17 additional projects have been valued at $9 billion.
The House is also focused on approving a WRDA counterpart. EPW has also drafted a two-bill water package, comprised of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA 2020) and the Drinking Water Infrastructure for Job Creation Act (H.R. 1429); they could comprise the other half of Senate Republicans’ infrastructure provisions in a COVID-19 recovery bill.
Bottom line: Congress could incorporate infrastructure into one of the upcoming stimulus packages, but it is unclear if it will happen on COVID 4.0 or COVID 5.0. Furthermore, the president recognizes the need to develop diverse opportunities to facilitate economic recovery. COVID 4.0 will need to be robust, but there will likely be additional COVID-19 stimulus bills into the fall.
Infrastructure in America: Long-Term Impacts
The problem of our failing national infrastructure is not new – the American Society of Civil Engineers graded U.S. infrastructure as a D+ in 2017. The Fixing America’s Transportation (FAST) Act is expiring this year, and by 2022 the Highway Trust Fund will be exhausted. Lawmakers have been engaged in a painstaking search for alternative funding sources to address the nation’s infrastructure needs. The current crisis has seemingly overshadowed this $4.6 trillion problem. Economists are proposing infrastructure investments will have long-term positive impacts that will yield greater economic benefits than spending stimulus funds on short-term investments, like critical food supply.
Rural Broadband and 5G
America’s highways, roads, and bridges are long overdue for critical repairs. A post-COVID world could potentially include reduced daily commuter traffic along these structures, at least for a lingering time, and more reliance on teleworking in some sectors. Broadband investment would support a social shift to teleworking likely to come post-COVID by investing in the digital infrastructure, which has seen rising network traffic due to the staggering increase in teleworking. Global Information Infrastructure Commissioner H. Brian Thompson has proposed a National Highway Fiber System, as fiber upgrades would help to increase bandwidth and bolster network resilience.
Improvements to the digital infrastructure would increase connectivity between rural and urban areas. Increased broadband access in unserved and underserved areas could lead to the migration of urban dwellers to rural communities where there is less pollution and congestion. Additionally, efforts to streamline 5G siting and deployment could improve connectivity, and therefore the appeal of rural areas. These changes would also support the budding utilization of telehealth, which is critical for underserved communities without immediate access to hospitals and medical services.
On April 30, House Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Democratic Rural Broadband Task Force James Clyburn (D-SC), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and ten additional members of the Rural Broadband Task Force and Energy and Commerce Committee introduced House Democratic Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet. The plan invests $80 billion in federal funds over five years to expand broadband access to unserved and underserved communities. It also invests $5 billion over five years for low-interest financing of broadband deployment. To ensure internet affordability, the plan requires providers utilizing public infrastructure to offer an affordable option for low-income users. To promote broadband adoption and digital skills, the plan provides $1 billion to stand up the State Digital Equity Capacity Program. Democrats appear eager to legislate the plan as part of a broader infrastructure stimulus package.
Simultaneously, Congress is exploring more immediate solutions to address the digital infrastructure gap. For example, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) has introduced legislation that would create a $2 billion Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund that would allow schools and libraries to purchase hotspots and internet-connected devices for students. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is expected to introduce similar legislation that would authorize $4 billion for these purposes the week of May 4. This sort of legislation is ripe for inclusion in COVID 4.0.
Urban Planning and Development
Social distancing could have some unexpected impacts on urban planning and development. In congested metropolitan areas, like New York City, sidewalks could be widened to make cities walkable and pedestrian friendly. More bike paths could emerge as the public seeks alternatives to public transit and ridesharing. Democrats would likely be inclined to fund these and other types of programs in a COVID infrastructure stimulus package. This time of social distancing is ideal for major cities to complete these projects, as most of their populations are confined to their homes.
The need for social distance into the future could lead to spatial development, increasing access to urban green spaces. Many urban residents are relying on these green spaces to preserve their physical and mental health through exercise and outings. In the future, these spaces would reduce urban densities and encourage local, sustainable agriculture, as a decreased reliance on the global supply chain emerges as another consequence of the crisis.
Private Infrastructure Investment
The significant increase in data consumption is likely to spur new investments in digital infrastructure. Public-private partnerships (P3s) may be helpful in making this leap. Private investment would offer a long-term alternative funding source to replace lost revenue from the Highway Trust Fund. The Transportation Electrification Partnership in Los Angeles proposed a $150 billion green infrastructure package to Congress on April 27 that would develop the national electric charging infrastructure. Among the package’s major initiatives are zero-emissions infrastructure investments, workforce development, and job training. The city of Louisville, Kentucky, released its Digital Inclusion Plan in 2017 to address digital inequity with community partners. In 2019, the city’s government began its partnership with the local chapter of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) to assess the necessary types of improvements to digital inclusion services.
In its most recent Global Infrastructure Survey published on April 21, CG/LA Infrastructure recommends public-private cooperation on new and existing projects post-COVID. The CG/LA stresses that the private sector must take the lead role as public budgets have other fiscal concerns.
Creating Jobs in the Infrastructure Workforce
The passage of an infrastructure bill would create millions of jobs in across the country, stimulating the economy and dramatically assisting in the post-pandemic recovery efforts. In February, before the current crisis gripped the nation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent. As of this month, the U.S. unemployment rate is 12 percent and could skyrocket to 16 or even 20 percent by June.
Infrastructure construction and maintenance projects would offer opportunities for job security that would put American workers on the road to financial recovery. This, in turn, would stimulate the U.S. economy by revitalizing U.S. consumer culture. In addition to long-term investment in training and retaining new employees, short-term measures like hazard pay and extended sick leave need to be implemented for current infrastructure workers.
2020 Presidential Election
Vice President Biden is in favor of a future COVID infrastructure “green stimulus” bill that would create jobs and promote economic recovery. The Biden campaign has released comprehensive plans to rebuild U.S. critical infrastructure for increased middle class competitiveness and rural economic development. The proposed investment would cost a total of $1.3 trillion, offset by increased corporate taxes and slashed subsidies for fossil fuels. An additional $20 billion will be invested specifically in high-speed rural broadband infrastructure, potentially creating over a quarter million new jobs and tripling Community Connect broadband grants.
A Hopeful Outlook
The COVID-19 recovery has the potential to significantly improve the nation’s infrastructure in the long-term. This moment is an opportunity for lawmakers to make lemonade out of lemons.