LANSING — Today, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Of the 12 Republicans running for governor, not one of them has answered whether they support this bill and the benefits it brings to Michigan’s economy and workforce.
Tudor Dixon dismissed the bill as “fake,” James Craig explicitly said infrastructure was not “one of my priorities,” and Michiganders remain in the dark about where the rest of the field stands on this massive job creator.
The Infrastructure and Jobs Act supplements improvement appropriations secured earlier this year by Governor Whitmer to fix roads and environmental infrastructure, repair or fully replace 100 local bridges, aid local municipalities with future extreme weather preparation, and replace Benton Harbor’s lead water lines. It provides:
- $7.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs
- $1.3 billion for crucial water infrastructure improvements
- $1 billion to diversify and improve public transportation
- $563 million for bridge replacement and repairs
- $363 million for airport infrastructure development
- $110 million over to expand a charging network for electric vehicles
- $100 million to provide broadband coverage
MDP Chair Lavora Barnes issued the following statement:
“It’s tough to overstate what the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act delivers for our local economies and working families. In refusing to say if they support this historic piece of legislation, Tudor Dixon, James Craig, and the rest of this crowded primary field have communicated that maintaining their hyperpartisan obstruction is far more important than improving Michigander’s livelihoods and keeping them first.”
