- LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
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Lake County’s members of Congress vote to pass national infrastructure bill
The legislation passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 228 to 206 on Friday and now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Both Rep. John Garamendi (CA-03), who represents the northern portion of Lake County, and Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), whose district includes the other half of the county, cast votes in favor of the bill.
The bill was first passed by the Senate last summer with a wide, bipartisan majority.
It provides $550 billion in new spending and $450 billion for existing surface transportation programs.
Important funding for California includes:
— $25.3 billion for highways;
— $4.2 billion for bridges;
— $9.45 billion for transit;
— $3.5 billion for clean drinking water;
— $1.5 billion for airports;
— $384 million for electric vehicle charging stations; and
— $100 million for broadband.
Garamendi, a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said he’d met in the Oval Office this spring with President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and a small bipartisan group of his colleagues on the House Committee on Transportation to begin negotiations on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
He said Friday’s vote was “the culmination of months of hard work and negotiations.”
Garamendi added, “This is a historic piece of legislation, and a strong investment in our infrastructure and the middle class. The legislation includes much-needed support for America’s roads and bridges, water infrastructure, rural broadband, and more. It will also create new middle-class jobs by rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure using American materials and workers.”
Thompson said the bipartisan bill, crafted by Republicans and Democrats, provides a 21st century infrastructure.
“It will help rebuild our transportation system with $25.3 billion for our highways, $4.2 billion for bridges, and $9.45 billion for transit projects. Our state will get $84 million to help protect against wildfire, including funding to increase federal firefighter salaries, implement wildfire mitigation programs, carry out forest management projects, and help homeowners fireproof their homes. California will also get at least $100 million for broadband in our state, at a time when more than 545,000 people in our state can’t access the internet,” Thompson said.
“Finally, the bill is an important down payment in our efforts to combat climate change, with $21 billion to protect our environment and over $15 billion to invest in clean energy infrastructure, such as a national network of electric vehicle chargers, zero emission school buses, and research into next generation clean electricity technologies,” Thompson said. “I am proud to vote to pass this bill today and move our state and our nation’s infrastructure into the next generation.”