The Biden Administration’s $1.9 billion infrastructure bill is nothing short of massive. It will appropriate money to address broadband access, public transit, the electrical grid, electric cars, and clean drinking water.

One of the areas that got the largest amount of funding ($110 billion) are roads and bridges, and not just in the ways some might assume, like filling potholes, building new highways, and paving new roads.

A large amount of the money will go toward improving the impacts of highways and roadways on communities of color.

“Out my door, every day, I’m seeing 18-wheelers sort of barreling through my neighborhood,” said David Shuffler, a lifetime resident of the Bronx.

Since its construction in 1955, the Cross Bronx Expressway, an extension of I-95 that passes through the northern New York City borough, has plagued those who have lived near it with noise and pollution.

When the nation’s interstate system was constructed during the same time, many affluent white neighborhoods across the country were spared the construction of new highways. Instead, communities of color, which oftentimes had little local political sway, were chosen to bear the burden instead.

The connector divided neighborhoods as it displaced families through eminent domain and put physical barriers between neighborhoods. In the Bronx, the Cross Bronx Expressway invited dilapidation into the community, as well as some of the highest poverty rates in New York and some of the highest asthma rates in the country.

“I’d leave in the morning and there’d be a film on the window, and I’d clean this film off, and by the time I’d come home from work that film would be there again,” said Nilka Martell, another lifetime resident of the Bronx. “It wasn’t until years later that I realized that was the exhaust from the vehicles that are traveling across the Cross Bronx.”

Soot from vehicle pollution is still visible on buildings that surround Martell’s home. In the mid-2000’s she started Loving the Bronx, a community group that forced equity in a battle where it felt it had none.

First, came pressure on local politicians, then a park renovation, then another, and now, the group has landed a $2 million investment from the new Infrastructure Bill to see if the Cross Bronx Expressway can be capped so parks and homes can be built on top of it.

It is a move other cities like Boston, Seattle, and Denver have already taken on their interstates as they lower the highways below ground and “cap” it, allowing neighborhoods to reconnect.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information found in the long run, lives and money are saved through capping projects as there are fewer accidents, better air quality, and more outdoor activity.

“When, in 2016, we were advocating for this, everybody thought we were crazy,” said Martell. “You know, we’d speak to local politicians and other community leaders and they’re like absolutely not. We’re looking at it, you know, not just as capping a highway, but the potential of really transforming the Bronx.”

The $2 million will go toward feasibility studies to see how much of the Cross Bronx Expressway would be able to be capped, how much money it would cost, and how much time it might take.

SHONTO, Arizona — Connected by endless stretches of dirt roads, the Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the United States. It covers over 27,000 square miles and extends into Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

With nearly 200,000 tribal citizens, homes are spread out over remote, rural area, with many lacking necessities often taken for granted in America.

"Lack of transportation, housing development, electricity – some of the basic needs we definitely lack," said Shanna Yazzie, a project manager for the Navajo Water Project.

Yazzie says growing up without running water at home was normal.

"I think that's where my mindset of always having a plan A, B and C came from. Thinking at least three steps ahead in case a watering point is frozen, ran out of water or is closed," said Yazzie. "And when I say a watering point, we had to travel more than 15, 20 miles to a watering point to get water."

Left out of historic federal investments, infrastructure disparities have long stunted the reservation's economic opportunity and quality of life.

Navajo citizens are among more than two million Americans living without running water and basic indoor plumbing.

"Race is the strongest predictor of whether or not you and your family can just turn on the tap and get water," said George McGraw, founder, and CEO of DigDeep.

The human rights nonprofit organization is dedicated to ensuring every American has access to clean, running water.

"If you're indigenous, you're 19 times more likely not to have running water than a white family. If you're Black or Latino, you're twice as likely," said McGraw. "And that's because the way we've invested in these communities and in these systems has, you know, had a racial component from the very beginning. And certain communities were deliberately left out."

DigDeep partnered with the Navajo people to bring running water and solar power to families on the reservation. McGraw says 30% of homes lack these basic needs.

The indigenous-led Navajo Water Project has provided 300 homes with solar power and underground water systems. Drivers deliver clean water to remote homes each month.

"We make things happen quickly," said Yazzie." We don't have any red tapes, except just getting permission from the homeowners and the community, the local chapter officials."

They prioritize helping elders, veterans, people without transportation, homes with children, and tribal citizens with disabilities and chronic
health conditions.

"Often, when they see us or our water trucks, they will run to the road and try to stop one of our technicians because they need physical help," said Yazzie. "We're kind of like the adopted grandkids for them."

Yazzie says 40% of the team doesn't have running water at home.

"But when you have a way to put a cistern underground, install a water pump, install solar in case you don't have electricity – anything is possible," said Yazzie.

With the newly signed infrastructure bill, that sentiment is closer to reality now than ever before. Billions of dollars are going directly to tribes and reservations to address projects that have gone unfunded for decades.

The historic investment promises to address the decades-long backlog of unfunded infrastructure projects.

"It's hundreds and thousands of projects, all shovel-ready. Some are very big, think water treatment plants and miles and miles of pipe. Some are very small, like a bathroom facility at a public building," said McGraw.

Funding to the Indian Health Service is supposed to be distributed over five years.

"We're going to be watching that process really closely, assisting where we can, representing communities, and making sure their voices are heard."

CINCINNATI — President Biden’s infrastructure bill has understandably sparked a lot of excitement about the Brent Spence Bridge, but the scope of the $1.2 trillion law will likely have lasting impacts beyond that particular connection between Ohio and Kentucky.

“We have a lot going on in the region that stands to benefit from the bill,” Jill Meyer, president and CEO of Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, said Monday.

Meyer was invited to the White House for Monday’s bill signing.

“The possibilities for the Cincinnati Region, in particular, are vast,” she said.

This infrastructure bill addresses a wide variety of issues beyond roads and bridges. It sets aside $65 billion for high-speed internet, $25 billion for airports and $66 billion for passenger rail, among other areas. You can find a breakdown of funding estimates for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana here.

“The bottom line is that this gives people a travel option that they don’t have,” Stu Nicholson said.

Nicholson is the executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a transportation advocacy group focused on passenger rail expansion.

With Amtrak revealing earlier this year it wants to expand service in Cincinnati with daily routes to Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland and other cities, Nicholson is hopeful this massive investment in passenger rail will make that a reality. But, he warns these projects will still need local and state support.

“We need to make sure that Ohio is on board with this and willing to step up and put some chips on the table, so to speak, to make this happen,” Nicholson said.

“The Brent Spence Bridge is absolutely critical,” Meyer said. “I think there are some other pieces that come along with that. Continuing to invest in transit so we are moving people around our communities as efficiently and easily as we can.”

When it comes to Amtrak, Cincinnati does have limited options right now. The Cardinal line, which runs from New York City to Chicago, passes through Cincinnati three times each week. The City of Oxford has taken steps this year to build an Amtrak platform in hopes the passenger rail expansion could include that corner of Butler County.

The Senate recently passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will allocate $11 billion for transportation safety. One part of that relates to new technology added to vehicles to help prevent drunk driving deaths.

“The DADSS technology is novel technology, completely different than the conventional breathalyzer everyone is familiar with,” said Robert Strassburger, president and CEO of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, or DADSS for short, is a different type of detection system than what you might be used to seeing.

“This technology is intended to be working in the background, installed in the vehicle at the time the vehicle is made,” Strassburger said.

He oversees the development of this tech.

“By breathing naturally or by touching the steering wheel or the starter button, the system would measure your blood alcohol concentration,” he said.

If your BAC, or blood alcohol concentration, was over a certain threshold, the car would respond in a number of possible ways: either give a warning, not start, or not change gears.

“This is very high-risk research,” he said.

And after 20 years of helping develop this technology, Strassburger said more work and research still needs to be done.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that about 28 people in the U.S. die each day in drunk driving crashes. In 2019, more than 10,142 people lost their lives.

“Prior to moving the vehicle, I can see that saving a lot of our young kids, or those one-time offenders,” Dr. Tricia Hudson-Matthew, associate professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said on the different technologies being developed for drunk driving prevention.

Dr. Hudson-Matthew is a substance abuse expert and sees how technologies that can monitor a number of factors, from speed to lane changing to slurred speech, can help.

“They’re looking at the ways of picking up, detecting behavioral patterns in the car, which will be interesting,” she said.

This new technology could be in every car manufactured in just a few years. The Senate recently passed a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes language on automobile safety. The bill will go to the House next.

“It’s multisectoral, and by that I mean it deals with a number of infrastructure sectors at once in a sort of holistic way. That is in contrast to what Congress normally does,” said Rick Geddes, founding director at the Cornell University Program in Infrastructure Policy. “What we have is a mandate from the Senate for the National Highway and Safety Administration to develop the technology. And to look at the technologies that are out there and develop a standard within three years so that new cars would have to have some standard, which is to be determined.”

Economist Alan Gin said something like this does come at a cost.

“It’s been estimated this infrastructure package is going to add about $250 billion to the federal debt over a 10 year period,” said Gin, an economics professor at the University of San Diego.

So who will pay for this new technology in every car? Strassburger said while they don’t have an exact cost just yet, it will probably be up to the manufacturers what cost is implemented on consumers, if any.

“It will be their decision what to charge, how to charge it,” he said.

DADSS continues to develop the tech to quantify the amount of alcohol in a driver’s blood.

“Our quantification will be linkable to the gold standard, which is a hospital blood draw,” Strassburger said. “Our job ultimately is to produce the best, most accurate, most reliable, best-performing sensor as possible.”

And after decades of research, Strassburger is seeing the results.

“What is really rewarding is after being involved in this program for so long, I can see the finish line. I can see we’re going to finish and that is really great,” he said.

Senators are struggling to wrap up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan.

A late-night session Thursday stalled out as new debates emerged over proposed amendments to the $1 trillion package. A procedural vote was moved to Saturday.

Senators have processed nearly two dozen amendments and none has substantially changed the framework of the public works bill.

One debate emerged over cryptocurrency tax compliance.

The Congressional Budget Office said the overall package would increase deficits by about $256 billion over the next decade. But the bill's backers say it is a “historic investment” that will lead to economic growth.

The package includes federal funding for roads and bridges, expanded access to high-speed internet and improvements to public infrastructure. President Joe Biden had hoped to include funding for things like child care, elder care and other "human infrastructure" provisions but removed them in striking a deal with Republican senators.

WASHINGTON —

The bipartisan infrastructure deal senators brokered with President Joe Biden is hanging precariously ahead of a crucial Wednesday test vote as they struggle over how to pay for nearly $1 trillion in public works spending.

Tensions were rising as Republicans prepared to mount a filibuster over what they see as a rushed and misguided process. With Biden preparing to hit the road to rally support for his big infrastructure ideas — including some $3.5 trillion in a follow-up bill — restless Democrats say it's time to at least start debate on this first phase of his proposals.

"It is not a fish or cut bait moment," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday, describing the procedural vote as just a first step to "get the ball rolling" as bipartisan talks progress.

Six months after Biden took office, his signature "Build Back Better" campaign promise is at a key moment that will test the presidency and his hopes for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

White House aides and the bipartisan group of senators have huddled privately since Sunday trying to wrap up the deal, which would be a first phase of an eventual $4 trillion-plus package of domestic outlays — not just for roads and bridges, but foundations of everyday life including child care, family tax breaks, education and an expansion of Medicare for seniors.

Biden calls it a "blue-collar blueprint for building an American economy back." He asserted Tuesday that Americans are overwhelmingly in support of his plan and "that's the part that a lot of our friends on the other team kind of miss."

The other team begs to differ.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and some outside groups decry what they call Biden's "spending spree," and McConnell has said big spending is "the last thing American families need."

A core group of Republicans are interested in pursuing a more modest package of traditional highway and public works projects, about $600 billion in new funds, and say they just need more time to negotiate with their Democratic colleagues and the White House.

Senators from the bipartisan group emerged upbeat Tuesday from another late-night negotiating session with Biden aides at the Capitol, saying a deal was within reach and even a failed vote Wednesday would not be the end of the road.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said the test vote Wednesday afternoon could be useful in helping to "advance and expedite" the process.

"We are so close," said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.

Biden has been in touch with both Democrats and Republicans for several days, and his outreach will continue "until he has both pieces of legislation on his desk to sign them into law," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

While Biden proposes paying for his proposals with a tax hike on corporations and wealthy Americans who earn more than $400,000 a year, the bipartisan group has been working almost around the clock to figure out a compromise way to pay for its package, having dashed ideas for boosting the gas tax drivers pay at the pump or strengthening the Internal Revenue Service to go after tax scofflaws.

Instead, senators in the bipartisan group were considering rolling back a Trump-era rule on pharmaceutical rebates that could bring in some $170 billion to be used for infrastructure. They were also still haggling over public transit funds.

Ten Republicans would be needed in the evenly split Senate to join all 50 Democrats in reaching the 60-vote threshold required to advance the bill past a filibuster to formal consideration.

Republicans are reluctant to open debate as the bipartisan bill remains a work in progress.

At a private lunch meeting Tuesday, McConnell and others urged Republican senators to vote no, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the session.

"We're not going to vote to proceed to a bill that doesn't exist yet," Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said afterward.

Some senators want to delay the vote to Monday. "We're making progress, but we need more time," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the members of the bipartisan group.

By setting the vote now, Schumer is trying to nudge negotiations along, a strategy both parties have used before. If it fails Wednesday he can set another vote to proceed to the bill later.

Many Republicans are wary of moving ahead with the first, relatively slim package, fearing it will pave the way for the broader $3.5 trillion effort Democrats are preparing to pass on their own under special budget rules that only require 51 votes. Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been working to keep restless Democrats in her chamber in line, as rank-and-file lawmakers grow impatient with the sluggish Senate pace.

Liberal Democrats, in particular, are eager to make gains on Biden's priorities — with or without Republicans.

"Time's a-wasting, I want to get this work done," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters Tuesday.

Jayapal warned against giving Republicans too much time to negotiate the deal away. "We have all the history in the world to show that this is what Republicans do time and time and time again," she said.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, dismissed the Senate's bipartisan effort as inadequate. He wants more robust spending on the transportation elements and said, "We want an opportunity to actually negotiate."

Democrat John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said if the bipartisan effort fails in the Senate, Democrats will simply include some of the infrastructure spending in the broader package they are compiling with Biden's other priorities.

Democrats hope to show progress on that bill before lawmakers leave Washington for their recess in August.

The legislative maneuvering marks a major test of Biden's ability to deliver on a massive package of economic promises and reforms he made during his campaign.

Biden is making the case that America needs to make up for lost time with fresh federal outlays to shore up its aging infrastructure and households struggling to recoup from a shifting economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economy has come back to life as more Americans have gotten vaccinated and Biden's earlier $1.9 trillion relief package has coursed through the country. Employers have added an average of nearly 543,000 jobs a month since January, with Federal Reserve officials anticipating overall economic growth of roughly 7% this year that would be the highest since 1984. Yet there is also uncertainty as employers say they're struggling to find workers at the current pay levels and inflation concerns have yet to abate.

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

A proposal to strengthen IRS enforcement to crack down on tax scofflaws and help fund a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending is officially off the table, Republican Sen. Rob Portman said Sunday.

Portman, who is involved in negotiating the bill, cited "pushback" from fellow Republican lawmakers who dislike the idea of expanding the reach of the IRS, which they have accused over the years of unfairly targeting conservatives. He said another reason the IRS provision was shelved is that Democrats are including a more robust enforcement plan in a separate $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that they intend to pass through the Senate using special budget rules and without Republican votes.

"That created quite a problem because the general agreement is that this is the bipartisan, negotiated infrastructure package and that we will stick with that," the Ohio senator said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Portman's announcement that the IRS provision had been removed underscores the difficulty facing the bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators in finding mutually agreeable ways to pay for billions of dollars of new spending their White House-backed plan calls for.

Portman said meetings were planned Sunday to discuss alternatives to the IRS provision.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressuring lawmakers to reach an agreement this week on the pair of massive domestic spending measures, signaling Democrats' desire to push ahead aggressively on President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar agenda.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that he is scheduling a procedural vote for Wednesday to begin debate on the still-evolving bipartisan infrastructure bill. Senators from both parties, bargaining for weeks, have struggled to reach final agreement on a $1 trillion package of highway, water systems and other public works projects.

Portman on Sunday called that an "arbitrary deadline" and one that was premature given that senators haven't even agreed on details of the "complex" bill yet.

"We want to get it right. It's not too much to ask that we have time to do that," Portman said. "We ought not to have an arbitrary deadline forcing this process."

Schumer said he also wanted Democratic senators to reach an agreement among themselves by Wednesday on the specific details of a separate 10-year budget blueprint that envisions $3.5 trillion in spending for climate change, education, an expansion of Medicare and more.

It is edge-of-seat time once again for local leaders who have been pushing for a new Brent Spence Bridge across the Ohio River.

They are looking hopefully to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that is before Congress.

Whether it's wishful thinking, spot-on analysis or guesswork, Kentucky's governor suggested Monday that tolls may not be a make-or-break issue after all.

Andy Beshear said he is "waiting with bated breath" to see if President Joe Biden's administration will include the Brent Spence in the bipartisan bill. We've heard for decades how funding a new major artery requires a local match, defined by those who would make it as tolls.

"And right now I'm not sure that there's community support for that," Beshear told reporters.

But at NKU Monday where he delivered grants for various projects, some involving transportation, the governor pinned hopes on large federal project thinking.

"I don't think where we are on tolls has anything to do with whether or not they're going to invest," Beshear said.

Like vehicles on the 58-year-old covered span, optimism is inching forward once again. But the community has been down this well-traveled road many times.

"Transportation in this community is awful," Northern Kentucky Chamber President Brent Cooper said.

He said the current situation is taking — as he put it — a brutal toll on commuters and commerce.

"We have employers who have lost employees because of the Brent Spence Bridge, who are unable to get new employees because of the Brent Spence Bridge. The Chambers of Commerce on both sides of the river are hearing this every day. So, something has to get done," Cooper said.

When this year ends, the Brent Spence will have either been closed or limited to two lanes for over 13 months.

Intrigued by the governor's remarks, he's nevertheless from Missouri about it.

"We would love it if tolls weren't necessary, believe me. But we don't know how that's possible at this point," Cooper said.

Neither does the senate minority leader.

In Louisville Monday, Mitch McConnell bluntly told media: "The biggest part of the problem has been in Frankfort, not in Washington."

McConnell is a key part of what happens to the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress is considering. As he spoke, Monday's traffic was its typical congested mess.

It exacts such a toll on daily patience, even a question about tolls seems exasperating at times.

"I don't know," McConnell answered. "I don't know for sure. But I do know that's the way it was done here. That's the way it's going to be done down near Henderson. But huge challenge in Northern Kentucky and I understand why. They got a lot of commuters."

It took two hours for Reds fans to get from Florence to the ballpark the other day.

Business leaders lament the domino effect of Brent Spence Bridge congestion on other major roadways.

"Something has to get done," Cooper said. "We're tired of saying it. We're begging people to come to the table. Yes, tolling is a challenge. But what's happening now is much, much worse."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said: "While we are in early stages of drafting legislation, a path forward for the Brent Spence Bridge is, and always has been, a priority for the Senator. While this framework includes unprecedented levels of funding for major projects like the BSB, the state and local officials involved in this project still need to address their part of this process in order to move forward."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has put forward a $1.7 trillion infrastructure counteroffer to Senate Republicans.

The new proposal drops President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2.3 trillion proposal “in the spirit of finding common ground,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

Psaki released few other details, but she said the proposal agreed to reduce the funding request for broadband to match the Republican offer and to reduce the proposed investment in roads, bridges, and other projects to come closer to the number proposed by GOP senators.

Psaki disclosed the new offer as talks were still underway between key Cabinet secretaries and GOP senators at a crucial stage toward a deal.

“This proposal exhibits a willingness to come down in size, giving on some areas that are important to the president, otherwise they wouldn’t have been in the proposal. We’ll also stay firm in areas that are most vital to rebuilding our infrastructure and industries of the future, making our workforce and our country more competitive with China,” said Psaki.

Psaki said the administration will release more details of the counterproposal soon.

Skepticism had been rising on all sides amid complaints about the lack of significant movement off the opening bids. Republicans had offered a $568 billion plan.

The president’s team had set a soft Memorial Day deadline to determine whether a deal was within reach.