Congressman Steven Horsford Passes Groundbreaking Infrastructure Bill for Nevada | Congressman Steven Horsford
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Congressman Steven Horsford Passes Groundbreaking Infrastructure Bill for Nevada

July 1, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Steven Horsford passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, to invest more than $1.5 trillion in modern, sustainable infrastructure while creating millions of good-paying jobs, combatting the climate crisis and addressing disparities in urban, suburban and rural communities across Nevada and throughout the country.

"As the state of Nevada grows, so does our need to expand our transportation and infrastructure needs—not only our roads, bridges, and transit systems, but also our schools, housing, broadband access, and so much more," said Congressman Horsford. "By investing in families, workers, and communities across the country, we can create millions of jobs that cannot be exported, all while putting our country on a path toward zero carbon emissions, making communities and roads safer, and addressing long-standing disparities. It's about investing in infrastructure that is smarter, safer, and made to last."

Among the many far-reaching provisions of the Moving Forward Act:

  • The INVEST in America Act, a nearly $500 billion investment to rebuild and reimagine the nation's transportation infrastructure by fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, improving safety, reducing gridlock, and putting the U.S. on a path toward zero emissions from the transportation sector by cutting carbon pollution, investing in public transit and the national rail network, building out fueling infrastructure for low- and zero-emission vehicles, and deploying technology and innovative materials. The INVEST in America Act is fueled by American workers and ingenuity thanks to strong Buy America provisions and labor protections.
  • Invests in schools with the Reopen and Rebuild America's Schools Act, which funds $130 billion in school infrastructure targeted at high-poverty schools with facilities that endanger the health and safety of students and educators. This investment will help students get back to school and create more than 2 million jobs to help workers get back to work.
    • Clark County has shown that the county's unfunded needs are in excess of $8.3 billion, with over $4.6 billion expected to be needed for the modernization of existing facilities. This funding can also be utilized to improve schools in the six rural districts of Nevada's Fourth Congressional District.
  • Invests over $100 billion into our nation's affordable housing infrastructure to create or preserve 1.8 million affordable homes. These investments will help reduce housing inequality, create jobs and stimulate the broader economy, increase community and household resiliency in the face of natural disasters, improve hazardous living conditions, and increase the environmental sustainability of our housing stock.
    • Some 210,000 low-income households in Clark and Washoe counties need assistance obtaining affordable housing, according to the state's Annual Housing Progress Report. About 168,000 of those families live in Southern Nevada. Waitlists for affordable housing units in Nevada have nearly doubled in size since 2014, according to the state's Taking Stock report. Roughly 8,000 affordable housing units a year for the next 10 years are needed to be constructed in order to close the gap. However, only about 2,500 to 3,000 units are able to be produced in a great year.
  • Protects access to safe drinking water by investing over $25 billion in the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and other programs to ensure all communities have clean drinking water and to help remove dangerous contaminants like PFAS from local water systems.
  • Invests $40 billion in new wastewater infrastructure to encourage efficiency and affordability, and helps communities address stormwater needs, preventing pollution in local rivers.
    • This funding can be used for facilities like the APEX Industrial Park. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported in 2012 that wastewater projects in Nevada required approximately $3.08 billion. Nevada is the driest state in the U.S. and supporting a growing population requires innovation and conservation.
  • Modernizes our energy infrastructure for a clean energy future by investing more than $70 billion to transform our electric grid to accommodate more renewable energy, expand renewable energy, strengthen existing infrastructure, help develop an electric vehicle charging network, and support energy efficiency, weatherization, and Smart Communities infrastructure.
    • H.R. 2 will also reinvigorate our commitment to renewable energy and combat the climate crisis by building on current successful tax incentives that promote the deployment of green energy technologies while providing new incentives for activities that reduce carbon pollution, such as Dynamic Glass which Congressman Horsford has championed in Congress.
  • Delivers affordable high-speed broadband Internet access to all parts of the country by investing $100 billion to promote competition for broadband internet infrastructure in unserved and underserved communities, prioritizing those with persistent poverty. Gets children connected to remote learning, closes broadband adoption and digital skills gaps and enhances payment support for low-income households and the recently unemployed.
  • Modernizes the nation's health care infrastructure by investing $30 billion to upgrade hospitals to increase capacity and strengthen care, help community health centers respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies, improve clinical laboratory infrastructure, support the Indian Health Service‘s infrastructure, and increase capacity for community-based care.
  • Promotes investments in our communities by spurring private investment through the tax code, through a revitalized Build America Bonds program, expansions of Private Activity Bonds, and significant enhancements to the New Markets Tax Credit and the Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

A fact sheet on the Moving Forward Act is available here.