By Dees Stribling, Bisnow National
The Biden administration Wednesday rolled out its proposal for roughly $2 trillion in infrastructure spending. The plan calls for funding to repair basic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, but also a host of other priorities, including upgrades to the U.S. housing stock, electrical grid and water systems, as well as expanding access to broadband internet and improving the pay of home healthcare workers.
The plan calls for $213 billion to preserve and retrofit more than 2 million affordable housing units and commercial buildings and build more than 500,000 new low-cost housing units. As part of the spending on affordable housing, the president is calling on Congress to pass the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which would offer $20B in tax credits for affordable housing over the next five years.
Another part of the Biden proposal would be to enact a grant program that awards money to jurisdictions that eliminate barriers to producing affordable housing, such as exclusionary zoning laws.
The plan would also use $10B to modernize federal buildings, including through the Federal Capital Revolving Fund, with the aim of making the structures more sustainable. The greening of federal properties, which was a focus of the Obama administration, was de-emphasized under President Donald Trump.
