Jobs Act

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was signed into law by President Biden on November 15, 2021. The law authorizes $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending with $550 billion of that figure going toward “new” investments and programs. Funding from the IIJA is expansive in its reach, addressing energy and power infrastructure, access to broadband internet, water infrastructure, and more. Some of the new programs funded by the bill could provide the resources needed to address a variety of infrastructure needs at the local level.

The |S|B|G|A| Federal Liaison Center will monitor program implementation and update resources as needed in the sections below.

PLEASE NOTE: The new programs are generally still at various stages of agency development; we will strive to post updates when available.

Here you'll learn about Important Federal Certifications

which may be required for Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) Opportunities;

Receive answers to the following questions:

What certifications does your business need to succeed in the Federal Marketplace?

Who can assist you with the certification process?

IIJA Highlights

This is a high level breakdown of where all of the money in IIJA will be directed. Most funding will be directed over a five year period.

There are three types of funding: money that comes from the Highway Trust Fund, which essentially gives agencies to spend over the five years like real money; guaranteed appropriations, which are funds added by the IIJA that will either create new programs or bolster existing funding (no need for future action); and general funds that are authorized to be spent but require future action by the appropriations committees.

Points to Consider in Preparation of Funding/Program Rollout

Although this is not an exhaustive list, here is a sample of various considerations local governments can think about as IIJA implementation gets underway.

Coordinate across departments internally and with metropolitan planning organizations (as appropriate)

Prioritize your community's capital needs and develop a project pipeline

Review the IIJA Guidebook to identify potential funding streams to focus on

Become familiar with your state's broadband agency and work with them to ensure your local community or region's needs are appropriately mapped and inventoried

Establish relationships with the regional offices for the federal agencies that are key to addressing your community's needs as they can help direct you to resources and provided technical assistance

Resources from the White House

IIJA Guidebook

With implementation underway, the Biden Administration also released a guidebook to provide information outlining resources in the infrastructure package. Further, it serves as a roadmap to the funding available under the law, explaining direct federal spending at the program level.

Click Here for the White House IIJA Guidebook

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The Most Important Piece of The IIJA to Small Business & Disadvantage Communities

The Justice40 Initiative has made it a priority of the federal government t commit at least 40% of all federal funds from federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened with pollution. The categories of investment are: climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure. Covered federal investments include any grant or procurement spending, financing, staffing costs, direct spending, or benefits to individuals for a covered program in a Justice40 program.

The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool is a geospatial mapping tool to identify disadvantaged communities across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. This tool can help promote the Justice40 program as it can help identify disadvantaged communities.

For more information on the Justice40 Initiative, click on the link here.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises

IIJA provides $50 million of competitive grants, contracts, and allocations to states.

The Federal Highway Administration requests $10 million for FY2022.
This program will provide funds to assist small and disadvantaged firms with building capacity and improving their ability to compete for Federal-aid highway contracts.

More information on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program.

Details of the Federal Highway Administration funding request for FY2022. (Note: the details for the funding request can be found on page III-32).

Use the screening tool to find out if your community qualifies special Fund - Grant - Contracting Set aside

Climate and Economic Justice

Screening Tool

BETA

Use the map to see communities that are identified as disadvantaged. The map uses publicly-available, nationally-consistent datasets. Learn more about the methodology and datasets that were used to identify disadvantaged communities in the current version of the map on the Methodology & data page.

To take advantage of IIJA Funding & Grants and Set aside Contracts

Call (202) 417-7242 for FREE Consultation