National CAPACD Applauds Passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

National CAPACD applauds the Senate passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act yesterday. We stand ready to work with the Administration to ensure that all communities of color benefit from its bold investments in a more sustainable, resilient, and just economy. We are encouraged that the legislation seeks to redress the devastating impacts of divestment in our infrastructure on communities of color. It does so through investments in millions of good-paying jobs, affordable high-speed internet to address the digital divide, and reliable public transit. It also commits to clean drinking water, improved air quality, and increased safeguards from climate crises – acknowledging the disparate harm of pollution and climate change on communities of color.

National CAPACD is encouraged by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as a critical starting point for the Administration to build back our communities more equitably. We urge the President and Vice President to continue this work by pushing for investments in affordable housing supply and preservation, as included in the American Jobs Plan, to address one of the most urgent crises of our time. Investing in our infrastructure for the purpose of increasing economic opportunity and redressing historic inequities must be paired with meaningful investments in affordable housing for all.

In a meeting held just last week between President Biden and Vice President Harris and national AAPI leaders, Seema Agnani voiced National CAPACD’s support for the bold plan – “National CAPACD and our partners will work with the Administration to ensure these unprecedented investments benefit communities of color and advance racial equity as intended, rather than deepening existing displacement and inequities. In order to ensure communities of color benefit, there must be accessible public processes in place so that investments, such as public transit development, are implemented in a way that is accountable to local communities.”