America has an infrastructure bill. What happens next?

Late November 5th, the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The bill now goes directly to President Biden’s desk, where it will certainly become law. America finally has a generation-defining infrastructure bill—and if the reconciliation budget comes through, too, America will begin a building spree larger than what happened during the New Deal. When landmark legislation like IIJA gets passed, it’s easy to overemphasize victories on Capitol Hill. But that’s not the case for infrastructure. Passing IIJA is only the end of the beginning. Remember, IIJA isn’t a stimulus bill; it’s not a singular response to a specific economic crisis. IIJA represents a longer-term patient approach to rebuilding American competitiveness through infrastructure. It’s going to be a busy few months inside Washington and across the country as IIJA implementation begins and items like the reconciliation budget continue to move. There are four key elements to keep in mind: IIJA has more breadth than typical federal infrastructure bills; combined, IIJA and the reconciliation bill would be the biggest infrastructure investment in half a century; it will often take years to start seeing IIJA's projects in our communities; the public sector must grow to manage this level of new investment.