The bipartisan passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021 provides the nation with the most comprehensive infrastructure investment in decades. It will not only create jobs but also transform numerous infrastructure sectors, from transportation and energy to high-speed internet and environmental resiliency.
Prior to signing the legislation into law, President Joe Biden named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator to implement the historic bipartisan infrastructure law.
Landrieu became mayor of New Orleans in 2010 as recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill had stalled. He is credited with leading one of the nation’s greatest comeback stories and was subsequently named “Public Official of the Year” by Governing and “America’s Top Turnaround Mayor” in a Politico survey of mayors.
In an exclusive interview with Engineering Inc., Landrieu provides insights into his vision for the bipartisan infrastructure law and explains how the legislation will help stimulate private sector investments and bolster innovation and supply chains. He also highlights the critical role engineers play in building a better America.
ACEC: What was your reaction to being named the White House’s coordinator for IIJA implementation? How did you approach the role when discussing the job with President Biden?
Mitch Landrieu: I was both honored and clear-eyed about the work ahead. For decades, American presidents have promised to invest in infrastructure but did not deliver. President Biden brought together Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to pass the largest investment in infrastructure in generations. We have a great responsibility to get this right.
“President Biden brought together Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to pass the largest investment in infrastructure in generations. We have a great responsibility to get this right.”
Having been a mayor and lieutenant governor after Hurricane Katrina, I saw the power of the government as a force for good and also noticed how a lack of coordination hurt on the ground. That’s why we’ve been very focused on coordination and communication both across federal agencies and with state and local partners. From day one, we committed to deliver this generational investment wisely and well—on time, on task, and on budget.
We’ve also been clear that we have to get this right, making sure that we leave no community behind. The law’s major investments must reach every community across this country as we work to build a better, stronger America. We have a lot of work ahead, but to date, we are delivering on that promise.
ACEC: You’ve talked about the need to go fast on IIJA implementation while also getting this right. For engineers, the “shovel-ready projects” that stemmed from the Obama-era American Recovery and Investment Act weren’t the kind of game-changing infrastructure that the IIJA calls for. One year in, how have you been able to balance going fast but still going big with game-changing infrastructure?
Landrieu: This is about balance. Decades of neglect and underinvestment in our infrastructure have weakened supply chains, damaged U.S. competitiveness, and hurt the quality of life in communities big and small. It’s not going to change overnight. At the same time, we have hit the ground running.
Our team is set up to do three things: build a team, deliver results, and tell the story. The first year has focused on getting the structural foundation right to be successful in the long term, as this is not something the country has done in a very long time.
As soon as I became infrastructure coordinator, I got to work—building the team across the federal government and with state and local partners who are the main folks executing on this investment. Approximately 90 percent of bipartisan infrastructure law funding will be implemented by nonfederal partners, so we requested right away that governors appoint infrastructure coordinators to manage the funds coming to their states. Since then, 54 states and territories, including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have made those appointments. We also released a bipartisan infrastructure law guidebook early on to help state and local partners unlock the benefits of the law, and we’ve prioritized collaboration with inspectors general, knowing that results and accountability go hand in hand.
Also, we have to be clear that this is not a one-time stimulus like past efforts. This funding will be spent over the next five to seven (even 10) years. That’s one reason we are now referring to this as the “infrastructure decade.”
Since signing the bipartisan infrastructure law, the administration has hit the ground running to implement the law and deliver results, announcing over $180 billion to rebuild roads and bridges, as well as additional funds to modernize ports and airports, replace lead pipes, deliver cleaner air and water, and expand high-speed internet. This includes funding for over 5,000 specific projects, touching over 3,200 communities across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The administration is also supporting or encouraging the funding of workforce training so there is a skilled workforce to take these infrastructure jobs, and to ensure all people, including people of color, women, and other populations who are underserved and underrepresented, can access these good middle-class jobs. Making sure we focus on that piece is key to our success over the next decade.
ACEC: The IIJA pushes for projects that incorporate domestically sourced materials and manufactured products. Engineers want to promote American manufacturing but, first and foremost, they must deliver on their commitment to safety and quality. Sometimes the products we need to deliver at this level aren’t available domestically. How is the administration working to minimize the disruption of project delivery when the necessary materials aren’t sourced in the U.S.?
Landrieu: Decades ago, domestic preference laws were put in place to ensure that taxpayer funds on infrastructure and federal procurement support American jobs and invest in the domestic industrial base. But despite the laws on the books, loopholes and waivers allowed billions of federal procurement dollars to flow overseas, supporting foreign manufacturers at the expense of American workers.
President Biden believes we have to use the power of this investment to rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity and good-paying jobs here at home. He made a commitment to make “Buy America” real to ensure taxpayer dollars create goodpaying jobs here at home, strengthen critical supply chains, and position U.S. businesses to compete in strategic industries.
By requiring the use of “Made in America” content, the Build America, Buy America provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure law will help stimulate private sector investments in domestic manufacturing, bolster critical supply chains, and support the creation of good-paying union jobs so that America’s workers and firms can compete and lead globally for years to come.
As we’ve learned from the pandemic, America’s critical supply chains have gaps. Manufacturers will need time to find onshore suppliers and scale up production to meet demand. Agencies have the authority to issue waivers from Build America, Buy America requirements but will do so judiciously—only as needed—and strategically, with an aim toward ensuring that Made in America goods will be used once firms make needed investments to expand domestic production. Waivers will be limited, targeted, and, where appropriate, conditional. They will cover specific items or specific periods of time to enable agencies, recipients, and the private market to build capacity and respond to the new conditions.
Waivers will not be an alternative to increasing domestic production but a tool to promote investment in our domestic manufacturing base, strengthen critical supply chains, and position U.S. workers and businesses to compete and lead globally in the 21st century as our infrastructure is built by American workers with Made in America products.
That’s also why legislation such as the new CHIPS and Science Act is so groundbreaking. CHIPS supercharges our efforts to make more semiconductors—which of course power everything from smartphones to automobiles—right here at home. We are firing on all cylinders to make more materials in America, ensuring that the important work of our engineers is as efficient and effective as possible.
One related point is that as we upgrade our ports, airports, rail, roads, and bridges through the bipartisan infrastructure law, we are going to improve our supply chains.
ACEC: A major feature of the IIJA is greater emphasis on clean energy, lower carbon emissions, and more resilient energy infrastructure. Many of these are new programs—can you give us a sense of how implementation is progressing?
Landrieu: Millions of Americans feel the effects climate change is reaping on our infrastructure each year when their roads wash out, power goes down, or schools get flooded. The bipartisan infrastructure law includes the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history, including over $50 billion to protect against droughts, heat, wildfires, floods, and other threats. It also provides the first down payment on investing in clean energy, rebuilding the power grid, and cleaning up pollution. The president’s bipartisan infrastructure law provides the first down payment on a clean energy future with more than $170 billion for clean energy and power, resilience in physical and natural systems, clean transportation, and cleaning up legacy pollution.
For example, the bipartisan infrastructure law’s more than $65 billion investment in clean energy transmission and the electric grid will upgrade our power infrastructure by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewables and clean energy, while lowering costs. Transforming the U.S. electricity sector—and electrifying an increasing share of the economy—represents the biggest job creation and economic opportunity engine of the 21st century. The law funds new programs to support the development, demonstration, and deployment of cutting-edge clean energy technologies to accelerate our transition to a zero-emission economy, including long-duration energy storage technologies, $9.5 billion in clean hydrogen initiatives to help decarbonize industry and the transportation sector, upgrades to our existing hydropower fleet, demonstration programs for direct air capture, and a $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program that will provide financial support to existing nuclear reactors that are at risk of closing and being replaced by higher-emitting power sources.
“We are firing on all cylinders to make more materials in America, ensuring that the important work of our engineers is as efficient and effective as possible.”
We have also begun implementing the over $20 billion in bipartisan infrastructure law programs to clean up pollution, including orphaned oil and gas wells, abandoned mines, Superfund sites, and brownfields, to create good-paying union jobs, catalyze economic opportunity in energy communities, reduce the emission of methane and other harmful pollutants, and advance long overdue environmental justice.
We’re making great progress on implementation. I’ll share a few examples with you:
Another milestone was that all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico submitted their electric vehicle (EV) plans to the federal government. That means we’re seeing the whole country get on board to make EVs more accessible, and I’m proud to say that we’re generally seeing strong interest from every state in many of our bipartisan infrastructure law programs.
Finally, this lays the foundation for more ahead. In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest investment in history to build a clean energy economy, tackle the climate crisis, and lower households’ energy costs—providing $369 billion in clean energy and climate investments.
Overall, the president believes that by investing in clean energy and more resilient energy infrastructure through legislation such as the bipartisan infrastructure law and the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act, we can both safeguard Americans for decades to come and rebuild our economy from the bottom up and the middle out—for an economy that is stronger, more innovative, and more sustainable.
ACEC: Engineers are in short supply these days. Our firms are struggling to recruit and retain engineers in an increasingly competitive labor market. How can the administration help us to tackle this challenge at a time when our ACEC Research Institute is reporting that 82,000 new engineering and design jobs were created by the IIJA alone?
Landrieu: There is simply no question that engineers are instrumental in our mission to build a better America. Our civil engineers help us rebuild our roads and bridges, our electrical engineers help make our grids more resilient, and our environmental engineers help us deliver clean water and get rid of dangerous pollutants. We know they are in high demand, and so as we work to fill these roles, we’re focused on underscoring the positive impact that workers can have by helping with bipartisan infrastructure law implementation—in lifting up communities, supporting our nation’s economy, and ensuring an equitable and bright future for our nation. The work that’s underway is fundamentally changing peoples’ lives, and the engineers who oversee the projects are at the forefront of transformational change. As we recruit talent, it’s important to emphasize these are mission-driven roles.
Finally, we’re taking major steps to train talent. We’ve kicked off a Talent Pipeline Challenge, calling on employers, training providers, state and local governments, and more to help train workers of all backgrounds to fill these newly available and good-paying jobs. Increasing training opportunities is essential for us to hire qualified, diverse candidates. Additionally, the bipartisan infrastructure law includes over $800 million in dedicated funding to train workers in many fields—ranging from plumbing to engineering.
ACEC: The president has been working on ways to fend off the staggering inflation that is an increasing threat to the economy. For our industry, firms have had to increase salaries and other costs at an almost unprecedented pace to hire and retain staff, while still working under government contracts that cap rates. With expected rising demand for engineering services and limited capacity across all sectors, what is the administration doing to make sure that our agency partners are equipped to handle the increased costs?
Landrieu: As you noted, the president is laser-focused on tackling inflation and lowering costs. The bipartisan infrastructure law is an investment in bringing down costs, as it strengthens supply chains to help fix disruptions that increase the price of goods for consumers. The new funding for ports, waterways, rail, and airports is going to help get goods to market more cheaply. We’re lowering energy costs and internet costs, too. We’re also, of course, confident that the Inflation Reduction Act will help give families more breathing room. This new law is going to increase domestic manufacturing, reduce the federal deficit, lower energy costs, and bring down the cost of prescription drugs and health care.
ACEC: Social equity has been a major policy focus for President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. What are your thoughts on the role infrastructure has historically played in fostering inequalities, and how does the administration want to use the IIJA to break down those barriers? Do you think engineering has a role in promoting social equity? How so?
Landrieu: You’re right that equity has been a major focus of the entire administration, and it’s certainly a priority as we’re implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Infrastructure can be an incredible force for good, leveling the playing field by connecting communities to economic and educational opportunities. Unfortunately, however, it can also have the opposite effect. There are highways across the country, for example, that were constructed through communities, displacing and barring disadvantaged communities from centers of opportunity, health care, and recreation. There is also the reality that too often, the communities that need infrastructure investments the most—in order to drink clean water or access the internet—are overlooked.
“There is simply no question that engineers are instrumental in our mission to build a better America.”
This administration is committed to changing that. We believe that building a better America means centering an equity lens on everything we do. That means we are focused on goals such as cleaning up legacy pollution that disproportionately affects vulnerable communities, replacing every single lead pipe so that every single child has clean water, reconnecting communities that have been divided by highways, and expanding high-speed internet across the country to close the digital divide. We cannot leave anybody behind.
And we cannot do this work without engineers. You are the planners. You are the ones helping design and plan the future of our communities.