Three years after the enactment of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), President Joe Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg commemorated its historic passage with the announcement of a $53.3 million federal grant for the PEV Regional Port Operations with Emissions Reductions Project at Florida’s Port Everglades, as well as a new nickname for the law.
The grant will fund the purchase of a number of low- and zero-emission vehicles and equipment, including hybrid pickup trucks, electric terminal tractors and forklifts, and hybrid gantry cranes, as well as fund necessary onsite infrastructure like electrical upgrades for charging stations and an electrification plan that supports sustained zero-emissions port operations.
“I am thrilled to help deliver more than $53 million in federal funds for the Port Everglades Emissions Reductions Project,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-D) in a recent statement. “In June I wrote and called Secretary Pete Buttigieg directly, urging him to fund this project. Together, this work will reduce harmful health impacts and environmental damage to communities surrounding the Port.”
President Biden also marked the anniversary with a statement highlighting the launch of more than 66,000 infrastructure projects across the country, including the expansion and modernization of U.S. ports.
“These investments are creating jobs, benefitting our communities, and ushering in an infrastructure decade that is planting the seeds for a better and more prosperous future,” said President Biden.
Secretary Buttigieg has even given the law a new moniker, calling it The Big Deal, in reference to President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which employed millions of Americans to build and improve the nation’s infrastructure.
To date, more than $568 billion in BIL funding has been announced, leaving more than $400 billion unaccounted for as President-Elect Trump is set to take over in January. The Biden Administration has up until Inauguration Day to allocate the funds, but there are some actions that President-Elect Trump could take, including formally requesting that Congress rescind some or all of these funds.
