The Need for Action in Rhode Island
For decades, infrastructure in Rhode Island has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear: Rhode Island’s infrastructure received a C- grade on its Infrastructure Report Card.
The
American
Jobs Plan will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure.
ROADS AND
BRIDGES:
In
Rhode Island there are 148 bridges and over 860 miles of highway in poor
condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 10.2% in Rhode Island
and on average, each driver pays $845 per year in costs due to driving on roads
in need of repair.
The
American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations'
transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115
billion repairing roads and bridges.
PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION:
Rhode
Islanders who take public transportation spend an extra 120.1% of their time
commuting and non-White households are 2.4 times more likely to commute via
public transportation. 27% of trains and other transit vehicles are past useful
life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion
investment.
RESILIENT
INFRASTRUCTURE:
From
2010 to 2020, Rhode Island has experienced 11 extreme weather events, costing
the state up to $2 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion
to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities’
recovery from disaster.
DRINKING WATER:
Over
the next 20 years, Rhode Island’s drinking water infrastructure will require
$833 million in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111
billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all
communities.
HOUSING:
In
part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 73,000 renters in Rhode
Island are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on
rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing
supply and address the affordable housing crisis.
BROADBAND:
More
than 1.4% of Rhode Islanders live in areas where, by one definition, there is
no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And
10.5% of Rhode Islanders live in areas where there is only one such provider.
Moreover,
even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be
within reach. Over 12% of Rhode Island households do not have an internet
subscription.
The
American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable,
high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.
CAREGIVING: Across the
country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are
in need of home and community-based services.
The
President’s plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and
improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
CHILD CARE: In Rhode
Island, there is an estimated $241 million in what schools need to do
maintenance and make improvements and 47% of residents live in a child care
desert.
The
American Jobs Plan will modernize our nation’s schools and early learning
facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Rhode Island and the
country.
MANUFACTURING:
Manufacturers
account for more than 8.7% of total output in Rhode Island, employing 39,000
workers, or 7.8% of the state’s workforce.
The
American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American
manufacturers, including providing incentives for manufacturers to invest in
innovative energy projects in coal communities.
HOME ENERGY:
In
Rhode Island, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home
energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food,
medicine or other essentials.
The
American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy
efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance
Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building
improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades.
CLEAN ENERGY
JOBS:
As
of 2019, there were 16,429 Rhode Islanders working in clean energy, and the
American Jobs Plan invests in creating more good paying union jobs advancing
clean energy production by extending and expanding tax credits for clean energy
generation, carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy manufacturing.
VETERANS HEALTH:
Rhode
Island is home to over 63,250 veterans, 7.97% of who are women and 55% who are
over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the
infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of
world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care
system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and
older veterans.