On November 5, the House passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, often referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework or BIF, sending the measure to President Joe Biden's desk after months of negotiations.

Congress and the White House have worked over the last few months on a two-track infrastructure process, including a bipartisan infrastructure package, as well as a larger Democrat-only package -  Build Back Better Act, or BBB - to be moved through the budget reconciliation process.

Congress is still in the process of advancing consideration for the BBB legislation, which is the counterpart to BIF that includes funding for critical affordable housing and community development programs.

The final bipartisan bill passed on Friday includes $550 billion in new federal investments in America’s infrastructure over the next five years and would invest $65 billion in broadband infrastructure, $49 billion in public transit, $47 billion in infrastructure resilience and $21 billion in environmental remediation, among other items.

In terms of climate change mitigation, the bill includes several provisions to build the country’s resilience to the intensifying disasters and prevent catastrophic impacts in communities. Funding for waste management, flood and wildfire mitigation, drought and coastal resiliency, heat stress, and weatherization are all included to improve our nation’s infrastructure to withstand climate-related hazards.

Topline Numbers for Resiliency That Also Impact Housing

  • $500 million for the STORM Act to provide support through loans and grants to local communities facing climate shocks such as flooding that result in millions of dollars in property damage.

  • $492 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mapping, observations and modeling that can help protect millions of lives and property from extreme weather events. Specific programs funded include the Coastal Mapping Program, Atlas 14 & Probable Maximum Precipitation, nextGen National Water Modeling framework, and flood inundation maps (FIM) that can forecast the extent and depth of floods.

  • $3.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance program to help provide financial and technical assistance to communities in an effort to reduce the risk of flood damage to homes and businesses through elevation, buyouts and other activities.

  • $1 billion for the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program, a pre-disaster mitigation program, supporting states, local communities, tribes and territories undertaking hazard mitigation projects to reduce the risks they face from disasters.

  • $216 million over 5 years for Tribal Climate Resilience, of which $130 million is for community relocation and $86 millions is for climate resilience and adaptation projects. These activities will help address the varying climate challenges facing tribal communities across the nation.

  • $3.5 billion for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which helps reduce energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety.

  • $500 million over 5 years for the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which will support low-income households with rising energy prices.

Next Steps for Congress

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) delivers major wins for the U.S. economy with one of the largest investments in clean energy and climate action ever. Enterprise applauds Congress for passing this historic legislation, as well as the administration’s commitment to pre-disaster mitigation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the Build Back Better Act (BBB), which is the companion bill that includes $150 billion in proposed housing investments, is still under consideration in Congress.

We urge our partners to reach out to their Members of Congress and ask them to support BBB and include the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, community development and climate resilience investments in the final bill.

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