The “neighborhood access and equity grants” would supplement earlier funding in the infrastructure law and could go towards a range of projects. About a third of the money is earmarked for lower-income areas.
More help could be coming from Washington for neighborhoods that have long been cleaved apart by highways and other infrastructure, if a major spending bill now before Congress becomes law.
The legislation would set aside $3 billion for reconnecting the divided communities, through a new program called Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants. The program would greatly expand similar efforts contained in the federal infrastructure law that passed last year, both in terms of the amount of money available and the scope of projects that would qualify.
The new neighborhood grants are included in the Inflation Reduction Act, a spending measure backed by Democrats, which the Senate approved on Sunday in a party-line vote. The sweeping proposal—which includes around $370 billion for climate and energy programs, as well as health care and tax provisions—surprised advocates and just about everyone around Capitol Hill, who had assumed negotiations on the bill had stalled.
Route Fifty
By Daniel C. Vock
AUGUST 5, 2022