IIJA Spending: $454 Billion and Counting
The $1.2 trillion in spending allotted under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was never going to get paid out in one lump sum—so how does that much money actually get spent? One project at a time.
As of now, $454 billion in IIJA funding has been announced for more than 57,000 projects across the country, according to a recent update from the Biden administration, which reports: “These projects range from repaving roads and water-system upgrades funded through formula grants to states to competitive funding for massive bridge and transit projects.”
The White House promises that “thousands more recipients will be added in the coming months”—and one hopes so. Passed in November 2021, IIJA has a five-year appropriations timeline, meaning there’s a little less than two-and-a-half years to account for the remaining $746 billion in infrastructure funds.
EEOC Targets Harassment in Construction
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released a new resource aimed at helping prevent harassment in the construction industry.
Announced as part of a White House roundtable in June on increasing the representation of women in construction, “Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment in the Construction Industry” outlines key components of a contractor’s anti-harassment efforts, including:
- Committed and engaged leadership
- Consistent and demonstrated accountability
- Strong and comprehensive harassment policies
- Trusted and accessible complaint procedures
- Regular, interactive training tailored to the audience and the organization
In some ways, according to the EEOC, “Promising Practices” is necessary because of the success of previous inclusivity initiatives. “At a time when job opportunities in construction are rapidly growing thanks to historic federal investments,” EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows said in a statement, “significant harassment and discrimination still hinder equal employment opportunity in the industry.”
Read the full “Promising Practices” document at eeoc.gov/promising-
practices-preventing-harassment-construction-industry.
