Keller @ Large: How And When Will Massachusetts Spend Federal Money From Infrastructure Bill?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Congresswoman Lori Trahan says Massachusetts will get at least $8 billion in federal funding from the new infrastructure bill.
"There are many new programs in this legislation where tens of billions of dollars will be up for grabs through competitive funding programs that we know communities in my district and across the Commonwealth will benefit from," Trahan told WBZ-TV's Jon Keller.
"Some will be for municipalities, some will be for states, some will be for organizations that can compete for these grants. We're working really closely with our local elected leaders to figure out what those programs are," she explained.
Trahan is particularly excited about the money that will update water systems and clean up the sewage in the Merrimack River.
She hopes funding hits the state before the spring.
Fellow Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley voted against the infrastructure bill.
Pressley wrote in a statement about her decision: "We had an agreement that these two bills would move together—not that we would vote for one in exchange for a potential vote on the other if certain conditions were met. Unfortunately, that agreement was not honored. As such, I voted no tonight on the narrow roads and bridges bill. I refuse to choose between the livelihoods of the union workers who build our highways and bridges, and the childcare and healthcare workers who care for our children, elderly, and disabled loved ones. I refuse to choose between our crumbling roads, bridges public transit system, and our crumbling housing stock. I refuse to pit community member against community member."
Trahan told Keller she shares Pressley's commitment to getting the Build Back Better Act across the finish line. "But I do think the action we took when we passed the infrastructure legislation in the House earlier this month, it got us closer to achieving that goal," Trahan said.
"We are really confident that what we have in the Build Back Better plan, the one that's passing the House is really going to help families like the one I grew up in. There's one thing to create millions of jobs across the country, it's another thing to make sure we equip people to get into those jobs, to take advantage of that job creation. We do that by investing in child care...having universal pre-k, decreasing the cost of prescription drug prices," she added.
Keller @ Large: Part 2
