White House notes ‘systemic lack of investment’ in commonwealth
President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday issued report cards for all 50 states to raise key points about why a massive infrastructure bill is necessary, giving Pennsylvania a C- and noting the “systemic lack of investment” across the commonwealth.
The report cards highlighted 12 areas in each state Biden says would be addressed under his transportation plan, including roads and bridges, public transportation, drinking water, housing, child care, veterans health and more.
Most states received a grade of C or C-, but several received D grades as Biden’s administration pushes to spend $2.3 trillion on the plan.
Among the many issues flagged in Pennsylvania, the report said:
There are 3,353 bridges and more than 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.6% in the state. On average, each driver pays $620 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair.
Pennsylvanians who take public transportation spend an extra 68.8% of their time commuting, and nonwhite households are five times more likely to commute via public transportation. In Pennsylvania, 22% of trains and other transit vehicles are past their useful life. From 2010-20, the state has had 37 extreme weather events, costing up to $10 billion in damage.
Over the next 20 years, the drinking water infrastructure will require $16.8 billion in additional funding. Due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 720,000 renters across the commonwealth are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
Pennsylvania’s schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades and 57% of residents live in a child care desert (an area where demand for space in licensed child care facilities far outpaces local capacity).
The average low-income family spends 8%-10% of their income on home energy costs.
The figures were drawn from public and private data and showcased as Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss the plan.
Republicans have argued that just a fraction of the spending in the proposal would go to traditional infrastructure, and also object to funding the package by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, among other tax changes.
Biden’s plan requires the $2.3 trillion in spending over eight years and says it would create millions of jobs. The plan includes $85 billion for public transit to expand service across the country, and another $80 billion to modernize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line, including a possible link between Allentown and New York City.
Pennsylvania’s C- grade on the White House report is slightly more optimistic than a 2018 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers. It gave a D+ to bridges, a D to public transit, and a D+ to roads across the state.