President Biden has unveiled his $2 trillion American Jobs Plan. In addition to the headline-grabbing plans for upgrading roads and bridges, smoothing the road for a wide-scale transition to electric vehicles, and modernizing the nation’s electric grid to make it more resilient and better suited for low-carbon electricity, the plan includes billions of dollars to upgrade buildings.
The plan includes $10 billion to upgrade federal facilities -- it funds the Federal Capital Revolving Fund for purchasing and construction of federal facilities. According to Government Executive, the General Services Administration has received only 39 percent of its requesting funding for buildings in 2021. So the American Jobs Plan would help GSA address a huge backlog of maintenance and need for new buildings.
The American Jobs Plan also includes $18 billion to upgrade and modernize Veteran’s Administration hospitals and clinics, which have a median age of 58 years.
Better school facilities are a major focus, as well. The plan provides $100 billion for new and upgraded school buildings, including improving ventilation systems, among other improvements, according to Education Week.
Overall, the plan is being positioned as a long-overdue investment in the country. Biden is calling the plan a “once in a generation investment in infrastructure.” According to the plan’s official fact sheet, “President Biden’s plan will create good jobs building, rehabilitating, and retrofitting affordable, accessible, energy efficient, and resilient housing, commercial buildings, schools, and child care facilities all over the country, while also vastly improving our nation’s federal facilities, especially those that serve veterans.”
This post was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, editor, Building Operating Management and FacilitiesNet.com.
