White House Points Up $13.4B in IIJA Money for Tribal Infrastructure

The Biden administration has outlined the allocation of over $1.3 billion for tribal infrastructure as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, This is an unprecedented level of funding for tribal infrastructure, including roads and bridges, drinking water, wastewater treatment and broadband.

“This is going to be the largest investment in tribal infrastructure in American history," said White House infrastructure implementation coordinator, Mitch Landrieu, to reporters yesterday.

According to a White House fact sheet, the largest portion of the five-year allocation plan includes $3.5 billion for sanitation construction. Other notable allocations include; $3 billion for the Dept. of Transportation's tribal transportation program and $2 billion for the Commerce Dept.'s tribal broadband connectivity program. $900 million will go to Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water and Drinking Grants and $800 million is allotted for DOT tribal transportation bridges.

Additionally, Landrieu noted that tribes have access to “billions of dollars” in other IIJA programs, including competitively awarded grants. The White House presented a "playbook" intended to help tribes with navigating the applications for the different types of IIJA funds.

“For too long, infrastructure dollars have not been deployed equitably to Indian country.” Landrieu added.

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