infrastructure week
Biden's infrastructure plan would replace every lead pipe in America
The White House has unveiled the details of President Biden's major new infrastructure and climate plan, which includes the elimination of every lead pipe in the United States.
The White House detailed the roughly $2 trillion American Jobs Plan proposal on Wednesday, and its many components include replacing "100 percent of the nation's lead pipes and service lines," a statement said. The plan calls for an investment of $45 billion toward this goal of reducing lead exposure in homes, schools, and childcare facilities.
"It's just plain wrong that in the United States of America today, millions of children still receive their water through lead service pipes," Biden said on Twitter. "It's long past time we fix that.'"
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are between six and 10 million lead service lines in the United States, and "in homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water."
Other notable details from the plan include ensuring every American has access to high-speed broadband Internet, and building, retrofitting, or renovating around 2 million homes and housing units, The Washington Post reports. More broadly, the plan is seeking to rebuild the country's infrastructure including highways and bridges, and the investment would translate "into 20,000 miles of rebuilt roads," according to The New York Times. It also includes $100 billion to "bolster the country's electric grid and phase out fossil fuels," the Post reports.
Biden is expected to discuss the plan in a speech on Wednesday afternoon. Read more details about the proposal at The Washington Post.