White House hits states with Cs and Ds in its 'infrastructure report cards'
As President Biden pushes for his $2 trillion infrastructure bill, the White House singled out states like New Jersey with a D+ grade.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
- The White House came out with its "infrastructure report cards" on Monday.
- No state got higher than a C.
- The harsh grades came with "fact sheets" on how states would benefit from Biden's $2 trillion bill.
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The White House is out with report cards on the quality of infrastructure across all 50 states - and none of them did well.
In a Monday press release, the White House assessed each state's level of infrastructure and offered "fact sheets" on where they stand to benefit from President Joe Biden's $2 trillion bill.
-Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) April 12, 2021
"The fact sheets highlight the number of bridges and miles of road in each state in poor condition, the percentage of households without access to broadband, the billions of dollars required for water infrastructure, among other infrastructure needs," Biden's press office wrote in the release.
Some states, like New Jersey, were hit with harsh assessments.
The Garden State got a D+ from the White House, citing long commute times, "502 bridges and over 3,995 miles of highway in poor condition," and a high propensity for "extreme weather events" as major issues.
No state managed to get even as high as a C+, much less a B.
Other states got no grade at all, such as Arkansas, Wyoming, and both Carolinas.
The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on why some states didn't get a grade.
For South Carolina, the line where other states have their grade listed only reads: "For decades, infrastructure in South Carolina has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear."
Critics continue to argue that US infrastructure is not "crumbling," and that the dire circumstances the bill seeks to address are not as important as out-competing countries like China for top-notch services.
The Biden fact sheets get into granular detail about shortcomings and looming crises in each state.
New York's public transportation system - which, like other municipal transit systems nationwide, has struggled during the pandemic as subway and bus fares plummeted in 2020 - was one example.
"New Yorkers who take public transportation spend an extra 58.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation," according to the release. "11% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment."
Biden has framed the stakes around the bill as being of utmost importance for the US's global standing and even the future of democracy against rising authoritarian regimes, warning that China is "racing ahead" on infrastructure.