Like many, I will be watching the President’s State of the Union Address. While he will cover many topics that are indeed important to Atlantans, there are some that will probably not be mentioned that have a real impact on our daily lives.
On a snowy January afternoon in Washington D.C., I joined a bi-partisan group of mayors from across the country for a meeting with President Joe Biden. A late add to my agenda was an invitation to the Oval Office for a one-on-one conversation with the President to discuss how the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has impacted Atlanta.
With limited time, I used the expansion of Concourse D at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as an example. Atlanta received $40 million from BIL for that project, which will widen and modernize Concourse D and make it more accessible—especially ADA accessible.
Using a model of a transport device and some photos, I showed the President how we are building the new concourse off-site, because we want to stay efficient and maintain operations at the old concourse while building the new one. As the region’s premier economic generator, providing around 63,000 jobs, it is critical that our employees are able to keep working.
Additionally, when investments are made into the airport, minority and women-owned businesses benefit. The airport’s capital improvement program ATLNext is investing more than $12.1 billion to prepare for the next generation of air travel. Since its inception in 2016, ATL has spent $3.7 billion through ATLNext, of which $911 million was paid to small, minority and women-owned businesses—totaling over 300 small contractors.
It felt great to showcase Atlanta and our crown jewel—the world’s busiest and most efficient airport. Yet there are so many other ways Atlanta has benefitted from the BIL, and I thank the Biden-Harris Administration for their leadership in making direct investments in cities across this country.
Atlanta received $2 million to clean the site of the former Chattahoochee Brick Company to connect our community to the river. We also received $30 million to transform Central Avenue and Pryor Street into safe corridors that connect the Southside and the BeltLine to Downtown. The BeltLine received $25 million to build a 2.2-mile network of multi-use trails in Northeast Atlanta through the RAISE grant program. MARTA received $19 million to buy electric buses and charging equipment, improving our air quality and expanding collaborations with local technical colleges.
Every opportunity I have to talk with other mayors from around the country, whether they’re from a large urban center or a small rural area, an overwhelming majority agree that federal funding from laws like BIL and the American Rescue Plan Act have benefitted—and in some cases saved—the lives of our residents. Atlanta was able to utilize ARPA funds for community-centered initiatives like Midnight Basketball, our Summer Youth Employment Program and moving the residents of Forest Cove out of deplorable housing conditions.
Cities big and small need Congress to function. The Biden-Harris Administration wasted no time when coming into office and began working with Congress to direct much-needed funds to cities and counties so we could put them to use expeditiously—and we did just that.
Then a few years later, something changed. An entire chamber of Congress essentially came to a grinding halt. Battles over who should serve as Speaker dominated our screens for days on end, name calling became the norm and lawmakers were even body-checking their colleagues in the halls. Because of a handful of obstructionists, the environment in the U.S. House has become so toxic that only 34 bills made it to the President’s desk in 2023.
Now we’re facing the prospects a government shutdown, the ramifications of which are grave for cities large and small.
Forget the proactive legislation we were benefitting from like BIL and ARPA. A shutdown causes a wide-ranging disruption to everyday services for housing, food security, public safety and more.
Further, cities do not have the luxury of shutting down. We keep going because the public relies on us for those basic needs and services I just mentioned and many others.
Atlanta has great representation in Congress in Senators Ossoff and Warnock and Congresswoman Williams. However, they need folks to work with them and the Biden-Harris Administration to make people’s lives better. I know that’s why I got into public service—to help people. To move this city forward and lift our communities up.
Even with this current disfunction in D.C., I still believe there is an opportunity for members of Congress to drop their party labels, drop whatever beefs they may have with each other and get down to the people’s business. When they do, good things happen—like the BIL.
The President will no doubt declare that the State of our Union is strong in his address, and I agree. But we need our Congressional leaders to work with each other and the White House to get back on track. When they do, cities can once again bring some of our tax dollars back home and put them into our airports, roads, parks, bridges and people. Mayors can expand programs that assist legacy residents and house those experiencing homelessness. We can build and invest, in turn creating jobs and growing our economy.
Ask any mayor and they will tell you laws like BIL and ARPA work, and they work for everyone—regardless of party affiliation. Bipartisan accomplishments in Congress like these are still possible, so I urge our federal leaders to make our union stronger by putting differences aside and get back to supporting solid policies that have a positive impact in our communities.
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