Conservatives are understandably concerned about the rapid pace of the Biden administration’s spending of taxpayers’ dollars. But they should also recognize the opportunity to address America’s long-neglected infrastructure needs.
This is a moment where ambitious spending if done right, can generate favorable returns on our nation’s investments — but only if Republicans make their voices heard.
Republicans need to have a seat at the table to help shape the eventual package to ensure it’s fiscally sound and focused on modernizing our national infrastructure and creating jobs.
One lens to view infrastructure funding through is disaster preparedness, which is why ConservAmerica recently joined the SmarterSafer Coalition and other advocacy organizations. Money spent now on resiliency to prepare for future extreme weather events makes sense in dollars and cents.
The federal government currently spends more on post-disaster cleanup and reconstruction than on pre-disaster mitigation. That equation needs to change if we want to protect our communities from natural catastrophes — as well as protect taxpayer dollars. Every dollar invested in mitigation is estimated to save $6 in post-disaster spending, which is why a large but carefully crafted infrastructure package can be cost-efficient.
Conservatives should support incentives for building more resilient infrastructure. America’s existing infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater systems, was built in the 20th Century and is not designed for 21st Century challenges. Republicans have traditionally opposed national building standards, but integrating stronger minimum design standards can extend a structure’s lifespan and should be part of the debate around making sound investments in infrastructure.
We should also be smarter about where we build. President Joe Biden’s recent executive order restoring the federal flood protection standard was an important step in the right direction. Congress should limit new construction inside federally designated floodplains and require government-funded agencies involved in floodplain construction to follow stricter mitigation strategies to ensure that funds are used for projects built to withstand extreme weather events.
We should expand how we think about infrastructure beyond the traditional categories to include natural infrastructure – including healthy wetlands, forests and mangroves — that can reduce flooding and erosion. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimate U.S. coastal wetlands alone provide up to $23.2 billion in storm protection each year. An infrastructure package should promote sustainability, environmental stewardship, and resilience through expanding the use of natural barriers such as marshes and dunes.
Finally, federal policymakers need to ensure that the private sector bears an appropriate portion of the risk in disaster planning to incentivize smarter building better. The United States has an infrastructure funding gap of more than $2 trillion that taxpayers alone should not be expected to close. The private sector, particularly the insurance industry, has the willingness and capacity to take on additional risks associated with natural disasters.
We should continually reassess the risks associated with climate change, which is why an infrastructure package should support further research in ocean science, engineering and clean energy technologies.
Not every incident of extreme weather is the result of climate change, but building more resilient infrastructure and investing in natural solutions to address increasingly common problems like coastal erosion and flooding, water scarcity, and extreme wildfires make sense regardless of their root cause.
Arguing over the causes of these incidents is a dead end. Policymakers should instead debate the most effective and efficient means of addressing them and pursue a package that prioritizes resiliency, adaptation and better risk management.
Republicans are right to be wary about out-of-control spending and the mounting national debt. But crumbling infrastructure is a problem that gets worse with time. The latest report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers gave America a C-minus for the state of its infrastructure.
With Americans eager to return to work after more than a year of pandemic shutdowns and Democrats in a spending mood, Republicans should seize the opportunity to ensure we genuinely “build back better.” This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in the nation’s infrastructure and restart the economy.
The cost of doing nothing is too high.