Sec. 2. Findings

380 words·~2 min read·/bill/116/s/4336/is/section-2

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Congress finds that— rural infrastructure, such as roads, water systems, and broadband, is in dire need of upgrade and repair; rural areas face unique challenges when addressing infrastructure; rural communities often lack staff with the necessary expertise to develop major infrastructure projects or to secure financing; many rural projects struggle to attract regional support or private sector investment; revenue sources, such as taxes or user fees, are limited in many rural areas; 13 percent of major rural roads are in poor condition, and more than 50 percent of rural bridges are considered to not be in good condition; only 60 percent of counties nationwide have public transportation service, and over ¼ of those counties have very limited public transportation service; many rural transit vehicles are still on the road despite being past their useful life, which can lead to costly repairs, unreliable service, and safety issues; every day, nearly 6,000,000,000 gallons of treated drinking water are lost, an amount that could support 15,000,000 households; without a full investment in water, by 2040, the cumulative impact from breakdowns in water supply, treatment, and wastewater capacity is estimated to cost manufacturers and other businesses $7,500,000,000,000 in lost sales and $4,100,000,000,000 in lost gross domestic product;

Federal agencies estimate that the cost of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in rural communities will total almost $190,000,000,000 in the coming decades; small water systems reaching fewer than 3,300 people serve only 8 percent of the population of the United States, but account for nearly 83 percent of reported funding needs; Federal funding of water infrastructure was 63 percent of total capital spending in 1977, and was down to 9 percent in 2014; nearly 1 in 3 rural residents lack access to basic broadband; every dollar spent on infrastructure generates up to $2.50;

Federal, State, and local governments combined spent $440,500,000,000 on infrastructure in 2017, with less than 25 percent of that amount provided by the Federal Government; fewer multidisciplinary Federal agency field staff has reduced the capacity of rural communities to navigate complex infrastructure projects; lack of adequate infrastructure adversely impacts the efforts of rural communities to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and diversify their economies; and it is therefore in the national economic interest to assist rural communities in addressing their infrastructure needs.