Chamber officials praise new Infrastructure plan, summarize Nebraska dollars

LINCOLN — Business leaders nationally and in Nebraska are celebrating the recent passage of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Officials with the national Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Chamber and Omaha Chamber hosted a virtual news conference Wednesday and broke down how the new law will affect Nebraska.

State Chamber President Bryan Slone says the state will get $225 million to replace and repair bridges and $100 million to extend broadband coverage… critical dollars when you consider that nearly 10 percent of Nebraska’s bridges are in poor condition and 13 percent of residents don’t have access to high-speed internet.

But the biggest chunk of cash is a $2.2 billion increase in highway funding.

“Our economy is built around our ability to produce goods and move them across the country, across the state, to ports and exports. Highways are the core infrastructure for that, for what makes Nebraska’s economy run,” Slone said.

Slone says Nebraska is also due to receive $186 million for public transportation, $111 million to support nine airports, and $12.7 million to protect against cyber attacks.

All Chamber officials thanked Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Don Bacon, the two out Nebraska’s five delegates to vote for the legislation.