© (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)President Joe Biden speaks during an event on the American Jobs Plan in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Joe Biden administration on Monday released a report highlighting the poor infrastructure plaguing most states, as part of its broader effort to pitch the need for investment and urge Congress to pass its related multitrillion-dollar spending package.
The administration's fact sheet had 25 states receiving grades of C-minus or below. The highest grade given was a C+, to Georgia and Utah. Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin all received C grades.
A total of 13 states - including Arkansas, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, South Carolina, Virginia and Wyoming - did not receive a grade. Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., received grades of a D- and C-, respectively.
A White House official confirmed to U.S. News that the administration pulled state-by-state grades from the American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card, which in March gave the country as a whole a C-minus grade - an improvement over its previous score of D-minus but still considered "mediocre," according to the ASCE.
There were some similarities between the ASCE's grades used by the White House and U.S. News' infrastructure scores released in March as part of the 2021 Best States rankings. U.S. News determined which states have the best infrastructure by using data to consider the quality of their transportation, energy and internet systems. Utah - one of two states to receive a C+ in the ASCE report - ranked No. 5. However, the other C+ state, Georgia, did not make the top 10 in the U.S. News infrastructure rankings. But Nevada, North Dakota and Washington all appeared in the top five, while getting C grades from ASCE and the White House.
The state-by-state fact sheets released by the administration highlight the "need for action" by pointing out, for example, how many bridges and miles of roads in the country are in poor condition. But Biden's $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan is also broadening the definition of infrastructure. In addition to providing funding to address traditional infrastructure projects such as repairing bridges, the plan would use federal dollars to expand child care and offer free access to community colleges.
The president more recently has signaled flexibility on the financing of his massive plan, which he says would be paid for in 15 years with a corporate tax increase. But Biden has stood firm on what infrastructure funding can really look like - that it can go beyond, for instance, upgrading highways.
"We are America," Biden said during an April 7 White House address. "We don't just fix for today. We build for tomorrow."
Copyright 2021 U.S. News & World Report