The Biden administration's two signature laws spread hundreds of billions of dollars across the country, funding everything from new roads in Florida to broadband lines in Alaska to green energy projects in California.
But a new Yahoo Finance analysis of the latest White House data shows that $442 billion (so far) will have the biggest impact on the likelihood that voters will support Joe Biden in November. This is the area with the lowest.
The largest recipients of funds approved by the bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Control Act are Alaska, Montana and North Dakota, states that Biden himself lost by at least 10 points in 2020, when measured on a per capita basis. Four states: Wyoming.
Of the 18 states whose residents are slated to benefit the most from per capita funding, 12 were won by Donald Trump in 2020.
This geographic peculiarity highlights one of President Joe Biden's most persistent challenges in an election year. It's the Americans who aren't seeing the president's signature accomplishments after three years in office, or who are simply unimpressed.
In one notable recent example, a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that when voters were asked who they trusted most on infrastructure, Donald Trump led 42% to 38%. Turns out they won on aggregate.
This is true after Biden signed a landmark infrastructure bill into law in 2021, and even after four years in office during which Trump took no significant action on the issue. .
As the 2024 presidential election accelerates, the White House is seeking to reintroduce Biden's major accomplishments to the American public, including a recent State of the Union message blitz, campaign cancellations, and a new $30 million campaign. They are trying to spread their message across the country through advertising campaigns and other means.
“Do you remember the last president?” President Biden asked supporters during a recent stop. “He had an ‘Infrastructure Week’ for four years and did nothing.”
where does the money go
To understand where the money is going, Yahoo Finance looked at White House data detailing spending from two of Biden's signature accomplishments, the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Anti-Inflation Act.
Two of Biden's other major bills, the 2021 American Rescue Plan and the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, are not included in the data.
The per capita impact of this spending was then calculated using population information from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Among the projects where White House data has been linked to specific locations, transportation efforts are the most widespread. These funds are being used for projects across the country, from the western states to the Acela Corridor along the East Coast.
This makes Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg the most prominent spender. When the topic came up in last week's State of the Union address, cameras cut to him as he travels around the country to spread his message.
During a recent visit to Maui, he joked, “I've never been to a press conference that had a whale invasion in the background.”
The money apparently caught the eye of “Amtrak Joe.” The president has long been known for his emphasis on transportation, and was particularly fond of trains, commuting by train from Washington to Delaware every day during his time in the Senate.
According to an analysis by Yahoo Finance, Delawareans would receive about $450 in transportation funding under these laws.
This amount is in line with many regions of the country, but below some rural states that receive the most funding on a per capita basis.
For example, Alaskans will receive about $2,500 each in transportation costs as workers stretch to build new roads for residents in remote parts of the state.
This trend is even more pronounced on other issues. When it comes to broadband, the bulk of the money will once again flow to rural states.
Broadband funding is also going to urban areas, including programs that help poor Americans pay their internet bills no matter where they live. But Biden officials have long noted that rural areas of the country are where connectivity is a major concern and where the need is greatest.
“It's heartbreaking to spend time in rural America as I have.” [where] There is no broadband for miles, hundreds of miles,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who oversees much of that effort, said in a 2022 interview.
Some of the other money, particularly the clean energy commitments in the Inflation Control Act, are actually being felt more in urban areas and coastal states.
But the overall per capita tally remains strong in places like Wyoming, which Biden lost in 2020 by more than 40 points.
A wave of private sector investment
The White House is also closely tracking new private projects announced since Biden took office.
The rate of such announcements has steadily increased during the first two years of the Biden administration, with hundreds of new projects launched around White House priorities like semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries and clean energy manufacturing.
Other states are likely to be affected the most due to the huge influx of investment, primarily in semiconductor projects. Arizona, Idaho, New York, Ohio, and Texas are home to new semiconductor manufacturing efforts with billions of dollars in new investment.
Overall, the U.S. has seen $235 billion in new semiconductor investment since January 20, 2021, according to White House data. That money comes even as another Biden-era law (the Chip and Science Act of 2022) just began funding the following areas: This will further spur chip manufacturing in the United States.
So far, three small government manufacturing awards have been awarded to BAE Systems (BAESY), Microchip Technology and GlobalFoundries (GFS).
But the biggest grants are likely to go to semiconductor manufacturing giants in the coming weeks. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Intel (INTC) could get more than $10 billion and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) could get more than $5 billion.
It will be interesting to see how Biden continues to emphasize these numbers while also pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans who tout the flow of money to states.
Mr. Biden addressed this in his State of the Union address last week, jokingly telling Republican lawmakers, “If there's someone in your district who doesn't want that money, let me know.”
Ben Werschkul is Yahoo Finance's Washington correspondent. David Foster is a graphic artist for Yahoo Finance.
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