The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Last November, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. Commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the historic legislation will deliver $1.2 trillion throughout the country to address infrastructure needs. The funds will go toward building and repairing roads, ensuring every community has access to clean drinking water, bringing broadband to rural areas, and much more. Beyond providing the funds necessary for building a country ready for the challenges of the 21st century, the Bipartisan Infrastructure is expected to create up to two million jobs per year for the next decade. 


There are two primary ways in which states and localities will receive funds allocated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: formula funding and grant funding. Formula funding is noncompetitive — the amount of funds each state will receive is predetermined and calculated using a formula that takes a number of statistics into account. Grant funding, on the other hand, is competitive. To receive a grant, a state or locality must submit an application demonstrating how funds will meet a specific need. 


Virginia is expected to receive billions of dollars in formula funding alone. The state will receive $7 billion to repair and build roads, with a special focus on ensuring everyone is safe on the road, including pedestrians and bicyclists. An additional $1.2 billion will go to Virginia to improve public transit in the state. With nearly 10% of Virginians living without access to broadband, the state will receive $100 million to ensure everyone in the state can access the internet. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of formula funds will also be allocated to Virginia to prepare for the impacts of climate change, protect against cyberattacks, deliver clean drinking water to all, and bring much-needed modernization to the state’s airports. 


Beyond these formula funds, additional money will be available for Virginia to take advantage of through grant funding. Applications need to be filed to access these funds, which come with different eligibility requirements and deadlines. Grant funding covers an enormous range of projects, including bridge investment programs, clean school bus programs, and even ferry service programs for rural communities. Deadlines for six grants worth a total of $24.85 billion are coming up in the month of May; Virginia Senator Mark Warner has a calendar on his website that's helpful for keeping up with all the due dates. 


The billions of dollars in grant funding available specifically for rural communities are particularly noteworthy for Virginia. To ensure all rural communities have the potential to benefit from these funds, the White House has compiled the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Rural Playbook, which identifies the funds available, describes the application process, and notes the day applications for funding are due. The playbook also includes information from seven federal agencies including the Department of Transportation, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture on how each agency can support rural communities in finding funding. 


The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a stronger, more resilient America while creating high-paying jobs. With access to information on how to obtain grant funding, communities across Virginia have the opportunity to benefit from this massive investment.

[Virginia Public Media] Data: Virginia’s Early Childhood Education Providers Are Succeeding

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
The second year of results from Virginia’s recently established Quality Establishment and Improvement System (VQB5) for early childhood education found that 99% of childcare providers receiving state funding meet or exceed quality expectations. As of early December 2025, over 154,000 views have been recorded on the system’s website since its October 2024 debut, revealing the many parents and families who appreciate the information that VQB5 offers them. None of these wonderful results would even be available to admire without the support and success we had in passing HB 1012 and SB 578 back in 2020! The data focuses on classroom interactions between children and caregivers and notes how said interactions encourage kids to express themselves at a young age. The state has also enacted categories of excellence for providers who score in the top 10%, exceed quality expectations, or even show significant improvement from an evaluation the year before. On top of that, a new data system called VAConnects helps integrate information on students over the years to track their learning progress. The Department of Education wishes to sustain the program and has requested $735,000 to do so. Overall, Virginia is serving as a model for other states to use in establishing best practices for their early childhood programs. Read more here .

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Virginians want General Assembly Action on Housing, Survey Finds

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
An August survey reveals that large majorities of Virginians want state lawmakers to address the rising cost of housing. The survey was conducted by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia and Freedom Virginia. More than 8 in 10 Virginians said the General Assembly needs to act. More than 3 in 4 Virginians want lawmakers to prevent landlords from raising rents each year by more than 7%. Many Virginians also supported the idea of the state incentivizing localities to build more housing and providing developers with an ability to appeal rejected housing projects. Many proposals that were made to address all these public concerns were struck down during the 2025 legislative session. One of the main reasons why all the mentioned proposals failed to pass the General Assembly is because of the large influence the local government lobbies have in Richmond in protecting what little authority they are granted by the state. However, 6 in 10 Virginians indicated that they are more concerned with providing more housing than protecting local government authority. Read more here.

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Spanberger Details Affordability Measures in Health Care, Energy, Housing

By VOW Ops • December 19, 2025
Governor-elect Spanberger has released details on how her administration will work with the General Assembly to address affordability issues for Virginians regarding health care, energy, and housing. Democrats in the General Assembly argue the proposals are needed to mitigate the effects of President Trump’s tariff policies and reduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Some of the solutions being proposed are legislation from the previous session that were vetoed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. In health care, Spanberger and Virginia Democrats will tackle pharmacy benefit managers’ ability to compel patients toward using affiliated-only pharmacies. The incoming administration also wants to limit the number of times insurance companies can request approvals from patients receiving certain cancer cares and medicines for chronic conditions. Democrats are also reviving legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from charging tobacco smokers higher premiums. Further, Spanberger supports implementing a pilot program to help Virginians who will face unaffordable insurance premiums resulting from the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits. In energy, Spanberger called to make it easier for Virginians to utilize small-scale solar panels which don’t require hard labor to install. She also wants the previously vetoed legislation that would set energy storage standards for utility companies brought back to her desk (Governor Youngkin vetoed it because of his belief that the Virginia Clean Economy Act associated with it was ineffective). In housing, Spanberger and Democrats are reviving legislation from 2025 that would extend the grace period tenants have before being evicted for missing rent payments. They are also proposing changes that would give local governments priority in acquiring affordable multi-family units supported by tax credits when the owner wants to sell or convert them. Further, Democrats are reintroducing a bill which would allow all localities to change their zoning ordinances to create dense and affordable housing (currently, only the counties of Albemarle and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Fairfax are granted such provisions). Read more here.
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