Jenny Wilson and Erin Mendenhall: American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan would ensure long-term wellbeing of region

Last week, we welcomed first lady Dr. Jill Biden to Utah for visits in Salt Lake City including a visit to Glendale middle school and to a vaccine outreach clinic run by Salt Lake County. We were struck by the compassion of the first lady and shared with her our thanks to President Joe Biden and the administration for their commitment to COVID health and economic recovery.

As our governments wait for further guidance regarding appropriate use of funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, we thanked her for this generational opportunity to implement measures that protect the public health and provide economic relief to individuals and businesses.

COVID-19 and its residual impacts over the past 15 months have provided a unique and challenging twist to our traditional framework of governing as we face unique needs in our communities due to COVID-19. As our constituents prepare for the summer months and a gradual return to normalcy, we are excited to take part in our favorite pastimes again, but we are also reminded of the need to confront so many other pressing challenges.

For that reason, we are grateful to the White House for shifting focus to our long-term national recovery and putting forth the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. These complementary legislative frameworks have the power to address community-wide needs that predated the pandemic, ensure the continued wellbeing of our constituents, and promote economic growth in our region by investing in both traditional and human infrastructure.

Our needs presented through COVID-19 are real as our pre-COVID challenges. Traffic congestion is problematic along the Wasatch Front and Utah has 62 bridges that need repair and over 2,000 miles of highway in poor condition. These needs only add to our already poor air quality. We need to improve regional connectivity to address the needs of residents, commuters, and tourists alike – from downtown to the recreational attractions that stimulate our local economy.

The American Jobs Plan includes $600 billion to improve our transportation systems nationally. We hope that federal lawmakers will prioritize investments to support us in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County as well as our transportation partners through both formula and discretionary grants. We strongly support the establishment of the Community Transportation Block Grant Program, which would help empower local officials to drive better outcomes related to equity and mobility.

Transit must be part of the collective solution. In Utah, nonwhite households are almost twice as likely to commute using public transit, spending twice as much of their time commuting than those who do not rely on transit. The American Jobs Plan calls for an $85 billion to modernize public transit. The funds would help us and our partners at Utah Transit Authority implement the Salt Lake City Transit Master Plan, putting 75% of city residents within walking distance to transit and better access to jobs, education, and services.

The administration’s proposal would create family-supporting jobs in the greater region by directing federal investments throughout Salt Lake County, including rural, suburban and urban communities. The framework calls for the establishment of ten new regional innovation hubs as well as a Community Revitalization Fund to support redevelopment projects that provide communities of color and rural residents with access to the innovation economy.

The American Jobs Plan would invest $300 billion in the manufacturing industry that employs 138,000 Utahns. It promotes jobs in clean energy – an emerging industry where Utah shines – by extending and expanding tax credits for the sector.

The past year demonstrated the importance of broadband accessas schools, workplaces, and medical offices transitioned to remote operations. At the same time, one in eleven Utahns live in an internet desert, cut off from these critical services. The American Jobs Plan would expand our broadband infrastructure, helping ensure that every family can easily connect and engage in telework or remote learning.

The second proposal, the American Families Plan, calls for investments in education, additional support for children and families, and tax cuts for workers and families. The proposal is particularly important for women, who have suffered a disproportionate share of job losses throughout the pandemic. As mothers ourselves, we are no strangers to the challenge of balancing work responsibilities with family responsibilities. The Administration’s proposal would provide two years of universal preschool and establish a national paid family and medical leave program, ensuring that our economic recovery leaves no family behind. The plan also calls for an extension of the expandedChild Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

As more Utahns and Americans get vaccinated, we feel it is important to plan for our nation’s, our county’s and our city’s future. We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for putting forth a long-term vision for us all that prioritizes support for families, significant infrastructure investments, a commitment to equity, and a cleaner and healthier future. We hope our congressional delegation will seriously consider the merits of the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, and we encourage lawmakers on Capitol Hill to work in a bipartisan fashion to actualize the goals of each framework.

Jenny Wilson is the mayor of Salt Lake County.

Erin Mendenhall is the mayor of Salt Lake City.