Apprentice welders showed off their skills as Pelosi and the members of congress toured their training center. It was designed to be a victory lap for the politicians after the passage of infrastructure legislation that will generate thousands of union jobs in the Bay Area in the next five years.
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California is expected to receive $47.2 billion in funding from the law, which Lee and other officials noted will help modernize historically unsupported and polluted areas of the state by expanding access to electric vehicle charging ports and low- or zero-emission buses.
"This law is a transformational and long-overdue investment in the country and its people," Lee said. "For decades, underinvestment in our physical and social infrastructure has widened the economic gap, put communities at risk and exacerbated racial and economic inequality."
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According to Speier, California's share of the funds will include $25 billion to repair the state's highways, $384 million to expand access to electric vehicle charging stations, $100 million to expand broadband internet access, $1.5 billion for the state's major airports and $25 million to protect wetlands in the Bay Area.
Congressional Democrats also expect the infrastructure improvements and repairs to create 1 million jobs over the next decade.
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"This is about good paying jobs for America's working families and to have clean air and clean water for our children. It's about quality of life improvements so they don't have to spend so much time on the roads," Speaker Pelosi said.
"Guaranteed $4.5 billion, that's guaranteed for roads and bridges and for passenger rail," said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
The congresswoman said the money will allow Caltrain to complete electrification and for BART to extend deeper into Silicon Valley.
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"Believe me, San Francisco international will be grateful because it's going to be underwater if we don't build the levee system there," said Congresswoman Jackie Speier.
"We will receive billions for zero to low emission buses and an expanded EV charging network," said Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
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Union leaders said there are many shovel ready projects for the infrastructure money to be plowed into including high speed rail.
"In California and the U.S. we aren't afraid of the future. We run towards it," said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier.