BIL and IRA Economic Contributions

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Field with orphaned well equipment.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds work to close and remediate orphaned oil and gas wells. Photo: Department of the Interior, public domain.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds work--and contributes to the U.S. economy--to address orphaned wells across the Nation, such as this one near Brighton, Colorado. Photo: Department of the Interior, public domain.

The Office of Policy Analysis provides economic analysis support to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Program Management Office, which oversees more than $40 billion dollars of Federal programs. This support includes guidance and development of key quantitative metrics to inform decisions at multiple levels and communicate to a range of stakeholders. These metrics can include both widely used economic concepts (e.g., contribution to gross domestic product, jobs supported)  and emerging concepts (e.g., value of ecosystem services, benefit-cost analysis, value of information, natural capital accounting).

FY2022 and FY2023 BIL Economic Contributions - BIL legacy pollution and water (November 2023)

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) of 2021 directed investment in U.S. infrastructure to over 350 distinct programs across more than a dozen Federal departments and agencies. Of the Department of the Interior (DOI) activities under BIL, three programs are directed to address legacy pollution and critical water resource issues. Using economic input-output analysis, PPA developed estimates on the number of jobs supported and contributions to GDP. 

FY2022 Orphaned Wells Economic Contributions  (October 2022)

Section 40601 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided direction and funding for work to plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned wells. The spending on these measures generates economic activity including supporting jobs. Using economic input-output analysis, PPA developed estimates on the number of jobs produced by spending on Section 40601 expenditures by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture Forest Service. (Note that methodological differences between this analysis and the FY22-23 report, above, means they are not directly comparable.)

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