Driving Incredible Progress on Healthy Building Policy in 2021

Throughout 2021, policymakers at all levels increasingly set their sights on policy opportunities to advance and support health and well-being in buildings, organizations and communities. At IWBI, we’ve been encouraged by the progress across our healthy building policy priorities, many of which are positioned to help strengthen our communities and better elevate health across several large federal investments, including support for critical facility improvements in schools, libraries, healthcare facilities, affordable housing and other critical infrastructure.

Most notably this year was the passage in March of President Biden’s signature recovery package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package intended to address the devastating economic and public health crises caused by the pandemic. In addition to $122 billion for schools, the bill also included significant funding of $40 billion for affordable housing and community development and $350 billion to states, local governments, territories and tribal governments. Read more in our breakdown of the American Rescue Plan.

By the end of the summer, Congress was also able to overcome numerous political obstacles to pass an historic bipartisan infrastructure bill. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which designated $1.2 trillion for the nation’s physical infrastructure, included several new investments supporting building improvements designed to help advance health and well-being. The bill, which was signed into law on November 15, 2021, took significant steps to address frequently failing infrastructure and in many cases focused on building sectors in the most need. Read more in our overview of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In the second half of the year, Congress focused its attention on President Biden’s larger social infrastructure package. The Build Back Better Act, came out of the gates initially this year as a $3.5 trillion bill. During negotiations, it was cut back to a $1.7 trillion package that narrowed its funding to fewer social infrastructure needs, including items such as energy-efficiency upgrades; weatherization projects; affordable housing; and clean energy projects in low-income communities. While this bill passed the House of Representatives, its future remains cloudy after Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) recently announced opposition. It’s unclear if this current impasse in the Senate will be solvable going into next year.

One of our biggest priorities this year was helping raise awareness about the severe and chronic underinvestment in America’s schools and the cascading consequences on student well-being and learning. In early September, IWBI released the 2021 State of Our Schools Report: America’s PK-12 Public School Facilities, alongside the 21st Century School Fund and the National Council on School Facilities, finding that the United States faces a staggering shortfall of $85 billion in school facility funding every single year. Read the full report here.

IWBI also noted its support for other legislation that promotes nationwide investment in buildings that prioritize health. These bills include, but are not limited to:

• The Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which would fund $100 billion ($70 billion in grants and $30 billion in bonds) to better address critical infrastructure needs in schools. This bill remains in the legislative process. Read more on this legislation in a statement from Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO at IWBI.
• The Workforce Investment Disclosure Act, introduced by Representative Cynthia Axne (IA-03), which would require companies with reporting obligations to disclose their operations related to employee physical and mental health, safety, diversity and inclusion, engagement and compensation to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). This bill remains in the legislative process.
• The Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act of 2021, which would require federal agencies to develop and disclose safety plans that contain certain information for federal employees and contractors during the public health emergency related to COVID-19. This bill remains in the legislative process. Read more in our breakdown of the Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act of 2021.
• The Energy Efficient Qualified Improvement Property (E-QUIP) Act, which would offer an accelerated tax depreciation on investments that increase the energy efficiency of commercial or multifamily buildings. This bill remains in the legislative process.

In addition to IWBI’s extensive advocacy efforts throughout 2021, Jason Hartke, IWBI’s Executive Vice President of External Affairs, and Dr. Matthew Trowbridge had the opportunity to travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in September and engage in the International Code Council (ICC) Public Comment Hearing. Both voiced support, on behalf of IWBI, for two proposals that aim to improve indoor air quality to better safeguard occupants and prevent the spread of airborne contagions. Both proposals passed overwhelmingly.

Lastly, through its national partnership with the National League of Cities, IWBI is taking policy opportunities to the local level, focusing on efforts to support cities in their efforts to create safer, healthier spaces and help accelerate systems change to integrate health and well-being across the foundation of their communities. In 2022, IWBI and the NLC will continue these efforts, working hand-in-hand to educate, activate and inspire city leaders, bringing their perspective and insight to the forefront, while also forging new opportunities to better advance population health and health equity goals in cities across the country.