Update: The original reporting of this story was not entirely fair. After posting the article, it has since been brought this author’s attention that surrendering the 11th amendment under a bill of this nature it is not that uncommon or sensational.
As pointed out by The Blaze’s Meredith Jessup: - [If] a state is allocated a certain amount of funds for a road project, the initial funding for the project is a debt incurred by the state to be reimbursed by the federal government. This is so the feds can enforce guarantees of debt. It also prevents states from hiring contractors and then refusing to pay without the waiver of the 11th; the contractor would have no legal standing to sue the state for non-payment since the federal government is the ultimate source of funds.
You can find similar language in other bills [such as] The Americans with Disabilities Act.
Essentially, an 11th amendment waiver prevents states from contracting workers and then refusing to pay. Although a waiver of this type does technically surrender certain rights, it is not an entirely unreasonable arrangement (nor is it new).
Therefore, while the claim that states will lose their sovereignty if they accept any aid provided by this bill is factually correct, it is the belief of this author that the original story was an overreaction.
And for this, I apologize.