National Infrastructure Bank

According to NSSGA, in a strange coincidence, Senators Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) on Aug. 1, before news of the Minnesota bridge collapse, introduced The National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 to create a national infrastructure bank. The bank would be an independent government agency charged with evaluating and financing capacity-building infrastructure projects of substantial regional and national significance. The bank would be modeled on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with a five-member bank board. Infrastructure projects that would come under the bank’s consideration would be publicly owned mass transit systems, housing properties, roads, bridges, drinking water systems and wastewater treatment systems. Funding options available under the legislation would be direct subsidies, direct loan guarantees, long-term tax-credit general purpose bonds and long-term tax-credit infrastructure project specific bonds. The initial ceiling to issue bonds is set at $60 billion. The bill has been referred to the Senate banking committee. NSSGA says it will continue to press for increased investment in the nation’s surface transportation system necessary to meet the maintenance and improvement needs of the system. Your comment?