SLO Reporter

Representatives Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Daniel Webster (FL-11), senior leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation today in recognition of National Infrastructure Week that would authorize the creation of a national infrastructure bank.

The bank created by the lawmaker’s bill, the National Infrastructure Investment Corporation (NIIC) Act, would enable private dollars to be leveraged to give local governments another way to finance critical infrastructure projects in their communities.

“Last Congress we took a landmark step in revitalizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – but with an estimated $2.6 trillion shortfall in investment projected for this decade, we need to continue working across the aisle to create policies that can help fix our roads and bridges, upgrade our waterways and wastewater systems, expand telecommunications capabilities, and support our community’s needs,” said Congressman Carbajal. “I am proud to stand with my colleague and fellow leader on our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Webster, to recognize the continuing need this Infrastructure Week with the introduction of this simple yet potentially seismic bill that would unlock billions of dollars a year in private funding to support our nation’s most pressing infrastructure projects.”

"It is a bipartisan consensus that America’s infrastructure is long overdue for critical repairs and need advancements," said Rep. Webster. "As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am committed to working on solutions to improve our nations infrastructure. This bipartisan bill would leverage private financing to help local governments and municipalities have access to the much-needed funding for investing in critical infrastructure.”

The full text of the NIIC Act can be found here.

The bank created by the NIIC Act would be authorized to provide loans and loan guarantees to local infrastructure projects, giving local governments another potential funding source for in addition to support provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or other federal and state funding sources.

The bank’s available funding for supporting local projects would come from municipal, state, and union pension funds loaned to the bank, earning interest on the funds and repaying the principal in time for the workers to utilize their retirement savings.

Webster and Carbajal currently serve as the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

Original source can be found here.