Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment Act
A BILL
To facilitate efficient investments and financing of infrastructure projects and new long-term job creation through the establishment of an Infrastructure Financing Authority, and for other purposes.
2. Findings and purpose
Findings— Congress finds that—
infrastructure has always been a vital element of the economic strength of the United States and a key indicator of the international leadership of the United States;
the Erie Canal, the Hoover Dam, the railroads, and the interstate highway system are all testaments to the ingenuity of the United States and have helped propel and maintain the United States as the largest economy in the world;
according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, the United States fell to fifth place in 2011, and dropped to seventh place overall in 2012, however, in the Quality of overall infrastructure category of the same report, the United States ranked 25th in the world;
according to the World Bank’s 2012 Logistic Performance Index, the capacity of countries to efficiently move goods and connect manufacturers and consumers with international markets is improving around the world, and the United States now ranks ninth in the world in logistics-related infrastructure behind countries from both Europe and Asia;
according to a January 2009 report from the University of Massachusetts/Alliance for American Manufacturing entitled Employment, Productivity and Growth, infrastructure investment is a “highly effective engine of job creation” such that $1,000,000,000 in new investment in infrastructure results in 18,000 total long-term jobs;
according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the current condition of the infrastructure in the United States earns a grade point average of D+, and an estimated $1,600,000,000,000 of additional investment is needed over the next 7 years to bring the infrastructure of the United States up to adequate condition;
according to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, $225,000,000,000 is needed annually from all sources for the next 50 years to upgrade the United States surface transportation system to a state of good repair and create a more advanced system;
the current infrastructure financing mechanisms of the United States, both on the Federal and State level, will fail to meet current and foreseeable demands and will create large funding gaps;
published reports state that there may not be enough demand for municipal bonds to maintain the same level of borrowing at the same rates, resulting in significantly decreased infrastructure investment at the State and local level;
current funding mechanisms are not readily scalable and do not—
serve large in-State or cross-jurisdictional infrastructure projects, projects of regional or national significance, or projects that cross sector silos;
sufficiently catalyze private sector investment; or
ensure the optimal return on public resources;
although grant programs of the Federal Government must continue to play a central role in financing the infrastructure needs of the United States, current and foreseeable demands on existing Federal, State, and local funding for infrastructure expansion clearly exceed the resources to support those programs by margins wide enough to prompt serious concerns about the ability of the United States to sustain long-term economic development, productivity, and international competitiveness;
the capital markets, including pension funds, private equity funds, mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other investors, have a growing interest in infrastructure investment and represent hundreds of billions of dollars of potential investment; and
the establishment of a federally owned, independent, professionally managed institution that could provide credit support to qualified infrastructure projects of regional and national significance, making transparent merit-based investment decisions based on the commercial viability of infrastructure projects, would catalyze the participation of significant private investment capital.
Purpose— The purpose of this Act is to facilitate investment in, and the long-term financing of, economically viable eligible infrastructure projects of regional or national significance that are in the public interest in a manner that complements existing Federal, State, local, and private funding sources for these projects and introduces a merit-based system for financing those projects, in order to mobilize significant private sector investment, create long-term jobs, and ensure United States competitiveness through a self-sustaining institution that limits the need for ongoing Federal funding.
3. Definitions
In this Act:
Blind trust— The term blind trust means a trust in which the beneficiary has no knowledge of the specific holdings and no rights over how those holdings are managed by the fiduciary of the trust prior to the dissolution of the trust.
Board of Directors— The term Board of Directors means the Board of Directors of IFA.
Chairperson— The term Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of IFA.
Chief executive officer— The term chief executive officer means the chief executive officer of IFA, appointed under section 103.
Cost— The term cost has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
Direct loan— The term direct loan has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
Eligible entity— The term eligible entity means—
an individual;
a corporation;
a partnership, including a public-private partnership;
a joint venture;
a trust;
a State or any other governmental entity, including a political subdivision or any other instrumentality of a State; or
a revolving fund.
Eligible infrastructure project—
In general— The term eligible infrastructure project means the construction, consolidation, alteration, or repair of the following sectors:
Intercity passenger or freight rail lines.
Intercity passenger rail facilities or equipment.
Intercity freight rail facilities or equipment.
Intercity passenger bus facilities or equipment.
Public transportation facilities or equipment.
Highway facilities, including bridges and tunnels.
Airports.
Air traffic control systems.
Port or marine terminal facilities, including approaches to marine terminal facilities or inland port facilities.
Port or marine equipment, including fixed equipment to serve approaches to marine terminals or inland ports.
Transmission or distribution pipelines.
Inland waterways.
Intermodal facilities or equipment related to 2 or more of the sectors described in clauses (i) through (xii).
Water treatment and solid waste disposal facilities, including drinking water facilities.
Storm water management systems.
Dams and levees.
Facilities or equipment for energy transmission, distribution or storage.
Authority of the Board of Directors to modify sectors— The Board of Directors may make modifications, at the discretion of the Board, to any of the sectors described in subparagraph (A) by a vote of not fewer than 5 of the voting members of the Board of Directors.
IFA— The term IFA means the Infrastructure Financing Authority established by this Act.
Investment-grade rating— The term investment-grade rating means a rating of BBB minus, Baa3, or higher assigned to an eligible infrastructure project by a ratings agency.
Loan guarantee— The term loan guarantee has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
Public-private partnership— The term public-private partnership means any eligible entity—
that is undertaking the development of all or part of an eligible infrastructure project that will have a measurable public benefit, pursuant to requirements established in 1 or more contracts between the entity and a State or an instrumentality of a State; or
the activities of which, with respect to such an eligible infrastructure project, are subject to regulation by a State or any instrumentality of a State;
that owns, leases, or operates or will own, lease, or operate, the project in whole or in part; and
the participants in which include not fewer than 1 nongovernmental entity with significant investment and some control over the project or entity sponsoring the project vehicle.
Rating agency— The term rating agency means a credit rating agency registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))).
Rural infrastructure project— The term rural infrastructure project—
has the same meaning given the term in section 601(15) of title 23, United States Code; and
includes any eligible infrastructure project located in an area described in such section 601(15).
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or the designee of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Senior management— The term senior management means the chief financial officer, chief risk officer, chief compliance officer, general counsel, chief lending officer, and chief operations officer of IFA, and such other officers as the Board of Directors may, by majority vote, add to senior management.
State— The term State means—
each of the several States of the United States; and
the District of Columbia.