(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 17, 2011.)
Yesterday, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced a bill that would establish an infrastructure bank to help repair, modernize and expand the nation’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure.
The Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development (BUILD) Act would create an American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) to complement existing infrastructure funding. The AIFA would provide loans and loan guarantees for infrastructure projects. It would be independent of the political process and fund the “most important and economically viable” projects in the country, according to the legislation.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO both support the bill.
The full story is on the Progressive Railroading website.