Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced a new proposal for the creation of a federal infrastructure Bank on Tuesday. The legislation, which has yet to be introduced, is called the “Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for the Long-Term Development Act” (BUILD Act) and will create a federal government owned but independent financing authority.
The financing authority known as the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) will be authorized to receive $10 billion in upfront federal funding to provide loans and loan guarantees (no grants) for transportation, energy and water infrastructure projects that meet certain criteria. Some requirements include projects that are at least $100 billion in size and are of regional and national significance. Projects must have a clear public benefit, meet rigorous economic, environmental, and technical standards, and be backed by a dedicated revenue stream.
The Build Act would also provide protections for projects in rural parts of the country by lowering the project threshold to $20 billion and requiring that 5 percent of the initial funding of the AIFA will be dedicated to helping rural projects. AIFA will also include an Office of Rural Assistance to provide technical assistance regarding the development and financing of rural projects.
Once the BUILD Act is formally introduced, AGC will provide a detailed analysis of the legislation.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.
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