II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1296 

To establish the American Infrastructure Bank to offer States the option 

for more flexibility in financing and funding infrastructure projects. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Mrs. FISCHER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish the American Infrastructure Bank to offer 

States the option for more flexibility in financing and 

funding infrastructure projects. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Build USA Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE BANK 

Sec. 101. Establishment of American Infrastructure Bank. 


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Sec. 102. State remittance agreements with Bank. 

Sec. 103. Loans to States and units of local government for transportation 

projects. 

TITLE II—CAPITALIZATION OF BANK 

Sec. 201. Allowance of temporary dividends received deduction for dividends received from a controlled foreign corporation. 

Sec. 202. Appropriations to Bank. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BANK.—The term ‘‘Bank’’ means the 

4 American Infrastructure Bank established by section 

5 101(a). 

6 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

7 Board of Directors of the Bank. 

8 (3) CORE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.—The 

9 term ‘‘core infrastructure project’’ means a Federal10 aid highway or highway (as those terms are defined 

11 in section 101 of title 23, United States Code) 

12 project of a State that is eligible for funding under 

13 chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code. 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Transportation. 

16 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean17 ing given the term in section 101(a) of title 23, 

18 United States Code. 


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1 TITLE I—AMERICAN 

2 INFRASTRUCTURE BANK 

3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICAN INFRASTRUC4 TURE BANK. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established as a 

7 wholly owned Government corporation subject to 

8 chapter 91 of title 31, United States Code (com9 monly known as the ‘‘Government Corporation Con10 trol Act’’) (except as otherwise provided in this Act), 

11 a bank to be known as the ‘‘American Infrastructure 

12 Bank’’. 

13 (2) RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY.—The Sec14 retary shall take such action as the Secretary deter15 mines to be necessary to assist in implementing the 

16 establishment of the Bank in accordance with this 

17 Act. 

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 9101(3) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

20 by inserting after subparagraph (N) the following: 

21 ‘‘(O) the American Infrastructure Bank.’’. 

22 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

23 (1) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall have a 

25 bipartisan Board of Directors consisting of— 


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1 (i) 4 voting members, 1 of each who 

2 shall be appointed, by and with the advice 

3 and consent of the Senate— 

4 (I) by the Majority Leader of the 

5 Senate, in consultation with the 

6 Chairperson of the Committee on En7 vironment and Public Works of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (II) by the Minority Leader of 

10 the Senate, in consultation with the 

11 Ranking Member of the Committee on 

12 Environment and Public Works of the 

13 Senate; 

14 (III) by the Speaker of the 

15 House of Representatives, in consulta16 tion with the Chairperson of the Com17 mittee on Transportation and Infra18 structure of the House of Representa19 tives; and 

20 (IV) by the Minority Leader of 

21 the House of Representatives, in con22 sultation with the Ranking Member of 

23 the Committee on Transportation and 

24 Infrastructure of the House of Rep25 resentatives; and 


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1 (ii) 1 non-voting member, who shall 

2 be the Secretary (or a designee). 

3 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—A Board member 

4 appointed under subparagraph (A)(i) shall have 

5 relevant expertise in the fields of public or pri6 vate finance, infrastructure financing, or trans7 portation infrastructure policy. 

8 (C) TERM.—A member of the Board shall 

9 be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

10 (D) DATE OF INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

11 The initial appointments to the Board under 

12 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be made not later 

13 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (E) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the 

16 Board— 

17 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

18 Board; and 

19 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

20 as the original appointment was made. 

21 (F) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at 

22 the call of the chairperson. 

23 (G) QUORUM.—A majority of the members 

24 of the Board shall constitute a quorum. 


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1 (H) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIR2 PERSON.—The Board shall select a chairperson 

3 and vice chairperson from among the members 

4 of the Board. 

5 (I) COMPENSATION.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

7 (ii), the Secretary shall determine com8 pensation of members of the Board in a 

9 manner that is consistent with similar 

10 compensation for members of other boards 

11 in the Federal Government. 

12 (ii) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND OFFI13 CIALS.—A member of the Commission who 

14 is an officer or employee of the Federal 

15 Government shall serve without compensa16 tion in addition to the compensation re17 ceived for the services of the member as an 

18 officer or employee of the Federal Govern19 ment. 

20 (J) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—For the first 3 

22 years beginning on the date of enactment 

of this Act, not more than 1 23 ⁄2 of 1 percent 

24 of the funds made available under section 

25 202 shall be used for— 


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1 (I) compensation for members of 

2 the Board under subparagraph (I); 

3 (II) compensation for employees 

4 of the Board; 

5 (III) administrative expenses; 

6 and 

7 (IV) any other expenses incurred 

8 by the Bank. 

9 (ii) 3 YEARS AFTER THE DATE OF EN10 ACTMENT.—For any year beginning after 

11 the date that is 3 years after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, funds from interest 

13 received by the Bank shall be used to pro14 vide funds for the expenses described in 

15 clause (i). 

16 (2) DUTIES.—The Board shall— 

17 (A) not later than 18 months after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, commence oper19 ation of the Bank, including by establishing all 

20 operational and administrative parameters of 

21 the Bank; and 

22 (B) monitor and exercise oversight of core 

23 infrastructure projects as necessary to achieve 

24 the purposes of the Bank. 


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1 (3) POWERS.—The Board shall have the au2 thority— 

3 (A) in accordance with such terms as the 

4 Board determines to be appropriate, to make 

5 senior and subordinated loans, purchase senior 

6 and subordinated debt securities, and enter into 

7 a binding commitment to make any such loan 

8 or purchase any such security, the proceeds of 

9 which are used to assist in the financing or refi10 nancing of the development of 1 or more core 

11 infrastructure projects; 

12 (B) to issue and sell debt securities of the 

13 Bank on such terms as the Board determines to 

14 be appropriate; 

15 (C) to issue public benefit bonds and pro16 vide financing to core infrastructure projects 

17 from amounts made available from the issuance 

18 of those bonds; 

19 (D) to make loan guarantees; 

20 (E) to enter into agreements or contracts 

21 with any individual or entity in support of the 

22 business of the Bank; 

23 (F) to purchase in the open market any 

24 outstanding obligation of the Bank at any time 

25 and at any price; 


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1 (G) to acquire, lease, pledge, exchange, and 

2 dispose of real and personal property and other3 wise exercise all the usual incidents of owner4 ship of property to the extent the exercise of 

5 those powers are appropriate to, and consistent 

6 with, the purposes of the Bank; 

7 (H) to sue and be sued in a corporate ca8 pacity in any court of competent jurisdiction, 

9 except that no attachment, injunction, or simi10 lar process, may be issued against the property 

11 of the Bank or against the Bank with respect 

12 to that property; 

13 (I) to indemnify the members of the Board 

14 for liabilities arising out of the actions of the 

15 Board, in accordance with, and subject to the 

16 limitations contained in, this Act; and 

17 (J) to exercise all other lawful powers that 

18 are necessary or appropriate to carry out, and 

19 are consistent with, the purposes of the Bank. 

20 (4) LIMITATIONS.— 

21 (A) ISSUANCE OF DEBT SECURITY.—The 

22 Board may not issue any debt security without 

23 the consent of the Secretary. 


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1 (B) ISSUANCE OF VOTING SECURITY.—The 

2 Board may not issue any voting security in the 

3 Bank. 

4 (c) AUDITS; REPORTS.— 

5 (1) ACCOUNTING.—The book of accounts of the 

6 Bank shall be— 

7 (A) maintained in accordance with gen8 erally accepted accounting principles; and 

9 (B) subject to an annual audit by an inde10 pendent public accountant that is— 

11 (i) appointed by the Board; and 

12 (ii) of nationally recognized standing. 

13 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the last day of each fiscal year during which the 

15 Bank is in operation, the Board shall submit to the 

16 President and the appropriate committees of Con17 gress a report that describes, with respect to the 

18 preceding fiscal year— 

19 (A) the operations of the Bank; 

20 (B) a schedule of the obligations and out21 standing capital securities of the Bank, together 

22 with a statement of the amounts issued and re23 deemed or paid during that fiscal year; and 

24 (C) the status of core infrastructure 

25 projects receiving funding or other assistance 


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1 pursuant to this Act, including disclosure of all 

2 entities with a development, ownership, or oper3 ational interest in those core infrastructure 

4 projects. 

5 (3) BOOKS AND RECORDS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall main7 tain adequate books and records to support the 

8 financial transactions of the Bank, including a 

9 description, to be maintained on a publically ac10 cessible database, of— 

11 (i) each financial transaction of the 

12 Bank and each core infrastructure project 

13 that receives funding from the Bank; and 

14 (ii) the amount of funding for each 

15 core infrastructure project. 

16 (B) AUDITS.—The books and records of 

17 the Bank shall be— 

18 (i) maintained in accordance with rec19 ommended accounting practices; and 

20 (ii) open to inspection by the Comp21 troller General of the United States. 

22 SEC. 102. STATE REMITTANCE AGREEMENTS WITH BANK. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State may enter into an agree24 ment of not less than 3 years with the Bank, under 

25 which— 


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1 (1) the State agrees to remit not less than 60 

2 percent of the total amount of funds received by the 

3 State in each year of the 3-year period from the 

4 Federal Government for Federal-aid highway activi5 ties under sections 119(d) and 133(b) of title 23, 

6 United States Code; 

7 (2) the Board will issue to the State funds from 

8 the Bank received under section 202 in an amount 

9 equal to 90 percent of the amount the State remit10 ted to the Bank under paragraph (1); and 

11 (3) the State will use the funds received from 

12 the Bank under paragraph (2) to carry out core in13 frastructure projects in accordance with subsection 

14 (b). 

15 (b) STATE DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of law, in carrying out 

17 a project under subsection (a)(3), a State shall— 

18 (1) have the authority to determine whether the 

19 State is in compliance with all Federal requirements 

20 of— 

21 (A) environmental approvals relating to the 

22 project; 

23 (B) environmental permits relating to the 

24 project; 


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1 (C) section 313 of title 23, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (D) the development and construction of 

4 the project, including— 

5 (i) preliminary design; 

6 (ii) right-of-way acquisition; 

7 (iii) construction engineering; and 

8 (iv) final acceptance of the project; 

9 (E) preapproval for preventative mainte10 nance projects and procedures; 

11 (F) project agreements and modifications 

12 to project agreements; and 

13 (G) consultant procurement services relat14 ing to the project; 

15 (2) assume responsibility of and oversight du16 ties over compliance with the requirements described 

17 in paragraph (1); and 

18 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, attempt 

19 to carry out the project in compliance with all Fed20 eral requirements. 

21 (c) USE OF STATE-REMITTED FUNDS.—The Bank 

22 shall use an amount equal to 10 percent of the funds re23 mitted to the Bank by States under subsection (a)(1) to 

24 carry out section 103. 


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1 SEC. 103. LOANS TO STATES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN2 MENT FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank may grant a loan to 

4 a State or a unit of local government to carry out a core 

5 infrastructure project in compliance with all applicable 

6 Federal laws and requirements. 

7 (b) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—In order to be 

8 eligible to receive a loan under subsection (a), a State or 

9 unit of local government shall submit to the Board an ap10 plication at such time, in such manner, and containing 

11 such information as the Board may reasonably require. 

12 (c) INTEREST RATES FOR LOANS.—The Board 

13 shall— 

14 (1) set the interest rate for a loan provided 

15 under subsection (a); and 

16 (2) ensure that the interest rate remains at a 

17 level that is more favorable than that of similar in18 frastructure loans available on the private market. 

19 TITLE II—CAPITALIZATION OF 

20 BANK 

21 SEC. 201. ALLOWANCE OF TEMPORARY DIVIDENDS RE22 CEIVED DEDUCTION FOR DIVIDENDS RE23 CEIVED FROM A CONTROLLED FOREIGN COR24 PORATION. 

25 (a) APPLICABILITY OF TEMPORARY DIVIDENDS RE26 CEIVED DEDUCTION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of section 965 

2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to 

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(f) ELECTION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The taxpayer may elect to 

6 apply this section to the 3-taxable year period begin7 ning with— 

8 ‘‘(A) the taxpayer’s last taxable year which 

9 begins before the date of the enactment of the 

10 Build USA Act, or 

11 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer’s first taxable year 

12 which begins during the 1-year period beginning 

13 on such date of enactment. 

14 ‘‘(2) TIME FOR MAKING ELECTION.—Any elec15 tion made under this section shall be made on or be16 fore the due date (including extensions) for filing the 

17 return of tax for the first taxable year in the 3-tax18 able year period described in paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(3) DECLARATION OF AMOUNT REPATRI20 ATED.—An election under this section shall des21 ignate a limitation of the aggregate amount of divi22 dends to be taken into account under subsection (a) 

23 during the 3-taxable year period.’’. 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) EXTRAORDINARY DIVIDENDS.—Section 

2 965(b)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘June 30, 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

4 2014’’, and 

5 (B) DETERMINATIONS RELATING TO RE6 LATED PARTY INDEBTEDNESS.—Section 

7 965(b)(3)(B) of such Code is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘October 3, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem9 ber 31, 2014’’. 

10 (C) DETERMINATIONS RELATING TO BASE

11 PERIOD.—Section 965(c)(2) of such Code is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘June 30, 2003’’ and in13 serting ‘‘December 31, 2014’’. 

14 (b) AMOUNT OF DEDUCTION.—Paragraph (1) of sec15 tion 965(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘85 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘81.4 

17 percent’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 202. APPROPRIATIONS TO BANK. 

22 (a) ESTIMATION OF REVENUES FROM REPATRI23 ATION.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

25 Secretary’s delegate) shall estimate the increase in the 


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1 amount of revenues to be received in the Treasury after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act and before October 1, 

3 2019, attributable to the amendments made by this title. 

4 (b) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

5 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is hereby ap6 propriated to the Bank an amount equal to the amount 

7 described in subsection (a), to remain available until ex8 pended. 

Æ 


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