II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1589 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2015 

Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

COONS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. KIRK, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

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. 

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 ‘‘Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development 

6 and Growth in Employment Act’’ or the ‘‘BRIDGE Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING AUTHORITY 

Sec. 101. Establishment and general authority of IFA. 

Sec. 102. Voting members of the Board of Directors. 

Sec. 103. Chief executive officer of IFA. 

Sec. 104. Powers and duties of the Board of Directors. 

Sec. 105. Senior management. 

Sec. 106. Office of Technical and Rural Assistance. 

Sec. 107. Special Inspector General for IFA. 

Sec. 108. Other personnel. 

Sec. 109. Compliance. 

TITLE II—TERMS AND LIMITATIONS ON DIRECT LOANS AND 

LOAN GUARANTEES 

Sec. 201. Eligibility criteria for assistance from IFA and terms and limitations 

of loans. 

Sec. 202. Loan terms and repayment. 

Sec. 203. Environmental permitting process improvements. 

Sec. 204. Compliance and enforcement. 

Sec. 205. Audits; reports to the President and Congress. 

Sec. 206. Effect on other laws. 

TITLE III—FUNDING OF IFA 

Sec. 301. Fees. 

Sec. 302. Self-sufficiency of IFA. 

Sec. 303. Funding. 

Sec. 304. Contract authority. 

Sec. 305. Limitation on authority. 

TITLE IV—TAX EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE AND 

LOCAL BONDS 

Sec. 401. National limitation on amount of tax-exempt financing for facilities. 

TITLE V—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

Sec. 501. Budgetary effects. 

3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to facilitate investment in, 

5 and the long-term financing of, economically viable eligible 

6 infrastructure projects of regional or national significance 


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1 that are in the public interest in a manner that com2 plements existing Federal, State, local, and private fund3 ing sources for these projects and introduces a merit-based 

4 system for financing those projects, in order to mobilize 

5 significant private sector investment, create long-term 

6 jobs, and ensure United States competitiveness through 

7 a self-sustaining institution that limits the need for ongo8 ing Federal funding. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) BLIND TRUST.—The term ‘‘blind trust’’ 

12 means a trust in which the beneficiary has no knowl13 edge of the specific holdings and no rights over how 

14 those holdings are managed by the fiduciary of the 

15 trust prior to the dissolution of the trust. 

16 (2) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The term ‘‘Board 

17 of Directors’’ means the Board of Directors of IFA. 

18 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘‘Chairperson’’ 

19 means the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of 

20 IFA. 

21 (4) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The term 

22 ‘‘Chief Executive Officer’’ means the chief executive 

23 officer of IFA, appointed under section 103. 


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1 (5) COST.—The term ‘‘cost’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit 

3 Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

4 (6) DIRECT LOAN.—The term ‘‘direct loan’’ has 

5 the meaning given the term in section 502 of the 

6 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

7 (7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means— 

9 (A) an individual; 

10 (B) a corporation; 

11 (C) a partnership, including a public-pri12 vate partnership; 

13 (D) a joint venture; 

14 (E) a trust; 

15 (F) a State or any other governmental en16 tity, including a political subdivision or any 

17 other instrumentality of a State; or 

18 (G) a revolving fund. 

19 (8) ELIGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible in21 frastructure project’’ means the construction, 

22 consolidation, alteration, or repair of the fol23 lowing sectors: 

24 (i) Intercity passenger or freight rail 

25 lines, intercity passenger rail facilities or 


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1 equipment, and intercity freight rail facili2 ties or equipment. 

3 (ii) Intercity passenger bus facilities 

4 or equipment. 

5 (iii) Public transportation facilities or 

6 equipment. 

7 (iv) Highway facilities, including 

8 bridges and tunnels. 

9 (v) Airports and air traffic control 

10 systems. 

11 (vi) Port or marine terminal facilities, 

12 including approaches to marine terminal 

13 facilities or inland port facilities, and port 

14 or marine equipment, including fixed 

15 equipment to serve approaches to marine 

16 terminals or inland ports. 

17 (vii) Transmission or distribution 

18 pipelines. 

19 (viii) Inland waterways. 

20 (ix) Intermodal facilities or equipment 

21 related to 2 or more of the sectors de22 scribed in clauses (i) through (viii). 

23 (x) Water treatment and solid waste 

24 disposal facilities. 


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1 (xi) Storm water management sys2 tems. 

3 (xii) Dams and levees. 

4 (xiii) Facilities or equipment for en5 ergy transmission, distribution or storage. 

6 (B) AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF DIREC7 TORS TO MODIFY SECTORS.—The Board of Di8 rectors may make modifications, at the discre9 tion of the Board, to any of the sectors de10 scribed in subparagraph (A) by a vote of not 

11 fewer than 5 of the voting members of the 

12 Board of Directors. 

13 (9) IFA.—The term ‘‘IFA’’ means the Infra14 structure Financing Authority established under sec15 tion 101. 

16 (10) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

17 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 

18 minus, Baa3, or higher assigned to an eligible infra19 structure project by a ratings agency. 

20 (11) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar21 antee’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

22 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 

23 U.S.C. 661a). 


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1 (12) OTRA.—The term ‘‘OTRA’’ means the 

2 Office of Technical and Rural Assistance created 

3 pursuant to section 106. 

4 (13) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.—The 

5 term ‘‘public-private partnership’’ means any eligible 

6 entity— 

7 (A)(i) that is undertaking the development 

8 of all or part of an eligible infrastructure 

9 project that will have a measurable public ben10 efit, pursuant to requirements established in 1 

11 or more contracts between the entity and a 

12 State or an instrumentality of a State; or 

13 (ii) the activities of which, with respect to 

14 such an eligible infrastructure project, are sub15 ject to regulation by a State or any instrumen16 tality of a State; 

17 (B) that owns, leases, or operates or will 

18 own, lease, or operate, the project in whole or 

19 in part; and 

20 (C) the participants in which include not 

21 fewer than 1 nongovernmental entity with sig22 nificant investment and some control over the 

23 project or entity sponsoring the project vehicle. 

24 (14) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen25 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 


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1 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

2 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

3 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

4 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

5 (15) REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACCEL6 ERATOR.—The term ‘‘regional infrastructure accel7 erator’’ means an organization created by public sec8 tor agencies through a multi-jurisdictional or multi9 state agreement to provide technical assistance to 

10 local jurisdictions that will facilitate the implementa11 tion of innovative financing and procurement models 

12 to public infrastructure projects. 

13 (16) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.—The 

14 term ‘‘rural infrastructure project’’— 

15 (A) has the same meaning given the term 

16 in section 601(15) of title 23, United States 

17 Code; and 

18 (B) includes any eligible infrastructure 

19 project sector described in clauses (i) through 

20 (xvii) of paragraph (8)(A) located in any area 

21 other than a city with a population of more 

22 than 250,000 inhabitants within the city limits. 

23 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

24 means the Secretary of the Treasury or the designee 

25 of the Secretary of the Treasury. 


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1 (18) SENIOR MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘senior 

2 management’’ means the chief financial officer, chief 

3 risk officer, chief compliance officer, general counsel, 

4 chief lending officer, and chief operations officer of 

5 IFA, and such other officers as the Board of Direc6 tors may, by majority vote, add to senior manage7 ment. 

8 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

9 (A) each of the several States of the 

10 United States; and 

11 (B) the District of Columbia. 

12 TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE 

13 FINANCING AUTHORITY 

14 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT AND GENERAL AUTHORITY OF 

15 IFA. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF IFA.—The Infrastructure 

17 Financing Authority is established as a wholly owned Gov18 ernment corporation. 

19 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY OF IFA.—IFA shall— 

20 (1) provide direct loans and loan guarantees to 

21 facilitate eligible infrastructure projects that are eco22 nomically viable, in the public interest, and of re23 gional or national significance; and 

24 (2) carry out any other activities and duties au25 thorized under this Act. 


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1 (c) INCORPORATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors first 

3 appointed shall be deemed the incorporator of IFA, 

4 and the incorporation shall be held to have been ef5 fected from the date of the first meeting of the 

6 Board of Directors. 

7 (2) CORPORATE OFFICE.—IFA shall— 

8 (A) maintain an office in Washington, DC; 

9 and 

10 (B) for purposes of venue in civil actions, 

11 be considered to be a resident of Washington, 

12 DC. 

13 (d) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec14 retary shall take such action as may be necessary to assist 

15 in implementing IFA and in carrying out the purpose of 

16 this Act. 

17 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Chapter 91 of title 

18 31, United States Code, does not apply to IFA, unless oth19 erwise specifically provided in this Act. 

20 SEC. 102. VOTING MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIREC21 TORS. 

22 (a) VOTING MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF DIREC23 TORS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—IFA shall have a Board of 

25 Directors consisting of 7 voting members appointed 


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1 by the President, by and with the advice and consent 

2 of the Senate, not more than 4 of whom shall be 

3 from the same political party. 

4 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—One of the voting members 

5 of the Board of Directors shall be designated by the 

6 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

7 Senate, to serve as Chairperson of the Board of Di8 rectors. 

9 (3) CONGRESSIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

10 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act, the majority leader of the Senate, the mi12 nority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the 

13 House of Representatives, and the minority leader of 

14 the House of Representatives shall each submit a 

15 recommendation to the President for appointment of 

16 a member of the Board of Directors, after consulta17 tion with the appropriate committees of Congress. 

18 (4) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF RURAL INTER19 ESTS AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In making an 

20 appointment under this subsection, the President 

21 shall give consideration to the geographic areas of 

22 the United States in which the members of the 

23 Board of Directors live and work, particularly to en24 sure that the infrastructure priorities and concerns 

25 of each region of the country, including rural areas 


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1 and small communities, are represented on the 

2 Board of Directors. 

3 (b) VOTING RIGHTS.—Each voting member of the 

4 Board of Directors shall have an equal vote in all decisions 

5 of the Board of Directors. 

6 (c) QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTING MEMBERS.—Each 

7 voting member of the Board of Directors shall— 

8 (1) be a citizen of the United States; and 

9 (2) have significant demonstrated expertise in— 

10 (A) the management and administration of 

11 a financial institution relevant to the operation 

12 of IFA; or 

13 (B) the financing, development, or oper14 ation of infrastructure projects, including in the 

15 evaluation and selection of eligible infrastruc16 ture projects based on the purposes, goals, and 

17 objectives of this Act. 

18 (d) TERMS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this Act, each voting member of the Board 

21 of Directors shall be appointed for a term of 5 years. 

22 (2) INITIAL STAGGERED TERMS.—Of the voting 

23 members first appointed to the Board of Directors— 


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1 (A) the initial Chairperson and 3 of the 

2 other voting members shall each be appointed 

3 for a term of 5 years; and 

4 (B) the remaining 3 voting members shall 

5 each be appointed for a term of 2 years. 

6 (3) DATE OF INITIAL NOMINATIONS.—The ini7 tial nominations for the appointment of all voting 

8 members of the Board of Directors shall be made 

9 not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act. 

11 (4) BEGINNING OF TERM.—The term of each of 

12 the initial voting members appointed under this sec13 tion shall commence immediately upon the date of 

14 appointment, except that, for purposes of calculating 

15 the term limits specified in this subsection, the ini16 tial terms shall each be construed as beginning on 

17 January 22 of the year following the date of the ini18 tial appointment. 

19 (5) VACANCIES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy in the posi21 tion of a voting member of the Board of Direc22 tors shall be filled by the President, by and 

23 with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

24 (B) TERM.—A member appointed to fill a 

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1 fore the expiration of the term for which the 

2 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 

3 only for the remainder of that term. 

4 (e) MEETINGS.— 

5 (1) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; NOTICE.—Except as 

6 provided in paragraph (3), all meetings of the Board 

7 of Directors shall be— 

8 (A) open to the public; and 

9 (B) preceded by reasonable public notice. 

10 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Board of Directors shall 

11 meet— 

12 (A) not later than 60 days after the date 

13 on which all members of the Board of Directors 

14 are first appointed; 

15 (B) at least quarterly after the date de16 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

17 (C) at the call of the Chairperson or 3 vot18 ing members of the Board of Directors. 

19 (3) EXCEPTION FOR CLOSED MEETINGS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The voting members of 

21 the Board of Directors may, by majority vote, 

22 close a meeting to the public if, during the 

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1 garding an eligible infrastructure project under 

2 consideration for assistance under this Act. 

3 (B) AVAILABILITY OF MINUTES.—The 

4 Board of Directors shall prepare minutes of any 

5 meeting that is closed to the public, which min6 utes shall be made available as soon as prac7 ticable, but not later than 1 year after the date 

8 of the closed meeting, with any necessary 

9 redactions to protect any proprietary or sen10 sitive information. 

11 (4) QUORUM.—For purposes of meetings of the 

12 Board of Directors, 5 voting members of the Board 

13 of Directors shall constitute a quorum. 

14 (f) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each voting 

15 member of the Board of Directors shall be compensated 

16 at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

17 of basic pay prescribed for level III of the Executive 

18 Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, for each day (including travel time) during which 

20 the member is engaged in the performance of the duties 

21 of the Board of Directors. 

22 (g) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A voting member of 

23 the Board of Directors may not participate in any review 

24 or decision affecting an eligible infrastructure project 

25 under consideration for assistance under this Act, if the 


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1 member has or is affiliated with an entity who has a finan2 cial interest in that project. 

3 SEC. 103. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer 

5 shall— 

6 (1) be a nonvoting member of the Board of Di7 rectors; 

8 (2) be responsible for all activities of IFA; and 

9 (3) support the Board of Directors in accord10 ance with this Act and as the Board of Directors de11 termines to be necessary. 

12 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TENURE OF THE CHIEF EX13 ECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint 

15 the Chief Executive Officer, by and with the advice 

16 and consent of the Senate. 

17 (2) TERM.—The Chief Executive Officer shall 

18 be appointed for a term of 6 years. 

19 (3) VACANCIES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy in the of21 fice of the Chief Executive Officer shall be filled 

22 by the President, by and with the advice and 

23 consent of the Senate. 

24 (B) TERM.—The person appointed to fill a 

25 vacancy in the Chief Executive Officer position 


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1 that occurs before the expiration of the term for 

2 which the predecessor was appointed shall be 

3 appointed only for the remainder of that term. 

4 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Executive Offi5 cer— 

6 (1) shall have significant expertise in manage7 ment and administration of a financial institution, 

8 or significant expertise in the financing and develop9 ment of infrastructure projects; and 

10 (2) may not— 

11 (A) hold any other public office; 

12 (B) have any financial interest in an eligi13 ble infrastructure project then being considered 

14 by the Board of Directors, unless that interest 

15 is placed in a blind trust; or 

16 (C) have any financial interest in an in17 vestment institution or its affiliates or any 

18 other entity seeking or likely to seek financial 

19 assistance for any eligible infrastructure project 

20 from IFA, unless any such interest is placed in 

21 a blind trust for the tenure of the service of the 

22 Chief Executive Officer plus 2 additional years. 

23 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chief Executive Officer 

24 shall have such executive functions, powers, and duties as 


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1 may be prescribed by this Act, the bylaws of IFA, or the 

2 Board of Directors, including— 

3 (1) responsibility for the development and im4 plementation of the strategy of IFA, including— 

5 (A) the development and submission to the 

6 Board of Directors of the annual business plans 

7 and budget; 

8 (B) the development and submission to the 

9 Board of Directors of a long-term strategic 

10 plan; and 

11 (C) the development, revision, and submis12 sion to the Board of Directors of internal poli13 cies; and 

14 (2) responsibility for the management and over15 sight of the daily activities, decisions, operations, 

16 and personnel of IFA. 

17 (e) COMPENSATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any compensation assess19 ment or recommendation by the Chief Executive Of20 ficer under this section shall be without regard to 

21 the provisions of chapter 51 or subchapter III of 

22 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The compensation as24 sessment or recommendation required under this 

25 subsection shall take into account merit principles, 


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1 where applicable, as well as the education, experi2 ence, level of responsibility, geographic differences, 

3 and retention and recruitment needs in determining 

4 compensation of personnel. 

5 SEC. 104. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIREC6 TORS. 

7 The Board of Directors shall— 

8 (1) as soon as practicable after the date on 

9 which all members are appointed, approve or dis10 approve senior management appointed by the Chief 

11 Executive Officer; 

12 (2) not later than 180 days after the date on 

13 which all members are appointed— 

14 (A) develop and approve the bylaws of 

15 IFA, including bylaws for the regulation of the 

16 affairs and conduct of the business of IFA, con17 sistent with the purpose, goals, objectives, and 

18 policies set forth in this Act; 

19 (B) establish subcommittees, including an 

20 audit committee that is composed solely of 

21 members of the Board of Directors, other than 

22 the Chief Executive Officer; 

23 (C) develop and approve, in consultation 

24 with senior management, a conflict-of-interest 


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1 policy for the Board of Directors and for senior 

2 management; 

3 (D) approve or disapprove internal policies 

4 that the Chief Executive Officer shall submit to 

5 the Board of Directors, including— 

6 (i) policies regarding the loan applica7 tion and approval process, including appli8 cation procedures and project approval 

9 processes; and 

10 (ii) operational guidelines; and 

11 (E) approve or disapprove a 1-year busi12 ness plan and budget for IFA; 

13 (3) ensure that IFA is at all times operated in 

14 a manner that is consistent with this Act, by— 

15 (A) monitoring and assessing the effective16 ness of IFA in achieving its strategic goals; 

17 (B) reviewing and approving internal poli18 cies, annual business plans, annual budgets, 

19 and long-term strategies submitted by the Chief 

20 Executive Officer; 

21 (C) reviewing and approving annual re22 ports submitted by the Chief Executive Officer; 

23 (D) engaging 1 or more external auditors, 

24 as set forth in this Act; and 


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1 (E) reviewing and approving all changes to 

2 the organization of senior management; 

3 (4) appoint and fix, by a vote of not less than 

4 5 of the 7 voting members of the Board of Direc5 tors, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 

6 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, the compensation and adjustments to 

8 compensation of all IFA personnel, provided that in 

9 appointing and fixing any compensation or adjust10 ments to compensation under this paragraph, the 

11 Board shall— 

12 (A) consult with, and seek to maintain 

13 comparability with, other comparable Federal 

14 personnel, as the Board of Directors may deter15 mine to be appropriate; 

16 (B) consult with the Office of Personnel 

17 Management; and 

18 (C) carry out those duties consistent with 

19 merit principles, where applicable, as well as the 

20 education, experience, level of responsibility, ge21 ographic differences, comparability to private 

22 sector positions, and retention and recruitment 

23 needs in determining compensation of per24 sonnel; 


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1 (5) serve as the primary liaison for IFA in 

2 interactions with Congress, the Secretary of Trans3 portation and other executive branch officials, and 

4 State and local governments, and to represent the 

5 interests of IFA in those interactions and others; 

6 (6) approve by a vote of not less than 5 of the 

7 7 voting members of the Board of Directors any 

8 changes to the bylaws or internal policies of IFA; 

9 (7) have the authority and responsibility— 

10 (A) to oversee entering into and carrying 

11 out such contracts, leases, cooperative agree12 ments, or other transactions as are necessary to 

13 carry out this Act; 

14 (B) to approve of the acquisition, lease, 

15 pledge, exchange, and disposal of real and per16 sonal property by IFA and otherwise approve 

17 the exercise by IFA of all of the usual incidents 

18 of ownership of property, to the extent that the 

19 exercise of those powers is appropriate to and 

20 consistent with the purposes of IFA; 

21 (C) to determine the character of, and the 

22 necessity for, the obligations and expenditures 

23 of IFA, and the manner in which the obliga24 tions and expenditures will be incurred, allowed, 

25 and paid, subject to this Act and other Federal 


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1 law specifically applicable to wholly owned Fed2 eral corporations; 

3 (D) to execute, in accordance with applica4 ble bylaws and regulations, appropriate instru5 ments; 

6 (E) to approve other forms of credit en7 hancement that IFA may provide to eligible 

8 projects, as long as the forms of credit enhance9 ments are consistent with the purposes of this 

10 Act and terms set forth in title II; 

11 (F) to exercise all other lawful powers 

12 which are necessary or appropriate to carry out, 

13 and are consistent with, the purposes of IFA; 

14 (G) to sue or be sued in the corporate ca15 pacity of IFA in any court of competent juris16 diction; 

17 (H) to indemnify the members of the 

18 Board of Directors and officers of IFA for any 

19 liabilities arising out of the actions of the mem20 bers and officers in that capacity, in accordance 

21 with, and subject to the limitations contained in 

22 this Act; 

23 (I) to review all financial assistance pack24 ages to all eligible infrastructure projects, as 

25 submitted by the Chief Executive Officer and to 


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1 approve, postpone, or deny the same by major2 ity vote; 

3 (J) to review all restructuring proposals 

4 submitted by the Chief Executive Officer, in5 cluding assignation, pledging, or disposal of the 

6 interest of IFA in a project, including payment 

7 or income from any interest owned or held by 

8 IFA, and to approve, postpone, or deny the 

9 same by majority vote; 

10 (K) to enter into binding commitments, as 

11 specified in approved financial assistance pack12 ages; 

13 (L) to determine whether— 

14 (i) to obtain a lien on the assets of an 

15 eligible entity that receives assistance 

16 under this Act; and 

17 (ii) to subordinate a lien under clause 

18 (i) to any other lien securing project obli19 gations; and 

20 (M) to ensure a measurable public benefit 

21 in the selection of eligible infrastructure 

22 projects and to provide for reasonable public 

23 input in the selection of such projects; 

24 (8) delegate to the Chief Executive Officer 

25 those duties that the Board of Directors determines 


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1 to be appropriate, to better carry out the powers and 

2 purposes of the Board of Directors under this sec3 tion; and 

4 (9) to approve a maximum aggregate amount of 

5 principal exposure of IFA at any given time. 

6 SEC. 105. SENIOR MANAGEMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Senior management shall support 

8 the Chief Executive Officer in the discharge of the respon9 sibilities of the Chief Executive Officer. 

10 (b) APPOINTMENT OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT.—The 

11 Chief Executive Officer shall appoint such senior man12 agers as are necessary to carry out the purposes of IFA, 

13 as approved by a majority vote of the voting members of 

14 the Board of Directors, including a chief compliance offi15 cer, general counsel, chief operating officer, chief lending 

16 officer, and other positions as determined to be appro17 priate by the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of 

18 Directors. 

19 (c) TERM.—Each member of senior management 

20 shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Executive Officer 

21 and the Board of Directors. 

22 (d) REMOVAL OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT.—Any mem23 ber of senior management may be removed— 


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1 (1) by a majority of the voting members of the 

2 Board of Directors at the request of the Chief Exec3 utive Officer; or 

4 (2) by a vote of not fewer than 5 voting mem5 bers of the Board of Directors. 

6 (e) SENIOR MANAGEMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of senior 

8 management shall report directly to the Chief Exec9 utive Officer, other than the chief risk officer, who 

10 shall report directly to the Board of Directors. 

11 (2) CHIEF RISK OFFICER.—The chief risk offi12 cer shall be responsible for all functions of IFA re13 lating to— 

14 (A) the creation of financial, credit, and 

15 operational risk management guidelines and 

16 policies; 

17 (B) the establishment of guidelines to en18 sure diversification of lending activities by re19 gion, infrastructure project type, and project 

20 size; 

21 (C) the creation of conforming standards 

22 for infrastructure finance agreements; 

23 (D) the monitoring of the financial, credit, 

24 and operational exposure of IFA; and 


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1 (E) risk management and mitigation ac2 tions, including by reporting those actions, or 

3 recommendations of actions to be taken, di4 rectly to the Board of Directors. 

5 (f) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No individual ap6 pointed to senior management may— 

7 (1) hold any other public office; 

8 (2) have any financial interest in an eligible in9 frastructure project then being considered by the 

10 Board of Directors, unless that interest is placed in 

11 a blind trust; or 

12 (3) have any financial interest in an investment 

13 institution or its affiliates, IFA or its affiliates, or 

14 other entity then seeking or likely to seek financial 

15 assistance for any eligible infrastructure project 

16 from IFA, unless any such interest is placed in a 

17 blind trust during the term of service of that indi18 vidual in a senior management position, and for a 

19 period of 2 years thereafter. 

20 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF TECHNICAL AND RURAL ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer shall 

22 create and manage, within IFA, the ‘‘Office of Technical 

23 and Rural Assistance’’. 

24 (b) DUTIES.—The OTRA shall— 


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1 (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Trans2 portation and the heads of other relevant Federal 

3 agencies, as determined by the Chief Executive Offi4 cer, provide technical assistance to State and local 

5 governments and parties in public-private partner6 ships in the development and financing of eligible in7 frastructure projects, including rural infrastructure 

8 projects; 

9 (2) assist the entities described in paragraph 

10 (1) with coordinating loan and loan guarantee pro11 grams available through Federal agencies, including 

12 the Department of Transportation and other Federal 

13 agencies, as appropriate; 

14 (3) work with the entities described in para15 graph (1) to identify and develop a pipeline of 

16 projects suitable for financing through innovative 

17 project financing and performance based project de18 livery, including those projects with the potential for 

19 financing through IFA; and 

20 (4) establish a regional infrastructure accel21 erator demonstration program to assist the entities 

22 described in paragraph (1) in developing improved 

23 infrastructure priorities and financing strategies, for 

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1 ture projects, including those projects with the po2 tential for financing through IFA. 

3 (c) DESIGNATION OF REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE

4 ACCELERATORS.—In carrying out the program estab5 lished pursuant to subsection (b)(3), the OTRA is author6 ized to designate regional infrastructure accelerators that 

7 will— 

8 (1) serve a defined geographic area; and 

9 (2) act as a resource in such area to entities de10 scribed in subsection (b)(1), in accordance with this 

11 subsection. 

12 (d) APPLICATION PROCESS.—To be eligible for a des13 ignation under subsection (c), regional infrastructure ac14 celerators shall submit a proposal to the OTRA at such 

15 time, in such form, and containing such information as 

16 the OTRA determines is appropriate. 

17 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating proposals sub18 mitted pursuant to subsection (d), the OTRA shall con19 sider— 

20 (1) the need for geographic diversity among re21 gional infrastructure accelerators; and 

22 (2) promoting investment in covered infrastruc23 ture projects, which shall include a plan— 


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1 (A) to evaluate and promote innovative fi2 nancing methods for local projects, including 

3 the use of IFA; 

4 (B) to build capacity of governments to 

5 evaluate and structure projects involving the in6 vestment of private capital; 

7 (C) to provide technical assistance and in8 formation on best practices with respect to fi9 nancing such projects; 

10 (D) to increase transparency with respect 

11 to infrastructure project analysis and utilizing 

12 innovative financing for public infrastructure 

13 projects; 

14 (E) to deploy predevelopment capital pro15 grams designed to facilitate the creation of a 

16 pipeline of infrastructure projects available for 

17 investment; 

18 (F) to bundle smaller-scale and rural 

19 projects into larger proposals that may be more 

20 attractive for investment; and 

21 (G) to reduce transaction costs for public 

22 project sponsors. 

23 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The OTRA shall submit an 

24 annual report to Congress that describes the findings and 


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1 effectiveness of the infrastructure accelerator demonstra2 tion program. 

3 SEC. 107. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR IFA. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) INITIAL PERIOD.—During the 5-year period 

6 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 the Inspector General of the Department of the 

8 Treasury shall serve as the Special Inspector Gen9 eral for IFA in addition to the existing duties of the 

10 Inspector General of the Department of the Treas11 ury. 

12 (2) OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INSPECTOR GEN13 ERAL.—Beginning on the day that is 5 years after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, there is estab15 lished the Office of the Special Inspector General for 

16 IFA. 

17 (b) APPOINTMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL; RE18 MOVAL.— 

19 (1) HEAD OF OFFICE.—The head of the Office 

20 of the Special Inspector General for IFA shall be the 

21 Special Inspector General for IFA (referred to in 

22 this Act as the ‘‘Special Inspector General’’), who 

23 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 

24 advice and consent of the Senate. 


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1 (2) BASIS OF APPOINTMENT.—The appoint2 ment of the Special Inspector General shall be made 

3 on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in 

4 accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, man5 agement analysis, public administration, or inves6 tigations. 

7 (3) TIMING OF NOMINATION.—The nomination 

8 of an individual as Special Inspector General shall 

9 be made as soon as practicable after the date of en10 actment of this Act. 

11 (4) REMOVAL.—The Special Inspector General 

12 shall be removable from office in accordance with 

13 the provisions of section 3(b) of the Inspector Gen14 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

15 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of 

16 section 7324 of title 5, United States Code, the Spe17 cial Inspector General shall not be considered an em18 ployee who determines policies to be pursued by the 

19 United States in the nationwide administration of 

20 Federal law. 

21 (6) RATE OF PAY.—The annual rate of basic 

22 pay of the Special Inspector General shall be the an23 nual rate of basic pay for an Inspector General 

24 under section 3(e) of the Inspector General Act of 

25 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 


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1 (c) DUTIES.—The Special Inspector General shall— 

2 (1) conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits 

3 and investigations of the business activities of IFA; 

4 (2) establish, maintain, and oversee such sys5 tems, procedures, and controls as the Special Inspec6 tor General considers appropriate to discharge the 

7 duty under paragraph (1); and 

8 (3) carry out any other duties and responsibil9 ities of inspectors general under the Inspector Gen10 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

11 (d) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

13 specified in subsection (c), the Special Inspector 

14 General shall have the authorities provided in section 

15 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

16 App.). 

17 (2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Special In18 spector General shall carry out the duties specified 

19 in subsection (c)(1) in accordance with section 

20 4(b)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

21 U.S.C. App.). 

22 (e) PERSONNEL, FACILITIES, AND OTHER RE23 SOURCES.— 

24 (1) ADDITIONAL OFFICERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Inspector 

2 General may select, appoint, and employ such 

3 officers and employees as may be necessary for 

4 carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector 

5 General, subject to the provisions of title 5, 

6 United States Code, governing appointments in 

7 the competitive service, and the provisions of 

8 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

9 such title, relating to classification and General 

10 Schedule pay rates. 

11 (B) EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

12 The Special Inspector General may exercise the 

13 authorities of subsections (b) through (i) of sec14 tion 3161 of title 5, United States Code (with15 out regard to subsection (a) of that section). 

16 (2) RETENTION OF SERVICES.—The Special In17 spector General may obtain services as authorized by 

18 section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at daily 

19 rates not to exceed the equivalent rate prescribed for 

20 grade GS–15 of the General Schedule by section 

21 5332 of such title. 

22 (3) ABILITY TO CONTRACT FOR AUDITS, STUD23 IES, AND OTHER SERVICES.—The Special Inspector 

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1 ices with public agencies and with private persons, 

2 and make such payments as may be necessary to 

3 carry out the duties of the Special Inspector Gen4 eral. 

5 (4) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the 

7 Special Inspector General for information or as8 sistance from any department, agency, or other 

9 entity of the Federal Government, the head of 

10 that entity shall, insofar as is practicable and 

11 not in contravention of any existing law, furnish 

12 the information or assistance to the Special In13 spector General or an authorized designee. 

14 (B) REFUSAL TO COMPLY.—If information 

15 or assistance requested by the Special Inspector 

16 General is, in the judgment of the Special In17 spector General, unreasonably refused or not 

18 provided, the Special Inspector General shall re19 port the circumstances to the Secretary, with20 out delay. 

21 (f) REPORTS.— 

22 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the date on which the Special Inspector Gen24 eral is confirmed, and every calendar year thereafter, 

25 the Special Inspector General shall submit to the 


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1 President and appropriate committees of Congress a 

2 report summarizing the activities of the Special In3 spector General during the previous 1-year period 

4 ending on the date of that report. 

5 (2) PUBLIC DISCLOSURES.—Nothing in this 

6 subsection authorizes the public disclosure of infor7 mation that is— 

8 (A) specifically prohibited from disclosure 

9 by any other provision of law; 

10 (B) specifically required by Executive order 

11 to be protected from disclosure in the interest 

12 of national defense or national security or in 

13 the conduct of foreign affairs; or 

14 (C) a part of an ongoing criminal inves15 tigation. 

16 SEC. 108. OTHER PERSONNEL. 

17 (a) APPOINTMENT, REMOVAL, AND DEFINITION OF

18 DUTIES.—Except as otherwise provided in the bylaws of 

19 IFA, the Chief Executive Officer, in consultation with the 

20 Board of Directors, shall appoint, remove, and define the 

21 duties of such qualified personnel as are necessary to carry 

22 out the powers, duties, and purpose of IFA, other than 

23 senior management, who shall be appointed in accordance 

24 with section 105. 


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1 (b) COORDINATION IN IDENTIFYING QUALIFICA2 TIONS AND EXPERTISE.—In appointing qualified per3 sonnel pursuant to subsection (a), the Chief Executive Of4 ficer shall coordinate with, and seek assistance from, the 

5 Secretary of Transportation in identifying the appropriate 

6 qualifications and expertise in infrastructure project fi7 nance. 

8 SEC. 109. COMPLIANCE. 

9 The provision of assistance by IFA pursuant to this 

10 Act does not supersede any provision of State law or regu11 lation otherwise applicable to an eligible infrastructure 

12 project. 

13 TITLE II—TERMS AND LIMITA14 TIONS ON DIRECT LOANS AND 

15 LOAN GUARANTEES 

16 SEC. 201. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE FROM 

17 IFA AND TERMS AND LIMITATIONS OF LOANS. 

18 (a) PUBLIC BENEFIT; FINANCEABILITY.—A project 

19 is not be eligible for financial assistance from IFA under 

20 this Act if— 

21 (1) the use or purpose of such project is private 

22 or such project does not create a public benefit, as 

23 determined by the Board of Directors; or 

24 (2) the applicant is unable to demonstrate, to 

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1 cient revenue stream to finance the loan that will be 

2 used to pay for such project. 

3 (b) FINANCIAL CRITERIA.—If the project meets the 

4 requirements under subsection (a), an applicant for finan5 cial assistance under this Act shall demonstrate, to the 

6 satisfaction of the Board of Directors, that— 

7 (1) for public-private partnerships, the project 

8 has received contributed capital or commitments for 

9 contributed capital equal to not less than 10 percent 

10 of the total cost of the eligible infrastructure project 

11 for which assistance is being sought if such contrib12 uted capital includes— 

13 (A) equity; 

14 (B) deeply subordinate loans or other cred15 it and debt instruments, which shall be junior 

16 to any IFA assistance provided for the project; 

17 (C) appropriated funds or grants from gov18 ernmental sources other than the Federal Gov19 ernment; or 

20 (D) irrevocable private contributions of 

21 funds, grants, property (including rights-of22 way), and other assets that directly reduce or 

23 offset project costs; and 

24 (2) the eligible infrastructure project for which 

25 assistance is being sought— 


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1 (A) is not for the refinancing of an exist2 ing infrastructure project; and 

3 (B) meets— 

4 (i) any pertinent requirements set 

5 forth in this Act; 

6 (ii) any criteria established by the 

7 Board of Directors under subsection (c) or 

8 by the Chief Executive Officer in accord9 ance with this Act; and 

10 (iii) the definition of an eligible infra11 structure project. 

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The criteria established by 

13 the Board of Directors under this subsection shall provide 

14 adequate consideration of— 

15 (1) the economic, financial, technical, environ16 mental, and public benefits and costs of each eligible 

17 infrastructure project under consideration for finan18 cial assistance under this Act, prioritizing eligible in19 frastructure projects that— 

20 (A) demonstrate a clear and measurable 

21 public benefit; 

22 (B) offer value for money to taxpayers; 

23 (C) contribute to regional or national eco24 nomic growth; 

25 (D) lead to long-term job creation; and 


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1 (E) mitigate environmental concerns; 

2 (2) the means by which development of the eli3 gible infrastructure project under consideration is 

4 being financed, including— 

5 (A) the terms, conditions, and structure of 

6 the proposed financing; 

7 (B) the creditworthiness and standing of 

8 the project sponsors, providers of equity, and 

9 cofinanciers; 

10 (C) the financial assumptions and projec11 tions on which the eligible infrastructure project 

12 is based; and 

13 (D) whether there is sufficient State or 

14 municipal political support for the successful 

15 completion of the eligible infrastructure project; 

16 (3) the likelihood that the provision of assist17 ance by IFA will cause the development to proceed 

18 more promptly and with lower costs for financing 

19 than would be the case without IFA assistance; 

20 (4) the extent to which the provision of assist21 ance by IFA maximizes the level of private invest22 ment in the eligible infrastructure project or sup23 ports a public-private partnership, while providing a 

24 significant public benefit; 


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1 (5) the extent to which the provision of assist2 ance by IFA can mobilize the participation of other 

3 financing partners in the eligible infrastructure 

4 project; 

5 (6) the technical and operational viability of the 

6 eligible infrastructure project; 

7 (7) the proportion of financial assistance from 

8 IFA; 

9 (8) the geographical location of the project, 

10 prioritizing geographical diversity of projects funded 

11 by IFA; 

12 (9) the size of the project and the impact of the 

13 project on the resources of IFA; and 

14 (10) the infrastructure sector of the project, 

15 prioritizing projects from more than 1 sector funded 

16 by IFA. 

17 (d) APPLICATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity seeking 

19 assistance from IFA under this Act for an eligible 

20 infrastructure project shall submit an application to 

21 IFA at such time, in such manner, and containing 

22 such information as the Board of Directors or the 

23 Chief Executive Officer may require. 

24 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—IFA shall review appli2 cations for assistance under this Act on an on3 going basis. 

4 (B) PREPARATION.—The Chief Executive 

5 Officer, in cooperation with the senior manage6 ment, shall prepare eligible infrastructure 

7 projects for review and approval by the Board 

8 of Directors. 

9 (3) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The Fed10 eral credit instrument shall be repayable, in whole or 

11 in part, from tolls, user fees, or other dedicated rev12 enue sources derived from users or beneficiaries that 

13 also secure the eligible infrastructure project obliga14 tions. 

15 (e) ELIGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT COSTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), to be eligible for assistance under this 

18 Act, an eligible infrastructure project shall have 

19 project costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal 

20 or exceed $50,000,000. 

21 (2) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—To 

22 be eligible for assistance under this Act a rural in23 frastructure project shall have project costs that are 

24 reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

25 $10,000,000. 


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1 (f) LOAN ELIGIBILITY AND MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a direct loan 

3 or loan guarantee under this Act shall not exceed 

4 the lesser of— 

5 (A) 49 percent of the reasonably antici6 pated eligible infrastructure project costs; and 

7 (B) the amount of the senior project obli8 gations, if the direct loan or loan guarantee 

9 does not receive an investment grade rating. 

10 (2) MAXIMUM ANNUAL LOAN AND LOAN GUAR11 ANTEE VOLUME.—The aggregate amount of direct 

12 loans and loan guarantees made by IFA shall not 

13 exceed— 

14 (A) during the first 2 fiscal years of the 

15 operations of IFA, $10,000,000,000 per year; 

16 (B) during fiscal years 3 through 9 of the 

17 operations of IFA, $20,000,000,000 per year; 

18 and 

19 (C) during any fiscal year thereafter, 

20 $50,000,000,000. 

21 SEC. 202. LOAN TERMS AND REPAYMENT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A direct loan or loan guarantee 

23 under this Act with respect to an eligible infrastructure 

24 project shall be on such terms, subject to such conditions, 

25 and contain such covenants, representations, warranties, 


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1 and requirements (including requirements for audits) as 

2 the Chief Executive Officer determines appropriate. 

3 (b) TERMS.—A direct loan or loan guarantee under 

4 this Act— 

5 (1) shall— 

6 (A) be payable, in whole or in part, from 

7 tolls, user fees, or other dedicated revenue 

8 sources derived from users or beneficiaries; and 

9 (B) include a rate covenant, coverage re10 quirement, or similar security feature sup11 porting the project obligations; and 

12 (2) may be secured by a lien— 

13 (A) on the assets of the obligor, including 

14 revenues described in paragraph (1); and 

15 (B) which may be subordinated to any 

16 other lien securing project obligations. 

17 (c) BASE INTEREST RATE.—The base interest rate 

18 on a direct loan under this Act shall be not less than the 

19 yield on Treasury obligations of a similar maturity to the 

20 maturity of the direct loan on the date of execution of 

21 the loan agreement. 

22 (d) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into an 

23 agreement for assistance under this Act, the Chief Execu24 tive Officer, in consultation with the Director of the Office 

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1 viding a preliminary rating opinion letter under this sec2 tion, shall determine an appropriate Federal credit subsidy 

3 amount for each direct loan and loan guarantee, taking 

4 into account that preliminary rating opinion letter, as well 

5 as any comparable market rates available for such a loan 

6 or loan guarantee, should any exist. 

7 (e) CREDIT FEE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each agree9 ment for assistance under this Act, the Chief Execu10 tive Officer shall charge a credit fee to the recipient 

11 of that assistance to pay for, over time, all or a por12 tion of the Federal credit subsidy determined under 

13 subsection (d), with the remainder paid by the ac14 count established for IFA. 

15 (2) DIRECT LOANS.—In the case of a direct 

16 loan, the credit fee described in paragraph (1) shall 

17 be in addition to the base interest rate established 

18 under subsection (c). 

19 (f) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date of a 

20 direct loan or loan guaranteed by IFA under this Act shall 

21 be not later than 35 years after the date of substantial 

22 completion of the eligible infrastructure project, as deter23 mined by the Chief Executive Officer. 

24 (g) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer 

2 shall require each applicant for assistance under this 

3 Act to provide a preliminary rating opinion letter 

4 from at least 1 rating agency, indicating that the 

5 senior obligations of the eligible infrastructure 

6 project, which may be the Federal credit instrument, 

7 have the potential to achieve an investment-grade 

8 rating. 

9 (2) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—With 

10 respect to a rural infrastructure project, a rating 

11 agency opinion letter described in paragraph (1) 

12 shall not be required, except that the loan or loan 

13 guarantee shall receive an internal rating score, 

14 using methods similar to the rating agencies gen15 erated by IFA, measuring the proposed direct loan 

16 or loan guarantee against comparable direct loans or 

17 loan guarantees of similar credit quality in a similar 

18 sector. 

19 (h) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (1) LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—The exe21 cution of a direct loan or loan guarantee under this 

22 Act shall be contingent on the senior obligations of 

23 the eligible infrastructure project receiving an invest24 ment-grade rating. 


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1 (2) RATING OF IFA OVERALL PORTFOLIO.—The 

2 average rating of the overall portfolio of IFA shall 

3 be not less than investment grade after 5 years of 

4 operation. 

5 (i) TERMS AND REPAYMENT OF DIRECT LOANS.— 

6 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Chief Executive Officer 

7 shall establish a repayment schedule for each direct 

8 loan under this Act, based on the projected cash 

9 flow from eligible infrastructure project revenues 

10 and other repayment sources. 

11 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay12 ments of principal or interest on a direct loan under 

13 this Act shall commence not later than 5 years after 

14 the date of substantial completion of the eligible in15 frastructure project, as determined by the Chief Ex16 ecutive Officer of IFA. 

17 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS OF DIRECT

18 LOANS.— 

19 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—If, at any time 

20 after the date of substantial completion of an 

21 eligible infrastructure project assisted under 

22 this Act, the eligible infrastructure project is 

23 unable to generate sufficient revenues to pay 

24 the scheduled loan repayments of principal and 

25 interest on the direct loan under this Act, the 


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1 Chief Executive Officer may allow the obligor to 

2 add unpaid principal and interest to the out3 standing balance of the direct loan, if the result 

4 would benefit the taxpayer. 

5 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

6 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

7 (i) continue to accrue interest, in ac8 cordance with the terms of the obligation, 

9 until fully repaid; and 

10 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

11 the remaining term of the loan. 

12 (C) CRITERIA.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer14 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con15 tingent on the eligible infrastructure 

16 project meeting criteria established by the 

17 Board of Directors. 

18 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

19 criteria established under clause (i) shall 

20 include standards for reasonable assurance 

21 of repayment. 

22 (4) PREPAYMENT OF DIRECT LOANS.— 

23 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex24 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

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1 gible infrastructure project obligations and di2 rect loan and all deposit requirements under the 

3 terms of any trust agreement, bond resolution, 

4 or similar agreement securing project obliga5 tions under this Act may be applied annually to 

6 prepay the direct loan, without penalty. 

7 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI8 NANCING.—A direct loan under this Act may be 

9 prepaid at any time, without penalty, from the 

10 proceeds of refinancing from non-Federal fund11 ing sources. 

12 (j) LOAN GUARANTEES.—The terms of a loan guar13 anteed by IFA under this Act shall be consistent with the 

14 terms set forth in this section for a direct loan, except 

15 that the rate on the guaranteed loan and any payment, 

16 prepayment, or refinancing features shall be negotiated 

17 between the obligor and the lender (as defined in section 

18 601(a) of title 23, United States Code) with the consent 

19 of the Chief Executive Officer. 

20 (k) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL CREDIT REFORM

21 ACT OF 1990.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), direct loans and loan guarantees author24 ized by this Act shall be subject to the provisions of 


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1 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

2 661 et seq.). 

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—Section 504(b) of the Federal 

4 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661c(b)) shall 

5 not apply to a loan or loan guarantee under this 

6 Act. 

7 (l) POLICY OF CONGRESS.—It is the policy of Con8 gress that IFA shall only make a direct loan or loan guar9 antee under this Act if IFA determines that IFA is rea10 sonably expected to recover the full amount of the direct 

11 loan or loan guarantee. 

12 SEC. 203. ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING PROCESS IM13 PROVEMENTS. 

14 (a) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—As soon as prac15 ticable after IFA approves financing for a proposed 

16 project under this title, the President shall convene a 

17 meeting of representatives of all relevant and appropriate 

18 permitting agencies— 

19 (1) to establish or update a permitting time20 table for the proposed project; 

21 (2) to coordinate concurrent permitting reviews 

22 by all necessary agencies; and 

23 (3) to coordinate with relevant State agencies 

24 and regional infrastructure development agencies to 

25 ensure— 


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1 (A) adequate participation; and 

2 (B) the timely provision of necessary docu3 mentation to allow any State review to proceed 

4 without delay. 

5 (b) GOAL.—The permitting timetable for each pro6 posed project established pursuant to subsection (a)(1) 

7 shall ensure that the environmental review process is com8 pleted as soon as practicable. 

9 (c) EARLIER.—The President may carry out the 

10 functions set forth in subsection (a) with respect to a pro11 posed project before the IFA has approved financing for 

12 such project upon the request of the Chief Executive Offi13 cer. 

14 (d) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each agency, to the 

15 greatest extent permitted by law, shall— 

16 (1) carry out the obligations of the agency 

17 under other applicable law concurrently, and in con18 junction with other reviews being conducted by other 

19 participating agencies, including environmental re20 views required under the National Environmental 

21 Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), unless such 

22 concurrent reviews would impair the ability of the 

23 agency to carry out its statutory obligations; and 

24 (2) formulate and implement administrative, 

25 policy, and procedural mechanisms to enable the 


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1 agency to ensure the completion of the environ2 mental review process in a timely, coordinated, and 

3 environmentally responsible manner. 

4 SEC. 204. COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT. 

5 (a) CREDIT AGREEMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, each eligible entity that receives 

7 assistance under this Act shall enter into a credit agree8 ment that requires such entity to comply with all applica9 ble policies and procedures of IFA, in addition to all other 

10 provisions of the loan agreement. 

11 (b) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL LAWS.—Each eligi12 ble entity that receives assistance under this Act shall pro13 vide written assurance, in such form and manner and con14 taining such terms as are to be prescribed by IFA, that 

15 the eligible infrastructure project will be performed in 

16 compliance with the requirements of all Federal laws that 

17 would otherwise apply to similar projects to which the 

18 United States is a party, or financed in whole or in part 

19 from Federal funds or in accordance with guarantees of 

20 a Federal agency or financed from funds obtained by 

21 pledge of any contract of a Federal agency to make a loan, 

22 grant, or annual contribution (except where a different 

23 meaning is expressly indicated). 

24 (c) IFA AUTHORITY ON NONCOMPLIANCE.—In any 

25 case in which an eligible entity that receives assistance 


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1 under this Act is materially out of compliance with the 

2 loan agreement, or any applicable policy or procedure of 

3 IFA, the Board of Directors may take action— 

4 (1) to cancel unused loan amounts; or 

5 (2) to accelerate the repayment terms of any 

6 outstanding obligation. 

7 SEC. 205. AUDITS; REPORTS TO THE PRESIDENT AND CON8 GRESS. 

9 (a) ACCOUNTING.—The books of account of IFA 

10 shall be— 

11 (1) maintained in accordance with generally ac12 cepted accounting principles; and 

13 (2) subject to an annual audit by independent 

14 public accountants of nationally recognized standing 

15 appointed by the Board of Directors. 

16 (b) REPORTS.— 

17 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—Not later than 90 

18 days after the last day of each fiscal year, the Board 

19 of Directors shall submit to the President and Con20 gress a complete and detailed report with respect to 

21 the preceding fiscal year, setting forth— 

22 (A) a summary of the operations of IFA 

23 for that fiscal year; 

24 (B) a schedule of the obligations of IFA 

25 and capital securities outstanding at the end of 


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1 that fiscal year, with a statement of the 

2 amounts issued and redeemed or paid during 

3 that fiscal year; 

4 (C) the status of eligible infrastructure 

5 projects receiving funding or other assistance 

6 pursuant to this Act during that fiscal year, in7 cluding— 

8 (i) all nonperforming loans; and 

9 (ii) disclosure of all entities with a de10 velopment, ownership, or operational inter11 est in those eligible infrastructure projects; 

12 (D) a description of the successes and 

13 challenges encountered in lending to rural com14 munities, including the role of the Office of 

15 Technical and Rural Assistance established 

16 under this Act; and 

17 (E) an assessment of the risks of the port18 folio of IFA, which shall be prepared by an 

19 independent source. 

20 (2) GAO.—Not later than 5 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen22 eral of the United States shall conduct an evaluation 

23 of, and submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and to 

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1 ture and Energy and Commerce of the House of 

2 Representatives a report on the activities of IFA for 

3 the fiscal years covered by the report that includes— 

4 (A) an assessment of the impact and bene5 fits of each funded eligible infrastructure 

6 project, including a review of how effectively 

7 each eligible infrastructure project accomplished 

8 the goals prioritized by the eligible infrastruc9 ture project criteria of IFA; and 

10 (B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of, 

11 and challenges facing, loan programs at the De12 partment of Transportation and Department of 

13 Energy, and an analysis of the advisability of 

14 consolidating those programs within IFA. 

15 (c) BOOKS AND RECORDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—IFA shall maintain adequate 

17 books and records to support the financial trans18 actions of IFA, with a description of financial trans19 actions and eligible infrastructure projects receiving 

20 funding, and the amount of funding for each project 

21 maintained on a publically accessible database. 

22 (2) AUDITS BY THE SECRETARY AND GAO.— 

23 The books and records of IFA shall at all times be 

24 open to inspection by the Secretary, the Special InVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:26 Jun 20, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1589.IS S1589

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1 spector General, and the Comptroller General of the 

2 United States. 

3 SEC. 206. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

4 Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect or 

5 alter the responsibility of an eligible entity that receives 

6 assistance under this Act to comply with applicable Fed7 eral and State laws (including regulations) relating to an 

8 eligible infrastructure project. 

9 TITLE III—FUNDING OF IFA 

10 SEC. 301. FEES. 

11 The Chief Executive Officer shall establish fees with 

12 respect to loans and loan guarantees under this Act that— 

13 (1) are sufficient to cover all the administrative 

14 costs to the Federal Government for the operations 

15 of IFA; 

16 (2) may be in the form of an application or 

17 transaction fee, or interest rate adjustment; and 

18 (3) may be based on the risk premium associ19 ated with the loan or loan guarantee, taking into 

20 consideration— 

21 (A) the price of Treasury obligations of a 

22 similar maturity; 

23 (B) prevailing market conditions; 


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1 (C) the ability of the eligible infrastructure 

2 project to support the loan or loan guarantee; 

3 and 

4 (D) the total amount of the loan or loan 

5 guarantee. 

6 SEC. 302. SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF IFA. 

7 The Chief Executive Officer shall, to the extent prac8 ticable, take actions consistent with this Act to make IFA 

9 a self-sustaining entity, with administrative costs and Fed10 eral credit subsidy costs fully funded by fees and risk pre11 miums on loans and loan guarantees. 

12 SEC. 303. FUNDING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to IFA to make direct loans and loan 

16 guarantees under this Act $10,000,000,000, which 

17 shall remain available until expended. 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amounts 

19 appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1), the IFA 

20 may expend, for administrative costs, not more 

21 than— 

22 (A) $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

23 years 2016 and 2017; and 

24 (B) not more than $50,000,000 for fiscal 

25 year 2018. 


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1 (b) INTEREST.—The amounts made available to IFA 

2 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be placed in interest-bear3 ing accounts. 

4 (c) RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Of the 

5 amounts made available to IFA under this section, not less 

6 than 5 percent shall be used to offset subsidy costs associ7 ated with rural infrastructure projects. 

8 SEC. 304. CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, approval 

10 by the Board of Directors of a Federal credit instrument 

11 that uses funds made available under this Act shall impose 

12 upon the United States a contractual obligation to fund 

13 the Federal credit investment. 

14 SEC. 305. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY. 

15 IFA shall not have the authority to issue debt in its 

16 own name. 

17 TITLE IV—TAX EXEMPTION RE18 QUIREMENTS FOR STATE AND 

19 LOCAL BONDS 

20 SEC. 401. NATIONAL LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF TAX-EX21 EMPT FINANCING FOR FACILITIES. 

22 Section 142(m)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘$15,000,000,000’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘$16,000,000,000’’. 


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1 TITLE V—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

2 SEC. 501. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

3 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

4 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

5 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

6 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

7 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

8 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro9 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

10 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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