II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1926 

To establish the National Infrastructure Bank to provide funding for qualified 

infrastructure projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. HAGEL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the National Infrastructure Bank to provide 

funding for qualified infrastructure projects, 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 ‘‘National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007’’. 

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. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations. 


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TITLE I—NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Bank. 

Sec. 102. Management of Bank. 

Sec. 103. Staff and personnel matters. 

TITLE II—POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BANK 

Sec. 201. Powers of the Bank Board. 

Sec. 202. Qualified infrastructure project ratings. 

Sec. 203. Development of financing package. 

Sec. 204. Coupon notes for holders of infrastructure bonds. 

Sec. 205. Exemption from local taxation. 

TITLE III—STUDIES AND REPORTS 

Sec. 301. Report; database. 

Sec. 302. Study and report on infrastructure financing mechanisms. 

Sec. 303. GAO report. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) according to the American Society of Civil 

4 Engineers, the current condition of the infrastruc5 ture of the United States earns a grade point aver6 age of D and jeopardizes the prosperity and quality 

7 of life of the citizens of the United States; 

8 (2) according to the Federal Transit Adminis9 tration— 

10 (A) approximately $15,800,000,000 must 

11 be expended each year for a period of not less 

12 than 20 years to maintain the operational ca13 pacity of the transit systems of the United 

14 States; and 

15 (B) approximately $21,800,000,000 must 

16 be expended each year for a period of not less 

17 than 20 years to improve the operational capacVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:54 Aug 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1926.IS S1926

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1 ity of the transit systems of the United States 

2 to meet the growing demands of passengers in 

3 a safe and adequate manner; 

4 (3) according to the Millennial Housing Com5 mission, there remains a critical shortage of afford6 able public housing for extreme low-income individ7 uals; 

8 (4) there are over 1,200,000 units of public 

9 housing nationwide, with an accumulated capital 

10 needs backlog of approximately $18,000,000,000, 

11 with an additional $2,000,000,000 accruing each 

12 year; 

13 (5) according to the Federal Highway Adminis14 tration— 

15 (A) 33 percent of all urban and rural 

16 roads in the United States are in poor, medi17 ocre, or fair condition; 

18 (B) approximately $131,700,000,000 must 

19 be expended each year for a period of not less 

20 than 20 years to improve the conditions of 

21 those urban and rural roads; 

22 (C) 27.1 percent of all bridges in the 

23 United States are— 

24 (i) structurally deficient; or 

25 (ii) functionally obsolete; and 


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1 (D) approximately $9,400,000,000 must 

2 be expended each year for a period of not less 

3 than 20 years to eliminate the deficiencies of 

4 those bridges; 

5 (6) according to the Environmental Protection 

6 Agency— 

7 (A) $151,000,000,000 must be expended 

8 during the next 20 years to make necessary re9 pairs, replacements, and upgrades to the ap10 proximately 55,000 community drinking water 

11 systems of the United States; and 

12 (B) approximately $390,000,000,000 must 

13 be expended during the next 20 years to elimi14 nate the deficiencies of the wastewater systems 

15 of the United States; 

16 (7) the infrastructure financing mechanisms of 

17 the United States do not adequately— 

18 (A) address infrastructure projects of re19 gional or national significance; 

20 (B) encourage an appropriate pooling of 

21 Federal, State, local, and private resources; or 

22 (C) provide transparency to ensure the op23 timal return on public resources; 


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1 (8) there are no Federal financing notes, cred2 its, or bonds which allow investors to fund only in3 frastructure projects; 

4 (9) there is a need to involve pension funds and 

5 other private investors who want to invest in infra6 structure, but to whom tax credits have no value; 

7 and 

8 (10) there are no federally guaranteed invest9 ment notes of greater than 30 years in duration, 

10 whereas many federally funded assets are of dura11 tions much longer than 30 years. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 

14 (1) BANK.—The term ‘‘Bank’’ means the ‘‘Na15 tional Infrastructure Bank’’ established under sec16 tion 101. 

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

18 board of directors of the Bank, established under 

19 section 102. 

20 (3) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

21 terms ‘‘Chairperson’’ and ‘‘Vice Chairperson’’ mean 

22 the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board, 

23 respectively. 

24 (4) FINANCING MECHANISM.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘financing 

2 mechanism’’ means a method used by the Bank 

3 to pledge the full faith and credit of the United 

4 States to provide money, credit, or other capital 

5 to a qualified infrastructure project. 

6 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘financing 

7 mechanism’’ includes— 

8 (i) a direct subsidy; 

9 (ii) a general purpose infrastructure 

10 bond; and 

11 (iii) a project-based infrastructure 

12 bond. 

13 (5) FINANCING PACKAGE.—The term ‘‘financ14 ing package’’ means 1 or more financing mecha15 nisms used by the Bank to meet the Federal com16 mitment for a qualified infrastructure project. 

17 (6) GENERAL PURPOSE INFRASTRUCTURE

18 BOND.—The term ‘‘general purpose infrastructure 

19 bond’’ means a bond issued as part of an issue in 

20 accordance with this Act, if— 

21 (A) the net spendable proceeds from the 

22 sale of the issue may be used for expenditures 

23 incurred after the date of issuance with respect 

24 to any qualified infrastructure project or pur25 pose, subject to the rules of the Bank; 


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1 (B) the bond is issued by the Bank, is in 

2 registered form, and meets the requirements of 

3 this Act and otherwise applicable law; 

4 (C) the term of each bond which is part of 

5 the issue is greater than 30 years; and 

6 (D) the payment of principal with respect 

7 to the bond is the obligation of the Bank. 

8 (7) INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘infrastruc10 ture project’’ means the building, improvement, 

11 or increase in capacity of a basic installation, 

12 facility, asset, or stock that is associated with— 

13 (i) a mass transit system that meets 

14 the criteria in subparagraph (B); 

15 (ii) a public housing property that is 

16 eligible to receive funding under section 24 

17 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

18 (42 U.S.C. 1437v) and that meets the cri19 teria in subparagraph (B); 

20 (iii) a road or bridge that meets the 

21 criteria in subparagraph (B); or 

22 (iv) a drinking water system or a 

23 wastewater system that meets the criteria 

24 in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (B) CRITERIA.—A project described in any 

2 of clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A) 

3 meets the criteria of this subparagraph if it 

4 serves any one or more of the objectives identi5 fied in paragraphs (1) through (9) of section 

6 101(c) of the Housing and Community Develop7 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301(c)). 

8 (8) PROJECT-BASED INFRASTRUCTURE

9 BOND.—The term ‘‘project-based infrastructure 

10 bond’’ means any bond issued as part of an issue, 

11 if— 

12 (A) the net spendable proceeds from the 

13 sale of the issue are to be used for expenditures 

14 incurred after the date of issuance only with re15 spect to the qualified infrastructure project for 

16 which the bond is issued; 

17 (B) the bond is issued by the Bank, meets 

18 the requirements of section 149(a) of title 26, 

19 United States Code, for registration, and other20 wise meets the requirements of this Act and 

21 other applicable law; 

22 (C) the term of each bond which is part of 

23 the issue is equal to the useful life of the quali24 fied infrastructure project funded through use 

25 of the bond; and 


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1 (D) the payment of principal with respect 

2 to the bond is the obligation of the Bank. 

3 (9) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘‘public housing agency’’ means an agency described 

5 in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act 

6 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)). 

7 (10) PUBLIC SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘public 

8 sponsor’’ includes a State or local government, an 

9 Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

10 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

11 (25 U.S.C. 450b), a public transit agency, public 

12 housing agency, a public infrastructure agency, or a 

13 consortium of those entities, including a public enti14 ty that has partnered with a private nonprofit or 

15 for-profit entity. 

16 (11) QUALIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.— 

17 The term ‘‘qualified infrastructure project’’ means 

18 an infrastructure project designated by the Board as 

19 a qualified infrastructure project in accordance with 

20 section 202. 

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 Until such time as the Bank has received funds from 

23 the issuance of bonds sufficient to carry out this Act and 

24 the administration of the Bank, there are authorized to 

25 be appropriated to the Bank, such sums as may be necVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:54 Aug 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1926.IS S1926

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1 essary for such purposes, to remain available until ex2 pended. 

3 TITLE I—NATIONAL 

4 INFRASTRUCTURE BANK 

5 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF BANK. 

6 There is established the ‘‘National Infrastructure 

7 Bank’’, which shall be an independent establishment of the 

8 Federal Government, as defined in section 104 of title 5, 

9 United States Code. 

10 SEC. 102. MANAGEMENT OF BANK. 

11 (a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management of the 

13 Bank shall be vested in a Board of Directors con14 sisting of 5 members, appointed by the President, by 

15 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from 

16 among individuals who are citizens of the United 

17 States. 

18 (2) MEMBER EXPERTISE.—Not fewer than 1 

19 member of the Board shall have demonstrated exper20 tise in— 

21 (A) transit infrastructure; 

22 (B) public housing infrastructure; 

23 (C) road and bridge infrastructure; 

24 (D) water infrastructure; or 

25 (E) public finance. 


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1 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Section 2(a)(2) 

2 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 

3 1812(a)(2) shall apply to members of the Board of 

4 Directors of the Bank in the same manner as it ap5 plies to the Board of Directors of the Federal De6 posit Insurance Corporation. 

7 (4) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not 

8 later than 90 days after the date on which all direc9 tors of the Board are first appointed, and otherwise 

10 at the call of the Chairperson. 

11 (5) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The initial 

12 nominations to the Board shall be made not later 

13 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 (b) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

16 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be 

17 appointed and shall serve in the same manner as is pro18 vided for members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor19 poration under section 2(b) of the Federal Deposit Insur20 ance Act (12 U.S.C. 1812(b)). 

21 (c) TERMS.— 

22 (1) APPOINTED MEMBERS.—Except as provided 

23 in paragraph (2), each member of the Board shall 

24 be appointed for a term of 6 years. 


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1 (2) INITIAL STAGGERED TERMS.—Of the initial 

2 members of the Board— 

3 (A) the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson 

4 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years; 

5 (B) 1 member shall be appointed for a 

6 term of 5 years; 

7 (C) 1 member shall be appointed for a 

8 term of 4 years; and 

9 (D) 1 member shall be appointed for a 

10 term of 3 years. 

11 (3) INTERIM APPOINTMENTS.—Any member of 

12 the Board appointed to fill a vacancy occurring be13 fore the expiration of the term for which the prede14 cessor of such member was appointed shall be ap15 pointed only for the remainder of such term. 

16 (4) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—The Chair17 person, Vice Chairperson, and each other member of 

18 the Board may continue to serve after the expiration 

19 of the term of office to which such member was ap20 pointed, until a successor has been appointed. 

21 (d) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Board shall be 

22 filled in the manner in which the original appointment was 

23 made. 

24 (e) INELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER OFFICES.— 


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1 (1) RESTRICTION DURING SERVICE.—No mem2 ber of the Board may, during service on the 

3 Board— 

4 (A) be an officer or director of, or other5 wise be employed by, any entity engaged in or 

6 otherwise associated with an infrastructure 

7 project assisted or considered under this Act; 

8 (B) hold stock in any such entity; or 

9 (C) hold any other elected or appointed 

10 public office. 

11 (2) POST SERVICE RESTRICTION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—No member of the 

13 Board may hold any office, position, or employ14 ment in any entity engaged in or otherwise as15 sociated with an infrastructure project assisted 

16 under this Act during the 2-year period begin17 ning on the date on which such member ceases 

18 to serve on the Board. 

19 (B) EXCEPTION FOR MEMBERS WHO

20 SERVE FULL TERM.—The limitation contained 

21 in subparagraph (A) does not apply to any 

22 member who has ceased to serve on the Board 

23 after serving the full term for which such mem24 ber was appointed. 


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1 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Upon taking office, each 

2 member of the Board shall certify under oath that 

3 such member has complied with this subsection, and 

4 such certification shall be filed with the secretary of 

5 the Board. 

6 SEC. 103. STAFF AND PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

7 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson may ap9 point and terminate, and fix the compensation of, an 

10 executive director of the Bank, in accordance with 

11 title 5, United States Code. 

12 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC13 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

14 be subject to confirmation by the Board. 

15 (3) QUALIFICATIONS OF EXECUTIVE DIREC16 TOR.—An individual appointed as the executive di17 rector under paragraph (1) shall have demonstrated 

18 expertise in— 

19 (A) transit infrastructure; 

20 (B) public housing infrastructure; 

21 (C) road and bridge infrastructure; 

22 (D) water infrastructure; or 

23 (E) public finance. 

24 (b) OTHER PERSONNEL.—The Board may appoint 

25 and terminate, and fix the compensation of, in accordance 


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1 with title 5, United States Code, such personnel as are 

2 necessary to enable the Bank to perform the duties of the 

3 Bank. 

4 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11 of the Inspector 

6 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘the 

8 Chairperson of the National Infrastructure 

9 Bank;’’ after ‘‘the Chairperson of the Federal 

10 Deposit Insurance Corporation;’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘the 

12 National Infrastructure Bank;’’ after ‘‘the Fed13 eral Deposit Insurance Corporation;’’. 

14 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE LEVEL IV.—Section 

15 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

16 inserting after the item relating to the Inspector 

17 General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora18 tion, the following: 

19 ‘‘Inspector General, National Infrastructure 

20 Bank.’’. 

21 (d) SUPPORT FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—The head of 

22 any other Federal agency may detail employees to the 

23 Bank for purposes of carrying out the duties of the Bank. 

24 (e) COMPENSATION OF BOARD MEMBERS.— 


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1 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—Section 5314 of title 5, 

2 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

3 the item relating to the Chairman of the Board of 

4 Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora5 tion, the following: 

6 ‘‘Chairperson, Board of Directors, National In7 frastructure Bank.’’. 

8 (2) OTHER MEMBERS.—Section 5315 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

10 the item relating to the Inspector General of the 

11 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘Member, Board of Directors of the National 

14 Infrastructure Bank.’’. 

15 TITLE II—POWERS AND DUTIES 

16 OF THE BANK 

17 SEC. 201. POWERS OF THE BANK BOARD. 

18 (a) HEARINGS.—The Board may, in carrying out this 

19 Act— 

20 (1) hold such hearings, meet and act at such 

21 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

22 evidence, and administer such oaths, as the Board 

23 considers advisable; and 

24 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at25 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the 


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1 production of such books, records, correspondence, 

2 memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and mate3 rials, as the Board considers advisable. 

4 (b) ISSUANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF SUB5 POENAS.— 

6 (1) ISSUANCE.—A subpoena issued under sub7 section (a) shall— 

8 (A) bear the signature of the Chairperson 

9 and a majority of the members of the Board; 

10 and 

11 (B) be served by any person or class of 

12 persons designated by the Chairperson for that 

13 purpose. 

14 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of contumacy 

15 or failure to obey a subpoena issued under sub16 section (a)(2), the United States district court for 

17 the district in which the subpoenaed person resides, 

18 is served, or may be found may issue an order re19 quiring the person to appear at any designated place 

20 to testify or to produce documentary or other evi21 dence. 

22 (3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—Any failure to obey the 

23 order of the court may be punished by the court as 

24 a contempt of court. 

25 (c) WITNESS ALLOWANCES AND FEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1821 of title 28, 

2 United States Code, shall apply to a witness re3 quested or subpoenaed to appear at a hearing of the 

4 Board. 

5 (2) EXPENSES.—The per diem and mileage al6 lowances for a witness shall be paid from funds 

7 available to pay the expenses of the Board. 

8 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

9 Board may, upon request, secure directly from a Federal 

10 agency, such information as the Board considers necessary 

11 to carry out this Act, and the head of such agency shall 

12 promptly respond to any such request for the provision 

13 of information. 

14 (e) INCORPORATION OF FEDERAL TRANSIT PROC15 ESSES FOR BOARD STATEMENTS.—Section 5334(l) of title 

16 49, United States Code, as added by section 3032 of the 

17 Federal Public Transportation Act of 2005 (Public Law 

18 109–59, 119 Stat. 1627), shall apply to statements of the 

19 Board in the same manner and to the same extent as that 

20 section applies to statements of the Administrator of the 

21 Federal Transit Administration. 

22 SEC. 202. QUALIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT RAT23 INGS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall, upon application 

25 and otherwise in accordance with this section, designate 


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1 infrastructure projects as qualified projects for purposes 

2 of assistance under this Act. 

3 (b) APPLICANTS.—The Bank shall accept applica4 tions for the designation of qualified infrastructure 

5 projects under this section from among public sponsors, 

6 for any infrastructure project having— 

7 (1) a potential Federal commitment of an 

8 amount that is not less than $75,000,000; 

9 (2) a public sponsor; and 

10 (3) regional or national significance. 

11 (c) GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING PROJECTS.—The 

12 Secretary shall establish guidelines to assist grant recipi13 ents under this title to develop applications for funding 

14 under this section. The guidelines shall include the objec15 tives listed in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 105(e) 

16 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

17 (42 U.S.C. 5305(e)). 

18 (d) RATINGS.—In making a determination as to a 

19 designation of a qualified infrastructure project, the Board 

20 shall evaluate and rate each applicant based on the factors 

21 appropriate for that type of infrastructure project, which 

22 shall include— 

23 (1) for any transit project— 

24 (A) regional or national significance; 

25 (B) promotion of economic growth; 


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1 (C) reduction in traffic congestion; 

2 (D) environmental benefits, including re3 duction in pollution from reduced use of auto4 mobiles from direct trip reduction and indirect 

5 trip reduction through land use and density 

6 changes; 

7 (E) urban land use policies, including 

8 those that promote smart growth; and 

9 (F) mobility improvements; 

10 (2) for any public housing project— 

11 (A) regional or national significance; 

12 (B) promotion of economic growth; 

13 (C) improvement of the physical shape and 

14 layout of public housing; 

15 (D) environmental improvement; 

16 (E) urban land use policies, including 

17 those that promote smart growth; 

18 (F) reduction of poverty concentration; 

19 (G) mobility improvements for residents; 

20 and 

21 (H) establishment of positive incentives for 

22 resident self-sufficiency and comprehensive 

23 services that empower residents; 

24 (3) for any highway, bridge, or road project— 

25 (A) regional or national significance; 


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1 (B) promotion of economic growth; 

2 (C) reduction in traffic congestion; 

3 (D) environmental improvement; 

4 (E) urban land use policies, including 

5 those that promote smart growth; and 

6 (F) mobility improvements; and 

7 (4) for any water project— 

8 (A) regional or national significance; 

9 (B) promotion of economic growth; 

10 (C) health benefits from the associated 

11 projects, including health care cost reduction 

12 due to removal of pollutants; and 

13 (D) environmental benefits. 

14 (e) DETERMINATION AMONG PROJECTS OF DIF15 FERENT INFRASTRUCTURE TYPES.—The Bank shall es16 tablish, by rule, comprehensive criteria for allocating 

17 qualified status among different types of infrastructure 

18 projects for purposes of this Act— 

19 (1) including— 

20 (A) a full view of the project benefits, as 

21 compared to project costs; 

22 (B) a preference for projects that have na23 tional or substantial regional impact; 

24 (C) a preference for projects which lever25 age private financing, including public-private 


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1 partnerships, for either the explicit cost of the 

2 project or for enhancements which increase the 

3 benefits of the project; 

4 (D) an understanding of the importance of 

5 balanced investment in various types of infra6 structure, as emphasized in the current alloca7 tion of Federal resources between modes; and 

8 (E) an understanding of the importance of 

9 diverse investment in infrastructure in all re10 gions of the country; and 

11 (2) that do not eliminate any project based on 

12 size, but rather allow for selection of the projects 

13 that are most meritorious. 

14 (f) PROCESS AND PERSONNEL FOR CREATING RAT15 INGS PROCESS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The ratings processes de17 scribed in this section shall be subject to Federal no18 tice and rulemaking procedures. 

19 (2) PARTICIPATION BY OTHER AGENCY PER20 SONNEL.—The ratings, and development of the rat21 ings process, shall be conducted by personnel on de22 tail to the Bank from the Department of Transpor23 tation, the Department of Housing and Urban De24 velopment, the United States Army Corps of Engi25 neers, and other relevant departments and agencies 


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1 from among individuals who are familiar with and 

2 experienced in the selection criteria for competitive 

3 projects. The Bank shall reimburse those depart4 ments and agencies for the staff which are on detail 

5 to the Bank. 

6 (g) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER APPLICABLE LAW.— 

7 Projects receiving financial assistance from the Bank 

8 under this section shall comply with applicable provisions 

9 of Federal law and regulations, including— 

10 (1) for transit, requirements that would apply 

11 to a project receiving funding under section 5307 of 

12 title 49, United States Code; 

13 (2) for public housing, requirements that would 

14 apply to a project receiving funding from a grant 

15 under section 24 of the United States Housing Act 

16 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v); 

17 (3) for roads and bridges, requirements that 

18 would apply to a project that receives funds appor19 tioned under section 104(b)(3) of title 23, United 

20 States Code; and 

21 (4) for water, requirements that would apply to 

22 a project that receives funds through a grant or loan 

23 under— 


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1 (A) section 103 of the Housing and Com2 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

3 5303); 

4 (B) section 1452 of the Public Health 

5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12); or 

6 (C) section 601 of the Federal Water Pol7 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381), as that 

8 section applied before the beginning of fiscal 

9 year 1995. 

10 (h) AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE FUNDING.—Not11 withstanding any other provision of law, the Bank shall 

12 determine the appropriate Federal share of funds for each 

13 project described in subsection (g) for purposes of this 

14 Act. 

15 SEC. 203. DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCING PACKAGE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

17 date on which the Board determines appropriate financing 

18 packages for qualified infrastructure projects under sec19 tion 202, the Board shall notify the Committee on Bank20 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

21 (b) FINANCING PACKAGES.—The Board is author22 ized— 

23 (1) to act as a centralized entity to provide fi24 nancing for qualified infrastructure projects; 


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1 (2) to issue general purpose infrastructure 

2 bonds, and to provide direct subsidies to qualified in3 frastructure projects from amounts made available 

4 from the issuance of such bonds; 

5 (3) to issue project-based infrastructure bonds 

6 for the financing of specific qualified infrastructure 

7 projects; 

8 (4) to provide loan guarantees to State or local 

9 governments issuing debt to finance qualified infra10 structure projects, under rules prescribed by the 

11 Board, in a manner similar to that described in 

12 chapter 6 of title 23, United States Code; 

13 (5) to issue loans, at varying interest rates, in14 cluding very low interest rates, to qualified project 

15 sponsors for qualified projects; 

16 (6) to leverage resources and stimulate public 

17 and private investment in infrastructure; and 

18 (7) to encourage States to create additional op19 portunities for the financing of infrastructure 

20 projects. 

21 (c) GENERAL PURPOSE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

22 BONDS.—General purpose and project-based infrastruc23 ture bonds issued by the Bank under this Act shall be 

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1 lished by rules of the Bank, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of the Treasury. 

3 (d) BOND OBLIGATION LIMIT.—The aggregate out4 standing amount of all bonds authorized to be issued 

5 under this Act may not exceed $60,000,000,000. 

6 (e) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Any obligation 

7 issued by the Bank under this Act shall be an obligation 

8 supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. 

9 (f) LIMITATION ON FUNDS FROM BOND

10 ISSUANCE.—Not more than 1 percent of funds resulting 

11 from the issuance of bonds under this Act may be used 

12 to fund the operations of the Bank. 

13 SEC. 204. COUPON NOTES FOR HOLDERS OF INFRASTRUC14 TURE BONDS. 

15 (a) ISSUANCE OF COUPON NOTES.—Under regula16 tions prescribed by the Bank, in consultation with the Sec17 retary of the Treasury, there may be a separation (includ18 ing at issuance) of the ownership of an infrastructure 

19 bond and the entitlement to the interest with respect to 

20 such bond (in this section referred to as a ‘‘coupon note’’). 

21 In case of any such separation, such interest shall be al22 lowed to the person who on the payment date holds the 

23 instrument evidencing the entitlement to the interest, and 

24 not to the holder of the bond. 


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1 (b) REDEMPTION OF COUPON NOTES.—A coupon 

2 note may be used by the owner thereof for the purpose 

3 of making any payment to the Federal Government, and 

4 shall be accepted for such purpose by the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury, subject to rules issued by the Bank, in consulta6 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury. 

7 SEC. 205. EXEMPTION FROM LOCAL TAXATION. 

8 Bonds and other obligations issued by the Bank, and 

9 the interest on or credits with respect to its bonds or other 

10 obligations, shall not be subject to taxation by any State, 

11 county, municipality, or local taxing authority. 

12 TITLE III—STUDIES AND 

13 REPORTS 

14 SEC. 301. REPORT; DATABASE. 

15 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

17 Board shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Hous18 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report describing 

19 the activities of the Board, for the fiscal year covered by 

20 the report, relating to— 

21 (1) the evaluations of qualified infrastructure 

22 projects under section 202; and 

23 (2) the financing packages of qualified infra24 structure projects under section 203. 


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•S 1926 IS

1 (b) DATABASE.—The Bank shall develop, maintain, 

2 and update a publicly-accessible database that contains— 

3 (1) a description of each qualified infrastruc4 ture project that receives funding from the Bank 

5 under this Act— 

6 (A) by project mode or modes; 

7 (B) by project location; 

8 (C) by project sponsor or sponsors; and 

9 (D) by project total cost; 

10 (2) the amount of funding that each qualified 

11 infrastructure project receives from the Bank under 

12 this Act; and 

13 (3) the form of financing that each qualified in14 frastructure project receives from the Bank under 

15 section 203. 

16 SEC. 302. STUDY AND REPORT ON INFRASTRUCTURE FI17 NANCING MECHANISMS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there20 after, the Board shall conduct a study evaluating the effec21 tiveness of each Federal financing mechanism that is used 

22 to support an infrastructure system of the United States. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A study conducted under sub24 section (a) shall— 


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1 (1) evaluate the economic efficacy and trans2 parency of each financing mechanism used by— 

3 (A) the Bank to fund qualified infrastruc4 ture projects; and 

5 (B) each agency and department of the 

6 Federal Government to support infrastructure 

7 systems, including— 

8 (i) infrastructure formula funding; 

9 (ii) user fees; and 

10 (iii) modal taxes; and 

11 (2) contain recommendations for improving 

12 each funding mechanism evaluated under subpara13 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) to increase the 

14 economic efficacy and transparency of the Bank, and 

15 each agency and department of the Federal Govern16 ment, to finance infrastructure projects in the 

17 United States. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

19 on which the Board completes the study conducted under 

20 subsection (a), the Board shall submit to the Committee 

21 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, 

22 a report containing each evaluation and recommendation 

23 contained in the study. 


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•S 1926 IS

1 SEC. 303. GAO REPORT. 

2 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

5 Urban Affairs of the Senate, a report evaluating the ac6 tivities of the Bank for the fiscal years covered by the re7 port, including— 

8 (1) the evaluations of qualified infrastructure 

9 projects under section 202; and 

10 (2) the financing packages of qualified infra11 structure projects under section 203. 

Æ 


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