I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4631
To fund capital projects of State and local governments, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 21, 2004
Mr. KUCINICH (for himself and Mr. LATOURETTE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and 
Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To fund capital projects of State and local governments, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rebuilding America’s 
Infrastructure’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES DEFINITIONS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Citizens chronically complain about the 
state of America’s public capital—about dilapidated 
school buildings, condemned highway bridges, con-
taminated water supplies, and other shortcomings of 
the public infrastructure. 
(2) In addition to inflicting inconvenience and 
endangering health, the inadequacy of the public in-
frastructure adversely affects productivity and the 
growth of the economy since public investment, pri-
vate investment, and productivity are intimately 
linked. 
(3) For more than 2 decades, the United States 
Government has retreated from public investment. 
(4) State and local governments, albeit to a 
lesser extent, have also slowed public investments 
and State and local taxpayers are frequently reluc-
tant to approve bond issues to finance public infra-
structure. 
(5) In the early 1970s, nondefense public in-
vestment accounted for about 3.2 percent of gross 
domestic product but it now accounts for only 2.5 
percent. 
(6) Widespread neglect of maintenance has con-
tributed substantially to the failure of the stock of
(1) To provide up to $50,000,000,000 a year 
on average for mortgage loans, at zero percent inter-
est, to State and local governments for capital in-
vestment in types of infrastructure projects specified 
by Congress in a way that would not affect the con-
duct of a sound monetary policy based on price sta-
bility. 
(2) To cut the overall cost of investment in in-
frastructure projects about in half, depending on 
prevailing interest rates, for State and local tax-
payers. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) BANK.—The term ‘‘Bank’’ means the Fed-
eral Bank for Infrastructure Modernization estab-
lished under section 4. 
(2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 
(3) DEVELOPMENT.—The terms ‘‘development’’ 
and ‘‘develop’’ mean, with respect to an infrastruc-
ture facility, any—
(A) preconstruction planning, feasibility re-
view, permitting and design work, and other 
preconstruction activities; and
(B) construction, reconstruction, rehabili-
tation, replacement, or expansion. 
(4) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Indian 
reservation’’ has the same meaning as in section 4 
of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 
1903), and shall include land held by incorporated 
Native groups, regional corporations, and village cor-
porations, as defined in or established pursuant to 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, public do-
main Indian allotments, and former Indian reserva-
tions in the State of Oklahoma. 
(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
means any Indian tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or 
other organized group or community, including any 
Alaska Native village or regional or village corpora-
tion, as defined in or established pursuant to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.), which is recognized as eligible for the 
special programs and services provided by the 
United States to Indians because of their status as 
Indians. 
(6) INFRASTRUCTURE
FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘infrastructure facility’’ means a road, highway, 
bridge, tunnel, airport, mass transportation vehicle 
or system, passenger or freight rail vehicle or sys-
tem, intermodal transportation facility, waterway, 
commercial port, drinking or waste water treatment 
facility, solid waste disposal facility, pollution control 
system, hazardous waste facility, federally des-
ignated national information highway facility, public 
school, and any ancillary facility which forms a part 
of any such facility or is reasonably related to such 
facility, including a facility necessary to comply with 
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 
(7) REGIONAL
OR
MULTISTATE
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘‘regional or multistate organiza-
tion’’ means an organization established by an inter-
state compact between 2 or more States which has 
been approved by the Congress. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, 
the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, 
and any territory of the United States. 
SEC. 4. FEDERAL BANK FOR INFRASTRUCTURE MOD-
ERNIZATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established 
a corporation which shall be known as the Federal 
Bank for Infrastructure Modernization. 
(2) STATUS.—The Bank shall be—
(A) an instrumentality of the United 
States Government; and 
(B) under the general supervision and di-
rection of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(b) MANAGEMENT.—
(1) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—The management 
of the Bank shall be vested in the Board of Direc-
tors of the Federal Financing Bank. 
(c) POWERS.—The Bank shall have the following 
powers: 
(1) To adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal. 
(2) To issue nonvoting capital stock in accord-
ance with section 5. 
(3) To enter into contracts and modify, or con-
sent to the modification of, any contract or agree-
ment to which the Bank is a party or in which the 
Bank has an interest under this section. 
(4) To appoint, by the board of directors, such 
officers and employees as the board of directors de-
termines to be necessary to carry out the provisions 
of this Act, to define their duties, fix their com-
pensation, require bonds of them and fix the penalty 
thereof, and to dismiss at pleasure such officers or 
employees. 
(5) To make advance, progress, or other pay-
ments. 
(6) To acquire, hold, lease, mortgage, maintain, 
or dispose of, at public or private sale, real and per-
sonal property, using any legally available private 
sector methods, and otherwise exercise all the usual 
incidents of ownership of property necessary and 
convenient to the operations of the Bank. 
(7) To sue and be sued in its corporate capacity 
in any court of competent jurisdiction. 
(8) To use the United States mails in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as other de-
partments and agencies of the United States. 
(9) To prescribe bylaws that shall be consistent 
with law. 
(10) To make loans in accordance with section 
7, subject to the requirements of such section. 
SEC. 5. CAPITALIZATION OF THE BANK. 
(a) ISSUANCE
AND SALE
OF STOCK.—The Bank 
may—
(1) issue nonvoting capital stock under section 
4(c)(2) only at such times and in such amounts as—
(A) the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate for the issuance of such stock; and 
(B) the Board determines to be appro-
priate for the purchase of such stock; and 
(2) sell such stock only to the Board or, at the 
Board’s direction, a Federal reserve bank. 
(b) PURCHASE OF CAPITAL STOCK BY FEDERAL RE-
SERVE BOARD.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—During the 10-year period 
beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year 
that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and subject to subsection (c) and the direction 
of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, acting 
directly or through any Federal reserve bank, shall 
invest in nonvoting capital stock of the Bank at such 
times and in such amounts as the Board determines 
to be appropriate under this section. 
(2) AVERAGE ANNUAL INVESTMENT AMOUNT.—
The amount invested by the Board in the capital 
stock of the Bank under this subsection shall aver-
age $50,000,000,000 a year over the 10-year period 
of investment in the Bank described in paragraph 
(1).
(c) INTEGRATION
OF
STOCK
PURCHASES
INTO 
OPEN-MARKET OPERATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The investment of the Board 
in stock of the Bank under this section shall be inte-
grated into the open-market operations of the Fed-
eral Open Market Committee under section 12A of 
the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 263) and the di-
rections of the Federal Open Market Committee to 
the Federal reserve banks with regard to open-mar-
ket operations shall take into account, and may in-
clude directions with regard to, any such investment. 
(2) TREATMENT OF STOCK.—Capital stock of 
the Bank shall be treated as obligations of an agen-
cy of the United States for purposes of section 
14(b)(2) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 
355). 
(d) USE OF CAPITAL.—The capital of the Bank may 
be used only for making loans under section 7. 
(e) RETIREMENT
OF
STOCK.—Nonvoting stock 
issued under this section shall be repurchased and retired 
from amount received from the repayment of loans under 
section 7. 
SEC. 6. BUDGET TREATMENT. 
(a) NONAPPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS APPLICABLE 
TO RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURES OF REVENUE AND BOR-
ROWED FUNDS.—For purposes of title 31, United States 
Code, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985, the Budget Enforcement Act 
of 1990, or any other provision of law—
(1) amounts received by the Bank in connection 
with the sale of stock pursuant to section 5 shall not 
be treated as revenue when it is received or made 
available to the Bank nor shall it be treated as rev-
enue by the Bank or by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury when the loans referred to in section 7 are re-
paid; 
(2) the purchase or sale of stock pursuant to 
section 5 and the interest-free loan program estab-
lished under section 7—
(A) shall not be treated as budget author-
ity, new budget authority, budgetary resources, 
spending authority, new spending authority, en-
titlement authority, or credit authority; 
(B) shall not be subject to apportionment 
or sequestration other than in accordance with 
the provisions of sections 4, 5, and 7; and 
(C) shall not be taken into account in the 
determination of the baseline for any fiscal 
year; and
(3) the disbursement of money paid by the 
Board or received by the Bank in connection with 
the purchase or sale of stock pursuant to section 5 
shall not be treated as an outlay or a budget outlay. 
(b) EXPENDITURE OF TAX REVENUE OR BORROWED 
FUNDS NOT AUTHORIZED.—No provision of this Act shall 
be construed as authorizing the expenditure of funds de-
rived from revenues imposed and collected by the United 
States Government under any provision of law or from 
amounts borrowed by the United States Government pur-
suant to chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, or 
any other provision of law. 
SEC. 7. ISSUANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE LOANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank may make loans to eli-
gible borrowers for the development of infrastructure fa-
cilities, if the Bank obtains such assurances as the Bank 
determines to be appropriate from the borrower that—
(1) the funding of the project by the Bank was 
approved by—
(A) a State certifying officer, in the case of 
an infrastructure facility development project 
proposed by a governmental unit within such 
State;
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, in the 
case of a project proposed by an Indian tribe; 
or 
(C) the State certifying officer of each 
State involved, in the case of an infrastructure 
facility development project proposed by a re-
gional or multistate organization; 
(2) the proceeds of such loan will be used solely 
for the purpose of funding the development of any 
infrastructure facility; 
(3) the borrower will establish and maintain 
over the life of the loan a sinking fund or other am-
ortizing mechanism that would ensure that the re-
payment of the principal of the loan will be made in 
accordance with the repayment schedule contained in 
the loan documents; and 
(4) the Bank will have full access to such books 
and records of the borrower as the Bank may, from 
time to time, determine to be necessary to audit the 
borrower’s compliance with the terms and conditions 
of the loan. 
(b) NO INTEREST.—Any loan made under this Act 
shall bear no interest. 
(c) LOAN REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) AGGREGATE ANNUAL LOAN AMOUNTS.—The 
aggregate amount of loan commitments made by the 
Bank in any year shall equal the amount of the in-
vestment by the Board in the capital stock of the 
Bank in such year. 
(2) INVESTMENT
IN
PUBLIC
SCHOOL
INFRA-
STRUCTURE.—The Secretary shall set up lending 
guidelines for loans under this section to ensure that 
20 percent of the total amount of all loans made to 
States, units of general local government, or Indian 
reservations are dedicated to investment in public 
school infrastructure and facilities or other public 
educational facilities. 
(d) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
an allocation formula, on the basis of the total popu-
lation of each State and Indian reservation, to deter-
mine the manner in which the total amount of loan 
disbursements which may be made in any year shall 
be allocated among the States and Indian tribes. 
(2) REGIONAL
OR
MULTISTATE
ORGANIZA-
TION.—In developing an allocation formula, the Sec-
retary shall provide for the allocation of loans to re-
gional or multistate organizations through appro-
priate adjustments of allocated amounts to the
States which established any such regional or 
multistate organization. 
SEC. 8. BORROWER ELIGIBILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 
any State, any unit of general local government of a State, 
any Indian tribe, and any regional or multistate organiza-
tion shall be eligible to borrow from the Bank under this 
Act to fund the development of infrastructure facilities. 
(b) STATE CERTIFYING OFFICER.—No loans may be 
made to any State or any unit of general local government 
of any State, or to any regional or multistate organization 
to which such State is a party, unless the State has au-
thorized an officer of the State to—
(1) review all proposals by any officer or agency 
of the State or any unit of general local government 
to develop an infrastructure facility for which fund-
ing is sought from the Bank; 
(2) select and approve the proposals which meet 
the requirements of this Act for funding by the 
Bank consistent with the allocation formula estab-
lished by the Secretary of the Treasury, including 
requirements of the Bank with regard to—
(A) the establishment of sinking funds or 
other amortizing mechanisms to ensure timely 
repayment of any loan; and
SEC. 9. MADE IN AMERICA. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Illegal steel dumping in domestic steel mar-
kets has eroded the market for domestic steel. 
(2) The result of this erosion of the domestic 
steel market has been the recent string of bank-
ruptcies and mill closings of steel companies. 
(3) Thousands of steel workers have lost their 
jobs as a result of the bankruptcies and mill clos-
ings. 
(4) There are precedents for requirements that 
domestic steel and iron products be used in cases 
where Federal monies are involved in infrastructure 
projects. 
(b) BUY AMERICA.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—No loan may be issued for 
any infrastructure facility development project un-
less the Bank receives assurances from the appro-
priate State certifying officer described in subsection 
(a)(1) or the Secretary of the Interior, as the case 
may be, that the project meets the requirements of 
the Buy America Act. 
(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe such regulations as the Secretary determines 
appropriate to carry out this section.
(3) IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTS.—If any iron 
or steel product is involved in any infrastructure fa-
cility development project, such product does not 
meet the requirement of this section unless all man-
ufacturing processes involved in the production of 
such product, including the application of any coat-
ing, have taken place within the United States. 
SEC. 10. LABOR STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—All laborers and mechanics em-
ployed by contractors or subcontractors in the perform-
ance of any contract and subcontract for the construction, 
repair, renovation, or alteration, including painting and 
decorating, of any infrastructure facility development 
project that is financed in whole or in part by a loan under 
this Act, shall be paid wages not less than those deter-
mined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the 
Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-
Bacon Act, 40 U.S.C. 276a—276a–5). The Secretary of 
Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth in 
Reorganization Plan of No. 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267) 
and section 2 of the Act of June 1, 1934 (commonly 
known as the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act) (40 U.S.C. 
276c). 
(b) VOLUNTARY PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible borrower, as de-
fined in section 8 of this Act, may require that every 
contractor or subcontractor on a project assisted by 
a loan under this Act agree, for that project only, 
to negotiate or become a party to a project labor 
agreement with 1 or more appropriate labor organi-
zations. The borrower has complete discretion 
whether to include such a requirement—
(A) where a project labor agreement will 
advance the procurement interest of the bor-
rower in cost, efficiency, and quality and in pro-
moting labor-management stability as well as 
compliance with applicable legal requirements 
governing safety and health, equal employment 
opportunity, labor and employment standards, 
and other matters; and 
(B) where no laws applicable to the specific 
construction project preclude the use of the pro-
posed project labor agreement. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any project labor agree-
ment reached pursuant to this section—
(A) shall bind all contractors and sub-
contractors on the construction project through 
the inclusion of appropriate clauses in all rel-
evant solicitation provisions and contract docu-
ments; 
(B) shall allow all contractors and sub-
contractors wishing to compete for contracts 
and subcontracts on the project to do so, with-
out discrimination against contractors, sub-
contractors, or employees based on union or 
nonunion status; 
(C) 
shall 
contain 
guarantees 
against 
strikes, lockouts, and similar work disruptions; 
(D) shall set forth effective, prompt, and 
mutually binding procedures for resolving labor 
disputes arising during the project; 
(E) shall provide other mechanisms for 
labor-management cooperation on matters of 
mutual interest and concern, including produc-
tivity, quality of work, safety, and health; and 
(F) shall fully conform to all applicable 
statutes and regulations. 
(3) VOLUNTARY
AGREEMENTS.—No provision 
of this section may be construed as—
(A) requiring a borrower to use a project 
labor agreement on any project;
(B) precluding use of a project labor 
agreement in circumstances not covered under 
this section; or 
(C) requiring contractors to enter into a 
project labor agreement with any particular 
labor organization. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of this 
section may be construed as creating any right or benefit, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable by a non-Federal 
party against the United States, its departments, agencies 
or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other 
person, including the borrower. 
SEC. 11. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) MINIMUM
PHASE-IN
PERIOD.—Loans made 
under section 7 shall be disbursed by the Bank imme-
diately or over the construction or development period of 
the project as needed so as to accommodate more loan 
requests. The payout in any given year shall be no less 
than 20 percent of the total amount authorized. 
(b) PERIOD TO MATURITY.—The period to maturity 
of any loan made under section 7 shall not be less than 
10 years nor more than 30 years, at the discretion of the 
borrower, but may be paid earlier. 
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—The Bank shall impose 
an administrative fee of not more than one-quarter of 1
percent on each recipient of a loan, sufficient to cover ad-
ministrative costs incurred by the Bank, including over-
head, in administering such loan. 
(d) COLLECTION OF PRINCIPAL AND FEES.—The 
Bank shall enforce collection of any loan in which 2 or 
more payments are due and payable. To that end, the 
Bank shall be empowered to enter Federal district court 
to seek an order to attach property of the borrower, up 
to the amount necessary to end the delinquency. The cost 
of collection shall be added to the balance of the loan. The 
borrower shall continue to make semiannual payments of 
the same amount until the entire balance, including fees, 
is paid. 
SEC. 12. ABOLISHMENT OF BANK. 
(a) WINDING UP OPERATIONS.—The Bank shall 
wind up the affairs of the Bank during the 6-month period 
ending on the date the last outstanding loan issued by the 
Bank under this Act is repaid. 
(b) BANK ABOLISHED.—Effective at the end of the 
30-day period beginning on the date described in sub-
section (a), the Bank is hereby abolished.
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