21st Century Infrastructure Bank Act
Bill: H.R.3722 | Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick (D-NY)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
21st Century Infrastructure Bank Act
This bill establishes and provides funds for the 21st Century American Infrastructure Bank to support state, local, and tribal infrastructure projects relating to transportation, energy, water, communications, and educational facilities. The Government Accountability Office must evaluate the effectiveness of the bank's financial assistance.

To establish the 21st Century American Infrastructure Bank, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Infrastructure Bank 
Act''.

SEC. 2. 21ST CENTURY AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE BANK.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a wholly owned 
Government corporation to be known as the ``21st Century American 
Infrastructure Bank'' (hereinafter referred to as the ``Bank''), which 
shall provide financial assistance for qualified infrastructure 
projects, in accordance with the requirements of this section.
    (b) Board of Trustees.--
            (1) In general.--The head of the Bank shall be a board of 
        trustees (hereinafter referred to as the ``Board'').
            (2) Appointment.--The Board shall consist of 9 members who 
        shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
        consent of the Senate, and selected as follows:
                    (A) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 
                individuals selected by the Speaker of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    (B) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 
                individuals selected by the minority leader of the 
                House of Representatives.
                    (C) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 
                individuals selected by the majority leader of the 
                Senate.
                    (D) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 
                individuals selected by the minority leader of the 
                Senate.
                    (E) 1 individual selected at will by the President.
            (3) Term.--
                    (A) In general.--The members of the Board shall 
                serve for a 6-year term, and no member may serve for 
                more than 2 terms, but a member may continue to serve 
                after the expiration of a term until the successor 
                member takes office.
                    (B) Staggered terms.--The members of the Board 
                shall serve staggered terms, with 1 of the initial 
                members of the Board serving for a term of 4 years and 
                2 each of the initial members of the Board serving for 
                terms of 5, 6, 7, and 8 years.
                    (C) Vacancies.--A vacancy in a position of a member 
                of the Board shall be filled in the same manner in 
                which the original position was filled.
            (4) Compensation.--The members of the Board shall receive 
        compensation at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of 
        the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (5) Chair.--The members of the Board shall select one 
        member to serve as the Chair of the Board.
            (6) Corporate governance.--The Securities and Exchange 
        Commission shall issue corporate governance standards with 
        which the Board shall comply, and such standards shall be as 
        close as practicable to those standards required to be followed 
        by the board of directors of an issuer listed on the New York 
        Stock Exchange.
            (7) Conflicts of interest.--A member of the Board may not 
        have a financial interest in--
                    (A) a qualified infrastructure project receiving 
                financial assistance from the Bank; or
                    (B) an eligible infrastructure provider receiving 
                financial assistance from the Bank, including any 
                municipal credit of a State, local, or Tribal 
                government receiving financial assistance from the 
                Bank.
    (c) Financial Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Bank shall provide loans and bond 
        guarantees to eligible infrastructure providers for qualified 
        infrastructure projects and make equity investments in 
        qualified infrastructure projects.
            (2) Application.--A person wishing to receive financial 
        assistance from the Bank with respect to a qualified 
        infrastructure project shall submit an application to the Bank 
        in such form and containing such information as the Board may 
        require.
            (3) Public transportation capital project requirements.--
        Any person receiving financial assistance from the Bank in 
        connection with a public transportation capital project (as 
        such terms are defined under section 5302 of title 49, United 
        States Code) shall, as a condition on the receipt of such 
        financial assistance, comply with the grant requirements 
        applicable to grants made under section 5309 of such title.
            (4) Limitation on financial assistance for state-owned 
        enterprises.--
                    (A) In general.--Financial assistance provided by 
                the Bank may not be used in awarding a contract or 
                subcontract to an entity that is owned or controlled 
                by, is a subsidiary of, or is otherwise related legally 
                or financially to a corporation based in a country 
                that--
                            (i) is identified as a nonmarket economy 
                        country (as defined in section 771(18) of the 
                        Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677(18))) as of 
                        the date of enactment of this Act;
                            (ii) was identified by the United States 
                        Trade Representative in the most recent report 
                        required by section 182 of the Trade Act of 
                        1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242) as a priority foreign 
                        country under subsection (a)(2) of that 
                        section; and
                            (iii) is subject to monitoring by the Trade 
                        Representative under section 306 of the Trade 
                        Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2416).
                    (B) Exception.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), 
                the term ``otherwise related legally or financially'' 
                does not include a minority relationship or investment.
                    (C) International agreements.--This paragraph shall 
                be applied in a manner consistent with the obligations 
                of the United States under international agreements.
            (5) Compliance with davis-bacon act.--All laborers and 
        mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on 
        qualified infrastructure projects that receive financial 
        assistance from the Bank shall be paid wages at rates not less 
        than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the 
        locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 
        with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of title 40, United 
        States Code. With respect to the labor standards specified in 
        this section, the Secretary of Labor shall have the authority 
        and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 
        1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 
        40, United States Code.
            (6) Use of iron, steel, and manufactured goods in 
        infrastructure projects.--
                    (A) Buy america.--None of the financial assistance 
                provided by the Bank may be used for a qualified 
                infrastructure project unless all of the iron, steel, 
                and manufactured goods used for the construction, 
                alteration, maintenance or repair of the project are 
                produced in the United States.
                    (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in 
                any case or category of cases in which the Secretary of 
                the Treasury finds that--
                            (i) applying subparagraph (A) would be 
                        inconsistent with the public interest;
                            (ii) iron, steel, and the relevant 
                        manufactured goods are not produced in the 
                        United States in sufficient and reasonably 
                        available quantities and of a satisfactory 
                        quality; or
                            (iii) inclusion of iron, steel, and 
                        manufactured goods produced in the United 
                        States will increase the cost of the overall 
                        qualified infrastructure project by more than 
                        25 percent.
                    (C) Publication of waivers.--If the Secretary of 
                the Treasury determines that it is necessary to waive 
                the application of subparagraph (A) based on a finding 
                under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall publish in 
                the Federal Register a detailed written justification 
                as to why the provision is being waived.
                    (D) Application.--This paragraph shall be applied 
                in a manner consistent with the United States 
                obligations under international agreements.
                    (E) Consultations.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall consult with the Board and may consult with the 
                Secretary of Transportation and other Federal 
                Secretaries and Administrators when applying this 
                paragraph.
    (d) Risk Management Committee.--
            (1) In general.--The Board shall establish a Risk 
        Management Committee to establish the risk management policies 
        to be used by the Bank.
            (2) Employees.--The Board shall appoint employees to the 
        Risk Management Committee who the Board has determined have 
        significant and relevant experience in insurance underwriting 
        and credit risk management.
    (e) Funding.--
            (1) Initial capitalization.--Out of any funds in the 
        Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to 
        the Board $50,000,000,000 as an initial capitalization to carry 
        out this Act.
            (2) Bonds.--
                    (A) In general.--The Board is authorized to issue, 
                under such terms and limitations as the Board may 
                establish by rule--
                            (i) general-purpose infrastructure bonds, 
                        the proceeds of which shall be used to carry 
                        out this Act; and
                            (ii) qualified infrastructure project-
                        specific infrastructure bonds, the proceeds of 
                        which shall be used to provide financial 
                        assistance to the applicable qualified 
                        infrastructure project.
                    (B) Limitation on use of proceeds for 
                administrative expenses.--Not more than 1 percent of 
                the proceeds from the issuance of bonds described under 
                subparagraph (A) may be used to pay for the 
                administrative expenses of the Bank.
                    (C) Exemption from local taxation.--Bonds issued by 
                the Bank, and the interest on or credits with respect 
                to such bonds, shall not be subject to taxation by any 
                State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority.
    (f) Reports and Studies.--
            (1) Annual report on bank activities.--The Board shall 
        issue an annual report to the applicable congressional 
        committees describing the activities of the Bank during the 
        previous year, including the evaluations of qualified 
        infrastructure projects and the financing assistance provided 
        with respect to such projects.
            (2) Report on domestically sourced materials, goods, and 
        products.--Not less often than every 2 years, the Board shall 
        issue a report to the applicable congressional committees that 
        describes, of the materials, goods, and products that were used 
        to construct, or to support the construction of, qualified 
        infrastructure projects receiving financial assistance from the 
        Bank within the most recent 2 calendar years, the percentage of 
        such materials, goods, and products that were created, sourced, 
        or manufactured in the United States.
            (3) Public database of funded qualified infrastructure 
        projects.--The Board shall develop, maintain, and update a 
        publicly available database containing descriptions of each 
        qualified infrastructure project receiving financial assistance 
        from the Bank, including the amount and form of financing.
            (4) Study on bank effectiveness.--
                    (A) Study.--The Board shall, every 2 years, carry 
                out a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                financial assistance provided by the Bank.
                    (B) Report.--The Board shall issue a report to the 
                applicable congressional committees containing all 
                findings and determinations made in carrying out the 
                study required under subparagraph (A).
            (5) GAO study.--
                    (A) Study.--After the end of the 5-year period 
                beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
                Comptroller General of the United States shall carry 
                out a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                financial assistance provided by the Bank.
                    (B) Report.--The Comptroller General shall issue a 
                report to the applicable congressional committees 
                containing all findings and determinations made in 
                carrying out the study required under subparagraph (A).
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable congressional committees.--The term 
        ``applicable congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate.
            (2) Bank.--The term ``Bank'' means the 21st Century 
        American Infrastructure Bank.
            (3) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the board of trustees 
        of the Bank.
            (4) Eligible infrastructure provider.--The term ``eligible 
        infrastructure provider'' means a State, local government, 
        Tribal government, corporation, nonprofit entity, public-
        private partnership, or any other person who is or will be 
        carrying out a qualified infrastructure project.
            (5) Financial assistance.--With respect to a qualified 
        infrastructure project, the term ``financial assistance'' means 
        any loan or bond guarantee provided under this section with 
        respect to such project, and any equity investment made under 
        this section in such project
            (6) Qualified infrastructure project.--The term ``qualified 
        infrastructure project'' means a project--
                    (A) sponsored by--
                            (i) a State, local, or Tribal government, 
                        or any political subdivision of such a 
                        government (including a transit agency or port 
                        authority); or
                            (ii) a group of entities described under 
                        clause (i), including a metropolitan planning 
                        organization;
                    (B) that is or will be owned by an entity described 
                under subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) that involves the construction, maintenance, 
                improvement, or repair of a transportation, energy, 
                water, communications, or educational facility.
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