U.S. House members have filed a bill to set up a private infrastructure bank designed to provide more than one trillion dollars to rebuild America's crumbling bridges, tunnels, roads, railways, airports, electric grid and more. The new bank could break a logjam in Congress that has lasted more than a decade. Republicans and Democrats, Congress and the President all say they recognize the need for reviving U.S. infrastructure, but there is no money in the Treasury to fund projects.
As highways, dams, ports and utilities across the U.S. face a state of decay, repeated attempts at federal legislation to address the problem have clearly demonstrated that government funding is not the answer. The bank outlined in the bill would require no government funding or loan guarantees.
The current bill, H.R. 7231 – Infrastructure Bank for America Act of 2020, proposes to establish a federally chartered bank that will be privately owned, privately managed and privately funded, removing partisan priorities and spending. The bill’s initial sponsors are Rep. Daniel Webster (R, FL-11), Rep. Daniel Meuser (R, PA-9), Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R, CA-1), Rep. Tom Reed (R, NY-23). They represent major urban, industrial and rural areas and are seeking broad bipartisan support.
The founders of the Infrastructure Bank for America (IBA) plan to establish a trillion-dollar wholesale bank modelled after the highly successful Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), established in 1932 to pump money into the economy in response to the Great Depression.
“Infrastructure is the foundation of all economic activity; as it crumbles, so does our economy,” said William T. Nolan, president of Infra-Bk, LLC, the development entity that plans to establish the new bank. “There are ample funds worldwide willing to invest in U.S. infrastructure. As a private bank, The Infrastructure Bank for America will provide a conduit to access those funds and direct them to areas in need across the U.S.”
A major benefit to the IBA plan is that it will divert some of the trillions of dollars currently being invested in China into the U.S. economy. IBA will provide a new investment vehicle for private investors including domestic and global institutions, corporations, retirement funds, and more. It will strengthen both infrastructure and the economy, funding projects that will create jobs nationwide, while enabling the U.S. to regain its footing on the global playing field.
Infra-Bk, LLC, the “bank in formation” that will launch the Infrastructure Bank for America, operates under an expert management team led by William T. Nolan, a highly successful corporate finance, capital markets and restructuring professional. Its powerhouse Advisory Board features a deep bench of experience in corporate finance, banking, infrastructure management and law.
For more information about H.R. 7231 and the Infrastructure Bank for America, contact William T. Nolan at (845) 724-3237 or wtnolan2@devhold.com.
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