Westchester Insider: Westchester County Legislator David Tubiolo 14th District: Creation of National Infrastructure Bank.

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

This week I joined my colleagues on the Board of Legislators in formally voting to support a proposal in Washington to create a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB).

The NIB, under consideration by the US Congress, would be an independent, government-owned, depository and lending institution able to finance up to $ 4 trillion in nationwide infrastructure repairs and improvements without new federal debt or new taxes.

On February 8, we unanimously passed a resolution in support of the NIB's creation. 

Here in Westchester, the Board has been working diligently with the administration of County Executive George Latimer to address the local needs of our road, parks, transportation, and other infrastructure. But across the New York metro region, and the whole country, the need to rehabilitate and modernize our infrastructure is enormous. By some estimates, the cost will be more than $ 4 trillion.

Creation of a National Infrastructure Bank can help state and local governments finance these projects at the scale we need to keep our region and our nation competitive in the 21st century without new taxes or new federal debt.

A bank like this is not a new idea. We have used this sort of institution many times in our history from the time of the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, through to the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, who used the same approach to finance the infrastructure projects that helped get us out of the Great Depression.

Our needs today are at least as great, not just roads and bridges but broadband, learning institutions, hospitals, wastewater and water treatment plants, power houses and clean and green energy initiatives. And full financing of these essential projects will provide millions of high paying jobs, which are especially important as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2020 (HR6422) would create an NIB to provide loans to public and private entities for financing, developing, or operating eligible infrastructure projects. An eligible project would have to have a public sponsor as well as local, regional, or national significance.

The bill also establishes loan criteria, such as whether a project promotes job creation or provides environmental health benefits. In addition, projects that receive such a loan must pay all laborers and mechanics locally prevailing wages, and use only certain US-produced construction materials unless a waiver is secured from the bank.

This is an idea whose time has come again - for Westchester, for New York and for the country.

Please forward this E-News to family and friends who may be interested in this information.

Sincerely,