They would also deal with international tax reform.
Washington DC. (KM) Sixth District Congressman John Delaney (D-Md) and two of his colleagues introduced two bills on Wednesday to help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.
One of the pieces of legislation, the Partnership to Build America Act, would set up an American Infrastructure Fund to finance state and local infrastructure projects. The money for the AIF would come from a one-time bond sale to US corporations looking to bring back some of their profits which are parked overseas.
The second bill, the Infrastructure 2.0 Act, would provide additional revenues to expand the Highway Trust Fund using more comprehensive international tax reform.
“Thematically, they’re both the same in that we tie increasing our investment in infrastructure–roads, bridges, communications, whichever the case may be–to international tax reform,” says Delaney.
He says the nation’s crumbling infrastructure is “a massive problem.” “The American Society of Civil Engineers just gave a grade of a D+ with their report card which comes out every other year,” says Delaney. “They estimate the amount of the money we have to invest in our infrastructure to bring it up to standards is three to four-trillion dollars.”
He also says repairing the nation’s infrastructure will stimulate the economy. “When you spend more money on infrastructure, you create more jobs. And it helps make businesses and communities more competitive because there are better roads and bridges and better communication networks; and in the case of a lot of rural America, better and cheaper energy. Infrastructure, it helps businesses compete in the region,” says Delaney.
He says these bills have bipartisan support. Delaney, a Democrat, was joined by Republican Congressman Rodney Davis (IL) when he introduced the Partnership to Build America Act. GOP Representative Ted Yoho (FL) worked with Delaney to introduce the Infrastructure 2.0 Act.
“We got two problems: we under invested in our infrastructure; and we’ve got bad international taxes. Let’s put them together. Let’s fix problems and let’s actually do something positive. And I think there’s a chance we can pull it off,” says Delaney.
Infrastructure not only includes roads and bridges, but rail, ports, energy, communications and aging water systems.
By Kevin McManus