HR5356-119

What This Bill Does

The National Infrastructure Bank Act creates a federally chartered infrastructure-finance corporation intended to close a large national infrastructure financing gap. The findings cite a 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers estimate of $9.139 trillion in infrastructure needs from 2024 to 2033, expected financing of $5.45 trillion, and a remaining $3.689 trillion gap across roads, bridges, transit, water, schools, broadband, electricity, aviation, ports, waterways, passenger rail, and public parks. Title I gives the Bank favorable tax treatment: the Bank is treated as a tax-exempt government corporation, contributions to it qualify as charitable contributions, and preferred dividends paid on Bank preferred stock are excluded from gross income. Title II establishes the Bank as a mixed-ownership government corporation, authorizes capital stock up to $500 billion backed by transferred Treasury securities, municipal bonds, cash paid-in share capital, and up to $100 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds as an on-call Treasury subscription, and requires at least 10 percent risk-based capital. The Bank may finance infrastructure through senior and subordinated direct loans, specialized flexible loan programs for disadvantaged communities or cooperatives, loan guarantees, bonds, contracts, local-financial-institution partnerships, and branch offices. It must form at least seven regional economic accelerator planning groups, evaluate applications by public-interest and regional-development factors, and be governed by a 25-member Senate-confirmed board with engineering, labor, Corps of Engineers, public-sector, finance, economic-development, and disadvantaged-community representation. The bill creates executive, risk, and audit committees, personnel nondiscrimination rules, a Special Inspector General, legal and labor compliance obligations including prevailing wages, local-bank partnership rules, annual independent audits, annual reports to the President and Congress, PAYGO handling, and $50 million annually for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to organize the Bank, board, and staff.

Who Benefits and How

Infrastructure contractor organizations benefit from a new federal bank that can provide direct loans, subordinated loans, loan guarantees, bond financing, and blended financing for public-interest projects. State public works agencies benefit from regional economic accelerator planning groups and branch-office support for megaregion infrastructure priorities. Construction workers benefit because Bank-assisted projects must comply with labor laws and prevailing wage requirements. Preferred stock investors benefit because dividends on National Infrastructure Bank preferred stock are excluded from gross income.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Treasury Department officials must support Bank establishment, on-call Treasury bond subscription, tax treatment, and startup appropriations. National Infrastructure Bank board members must evaluate applications, monitor projects, appoint executives, maintain capital rules, and report annually. Infrastructure contractors must comply with federal and state laws, written compliance agreements, and prevailing wage rules on Bank-assisted projects. Federal taxpayers bear the startup authorization and fiscal exposure from Treasury subscriptions, tax preferences, and Bank operations.

Key Provisions

• Establishes a mixed-ownership National Infrastructure Bank as a government corporation.
• Authorizes up to $500 billion in Bank capital stock and up to $100 billion in Treasury on-call subscription.
• Makes Bank contributions charitable, Bank preferred dividends tax-free, and the Bank tax-exempt.
• Authorizes direct loans, subordinated loans, loan guarantees, bonds, specialized programs, and local-financial-institution partnerships.
• Requires a 25-member board, executive/risk/audit committees, a Special Inspector General, prevailing wages, annual audits, annual reports, and $50 million per year for startup in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.