Apostolic Age Jurist Issue 9-Infrastructure and Trains
Even though I advocate for some solutions that are quite unorthodox for a Republican to take, I do concede that fiscal conservatism is indeed a necesary component of a GOP platform. The Bi-partisan Infrastructure Bill was simultaneously an abomination of many different scummy 2 line provisions, some of which would be poision pills even for me, as well as ridiculous amounts of porkbarrel spending, which may have contributed to the high levels of inflation that we are experiencing right now. Surprisingly, a Democratic career politician by the name of Danny K Davis, serving in Illinois’s 7th Congressional District, came up with an arguably more responsible way to finance large infrstructure projects, one that is arguably closer to what the Founders would have supported than what was ultimately passed by both chamber of Congress.
The bill is long but it does invoke a great deal of classic Americanism to justify itself, which I appreciate, saying the following:
1) Throughout our Nation's history, national banks have
played a crucial role in financing most of our Nation's public
infrastructure. The largest banks included: The First (1791-
1811) and Second (1816-1836) Banks of the United States,
President Lincoln's national banking system, and President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Reconstruction Finance Corporation
(1932-1957).
(2) These national banks were enacted with broad bi-
partisan support, and financed the construction of: roads,
turnpikes, bridges, and canals; the Transcontinental Railroad;
the Hoover Dam; rural electrification; manufacturing start-ups;
and rail, school, and farm improvements in every corner of our
country. Investments created the conditions for improved
productivity, economic growth, and job creation; helped lift us
out of the Great Depression; and contributed to our victory in
World War II.
This is starting quite well. It recognizes the role of national banks in building America as we know it, listing things like the 2 Banks of the United States which Jackson unfortunately axed, the Greenback system under Lincoln, mentions classic American projects like the Transcontintental Railroad, Hoover Dam, etc. It doesn’t even mention the Federal Reserve, which is quite nice. Keep in mind, Danny Davis is not a good congressman by any stretch but people you heavily disagree with can somtimes be right.
So what are the provisions of this bill?
It starts out by stating that the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that over 6T is needed over the next 10 years to meet infrastructure needs for the United States. I can’t say whether this is simply to maintain what we have or to expand it to a level that people want but it does go ahead and state the refreshingly honest truth that the Federal, State and Local Government isn’t in a position to provide for all of it through taxation, mentioning that over 2.6T will be left unfunded.
It then mentions that the US through this bill would implement a public deposit bank, loaning up to 5 trillion dollars to qualified infrastructure projects, citing the Golden Age of American Infrastructure investment that started with FDR and ended in 1957, which oversaw projects like the Tenneesee Valley Authority and the first two years of the Interstate Highway system.
I’m not going to go through the weird legal citations it needs for the bill to be functional, so I’ll just post a summary from Congress.gov:
Specifically, the bank must provide loans to public and private entities for financing, developing, or operating eligible infrastructure projects. An eligible project must have a public sponsor as well as local, regional, or national significance.
The bill treats the bank as a government corporation exempt from tax and treats contributions to the bank as charitable contributions.
The bill also provides for criteria and preferences for deciding whether to provide a loan, such as whether a project promotes job creation or provides environmental benefits.
Projects that receive a loan must (1) pay all laborers and mechanics locally prevailing wages, and (2) use only certain U.S.-produced construction materials unless a waiver is secured from the bank.
The bank shall issue stock and may also issue bonds and maintain a discount line of credit with the Federal Reserve System.
The bank must apply for a national bank charter and, once chartered, accept deposits from individuals, corporations, and public entities and pay interest on those deposits.
The bill imposes requirements related to the bank's operation, such as minimum reserve requirements and requirements for handling loan losses.
In addition, the bank must facilitate the organization of at least seven regional economic accelerator planning groups to, among other activities, identify infrastructure needs and priorities.
Within five years, the Government Accountability Office must report on the bank's activities.
There are provisions of this law that could be modified. Perhaps require that this bank derive a certain amount of its funds from federal tax revenue to serve as a hedge against inflation. Assuming its 5T over the span of 10 years, it possible to finance this solely from shuffling around the budget. Obviously some funding would have to come from elsewhere, such as the Federal Reserve but this is a very achievable proposals to massively invest in infrastructure and if we are able to turn a profit from it, that could be used to cut down on the deficit and or the national debt.
So where can I find this bill?
You can find a PDF of the bill here:
https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr3339/BILLS-117hr3339ih.pdf
And a congressional file of the bill here:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3339
Thanks and God Bless!