Dodd introduced infrastructure bill hours before bridge fell -- Newsday.com

Dodd introduced infrastructure bill hours before bridge fell

8:25 PM EDT, August 2, 2007

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Hours before an interstate bridge inexplicably collapsed in Minneapolis during rush-hour traffic, U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd and Chuck Hagel announced a novel plan to repair and replace the country's aging infrastructure.

The Hagel-Dodd bill, dubbed the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007, would create an independent national bank that would identify, evaluate and help finance the largest infrastructure projects _ mainly those of regional and national significance. Qualifying projects would start at $75 million.

Currently, nearly all roads and bridges are publicly owned and funded through federal and state tax dollars.

"The current infrastructure in our country is wholly inadequate to handle the demands of a 21st Century economy," said Dodd, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. "We see our ports backed-up by expanding international trade, our rails overloaded by our increasing energy demands and our highways hopelessly clogged by traffic. We run the risk of being left behind by our international competitors if we do not begin to modernize our national infrastructure."

Asked Thursday about the timing of the announcement, Hagel, R-Neb., said infrastructure failure is becoming an almost common occurrence in America.

"A couple of days ago, there was an incident in California," Hagel said, referring to the collapse of a highway overpass under construction in Oroville, Calif., that seriously injured a construction worker. "Hardly a week goes by that there is not some infrastructure accident that occurs somewhere _ not of the magnitude that we saw last night in Minnesota, but it's happening every week."

The Federal Highway Administration predicts that the country will need an estimated $142 billion each year to repair roads and bridges, he said.

Infrastructure projects under the proposed bank's jurisdiction would include publicly owned mass transit systems, roads, bridges, drinking water and wastewater systems and housing properties.

The bank would be able to provide money for such enormous projects by selling long-term bonds to individuals, corporations and other entities. Rather than reaping interest on the bonds, the bond holders would get tax credits. The bonds would be guaranteed by the federal government.

Asked how much those tax credits would cost the government, Hagel said an estimate has not yet been worked up. However, he said the Government Accounting Office, the Treasury Department and others are working on an estimate.

Hagel said he and Dodd have been working on the bill for about two years.

"This is a big idea. It harnesses public and private money," Hagel said. "I think Dodd and I have really broken the mold here."

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On the Net:

U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel: www.hagel.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd: www.dodd.senate.gov