21st Century Infrastructure Bank Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3722 To establish the 21st Century American Infrastructure Bank, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the 21st Century American Infrastructure Bank, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Infra- 4 structure Bank Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. 21ST CENTURY AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE BANK. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 7 wholly owned Government corporation to be known as the 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3722 IH ‘‘21st Century American Infrastructure Bank’’ (herein- 1 after referred to as the ‘‘Bank’’), which shall provide fi- 2 nancial assistance for qualified infrastructure projects, in 3 accordance with the requirements of this section. 4 (b) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Bank shall 6 be a board of trustees (hereinafter referred to as the 7 ‘‘Board’’). 8 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Board shall consist of 9 9 members who shall be appointed by the President, 10 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 11 and selected as follows: 12 (A) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 13 individuals selected by the Speaker of the 14 House of Representatives. 15 (B) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 16 individuals selected by the minority leader of 17 the House of Representatives. 18 (C) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 19 individuals selected by the majority leader of 20 the Senate. 21 (D) 2 individuals from a list of at least 5 22 individuals selected by the minority leader of 23 the Senate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3722 IH (E) 1 individual selected at will by the 1 President. 2 (3) TERM.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 4 Board shall serve for a 6-year term, and no 5 member may serve for more than 2 terms, but 6 a member may continue to serve after the expi- 7 ration of a term until the successor member 8 takes office. 9 (B) STAGGERED TERMS.—The members of 10 the Board shall serve staggered terms, with 1 11 of the initial members of the Board serving for 12 a term of 4 years and 2 each of the initial 13 members of the Board serving for terms of 5, 14 6, 7, and 8 years. 15 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in a position 16 of a member of the Board shall be filled in the 17 same manner in which the original position was 18 filled. 19 (4) COMPENSATION.—The members of the 20 Board shall receive compensation at the rate of basic 21 pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule 22 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3722 IH (5) CHAIR.—The members of the Board shall 1 select one member to serve as the Chair of the 2 Board. 3 (6) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.—The Securities 4 and Exchange Commission shall issue corporate gov- 5 ernance standards with which the Board shall com- 6 ply, and such standards shall be as close as prac- 7 ticable to those standards required to be followed by 8 the board of directors of an issuer listed on the New 9 York Stock Exchange. 10 (7) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of 11 the Board may not have a financial interest in— 12 (A) a qualified infrastructure project re- 13 ceiving financial assistance from the Bank; or 14 (B) an eligible infrastructure provider re- 15 ceiving financial assistance from the Bank, in- 16 cluding any municipal credit of a State, local, 17 or Tribal government receiving financial assist- 18 ance from the Bank. 19 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall provide 21 loans and bond guarantees to eligible infrastructure 22 providers for qualified infrastructure projects and 23 make equity investments in qualified infrastructure 24 projects. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3722 IH (2) APPLICATION.—A person wishing to receive 1 financial assistance from the Bank with respect to a 2 qualified infrastructure project shall submit an ap- 3 plication to the Bank in such form and containing 4 such information as the Board may require. 5 (3) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL 6 PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—Any person receiving fi- 7 nancial assistance from the Bank in connection with 8 a public transportation capital project (as such 9 terms are defined under section 5302 of title 49, 10 United States Code) shall, as a condition on the re- 11 ceipt of such financial assistance, comply with the 12 grant requirements applicable to grants made under 13 section 5309 of such title. 14 (4) LIMITATION ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 15 FOR STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance 17 provided by the Bank may not be used in 18 awarding a contract or subcontract to an entity 19 that is owned or controlled by, is a subsidiary 20 of, or is otherwise related legally or financially 21 to a corporation based in a country that— 22 (i) is identified as a nonmarket econ- 23 omy country (as defined in section 771(18) 24 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3722 IH 1677(18))) as of the date of enactment of 1 this Act; 2 (ii) was identified by the United 3 States Trade Representative in the most 4 recent report required by section 182 of 5 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242) 6 as a priority foreign country under sub- 7 section (a)(2) of that section; and 8 (iii) is subject to monitoring by the 9 Trade Representative under section 306 of 10 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2416). 11 (B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of sub- 12 paragraph (A), the term ‘‘otherwise related le- 13 gally or financially’’ does not include a minority 14 relationship or investment. 15 (C) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—This 16 paragraph shall be applied in a manner con- 17 sistent with the obligations of the United States 18 under international agreements. 19 (5) COMPLIANCE WITH DAVIS-BACON ACT.—All 20 laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and 21 subcontractors on qualified infrastructure projects 22 that receive financial assistance from the Bank shall 23 be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 24 on projects of a character similar in the locality as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3722 IH determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 1 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of title 2 40, United States Code. With respect to the labor 3 standards specified in this section, the Secretary of 4 Labor shall have the authority and functions set 5 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 6 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 7 title 40, United States Code. 8 (6) USE OF IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED 9 GOODS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.— 10 (A) BUY AMERICA.—None of the financial 11 assistance provided by the Bank may be used 12 for a qualified infrastructure project unless all 13 of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used 14 for the construction, alteration, maintenance or 15 repair of the project are produced in the United 16 States. 17 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 18 not apply in any case or category of cases in 19 which the Secretary of the Treasury finds 20 that— 21 (i) applying subparagraph (A) would 22 be inconsistent with the public interest; 23 (ii) iron, steel, and the relevant manu- 24 factured goods are not produced in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3722 IH United States in sufficient and reasonably 1 available quantities and of a satisfactory 2 quality; or 3 (iii) inclusion of iron, steel, and manu- 4 factured goods produced in the United 5 States will increase the cost of the overall 6 qualified infrastructure project by more 7 than 25 percent. 8 (C) PUBLICATION OF WAIVERS.—If the 9 Secretary of the Treasury determines that it is 10 necessary to waive the application of subpara- 11 graph (A) based on a finding under subpara- 12 graph (B), the Secretary shall publish in the 13 Federal Register a detailed written justification 14 as to why the provision is being waived. 15 (D) APPLICATION.—This paragraph shall 16 be applied in a manner consistent with the 17 United States obligations under international 18 agreements. 19 (E) CONSULTATIONS.—The Secretary of 20 the Treasury shall consult with the Board and 21 may consult with the Secretary of Transpor- 22 tation and other Federal Secretaries and Ad- 23 ministrators when applying this paragraph. 24 (d) RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3722 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish a 1 Risk Management Committee to establish the risk 2 management policies to be used by the Bank. 3 (2) EMPLOYEES.—The Board shall appoint em- 4 ployees to the Risk Management Committee who the 5 Board has determined have significant and relevant 6 experience in insurance underwriting and credit risk 7 management. 8 (e) FUNDING.— 9 (1) INITIAL CAPITALIZATION.—Out of any 10 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 11 there is appropriated to the Board $50,000,000,000 12 as an initial capitalization to carry out this Act. 13 (2) BONDS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board is author- 15 ized to issue, under such terms and limitations 16 as the Board may establish by rule— 17 (i) general-purpose infrastructure 18 bonds, the proceeds of which shall be used 19 to carry out this Act; and 20 (ii) qualified infrastructure project- 21 specific infrastructure bonds, the proceeds 22 of which shall be used to provide financial 23 assistance to the applicable qualified infra- 24 structure project. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3722 IH (B) LIMITATION ON USE OF PROCEEDS 1 FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 2 than 1 percent of the proceeds from the 3 issuance of bonds described under subpara- 4 graph (A) may be used to pay for the adminis- 5 trative expenses of the Bank. 6 (C) EXEMPTION FROM LOCAL TAX- 7 ATION.—Bonds issued by the Bank, and the in- 8 terest on or credits with respect to such bonds, 9 shall not be subject to taxation by any State, 10 county, municipality, or local taxing authority. 11 (f) REPORTS AND STUDIES.— 12 (1) ANNUAL REPORT ON BANK ACTIVITIES.— 13 The Board shall issue an annual report to the appli- 14 cable congressional committees describing the activi- 15 ties of the Bank during the previous year, including 16 the evaluations of qualified infrastructure projects 17 and the financing assistance provided with respect to 18 such projects. 19 (2) REPORT ON DOMESTICALLY SOURCED MA- 20 TERIALS, GOODS, AND PRODUCTS.—Not less often 21 than every 2 years, the Board shall issue a report 22 to the applicable congressional committees that de- 23 scribes, of the materials, goods, and products that 24 were used to construct, or to support the construc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3722 IH tion of, qualified infrastructure projects receiving fi- 1 nancial assistance from the Bank within the most 2 recent 2 calendar years, the percentage of such ma- 3 terials, goods, and products that were created, 4 sourced, or manufactured in the United States. 5 (3) PUBLIC DATABASE OF FUNDED QUALIFIED 6 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—The Board shall de- 7 velop, maintain, and update a publicly available 8 database containing descriptions of each qualified in- 9 frastructure project receiving financial assistance 10 from the Bank, including the amount and form of 11 financing. 12 (4) STUDY ON BANK EFFECTIVENESS.— 13 (A) STUDY.—The Board shall, every 2 14 years, carry out a study to evaluate the effec- 15 tiveness of the financial assistance provided by 16 the Bank. 17 (B) REPORT.—The Board shall issue a re- 18 port to the applicable congressional committees 19 containing all findings and determinations made 20 in carrying out the study required under sub- 21 paragraph (A). 22 (5) GAO STUDY.— 23 (A) STUDY.—After the end of the 5-year 24 period beginning on the date of enactment of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3722.IH H3722 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3722 IH this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 1 States shall carry out a study to evaluate the 2 effectiveness of the financial assistance provided 3 by the Bank. 4 (B) REPORT.—The Comptroller General 5 shall issue a report to the applicable congres- 6 sional committees containing all findings and 7 determinations made in carrying out the study 8 required under subparagraph (A). 9 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) APPLICABLE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 11 TEES.—The term ‘‘applicable congressional commit- 12 tees’’ means the Committee on Transportation and 13 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 14 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 15 portation of the Senate. 16 (2) BANK.—The term ‘‘Bank’’ means the 21st 17 Century American Infrastructure Bank. 18 (3) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 19 board of trustees of the Bank. 20 (4) ELIGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDER.— 21 The term ‘‘eligible infrastructure provider’’ means a 22 State, local government, Tribal government, corpora- 23 tion, nonprofit entity, public-private partnership, or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]