117 HR 5356 IH: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025 U.S. House of Representatives 2025-09-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I119th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 5356IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESSeptember 15, 2025Mr. Davis of Illinois (for himself, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Frost, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Amo, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Ryan, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Carson, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, Financial Services, Education and Workforce, Natural Resources, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concernedA BILLTo facilitate efficient investments and financing of infrastructure projects and new job creation through the establishment of a National Infrastructure Bank, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title; table of contents

(a)

In general

This Act may be cited as the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025.(b)

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.Sec. 2. Findings.TITLE I—Revenue provisionsSec. 101. Treatment of National Infrastructure Bank as a Government corporation exempt from tax.Sec. 102. Treatment of contributions to the National Infrastructure Bank as charitable contributions.Sec. 103. Preferred dividends of National Infrastructure Bank excludible from gross income.TITLE II—Establishment of National Infrastructure BankSec. 201. Definitions.Sec. 202. Establishment of National Infrastructure Bank.Sec. 203. Purposes and authorizations.Sec. 204. Formation of regional economic accelerator planning groups.Sec. 205. Eligibility criteria for assistance from the Bank.Sec. 206. Board of Directors.Sec. 207. Powers and limitations of the Board.Sec. 208. Executive Committee.Sec. 209. Risk management committee.Sec. 210. Audit committee.Sec. 211. Personnel.Sec. 212. Special Inspector General for the National Infrastructure Bank.Sec. 213. Status and applicability of certain Federal and State laws.Sec. 214. Exemption from certain laws.Sec. 215. Relations with local financial institutions.Sec. 216. Audits; reports to President and Congress.Sec. 217. Budgetary effects.Sec. 218. Authorization of appropriations.

2.

Findings

Congress finds that—(1)throughout the history of the United States, national banks have played a crucial role in financing most of the public infrastructure of the United States;(2)the largest national banks included—(A)the First Bank of the United States, from 1791 through 1811;(B)the Second Bank of the United States, from 1816 through 1836;(C)the national banking system instituted by President Lincoln; and(D)the Reconstruction Finance Corporation instituted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, from 1932 through 1957;(3)those national banks were enacted with broad bipartisan support, and financed the construction of roads, turnpikes, bridges, canals, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Hoover Dam, rural electrification, manufacturing startups, and rail, school, and farm improvements in every corner of the United States;(4)those infrastructure investments created the conditions for improved productivity, economic growth, and job creation, helped lift the United States out of the Great Depression, and contributed to victory in World War II;(5)the American Society of Civil Engineers (referred to in this section as ASCE), in its 2025 Report Card estimates that $9,139,000,000,000 (not adjusted for inflation) is needed from 2024 to 2033 to meet all of the infrastructure needs of the United States, and of that amount, $5,450,000,000,000 is expected to be financed by the Federal Government at continued appropriation levels, and by States, counties, cities, utilities, and port and airport authorities through their general revenues, special taxes, user fees, and borrowing from capital markets;(6)even with the investments described in paragraph (5), a financing gap of $3,689,000,000,000 remains, and to close that gap, the United States will need to increase funding by all levels of government, in order to improve infrastructure quality and resiliency, grow the economy faster, and maintain our international competitiveness;(7)ASCE further estimates that the added $3,689,000,000,000 needed over a 10-year period to bring systems up to a state of good repair includes—(A)$1,208,000,000,000 for roads, bridges, and transit;(B)$1,015,000,000,000 for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems;(C)$429,000,000,000 for schools and broadband access;(D)$578,000,000,000 for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution;(E)$113,000,000,000 for aviation;(F)$286,000,000,000 for dams, levees, inland waterways, and ports;(G)$32,000,000,000 for passenger rail; and(H)$44,000,000,000 for public parks and recreation;(8)expanded investment of at least $1,311,000,000,000 is also needed, including—(A)$320,000,000,000 for new affordable housing;(B)$791,000,000,000 for a 17,000-mile high-speed rail network;(C)$200,000,000,000 for major water supply projects; and(D)incorporated in each of the categories described in subparagraphs (A) through (C), science and technology drivers, resiliency features, accommodation of population growth, energy savings, and improvements in rural, urban, and low-income areas that the public and private sectors are not fully serving now;(9)although Federal grant programs, along with matching State and local funding, should continue to play a coordinating role in financing infrastructure in the United States, current and foreseeable demands on existing Federal, State, and local budgets exceed the resources to support those programs by a wide margin;(10)a sharp bout of inflation in 2021 through 2023, and a delay in the enactment of a robust, adequately sized, 10-year lending plan to the period of 2024 through 2033, should require a 40-percent increase above real costs to ensure adequate funding in nominal dollars;(11)the establishment of a United States public deposit bank would provide direct loans and other financing of up to $5,000,000,000,000 for qualifying infrastructure projects without requiring additional Federal taxes or deficits; and(12)that funding would—(A)be adequate to finance all of the unfunded infrastructure needs of the United States, in all parts of the country, according to well-developed strategic plans; and(B)return the United States to its most recent golden age when a National Infrastructure Bank was in place, from 1933 to 1957, during which time—(i)total factor productivity advanced by 3.5 percent per year;(ii)the economy grew, on average, 5.5 percent per year;(iii)income inequality decreased by 1/3; and(iv)Federal and State tax receipts rose dramatically.