[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7231 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7231

 To establish the Infrastructure Bank for America as a corporation to 
serve as a lender for and investor in infrastructure projects, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2020

  Mr. Webster of Florida (for himself, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Reed, and Mr. 
   LaMalfa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
 Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, 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 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Infrastructure Bank for America as a corporation to 
serve as a lender for and investor in infrastructure projects, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Infrastructure Bank for America Act 
of 2020''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK HOLDING COMPANY.

    (a) In General.--There is established a corporation to be known as 
the ``Infrastructure Bank Holding Company'' (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Holding Company''), which shall be the parent company of the 
Infrastructure Bank for America established under section 3.
    (b) Board of Directors.--The Holding Company shall have a Board of 
Directors, which shall--
            (1) initially consist of 7 members, or such other number as 
        the formation agent determines appropriate;
            (2) be elected by the shareholders of the Holding Company;
            (3) within the limitations of law and regulation, determine 
        the general policies that govern the operations of the Holding 
        Company, and have the power to adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws 
        governing the performance of the powers and duties granted to 
        or imposed upon the Holding Company by law; and
            (4) select and effect the appointment of qualified persons 
        to fill the office of the Chief Executive Officer and such 
        other offices as may be provided for in the bylaws of the 
        Holding Company and the Infrastructure Bank for America 
        established under section 3.
    (c) Treatment of Shareholders of the Formation Agent.--The 
formation agent shall issue equity securities of the Holding Company to 
each shareholder of the formation agent, in an amount that the 
formation agent determines has a value equal to the value of equity 
securities of the formation agent held by such shareholder upon the 
establishment of the Holding Company.
    (d) Earnings and Reserves Not Government Funds.--The earnings and 
reserves of the Holding Company shall be the sole property of the 
Holding Company and may not be construed to be Government funds, public 
funds, or appropriated money.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK FOR AMERICA.

    (a) In General.--The formation agent shall establish a corporation 
to be known as the ``Infrastructure Bank for America'' (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Bank''). The Bank shall--
            (1) maintain its principle office in New York City or the 
        District of Columbia; and
            (2) be registered as a Delaware corporation, and, for the 
        purposes of jurisdiction and venue in civil actions, operate as 
        a Delaware corporation.
    (b) Duties of the Formation Agent.--At the earliest practicable 
date after the date of the enactment of this Act, the formation agent 
shall make and file with the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') an organization certificate for the 
Bank in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Secretary may 
prescribe.
    (c) Regional Offices.--The Bank shall establish regional offices 
for the purpose of focusing on infrastructure projects in different 
areas of the Unites States.
    (d) Board of Directors.--The Board of Directors of the Holding 
Company established under section 2(b) shall be the initial Board of 
Directors of the Bank.

SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE BANK.

    (a) In General.--The Bank shall provide--
            (1) equity investments, direct loans, indirect loans, and 
        loan guarantees for the construction or maintenance of revenue-
        producing infrastructure projects in the United States with 
        sufficient revenue sources and guarantees to support the 
        interest and principal payments to the Bank; and
            (2) direct and indirect loans and loan guarantees to State 
        and local governments and State infrastructure banks for the 
        construction or maintenance of infrastructure projects.
    (b) Support for Rural Projects.--At least 7 percent of the dollar 
amount of loans, equity investments, and loan guarantees provided by 
the Bank shall be with respect to infrastructure projects in rural 
areas.
    (c) No Commercial or Investment Banking Activities.--The Bank shall 
not accept customer deposits nor engage in financial or investment 
banking activities such as trust management or underwriting securities.
    (d) Pledge and Credit Facilities.--
            (1) Pledge.--The Bank shall have the authority to pledge 
        its loans to the discount window of the Board of Governors of 
        the Federal Reserve System.
            (2) Purchase of obligations.--The Secretary may, subject to 
        amounts provided in advance by appropriation Acts, purchase 
        obligations issued by the Bank in the same manner and under the 
        same requirements that the Secretary purchases obligations 
        under section 306(c) of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
        Corporation Act (12 U.S.C. 1455(c)).
    (e) Leverage Limitation.--The Bank shall seek to maintain risk-
based capital at no less than 10 percent.

SEC. 5. HOLDING COMPANY SECURITIES.

    (a) Equity Securities.--
            (1) In general.--The Holding Company shall issue such 
        equity securities as the Holding Company determines 
        appropriate.
            (2) Dividends.--The Holding Company may make such dividend 
        payments on the equity securities of the Holding Company as the 
        Holding Company determines appropriate.
            (3) Initial issuance amount.--The Holding Company shall 
        have the goal of raising $1,000,000,000 in the initial issuance 
        of equity securities in a private placement and up to 
        $100,000,000,000 or more of equity securities in public 
        offerings over time, the purpose of which is to fund the Bank.
            (4) Restriction on voting rights.--Any holder of an equity 
        security of the Holding Company that is a non-U.S. individual 
        or entity shall have no voting rights with respect to such 
        equity security.
    (b) Bonds.--
            (1) Standard bonds.--The Holding Company may issue standard 
        bonds with maturities up to 30 years or longer, as needed.
            (2) Other bonds.--The Holding Company may issue such other 
        bonds, notes, and marketable securities with maturities and 
        interest rates as the Holding Company determines appropriate.
            (3) Initial issuance amount.--The Holding Company shall 
        have the goal of making initial bond sales in a private 
        placement in an aggregate amount of $10,000,000,000 and in 
        public offerings in an amount of $1,000,000,000,000 or more 
        over time.
            (4) Oversight and authority to purchase bonds.--
                    (A) Approval required.--Before issuing any bonds, 
                the Holding Company shall submit a proposal for such 
                bond issuance to the Secretary, and the Holding Company 
                may only issue such bonds if the Secretary approves the 
                proposal.
                    (B) Authority to purchase bonds.--
                            (i) In general.--The Secretary and the 
                        Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
                        System may purchase bonds issued under this 
                        subsection.
                            (ii) Limitation.--The aggregate amount of 
                        outstanding bonds purchased by the Secretary 
                        under this subparagraph may not exceed 5 
                        percent of the total amount of the outstanding 
                        bonds of the Holding Company.
            (5) Leverage limitation.--The Holding Company shall seek to 
        maintain risk-based capital at no less than 10 percent.
    (c) Investment Limitation on Non-U.S. Individuals and Entities.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
            (1) non-U.S. individuals and entities may not hold more 
        than 25 percent, in the aggregate, of the equity securities and 
        bonds of the Holding Company; and
            (2) nothing in this section shall prevent non-U.S. 
        individuals and entities that are shareholders from receiving 
        equity shares and dividend payments.

SEC. 6. OVERSIGHT AND REGULATION.

    (a) Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.--The Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall have oversight and 
supervisory authority over the Holding Company and the Bank in order to 
ensure the safe and sound operation of the Holding Company and the 
Bank.
    (b) Secretary of the Treasury.--The Secretary shall oversee and 
supervise the issuance of bonds by the Holding Company and the Bank, in 
order to ensure the safe and sound financing of the Holding Company and 
the Bank.
    (c) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System and may consult with the 
Secretary of Transportation and any other head of Federal agency when 
carrying out the Secretary's duties under this Act.

SEC. 7. INFRASTRUCTURE GUARANTEE FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--The Bank shall establish an Infrastructure 
Guarantee Fund that shall be available for State and local governments 
and other persons who wish to deposit funds to be used with respect to 
specific loans or loan guarantees made by the Bank in the event of any 
non-payment by the recipient of such loan or loan guarantee.
    (b) Return of Funds.--Any funds described under subsection (a) that 
are remaining at the time such loans or guaranteed loans are repaid in 
full shall be returned to the State or local government or other person 
who deposited the funds.

SEC. 8. HOLDING COMPANY AND BANK EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION.

    Effective for taxable years ending on or after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Holding Company and the Bank, including 
franchises, capital, reserves, surplus, advances, and income of the 
Holding Company or Bank shall be exempt from all taxation imposed by 
the United States, by any territory, dependency, or possession thereof, 
or by any State, county, municipal, or local taxing authority, except 
that any real property of the Holding Company and the Bank shall be 
subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to 
the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed.

SEC. 9. INFRASTRUCTURE BANK HOLDING COMPANY CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 45U. INFRASTRUCTURE BANK HOLDING COMPANY CREDIT.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of a 
taxpayer who holds a qualified Holding Company equity investment on a 
credit allowance date of such investment which occurs during the 
taxable year, the Infrastructure Bank Holding Company credit determined 
under this section for such taxable year is an amount equal to 10 
percent of the amount paid to the Holding Company for such investment 
at its original issue.
    ``(b) Credit Allowance Date.--For purposes of this section, the 
credit allowance date with respect to any qualified Holding Company 
equity investment is--
            ``(1) the date on which such investment is initially made; 
        and
            ``(2) each of the 4 anniversary dates of such date 
        thereafter.
    ``(c) Qualified Holding Company Equity Investment.--For purposes of 
this section, the term `qualified Holding Company equity investment' 
means any equity investment originally issued by the Holding Company to 
the taxpayer under section 5(a)(1) of the Infrastructure Bank for 
America Act of 2020 not later than 3 years after the date of the 
enactment of such Act.
    ``(d) Holding Company.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`Holding Company' means the Infrastructure Bank Holding Company 
established by the Infrastructure Bank for America Act of 2020.
    ``(e) Basis Reduction.--The basis of any qualified Holding Company 
equity investment shall be reduced by the amount of any credit 
determined under this section with respect to such investment.''; and
            (2) in the table of contents for such subpart, by adding at 
        the end the following:

``45U. Infrastructure Bank Holding Company credit.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (32), by striking the period 
        at the end of paragraph (33) and inserting ``, plus'', and by 
        adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(34) the Infrastructure Bank Holding Company credit 
        determined under section 45U.''.
            (2) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``and'' at the end of paragraph (37), by striking the period at 
        the end of paragraph (38) and inserting ``, and'', and by 
        adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(39) to the extent provided in section 45U(e).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed as authorizing the Federal 
Government to guarantee the assets of the Bank or Holding Company.

SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) Bank.--The term ``Bank'' means the Infrastructure Bank 
        for America established under section 3.
            (2) Formation agent.--The term ``formation agent'' means an 
        entity selected by the Secretary of the Treasury with 
        significant experience in infrastructure and infrastructure 
        finance.
            (3) Holding company.--The term ``Holding Company'' means 
        the Infrastructure Bank Holding Company established under 
        section 2.
            (4) Revenue-producing infrastructure project.--The term 
        ``revenue-producing infrastructure project'' means an 
        infrastructure project that, when complete, generates revenue 
        from user fees or other sources.
            (5) Risk-based capital.--The term ``risk-based capital'' 
        shall have the meaning given that term by the Board of 
        Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
            (6) Rural.--The term ``rural'' means a county that is 
        neither in a metropolitan statistical area nor in a 
        micropolitan statistical area that is adjacent to a 
        metropolitan statistical area, as those terms are defined by 
        the Office of Management and Budget and as applied under 
        currently applicable Urban Influence Codes, established by the 
        Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession 
        of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian 
        Tribe.
            (8) State infrastructure bank.--The term ``State 
        infrastructure bank'' means a State infrastructure bank or 
        multi-State infrastructure bank established pursuant to--
                    (A) section 350 of the National Highway System 
                Designation Act of 1995;
                    (B) section 1511(l) of the Transportation Equity 
                Act for the 21st Century;
                    (C) section 610 of title 23, United States Code; or
                    (D) any State law as an agency, component unit, or 
                other governmental entity of the State.
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