Federal Infrastructure Bank Proposed In Congress

"Roads, bridges, mass transit and other aging U.S. infrastructure would get a face-lift under legislation introduced in Congress on Wednesday that would create a system to identify, evaluate and help finance projects.

Citing high-profile infrastructure meltdowns, such as last month's steam pipe explosion in Manhattan, bill sponsors U.S. Senators Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, said it was time to upgrade for the 21st-century economy.

"The legislation we are introducing establishes a new system through which the federal government can finance infrastructure projects by leveraging private and public capital to fund large projects that are vital to our country," Hagel said in a statement.

The legislation would create a national infrastructure bank charged with evaluating and financing publicly owned mass transit, housing, roads, bridges, and water systems that would entail potential federal funding of at least $75 million per project."