Obama Administration: Increasing Investment in U.S. Roads, Ports and Drinking Water Systems Through Innovative Financing

January 16, 2015 0

From the White House press office:

Building a 21^st-century infrastructure is a critical component of the Administration’s efforts to accelerate economic growth, expand opportunity, create jobs and improve the competitiveness of the American economy. As part of this effort, President Obama launched the Build America Investment Initiative in July 2014, calling on federal agencies to find new ways to increase investment in ports, roads, bridges, broadband networks, drinking water and sewer systems and other projects by facilitating partnerships between federal, state and local governments and private sector investors.

Today, the Obama Administration is announcing new steps that federal agencies are taking to bring private sector capital and expertise to bear on improving our nation’s roads, bridges, and broadband networks. First, the Administration is launching a new Water Finance Center at the Environmental Protection Agency and highlighting the progress of the Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative at the Department of Agriculture. These efforts will help local and state governments access federal loan and grant programs to get more projects off the ground. The Administration is also announcing a new set of infrastructure tax proposals that will level the playing field for projects that combine public and private investment so that local and state governments can more easily work with the private sector to advance the public interest.

At an event at the Anacostia River Tunnel Project Site in Washington, DC later today, the Vice President—joined by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack— will stress the importance of these critical investments. Today’s event is part of the Vice President’s ongoing work to highlight the importance of doing more to invest in our nation’s infrastructure to create jobs, help American businesses, and grow our economy.

Additional information about the new Build America initiatives is provided below:

Investing in Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems through a new Center at EPA. To help address more than $600 billion in needs for drinking water and wastewater management over the next 20 years, today the Administration is launching a new Water Finance Center at EPA. The Center will work closely with municipal and state governments, utilities and private sector partners to use federal grants to attract more private capital into projects and promote models of public private collaboration that can address the real needs of cities and towns to provide safe water, rebuild sewer systems and keep streams and rivers clean.
Driving Investment to Rural America via a New USDA Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative. The Administration is announcing the Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will identify opportunities for investment in promising rural water, energy, and broadband projects, reduce barriers to investment and connect projects with investors.
Leveling the Playing Field for Public-Private Partnerships. Today the Administration is leveling the playing field for municipalities seeking public private partnerships by proposing the creation of an innovative new kind of municipal bond, Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds (QPIB).
In addition, the Administration is advancing major highway and port projects through the Transportation Investment Center at the Department of Transportation, working with local and state governments to improve project planning, and attracting investors for U.S. projects from around the world through the SelectUSA Program.