Infrastructure Alert - April 17, 2013

Last week, President Obama released his FY2014 budget, outlining several proposals to fund new infrastructure programs.  The budget proposes $40 billion for "Fix it First" projects to repair existing infrastructure, as well as $10 billion for new infrastructure spending.  The proposal also includes a call for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank, a policy he alluded to in his State of the Union address this year.  The National Infrastructure Bank would utilize both loans and loan guarantees and would operate as "an independent, wholly-owned Government entity outside of political influence."  The budget additionally proposes an America Fast Forward (AFF) Bonds program to attract private capital for infrastructure investment, such as public pension funds or foreign investor funds.  The budget includes $40 billion over five years to fund development of passenger rail programs, particularly high-speed rail, and $1 billion for the implementation of the Next