Bipartisan support for Infrastructure. Impossible you say?

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Can Congress kludge its way to an infrastructure bill?
By Ryan Cooper. January 21 at 12:14 pm

Some members of Congress are, it turns out, mulling an infrastructure proposal. It isn’t much, but it might just be crazy enough to work. And it has something resembling bipartisan support: its two chief champions are Dem Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri. Here’s the deal:

The bill is an attempt to address twin problems: How to fund transportation with the traditional source — the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon — at death’s door. And how to entice U.S. corporations, which have stashed an estimated $1.45 trillion abroad, to bring that money home. Delaney’s plan would create a $50 billion federal fund to bankroll loans and leverage private investment for transportation and other infrastructure. The money would come from bonds bought by companies who want a tax break if they bring cash earned abroad back to the United States.​
 
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2084#summary/libraryofcongress

Partnership to Build America Act of 2013 - Establishes the American Infrastructure Fund (AIF) as a wholly-owned government corporation to provide bond guarantees and make loans to state and local governments and non-profit infrastructure providers for transportation, energy, water, communications, or educational facility infrastructure projects (Qualified Infrastructure Projects [QIPs]). Requires AIF also to make equity investments in QIPs such entities sponsor.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the AIF, to issue American Infrastructure Bonds with an aggregate face value of $50 billion.
Requires proceeds from the sale of the bonds to be deposited into the AIF. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow U.S. corporations to exclude from gross income qualified cash dividend amounts received during a taxable year from a foreign-controlled corporation equal to the face value of qualified infrastructure bonds the corporation has purchased.

Prohibits allowance of a foreign tax credit to the excluded portion of any dividend received by a U.S. corporation.
Prohibits also the allowance of a deduction for expenses related to that excludable portion.

Title probably be updated.
 
Who's going to pay for it?

Looking into the specifics a little more this might answer your question some:

A bipartisan bill would build infrastructure - Politics and Public Opinion - AEI
Brad Wassink | US News and World Report. October 03, 2013
...
America's transportation infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades. In its March 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers assigned American bridges a grade of C+; roads, D; and transit, D. According to a Texas A&M study released earlier this year, traffic congestion costs motorists $121 billion annually in wasted time and fuel - not including its negative impact on air quality and human health.

To turn back the clock on these trends, the ASCE estimates that American infrastructure needs $3.6 trillion in investment by 2020. That's a lot of money.
...
The ratio of dollars invested to dollars repatriated would be set using an innovative auction approach, likely averaging out to one to four and leaving corporations with an effective tax rate of about 8 percent. Leveraging the $50 billion in bonds at a 15:1 ratio, the AIF could theoretically provide $750 billion in loans and guarantees. That's not $3.6 trillion, but it makes a dent in the gap.

Delaney's bill seems to assume that political dynamics prohibit raising the gas tax or otherwise raising fresh dollars for infrastructure projects. If the co-sponsor count is any indication, he is probably right: the bill's off-budget, business-friendly and investment-directed nature has pulled together support from 23 Republicans and 22 Democrats.
...
 
I have to say I'm shocked that this thread wasn't started by Matthew. Sounds like a good idea though, this is something we should be spending money on.
 

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