Key Republican Senator Urges Action on His Infrastructure Legislative Fix
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) called on congressional colleagues May 13 to support his bill that would establish a $50 billion infrastructure fund financed with multinational companies’ repatriated foreign profits.
Those repatriated profits would be used to fund large-scale infrastructure projects, said Blunt, ranking member on the Commerce, Science, and Technology Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee.
“Infrastructure is something everybody knows we need to do a better job maintaining, almost nobody wants to pay for it,” said Blunt, speaking at an event hosted by American Trucking Associations. “Setting up this fund is a way to bring a certain amount of profits back.”
The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) has yet to be considered in committee.
On the House side, Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) has a similar bill that would establish a fund financed by private companies that repatriate cash held overseas. The fund would be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It would be supported by the sale of $50 billion worth of infrastructure bonds, which would have a 50-year term and pay a fixed interest rate of 1%.
Delaney’s bill has garnered bipartisan support, and it has not advanced out of committee.
The American Society of Civil Engineers continues to warn about the state of the country’s transportation system. The group supports the legislative proposals.
Related Infrastructure Week stories:
Key Senate committee unveils six-year highway bill.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) presses for fuel-tax hike.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urges Congress to boost federal Highway Trust Fund.
More coverage of Infrastructure Week will be included in the May 19 print edition of Transport Topics.
