President Obama's proposal to create a national infrastructure bank and spend $50 billion on transportation to stimulate job growth will be up for a vote in the Senate this week.
The infrastructure bank proposal, which calls for spending $10 billion to start, was originally contained in legislation introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). The president incorporated it into his proposal for a $447 billion jobs act, which the Senate is now voting on in pieces after its rejection as a package.
A hiccup for the infrastructure bank could come from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a figure who is normally loyal to Obama. The chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has said in the past she would "never" support the proposal.
Now she restricts herself to warning that an infrastructure bank, which supporters say can be used to lure private investment into transportation, should not be used to replace federal dollars.
“Yes, we want [an] infrastructure bank; we love it; it is great," Boxer said at a July hearing of her committee. "That is not the core program. But we should build support for it, but it is not the core program.”
