The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a possible national infrastructure bank. The report says an average of $50 billion is spent highway, transit and passenger rail on the federal level while an average of $150 billion is spent at the state and local level.
An infrastructure bank would allow federal government officials to decide which local projects should receive a taxpayer-subsidized loan or load guarantee, according to thenewspaper.com. Since the loans would be repaid from a dedicated revenue stream, the article says the proposed infrastructure bank would likely only be used to provide profit for companies that construct and operate toll roads.
The main difference between the proposed bank and the current structure of how the U.S. Department of Transportation offers loans is that the bank would "dilute the decision-making authority of the states and transfer it to Washington."
