2021 -- S 0029 SUBSTITUTE A | |
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LC000491/SUB A | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021 | |
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A N A C T | |
RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENDORSE THE | |
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK | |
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Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Ruggerio, Miller, Ciccone, and Euer | |
Date Introduced: January 19, 2021 | |
Referred To: Senate Commerce | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) stated in its 2017 report |
2 | card that the United States received a grade of D+ regarding the current state of infrastructure and |
3 | that more than four and a half trillion dollars would be needed to restore the nation’s infrastructure |
4 | to a state of good repair. Over two trillion dollars is currently not funded and the remainder is |
5 | inadequately funded. New 21st-century projects are also unfunded; and |
6 | WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Section of ASCE gave the State a C- in its June, 2020, |
7 | report card. Among the grades were: Bridges D-, Drinking Water C+, Ports C, Rail B-, Roads D, |
8 | and Wastewater C. Forty-four percent of Rhode Island’s gas lines are over 50 years old and require |
9 | repair and upgrade; twenty-two percent of Rhode Island’s 779 bridges are structurally deficient -- |
10 | the worst in the nation; Rhode Island’s share of rural roads in poor condition is also worst in the |
11 | nation; Providence Water, the largest treatment facility in New England, is almost 100 years old, |
12 | and its distribution network shows higher lead concentrations than are permitted by the EPA; and |
13 | WHEREAS, A new National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) could directly finance much of the |
14 | infrastructure of Rhode Island in partnership with state and local governments, the Rhode Island |
15 | Infrastructure Bank, and other institutions; it would also hire people who have lost their jobs during |
16 | the COVID pandemic; and |
17 | WHEREAS, The NIB is modeled on previous banks which helped build much of our |
18 | infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and |
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1 | Franklin D. Roosevelt. The last such bank helped bring us out of the Depression and win WWII; |
2 | and |
3 | WHEREAS, Congress introduced H.R. 3339, The National Infrastructure Bank Act of |
4 | 2020, this spring to create a new National Infrastructure Bank. This legislation creates a $4 trillion |
5 | bank, authorized to invest in infrastructure projects only. It would require no new federal spending |
6 | and be capitalized by repurposing existing Treasury debt, as was done previously in U.S. history; |
7 | and |
8 | WHEREAS, The new National Infrastructure Bank will create twenty-five million new |
9 | high-paying jobs, pay Davis-Bacon wages, ensure Project Labor Agreements, and include Buy |
10 | American provisions. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises will be directly involved in building the |
11 | projects, and the bill mandates large-scale minority hiring. According to experts, the Bank will |
12 | grow the economy by 4-5 percent per year as did its predecessors; and |
13 | WHEREAS, Many organizations have issued endorsements. Seventeen state legislatures |
14 | have introduced or passed resolutions of support, as have county and city councils. Endorsements |
15 | include: The Providence, City Council, The National Congress of Black Women, the National |
16 | Association of Counties, the US High Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and |
17 | Ranchers, The American Sustainable Business Council, the National Association of Minority |
18 | Contractors, the National Federation of Federal Employees and many more organizations; now, |
19 | therefore be it |
20 | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby respectfully requests |
21 | the United States Congress to pass H.R. 3339, that would create a National Infrastructure Bank in |
22 | order to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects; and be it further |
23 | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
24 | transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, |
25 | Governor Daniel McKee, and the President of the United States. |
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LC000491/SUB A | |
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