| R 337 |
| 2021 -- S 0992 Enacted 06/30/2021 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENDORSE THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK |
Introduced By: Senator Louis P. DiPalma |
| Date Introduced: June 28, 2021 |
| WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) stated in its 2017 report |
| card that the United States received a grade of D+ regarding the current state of infrastructure and |
| that more than four and a half trillion dollars would be needed to restore the nation’s |
| infrastructure to a state of good repair. Over two trillion dollars is currently not funded and the |
| remainder is inadequately funded. New 21st-century projects are also unfunded; and |
| WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Section of ASCE gave the State a C- in its June, 2020, |
| report card. Among the grades were: Bridges D-, Drinking Water C+, Ports C, Rail B-, Roads D, |
| and Wastewater C. Forty-four percent of Rhode Island’s gas lines are over 50 years old and |
| require repair and upgrade; twenty-two percent of Rhode Island’s 779 bridges are structurally |
| deficient -- the worst in the nation; Rhode Island’s share of rural roads in poor condition is also |
| worst in the nation; Providence Water, the largest treatment facility in New England, is almost |
| 100 years old, and its distribution network shows higher lead concentrations than are permitted by |
| the EPA; and |
| WHEREAS, A new National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) could directly finance much of |
| the infrastructure of Rhode Island in partnership with state and local governments, the Rhode |
| Island Infrastructure Bank, and other institutions; it would also hire people who have lost their |
| jobs during the COVID pandemic; and |
| WHEREAS, The NIB is modeled on previous banks which helped build much of our |
| infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt. The last such bank helped bring us out of the Depression and win WWII; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, Congress introduced H.R. 3339, The National Infrastructure Bank Act of |
| 2020, this spring to create a new National Infrastructure Bank. This legislation creates a $4 |
| trillion bank, authorized to invest in infrastructure projects only. It would require no new federal |
| spending and be capitalized by repurposing existing Treasury debt, as was done previously in |
| U.S. history; and |
| WHEREAS, The new National Infrastructure Bank will create twenty-five million new |
| high-paying jobs, pay Davis-Bacon wages, ensure Project Labor Agreements, and include Buy |
| American provisions. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises will be directly involved in building |
| the projects, and the bill mandates large-scale minority hiring. According to experts, the Bank |
| will grow the economy by 4-5 percent per year as did its predecessors; and |
| WHEREAS, Many organizations have issued endorsements. Seventeen state legislatures |
| have introduced or passed resolutions of support, as have county and city councils. Endorsements |
| include: The Providence, City Council, The National Congress of Black Women, the National |
| Association of Counties, the US High Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and |
| Ranchers, The American Sustainable Business Council, the National Association of Minority |
| Contractors, the National Federation of Federal Employees and many more organizations; now, |
| therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby respectfully requests |
| the United States Congress to pass H.R. 3339, that would create a National Infrastructure Bank in |
| order to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, |
| Governor Daniel McKee, and the President of the United States. |
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