The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report ranks the U.S. as 19th in overall infrastructure spending, out of 148 countries surveyed. The U.S. spends roughly only two percent of its GDP on infrastructure, about half what it did 50 years ago. Europe spends around 5 percent, and China spends 9 percent of GDP on infrastructure. According to DOT, Approximately one-third of the Nation's 590,000 bridges require rehabilitation or replacement.
Photo: I-5 bridge, Washington DOT.

The Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI) has just released a statement of support for the Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment (BRIDGE) Act, S. 1716. That AIAI would support an infrastructure bill is hardly surprising, but the group no doubt is hoping to revive some interest in the bill Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) introduced back on Nov 14, 2013. The bill proposes creating an "infrastructure financing authority" that would receive $10 billion in initial funding. According to Sen. Warner, such infrastructure funding would leverage private sector investments that "could reap as much as $300 billion in new transportation projects."

Why is Al and his study group smiling? Back in Sept. 2011, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), pictured, released a report that more than one thousand Minnesota bridges, about 10 percent of the state's bridges, were structurally deficient.
Photo: Sen. Al Franken's home page.

Sen. Blunt said the measure would help close the gap in transportation funding that some estimate as high as $20 billion.

Just such an infrastructure bank proposal was proposed in 2011 by then Sen. John Kerry and former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas). Kerry-Hutchinson proposed a $50 billion infrastructure bank, but the legislation ran into opposition from Republicans in the House, who said states should establish their own infrastructure banks.

Transportation advocates counter they prefer to create a national infrastructure bank because many states have not chosen to do so on their own. AIAI says the BRIDGE Act would create millions of jobs over the next decade, and help close America's widening infrastructure gap.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), at the podium, and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), introduced a national infrastructure funding bank bill on Nov 14, 2013. The proposed Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment (BRIDGE) Act, S. 1716, www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1716, according to www.govtrack.us, has only a two percent chance of being enacted. Note: The Department of Transportation was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966. Anthony Foxx is the current Secretary of Transportation.

AIAI Chairman William Marino, and Richard Fierce, AIAI president, released a statement of support for the initiative: "The BRIDGE Act presents leadership of the federal government with the opportunity to advance the state of infrastructure in the U.S. The Infrastructure Financing Authority can provide the credit facility and oversight in support of the improvement of infrastructure in the U. S. This bill can increase the speed of delivery, capacity and longevity of financing tools available for public private partnerships. The BRIDGE Act serves the public interest."