This diary could be a “drama” spoiler… I will need your help. Stay with me here. The spoiler possibility: that the formation of a National Infrastructure Bank might be tucked into the Stimulus bill. This concept has received support across the political and development spectrum and was actually announced as part of President Obama’s policies during his campaign a year ago, on February 13, 2008.

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“Here are Obama’s words on the subject delivered in Janesville, Wisconsin at a GM assembly plant:

For our economy, our safety, and our workers, we have to rebuild America. I’m proposing a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years. This investment will multiply into almost half a trillion dollars of additional infrastructure spending and generate nearly two million new jobs — many of them in the construction industry that’s been hard hit by this housing crisis. The repairs will be determined not by politics, but by what will maximize our safety and homeland security; what will keep our environment clean and our economy strong. And we’ll fund this bank by ending this war in Iraq. It’s time to stop spending billions of dollars a week trying to put Iraq back together and start spending the money on putting America back together instead.”

This national infrastructure bank concept is similar to the one that Senators Chris Dodd and Chuck Hagel had been pushing for in Congress back in 2007 and was later introduced by Rep. Keith in 2008.

“In an eerie coincidence, legislation to create a National Infrastructure Bank to address the need for financing of infrastructure projects "to replace America’s aging and crumbling roads, bridges, transit systems and water treatment facilities," was introduced with bipartisan support in the US Senate the same day a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.
Cosponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 (S 1926) establishes a new method that the federal government can use to finance infrastructure projects "of substantial regional or national significance," according to an overview of the bill.

In that summary, Dodd and Hagel quoted the USEPA estimating that repairs to obsolete drinking water and wastewater systems need as much as $151 billion and $390 billion respectively every year over the next 20 years. “

Back in December, our nations governors endorsed this concept of a National Infrastructure Bank.

"The National Governors Association (NGA) at its national conference this week urged President-elect Obama to consider establishing a national infrastructure bank that could issue bonds to finance infrastructure projects as part of the economic stimulus package currently being developed. During his campaign, Obama proposed creating an infrastructure bank that could issue up to $60 billion in tax-credit bonds, which provide investors with a tax credit instead of interest payments. The proposal is similar to legislation introduced in the 110th Congress by Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb). NGA Chairman and Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell called the infrastructure bank concept an important element in an economic recovery plan. Gov. Rendell has been a leading infrastructure advocate since his days as Mayor of Pennsylvania when he served as Chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition. Rendell has teamed up with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to reestablish the Rebuild America Coalition.”

Now, it is clear the US Chamber of Commerce is also supportive of reestablishing the Rebuild America Coalition as noted by:

"The Chamber’s Let’s Rebuild America initiative is leading the charge for infrastructure modernization and expansion. The most important priorities facing our nation and its leaders include the following:

Reauthorizing the Highway and Transit Bill
Reauthorizing the Law Governing the Federal Aviation Administration
Reauthorizing the Water Resources Development Act
Strengthening Telecommunications Infrastructure and Cyber Security
Modernizing Water Infrastructure
Modernizing and Protecting Energy Infrastructure

The Chamber’s Let’s Rebuild America initiative is leading the charge for infrastructure modernization and expansion.

Additionally, the Chamber backed the Dodd-Hagel bill as H.R. 3401 as referenced by this endorsement letter.

There also happens to be a group of “infrastructure Republicans” and Congressman John Mica is the most vocal of them.

“In an effort to confront this problem, Congressman John Mica, the ranking Republican member of the House Transportation Committee, recently called for a trillion-and-a-half-dollar infrastructure spending program, under both public and private sponsorship. But where would the money come from?”

The question, “Where would the money come from to deal with our growing infrastructure incapacity?” lies at the center of the Stimulus bill and needs to be addressed in order for our nation to remain competitive and healthy. It seems many sectors of society agree with the concept of a National Infrastructure Bank.

“Ultimately, we face a future of mass transit strained beyond capacity, planes sitting on tarmacs, slow traffic and wasteful sprawl, ports that lack the capacity to operate efficiently, and increasing numbers of bridges and dams that are obsolescent and dangerous to the public’s health and safety—in short, the dire prognosis of the American Society of Civil Engineers is coming true. Regardless of the government’s fiscal position, vital investments in transportation, water supply, education, and clean energy are necessary to maintain our future standard of living. Our political system pours money into war and tax breaks while relying on deficit finance. Those in charge then announce that there are no resources left to secure our economic future. The new bank we propose offers one alternative to such a dangerous set of policies.”

So, help me comb the bill for legislative language that establishes a National Infrastructure Bank. I think it really could be there due to the fact that the Wiki entry for National Infrastructure Bank was updated on January 29, 2009. If you find it tucked in, you will have found the Stimulus Bill Drama spoiler. It may also be saved out to present as a bipartisan addition to the bill for the "working together" messaging.

Then perhaps, the President will sign the legislation on February 13, 2009 – a year from his initial proposal during his campaign.

Who said he was, “No drama?”