U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the Move America Act this week.
The bipartisan legislation would bring billions of dollars of investment to state and local governments to expand and repair the country’s aging infrastructure. The bill would expand tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds and create new infrastructure tax credits to help fund infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships while giving state and local government flexibility to construct the infrastructure like roads, bridges, transit, ports, rail, airports, water, and sewer facilities.
“The Move America Act offers innovative and flexible solutions to address our nation’s infrastructure needs,” Hoeven said. “The bonds and tax credits authorized by our legislation would serve as an important complement to federal funding, providing cost-effective options that help taxpayer dollars go further. As we continue to work on addressing our nation’s critical infrastructure needs, we should advance bipartisan efforts like this, which will help us support a growing economy, improve our quality of life and ensure our country remains competitive for years to come.”
Move America would attract private capital through Move America Bonds that states could issue in partnership with private entities, lowering their overall borrowing cost. Each state would receive a bond allocation based on population. The act would also create Move American Tax Credits that would allow smaller states to trade in some or all of their bond allocation for 25 percent federal tax credit.
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the legislation would leverage $8 billion in federal investment into $226 billion worth of bond authority over the next 10 years, or up to $56 billion over 10 years in tax credits.
“America faces an infrastructure crisis that requires all of the tools in the toolbox,” Wyden said. “From big cities to small towns, our bill gives community leaders a new option to get infrastructure projects off the ground quickly. We’ve seen the importance of similar financing tools. For example, Build America Bonds in the Recovery Act were an overwhelming success. Leveraging this community investment will revitalize the roads, bridges, airports needed to create jobs and rebuild our economy.”
The legislation is supported by several businesses and transportation industry groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).