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A National Infrastructure Bank and the Federal Investment in Surface Transportation

Emilia Istrate
EI
Emilia Istrate Senior Research Associate and Associate Fellow

January 29, 2010

At the Congressional Transportation Finance Forum organized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Emilia Istrate discussed with congressional staff the current National Infrastructure Bank proposals.

She explained the current framework of the federal investment in transportation and its associated limitations. In addition, Istrate presented the current National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) proposals. Istrate argued that an NIB, designed appropriately and with sufficient political autonomy, would be a targeted federal investment mechanism in projects of metropolitan and national significance. However, an NIB is not a funding source, a solution to the problems of the current federal transportation system or a replacement of the current federal funding for transportation.