Get the facts! Here is the plan Hillary unveiled at Faneuil Hall in Boston on Sunday.
Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, right, stands on stage as she
greets people at the start of a rally at Faneuil Hall, Sunday, Nov. 29,
2015, in Boston. The event was held to launch "Hard Hats for Hillary," a
coalition created to organize people in industries and labor to support
Clinton's agenda. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
In
America, we build great things together. President Lincoln’s
transcontinental railroad fueled the growth of a nation and a continent.
President Eisenhower’s interstate highway system drove the rise of the
strongest middle class in history. President Roosevelt helped to build
the Hoover Dam and power the rise of the American Southwest. For nearly
two centuries, our great public works have transformed the American
landscape and opened up new markets. They have connected Americans to
jobs, to schools, and to one another. They have paved the way to U.S.
prosperity—sometimes literally.
Today, however, we are
dramatically underinvesting in our future. As a share of the economy,
federal infrastructure investment is roughly half of what it was
thirty-five years ago. Estimates of the size of our “infrastructure gap”
register in the trillions of dollars.
Workers can’t get to work, congestion keeps parents stuck in traffic,
floods threaten our cities, and airports leave travelers stranded for
hours or even days at a time. Our small businesses, farmers, and
manufacturers face highways, waterways, ports, and airports that make it
harder for them to get their products to customers. Meanwhile,
countries like China are racing ahead, building projects that will drive commerce and growth in the 21st century.
American
workers and businesses are the engines of a dynamic, entrepreneurial,
and growing economy—an economy that supports good jobs with high wages.
But by failing to invest in our infrastructure, we are forcing these
engines of growth and job-creation to run on second-rate fuel.
That’s why Hillary Clinton is announcing a five-year $275 billion dollar infrastructure plan.
Clinton
would increase federal infrastructure funding by $275 billion over a
five-year period, fully paying for these investments through business
tax reform. Of these funds, she would allocate $250 billion to direct
public investment. She would allocate the other $25 billion to a
national infrastructure bank, dedicated to advancing our competitive
advantage for the 21st century economy. The bank would leverage its $25
billion in funds to support up to an additional $225 billion in direct
loans, loan guarantees, and other forms of credit enhancement—meaning
that Clinton’s infrastructure plan would in total result in up to $500
billion in federally supported investment. The bank would also
administer part of a renewed and expanded Build American Bonds program,
and would look for opportunities to work with partners in the private
sector to get the best possible outcomes for the American people.
Clinton’s plan would create good-paying jobs today and drive up wages in the future.
Clinton’s
plan would build a 21st century backbone for a thriving 21st century
economy —maintaining America’s position as the economic superpower of
the future.
Investing in our infrastructure is about so much more
than creating good-paying jobs: it’s about maintaining our status as
the world’s economic superpower. That means making smart investments in
ports, airports, roads, and waterways to address the key chokepoints for
the movement of goods in our economy—connecting businesses and farmers
to their suppliers and customers and enhancing U.S. competitiveness in
the global economy. It means giving allAmerican households
access to world-class broadband and creating connected “smart cities”
with infrastructure that’s part of tomorrow’s Internet of Things. It
means building airports and air traffic control systems that set the
world standard for efficiency, reliability, and safety—saving time,
money, and energy on every trip. It means a smart, resilient electrical
grid that powers America’s clean energy future. It means safe, smart
roads and highways that are ready for the connected cars of tomorrow and
the new energy sources that will power them. And it means changing the
way we make our infrastructure investments—so that every dollar we spend
goes further.
Clinton’s plan would save families time and money, improve quality of life, and unlock economic opportunity.
Clinton’s plan would combat climate change and protect our communities.
From
rising sea levels to more severe storms, heat waves, and wildfires,
climate change is already taking a toll on the nation’s
infrastructure—leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab. Already, vulnerable communities are being disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change and the lack of resources to adapt.
Clinton will work to ensure that federal infrastructure investments are
resilient to both current and future climate risks, and she will
partner with states, cities and rural communities to develop regionally
coordinated, resilient infrastructure strategies. She will also work to
modernize our energy infrastructure; connect our farms, businesses, and
households to safe and reliable sources of water; and upgrade our dams
and levees to improve safety and generate clean energy.
Clinton’s plan will cut red tape and enhance accountability — so that every dollar of infrastructure investment goes further.
Clinton’s plan would go beyond the efforts underway in Congress.
The
United States Congress appears close to reaching agreement on a
long-term, surface transportation bill—a positive sign after years of
gridlock and short-term patches. But these efforts, while important, are
not nearly sufficient to meet our infrastructure needs. Clinton’s plan
would go further, dramatically growing federal investments and laying
the foundations for future growth. And she would go beyond surface
transportation investments to address our substantial infrastructure
needs in energy, water, broadband, and more.
Unlike
some Republican candidates for president, Clinton understands that this
is a national problem that requires a bold, national solution.
It’s
no surprise, but Republican candidates for President are placing
ideology over common sense—putting forward proposals that dramatically
reduce national investments in infrastructure. What these candidates
fail to understand is that we are a connected nation—that infrastructure
investment is a national issue that requires national solutions. Ranchers in Montana rely on improvements to the Port of Seattle to ship their beef across the world. Farmers
in Iowa rely on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, using an
extended network of river ports and locks to get their crops to market.
Businesses all over the country depend on a network of highways,
railways, and ports to deliver their goods to consumers efficiently and
affordably and to effectively compete across the continent and world.
Slashing federal infrastructure investment, as some Republican
candidates have proposed, would be as mindless as it would be harmful — a
rejection of Ronald Reagan’s view that infrastructure represents a critical “investment in tomorrow that we must make today.”
Hillary Clinton understands that we are one nation—and that we must
invest in our future as a nation. She will make good on our time-honored
American commitment to leave our children and grandchildren with a
country that is stronger than the one we inherited.
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
Clinton’s
comprehensive infrastructure investment agenda is a major down payment
on a stronger America — enhancing our competitiveness, giving families a
better life, combating climate change, and protecting our communities.
Clinton will harness both public and private capital to: Fix and expand our roads and bridges—reducing congestion and cutting the “pothole tax.” America’s roads and bridges are in a state of disrepair. More than half of our highways are 45 years or older, and nearly one in four bridges requires significant repair.
Clinton will make smart, targeted, and coordinated investments to
increase capacity, improve road quality, and reduce congestion —
transportation solutions that will meet the needs of Americans today and
in the future and slash the “pothole tax” that they silently pay each
and every day. In fact, even investments to fix and maintain our current
stock of roads and bridges can generate exceptionally high returns for
society. Expand public transit options to lower
transportation costs and unlock economic opportunity for Americans in
opportunity deserts. Americans are increasingly living and working in and around urban communities, and they want a range of safe, affordable, convenient, and environmentally sustainable transportation options. But even as transit ridership grows dramatically across the country in communities of all sizes, transit investments have not kept pace with demand. This underinvestment is particularly costly for many low-income communities and communities of color, as a
dearth of reliable and efficient public transportation options often
creates a huge barrier to Americans attempting to build better lives.
Clinton will prioritize and increase investments in public transit to
connect Americans to jobs, spur economic growth, and improve quality of
life in our communities. And she will encourage local governments to
work with low-income communities to ensure that these investments are
creating transit options that connect the unemployed and underemployed
to the jobs they need. She will also support bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure—reducing carbon emissions, improving public health and
safety, and further providing Americans with affordable transportation
options. Connect small businesses, farmers, and
manufacturers to their customers and suppliers with a national freight
investment program.U.S. transportation networks move nearly $48 billion in goods a day.
Yet our insufficient freight infrastructure is preventing American
businesses and farmers from reliably and efficiently moving their
products to market, hurting U.S. consumers and damaging America’s
ability to compete in the global economy. In
fact, every year, U.S. businesses have to spend an extra $27 billion
just in transportation costs because of congestion in our freight
networks alone. Cargo trains can reach Chicago from Los Angeles in 48 hours, only to spend 30 hours crawling across Chicago itself.
Clinton will make smart, coordinated investments that upgrade our aging
rail tunnels and bridges, expand congested highway corridors, eliminate
dangerous at-grade railway crossings, and build deeper port channels to accommodate the newest and largest cargo ships.
Clinton will also focus on vital “intermodal” transfer points between
trucks, rail, and ships—including the “last-mile connectors” between
different modes, like the local roads that connect highways to ports. She is committed to initiating upgrades of at least the 25 most costly freight bottlenecks by the end of her first term. Accelerate
next generation aviation technology and invest in creating world-class
American airports — saving travelers time, cutting down on delays, and
reducing carbon emissions.The American aviation system is the busiest and safest in the world. But much of it still runs on antiquated technology — including radar-based air traffic control systems from the World War II era. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently pursuing a “NextGen” upgrade program that would move
our national airspace system from ground-based radar to satellite-based
navigation, improve digital communications, and enhance information
management. But these efforts have fallen chronically behind schedule and well short of expectations.
Clinton will get this crucial program back on track and ensure that it
is managed effectively and with accountability. These changes will save
air travelers and airlines an estimated $100 billion in avoided delays
over the next 15 years — ensuring that the nation that invented aviation continues to be its world leader.
Clinton
will also invest in building world-class American airports. Our
airports are operating at capacities far beyond their original design, resulting in major delays due to a lack of investment. The newest major airport in America is now 20 years old, and, according to one global survey, America’s top airport is ranked 30th in the world.
Clinton will work to ensure that airports have the funding they need to
create world-class air hubs for the 21st century, with reliable and
efficient connections to mass transit. Connect allAmericans to the digital economy with 21st century Internet access.
Clinton believes that high-speed Internet access is not a luxury; it is
a necessity for equal opportunity and social mobility in a 21st century
economy. That’s why she will finish the job of connecting America’s
households to the Internet, committing that by 2020, 100 percent of
households in America will have access to affordable broadband that
delivers world-class speeds sufficient to meet families’ needs. Clinton
will also build upon the Obama Administration’s efforts to increase not
just broadband access but also broadband adoption, both by fostering
greater competition in local broadband markets to bring down prices and
by investing in low-income communities and in digital literacy programs.
In addition, Clinton is committed to expanding the Obama
Administration’s efforts to connect “anchor” institutions — like public
school and public libraries — to high-speed broadband. She will invest
new federal resources so that train stations, airports, mass transit
systems, and other public buildings can have access to gigabit
connectivity and can provide free Wi-Fi to the public.
Moreover,
Clinton will build on the Obama Administration’s progress in fostering
the evolution from 4G wireless networks to 5G networks and other
next-generation systems that can deliver wireless connections measured
in gigabits, not just megabits, per second. Widely deployed 5G networks,
and new unlicensed and shared spectrum technologies, are essential
platforms that will support the Internet of Things, smart factories,
driverless cars, and much more — developments with enormous potential to
drive economic growth and improve people’s lives. Enhance safety and economic growth by equipping our infrastructure and our cities with the technology of tomorrow.A
wide-ranging system of advanced energy fueling stations for the 21st
century fleet. A network of roadway sensors capable of alerting drivers
to a dangerous icy patch a mile ahead. Lives saved and traffic reduced
by vehicles that can sense and communicate with one another. Reduced
traffic and pollution through more efficient and effective parking
management systems in our cities. These are only a few of the changes
coming to transportation and urban life — but this future will not
simply happen on its own. Clinton will work to equip our infrastructure
with the technology of tomorrow. She would provide more funding for
basic research in transportation technology that searches for answers to
questions that are too far in the future for private industry to
address, and she would promote intelligent transportation system projects through funding programs. Build a faster, safer, and higher capacity passenger rail system. Although more and more Americans are traveling via train, our passenger rail infrastructure is crumbling — slowing down journeys, limiting ridership, and making trains less safe.
In some cases, crucial infrastructure is more than a century old.
Clinton will invest in creating a world-leading passenger rail system to
meet rapidly growing demand and build a more mobile America. Build energy infrastructure for the 21st century. Clinton has already released a comprehensive plan
to make our existing energy infrastructure cleaner and safer, and to
build the new infrastructure necessary for the United States to become a
clean energy superpower. Cities like Baltimore and Chicago are
struggling to replace thousands of miles of corroded natural gas pipes,
some of which are more than 100 years old, while municipal electric
grids across the country have seen blackouts from extreme storms and
heat waves. Clinton’s plan will modernize our pipeline system, increase
rail safety, and enhance grid security. It will also build new
infrastructure to power our economic future and capture America’s clean
energy potential. Through her Clean Energy Challenge, Clinton will
partner with states, cities, and rural communities that take the lead in
reducing carbon pollution by investing in clean energy and lowering
energy costs through energy efficiency and innovative transportation
solutions. She will ensure the federal government is a partner in
delivering clean and affordable energy, supporting infrastructure
investments that give Americans more control over the energy they
consume. Connect our farms, businesses, and households to
safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater systems — saving
billions of gallons of drinking water and cutting energy costs.
For too long, we have been underinvesting in the drinking and
wastewater systems that keep our communities healthy and safe. Our
drinking water systems — parts of which are more than a century old — leak nearly 6 billion gallons every day, or roughly one-sixth of our daily water use. California’s cities alone leak 283 billion gallons per year — enough to meet the needs of the entire city of Los Angeles. Aging and inadequate wastewater systems discharge more than 900 billion gallons of untreated sewage a year, posing health risks to humans and wildlife, disrupting ecosystems, and disproportionately impacting communities of color. And in the West, where the water system was designed for the climate of the past, record droughts and raging wildfires are destroying land, depleting reservoirs and straining local and federal budgets.
Drinking water and wastewater treatment is often the largest single
energy consumer for municipalities, and accounts for 3 to 4 percent of
America’s national electricity consumption every year — meaning there’s significant money and energy to be saved by making these systems more efficient.
We need a bold agenda to revitalize our aging water infrastructure and
make it more sustainable and energy efficient. Clinton will work to
harness both public and private resources to support these efforts. Modernizing our dams and levees to improve safety and generate clean energy.Our
84,000 dams and roughly 100,000 miles of levees serve to protect us
from floods, facilitate the movement of goods, generate electricity, and
more. But our efforts to maintain these critical structures are
haphazard and under-resourced — with both insufficient funding and
insufficient information. Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina demonstrated
the stark dangers posed by faulty water control infrastructure. And
these public safety concerns are only intensified by the increasing
threat of severe weather due to climate change. We need to substantially
increase funding to inspect these structures, bring them into good
repair, and remove them where appropriate. Our existing dams can also be
a significant source of new clean energy generation, and Clinton will
support efforts to increase dams’ capacity to deliver affordable and
reliable electricity while reducing carbon pollution.
NEW RESOURCES AND BETTER PERFORMANCE
Boost federal infrastructure investment by $275 billion over the next five years.
There is simply no substitute for robust public investment in
infrastructure to enhance our competitiveness, give families a better
life, combat climate change, and protect our communities. Clinton will
work to increase federal infrastructure funding by $275 billion over the
next five years, of which $250 billion would be allocated to direct
public investment. She will fully pay for these investments through
business tax reform. Reauthorize a Build America Bonds program to help finance the rebuilding of America’s infrastructure.
The Obama Administration’s Build America Bonds (BABs) program
stimulated investment in infrastructure — broadening the market for
municipal borrowing by attracting new sources of capital, such as
pension funds, that do not receive benefits associated with traditional
tax-exempt debt. The program was hugely successful: in just two years,
BABs supported more than $180 billion in infrastructure spending in all
50 states and the District of Columbia. BABs are a more efficient way of
helping to finance infrastructure spending than traditional tax-exempt
municipal debt, as tax-exempt municipal debt ends up benefiting not just
infrastructure projects but also high-income purchasers of the debt. As
President, Clinton
would reauthorize the Build America Bonds program so that the federal
support goes entirely toward rebuilding America’s infrastructure. Create
a $25 billion national infrastructure bank — providing up to an
additional $225 billion in federally supported investment for energy,
water, broadband, transportation, and multi-modal infrastructure
projects. Clinton is not only committed to substantially
increasing federal funding for infrastructure investment. She will also
work alongside state and local governments to help unlock private pools
of capital—including pension funds—to complement public investment in
America’s infrastructure. That’s why she will allocate $25 billion over
five years to an independent, government-owned infrastructure bank with a
bipartisan board of highly qualified directors authorized to make
critical investments in building 21st century infrastructure. The bank
will:
Provide loans, loan guarantees, and other forms of credit enhancement.
The bank would focus on projects of regional and national significance,
emphasizing investments in complex multi-modal projects like freight
and port improvements, and in projects to modernize our energy, water,
broadband, and transportation systems in urban and rural communities.
The bank will operate with prevailing wage standards and domestic
sourcing requirements for project materials.
Be empowered to authorize issuance of special, “super” Build America Bonds to support state and local investment.
The Bank would also be empowered to authorize issuance of “super-BABs”
by state and local governments that would provide greater federal
government support than would otherwise be available for deserving
projects of regional and national significance.
Select projects based on merit, not politics.
To ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, the bank will require
applicants to demonstrate that their projects will be in the public
interest, cost-effective for taxpayers, economically productive, and
resilient to the expected future impacts of climate change.
Clinton will also support existing credit programs
that are already working well — like the Transportation Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act, which finances transformative transportation
projects across the country. Apply best practices to improve the way we invest in infrastructure and get the most for the American people’s money.
Investing more in our infrastructure isn’t enough — the way America
currently designs, funds, and builds infrastructure projects needs
repair. Clinton would make sure taxpayers are getting the most bang for
their buck. She would work to ensure that projects are selected on
impact, not politics, streamline permitting, break down silos that limit
funds to a single type of transportation, and encourage 21st century
design and technology. These reforms would do more than save taxpayers
money — they would encourage private capital currently sitting on the
sidelines to invest in America’s future. Read more >>>>
