One idea pushed by Obama: Set up a bipartisan-run "infrastructure bank," by which the federal government would provide loans to leverage private investment in projects. Of the $60 billion for infrastructure in the president's plan, some $10 billion would provide launch money for the bank.
Building America's Future, which represents bipartisan elected officials, has embraced that idea but also proposes other priorities:
- Develop a 10-year strategy for the nation's transportation, water, and electric-grid systems.
- Pass a six-year transportation bill for highway, mass-transit, and aviation needs.
- Consider raising the gas tax and linking it to inflation. It's not popular, but the tax is a fraction of what other nations charge, the group says, and covers only half the cost of maintaining US roads.
- Use other creative funding mechanisms, from congestion pricing on busy roads to letting states charge tolls on federal highways that need repair.
