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FEDERALhearing transcript
High Impact

Senate Hearing on Federal Infrastructure Loan Programs

Original title: THE LONG-TERM VALUE TO U.S. TAXPAYERS OF LOW-COST FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE LOANS

January 1, 2018

infrastructurefederal-loanstransportationwater-projectsbudgetingTIFIAWIFIA

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The Frame

What this does

The committee is evaluating how federal loan programs can turn $400 million in federal appropriations into $12 billion in local infrastructure spending, which directly impacts the speed and cost of building roads, bridges, and water systems in local communities.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

State and local project sponsors

These entities utilize federal loan programs to secure lower-cost financing for infrastructure construction.

Federal taxpayers

Taxpayers are affected by the allocation of federal funds and the potential impact on federal revenue through tax-free bond usage.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2018.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing to evaluate how federal loan programs like TIFIA and WIFIA help state and local governments fund infrastructure projects. The discussion focused on the effectiveness of federal dollars to generate larger investments in transportation and water systems.

Key Facts

  • The committee held a hearing on July 11, 2018, regarding federal infrastructure loan programs.
  • The CBO estimated that $400 million in federal appropriations over two years could leverage $12 billion in new water infrastructure spending.
  • The TIFIA program provides loans for transportation infrastructure.
  • The WIFIA program provides loans for water infrastructure.
  • The SRF WIN Act is a new program designed to assist rural states with water infrastructure funding.
  • The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that $12 billion in state infrastructure spending via tax-free bonds results in a $2.6 billion loss in federal tax revenue.
  • The committee is actively working to address scoring discrepancies between CBO and JCT regarding the cost of infrastructure projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are TIFIA and WIFIA?
These are federal programs that provide low-cost loans and loan guarantees to help state and local governments build transportation and water infrastructure projects more quickly and at a lower cost.
How does the federal government 'leverage' money for infrastructure?
By providing a smaller amount of federal funding (like the $400 million mentioned), the government encourages state and local entities to borrow additional funds, resulting in a much larger total investment in projects.
Why is there a disagreement about the cost of these programs?
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) measures the direct cost of the loans, while the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) calculates the potential loss of federal tax revenue when states use to fund these projects.

Why It Matters

The committee is evaluating how federal loan programs can turn $400 million in federal appropriations into $12 billion in local infrastructure spending, which directly impacts the speed and cost of building roads, bridges, and water systems in local communities.

News Coverage

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Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Budgetary Scoring Conflict

The document reveals a fundamental tension between the CBO's direct spending analysis and the JCT's revenue-loss analysis regarding infrastructure bonds.

Congressional Budget OfficeJoint Committee on Taxation

Connected Entities

personBrian Motyl“Assistant Director of Finance, DelDOT”Map →
organizationJoint Committee on Taxation“Assesses federal revenue loss from tax-free bonds”Map →
personJohn Barrasso“Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works”Map →
organizationCongressional Budget Office“Provided estimates on program costs and leveraging potential”Map →
personVicente Sarmiento“Director of the Orange County Water District”Map →
personDoug Holtz-Eakin“President of the American Action Forum”Map →
personThomas R. Carper“Ranking Member of the Committee”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy40
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

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