Hillary Clinton’s Infrastructure Plan:
Building Tomorrow’s Economy Today
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.1 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.2
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, today, 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.
1
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, REPORT CARD FOR AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE 67 (2013)
http://infrastructurereportcard.org/a/documents/2013-Report-Card.pdf.
2
From 1992–2011 the U.S. has invested just 2.6 percent of GDP towards infrastructure, compared to 8.5% in China,
5.0% in Japan, 3.9% in the average industrial country, and 2.6 % in the EU. McKinsey Global Institute,
Infrastructure Productivity: How to Save $1 Trillion a Year (2013),
http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/dotcom/Insights/Engineering Construction/Infrastructure
productivity/MGI Infrastructure_Full report_Jan 2013.ashx, at Exhibit 2.
1
Clinton’s plan would create good-paying jobs today and drive up wages in the future.
According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, every $1 billion in infrastructure
investment creates 13,000 jobs.3 Moreover, the vast majority of the jobs created by infrastructure
investment are good-paying, middle-class jobs4—paying above the national median.5 And
beyond creating good-paying jobs today, infrastructure investments promise to enhance the
productivity of the American economy tomorrow6—helping to boost the incomes of working
Americans in the future.7 Every dollar of infrastructure investment leads to an estimated $1.60
increase in GDP the following year and twice that over the subsequent 20 years.8
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 all American 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
3
Federal Highway Administration, Employment Impacts of Highway Infrastructure Investment, U.S. Dep’t of
Transportation (Nov. 2015), http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otps/pubs/impacts.
4
DEP’T OF TREASURY, AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT: A REPORT PREPARED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY WITH THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISORS (2010),
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/economic-policy/Documents/infrastructure_investment_report.pdf.
5
Joseph Kane & Robert Puentes, Expanding Opportunity Through Infrastructure Jobs, BROOKINGS (May 2015),
http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2015/05/07-opportunity-infrastructure-jobs-kane-puentes (finding also
that “infrastructure occupations often provide more competitive and equitable wages compared to all jobs nationally,
consistently paying up to 30 percent more to low-income workers over the past decade.”)
6
See Josh Bivens, The Short- and Long-Term Impact of Infrastructure Investments on Employment and Economic
Activity in the U.S. Economy, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE (July 1, 2014), http://www.epi.org/files/2014/impact-ofinfrastructure-investments.pdf (“[The] slowdown in infrastructure investment, which began in the 1970s, has been
convincingly linked to the slowdown in overall productivity growth that began in the same period. In short, the case
for expanded infrastructure investments was strong even before the Great Recession hit.”); Lawrence H. Summers,
Reflections on Secular Stagnation, Speech at Princeton University (Feb. 19, 2015),
http://larrysummers.com/2015/02/25/reflections-on-secular-stagnation (“Can that possibly make sense, given the
demand issues, given the productivity of public investment, and given that if we have a moral concern about my
children’s generation, deferring maintenance is just as surely passing the burden onto them as issuing debt.”).
7
See COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS, ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 33 (2015),
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/cea_2015_erp.pdf (“What if productivity growth from 1973 to
2013 had continued at its pace from the previous 25 years? In this scenario, incomes would have been 58 percent
higher in 2013. If these gains were distributed proportionately in 2013, then the median household would have had
an additional $30,000 in income.”); Bivens, supra note 6 (“A now-extensive literature strongly suggests that a
slowdown in the rate of public investment can largely explain the slowdown in overall productivity growth that
began in the early 1970s.”).
8
Bivens, supra note 6; Isabelle Cohen et al., The Economic Impact and Financing of Infrastructure Spending,
COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY THOMAS JEFFERSON PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY (2012),
https://www.wm.edu/as/publicpolicy/documents/prs/aed.pdf.
2
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. Even as it positions the United States to lead the global economy of
tomorrow, Clinton’s infrastructure plan would improve the lives of workers and families today.
Our deteriorating roads result in a hidden “pothole tax” that takes over $500 per year out of
American families’ pockets because of extra car maintenance.9 Rush-hour commuters waste 42
hours in traffic annually—costing them nearly $1,000 per year in fuel and other expenses, giving
them less time to spend with their families, harming our environment, and damaging public
health.10 Air travelers find themselves delayed and stranded, as more than one in five American
flights is either delayed or cancelled altogether.11 Consumers pay more for everything from food
to furniture because of freight congestion in our highways, waterways, and ports. And too many
Americans are living in opportunity deserts—finding it difficult to get and keep a job because
getting to work means traveling for an hour or more using unreliable, indirect transit systems.12
Clinton will fight to make and support investments that will save families time and money,
improve their 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.13 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.
9
Bumpy Roads Ahead: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother, THE ROAD
INFORMATION PROGRAM (2015), http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_July_2015.pdf; see also
Lawrence H. Summers, Fixing America’s Roads Would Essentially Pay for Itself, WONKBLOG (Oct. 13, 2015),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/13/larry-summers-fixing-americas-roads-wouldessentially-pay-for-itself/.
10
Press Release, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Traffic Gridlock Sets New Records for Traveler Misery
(Aug. 26, 2015), http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/media-information/press-release/ (estimating annual congestion costs
of $960 per commuter); see also DEP’T OF TRANSPORTATION, BEYOND TRAFFIC: 2045 TRENDS AND CHOICES (2015),
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Draft_Beyond_Traffic_Framework.pdf (estimating the
annual cost per commuter at $800 per year); Jonathan I. Levy, Jonathan J. Buonocore & Katherine von Stackelberg,
Evaluation of the Public Health Impacts of Traffic Congestion: A Health Risk Assessment, 9 ENVIR. HEALTH 65
(2010).
11
DEP’T OF TRANSPORTATION BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS, TRANSTATS,
http://www.transtats.bts.gov/homedrillchart.asp.
12
Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren, Harvard University, The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational
Mobility (Apr. 2015), http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/images/nbhds_exec_summary.pdf; see also Hillary
Clinton, Hillary Clinton Outlines Plan to Strengthen Communities of Color, EBONY (Nov. 6, 2015),
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/exclusive-hillary-clinton-outlines-plan-to-strengthen-communities-of-color998#ixzz3s38hF1GG.
13
Justin Worland, Why Climate Change Affects Poor Neighborhoods the Most, TIME, Oct. 3, 2011,
http://time.com/3457668/climate-change-poor-neighborhoods.
3
Clinton’s plan will cut red tape and enhance accountability—so that every dollar of
infrastructure investment goes further. It’s simply not enough to invest more in our
infrastructure: we need to get smarter and more efficient about the way we make these
investments. One study found that more than three-quarters of U.S. highway projects experience
cost overruns.14 And it can take up to four times longer for large infrastructure projects to get
started in the U.S. as compared to other advanced countries like Germany and Canada.15 Clinton
would increase accountability and cut red tape, so that taxpayers get more bang for their buck for
every dollar they invest in infrastructure. She would provide more funds through merit-based
competitive grants, streamline permitting, support “multi-modal” projects that extend beyond a
single type of transportation, build out the project pipeline, and encourage better design and
technology.16
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.17 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.18
Businesses all over the country depend on a network of highways, railways, and ports to deliver
14
Chantal C. Cantarelli et al., Cost Overruns in Large-Scale Transportation Infrastructure Projects:
Explanations and Their Theoretical Embeddedness, EUR. J. OF TRANSP. & INFRASTRUCTURE RES. (2013),
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1307.2176.pdf.
15
Philip K. Howard, Two Years Not Ten Years: Redesigning Infrastructure Approvals, COMMON GOOD (Sept.
2015), http://commongood.3cdn.net/c613b4cfda258a5fcb_e8m6b5t3x.pdf.
16
See ROSABETH MOSS KANTER, MOVE: PUTTING AMERICA'S INFRASTRUCTURE BACK IN THE LEAD (2015).
17
Timothy Geithner, Investing in Infrastructure to Build Up Middle-Class Jobs and Long-Term Growth, DEP’T OF
TREASURY: TREASURY NOTES BLOG (Feb. 9, 2011), https://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Investing-inInfrastructure-to-Build-Up-Middle-Class-Jobs-and-Long-Term-Growth.aspx; see also Conrad Wilson, Northwest
Legume Farmers Feel The Squeeze From Oregon's Port Feud, NPR: THE SALT (Sept 23. 2015),
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/18/440259459/northwest-legume-farmers-feel-the-squeeze-fromoregons-port-feud (“Farmers from North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington all depended on this
port—the most inland port on the West Coast—to get some of their crops to market. But this year, many are paying
a lot more to transport their lentils, chickpeas and beans to customers in Asia and South America.”).
18
Farm Futures, Midwestern Governors Make the Case for Better Mississippi River Navigation (Aug. 29, 2014),
http://farmfutures.com/story-midwestern-governors-make-case-better-mississippi-river-navigation-0-116996
(quoting Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad commenting that “[t]he Upper Mississippi River is a thoroughfare for trade
in this region”).
4
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.”19 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, combatting
climate change, and protecting our communities. Clinton will harness both public and private
capital to:
Ø 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,20 and nearly one in four bridges requires significant repair.21 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.22
Ø 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.23 But even as transit
ridership grows dramatically across the country in communities of all sizes, transit
investments have not kept pace with demand.24 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
19
Ronald Reagan, Remarks on Signing the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (Jan. 6, 1983),
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/10683a.htm.
20
Matthew E. Kahn and David M. Levinson, Fix It First, Expand It Second, Reward It Third: A New Strategy for
America’s Highways 11, THE HAMILTON PROJECT (Feb. 2011),
http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2011/02/highway-infrastructure-kahn-levinson.
21
Key Facts About America’s Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding, THE ROAD INFORMATION
PROGRAM (Apr. 2015), http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Fact_Sheet_National.pdf, at 2.
22
See Kahn & Levinson, supra note 20.
23
Public Transportation Reduces Greenhouse Gases and Conserves Energy, AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
ASSOC., http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/greenhouse_brochure.pdf.
24
According to the American Public Transit Association, last year Americans took 10.8 billion trips, the highest
transit ridership in the U.S. in 58 years. Press Release, American Public Transport Association, Record 10.8 Billion
Trips Taken On U.S. Public Transportation In 2014 (Mar. 3, 2015),
http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2015/Pages/150309_Ridership.aspx.
5
build better lives.25 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.
Ø 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.26 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.27 Cargo trains can reach Chicago from
Los Angeles in 48 hours, only to spend 30 hours crawling across Chicago itself.28 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.29 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 twenty-five most costly freight
bottlenecks by the end of her first term.
Ø Accelerate next generation aviation technology and invest in creating world-class
American airports—saving travelers time, cutting down on delays, and reducing carbon
25
In fact, research suggests that for low-income Americans, having affordable transit access to a large number of
employment opportunities is as powerful a factor in social mobility as elementary-school test scores or family
structure. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren, Harvard University, The Impacts of Neighborhoods on
Intergenerational Mobility (Apr. 2015), http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/images/nbhds_exec_summary.pdf;
see also Mikayla Bouchard, Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty, N.Y. TIMES (May 7, 2015),
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/upshot/transportation-emerges-as-crucial-to-escaping-poverty.html;
POLICYLINK, ALL ABOARD! MAKING EQUITY AND INCLUSION CENTRAL TO FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY
(2009) http://equitycaucus.org/sites/default/files/AllAboard_final_web.pdf.
26
DEP’T OF TRANSPORTATION, GROW AMERICA ACT: INVESTING IN OUR FREIGHT SYSTEM TO GROW THE AMERICAN
ECONOMY,
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Investing_in_our_Freight_System_to_Grow_the_American_
Econ.pdf.
27
NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL & COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISORS, AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT (Jul. 2014),
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/economic_analysis_of_transportation_investments.pdf.
28
CREATE Program Benefits Fact Sheets, Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program,
http://www.createprogram.org/about.htm.
29
Supersizing our strategic seaports is particularly important in light of expansions to the Panama Canal. See
Jonathan Cowan et al., Ready for the New Economy, THIRD WAY (Oct. 28, 2015),
http://www.thirdway.org/report/ready-for-the-new-economy. Clinton will also focus on making our ports cleaner
and more sustainable—because, while ports are vital to our economy, they can also place disproportionate pollution
burdens on surrounding communities. For example, she will pursue initiatives like electrifying port vehicles and
requiring ships to use on-dock power sources rather than running dirty diesel engines while in port.
6
emissions. The American aviation system is the busiest and safest in the world.30 But much
of it still runs on antiquated technology—including radar-based air traffic control systems
from the World War II era.31 The Federal Aviation Administration is currently pursuing a
“NextGen” upgrade program that would move our national airspace system from groundbased radar to satellite-based navigation, improve digital communications, and enhance
information management.32 But these efforts have fallen chronically behind schedule and
well short of expectations.33 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.34
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.35 The newest major airport in America is now 20 years old,36 and, according to
one global survey, America’s top airport is ranked 30th in the world.37 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.
Ø Connect all Americans 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
30
DEP’T OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CIVIL AVIATION
ON THE U.S. ECONOMY (Jan. 2015), https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/2015-economic-impact-
report.pdf, at 1.
FAA Reauthorization: Air Traffic Control Modernization and Reform: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on
Commerce, 114th Cong. (2015) (statement of Jeffery A. Smiskey, President and CEO of United Airlines),
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2a3e7196-39a7-4ae2-b4539ce791dd7eea/B959AEFDBE9DDBEFCEA39D228524E9AE.mr.-smisek-testimony.pdf.
32
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, FACT SHEET – NEXTGEN (Aug. 2015),
http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=19375.
33
Ashley Halsey III, Progress on NextGen Aviation System Is Said to Be “Stalled,” WASH. POST (Nov. 18, 2014),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/progress-on-nextgen-aviation-system-is-said-to-bestalled/2014/11/18/fd77f58c-6f49-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html.
34
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, NEXTGEN: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION AIR
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (2014), https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/media/BusinessCaseForNextGen-2014.pdf.
35
Addressing Future Capacity Needs in the U.S. Aviation System, ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION (Nov. 2013),
https://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/page/2013/08/USTravel_Eno.pdf.
36
Marisa Garcia & Jason Clampet, What Will It Take to Bring U.S. Airports Into the Future? Only $4, SKIFT (Jul.
29, 2015), http://skift.com/2015/07/29/what-will-it-take-to-bring-u-s-airports-into-the-future-only-4/.
37
The World’s Top 100 Airports – 2015, WORLD AIRPORT AWARDS,
http://www.worldairportawards.com/awards/world_airport_rating.html.
31
7
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.
Ø 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.38
Ø 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.39 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.
Ø 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.40 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
38
See, e.g., Stephen J. Ezell & Robert D. Atkinson, From Concrete to Chips: Bringing the Surface Transportation
Reauthorization Act Into the Digital Age, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION FOUNDATION (May 2015),
http://www2.itif.org/2015-concrete-to-chips.pdf.
39
Understanding Amtrak and the Importance of Passenger Rail in the United States, CENTER FOR AMERICAN
PROGRESS (2015), https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2015/06/04/114298/understandingamtrak-and-the-importance-of-passenger-rail-in-the-united-states/; see also KANTER, supra note 16, at 27-72.
40
Hillary Clinton’s Vision for Modernizing North American Energy Infrastructure, THE BRIEFING (Sept. 23, 2015),
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/p/briefing/factsheets/2015/09/23/hillary-clinton-vision-for-modernizing-energyinfrastructure/.
8
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.
Ø 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 old41—leak nearly 6 billion gallons every day, or roughly one-sixth of
our daily water use.42 California’s cities alone leak 283 billion gallons per year—enough to
meet the needs of the entire city of Los Angeles.43 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.44 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.45 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.46 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.
Ø 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
41
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: WATER INFRASTRUCTURE &
SUSTAINABILITY (Sept. 14, 2012), http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/si_faqs.cfm.
42
The Case for Fixing the Leaks, CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD TECHNOLOGY (Nov. 18, 2013),
http://www.cnt.org/sites/default/files/publications/CNT_CaseforFixingtheLeaks.pdf.
43
Press Release, California Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces $183 Million to Improve Water
Quality, Infrastructure in California (Oct. 2. 2014),
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2014/pr100214_srf_us_epa_waterboards_final.pdf (noting that
California’s urban water systems leak 283 billion gallons per year); LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER POWER,
FACTS AND FIGURES, https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-water/a-w-factandfigures?_adf.ctrlstate=rwqwsnoz8_4&_afrLoop=526840588891141 (noting that the city of Los Angeles consumed 177 billion
gallons of water last year).
44
Ben Bovarnick et al., Rising Waters, Rising Threat, How Climate Change Endangers America’s Neglected
Wastewater Infrastructure, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS (Oct. 2014), https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/10/wastewater-report.pdf; JULIET CHRISTIAN-SMITH ET AL., A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY U.S.
WATER POLICY 52-89 (2012), http://pacinst.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/water_and_environmental_justice_ch3.pdf.
45
Types of Drought Impacts, NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER,
http://drought.unl.edu/DroughtforKids/HowDoesDroughtAffectOurLives/TypesofDroughtImpacts.aspx.
46
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, MAKE THE DROPS-TO-WATTS CONNECTION, (Sept. 14, 2012),
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/waterefficiency.cfm.
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the movement of goods, generate electricity, and more.47 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.48 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
Ø 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.
Ø 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.49
47
Keith Miller et al., Ensuring Public Safety by Investing in Our Nation’s Critical Dams and Levees, CENTER FOR
AMERICAN PROGRESS (Sept. 20, 2012),
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2012/09/20/38299/ensuring-public-safety-by-investing-inour-nations-critical-dams-and-levees/.
48
Id.
49
See What it Means for State and Local Tax and Fiscal Policy: Hearing Before the S. Comm on Finance,
112th Cong. (2012) (statement of Frank Sammartino, Assistant Director for Tax Analysis of the Congressional
Budget Office), https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/112th-congress-2011-2012/reports/04-25TaxCodeTestimony.pdf (“Although a large majority of tax-preferred bonds are traditional tax-exempt bonds, such
bonds are a relatively inefficient mechanism for the federal government to transfer funds to state and local
governments.”). At a 28 percent subsidy rate, a renewed BABs program would be revenue-neutral. DEP’T OF
TREASURY, TREASURY ANALYSIS OF BUILD AMERICA BONDS AND ISSUER NET BORROWING COSTS (Apr. 2010),
https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Documents/BABs-Report-4-2-2010-FINAL.pdf; see also Roger C.
Altman, Aaron Klein & Alan B. Krueger, Financing U.S. Transportation Infrastructure in the 21st Century, THE
HAMILTON PROJECT (May 2015), at 13,
http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/altman_financing_transportation_infrastructure_21st_century.pdf.
10
Ø 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:
ü 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.
ü 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.
ü 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.
ü Provide a center of excellence. Building on the work of President Obama’s Build
America Transportation Investment Center, the bank will offer a one-stop-shop to states,
municipalities, and project sponsors seeking to utilize federal resources and expertise in
developing infrastructure projects that will benefit the American public.50
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.51
Ø 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
50
U.S. Dep’t of Transportation, Build America Transportation Investment Center (last visited Nov. 27, 2015),
https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica.
51
See Altman, Klein & Krueger, supra note 49, at 12-14.
11
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.
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