Dear Representative,
We are writing to urge you to support Congressman Zeldin’s bill which would unlock the doors to
private investment in our nation’s public building infrastructure. Current provisions in the US tax
code keep such investment on the sidelines.
The utilization of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for U.S. public buildings has been limited
because unlike the transportation sector, public buildings are not eligible for tax-exempt facility
bonds or TIFIA like financing. Since 2008, Exempt Facility bonds have facilitated $16 billion in U.S.
transportation PPP projects, while saving states nearly $5 billion. And, every U.S. PPP
transportation project that has been undertaken has utilized either TIFIA or Exempt Facility
Bonds, or a combination of both.
In order to advance public building PPPs for our states and cities, Congress must do for public
buildings what it has done for transportation – level the investment landscape btw low-cost taxexempt financing and higher-cost taxable financing to promote private investment in public
infrastructure.
For the federal government, Exempt Facility Bonds for PPP infrastructure projects are appealing
because these projects are financed with at least 10-40% of private financing (reducing the total
amount of tax exempt financing issued) and new revenue is generated from PPP projects from
taxes paid by the private sector participants.
The need for these Exempt Facility Bonds is two-fold:
1. Public buildings – which include schools, public hospitals, justice facilities,
universities, police and fire stations – are in a historic state of disrepair.

More than 14 million children attend deteriorating public schools that are in
need of maintenance and repair projects worth $270 - $500 billion. Since the
start of the recession, 67 percent of hospitals have put on hold desperately
needed capital projects. 42 states have significant shortfalls in infrastructure
funding for courthouses, which have resulted in facilities that often do not
comply with current codes, disability requirements, and often have
inadequate security.
2. PPP Projects are routinely getting cancelled due to this cost of finance issue.
Projects such as the Indianapolis Justice Complex, Yonkers School Program, New York
State Department of Health Laboratory, Travis County Courthouse Project (TX), and
the Cook County Hospital Project (IL) are just a few examples.
Public owners considering a PPP resist undertaking this new approach because the
financing would be 100% private, whereas a traditional method of delivery could
utilize 100% tax-exempt financing, which provides a lower cost of money. Despite the
value for money advantages of a PPP (cost and schedule certainty, along with longterm risk transfer and life cycle cost benefits), most public officials chose a traditionally
tax-exempt financed approach for fear of press backlash due to lack of understanding
that a project can have higher financing costs while still deliver much greater value and
savings over the long-term.
Please support Congressman Zeldin in his push to correct the tax code and enable the use of
Exempt Facility Bonds for government-owned public buildings.
Sincerely,
The Advantages of PPP Project Delivery vs Traditional Methods
Project
Denver FasTracks
EAGLE, Colorado
I-595, Florida
Port of Miami
Tunnel, Florida
Accelerated
Delivery
Cost Savings
Job Creation/Economic Impact
Expected completion
date 11 months
earlier than under
traditional
procurement
methods.
$300 million
(14% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
More than 1,000 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs
created during construction, more than 300
permanent jobs, and 2,573 yearly O&M jobs.
Provided capacity
improvements 15
years earlier than
traditional pay-as-yougo funding approach.
$500 million
(46% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
Undetermined – likely
would not have
moved forward
without a PPP
approach.
$750 million
(50% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
Project Status
Commercial & Financial close
reached August 2010;
scheduled to open in 2016.
More than $3 billion will be added into the
economy over the next decade.
Over 275 local companies employed on the project
and averaged over 2,000 employees per month
working directly on the project.
Averaged over $17 million in monthly construction
expenditures
968 direct employees have been hired since the
beginning of the tunnel project, 80% are MiamiDade County residents. 6,728 people have worked
on the tunnel project indirectly.
Commercial & Financial close
reached March 2009; opened
to traffic March 2014, and
accepted final acceptance by
summer 2014.
Commercial/Financial close
October 2009; expected final
acceptance by August 2014.
831 companies (subs, vendors, suppliers) have done
business with the tunnel, 442 companies are
Miami-Dade County businesses that have shared in
over $300 million in local contracts.
Ohio River
Bridges (East End
Crossing),
Indiana/
Kentucky
Expected completion
242 days earlier than
under traditional
procurement
methods.
Approximately
$228 million
(22.7% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
More than 15,000 jobs over a 30-year period.
Long Beach
Courthouse,
California
Completed 30 months
earlier than under
traditional
procurement
methods.
$52 million
(15% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
450 construction jobs and between 50 and 100
management positions created.
Expected completion
6 months earlier than
under traditional
procurement
$150 million
(10% below
Owner’s original
estimate)
More than 2,250 direct construction jobs ($224
million in wages).
Goethals Bridge,
New York
Economic impact of $87 billion.
Over 6.1 million construction man-hours employed.
$872 million in economic activity.
Commercial close reached
December 2012; substantial
completion expected by
October 2016.
Commercial & Financial close
reached December 2010;
occupancy readiness achieved
August 2013.
Financial close reached
November 2013; substantial
completion expected in 2018.
methods.