{"id":31410,"date":"2015-12-01T14:51:32","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T13:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/?p=31410"},"modified":"2015-12-02T15:05:32","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T14:05:32","slug":"innovative-highway-bill-passes-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/innovative-highway-bill-passes-in-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovative Highway Bill Passes in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

US moves to address infrastructure building and repairs with innovative, one-off financing from the US Fed. \u00a0Important progress in infrastructure building and job\u00a0creation.<\/p>\n

The US \u00a0House of Representatives has passed a long-term U.S. highway funding plan, paving the way for the first multi-year transportation law since 2012.<\/p>\n

Bankers also won a last-minute change that will\u00a0use Federal Reserve surplus funds to pay for highway improvements, instead of reducing a payout they receive from the central bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cuts waste, it prioritizes good infrastructure, it will help create good-paying jobs. And it is the result of a more open process,\u201d House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said at a news conference after the vote. “It\u2019s a good start. It\u2019s a glimpse of how we should be doing the people\u2019s business.”<\/p>\n

The Senate has passed its own version of the legislation, and a conference committee will try to resolve the differences before current highway funding ends Nov. 20.<\/div>\n

The House measure would provide\u00a0a six-year blueprint for spending on roads, bridges and mass transit projects and provide funding for three of those years. Companies that may get a boost include Caterpillar Inc., one of the top Ex-Im beneficiaries and the world\u2019s biggest maker of mining and construction equipment. Contractors may feel secure enough to purchase new equipment after renting in recent years.<\/p>\n

The $339 billion House highway plan, H.R. 22, would be financed in part by surplus capital from the Fed. That mechanism —\u00a0sponsored by Representative Randy Neugebauer, a Texas Republican — was adopted just minutes before final passage of the highway measure. The Fed\u2019s surplus capital comes from the nation\u2019s 12 reserve banks, and totaled $29.3 billion as of Oct. 29.<\/p>\n

House members agreed to abandon the Senate\u2019s funding mechanism, which would reduce to 1.5 percent the annual 6 percent dividend national banks receive from the Fed. Banks vigorously fought that provision, and a group comprised of 27 banking organizations sent House leadership a letter Wednesday endorsing Neugebauer\u2019s amendment.<\/p>\n

\"Infrastructure\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US moves to address infrastructure building and repairs with innovative, one-off financing from the US Fed. \u00a0Important progress in infrastructure building and job\u00a0creation. The US \u00a0House of Representatives has passed a long-term U.S. highway funding plan, paving the way for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finance","category-infrastructure"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t