The proposed American Jobs Act (AJA) contains provisions for increasing investment in infrastructure, estimated at about $100 billion, including immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank, for modernizing roads, rail, airports and waterways

Immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation

$50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation, helping to modernize an infrastructure that now receives a grade of “D” from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The President’s plan includes investments to improve our airports, support NextGen Air Traffic Modernization efforts, and resources for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery [TIGER] and Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act [TIFIA] programs, which target competitive dollars to innovative multi-modal infrastructure programs.

Establishing a National Infrastructure Bank

National Infrastructure Bank would be capitalized with $10 billion, in order to leverage private and public capital and to invest in a broad range of infrastructure projects of nationaland regional significance, without earmarks or traditional political influence. The Bank would be based on the model Senators Kerry (D-Mass) and Hutchison (R-Texas) have proposed.

Project Rebuild

In addition $15 billion for rehabilitating and refurbishing hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses. Building on proven approaches to stabilizing neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreclosures, Project Rebuild will bring in expertise and capital from the private sector, focus on commercial and residential property improvements, and expand innovative property solutions like land banks.

Expanding Access to High-Speed Wireless

Deploy high-speed wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans, including those in more remote rural communities, while freeing up spectrum through incentive auctions, spurring innovation, and creating a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety.

Modernizing Schools and Community Colleges

$25 billion investment in school infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools. Funds could be used for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs and to upgrade technology in our schools. Also $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges.

Supported by US Conference of Mayors

The $447 billion AJA is supported by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National League of Cities (NLC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Smart Growth America (SGA), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and by the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and Building America’s Future.

Building America’s Future recently released a report “Falling Apart and Falling Behind” pointing out that US infrastructure has fallen behind,

• U.S. infrastructure has fallen from first place in the World Economic Forum’s 2005 economic competitiveness ranking to number 15 today.
• China now boasts six of the world’s top ten ports – and none of the top ten are located in the U.S.
• The Shanghai port now moves more container traffic a year than the top seven U.S. ports combined.
• The U.S. is one of the only leading nations without a national plan for public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects or a National Infrastructure Bank to finance large-scale projects and leverage private capital.