Mica Says Infrastructure Bank "Dead on Arrival"

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica said “a national infrastructure bank is dead on arrival in the House,” after some senators proposed pairing the bank portion of Obama’s failed jobs plan with tax breaks for corporations.

“This is about getting people to work immediately,” Mica, R-Fla., said during a Wednesday hearing on the bank. “It will take a year to set up the infrastructure bank.”

The creation of an infrastructure bank would add to the federal bureaucracy and hold back funding that would translate into jobs, Mica said. Obama’s job plan, which includes spending $10 billion to create the bank, fell short of the 60 votes it needed for Senate passage on Tuesday.

“We already have an infrastructure bank, and it’s called [Transportation Infrastructure and Financing Innovation Act program],” said transportation attorney Geoffrey Yerema. He said instead of creating an infrastructure bank, money would be better spent funding TIFIA’s $30 billion worth of unfunded projects.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobinWash.