SJR 14: Urging the United States Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation to establish a national infrastructure bank as was provided by H.R. 6422 from the 116th United States Congress to help finance urgently needed infrastructure projects across the nation.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14 01 Urging the United States Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation to establish a 02 national infrastructure bank as was provided by H.R. 6422 from the 116th United States 03 Congress to help finance urgently needed infrastructure projects across the nation. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS the American Society of Civil Engineers, in its 2021 Report Card for 06 America's Infrastructure, gave the United States a grade of C- for the current state of the 07 nation's infrastructure; and 08 WHEREAS the 2021 Report Card estimates the cumulative total cost of restoring the 09 nation's infrastructure to a state of good repair between 2020 and 2029 to be 10 $5,937,000,000,000; and 11 WHEREAS only $3,350,000,000,000 of that total cost is funded, and the total 12 investment gap has risen to $2,590,000,000,000 over 10 years from 2020 to 2029; and 13 WHEREAS, if the United States continues to fund infrastructure projects at its current 14 rate of underinvestment, over the next 20 years, the nation stands to lose $10,000,000,000,000 15 in gross domestic product, over 3,000,000 jobs, and $2,400,000,000,000 in exports; and
01 WHEREAS, by 2039, the overdue infrastructure bill of the United States will cost the 02 average household in the United States $3,300 a year, or $63 a week; and 03 WHEREAS, in addition to the funding needed to restore the nation's existing 04 infrastructure to a state of good repair, investment is needed to meet the infrastructure 05 demands of the 21st century; and 06 WHEREAS, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2021 Report 07 Card, the state received a grade of C- when last reviewed by ASCE in 2017; and 08 WHEREAS 31 of over 280 rural communities in the state do not have centralized 09 water or wastewater systems, requiring residents to haul water and ice from rivers and lakes 10 and use outhouses, "honey buckets," and sewage lagoons for disposal of solid waste; and 11 WHEREAS the cost of installing and repairing water and wastewater systems in the 12 state is estimated to be $1,500,000,000; and 13 WHEREAS the Port of Anchorage, which receives 85 percent of all consumer goods 14 entering the state, lacks funding needed for an essential modernization project; and 15 WHEREAS the inability of the state to finance a deep water port in the Arctic will 16 deprive the state's economy of the coming benefits of expanded northern trade routes and 17 development in the region; and 18 WHEREAS the state lacks sufficient infrastructure to house its residents, with the 19 official estimate by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development of 20 persons experiencing housing insecurity in the state reaching 1,949 in 2020, including 1,725 21 persons living in shelters and 224 living outdoors at that time; and 22 WHEREAS, according to the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, in 23 January 2020, the official number of persons experiencing homelessness in Anchorage was 24 1,058, including 1,003 persons living in shelters and 55 living outdoors at that time; and 25 WHEREAS Anchorage is currently in need of 1,695 more housing units for rapid 26 rehousing and 700 housing units for permanent supportive housing; and 27 WHEREAS, in 2019, approximately 7,900 people in Anchorage sought some form of 28 assistance because of homelessness, up from 7,763 in the previous year; and 29 WHEREAS a new national infrastructure bank, working in partnership with state and 30 local governments, could finance many of the projects needed in the state, including 31 infrastructure for broadband transmission, affordable housing units, railroad facilities, and
01 other construction and road repairs; and 02 WHEREAS new infrastructure projects would employ many Alaskans who have lost 03 jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and 04 WHEREAS H.R. 6422, the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2020, was introduced 05 in the 116th United States Congress to create a new national infrastructure bank; and 06 WHEREAS H.R. 6422 would have created a $4,000,000,000,000 bank dedicated to 07 investments in infrastructure projects; and 08 WHEREAS the new national infrastructure bank in H.R. 6422 was modeled on 09 previous banks that helped build much of the nation's infrastructure under President George 10 Washington, President James Madison, President Abraham Lincoln, and President Franklin 11 D. Roosevelt; and 12 WHEREAS the last national infrastructure bank helped bring the nation out of the 13 Great Depression and win World War II; and 14 WHEREAS, by repurposing existing debt of the United States Department of the 15 Treasury, as has been done previously in United States history, the new national infrastructure 16 bank would be capitalized without new federal spending; and 17 WHEREAS the new national infrastructure bank would create 25,000,000 new jobs, 18 pay wages under 40 U.S.C. 3141 - 3144, 3146, and 3147 (Davis-Bacon Act, as amended), and 19 require compliance with project labor agreements; and 20 WHEREAS H.R. 6422 required iron, steel, cement, and manufactured products used 21 in projects funded by the new national infrastructure bank to be produced in the United States; 22 and 23 WHEREAS H.R. 6422 authorized subsidy programs for infrastructure projects for 24 underrepresented communities, which would increase employment in those communities, and 25 authorized project targeting for economically disadvantaged business enterprises; and 26 WHEREAS, like its predecessor national infrastructure banks, a new national 27 infrastructure bank is predicted to grow the nation's economy by four to five percent each 28 year; and 29 WHEREAS the cost of addressing the nation's infrastructure needs increases every 30 day Congress fails to act; and 31 WHEREAS legislation in support of H.R. 6422 was introduced in 17 states, including
01 Alabama, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, and South Carolina; and 02 WHEREAS H.R. 6422 was supported by many organizations, including the National 03 Congress of Black Women, Inc., the National Association of Counties, the United States High 04 Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, the 05 American Sustainable Business Council, the National Association of Minority Contractors, 06 the National Federation of Federal Employees, the American Federation of Labor and 07 Industrial Organizations of the State of Virginia, and the Georgia State Council of Machinists; 08 and 09 WHEREAS the Biden Administration has recently introduced a plan to fund up to 10 $4,000,000,000,000 of infrastructure projects nationwide; 11 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature hereby urges the 117th United 12 States Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation to establish a national infrastructure bank 13 as provided by H.R. 6422 in the 116th United States Congress to help finance urgently needed 14 infrastructure projects across the nation. 15 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President 16 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States and 17 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of 18 Representatives; the Honorable Patrick Leahy, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the 19 Honorable Pete Buttigieg, United States Secretary of Transportation; and the Honorable Lisa 20 Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 21 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.