WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issued a score of C- for the current status of infrastructure in the United States in its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, The ASCE reported in the 2021 “Failure to Act: Economic Impacts of Status Quo Investment Across Infrastructure Systems” that the total documented cumulative investment gap between projected needs and likely investment in critical major American infrastructure is more than $2,600,000,000,000 in 2029, and is projected to grow to more than $5,600,000,000,000 in 2039; and

WHEREAS, In the 2019 “Report Card for California’s Infrastructure,” the ASCE issued California infrastructure the following scores:

(1) For roads, a score of D;

(2) For bridges, a score of C-;

(3) For stormwater, a score of D+;

(4) For dams, a score of C-;

(5) For levees, a score of D; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that: (1) driving on deficient roads costs Californians $61,000,000,000 annually due to congestion, delays, traffic collisions, and increased vehicle operating costs caused by poor road conditions; (2) the condition of California’s roads is among the worst in the nation and is ranked 49th in the nation; (3) southern California and the San Francisco Bay area are the second and third most congested urban regions in the nation, respectively; (4) approximately 50 percent of bridges in California have exceeded their design life; (5) California has the second largest percentage of functionally obsolete bridges, which contribute to congestion choke points; (6) over 7 percent of California’s bridges are structurally deficient and some of the largest bridges along interstate corridors, such as Interstate Highway Route 5 in San Diego, Highway 101 in Los Angeles, and Interstate Highway Route 80 in Sacramento, need major repair and rehabilitation; (7) over the next 20 years, the cost of achieving water quality objectives will be approximately $20,000,000,000 in the County of Los Angeles, and $5,000,000,000 in the County of San Diego; (8) over half of California’s 1,476 federally, state-, and locally owned dams are considered high hazard dams; (9) 70 percent of dams in California are greater than 50 years old, which is the average estimated life span of a dam; (10) a capital investment of $45,000,000,000 is needed to rehabilitate and improve California’s levees; and (11) California needs long-term guaranteed financing to pay for the state’s high-speed rail system, which is estimated to require an excess of $75,000,000,000; and

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 H.R. 4052 — 118th Congress would establish a new National Infrastructure Bank authorized to invest $5,000,000,000,000 in infrastructure projects, would require no new federal spending or new tax, and would be capitalized by repurposing existing United States Treasury debt; and

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank is modeled on previous banks that helped build much of the nation’s infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt; and

WHEREAS, The last national infrastructure modeled-bank helped bring the United States out of the Great Depression and win World War II; and

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank would finance all the necessary infrastructure projects in California in partnership with state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, Infrastructure projects funded by the National Infrastructure Bank would create 25,000,000 new jobs, pay wages subject to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931(Public Law 71-798) as amended, and include Buy American provisions; and

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 would mandate large-scale minority hiring, and would prioritize the financing of infrastructure projects located in communities with long-term poverty, which would ensure that disadvantaged business enterprises would receive significant disbursements; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that infrastructure projects financed by the National Infrastructure Bank would grow the economy by 5 percent, annually; and

WHEREAS, Numerous state legislatures have either introduced or passed resolutions supporting the creation of the National Infrastructure Bank, including the Nevada State Legislature, the Maine State Legislature, the Rhode Island General Assembly, and the New Jersey State Legislature; and

WHEREAS, Many county governments and city councils, including the city councils of Philadelphia, Toledo, Providence (Rhode Island), Chicago, Cleveland, as well as national organizations, including the Public Banking Institute, the National Congress of Black Women, the National Association of Counties, the US High Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers, the American Sustainable Business Council, and the National Association of Minority Contractors have expressed support for the National Infrastructure Bank; now, therefore, be it