Lincoln Chafee: “today I am introducing the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1997,--or, TIFIA. The purpose of…”

“today I am introducing the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1997,--or, TIFIA. The purpose of the bill is to bridge the gap between the Nation's substantial infrastructure needs and limited Federal funds. I am pleased to report that Senators Graham of Florida, Boxer, Hatch, Bennett, and Moynihan have joined me in cosponsoring this important measure. I think we can all agree that there is a clear shortfall of public funding to meet the Nation's transportation needs. Our effort to balance the Federal budget only makes the challenge of meeting these critical needs all the more difficult. The goals of our bill are to offer the sponsors of major transportation projects a new tool to make the most of limited Federal resources, stimulate additional investment in our Nation's infrastructure, and encourage greater private sector participation in meeting our transportation needs. TIFIA establishes a new Federal credit program for surface transportation. It will provide $800 million in credit assistance over six years to public and private entities, with the purpose of leveraging as much as $16 billion in Federal funds for major transportation projects. In turn, this Federal investment could help leverage total investment in infrastructure from other public and private entities of $40 to $50 billion.”