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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the Congress of the United States to create a new National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) could directly aid in fostering an economic recovery and build fundamental infrastructure projects.
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Whereas there is a widely acknowledged shortfall in infrastructure spending in the nation; the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the country a D+ in its 2017 Report Card and estimates the nation must spend at least $4.6 trillion to bring current infrastructure to a state of good repair, and noted that at least $2.1 trillion is unfunded, with the remainder inadequately funded; and
Whereas. new projects, including broadband, water projects, rail and high-speed rail are unfunded; and,
Whereas the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on peoples’ lives and the economy has been devastating; at least 30 million people are unemployed and large numbers of businesses face bankruptcy or closing, and this ongoing catastrophe has thrown the economy into a deep recession; and,
Whereas, The ASCE grade for Pennsylvania in its 2018 Report Card was C+; Roads were graded D+, Drinking Water D (as over the next ten years the drinking water funding gap statewide will be at least $10 billion); Inland Waterways were graded D (with the Port of Pittsburgh lock and dam system needing much investment and the potential for major lock and dam failure and loss of navigation for extended time periods); Wastewater D- (with the average age of all sewer systems near seventy years old and many pipes over 100 years old); and
Whereas, construction of a dedicated high-speed rail system from Boston to Washington, DC and from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and west would provide much needed transportation in the congested northeast and central corridors and is unfunded; and,
Whereas a new National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) could directly aid in fostering an economic recovery and building necessary infrastructure projects we have neglected; and
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