BAF leadership calls on Congress to establish infrastructure-focused federal capital budget

At a time when the outlook for infrastructure funding in the next COVID-19 stimulus package looks like wishful thinking, that has not stopped Washington, D.C.-based infrastructure concern Building America’s Future (BAF) from calling on Congress for it.

Specifically, BAF recently penned a letter to bipartisan Congressional leadership to establish a federal capital budget to fund infrastructure investments in what would be the fifth COVID-19 stimulus package.  

BAF said that critical to jump-starting the economy is infrastructure investment, which, it said, will create thousands of much-needed jobs across the country.  And it added that as concerns are being raised that the trillions of dollars currently being spent related to the crisis are adding to the national debt, the creation of a federal capital budget would help to minimize additional impact.   

The BAF letter to Congressional leaders—including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—was written by its co-chairs Ed Rendell, former governor of Pennsylvania, and Ray LaHood, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, two names that are well-known for their years of service and long commitments centered around the need for continued transportation infrastructure developments and efforts.

LaHood and Rendell made it clear that while the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that has demanded responses at all levels of government, it also serves as an opportunity to make needed changes to the status quo.

And the duo did not hesitate to make a pointed case for the need of a capital budget to help make the case for infrastructure in the next round of COVID-19 stimulus.

“Trillions of dollars are rightly being spent to provide critical lifelines to small businesses, hospitals, health care facilities, transit operators and airlines to stay afloat—and it’s clear that more assistance will be needed,” they wrote. “As concerns are being raised that this spending is adding to the national debt, there is a way that infrastructure investment can minimize this spending and that is by creating a federal capital budget.  Adopting a capital budget with borrowing spreads the cost of projects over 20 to 30 years instead of counting the costs up front. It also would provide a large upfront sum of money that could be spent in the next couple of years that would create an enormous boost to our economy.  For example, a trillion dollar capital budget passed this year would get to work immediately and have a far greater impact than $100 billion of spending each year for the next ten.” 

While making their case for an infrastructure-focused capital budget, Rendell and LaHood acknowledged it is clear that long-term infrastructure spending, which brings myriad long-term benefits, “cannot compete in an operating budget that includes other vital needs such as health care, food programs, and defense.” They also observed that, by contrast, operating budget spending is geared towards projects and programs set to be completed in that budgetary year and lack long-term value, whereas infrastructure spending has the ability to create long-term assets that will have a lasting and long-term benefit over years and decades.

And they also pointed out that they are not alone in throwing their support behind the concept of a federal capital budget, with bipartisan support for it coming from the Problem Solvers Caucus, with the group calling for it as part of its Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure policy proposal. This proposal, the letter said, would not be subject to PAYGO initiatives as well.

Rendell and LaHood concluded the letter by saying:  “As America’s economy regains its footing, it is essential that the nation’s infrastructure networks are optimized to ensure the efficient and safe movement of people and goods; that drinking water systems continue to provide clean water; and that broadband be widely available to all communities.  Smart and targeted infrastructure investments will ensure that the nation has a long-term strategy to rebuild and will have the added benefit of creating thousands of good-paying jobs.  A capital budget will ensure that these priorities will be met in the most fiscally prudent way.”   

This idea makes sense on a whole host of levels, but based on the usual (high) level of political dysfunction in Washington, D.C., it stands to reason there is a ways to go before this plan would actually come to fruition. Hopefully, over time, we will see some real momentum for a new long-term federal surface transportation infrastructure authorization. President Trump touted it as a calling card upon entering office, but we are not really close to that yet.