(Washington, DC)  --  U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) have introduced bipartisan legislation to improve critical infrastructure in Ohio and nationwide. The Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure Act of 2007 will create a low-cost federal financing mechanism to administer zero-interest loans to localities. States choose which projects to fund with the loans according to their specific needs. Kucinich and LaTourette have introduced versions of this bill in each of the past three Congresses.

This bill comes at a pertinent time, in the wake of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse last week in Minneapolis.  At least five people were killed and about 100 injured when the bridge plummeted more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River. Also, last week in Oroville, California, steel supports for a new overpass collapsed, injuring two people.

Kucinich also announced he would hold a hearing to examine the options for a large expansion of federal financing of infrastructure repair.  Kucinich is the Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has oversight jurisdiction over the Department of Transportation.

The Kucinich-LaTourette bill would create the Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization (FBIM). The bank, as an extension of the Federal Financing bank under the Treasury Department, would establish zero-interest mortgage loans for states and local governments to use to fund specific projects.  The loans would bear a small fee of one-quarter of one percent of the loan principle to cover the administrative costs of the FBIM. The bill would not require Congress to appropriate any funds and would effectively double the amount of financing that is available to states and localities for infrastructure investment.

“This bill is not just an infrastructure improvements bill, but a jobs bill as well,” stated Kucinich. “The Cleveland-area, and big and small cities across the country, would benefit greatly from this large federal investment.”

“Our infrastructure needs are many and dollars are scarce,” said LaTourette, a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “This bill will help communities do big-ticket projects for wastewater and water plants, roads and bridges.”