Committee hears resolution urging Congress to create $5 trillion National Infrastructure Bank; assigns measure to subcommittee

Representative Whit Park presented House Resolution 131 to the House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee, urging support for a proposal that would ask Congress to establish a $5 trillion National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to finance major infrastructure projects.

"HR 131 urges Congress to establish a $5,000,000,000,000 national infrastructure bank," the sponsor said. The presentation emphasized gaps in water, stormwater, and other infrastructure noted by the American Society of Civil Engineers and argued the bank would complement existing federal programs.

Alfeka Muhtardi, lead economist on the proposal and identified as a former International Monetary Fund economist, told the committee the NIB would be capitalized by private holders of U.S. Treasury debt, who would swap a portion of holdings for preferred stock in the bank. "The bill that we had in Congress, HR 4,052 ... would develop a $5,000,000,000,000 public bank to finance infrastructure projects that budgets have not been able to finance," Muhtardi said. She said the proposal would offer long-term loans to public entities for projects including roads, drinking-water systems, electric-grid upgrades, high-speed rail, broadband and affordable housing.

Muhtardi and the resolution text included several estimates: nationwide capitalization of $5 trillion; a projected $158 billion potentially available to Georgia over a decade; and an estimated 788,000 high-wage jobs statewide. Muhtardi said historical precedents such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Tennessee Valley Authority showed similar institutions can boost economic growth and repay loans.

Committee members asked questions about debt levels, who would buy the bonds and whether private commercial banks would perform the same function. Muhtardi said capital would come from private holders of treasuries and argued economic modeling predicts each bank dollar borrowed could generate three dollars in GDP, creating tax receipts to service loans. A committee member noted this would be "a tremendous amount of debt" and raised questions about risk and investor appetite.

A licensed civil engineer who identified themselves as such urged the committee to explore the idea further, saying such a vehicle could help improve infrastructure and provide work to local firms. The committee chair called the resolution an "urging" measure and assigned HR 131 to the energy subcommittee, chaired by Representative Martin, for further hearings and possible additional presentations from proponents and analysts.

Muhtardi confirmed organizers intend to reintroduce a congressional bill (previously cited as HR 4052/4,052) and to seek bipartisan sponsors. Committee members requested more detailed briefings on capitalization mechanics, risk modeling and specific project pipelines before advancing any state-level endorsement.