http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/12/07/rendell-national-infrastructure-bank-could-move-as-part-of-new-jobs-bill/

(EXCERPT) Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who is in Washington today continuing his push for a "front-loaded" federal transportation bill, told Streetsblog Capitol Hill that he sees momentum building for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to be created as part of the jobs bill now moving forward in Congress.

Rendell, who co-chairs the infrastructure advocacy group Building America's Future with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), has proposed seeding a new NIB using part of a short-term loan from the federal Treasury to the nation's highway trust fund -- the meat of the "front-loading" concept.

"The original stimulus bill had decent infrastructure spending," Rendell said in an interview. "It probably should have had more."

The Pennsylvanian, who is bidding for his state to become only the third in America to add tolls to an existing interstate highway, described a "front-loaded" transport spending bill as a means to create jobs quickly while giving Congress time to reach an agreement on long-term infrastructure reform after the 2010 midterms.

Approving a loan from the federal government's general fund to the highway trust fund would ensure that "the tough political decisions involved in" debating a new six-year transportation bill don't slow the pace of job creation, Rendell said. 

His pitch would involve postponing the "guts of reform" -- for example, progress on national performance targets for transport and more flexibility for states to spend highway money on transit -- for 12 months, at which point lawmakers would be called upon to resolve the nation's transportation funding gap in order to pass a new bill that repays the Treasury's loan.

The design of a new NIB, which the Obama administration strongly supports, is a key issue for Rendell. The bill introduced in June by House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) would make an NIB part of the U.S. DOT and set up an Office of Public Benefit within the Federal Highway Administration to monitor the terms of any public-private partnerships.

Rendell expressed concerns that such a setup would limit the NIB's independence and subject it to excessive political scrutiny. His preferred method would be setting up an independent board to manage the NIB, as envisioned in legislation offered by Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D).