Obama's bridge, train and road fix
CNN Money
Sept. 8, 2010
"Obama offered little in the way of details on how the bank would be funded or structured. But Emil Frankel, a former transportation expert in the administration of George W. Bush and now director of transportation policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said it could be started with an initial investment of maybe $2 to $4 billion.
"That money would be used to guarantee loans for private capital on projects the private sector is interested in funding. That would include any infrastructure with a revenue stream like toll bridges and highways, Internet cables, or high speed rail.
"Frankel said loan guarantees allow private firms to access capital at low interest rates. They generally result in garnering about 10 times the investment for each dollar of government money - so $4 billion in guarantees would generate $40 billion in spending.
"The money is certainly needed."
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