United States of America - National Infrastructure Bank

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2
C8, I1 6lr1408
(PRE–FILED)
By: Delegates Wu, Foley, Ivey, S. Johnson, Lehman, Lopez, Palakovich Carr, and
Wims
Requested: October 28, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Rules and Executive Nominations

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

A House Joint Resolution concerning 1

United States of America – National Infrastructure Bank 2

FOR the purpose of urging the U.S. Congress to pass federal legislation to establish a 3
national infrastructure bank; and generally relating to a national infrastructure 4
bank. 5

WHEREAS, The United States of America lacks critical investment in infrastructure 6
projects; and 7

WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its 202 5 report card, 8
assigned the United States a grade of C regarding the then–current state of infrastructure, 9
and estimated that more than $ 9 trillion would be needed to restore the nation’s 10
infrastructure to a state of good repair, of which nearly $4 trillion was then unfunded and 11
the remainder was inadequately funded, with new 21st –century projects also unfunded; 12
and 13

WHEREAS, Maryland is in dire need of substantial infrastructure investment and 14
improvement to protect the State’s economy and improve its quality of life; and 15

WHEREAS, According to the American Road and Transportation Builders 16
Association, Maryland has 1,5 63 bridges in need of repairs and, following the collapse of 17
the Francis Scott Key Bridge, there are now 240 “structurally deficient” bridges standing 18
in Maryland; and 19

WHEREAS, Maryland’s drinking water infrastructure is aging, with Baltimore City 20
recently averaging 1,000 water breaks per year, with high costs for stormwater repair and 21
replacement and the replacement of lead water service lines projected to cost more than 22
$75 million; and 23

2 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2

WHEREAS, Maryland needs roughly 100,000 new units of affordable housing to 1
address the needs of its most housing–insecure residents; and 2

WHEREAS, Traffic congestion in the Baltimore metropolitan area costs each driver 3
$1,371 per year in lost time and wasted fuel, and the average driver in the Washington , 4
D.C., suburban area loses 100 hours per year due to traffic, with a cost of $2,465 per driver 5
per year, and statewide, drivers lose $5.8 billion each year in lost time and fuel due to 6
congestion; and 7

WHEREAS, Congress has introduced H.R. 5356, the “National Infrastructure Bank 8
Act,” whic h would create a $5 trillion bank to finance all infrastructure requirements, 9
including bringing the nation’s infrastructure to a state of good repair and building new 10
projects; and 11

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank is modeled on previous banks t hat 12
helped build much of the nation’s infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, 13
John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the last such bank 14
played a key role in lifting the nation out of the Great Depression and supportin g efforts 15
during World War II; and 16

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank is projected to create 25 million new 17
jobs, pay Davis –Bacon wages, enforce Buy America provisions, ensure significant 18
disbursements to disadvantaged business enterprises, and ma ndate large–scale minority 19
hiring, all without requiring new federal spending or taxes and , according to experts, is 20
expected to grow the economy by 5% per year, as previous infrastructure banks did; and 21

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank will collaborate with states to finance 22
the total buildout of broadband, repair all roads and bridges, expand the power grid, fix all 23
drinking water and wastewater systems, invest in affordable housing, replace all lead 24
water service lines, expand mass transit, finance the capital needs of the Washington Metro 25
system, fund high–speed rail in the Northeast Corridor, and more; and 26

WHEREAS, The National Infrastructure Bank is overwhelmingly supported, with 27
30 state legislatures that have introduced or passed resolut ions of support, as well as 28
county and city councils, and national organizations such as the National Black Caucus of 29
State Legislators, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, the National 30
Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators, th e Council of State 31
Governments East, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of 32
Development Organizations, the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, the National 33
Association of Minority Contractors, the National Jobs for All Network, the Federation for 34
a Manufacturing Renaissance, and others; now, therefore, be it 35

RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the members 36
of the U.S. Congress are urged to pass H.R. 5356 to establish the National Infrastructure 37
Bank to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects; and be it further 38

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2 3

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded by the Department of 1
Legislative Services to the President of the United States of America; the Maryland 2
Congressional Delegation; the Governor of Maryland; the President of the Senate of 3
Maryland; and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. 4