Link – Mica Dislikes the Plan Mica dislikes the plan Clark et al, McClatchy Newspapers, 11 (Lesley Clark, David Lightman and William Douglas, The McClatchy Company is the third-largest newspaper company in the United States, "Obama rallies crowd to his jobs plan - in Rep. Cantor's hometown," http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/09/123673/obama-rallies-crowd-to-his-jobs.html, accessed 6-26-12, CNM) Outright resistance surfaced to some of his proposals. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was unenthusiastic about plans for an infrastructure bank to help provide financing for road, bridge and other public works projects. "I don't like the idea of a national bank," he said. "People don't need to parade to Washington on bended knee for this help." <Need Mica key to transportation infrastructure agenda> An infrastructure bank is extremely unpopular in Congress Lovaas, Natural Resources Defense Council, Transportation Policy Director, 2011 , accessed (Deron, 6-29-2011, The Energy Collective, “An Infrastructure Bank for Transportation,” LH) The problem is that in our current political climate, talk of using public funds to create a government bank is a total turn-off to many Republicans. No matter how great its potential benefits, a large, national infrastructure bank is exceedingly unlikely to pass muster with this Congress. NIB unpopular among smaller, rural states Dellinger, author of Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway, 2010 , (Matt, 12-8-10, Transportation Nation, “So You’re Thinking of Starting An Infrastructure Bank…,” accessed 6-26-12, LH) Similar considerations will make it a challenge to get members of Congress from smaller states to support the Infrastructure Bank. The focus on projects with revenue potential and smart growth worries some rural lawmakers whose districts and states rely on federal largess to maintain long stretches of remote highway and water infrastructure. If the purse strings for infrastructure were ever completely controlled by a five-member board–however impartial–the outcry over earmarks could be replaced by an equal and opposite outcry against “tunnel vision” and “elitism.”
Link – Mica Dislikes the Plan Mica dislikes the plan Clark et al, McClatchy Newspapers, 11 (Lesley Clark, David Lightman and William Douglas, The McClatchy Company is the third-largest newspaper company in the United States, "Obama rallies crowd to his jobs plan - in Rep. Cantor's hometown," http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/09/123673/obama-rallies-crowd-to-his-jobs.html, accessed 6-26-12, CNM) Outright resistance surfaced to some of his proposals. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was unenthusiastic about plans for an infrastructure bank to help provide financing for road, bridge and other public works projects. "I don't like the idea of a national bank," he said. "People don't need to parade to Washington on bended knee for this help." <Need Mica key to transportation infrastructure agenda> An infrastructure bank is extremely unpopular in Congress Lovaas, Natural Resources Defense Council, Transportation Policy Director, 2011 (Deron, 6-29-2011, The Energy Collective, “An Infrastructure Bank for Transportation,” , accessed LH) The problem is that in our current political climate, talk of using public funds to create a government bank is a total turn-off to many Republicans. No matter how great its potential benefits, a large, national infrastructure bank is exceedingly unlikely to pass muster with this Congress. NIB unpopular among smaller, rural states Dellinger, author of Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway, 2010 (Matt, 12-8-10, Transportation Nation, “So You’re Thinking of Starting An Infrastructure Bank…,” , accessed 6-26-12, LH) Similar considerations will make it a challenge to get members of Congress from smaller states to support the Infrastructure Bank. The focus on projects with revenue potential and smart growth worries some rural lawmakers whose districts and states rely on federal largess to maintain long stretches of remote highway and water infrastructure. If the purse strings for infrastructure were ever completely controlled by a five-member board–however impartial–the outcry over earmarks could be replaced by an equal and opposite outcry against “tunnel vision” and “elitism.”
GDI_12___Infrastructure_Bank_Neg.docx