WASHINGTON, D.C. – An agreement reached yesterday on a long-term highway funding bill includes a hat-trick of legislative victories for Maine long championed by U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine). In addition to providing an increased and stable source of funding for highway, transit, and other infrastructure projects, the legislation would (1) reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, (2) boost jobs by simplifying the federal permitting process for major projects, and (3) deliver regulatory relief to small banks.

“I am pleased that Senate and House negotiators have reached an agreement to move forward with a long-term bill that will provide a stable source of funding to properly invest in repairing our roads, bridges, and other vital infrastructure. After far too many short-term patches, this bill – while not perfect – is a positive step forward that will improve our transportation network, bolster the economy, and better protect the safety of traveling Americans,” Senator King said.

“This bill also renews the Export-Import Bank, which supports jobs in Maine, makes significant strides in reducing government red tape to help businesses grow and thrive, and makes it easier for small banks across Maine to serve their customers,” Senator King said. “These measures will go a long way to supporting jobs in Maine, and I look forward to getting this much-needed bill across the finish-line.”

The 5-year highway bill announced yesterday – titled the FAST Act – will provide Maine with a five percent increase in highway funding and an eight percent increase in transit funding in the first year of the bill and result in a 15 percent increase in highway funding and an 18 percent increase in transit by the last year. For more information on how the bill will impact infrastructure projects in Maine, click HERE.

Additionally, the bill includes three provisions long-championed and supported by Senator King including:

Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank:

The legislation includes language that would reauthorize for four years the Export-Import Bank, a critical tool that since 2007 has supported more than $264 million in exports from 13 companies in 12 communities in Maine. Senator King has repeatedly called for the Bank’s reauthorization and, in July, he supported an amendment to the highway funding bill that would have done so. The amendment passed by an overwhelming margin but the House of Representatives failed to take up the legislation.

Simplification of the Federal Permitting Process:

The legislation includes provisions of the Federal Permitting Improvement Act – introduced by Senator King, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) earlier this year – that would streamline and improve the federal permitting process for the largest and most complex capital projects. Businesses looking to undertake large infrastructure projects are currently subject to a massive bureaucratic process involving up to a dozen agencies and approvals, and even after approval, litigation can stall projects for years. These provisions improve the timeliness and predictability of the review process without compromising environmental standards or sacrificing critical regulatory protections. The World Bank has ranked the United States 41st in the world in “Dealing with Construction Permits,” a metric that measures how easy it is to actually build something.

Regulatory Relief to Small Banks:

The legislation includes more than a dozen financial regulatory relief measures, including several of which are supported by Senator King and which will benefit Maine’s community banks and credit unions. Provisions supported by Senator King include language that would allow highly-rated small financial institutions to qualify for longer on-site examination cycles so that well-run, lower-risk banks spend less time with banking regulators and more time with their customers; as well as language that reduces the costly burden of unnecessary annual privacy notices to customers so long as privacy policies at financial institutions have not changed.

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