April 8, 2019—On April 2, the General Assembly of the state of Illinois passed HR0014, a resolution memorializing Congress to establish a New National Infrastructure Bank. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Mary Flowers (D-31) in late December. It passed the Financial Institutions Committee on March 19.
The resolution now goes to the state senate.
The full text of the resolution can be found on the Illinois House website.
Illinois becomes the second state to take action on a memorial demanding creation of a Hamiltonian national infrastructure bank to deal with the infrastructure crisis in the nation. South Carolina passed a similar resolution in late January.
The United States has a strong tradition of state legislative action memorializing the Congress to enact crucial legislation, including on economic issues. Back in the 1830s, for example, the Congress was flooded with memorials from around the country demanding that Congress reverse President Jackson’s drive to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States. (See article.)
That effort unfortunately failed, leading to catastrophic results. With sufficient citizen mobilization, this one will not.
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Tags: Congress, Illinois, Mary Flowers, National Infrastructure Bank