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• Support the preservation of the tax - exempt status of municipal debt obligations <br />o MUNI bonds should be preserved and not altered in any fashion <br />particularly as to public buildings, spaces, infrastructure, and utilities <br />o Federal communications taxes should be modernized while maintaining <br />local autonomy and discretion as well as allowing for the rapid evolution <br />and change taking place in the industry <br />• Support federal grants to local governments being used to provide fiscal support, <br />initiate new programs or approaches to solving urban problems, increase socio- <br />economic equity, and achieve national objectives <br />Support the federal government paying municipalities an annual sum in lieu of <br />payment of real property taxes on federally owned, occupied, or controlled <br />property otherwise exempt from such property taxes <br />o Municipalities should in no way be constrained from collecting taxes of any <br />type that are normal and fair from any individual, business, or corporation <br />conducting activities on or within any federally owned, occupied, or <br />controlled property or installation <br />• Support federal priority funding for improving the efficiency of the connecting <br />modes of intermodal/ multimodal facilities <br />o Federal government should allow the MPO and /or the local government to <br />plan projects that use alternate design standards while meeting <br />environmental objectives, when the use of rigid federal design standards <br />is inconsistent with local needs <br />• Support federal direct (low interest) loans, loan guarantees and credit line <br />assistance with favorable terms through programs like Infrastructure Banks and <br />the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act ( TIFIA) <br />o Support the application of objective approval criteria for credit assistance <br />Approval factors should include, but not be limited to, threshold cost <br />requirements, consistency with long -range regional and state <br />transportation plans, generation of economic benefits <br />Support an increase in the available funding for the TIFIA program <br />and greater flexibility for DOT in approving projects that can take <br />advantage of favorable financing <br />• Support passage of: <br />o The John Lewis Voting Rights Act <br />o The Build Back Better Act <br />Support for the reinstatement of the Telework Income Tax Credit <br />Support funding for construction and rehabilitation of public schools <br />