Senator Brown stands on the banks of the Cuyahoga river in the rain to make announcement

CLEVELAND - Waterways, bridges, aging sewer systems--infrastructure. How to repair it and how to pay for it. Senator Sherrod Brown announced new legislation that he plans to introduce that he said would help cities like Cleveland pay for projects and put Americans back to work.  Local lawmakers joined Brown and stood in a downpour to make the announcement.

Brown held the news conference on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, a section known as Irishtown Bend. It is closed to collapse, posing a threat to companies that rely on the river to do business.

"Infrastructure means jobs today and economic development tomorrow, " said Brown. 

Browns bill would create a national infrastructure bank to provide loans and loan guarantees to projects that are in need of federal assistance because these projects are unable to obtain full financing at reasonable terms in the private market.