New York City Comptroller John Liu on Wednesday urged Congress to extend the taxable Build America Bond program.
The city has issued about $7.7 billion of BABs in 2010, according to the comptroller's office.
"The demand for New York City Build America Bonds is strong," Liu said in a news release. "They've allowed the city to broaden its traditional investor base, which in turn has provided greater demand for our bonds and a lower overall cost of funds for essential infrastructure needs."
The majority of new-money bonds sold in the state this year by all issuers were BABs, according to Thomson Reuters. Issuers have sold $12.28 billion of BABs compared to $9.05 billion of new-money tax-exempt bonds to date this year.
The BAB program, which Congress created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is due to expire at the end of the year.
Sources told The Bond Buyer last week that the BAB program is likely to be extended for one year by the lame-duck Congress after Thanksgiving. The extension would likely include a lower interest subsidy than the current 35%.
