TIFIA is seen as a very valuable tool in helping public-private partnerships get off the ground financially. There were a number of suggestions, however, on how TIFIA could be modified to make it a more useful tool for those seeking to form public-private partnerships. These suggestions include:
∙ Eliminating the policy of requiring a TIFIA loan to be repaid on an accelerated basis from "surplus funds." This requirement can discourage the use of TIFIA in connection with equity investment.[349]
∙ Not requiring all Federal requirements to apply to an entire project simply because some parts of the project are part of the "eligible costs" pool.[350]
∙ Eliminating the "springing lien" clause in TIFIA agreements. This is the TIFIA requirement that DOT be elevated to the status of a senior creditor upon occurrence of the unlikely event of insolvency.
∙ Reducing the project threshold from $100 million to $50 million to broaden the range of projects eligible for TIFIA.[351]
∙ Modifing the program to be less cumbersome for applicants.