The administration’s plan is centered on using $200bn in federal
money to leverage local and state tax dollars to fix America’s
infrastructure, such as roads, highways, ports and airports.
“Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state
and local governments and where appropriate tapping into private sector
investment to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit,” Trump said at
last month’s State of the Union address.
The president has repeatedly blamed the “crumbling” state of the
nation’s roads and highways for preventing the American economy from
reaching its full potential.
Many in Washington believe that Trump should have begun his term a
year ago with an infrastructure push, one that could have garnered
bipartisan support or, at minimum, placed Democrats in a bind for
opposing a popular political measure.
But the administration chose to begin with healthcare and relations
with Democrats have only grown more strained during a turbulent,
contentious year. The White House, now grappling with the fallout from
the departure of a senior aide after spousal abuse allegations, may not
have an easy time navigating a massive infrastructure plan through a
polarized Congress. It just grappled with two federal government
shutdowns and will soon turns its attention to immigration.
Administration officials previewing the plan said it would feature
two key components: an injection of funding for new investments and help
speed up repairs of crumbling roads and airports, as well as a
streamlined permitting process that would truncate the wait time to get
projects underway. Officials said the $200bn in federal support would
come from cuts to existing programs.
Half the money would go to grants for transportation, water, flood
control, cleanup at some of the country’s most polluted sites and other
projects.
States, local governments and other project sponsors could use the
grants which administration officials view as incentives for no more
than 20% of the cost. Transit agencies generally count on the federal
government for half the cost of major construction projects, and federal
dollars can make up as much as 80% of some highway projects.
About $50bn would go toward rural projects transportation, broadband,
water, waste, power, flood management and ports. That is intended to
address criticism from some Republican senators that the
administration’s initial emphasis on public-private partnerships would
do little to help rural, GOP-leaning states.
Early reaction to the proposal was divided.
Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers,
saluted Trump “for providing the leadership we have desperately needed
to reclaim our rightful place as global leader on true 21st-century
infrastructure”.
“When ports are clogged, trucks are delayed, power is down, water is
shut off, or the internet has a lapse, modern manufacturers’ ability to
compete is threatened and jobs are put at risk,” said Timmons. “There is
no excuse for inaction, and manufacturers are committed to ensuring
that America seizes this opportunity.”
But a number of Democrats and the US Chamber of Commerce have pushed
the administration to commit far more federal money, funded by tax
increases, or by closing tax loopholes. And environmental groups
expressed worry about its impact.
“President Trump’s infrastructure proposal is a disaster,” said
Shelley Poticha, of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It fails to
offer the investment needed to bring our country into the 21st century.
Even worse, his plan includes an unacceptable corporate giveaway by
truncating environmental reviews.”
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