Donald Trump, the President of the US informed Americans during his State of the Union address that he intends to pass a bill that will budget a $1.5 trillion spending on infrastructure geared towards rebuilding the nation’s depleted roads and bridges. He added that he needed legislation to generate a minimum of $1.5 trillion through combining local, federal and state spending as well as private sector contributions.
In his plan to ask for funding for different projects his administration is to undertake, Trump presented his strategy to Congress on Monday on how he intends to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges. He immediately raised suspicions as to whether he was committed to delivering the infrastructure deal which doubles up as a campaign promise. The doubts came after the statements he made in Congress and at the White House.
Trump’s Remarks on Republican Support for Infrastructure Proposals
The highlight of the session, while at White House, is when Trump remarked to state and local officials that if they wanted it badly, they were going to get it. If they did not want it then he too would be ok with their decision. His sentiments were made in relation to his infrastructure proposals and may have bounced off as him not caring about the campaign promise.
Trump also said that if for any reasons the Republicans do not want to support his infrastructure proposals, its fine by him. What was important to him was that the military got more funding, his tax cuts and regulations. It suggested that Trump’s proposal geared towards getting $1.5 trillion in spending for infrastructure over a decade was not an important move for him as compared to other recent administration efforts to boost military spending and cut taxes.
Trump added that the infrastructure proposal is of great importance especially to the states. But the responsibility does not solely lie with his administration and therefore he is not obliged to rebuild the roads and bridges. If the proposal is shut down, then the states have to do it on their own. He added that he was merely just trying to help the states with their obligation.
The Tentative Plan
Trump’s side of the bargain is to leverage $200 billion of federal money with more than $1 trillion in state and local tax dollars. The contributions will then go towards America’s infrastructure which includes roads, highways, ports and airports. The proposal is heavily dependent on the state and local dollars which may force the state to raise toll fees on commuters sell public infrastructure or do away with critical environmental protections.
