Trump Struggles on $1 Trillion Pledge to Fix Crumbling U.S. Infrastructure

Date: 12 February 2018 - 21:07

News ID: ۴۹۹۹۷

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - Donald Trump ran for president on the promise of $1 trillion fix for crumbling U.S. roads, bridges and airports, but the plan he’s rolling out Monday commits the federal government to spending just a fraction of that amount.
Instead, the White House wants to revamp how such projects are funded and approved to fix what officials call a broken system -- raising questions about how Trump can secure a bipartisan deal and fulfill a central campaign pledge.
The Democrats he’ll need to enact any legislation have already dismissed his approach as a bait-and-switch because it lacks significant federal spending, while many Republicans have never been keen on big infrastructure packages.
The plan also comes on the heels of a $1.5 trillion tax cut signed into law at the end of last year, as well as a $300 billion spending measure last week that will add to the federal budget deficit, making some fiscal conservatives in Congress squirm. And it will compete for lawmakers’ attention with a battle royale over immigration and other issues.
The administration sees its plan as the opening bid in a negotiation on the best way to meet the president’s four objectives: stimulating at least $1.5 trillion in new investment, shortening the project permitting time to two years, investing in rural projects, and better training to get more qualified workers, a senior White House official said on a call with reporters. Trump is open to new sources of funding, the official said.
The plan the president is releasing Monday calls for allocating $200 billion in federal funds over a decade, mostly as seed money to spur states, localities and the private sector to spend the balance of the promised investment, the official said.
The strategy is to give Congress a set of principles, much as the administration did for the tax overhaul in 2017, and allow the details -- including how to pay for it -- to be worked out with lawmakers. There are at least six committees in the House and five in the Senate that will consider elements of the plan, White House officials said.
The plan’s main principle is that states and localities own and finance most U.S. infrastructure, so the best role for the federal government is to help create sustainable local revenue streams for projects and focus on federal permit streamlining.
The White House also released its fiscal 2019 budget on Monday, which includes lower spending in other areas to offset the $200 billion in the infrastructure plan, the senior official said. That’s also drawn complaints from Democrats about reducing existing funding for transportation, though the White House official said programs such as the Highway Trust Fund -- which receives money from a federal fuel tax to spend on road and transit work -- would remain in place for the most part.
Some governors and mayors of cash-strapped towns and cities with aging infrastructure have said flatly that they need more federal help.
Trump, a former commercial real estate developer, has said that streamlining the environmental review and permitting process will give investors more certainty and by doing so, attract more financing and allow more projects to be completed. Key business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have endorse that approach.
The president signed an executive order in August establishing "one federal decision” for projects to eliminate duplication. The principles being released Monday call for changes including a 21-month deadline for environmental-review decisions and three months for permitting after that, the White House official said.
While the Natural Resources Defense Council and other green groups say Trump is trying to erode protections to help corporate interests and distract from a lack of funding, the White House official said core environmental requirements wouldn’t be affected.