Congressional Republicans Say Trump’s $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Will Include “Billions and Bil

Disappointing construction contractors, and local, county and state governments across the nation, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Schuster announced earlier this month after meetings with President Trump that “It’s not going to be $1 trillion coming out of Washington, D.C. … There are billions and billions of dollars out there today, private sector dollars, that are going to be spent,” citing privately funded pipeline projects in Pennsylvania and Florida Schuster says will be freed up when Trump administration regulators release permits for the projects.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Peter DeFazio responds that private investments on pipeline and freight rail construction shouldn’t count towards Trump’s $1 trillion pledge, since American industry planned to spend those dollars even before the election campaign began, DeFazio points out. He says the $1 trillion plan should include only “new, needed investment in the public infrastructure.”

In 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office, federal state and local governments spent $400 billion on transportation drinking water and waste water infrastructure construction, with only a quarter of that amount coming from federal taxpayers. DeFazio points out that politicians in Washington D.C. have frequently raided taxes and fees on motorists and the shipping industry, supposedly designated for infrastructure improvements, to reduce the general federal deficit instead of keeping roadways, port facilities and waterways in good repair.