President Expected to Release Details During State of the Union
Reports circulated this week involving a six-page document purporting to outline the Trump Administration’s highly anticipated infrastructure plan. Taking the document at face value, it provides more detail on the administration’s proposal, including a breakdown of how the funding would be divvied up amongst different initiatives. Lacking from the summary are details on how much federal funding would be included and where those funds would come from. Previous statements from administration spokespersons indicate that a request for $200 billion will be included in the final proposal. The administration has also strongly hinted that they intend for this money to be leveraged in a way that ultimately produces $1 trillion in new investment. A range of infrastructure projects—including roads, bridges, waterway ports, drinking water facilities and veteran’s hospitals, among other things are included.
The plan may serve as a welcomed complement to existing federal infrastructure programs. However, it appears to not address the long-term funding needs of existing federal infrastructure programs, including those dependent upon the Highway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Administration officials and other sources have strongly hinted that the president will include mention of the infrastructure initiative as part of his State of the Union address to Congress on January 30 and that the actual proposal will be released soon after.
For more information, contact Brian Deery at [email protected].