Work on the $1 trillion dollar Trump infrastructure package is underway, according to The Hill. In White House meetings, President Donald Trump has reportedly suggested a 90-day deadline for work to start.
While Representative Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Bloomberg TV that he hoped the package would get done this year, real-estate developer Richard LeFrak, overseeing Trump’s infrastructure spending plans and vetting potential projects with real estate developer Steven Roth, told CNBC that Trunp only wants to devote resources that can be implemented immediately.
Shovel Ready Projects
The National Governor’s Association gave the administration a list of 428 shovel-ready projects, according to the Voice of America public relations firm, last month. NGA advocates for a strong Federal-state partnership in their updated transportation policy released at their 2017 winter meeting in Washington, DC a few weeks ago.
At a luncheon last week, however, Trump reportedly expressed hesitation at putting the funding in control of states, “if they are all tied up for seven years with state bureaucracy.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors has been speaking to the Federal government — advocating local leadership of infrastructure projects. Just prior to inauguration, incoming Vice President Mike Pence addressed the mayors, assuring them of the incoming administration’s friendliness to mayors on infrastructure and many other issues.
The administration also recently met with rural broadband and electric utilities, farm groups and labor, suggesting that the infrastructure bill may address regional concerns — not just urban or state priorities.
But Will the Trump Infrastructure Package be Enough?
Infrastructure experts show the problems to be bigger than what the infrastructure package can address. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2017 infrastructure report card estimated the need at more than $4.5 trillion with the condition it’s fallen to. This is not new information, the report card rate across 16 categories across the United States every four years. So, they gave this year’s report it’s own name, Failure to Act.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell cited the relevance of ASCE’s estimates for New York radio, according to The Hill, saying that another $2 trillion in investment will still be needed.
