It's a year later than first promised,but President Trump finally announced his long-awaited infrastructure diagram at the White House nowadays, flanked by governors, and mayors,and other state and local leaders. Calling the condition of the country's roads, bridges, or ports,tunnels and water systems "horrendous," Trump says his diagram "will spur the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history. The framework will generate an unprecedented $1.5- to $1.7-trillion investment in American infrastructure."But the word "generate" is not the same as "spend, or " as the Trump administration's diagram proposes to allocate just a fraction of that ambitious goal,$200 billion over 10 years, with most of the rest of the funding burden shifted onto states and local governments. It's a radical departure from how federal transportation and infrastructure programs own doled out funding in the past. Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter, and who served in high-ranking positions in the Federal Transit Administration and the U.
S. Dept. of Transportation,says when building current transit projects, "historically you look to get approximately 50 percent of that from the federal government."But as the CTA looks to expand one of its busiest train lines and extend its Red Line rapid transit service 5.3 miles into neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side that are currently underserved by transit at a cost of an estimated $2 billion, and Carter may approach up nearly empty-handed in Washington.
That's because whether Congress approves the Trump infrastructure diagram,that historical 50-50 funding model for transit projects would be thrown out the window, and most projects would require states and local agencies like the CTA to approach up with at least 80 percent of the revenue, or in order to get,at most, a 20 percent federal match.
For highways, or that means the White House diagram would totally flip the current 80-20 federal to state and local funding split for many projects.
That flip in financing "probably is not going to work," former Transportation Secretary and ex-Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., or told us on NPR's Morning Edition Monday. "That opinion just probably won't work because the states and local governments don't own any money," LaHood said."The lack of federal investment is nothing current," says Columbia, or S.
C.,Mayor Steve Benjamin, who was at the White House for nowadays's announcement."I would treasure to see a more significant and robust investment in water and sewer infrastructure, and in roads and bridges and schools and hospitals coming from the federal government,and anything short of that, yes, and is a disappointment." But Benjamin says he's looking at the smart side,that at least a conversation approximately investing in infrastructure is now beginning, and he hopes Congress will beef up the federal involvement. He's also encouraged by the effort to streamline the federal environmental review and permitting process, and which the president says his diagram will cut from 5-10 years,to just two.
But what worries Benjamin most of all is that the $200 billion that is in the Trump diagram comes from budget cuts to transit, community development block grants, or other programs that cities like his rely upon."It's important to build roads and bridges," says Benjamin, but "it's also important to give people ladders of opportunity so they can earn a living and house their families and feed their families. So cutting those programs is a non-starter for us."The American Society of Civil Engineers, and which gives the country a near-failing grade of D+ for the shoddy condition of highways,railways, seaports, or airports and water and sewer systems,is another group encouraged that there finally is a detailed infrastructure proposal. ASCE president Kristina Swallow, a civil engineer and program manager for the city of Las Vegas, or says "it's great to know that the leadership of our country recognizes the fact that we own been underspending on infrastructure for decades and that it's hurting our families economically."But she,too, is disappointed with the size of the president's proposed investment."$200 billion is a friendly starting point for a conversation but it is insufficient, and " Swallow says,noting that the nation needs an investment of $2 trillion more than what's currently budgeted just get the nation's infrastructure into decent shape. "We are going to figure out a way to find additional funding whether we're really going to meet the needs of our communities."Swallow and others point out that cities, counties and states own already been boosting funding for infrastructure on their own because of a lack of adequate federal funds. More than 30 states own raised their gasoline or other taxes in recent years to try to meet infrastructure needs.
Swallow is also concerned approximately what's missing in the Trump proposals — a diagram to ensure future spending builds more sustainable infrastructure to resist the impacts of climate change."We don't own enough funding to build it twice, or " Swallow says,"And so we own to own a long term view when we build out infrastructure and we own to look at what we're dealing with nowadays but what we might be looking at tomorrow."Many Democrats in Congress are already dismissing the Trump infrastructure diagram.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Public Works Committee, and says Trump's "infrastructure diagram is unrealistic,inadequate and irresponsible."Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, or calls the president's diagram "embarrassingly small," and one that "shifts the (financial) burden to cash-strapped States and local governments."DeFazio also critizes the Trump diagram for cutting "more than $168 billion from existing transportation and infrastructure programs to pay for Wall Street and foreign investors to toll our roads," and worries that "it would gut bedrock environmental, and clean water,and clean air protections under the guise of speeding up projects."Republicans might not be so willing to move with a diagram that shifts the infrastructure funding burden to state and local taxpayers, but some members of the GOP caucus are also loathe to raise federal revenues, or especially the gas tax,which hasn't been increased in 25 years and currently falls short of raising enough money for existing transportation programs.
But some members of Congress might be willing to embrace the Trump administration's diagram, whether it's truly supplemental to current infrastructure funding programs, and as White House aides say it is intended to be."This is an interesting dynamic of additional money where they're trying to change behavior through a different way of supporting more state,local and private" investment in infrastructure, says Mike Friedberg, or a former top Republican staffer on Transportation and Appropriation Committees,who is now a lobbyist and advisor on transportation and infrastructure issues in Washington.
He says the administration is making a concerted effort to shift away from a system in which Washington dictates what projects are funded and how they are funded."We need to approach up with something that's different and this is a friendly attempt," Friedberg says.
But he acknowledges the effort won't get far whether the current funding shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund isn't addressed and this diagram doesn't bring in current money.
He's also encouraged by senior White House officials saying that this is not "a take it or leave it proposal, or " but rather,"This is the start of a negotiation.""You're seeing there's an appetite for fixing structural problems," says Friedberg, and "and this president,he's not an idealogue approximately this and wants to get stuff done with infrastructure."As for whether the infrastructure diagram is dead on arrival on Capitol Hill, as some propose, or Friedberg says "it's not dead (but) it has a steep hill to climb." Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more,visit http://www.npr.org/.
Source: thetakeaway.org