Trump digs into infrastructure in State of the Union speech

By |  February 3, 2018

President Trump outlined his vision to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure during his first State of the Union address, asking Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments.

“Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private-sector investment to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit,” Trump says.



The president also called on Congress to streamline the permitting and approval process, shortening the period to no more than two years for building projects.

“America is a nation of builders,” Trump says. “We built the Empire State Building in just one year. Isn’t it a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road?

“I’m asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve,” Trump adds.

While there is optimism in industry circles about the potential to pass a major piece of infrastructure legislation, some members of Congress expressed skepticism following the president’s speech about passing a bill that generates $1.5 trillion or more.

“The real discussion has to be, and this is where there was no clarity from either the president or congressional Republicans, which is what’s the amount of money that’s going to come from the federal government,” Rep. John Delaney (D-Maryland) told The Hill.

The Trump administration detailed previously that its intent is for the federal government to put $200 billion of its own funds toward infrastructure development. The intent of the federal government’s investment would be to spark additional spending within the private sector and at the state and local level.

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Kevin Yanik

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Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

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