President Trump is signing an executive order Thursday using “emergency authorities” to ease permitting for the construction of infrastructure as a way to jump-start the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Senior Trump administration officials told the Washington Examiner the order would expedite construction of highways and other projects such as civil works and energy infrastructure.
It would instruct the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense departments to use “emergency and other authorities” to accelerate projects on federal land and continue the administration’s focus on easing “burdensome and outdated bureaucratic processes” that stall the construction process.
Trump and members of both parties in Congress have suggested infrastructure could be an opportunity to boost the U.S. economy as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, but they’ve been unable to reach a deal for years.
House Democrats unveiled a nearly $500 billion infrastructure package Wednesday that would invest in highways, bridges, and other surface transportation, along with spending on environmental measures such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure and zero-emissions buses.
Republicans blasted the effort as too expensive and broad. Trump, whose advisers have been split on how to fulfill his campaign promise for major infrastructure spending, has resorted to regulatory changes absent legislation. It’s unclear how Thursday’s order is different from prior efforts, such as his administration’s proposal this year to speed and narrow regulations governing the National Environmental Policy Act, the first major update to the nation’s bedrock environmental law in more than 40 years.
