Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is hoping President Trump uses his first State of the Union speech to Congress to propose a huge infrastructure plan that can be backed by both parties.
“On this issue, Democrats agree with the president: America’s physical infrastructure is the backbone of our economy, and we have fallen behind. If we do not quickly repair and modernize our infrastructure, we risk ceding the next century of global economic leadership to China or India,” Schumer warned in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “[I]f President Trump chooses a real, direct, federal investment in infrastructure, he will have a chance to pass an effective, bipartisan bill. We Democrats will gladly work with him on it.”
But Schumer noted that while Trump promised a trillion-dollar investment in infrastructure during his campaign, his administration has yet to deliver. The president’s first year in office focused on healthcare, immigration, and tax reform.
Liberals want to see Trump approve a substantial, direct federal investment because it would finance new and ongoing projects, help various regions of the country, and allow for new construction without raising toll fees or taxes.
“Unfortunately, initial indications are that the president’s proposal will rely on capital from private companies or states and localities in lieu of real investment,” Schumer wrote. “A plan based on private-sector gimmicks and giveaways would also result in tolls — Trump tolls — across the United States. Hedge funds and wealthy investors will want projects that generate a profit by charging middle-class Americans hundreds of dollars a year in tolls, taxes and fees. Our nation’s roads, bridges and tunnels would become tools for wealthy investors to profit off the middle class rather than the job-creating public assets they ought to be.”
Trump will give his first official State of the Union speech Tuesday evening.
