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Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and White House budget
director Mick Mulvaney told about 150 transportation officials
at the White House the administration wants the private sector
to play a bigger role in managing and financing public
infrastructure.
Mulvaney said the administration wants to give states and cities
"incentives to move stuff you might own off of your books and
into the private sector."
He said that would result in states and cities "getting more
money to do new stuff."
The administration has said it wants to spend $200 billion on
infrastructure over 10 years, an amount the administration hopes
will encourage another $800 billion in infrastructure investment
by the private sector, but has not offered a detailed plan. The
administration will need congressional approval, and some
members of Congress in both parties do not expect to take up the
issue until 2018.
"The largest piece of the package is going to be wrapped around
incentives," Mulvaney said.
He said the incentives will work well in densely populated urban
areas in airport, bridge, tunnel, port and other projects. It is
harder for rural areas to have private sector-backed projects,
citing the lack of potential "cash flow," Mulvaney said. For
example, a bridge in a rural area would have less traffic and
potentially less likely be a candidate for private funding.
He said the administration plans to target some funds solely for
rural infrastructure projects that may not work as private
sector-backed projects.
Chao said the plan is not yet final but said states and cities
that secure some private-sector financing "will be given
higher-priority access to new federal funds."
Democrats want more direct federal spending. Senate Democratic
Leader Charles Schumer has pointed out that the Trump budget
unveiled in May cuts $206 billion in infrastructure spending
across several Cabinet departments, including $96 billion in
planned highway trust fund spending.
"$200 billion is a lot - but it is not $5 trillion, so you still
want to be smart with it," Mulvaney said.
The three-prong infrastructure plan will also include backing
for big "transformative" projects, Mulvaney said. Trump wants to
look at new ways to build bridges, tunnels and ports.
"The president is very interested in trying to find that
transformative, infrastructure technology, that is this close to
being ready for market,” Mulvaney said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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