|
The
plan, which will be detailed in part at next week’s State of the
Union address, “will actually probably end up being about $1.7
trillion,” Trump told a gathering of mayors at the White House.
Trump previously valued the plan, which is expected to feature a
mix of federal and local investment, at $1 trillion.
The administration is expected to ask Congress for $200 billion
in federal spending on infrastructure aimed at encouraging more
than $1 trillion in state, local and private financing to build
and repair the nation's bridges, highways, waterworks and other
infrastructure.
Republican Senator John Thune, who chairs the Commerce
Committee, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that the big
challenge "would be how do you pay for it and the (Trump
administration is) talking about spending cuts, which are
unspecified."
Thune said it was probably going to be "tough" to get Democrats
to support a deal without the federal government raising
additional revenue for improvements.
He said in order to get a bill approved this year, it would need
to be moving through both the House of Representatives and
Senate by late spring or early summer. Trump will need to make a
big push to win approval, Thune added.
Reuters reported last week that the plan involved $100 billion
in cost-sharing payments for projects and $50 billion for rural
projects, with the remaining $50 billion largely split among
"transformative" projects such as high-speed trains, and funds
for federal transportation lending projects.
A leaked document released this week, which an administration
official confirmed was "largely accurate," shows that the
administration plans to reduce the cost-sharing for projects to
no more than 20 percent of the costs from the traditional 80
percent federal share. That would result in a higher overall
infrastructure boost if states agree to shoulder more of the
costs.
Democrats have criticized that proposal and argued the Trump
administration should back more direct federal spending.
The bill will also aim to streamline environmental reviews and
it make it easier to build highways and other projects and allow
for greater tolling on roadways.
(Reporting by James Oliphant and David Shepardson; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker and Peter Cooney)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
