President Donald J Trump Works to Rebuild American Infrastructure

“Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, and railways gleaming across our very, very beautiful land.” – President Donald J. Trump

CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE: America’s infrastructure is out of date and falling apart, particularly the internal waterways that are so vital for transporting the country’s goods.

• The Obama Administration’s attempt to rebuild the country’s infrastructure was an expensive waste that saw little money actually go to infrastructure.
  • Less than 10 percent of stimulus money was dedicated to rebuilding infrastructure.
  • Of $836 billion in stimulus spending, just $28 billion went to highways, $8 billion to water systems, $5 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers, and $1 billion to airports.
  • Billions were spent on projects that still have not been completed after years of development or were of little actual value.
• The waterways of the United States are vital for its industry and economic growth of the country, transporting everything from corn to steel and coal.
  • According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), our inland waterways delivered more than 575 million tons of cargo, valued at $229 billion.
  • According to the Department of Transportation, inland waterways support more than 270,000 jobs and $30.9 billion in economic activity.
  • 60 percent of the grain meant for export uses inland waterways to reach the Gulf of Mexico.
  • American steel production is entirely dependent on the inland waterways system.
  • Up to 25 percent of the country’s energy cargo, including coal, and petroleum, are moved on inland waterways.
• The infrastructure of America’s inland waterways has been allowed to fall apart, causing delays and preventing the United States from achieving its economic potential.
  • According to the ASCE, most of the locks and dams needed to travel the internal waterways are past their 50-year lifespan and nearly 50 percent of voyages suffered delays.
  • Our inland waterway system requires $8.7 billion in maintenance and the maintenance backlog is only getting worse.

REBUILDING AMERICA: President Donald J. Trump is pushing to rebuild the infrastructure of the United States by partnering with the private sector and getting government out of the way.

• President Trump will spur growth and investment in infrastructure by dramatically reducing permitting time for projects from 10 years to 2 years and slashing regulations to speed up the decision making process.
• The President has dedicated $200 billion in his budget as part of a $1 trillion investment plan to rebuild infrastructure.
  • Transformative projects to bring the country’s infrastructure into the 21st century will be funded through a mixture of loans and grants, such as air traffic control privatization.
  • Rural America will receive grants to rebuild crippled bridges, roads, and waterways.
  • States and cities will receive grants to meet their own infrastructure challenges.
  • Qualified projects of regional and national significance, such as those created under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, will receive loans.
• Government will get out of the way to allow State and local governments to succeed at meeting their unique challenges.
  • Only 1/5 of infrastructure spending comes from the Federal Government, the vast majority comes from states, localities, and the private sector.

PROMISE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump is following through on his promise to rebuild the country.

• On September 15, 2016, then-candidate Trump:
  • “Crumbling roads and bridges can become gleaming new infrastructure.”
  • “We will rebuild our roads, bridges, tunnels, highways, airports, schools, and hospitals.”