{"id":528098,"date":"2019-02-13T16:03:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T16:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/?p=528098"},"modified":"2020-10-26T14:06:49","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T14:06:49","slug":"u-s-president-trump-calls-on-congress-to-agree-on-infrastructure-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/global-economy-sustainability\/u-s-president-trump-calls-on-congress-to-agree-on-infrastructure-investments.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. President Trump Calls on Congress to Agree on Infrastructure Investments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"U.S.<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his call to Congress to pass legislation to invest billions of dollars in the country\u2019s crumbling infrastructure<\/strong>, calling it a necessity for the largest economy in the world.
In his State of the Union Address on February 5, Trump urged members of both houses of the legislative body to set aside their differences and agree on measures to help restore the roads, bridges and other infrastructure that are crucial for growth.<\/strong>
Since his government proposed a $1.5-trillion plan<\/strong> to invest in the sector, Congress has made no progress on drafting a bill to enact it due to deep divisions between members of the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate the body. The Republicans control the Senate, while the Democrats have the House of Representatives.
\u00abI know that the Congress is eager to pass an infrastructure bill \u2014 and I am eager to work with you on legislation to deliver new and important infrastructure investment, including investments in the cutting edge industries of the future\u00bb, Trump said in his address, which was broadcast live across the country.
\u00abThis is not an option. This is a necessity\u00bb, he added. \u00abBoth parties should be able to unite for a great rebuilding of America\u2019s crumbling infrastructure\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bipartisan Effort Needed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Presented last year, Trump\u2019s propose would use $200 billion in federal funds<\/strong> to support innovative infrastructure projects<\/strong>, encourage state and local governments to find their own financing, cut bureaucracy and support the training of workers for the construction sector.
In response to Trump\u2019s renewed call to Congress, Peter DeFazio, a Democratic congressman who serves as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, agreed that it was an urgent matter on which both parties should work together. \u00abI will work to build bipartisan agreement around legislation, but I can\u2019t do it alone\u00bb, he said. \u00abThis will require massive effort from the White House, stakeholders, and supporters in Congress to get something real across the finish line\u00bb.
\u00abOur crumbling roads, bridges, transit and rail systems, airports, and harbors impact every community across our country\u00bb, he added. \u00abWe face a $1 trillion surface transportation investment gap over the next 10 years to fix the infrastructure we have, meet future needs, and restore our global competitiveness\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"U.S.
Santa Monica 100 freeway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Priorities and Costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)<\/strong>, whose report card on the state of the country\u2019s infrastructure is widely followed, listed a number of priorities on which Congress ought to focus, including the fixing of the Highway Trust Fund. <\/strong>The fund, which finances the repair and construction of roads and highways across the country<\/strong>, runs the risk of collapse because its main source of funding is a federal tax on fuel that has not been raised since 1993.
\u00abWe have continued to underinvest for far too long, and an infrastructure bill is overdue\u00bb, read a statement by Robin Kemper, the ASCE\u2019s president. \u00abFailing to invest in and modernize our infrastructure is continuously putting strains on our families and the economy. Deficient bridges, congested highways, outdated transit systems, an unreliable electric grid and leaky water pipes cost the average American family $3,400 a year\u2014which is $9 a day\u2014in disposable income\u00bb.
ASCE\u2019s latest report card <\/strong>gives a low rating of D+ (A being the highest rating, F the lowest) for the state of the country\u2019s infrastructure across 16 categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appeal by U.S. Chamber of Commerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to encourage Congress to work on bipartisan legislation<\/strong>, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted a summit on infrastructure <\/strong>on the same day as Trump\u2019s address. \u00abWe need to build bridges across the political divide before we can build bridges around the country\u00bb, read a statement by Thomas Donohue, the chamber\u2019s president. \u00abRallying around a bipartisan package would go a long way toward restoring public trust, business confidence, and political goodwill\u00bb.
Donohue cited four issues to address: a sustainable funding source to repair roads, bridges, and transit systems; innovative financing solutions to pay for major critical infrastructure projects; a streamlined permitting process to quicken the approval of projects; and a ready force of skilled workers.
He was just as emphatic as the ASCE in listing the cost of doing nothing. \u00abThe economic toll of our crumbling infrastructure is steep and rising still. By 2025, it will have cost businesses $7 trillion\u00bb, he said. \u00abYou don\u2019t have to be a civil engineer to know that our nation\u2019s infrastructure is falling apart. All you have to do is leave your house. The evidence is everywhere \u2013 and affects everyone\u00bb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his call to Congress to pass legislation to invest billions of dollars in the country\u2019s crumbling infrastructure, calling it a necessity for the largest economy in the world.In his State of the Union Address on February 5, Trump urged members of both houses of the legislative body to set aside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":143928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[19004,19002,19013],"yst_prominent_words":[14845,3745,3733,17069,14361,811,17085,10912,2444,14905,18620,15351,13089],"class_list":["post-528098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-economy-sustainability","tag-development-and-growth","tag-new-challenges","tag-north-and-south-america"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528098"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542540,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528098\/revisions\/542540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528098"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=528098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}