ConDig (07-Jun-17). President Donald Trump outlined plans on Wednesday to drastically cut the construction permitting process and roll back burdensome regulations as part of a $1 trillion investment proposal to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Under the plan, the White House has said it will look to cut the permitting time for projects from 10 to two years and reduce regulations to speed up the decision making process.
It comes as part of a package of measures that will see $200 billion in federal dollars ring fenced for tax breaks, with $800 billion and more expected to be generated in matching funds from states, cities and the private sector.
The funding categories include grants for rural areas to rebuild ailing bridges, roads, and waterways, while states and cities will receive grants to meet their own infrastructure requirements.
Loans are also set to be handed out for qualified projects of regional and national significance, along with incentive programs to help spur private sector investment in “transformative projects”, such as the recently proposed air traffic control privatization.
The White House said that the “government will get out of the way” to allow state and local governments meet their transportation needs.
“Only 1/5 of infrastructure spending comes from the Federal Government, the vast majority comes from states, localities, and the private sector,” it said.
Trump made revamping the country’s infrastructure a key pledge in his presidential campaign and aims to spur investment to repair and replace aging roads, bridges and other types of infrastructure like airports and waterways.
The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the US national infrastructure a D+ and estimated that the country faces a $2 trillion investment gap.
Trump and his administration are embarking on an “infrastructure week” and are set to deliver more details this week about a plan to upgrade inland waterways through the repair of aging levees, dams, locks and ports.
Trump has noted that there is a $8.7 billion maintenance backlog for the country’s waterways.
But Trump is facing resistance to his proposed infrastructure plan by Democrats and has urged them to work with him.