How Will the U.S. Pay for Infrastructure?
President Trump’s former infrastructure czar talks politics and funding and how likely we are to see an infrastructure bill before August.
House Democrats have kicked off their push for a major infrastructure package this year to upgrade U.S. roads, bridges, and other public works. One sticking point: There’s no consensus on how to pay for it. Democrats are promising significant new federal spending, unlike the proposal the administration of President Donald Trump released last year under D.J. Gribbin, who served as the very first special assistant to the president for infrastructure policy. Democrats said Gribbin’s plan relied too much on states, localities, and the private sector for the $1.5 trillion in spending that Trump promised. Ultimately, that proposal didn't advance in Congress. Gribbin left the White House last April and is now a consultant and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek about what progress we can expect to see on infrastructure as Congress begins its debate.
President Trump campaigned on a promise to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, but he started with trying to repeal Obamacare and cutting taxes. Would there be more progress today if he’d started with infrastructure?