In his address to a joint session of Congress last week, President Trump again called for a $1 trillion infrastructure investment that would be funded by “both public and private capital.” Now, Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says new tolls are “certainly one example of how that would work.”
While neither the President nor Secretary Chao have shared specifics on how they plan to go about raising the $1 trillion, Chao said in an interview on Fox that the President has “exciting and novel ideas” about how to find the money.
Echoing Trump’s earlier statements, Chao said that “public private partnerships are a very important part of a new way of financing our roads and bridges.”
Where there are private companies involved however, there will also need to be profits for those companies. And when she was asked whether financing would require new tolls, Chao replied “that is certainly one example of how that would work.”
Chao did acknowledge that new tolls might not be a popular idea with some people, but stressed that “the needs of our infrastructure are so great” that it is necessary to examine all financing mechanisms.
Republican lawmakers haven’t been eager in the past to use federal funds for infrastructure projects. So the Trump administration may face a fight getting significant public funds approved. But even if a large portion of the $1 trillion comes from the federal budget, a huge amount of money would need to be raised from the private sector.
There again, the Trump administration may face a battle with Congress, this time from both sides of the aisle. Both Democrats and Republicans have voiced strong opposition to new tolls on the interstate system.
No comment has been issued from Chao or her staff on where new tolls can be expected.
Source: washingtonpost, fleetowner, nola, arkansasonline, thinkprogress
J Carter says
Stop throwing our nation’s money away on congress’s little pet, pork-barrel projects, and we might not mind paying some new tolls to get our nation’s highways and stuff fixed. The reluctance right now, is wondering where that money will ultimately go.
Will it just get thrown away as before – to make a bunch of Washington fat cats even richer? And if so, what then?
More ideas for new tolls, with this same old song and dance?
Not a fan. Not ANY of us.
Ryan says
If they’d stop wasting the money they collect now for the roads, there wouldn’t be a need for tolls.
Jerry says
Wait till Trump is finished, mist average people will be worse off…everything will be affected especially for the average everyday worker …health care insurance, social security that most have paid into for years..decreased/demoted, he is a dictator at best…..wait and see….he is filthy rich and will protect the rich…..the remainder is less for the average working american. …most all politicians are crooks!!
Richard Smith says
CUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN HALF. THEN IN HALF AGAIN.
ALL tolls and taxes are paid by THE PEOPLE.
If you CUT SPENDING, you don’t need to raise REVENUE!
Why does the CDC need to produce glitzy Hollywood TV commercials
to warn pregnant mothers about smoking? Just an example.
WHY are drug addicts and criminals getting my hard earned money that
was STOLEN from my paycheck in Social Security because they are
DISABLED??? DIS-ABLED???!!! Just an example.
I swear I could RETIRE the “so-called” National Debt in a decade if they’d
give me a red pen and cut me loose. I’d start by putting a barbed wire wall
around K Street. THAT would be my FIRST WALL.
Then deduct every penny that goes over-budget from the Congressmen and
Senator’s paycheck. It would NEVER go over-budget again if they were
spending THEIR money! Keep the spending ceiling, lower the ceiling by 10%
every year, repeal the Federal Reserve Act…
America is headed for DEFAULT and disaster if DRACONIAN measures aren’t
taken NOW! LOOK AT THE HOCKEY STICK!!! And the new boss of the Treasury
wants to just continue the profligate spending. Meet the new boss, same as
the old boss.
We are NOT going to TAX and SPEND our way out of this mess.
NOBODY wants to face the music, BUT WE WILL…LIKE IT OR NOT!
Robert says
You got my vote!!
Brandon says
Rest easy Richard – Technology and it’s advancement is outstripping govt and corporate control. In the not to distant future the cost of anything and everything will be essentially zero. Human labor will go to something insignifigant / meaningless. It is already well under way. There will be some growing pains thru the transition and many efforts made to keep status quo. It doesn’t matter, it is dead. We are at sea now under full steam, Currency will have no value. Currency and centralized control are walking the planks toward the end of the board, until their last step which leaves them with nothing under their feet.
dave says
yeah that worked so well in indiana
Tom says
If you want to see what a disaster private toll roads would be, you have to look no further than the Indiana Toll Road. Tha Australian company that bought it couldn’t make it work so a Mexican company took it out of bankruptcy and they too are struggling. Although they are rebuilding all the service plazas, they are closing the two at either end. If they don’t turn those defunked plazas into truck parking, I-80 is going to turn into a nightmare from Iowa to the Atlantic Ocean.
mousekiller says
SShhh, Don’t tell them that engineers in Japan have invented a shovel that can stand by it self. No need for three men to help it now. Multiply that by the number of road repairs crews around the country and you have saved in 4 years what it is going to take to balance the infrastructure budget.
Jeff says
3? Here it takes a King Cab full of Larry, Darrell and Darrells to NOT do that much work.
Infosaur says
Public/Private partnership?
If such luminaries of profitability like Enron, Lucient, Sun Microsystems and Wachovia can spend millions of dollars to slap their name on a new stadium or concert hall, couldn’t we at least offer them a bridge or highway?
“The new Pittsburgh 376, brought to you by Heinz, PPG!”
kc says
So the Heavy Duty road tax that all trucking companies and owners have to pay for owning a commercial truck.
IE: 2290 expense is worthless. Where in the world did they put that money?????????????????????????????????????????????? Its not in the road system that’s for sure. The real sad part is that even with all this construction on the infrastructure the quality of work being done is subpar at best. This is just another waste of tax payer money. The government is worthless! Plain and simple there is no accountability what so ever and when the government says there is accountability its all a deceptive lie. People in worldly power could careless and do by their actions.
Michael Gallegos says
You people in government already have PLENTY of money for repair AND maintenance of roads and bridges WITHOUT tolls on the SAME roads and bridges you get tax dollars you already use or misuse – on the same damn roads and bridges !!
What’s wrong with you government people?
Why can’t you do the right things that make this Nation Great. You have PLENTY of revenue – BILLIONS of dollars – WHY can’t you make it happen with the billions you are getting and already have gotten ???
What the hell is wrong with you Chao; did you get a nice cash offer? Do you have to buy a new top loading freezer for stash or does a top loader freezer come with the offer – also at our expense ???
Everyone who knows better than a trucker is involved in mandating and/or dictating what drivers will/will not do and when; even carrier owners and some operators are just as much knuckleheaded as the fmcsa robots …
getting sick of this profession’s people pretending to be what they can never be … telling others to do what they would never do.
Brian White says
Lunatics like Chao & their mindless, canned [that’s] “certainly one example of how that would work” response to a question of how the program would be funded is one example of how the establishment politicians just don’t get it. They don’t understand that THEY are the problem. They don’t have the sound fiscal welfare of THE PEOPLES money first in their mind. Proof: Why didn’t she suggest something like “taking a look at duplicate agency functions, cutting spending to those areas, or reducing the overhead of the entire federal government as a whole” as viable alternatives? Answer: Because she doesn’t think like that. Ideas like that never enter her mind, because she herself has been “indoctrinated” into that type of mindset.
She, and ALL those govt trolls like her, have got to go. They want “progress”, but refuse to acknowledge that THEY might be or ARE part of/most of the problem.
Kelly J. says
Of course there will be toll roads! Just one more way to funnel our money into the pockets of the fat cats AKA Republican donors!
Oscar Brooks says
Wow
Jaebro says
Nothing said about making contact with transportation experts or the major carriers for their ideas on what’s needed to rebuild the infrastructure, to fund the project.
How about the ATA I guess because it’s Trump administration, Chao doesn’t want go over the president plan & get “Trumped Out”
” Your Fired Ms. Chao “