President Donald Trump has renewed his call for a massive infrastructure program. Both the President and Congressional Democrats are hoping to use an infrastructure program to help the country recover from the economic difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Congressional Republicans have made it very clear that they’re not interested.
A record number of unemployment claims have been made recently. Within the last 6 weeks, there have been 30 million new jobless claims. Even once states reopen for business, experts expect that it will take some time for the economy to ramp back up. Supporters of the “Phase 4” infrastructure proposal claim that a well-funded infrastructure initiative could kickstart the economy.
“Just like the New Deal of the 1930s, the best way to re-start our economy and put workers first is with a massive investment in the kind of infrastructure that will help future generations succeed,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Rebuilding communities across the country with resilient, innovative infrastructure is how we put millions of people to work in jobs that cannot be exported.”
President Trump has been floating the idea of a massive infrastructure bill since his campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 election. A few weeks ago he brought it up again, only to have it shut down. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both pushed back on the idea.
Speaking with reporters on April 28th though, President Trump pushed once again for infrastructure funding to be part of COVID-19 relief efforts.
“We have to rebuild our country,” Trump said during the press conference. “You wanted to fix a pothole in a roadway or in a highway in this country, and you didn’t do it because they didn’t have the money because so much money was spent in the Middle East. We want to do infrastructure, but a lot of the Republicans would like to keep that as a separate bill. So we’ll see how that works out.”
President Trump placing blame on Republicans didn’t seem to have much of an impact on McConnell or his allies.
“Yeah, I’ll be clear,” McConnell told Fox News. “Infrastructure is unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic that we’re all experiencing and trying to figure out how to go forward.”
Instead, McConnell expressed interest in an infrastructure bill that would be “more modest.” Still, President Trump struck an optimistic tone.
“I think Mitch is looking at it, as I do, to an extent, as the infrastructure — he likes infrastructure,” President Trump told reporters. “We all do.”
Source: ttnews, freightwaves, morningconsult, thehill, cnbc
For many years we have needed a better infrastructure and for many years past candidates have campaigned on it, only to drop it once in. The only reason I voted for some of them is this very reason, we need to upgrade our infrastructure. We do not need more give away programs, we need to show how great we really are. We need to bring our system into the time frame we are in. Each day we get farther behind makes it more expensive to bring it up to date.
Exactly we need to stop giving away all of our hard earned tax money to multimillion and billion dollar corporations.
The New Deal of the 1930’s was a disaster!
Please be honest in your articles and include everything the democrats are pushing for that has nothing to do with covid19!
Infrastructure should be on a totally separate bill from covid19 bill!
When a politician uses a disease as leverage to get pork barrel spending, that’s a slap in every Americans face!
We definitely need to fix our roads and bridges they’re literally falling apart. Time to spend money rebuilding our country and stop rebuilding foreign countries. And the federal government needs to investigate some of these states that claim to be to broke to fix anything and see where the money is really going!
It’s going to mostly Red states who are some of the biggest recipients of our federal social welfare programs. Look it up. Here I’ll help.
It’s getting rough out there! If these politicians want their Amazon supplies and food to their neighborhoods and not spread out in a ditch, they better get moving on these roads. Every damn politician campaigns on these issues and still NOTHING.. I’ll just hit MUTE next time the infrastructure question is brought up during debates
The New Deal didn’t end the Depression. It probably prolonged it.
Whatever one thinks of infrastructure improvements, government spending does not stimulate the economy.
It caused the great depression. We were already almost out of the recession of 29 when it was implemented,
So the new deal gov program in the late 30s did not help anything! Get real. Big gov does few things right except do really big projects! Imagine a private company doing Social Security or the Affordable Care Act! So much money would stick to fingers on the way through that we would need a new Federal Reserve!!
This is a euphemism for “union campaign contribution generator”. We are being scammed by our paving companies, and many that do infrastructure projects. Why does it take 10 months to put a 6 foot shoulder on 2 miles of highway? What are we repaving the same section of road every 2 years? Why are we spending $60m on rest areas?
I work for a rest area I make 800 a month as maintenance employee contracted through the state of Illinois. Illinois pays 286,000 a year for this contract at Cumberland road I-70 to hrc which is a non profit organization. But, Illinois is broke. No! I am broke!
Walk a mile in their shoes before telling how to do their jobs! I have learned that over 65 yrs and I am an expert on about anything, according to me.. Lol
Well I am just speculating but biggest reason is to probably keeps the roads safe. Heavy trucks that deliver goods tend to wear on the roads plus CDL holders need places to stop and rest. There is a shortage of areas drivers can park to rest in some areas. Plus it’s nice to have clean decent looking rest areas not only for CDL drivers but also people who visit a state.
Yes to infra structure. No to goriegn aid. The crews who build roads in AZ seem to do a great and efficient job while in CA they take forever and roads not as nice.
Yes to infra structure. No to foriegn aid. The crews who build roads in AZ seem to do a great and efficient job while in CA they take forever and roads not as nice.
Remember your comments when it’s time to elect/re-elect these buttheads in Washington D C that keep promising the moon & deliver the back alley
President Trump, campaigned on America First, and that includes infrastructure. The population of this country will continue to expand and we need travel routes engineered to handle the burden into the future. This is a win-win situation, getting people back to work, improving the economy after getting hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic….MAGA!!
If America takes pride in being a great nation ,then show it in your infrastructure. Europe turns up its nose when they see what we drive on and what our trains roll on.
America the great is but a skeleton of what she used to be. In almost every way.
I really can’t see how it could hurt. Infrastructure also includes water and sewer, not just roads, and bridges. So bring on the jobs, union, or non union who really cares people working is healthy for the country.
That said in Germany they bid jobs by how long the road, bridge, sewer, etc… will be warrantied. That means the companies are held to a different standard, not just fly by night.
Infastructure is another trump failure.
I think it’s time to do more for our country n less for others. We need to take care of ALL OUR SOLDIERS… PLUS PLUS we have way too many hungry n homeless families. Why can’t we just stop n think about how much our ELECTED GOVERNMENT is putting more n their pocket n taking more from the poorest of the poor.