While the administration continues to hint about an infrastructure spending plan, the exact details are not known yet. This plan was one of the major promises of Donald Trump’s campaign. In the plan, Trump promised to fix American roads, airports and bridges. He promised to send the rebuilding package to Congress within the first 100 days of his presidency. After the confirmation of Elaine Chao as the head of the Transportation Department, it seems like he now has the support he needs to begin working on his infrastructure plan.
1. Streamlined Regulations
One of Trump’s main goals is to remove the regulatory steps that slow down transportation projects. Many companies have complained about how long it takes to get a project going and open for bidding. In the upcoming infrastructure spending bill, Americans can expect proposals on how to make projects easier to start, carry out and complete. House transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster previously said that hundreds of regulations like Waters of the United States would be rolled back as a part of a regulatory reform project.
2. It May Take Longer Than 100 Days
While Trump promised that he would propose the bill during his first 100 days in office, it will most likely take much longer than that. At the moment, the plan is to spend the first 100 days to find the right way to pay for infrastructure. Then, the next 100 days can be used to create the infrastructure process. While it may take longer to release the plan than originally expected, Americans can expect to see the infrastructure package during 2017.
3. The Private Sector Will Be Tapped to Fund the Package
Over the past few months, Trump has continued to express support for private funding. The goal of his plan is to provide financial incentives like tax breaks to get private firms involved. The private companies would bid on a project and be responsible for both building and maintaining it. Through state payments or tolls, the private company would be able to recover their costs.
Trump believes that this approach will make it faster and cheaper for the infrastructure project to be carried out. One option is to provide $137 billion in federal tax credits to the private businesses that finance these projects.
4. Could the Plan Pay for Itself?
If Trump is right about his predictions, the infrastructure plan could pay for itself. Through tax credits and outsourcing federal projects to private companies, Trump thinks that the plan will be revenue neutral. The tax credits provided to private investors would be offset by the additional revenue from the new contractor jobs and profits. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this plan will work. Problems with obtaining private investors or weaker profits than expected could ultimately mean that the plan is not revenue neutral. Until it is put into action, voters will have to wait to see what happens.
5. Many States Will See Upgrades
While the infrastructure plan will surely change over time, it looks like many states will see some updates. In Maryland, there will be a mass-transit project. In Virginia, the Arlington Memorial Bridge will be updated. There will be highway, airport, bridge, electricity and transmission projects. Airport overhauls are already in the works for Kansas City, St. Louis and Seattle. In total, these upgrades may cost a trillion dollars.
Over time, the exact infrastructure plan will undoubtedly change. Negotiations in Congress, funding and other issues can easily cause the project to grow or shrink as necessary. Until the exact infrastructure spending package is complete, there is no way to know for sure what it will include.
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