New Dems Push President to Prioritize Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation
WASHINGTON – The House New Democrat Coalition has asked President Donald Trump to recommit to negotiations on an infrastructure investment plan, highlighting the many benefits of bipartisan cooperation on a vital national issue.
In a letter written by the coalition’s Infrastructure Task Force, 70 members of the caucus call for Trump to provide increased and reliable funding for scores of projects across the country.
The Coalition noted that the nation’s roads and bridges and airports are “the most immediate ways Americans interact with their government on a daily basis,” and that the issues extend far beyond partisanship.
“After all, nobody cares what party you are in when sitting in traffic,” the letter said.
“We must work across the aisle to rebuild, repair, and expand our nation’s infrastructure,” it added.
“Infrastructure projects are consistently evaluated as the best return on government investments, so investing in our infrastructure is more than just good politics, it is good economics,” the letter said.
The New Democrat Coalition has long been concerned with the issue of infrastructure and has repeatedly tried to kick start the process of getting needed projects done.
During the 115th Congress, the Coalition released a list of objectives that included modernization of infrastructure, creation of an infrastructure bank to finance projects and grant programs for communities that most needed improvement, and further encouragement of innovation and reform.
Trump has repeatedly said how important repairing American infrastructure is to his administration, but he broke off negotiations with House and Senate Democrats due to ongoing investigations of the 2016 presidential campaign in the House.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave US infrastructure a rating of D+ in their 2017 report card.
Also in 2017 the society said that they estimated fixing the infrastructure would cost more than $4.6 trillion dollars.
In The News
Health
Voting
Infrastructure
WASHINGTON - Neglected for too long, America’s severe infrastructure needs must finally be placed at the top of the U.S. policy agenda, the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board said Thursday. A new, comprehensive report, offers several policy recommendations to address this building crisis. From... Read More
WASHINGTON. – Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., introduced bipartisan legislation to help modernize America’s aging building infrastructure and spur more energy efficient investments. The Energy Efficient Qualified Improvement Property, or E-QUIP, Act will create an elective 10-year, straight line cost recovery period... Read More
WASHINGTON – Last week, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, supporting the Three Seas Initiative unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The Three Seas Initiative is a strategic partnership of twelve Central and Eastern European nations with the... Read More
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently announced that the New Jersey Department of Transportation will be awarding $161.25 million in municipal aid grants to advance road, bridge, safety, and quality-of-life improvements. Over 540 cities and towns throughout the state will benefit from the grant funds. “These... Read More
Two years ago, Democrats won back control of the U.S. House by nominating largely moderate candidates in swing districts who ignored litmus test issues like the Green New Deal and refused to be defined by extreme economic and energy policies like bans on fracking. Two years... Read More
WASHINGTON – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Material conducted a hearing Wednesday exploring the Surface Transportation Board’s part in developments to the country’s passenger rail system. During the hearing, executive officials from Metra, Amtrak and the STB gave expert testimony... Read More
