Putting America Back to Work, President Trump Calls for New $2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill
Matthew T. McDonald
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President Trump on Tuesday said a historic investment in infrastructure and jobs should be part of a fourth congressional coronavirus relief package, citing an opportunity with the current Fed rate of near zero.
“With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill. It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4”, the President tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1245000074167541761
The idea of a trillion dollar infrastructure deal is one of the earliest ideas that Trump campaign on back in 2016. In his 2018 State of the Union address the President called on the Congress to set aside $1.5 trillion for an infrastructure plan.
According to reports by the American Society of Civil Engineers more than $2 trillion in additional funding is needed for American infrastructure by 2025 alone. The World Economic Forum this year ranked the U.S. 13th in matters of infrastructure, according to its global competitiveness report. Nations listed higher included Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, UAE, the Netherlands, and Spain.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is normally at odds with President Trump, said in an interview on Tuesday that broadband investments and water projects are examples of infrastructure that would be relevant to a fourth conornavirus response.
Although Trump’s plan has been met in the past with opposition from both members of the Republican Party and members of the Congress, the current situation of the American economy paired with the recent hostile takeover of part of the Fed Bank by the U.S. Treasury makes a favorable environment for such a bold investment.
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