Dive Brief:
- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Fox Business Tuesday that if elected, he will "at least double" the amount of investment in infrastructure proposed by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
-
Trump said his plan would be funded through bonds. "Citizens would put money into the fund," he said, adding that money would come from "infrastructure bonds from the country, from the United States." Trump said that his infrastructure investment would create a significant number of new jobs.
- Prior to Tuesday, Trump had not offered specifics on his infrastructure plan. Both candidates have voiced support of increased investment in U.S. infrastructure projects.
Dive Insight:
In May, Clinton promised to roll out her five-year, $275 billion infrastructure plan to Congress within the first 100 days of her first term. Clinton said her plan, which involves establishing a national infrastructure bank to fund major projects, would be "as big — in fact bigger in some ways — than what President Eisenhower did" with the interstate highway initiative. North America's Building Trades Union — an alliance of 14 national and international unions— endorsed Clinton in December, soon after she first announced her transportation plan.
The need for an influx in infrastructure spending has emerged as a major talking point for both parties during the presidential election. According to an American Road and Transportation Builders Association study, approximately 10% of the nation's bridges were structurally deficient in 2015. Even though Congress passed a five-year, $305 billion highway bill in December, ARTBA officials said they are concerned that in four years, states will slow down funding for bridge repair.
Several states have struggled to find ways to fund critical infrastructure projects amid a lack of federal funding. Last month, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered a shutdown of all state-funded road and highway projects after he couldn't reach an agreement with state Democrats on his plan to refund the state transportation "credit card." The stop-work order stopped nearly $247 million in current work, but it halted a total of 900 projects worth $3.5 billion.
