The Trump administration has a 70-page memo of infrastructure principles and is slowly working with Congress to create a feasible funding package, multiple sources told The Hill.
The White House has finally begun working on President Donald Trump’s long-awaited infrastructure proposal package, according to a report from The Hill.
The Trump administration has been sending ideas to Congress in recent days, though the process is still in the early stages, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., told the newspaper.
“We’re just now starting to work with the White House. They’re giving us their feedback, so we’re starting to see some feedback, ideas, things like that,” said Graves, who is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on highways and transit. “We’re just getting our arms around that, trying to figure out funding, cost, how we’re going to prioritize those dollars. So now that is taking a heavy precedent.”
Trump’s infrastructure plan was briefly introduced in his budget last spring, but it was pushed aside fin lieu of overhauling the tax code. The House passed the tax bill on Thursday and Republicans are planning to negotiate a final product by Christmas, said The Hill.
“The infrastructure package is coming right behind that,” Graves said. “If we get taxes done, we’ll pivot.”
In late September, Trump rejected the idea of utilizing public-private partnerships in infrastructure financing – a key element of the greater infrastructure proposal – despite championing PPP during his campaign. Trump said states and localities would cover most of the costs instead, which in turn resulted in a string of Congressional hearings on industry viewpoints of infrastructure funding.
White House tech policy adviser Reed Cordish said at an Internet Association conference on Monday that the administration has a 70-page memo of infrastructure principles, however, Graves does not expect a final bill to be ready until early next year, according to The Hill.
“It would be hard to see a bill this year,” said Graves.