Details of the Proposed Infrastructure Bill Part 1

During the State of the Union address on January 30, 2018, President Donald Trump announced plans for a $1.5 trillion bill proposal designed to improve the nation’s infrastructure. At the time of this announcement, little was known to the public about the specifics of this plan. On February 11, 2018, the details of President Trump’s proposed infrastructure bill were unveiled to the public.

As Jacksonville construction attorneys, we are dedicated to the construction industry and its future. This includes this proposed bill that could significantly impact the construction industry over the next ten years and beyond. In this two-part article, we will discuss some of the most prominent issues of this proposed bill and how they could affect the construction industry. In the second section, we will conclude our series.

The State of America’s Infrastructure

As we discussed in great detail in a previous series on the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the nation’s overall infrastructure deserves a grade of D+ and the “challenges remain significant but solvable” to fix these problems. Because of the lack of massive investments into the infrastructure since the 1950’s, ASCE also proposes that America needs to invest at least $2 trillion into the crumbling infrastructure to improve its deteriorating condition. The concept of improving the nation’s crumbling infrastructure has received considerable bipartisan approval; however, ways to create the funding and allocate the proper budget to improve the infrastructure is a highly debated topic right now in Washington.

The Budgetary Overview of President Trump’s Plan

Under President Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, $200 billion of the total would come from federal spending. In other words, this proposed plan would greatly rely on state and local governments along with the private sector to provide the vast majority of financing towards improving the nation’s infrastructure. Of the $200 billion total proposed from the federal government, $50 billion would be dedicated to America’s rural infrastructure needs, $20 billion to fund “transformative projects” that would encourage creating sustainable and modern infrastructural designs for the future, $20 billion would be implemented into a federal loan program designed to promote investments from the private sector and $10 billion that would be allocated towards funding government infrastructure projects. The other $100 billion in federal spending would be used to distribute grants to local and state governments to provide matching funds for their local or state infrastructure projects.

If you would like to speak with a Jacksonville construction attorney, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.