A quarter of all the funding in President Trump’s forthcoming infrastructure plan would be earmarked for rural America, according to a draft document leaked to Axios. Projects could range from broadband and highways to the electric grid and water lines.
“The leaked document doesn’t detail the cost of the plan, but previous reports have suggested the administration will seek $200 billion in grants over 10 years to leverage investment from state, local, and private sources, hoping to spur about $1 trillion total in spending,” said Vox. “Federal grants can’t exceed more than 20 percent of the project’s total cost, according to the document, which will likely mean states and localities will probably be on the hook for much of any project’s financing.”
The federal government now shoulders a larger share of the cost of infrastructure work.
Bloomberg said the principles outlined in the draft “call for expanding the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to attract more private investment in projects, and other changes to help public entities and airports raise money, including giving states flexibility to add tolls to interstates.” The White House is expected to release details in conjunction with the State of the Union speech scheduled for Jan. 30. “The White House has been promoting a new ‘self-help’ approach to encourage states and localities that own most public assets to develop their own sustainable funding, rather than relying too much on federal dollars,” said Bloomberg.
To read the six-page draft document obtained by Axios, click here.