Trump's Infrastructure and Budget Plans Spell Doom for the Highway Trust Fund

Analysis from the Center for American Progress breaks down the fallout in funding and job losses to the state level, if policies proposed in the Trump Administration's infrastructure plan and its proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 are adopted.

1 minute read

January 27, 2018, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Highway Interchange

Tim Roberts Photography / Shutterstock

Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American progress, surveys the information available about the Trump Administration's infrastructure plan (though the article was published previous to the infrastructure plan leak earlier this week), to make some estimation about the potential impacts on the Highway Trust Fund.

DeGood's assessment is that "President Trump’s vision for infrastructure involves deep cuts to core programs." Specifically, "[t]he biggest and most harmful cut would be to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which provides funding for thousands of highway and public transportation projects each year."

After explaining specifics of the Trump Administration's policy proposals for the Highway Trust Fund, DeGood shares a list of estimated highway and transit funding cuts and job losses by states, estimated for the years 2021 to 2027.

DeGood concludes with a call to action after deeming the Trump Administration's proposed infrastructure cuts unacceptable. In a counter proposal, DeGood argues that the federal government "should spend at least $1 trillion above baseline over the next 10 years" on projects ranging from "highways, public transportation, and aviation to affordable housing, water, clean energy, child care facilities, and rural broadband…"

Friday, January 19, 2018 in Center for American Progress

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