Reports from inside the Trump transition are that the incoming administration will follow a budget blueprint laid out by the Heritage Foundation—public transit not included.
"Donald Trump is ready to take an ax to government spending," reports Alexander Bolton.
"The proposed cuts hew closely to a blueprint published last year by the conservative Heritage Foundation, a think tank that has helped staff the Trump transition," according to Bolton. "Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years."
Writing for Streetsblog USA, Angie Schmitt digs into the potential for deep cuts in federal spending for transit. To do so, Schmitt takes a magnifying glass to the Heritage Foundation's budget blueprint, providing detail and context for each proposal on federal transit spending:
- "'Phase out' the Federal Transit Administration" for a savings of $4 billion a year.
- Eliminate $2.2 billion of annual spending on major capital investment in transit.
- "Eliminate funding for Amtrak – $519 million annually"
- "Eliminate funding for TIGER – $510 million annually"
- "Eliminate subsidy for WMATA — $153 million annually"
So much for the positive reviews and congressional support for the TIGER program, as described by Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao, during her Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month.
FULL STORY: Trump team prepares dramatic cuts
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