Over the past four years, President Trump and his Congressional allies have given billionaires massive tax cuts – but never once pushed a package to fix our roads and bridges. You’re paying the price for President Trump’s broken promises — and it all adds up to a War on the Middle Class.
The President’s broken promises began more than five years ago.
In May 2015, as he prepared to run for President, Donald Trump promised, “The only one to fix the infrastructure of our country is me – roads, airports, bridges. I know how to build, pols only know how to talk!” [1]
In 2016, Candidate Trump promised, “When I see the crumbling roads and bridges, or the dilapidated airports or the factories moving overseas to Mexico, or to other countries for that matter, I know these problems can all be fixed, but….only by me.” [2]
In 2017, after taking office, President Trump again promised, “With your help, we can rebuild our country’s bridges, airports, seaports, and water systems.”[3]
But nothing happened during President Trump’s first year in office.
- “An infrastructure package, often touted by President Trump, has been relegated to the back of the line.” [4]
- “Infrastructure remains stuck near the rear of the legislative line.” [5]
- “Much of the derailment on the infrastructure rollout has been of President Trump’s own making.” [6]
- “The White House has not yet rolled out a plan to rebuild what Trump calls America’s ‘crumbling’ infrastructure.” [7]
- “The numerous cuts to transportation programs seem to contradict President Trump’s emphasis on infrastructure investment, leaving many uncertain of his vision.” [8]
In 2018, President Trump repeated his promise, saying, “We’re going to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.” [9] But again, he and his Administration did not keep his promise.
Nothing happened in President Trump’s second year in office.
- “When Trump won the election, many saw infrastructure as a chance for a bipartisan victory: Both Democrats and Republicans have talked up the issue, and it has a lot of public support. But infrastructure has repeatedly slipped down the priority list. The White House hasn’t made a major push for infrastructure, and Congress is stuck.” [10]
- “Trump suggested that his proposal — aimed at spurring $1.5 trillion in spending over a decade — was not as important to him as other recent administration efforts to cut taxes and boost military spending.” [11]
In 2019, President Trump again promised, “I am eager to work with you on legislation to deliver new and important infrastructure investment, including investments in the cutting edge industries of the future. This is not an option, this is a necessity.” [12] And again, his promise went nowhere.
Nothing happened in President Trump’s third year in office.
- “At this point in the Trump presidency, “Infrastructure Week” is less a date on the calendar than it is a “Groundhog Day”-style fever dream doomed to be repeated. Roughly two years after the White House first came up with the idea of discussing, for all of seven days, the pursuit of a bipartisan agreement to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges and broadband networks, President Trump more or less torpedoed those plans on Wednesday in a Rose Garden speech.” [13]
- “On Wednesday, a bipartisan infrastructure meeting at the White House went off the rails.” [14]
- “Two and a half years later, the promise [of an infrastructure bill] remains unfulfilled. Despite yet another meeting today between the president and congressional leaders to discuss the matter, there’s little evidence of any kind of deal on the horizon. [15]”
In 2020, as a candidate for reelection, President Trump yet again promised to rebuild America, saying, “So my goal, my mission, and my commitment to each of you is very simple: America’s infrastructure will be the envy of the entire world, as it was many, many years ago.” [16] Once again, President Trump’s promises to America were quickly broken and forgotten.
Nothing has happened in President Trump’s fourth year in office.
- “Trump has done little to promote his new infrastructure plan….In fact, Trump’s prior infrastructure proposals all stalled, even when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate.” [17]
Because of this four-year record broken promises by President Trump, America has fallen further into decline.
- According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s infrastructure grade is a D+. [18]
- Our energy system is outdated and overloaded. [19]
- More than 230,000 U.S. bridges are in need of repair. [20]
- 42 million Americans are without broadband access. [21]
- A quarter of our nation’s public-school districts are in disrepair. [22]
- America’s water infrastructure is precarious and our water systems are aging. [23] In Kentucky for example, there are recent reports of tap water that “smells strongly of chlorine, like a swimming pool, and residents frequently report problems with bad taste, discoloration, sediment and irritated or burning skin after bathing.” [24]
- Our crumbling roads cost American’s at least $160 billion in wasted fuel and time. [25]
You’re paying the price of the Trump Administration’s War on the Middle Class.
MICHIGAN
- “Michigan’s roads are in terrible shape. Bridges are crumbling faster than the state can afford to fix them. Systems that provide clean drinking water are too old and damaged to fully withstand stress from age, pollution and demand.” [26]
- In a recent major infrastructure failure, devastating the Midland area in Michigan, “a chain reaction that lead to the failure of the Sanford Dam and massive flooding. Lakes were left dry while homes were underwater. [27] More than 10,000 people had to evacuate… More than 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. [28] Roads, bridges and businesses that stood in the way of the floodwaters were also damaged.” [29]
PENNSYLVANIA
- “Pennsylvania’s infrastructure is among the worst in the country, according to a new report.” [30]
- “Nationwide, drivers pay about $67 billion a year in repairs and other increased vehicle operating costs because of poor road conditions, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Pennsylvania drivers spend nearly $3 billion of that, a higher total than every state but California, Texas, New Jersey and New York. It works out to an average of $341 per motorist in Pennsylvania, the agency estimated.” [31]
- “Pennsylvania, according to the report, [32] has 3,770 structurally deficient bridges, which the study defines as bridges considered to be in poor condition, and in need of urgent repairs.” [33]
WISCONSIN
- “Deficient roads cost Wisconsin drivers $6 billion annually from wear and tear on vehicles, wasted fuel due to congestion and costs of crashes on roadways. Of the state’s 115,000 miles of drivable roadways, more than one-third are in fair or poor condition.” [34]
- The American Society of Civil Engineers says, “Wisconsin will have $7 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs in the next 20 years.” [35]
A man’s word should be his bond.
Donald Trump said he would fix America’s roads, bridges and infrastructure. But over the past four years, again and again, he has not lived up to his own words. Americans cannot afford this record of inaction on infrastructure.
After four years of broken promises and the Trump Administration’s War on the Middle Class – WE’VE HAD IT.
Check the Facts:
[1] Politico, “Trump aides try to quash tax hike rumors amid infrastructure talks,” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/17/trump-tax-hike-rumors-infrastructure-1331703
[2] The Hill, “Trump: Nation’s infrastructure can be fixed ‘only by me’,” https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/284532-trump-nations-infrastructure-can-be-fixed-only-by-me
[3] The White House, “Remarks by President Trump at 2017 North America’s Building Trades Unions National Legislative Conference,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-2017-north-americas-building-trades-unions-national-legislative-conference/
[4] The Washington Post, “Republicans on Capitol Hill leave town with most of their agenda stuck in limbo,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/republicans-on-capitol-hill-leave-town-with-most-of-their-agenda-stuck-in-limbo/2017/04/08/e6f97b16-1b25-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html
[5] The New York Times, “Trump’s ‘Great National Infrastructure Program’? Stalled,” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/us/trump-infrastructure-program.html
[6] The Hill, “Trump’s ‘infrastructure week’ goes off the rails,” https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/337046-trumps-infrastructure-week-goes-off-the-rails
[7] ABC News, “Promises, Promises: What Trump Said He Would Do But Hasn’t,” https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/president-trumps-first-100-days/promises-promises-what-trump-said-he-would-do-hasn-t-n748531
[8] American Action Forum, “Insight: Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: What We Know from the FY 2018 Budget,” https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/trumps-infrastructure-plan-know-fy-2018-budget/
[9] The White House, “Remarks by President Trump on the Infrastructure Initiative,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-infrastructure-initiative/
[10] The Washington Post, “Trump promised $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending. He’s 1 percent of the way there.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/29/trump-promised-1-5-trillion-in-infrastructure-spending-hes-1-percent-of-the-way-there/
[11] The Day, “Trump says ‘OK with me’ if plan to rebuild roads founders,” https://www.theday.com/article/20180212/NWS13/180219795
[12] Roll Call, “Trump offers 61 words on infrastructure, follow-up awaited,” https://www.rollcall.com/2019/02/06/trump-offers-61-words-on-infrastructure-follow-up-awaited/
[13] The New York Times, “How ‘Infrastructure Week’ Became a Long-Running Joke,” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/us/politics/trump-infrastructure-week.html
[14] Politico, “A week of Trump-fueled dysfunction leaves Congress gasping,” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/trump-congress-chaos-dysfunction-week-1342870
[15] Christian Science Monitor, “Both parties agree infrastructure needs fixing. So why hasn’t it happened?,” https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2019/0522/Both-parties-agree-infrastructure-needs-fixing.-So-why-hasn-t-it-happened
[16] The White House, “Remarks by President Trump on the Rebuilding of America’s Infrastructure: Faster, Better, Stronger | Atlanta, GA,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-rebuilding-americas-infrastructure-faster-better-stronger-atlanta-ga/
[17] ABC News, “Trump tries new approach for $1 trillion infrastructure plan,” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-approach-trillion-infrastructure-plan-69125618
[18] American Society of Civil Engineers, “2017 Infrastructure Report Card,” https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/
[19] American Society of Civil Engineers, “2017 Infrastructure Report Card: Energy,” https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/energy/
[20] American Road & Transportation Builders Association, “230,000 U.S. Bridges Need Repair, New Analysis of Federal Data Finds,” https://www.artba.org/2020/04/12/230000-u-s-bridges-need-repair-new-analysis-of-federal-data-finds/
[21] BroadbandNow Research, “FCC Reports Broadband Unavailable to 21.3 Million Americans, BroadbandNow Study Indicates 42 Million Do Not Have Access,” https://broadbandnow.com/research/fcc-underestimates-unserved-by-50-percent
[22] American Society of Civil Engineers, “2017 Infrastructure Report Card: Conditions and Capacity,” https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/schools/conditions-capacity/
[23] American Society of Civil Engineers, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure,” http://www.uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/publications/The%20Economic%20Benefits%20of%20Investing%20in%20Water%20Infrastructure_final.pdf
[24] The Guardian, “It smells bad, it tastes bad’: how Americans stopped trusting their water,” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/22/martin-county-kentucky-tap-water
[25] American Society of Civil Engineers, “2017 Infrastructure Report Card: Roads,” https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/roads/
[26] Bridge Michigan, “Michigan’s 2018 infrastructure report card: D+,” https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigans-2018-infrastructure-report-card-d
[27] MLive, “Gov. Whitmer formally asks President Trump to declare mid-Michigan flooding a ‘major disaster’,” https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2020/06/gov-whitmer-formally-asks-president-trump-to-declare-mid-michigan-flooding-a-major-disaster.html
[28] MLive, “2,300 homes damaged and 9 more reasons Michigan wants flooding declared a federal disaster,” https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2020/06/2300-homes-damaged-and-9-more-reasons-michigan-wants-flooding-declared-a-federal-disaster.html
[29] MLive, “Timeline: The Edenville Dam saga, before, during and after the break,” https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/09/timeline-the-edenville-dam-saga-before-during-and-after-the-break.html
[30] The Times, “Report: Pennsylvania’s infrastructure fifth-worst in U.S.,” https://www.timesonline.com/news/20190925/report-pennsylvanias-infrastructure-fifth-worst-in-us
[31] Insurancenewsnet.com, “Pa. highways are crumbling and there’s not enough money to fix them,” https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/pa-highways-are-crumbling-and-theres-not-enough-money-to-fix-them#.X3YJZpNKiko
[32] American Road & Transportation Builders Association, “2019 Bridge Report,” https://artbabridgereport.org/reports/2019-ARTBA-Bridge-Report.pdf
[33] The Philly Voice, “Pennsylvania has second-most structurally deficient bridges in U.S.,” https://www.phillyvoice.com/pennsylvania-structurally-deficient-bridges-transportation/
[34] WisBusiness, “ASCE: Civil Engineers give Wisconsin’s infrastructure a ‘C’,” https://www.wisbusiness.com/2020/asce-civil-engineers-give-wisconsins-infrastructure-a-c/
[35] Wisconsin State Journal, “Study: Wisconsin will face huge water infrastructure problem,” https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/study-wisconsin-will-face-huge-water-infrastructure-problem/article_a3056337-9c24-5e95-82c6-ba2266704daf.html