Highlights:
Trump: America’s Infrastructure Problem Can Be Fixed “Only By Me.” According to the Hill, “Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump says he is the only presidential candidate who can restore the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. Trump’s Wednesday comments seem to represent an effort to separate himself from presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on infrastructure issues — one area where the two candidates generally agree. While delivering a blistering attack on Clinton from his hotel in New York’s SoHo neighborhood earlier in the day, Trump vowed to ‘build the greatest infrastructure on the planet earth — the roads and railways and airports of tomorrow.’ ‘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 not by Hillary Clinton,’ Trump said. ‘Only by me.’ The billionaire drew on his experience in the real estate world to argue he is more capable of advancing infrastructure projects than his likely general election opponent. ‘Construction is what I know,’ Trump said. ‘Nobody knows it better.’” [The Hill, 6/22/16]
In His 2018 State Of The Union, Trump Asked “Both Parties To Come Together” In Order To “Build Gleaming New Roads, Bridges, Highways.” According to the Washington Post’s transcript of Trump’s 2018 State of the Union Address, “Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs. Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments, and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment — to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit. And we can do it. Any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process — getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one. Together, we can reclaim our great building heritage. We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands and American grit.” [Transcript – President Trump’s 2018 State of the Union Address, 1/30/18]
April 2019: The Trump Administration Had Already Declared Seven Failed “Infrastructure Weeks.” According to the Washington Post, “It’s worth nothing, however that the president has derailed more than half a dozen White House infrastructure initiatives in the past two years, which you can watch in the video above. Let’s review the White House’s repeated attempts, and failures, to get ‘infrastructure week’ off the ground: 1) Week of May 15, 2017 […]2) Week of June 5, 2017[…] 3) Week of Aug. 14, 2017 […] 4) Week of Oct. 9, 2017 […] 5) Week of Feb. 12, 2018 […] 6) Week of March 26, 2018 […] 7) Week of April 29, 2019.” [Washington Post, 5/22/19]
April 2019: Democrats Met With Trump To Develop A Bipartisan $2 Trillion Infrastructure Agreement, Stating The Legislations Was “Big And Bold.” According to the Washington Post, “Top Democrats emerged Tuesday from a meeting with President Trump touting progress toward a $2 trillion infrastructure agreement — a rare moment of bipartisanship in a divided Washington, but one that both parties fear could evaporate quickly amid thorny financing questions and a poisonous political climate. Leaving the White House after the morning meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) both said Trump had embraced their vision of ‘big and bold’ legislation to build roads, bridges, mass transit and high-speed communications links, as well as other desperately needed upgrades, and praised the productive tone of the discussions. ‘We were very pleased with the positive attitude toward recognizing the trillions of dollars of need,’ Pelosi said. ‘Now we have an opportunity to work together in a bipartisan way.’” [Washington Post, 4/30/19]
May 2019: Trump Abruptly Cancelled A Meeting With Democratic Congressional Leaders On The Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Stating That He Would Not Work With Them Until Their “Phony Investigations” Were Over. According to the Washington Post, “The feud between President Trump and congressional Democrats reached new heights of animosity Wednesday after Trump angrily walked out of a White House meeting on the nation’s infrastructure, insisting he would not work with Democrats unless they abandon their inquiries into his businesses, presidency and personal finances. ‘Get these phony investigations over with,’ Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden, moments after he spent three minutes in the Cabinet Room raging against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats. Afterward, Pelosi called the spectacle a ‘temper tantrum’ intended to obscure Trump’s ‘lack of confidence…that he really couldn’t match the greatness of the challenge that we have’ to pursue a sweeping infrastructure deal.” [Washington Post, 5/22/19]
October 2016: Trump Campaign Advisers Peter Navarro And Wilbur Ross Drew Up An Infrastructure Plan That Would Finance $1 Trillion In Spending. According to Yahoo, “Both candidates have called for big new investments in infrastructure, and Republican Donald Trump now has a new plan to spend a gargantuan sum rebuilding the nation’s economic backbone: $1 trillion. Trump has said before that he’d double the infrastructure spending proposed by his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, whose plan calls for $275 billion in direct government spending over five years, plus another $225 billion in private investment. Trump’s new plan, drafted by economic advisors Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross, would finance up to $1 trillion in spending over a decade.” [Yahoo, 10/27/16]
Trump’s $1 Trillion Plan To Rebuild American Infrastructure Was Undermined By Trump Budget Proposal’s $55 Billion Cut to Infrastructure Spending. According to CNN, “But an analysis of the Trump budget finds that it cuts infrastructure spending overall by $55 billion, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research organization. (Coincidentally, Trump graduated from the Wharton School in 1968.) Over 10 years, Trump’s budget allocates $200 billion of federal money for infrastructure spending. But it also cuts $255 billion in existing infrastructure programs that it calls wasteful, including grants for highway renovation, Native American water facilities and rural airports.” [CNN, 6/9/17]
Trump’s 2018 Infrastructure Plan Called For A $1.5 Trillion Boost To Infrastructure Spending, But Proposed Just $200 Billion In Federal Funding. According to a column by Katrina vanden Heuvel in the Washington Post, “Despite calling for a $1.5 trillion boost in infrastructure spending, Trump is proposing just $200 billion in federal funding. The remaining $1.3 trillion is expected to come from a combination of state and local governments and the private sector. Yet in most places with the greatest need for new infrastructure, cash-strapped governments won’t be able to pay for it without raising taxes. Meanwhile, the private equity firms and foreign sovereign wealth funds that are likely fill the void will undoubtedly demand guaranteed returns in the form of, say, new tolls […] As further evidence of Trump’s actual priorities, consider where the paltry sum of federal funding in his plan is likely to come from. The administration has indicated that the $200 billion will be offset by unspecified budget cuts — a standard that did not apply to Trump’s massive corporate tax giveaway — while the White House’s proposed budget calls for severe cuts to existing infrastructure and transportation programs.” [Washington Post, Column – Katrina vanden Heuvel, 2/6/18]
Trump’s FY 2018 Budget Proposal Cut The Department Of Transportation’s Budget By $2.4 Billion Or 13%, Wiping Out Resources For New Transit Projects. According to the New York Times, “On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump lamented that America’s airports were ‘third world.’ He said he would rebuild the country’s crumbling roads. He vowed to fix wobbly bridges that he claimed were in danger of falling down. But there was no sign in the budget released by the White House this week of the trillion-dollar infrastructure plan that Mr. Trump touted last summer. Instead, he proposed slicing the Department of Transportation’s budget by 13 percent, or $2.4 billion. The cuts would put the Federal Aviation Administration under the thumb of the private sector, reduce funding for Amtrak and wipe out resources for new transit.” [New York Times, 3/17/17]
The Budget Terminated Funding For Amtrak’s Long-Haul Services, Cut A Program That Provided Grants For Rural Airports, And Called For A Limit To Federal Funding For An Infrastructure Grant Program. According to the New York Times, “The initial budget summary proposes terminating funding for Amtrak’s long-haul services, though the profitable Northeast Corridor trains would remain. Also cut is the Essential Air Services, which provides grants to mostly rural airports that wouldn’t be able to financially sustain themselves on their own. Both programs largely serve rural communities and states without major transit hubs. Amtrak released a statement saying that eliminating funding for long-distance service would impact ‘many of the 500 communities we serve.’ Zeroing out funding for long-haul Amtrak routes could impact the profitability of the successful segments of the national rail network by cutting off feeder lines to the Northeast Corridor. The budget also calls for a limit to federal funding for New Starts, a federal infrastructure grant program that is anticipated as a major source of funding for the proposed Gateway tunnel that would relieve the aging and decrepit 100-year old Hudson River rail tunnels in New York.” [New York Times, 3/17/17]
Trump’s 2019 Budget Cut Annual Federal Support For Infrastructure And Shifted Costs To States, Cities, And Private Individuals. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “The centerpiece is $200 billion in ‘new’ federal funds that the Administration claims can support at least $1.5 trillion in investment. But the budget proposes deep cuts to programs in the same agencies that would receive new grant-making authority under his infrastructure proposal. For example, the budget (even with its ‘addendum’ to account for the budget deal) slashes support for mass transit, ends the Transportation Department’s TIGER program (which supported some of the most innovative local infrastructure projects over the last eight years), and cuts investment for new projects at the Army Corps of Engineers. It also eliminates the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s main programs for building and renovating affordable housing, even as the Trump infrastructure initiative would not support much-needed housing infrastructure.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/12/18]
Trump’s Budget Saw Cuts To Core Infrastructure Funding Including $164 Billion In Cuts To The Highway Trust Fund And TIGER Grants. According to the Center for American Progress, “Despite repeatedly promising to invest in the nation’s infrastructure, President Trump’s proposed budget calls for dramatic cuts to core federal infrastructure programs. The largest cut would be to the Highway Trust Fund, which provides essential funding for highway, bridge, and public transportation programs. Extrapolating out from the most recent Congressional Budget Office analysis, the Trump budget proposal would result in a cut of $164 billion to the Highway Trust Fund over fiscal years 2021 through 2028. Funding cuts and job losses are broken down for each state here. Additionally, the budget calls for the immediate elimination of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant as well as pushing a substantial share of the cost of Amtrak long-distance routes onto states. The budget would also eliminate the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program—which provides significant funding to transit authorities for the construction of major new bus and rail projects—once all existing grant agreements are completed.” [Center For American Progress, 2/12/18]
Trump Promised To Invest $200 Billion In Infrastructure, But In His 2020 Budget Proposal He Cut Army Corp Of Engineers By 22%, Transportation By 20%, And Interior Department By Nearly 10%. According to a column by Katrina vanden Heuvel in the Washington Post, “Trump’s budget message argues that ‘we must write the next chapter of the great American adventure, turbocharging the industries of the future and establishing a new standard of living for the 21st century.’ Yet this budget would essentially concede ‘the industries of the future’ to other countries. Our decrepit infrastructure needs literally trillions in additional funding. Trump claims he’ll add $200 billion to invest in infrastructure over 10 years, but his budget cuts the Army Corps of Engineers by more than 22 percent, the Transportation Department by nearly 20 percent, and the Interior Department by nearly 10 percent.” [Washington Post, Column - Katrina vanden Heuvel, 3/19/19]
Trump Campaigned On Private Sector Funding To Finance Infrastructure Improvements. According to the Washington Post, “Trump campaigned on a pledge to lead a massive rebuilding effort that would rely on private-sector funding to overhaul the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. His administration talked up the concept — in which private investors would underwrite projects in exchange for a share in future profits — in the budget it rolled out in May. “Working with states, local governments and private industry, we will ensure that these new federal funds are matched by significant additional dollars for maximum efficiency and accountability,” he said in a June speech on infrastructure.” [Washington Post, 9/26/17]
September 26, 2017: Trump Said He Would Abandon Private Financing As A Strategy. According to the Washington Post, “President Trump told lawmakers this week that he was abandoning a key element of his planned $1 trillion infrastructure package, complaining that certain partnerships between the private sector and federal government simply don’t work. Trump’s comments, described by a House Democrat who met with Trump and confirmed by a White House official, reveal an infrastructure plan that appears to be up in the air as White House officials have struggled to decide how to finance many of the projects they envision to rebuild America’s roads, bridges and tunnels. Now the administration wants to force states and localities to foot most of the bill. The previous strategy — a push that has taken a back seat to other Republican priorities in Washington — was aimed at luring private investors with promises of federal backing. Some of that thinking appears to be changing.” [Washington Post, 9/26/17]
The International Monetary Fund Reduced Its Forecast For U.S. Growth In Light Of Inaction From The Trump Administration On Tax Reform And Infrastructure Spending. According to Bloomberg, “The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for the U.S. economy, removing assumptions of President Donald Trump’s plans to cut taxes and boost infrastructure spending to spur growth. The IMF reduced its forecast for U.S. growth this year to 2.1 percent, from 2.3 percent in the fund’s April update to its world economic outlook. The Washington-based fund also cut its projection for U.S. growth next year to 2.1 percent, from 2.5 percent in April.” [Bloomberg, 6/27/17]
2017: The American Society Of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Gave The Nation’s Infrastructure A D+ Grade. According to the American Society of Civil Engineer’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, “The 2017 Infrastructure Report Card reveals that we have made some incremental progress toward restoring our nation’s infrastructure. But it has not been enough. As in 2013, America’s cumulative GPA is once again a D+. The 2017 grades range from a B for Rail to a D- for Transit, illustrating the clear impact of investment – or lack thereof – on the grades. Three categories – Parks, Solid Waste, and Transit – received a decline in grade this year, while seven – Hazardous Waste, Inland Waterways, Levees, Ports, Rail, Schools, and Wastewater – saw slight improvements. Six categories’ grades remain unchanged from 2013 – Aviation, Bridges, Dams, Drinking Water, Energy, and Roads.” [American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, Accessed 2/3/20]
2017: The American Society Of Civil Engineers’ Infrastructure Report Card Gave America’s Aviation System A D Grade. [American Society of Civil Engineers, 2017]
Airports Council International Stated That American Airports Required More Than $128 Billion In New Infrastructure Needs Between 2019 And 2023. According to the Airports Council International, “With America’s airports facing more than $128 billion in new infrastructure needs across the system and a debt burden of $91.6 billion from past projects, it is time to find the means to rebuild our nation’s aviation infrastructure and improve the passenger experience for millions of travelers. It is a common misconception that airports are funded with taxpayer dollars or a general tax on all citizens. In reality infrastructure projects at U.S. airports are funded primarily with federal grants through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), a local user-fee called the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), and airport-generated revenue from tenant rents and fees.” [Airports Council International, February 2019]
The Existing Funding System Failed To Meet U.S. Airport Infrastructure Needs For Modernizing And Expanding Airport Capacity. According to the Airports Council International, “The infrastructure development cost estimate for 2019-2023 show an increase of 34.0 percent from the estimate for 2017-2021 for large, medium, and small hub airports combined, and a 4.3 percent increase for non-hubs and non-commercial service airports. The improving economic environment, increasing passenger travel, and aging infrastructure have caused airports to plan or begin additional infrastructure projects that were previously postponed or canceled […] The existing funding system fails to meet U.S. airport infrastructure needs for modernizing and expanding airport capacity.” [Airports Council International, February 2019]
As Part Of Infrastructure Week, Trump Released A Plan To Privatize Air Traffic Control. According to NBC News, “But the president’s endorsement of a proposal to privatize air traffic control by detaching it from the FAA — announced in June 2017 as part of a larger week of infrastructure-related events at the White House — has been stalled since day one. It currently doesn’t have the votes in Congress.” [NBC News, 1/2/18]
Chris Elliot, Consumer Airline Advocate, Said Trump’s “Efforts To Deregulate These Federal Agencies Like The FAA Might Actually Create Less Safe Airlines.” According to NBC News, “‘I haven’t seen any evidence that the White House has done anything to improve airline safety or get strict with airline safety,’ consumer airline advocate Chris Elliott told NBC News, noting that previous years were safe, too. (There hasn’t been a commercial passenger airline crash in the U.S. since 2009.) ‘His efforts to deregulate these federal agencies like the FAA might actually create less safe airlines,’ Elliott told NBC News. ‘If you’re trying to remove regulations, eventually you’re going to stumble across a regulation that saves lives.’” [NBC News, 1/2/18]
The American Road And Transportation Builders Association’s 2019 Bridge Report Stated That 47,000 Bridges Are “Structurally Deficient.” According to Forbes, “In the United States, the conversation about the state of the country’s deteriorating infrastructure has started getting louder. This is partly due to President Trump’s long-stalled campaign promise to boost spending on infrastructure, possibly by as much as $1 trillion. The topic has also grown in importance due to events overseas, particularly the horrific bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy last year that cost 43 lives. That disaster placed the state of American bridges firmly under the spotlight and according to a new analysis from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, there are 178 million daily crossings on over 47,000 structurally deficient U.S. bridges today.” [Forbes, 4/3/19]
19.4% Of Iowa’s Bridges Need Repair And The Total Number Amounts To 4,675. According to Forbes, “The following infographic shows the states with the most structurally deficient bridges and Iowa is in first place. 19.4% of its bridges need repair and the total number amounts to 4,675. Pennsylvania comes second with 3,770 bridges in need of attention, 16.6% of the total. While Oklahoma has the third-highest number at 2,540 – 11% of all its bridges. An example of what can go wrong happened on Monday when a concrete beam fell from a bridge in Chattanooga Tennessee, injuring one person and shutting down traffic on the I-75 and I-24, one of the busiest intersections in the country.” [Forbes, 4/3/19]
Pennsylvania Had 3,770 Bridges In Need Of Attention, 16.6% Of The Total. According to Forbes, “The following infographic shows the states with the most structurally deficient bridges and Iowa is in first place. 19.4% of its bridges need repair and the total number amounts to 4,675. Pennsylvania comes second with 3,770 bridges in need of attention, 16.6% of the total. While Oklahoma has the third-highest number at 2,540 – 11% of all its bridges. An example of what can go wrong happened on Monday when a concrete beam fell from a bridge in Chattanooga Tennessee, injuring one person and shutting down traffic on the I-75 and I-24, one of the busiest intersections in the country.” [Forbes, 4/3/19]
In 2018, The Pace Of Repair On America’s Bridges Slowed To The Lowest Point In Five Years. According to Forbes, “The pace of improvement has slowed according to the analysis and at the current rate, it would take 80 years to fix all of the nation’s structurally deficient bridges. 4 out of 10 U.S. bridges need to be replaced or repaired, including 1 in 3 bridges on the Interstate. If placed end-to-end, the length of the country’s crumbling bridges would stretch nearly 1,100 miles, from Chicago to Houston. As of 2018, the total repair bill would be an estimated $171 billion.” [Forbes, 4/3/19]
In 2016, Trump Ran On The Promise To Build A Replacement For The Brent Spence, A Decaying Bridge Across The Ohio River. According to the Huffington Post, “Nearly three years after first promising to fix or replace a decaying and dangerous bridge across the Ohio River, President Donald Trump returns to Cincinnati on Thursday ― with the critical bridge unfixed, still decaying and still dangerous […] Trump, though, promised in 2016 to build a replacement bridge ― not broker an agreement between the two states to pay for it themselves. The official declined to address that question. Trump first promised to address the bridge just days before the 2016 election, at a rally in nearby Wilmington, Ohio, adding that the money could come from not paying “billions” to the United Nations to combat climate change. ‘Let’s save the money and replace the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, you like that? Which is critical to the region.’ He repeated the promise weeks into his term, in March 2017, telling a local TV reporter: ‘We’re going to get it fixed. … It’s dangerous, OK. We have many bridges like that.’” [Huffington Post, 8/1/19]
The Trump Administration Did Nothing About The Brent Spence Bridge During Trump’s Entire Term. According to USA Today, “The Brent Spence Bridge was No. 2 on a Trump administration list of 50 transportation priorities, but nothing ever came of it. The Trump campaign was quick to say the priority list was not an official policy document. And today, the bridge sits just as it was when Trump made that campaign speech in Wilmington – old, overused and awaiting a $2.5 billion savior.” [USA Today, 10/27/20]
2017: The American Society Of Civil Engineers’ Infrastructure Report Card Gave America’s Drinking Water A D Grade. [American Society of Civil Engineers, 2017]
January 25, 2017: Trump Froze EPA Grants That Stated Relied On For Water Infrastructure Program. According to the Desert Sun, “A freeze on new grants and contracts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prompted strong criticism in California on Tuesday as Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of putting communities at risk by holding up critical funding. The temporary suspension of grants, which states rely on for a variety of pollution-control and water infrastructure programs, came as the new administration also ordered EPA employees to halt posts on social media and communications with the news media.’ It's not clear how long the Trump administration intends to bar new grants and contracts, or how pending EPA grants might be affected. Newsom pointed out that last year the EPA provided California with $182 million for drinking water infrastructure and wastewater projects. ‘These funds go to small and large communities who need to build or rebuild their aging systems. This money helps prevent a future Flint from happening,’ Newsom said in a statement.” [Desert Sun, 1/25/17]
Trump Proposed Cutting All But $10 Million From Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding, Which Financed Infrastructure Upgrades To Provide Safe Drinking Water. According to MLive, “The White House is proposing to slash Environmental Protection Agency funding that pays for Great Lakes pollution cleanup by 97 percent, according to a budget document obtained by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. The potential cuts are part of President Donald Trump’s initial 2018 budget proposal, detailed in a U.S. Office of Management and Budget ‘passback’ to the EPA that outlines drastic cuts to an agency Trump has called a ‘job killer’ and promised to reduce to ‘tidbits’ as a candidate. The proposal would virtually eliminate annual Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding, slashing it from $300 million to $10 million among other cuts that would altogether reduce the EPA’s total budget by a quarter.” [MLive, 3/3/17]
The EPA Allowed Cities To Delay Or Change Federally Imposed Fixes To Their Sewer Systems And Infrastructure That They Deemed Too Costly. According to the New York Times, “The Environmental Protection Agency has made it easier for cities to keep dumping raw sewage into rivers by letting them delay or otherwise change federally imposed fixes to their sewer systems, according to interviews with local officials, water utilities and their lobbyists. Cities have long complained about the cost of meeting federal requirements to upgrade aging sewer systems, many of which release untreated waste directly into waterways during heavy rains — a problem that climate change worsens as rainstorms intensify. These complaints have gained new traction with the Trump administration, which has been more willing to renegotiate the agreements that dictate how, and how quickly, cities must overhaul their sewers.” [New York Times, 1/24/20]
As Of 2018, One-Third Of The Nation’s Major Urban Roadways Are In Poor Condition. According to “Bumpy Roads Ahead,” by TRIP, “One-third of the nation’s major urban roadways – highways and major streets that are the main routes for commuters and commerce – are in poor condition. These critical links in the nation’s transportation system carry 70 percent of the approximately 3.2 trillion miles driven annually in America. Road conditions could deteriorate even further as the rate of vehicle travel continues to increase and local and state governments find they are unable to adequately fund road repairs.” [Bumpy Roads Ahead –TRIP, October 2018]
Experts Stated That Delays In Infrastructure Improvements Contributed To Fatalities. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Delays in road improvements contribute to some of those deaths, experts say. ‘We’re jeopardizing public safety and we’re falling behind other countries,’ said Tom Smith, executive director for the American Society of Civil Engineers, which is a membership and advocacy organization. ‘We really need to invest. We need to maintain our infrastructure. We need to modernize our infrastructure. In order to do this, we need national leadership and that’s also going to require political courage.’” [Wall Street Journal, 9/2/19]
Public Transit Safety Incidents On Streets, Highways, And Bridges Rose By 13% Between 2015 And 2018. According to the Wall Street Journal, “It is hard to isolate infrastructure as a contributor to accidents from other causes, but the number of public transit safety incidents on streets, highways and bridges rose by 13% between 2015 and 2018, and the amount of property damage caused by those accidents increased by almost 20%, according to an analysis of the National Transit Database.” [Wall Street Journal, 9/2/19]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Reported That There Were An Average Of 101 Traffic Fatalities A Day In 2018, Up From 97 A Day In 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2018 reported 36,750 traffic fatalities on roads, or about 101 deaths a day, up from 97 a day in 2015.” [Wall Street Journal, 9/2/19]
Trump Said That His Infrastructure Plan Would Include Expanded Access To Broadband Internet For Rural Areas. According to Bloomberg, “President Donald Trump said that expanded access to broadband internet service in rural areas will be part of the infrastructure plan he will submit to Congress, helping to bridge a digital divide that leaves small towns behind.” [Bloomberg, 6/21/17]
Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Fell Flat And The President Disavowed The Idea OF Federal Meddling In 5G. According to Politico, “Trump pledged during the 2016 campaign to deliver broadband to rural Americans as part of a trillion-dollar national infrastructure package. Leaders of his 2020 reelection campaign also cited the need for rural connectivity earlier this year as they tried to pitch the Trump administration on a plan for a government intervention to spur along super-fast 5G wireless connectivity. But Trump’s big infrastructure plan went nowhere in Congress, and the president has disavowed the idea of federal meddling in 5G, preferring to let the private sector take the lead. Meanwhile, rural areas continue to heavily lag cities in internet availability and speeds.” [Politico, 8/17/19]
Thirty-Nine Percent Of Rural Americans, About 23 Million People, Could Not Access High Speed Internet. According to Vice, “About 39 percent of rural Americans—23 million people—still can’t access high speed internet […] Folks in rural communities don’t have access to high-speed internet because it costs a lot of money to install fiber across miles of remote countryside. If, after that initial investment, a company is going to only get two or three customers using that infrastructure, as is often the case in rural areas, it doesn’t make sense financial for these companies to build. So they don’t.” [Vice, 1/10/18]
Trump Signed Two Executive Order Aimed At Easing Red Tape Preventing Private Companies From Building New Internet Infrastructure. According to Vice, “Trump then introduced two executive orders, which he proceeded to sign live on stage, aimed at easing red tape preventing new internet infrastructure from being built. The first of these orders calls upon the Department of the Interior to allow private companies access to infrastructure like radio towers on government-owned land. The second is to come up with a plan to reduce the amount of government paperwork needed to get permission to build internet in rural areas.” [Vice, 1/10/18]
The Executive Orders Failed To Address The Costs Associated With Installing Fiber Across Rural Communities That Disincentivizes Internet Providers From Expanding Coverage. According to Vice, “Obtuse bureaucracy can definitely slow down and increase the cost of building internet infrastructure. But on the list of reasons why rural Americans don’t have high speed internet, ‘too much paperwork’ isn’t very high up […] Folks in rural communities don’t have access to high-speed internet because it costs a lot of money to install fiber across miles of remote countryside. If, after that initial investment, a company is going to only get two or three customers using that infrastructure, as is often the case in rural areas, it doesn’t make sense financial for these companies to build. So they don’t. And efforts from Big Telecom lobbyists to prevent communities from building their own internet, either as a public utility or part of a local co-op, have sabotaged the few options these people have.” [Vice, 1/10/18]
2017: The FCC Repealed Net Neutrality Rules Requiring Providers To Treat Internet Data Equally, Opening The Door For Providers To Charge More For To Access Certain Sites Or To Get Enough Bandwidth For Streaming Services. According to CNBC, “In December 2017, the FCC repealed the 2015 Open Internet Order, which required internet service providers to treat all internet traffic as equal and reinstated ISPs under a Title 1 classification that allowed them to set pricing and prioritize some types of internet traffic. […] Proponents of net neutrality have long argued that treating internet data equally is best for consumers and will increase innovation. They feared that, without neutrality, consumers would have to pay extra to their internet providers just to access certain websites or apps, or might have to pay more to get access to enough bandwidth for streaming services.” [CNBC, 3/6/19]
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Warned That Internet Providers “Have The Technical Ability And Business Incentive To Discriminate And Manipulate Your Internet Traffic, And Now This Agency Gives Them The Legal Green Light To Go Ahead And Do So.” According to CNBC, “‘I dissent from the corrupt process that has brought us to this point, and I dissent from the contempt this agency has shown our citizens in pursuing this path today,’ FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. ‘This decision put this Federal Communications Commission on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American public. The future of the internet is the future of everything. ... I believe it is essential that we sustain this foundation of openness, and that is why I support net neutrality.’ Rosenworcel said ISPs will get the power to block websites, throttle content and encourage pay-for-play arrangements with partners while limiting others to ‘a slow and bumpy road.’ ‘Know this: They have the technical ability and business incentive to discriminate and manipulate your internet traffic, and now this agency gives them the legal green light to go ahead and do so. This is not good. Not good for consumers, not good for business, not good for anyone who connects and creates online.’” [CNBC, 12/14/17]
April 2019: The FCC Announced A “New” $20.4 Billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund To Expand Internet Access In Rural Areas, But The Plan Repurposed Existing Funds Designated For The Same Thing. According to Motherboard, “The FCC on Friday received a wave of largely positive press for a new broadband proposal the government claims will revolutionize telecom markets and help drive fiber and fifth-generation (5G) wireless to rural America. But industry watchers say the agency’s proposal is light on actual details, and much of the plan isn’t actually new. […] The FCC said it will also be launching a new $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund it promised would help connect up to four million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks over the next decade. Roughly 20 million Americans lack access to speeds of 25 Mbps, the agency’s minimum threshold for broadband. Granted the funding isn’t actually ‘new,’ and it comes on the heels of numerous FCC attacks on programs that are supposed to help bring affordable connectivity to rural America. In a conference call with reporters Friday morning, FCC head Ajit Pai said the agency would pay for the plan by ‘repurposing’ some existing funds provided by the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), already designed to help subsidize broadband availability in underserved areas. Users already pay into the program via fees imposed on their phone bills. The fund would be ‘the FCC’s single biggest step yet to close the digital divide,’ the agency said.” [Motherboard, 4/12/19]
Other Critics Pointed Out The Plan Could Result In The Federal Government Subsidizing Internet Provider Monopolies In Rural Areas. According to Motherboard, “The Electronic Frontier Foundation said that while it supported the idea of broader broadband availability, it had some skepticism regarding FCC motivation and implementation, and told Motherboard it was concerned the program could just wind up padding monopoly revenues instead of building better, more open broadband networks. ‘We have very little detail here though but it looks like the FCC is suggesting the government should spend $20 billion to fund gigabit fiber monopolies for rural Americans. That would be a gigantic mistake,’ EFF lawyer Ernesto Falcon told Motherboard in an email. ‘Rather, if the government is going to invest a huge amount of money into connecting rural Americans, it should approach it as an open access infrastructure rather than subsidizing a single ISP’s profits,’ Falcon said. ‘That way, rural markets that are only going to be able to sustain one network can have the benefits of competition and all of the various ISPs that serve rural markets can mutually benefit.’” [Motherboard, 4/12/19]