Trump to hit the road for a jobs-focused reset in tough week

[rooster59]

Trump to hit the road for a jobs-focused reset in tough week

By Roberta Rampton

 

U.S. President Donald Trump waves off reporters' questions as he departs after signing two bills boosting government support for law enforcement first responders, surrounded by law enforcement organization leaders at the White House in Washington, U.S. June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will hit the road next week to ramp up his long-promised plan to overhaul the nation's aging airports, roads and railways, a push aimed at energizing his supporters and distracting from political intrigue in Washington.

 

The infrastructure push - which will include a trip to Ohio and Kentucky - comes as the White House seeks to refocus attention on core promises to boost jobs and the economy made by Trump last year during his campaign for office.

 

Those pledges have been eclipsed by the political furor over Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. That drama will come to a head next week when former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, who was leading the Russia probe until Trump fired him, testifies before a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday.

 

Trump - who has denied any collusion between Russia and his campaign - has struggled to keep the spotlight on plans that could give him a political lift. Holding four events next week on infrastructure and jobs will give him the opportunity to provide some counter-programming to the drumbeat of Russia news.

 

It is a deft messaging move, said Chris Barron, a pro-Trump Republican strategist, who says the president is at his best when he is on the offensive.

 

"I think we need to see Trump out of DC. I think we need to see Trump out on the road. I think we need to see Trump engaging his base, firing up his base," Barron told Reuters.

 

BIPARTISAN APPEAL

 

During his campaign, Trump promised a 10-year, trillion-dollar program to modernize decrepit infrastructure - a plan that holds bipartisan appeal because of its job-creating potential, and that will require backing from the U.S. Congress.

 

Legislative wins have eluded Trump thus far. He kicked off his policy push with healthcare and tax reform, initiatives that have become bogged down in process and controversy. The infrastructure push will offer some fresh ideas for the White House and lawmakers alike to discuss.

 

"It doesn't matter who you are - whether you're a farmer in the Midwest or a mother driving your kids to and from school, or work, or a college kid flying back and forth to school - you're affected by infrastructure," Gary Cohn, Trump's chief economic adviser, told reporters during a preview of the week.

 

On Monday, Trump will propose reforms to privatize the air traffic control system, calling on lawmakers to hive it off from the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

Trump will make remarks in the Rose Garden and explain how the plan will save travelers time and save fuel costs for airlines, Cohn said.

 

On Wednesday, Trump will travel to Ohio and Kentucky to talk about improvements to the 12,000 miles (19,300 km) of inland waterways, dams, locks and ports critical for shipping farm products, and will deliver a speech about his vision for infrastructure, Cohn said.

 

He will huddle with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors at the White House on Thursday to discuss their needs and plans, Cohn said. Most U.S. infrastructure is owned by state and local governments.

 

Trump will wrap up his push on Friday with a visit to the Department of Transportation to discuss regulatory reform for roads and rail, Cohn said.

 

BILL STILL IN WORKS

 

Trump last month asked Congress for $200 billion for infrastructure over 10 years, a plan that would encourage state and local governments to lease assets to the private sector to generate funding for other projects.

 

Some projects in rural areas may need traditional federal grants, an administration official told reporters, but most funds will be used to try to attract and leverage outside spending.

 

His administration has said it wants states to expand the use of tolling on interstate highways.

 

The White House does not plan to release its own infrastructure bill, and officials told reporters the timing for legislation is not set.

 

On the air traffic control reforms, Trump plans to share the "principles" he supports, but will leave the drafting of legislation to lawmakers, officials told reporters.

 

Trump has said in the past that he would consider packaging infrastructure with healthcare or tax reform legislation as an incentive to obtain support from lawmakers.

 

The infrastructure plan has already attracted some private-sector interest. Last month, U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP and Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund said they planned to create a $40 billion vehicle to invest in infrastructure projects, mainly in the United States.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-04

[ilostmypassword]

Trump Plans to Shift Infrastructure Funding to Cities, States and Business

President Trump will lay out a vision this coming week for sharply curtailing the federal government’s funding of the nation’s infrastructure and calling upon states, cities and corporations to shoulder most of the cost of rebuilding roads, bridges, railways and waterways.

He will also endorse a plan to privatize and modernize the nation’s air-traffic control system. That plan, which is to be introduced on Monday at the White House and the subject of a major speech in the Midwest two days later, will be Mr. Trump’s first concrete explanation of how he intends to fulfill a campaign promise to lead $1 trillion in United States infrastructure projects.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/us/politics/trump-plans-to-shift-infrastructure-funding-to-cities-states-and-business.html?_r=0

[Fulwell53]

Build assets using public money/borrowing  and then lease them to the private sector who invariably bleed the users dry to turn a buck. More money in his mates' pockets. How typical.

Govt says ' sorry but we cant control what the private sector charges'.

Marvelous!

No doubt there will be land cleared and set aside during this 'infrastructure' push that trump will get to put one of his tacky edifices to ego on.

This putting him out and about to do what he does best ( tell lies and spread fake news ) isnt going to make a jot of difference.

His vanity wont allow him to stop using twitter when he is in a fit of pique.

Now the rest of the business community and most of the republican party have abandoned him due to his climate change clanger I expect more rats to jump ship.

Mike Pense is going to make gerald ford look like roosevelt

Edited June 4, 2017 by Fulwell53

[darksidedog]

Complete backtrack, once again, by the master of deceit. Promises 1 trillion for infrastructure, but then comes up with 200 Billion and says it's up to other people to find the rest. And as is becoming the norm, the proposal is extremely vague, showing that this bunch of clowns is incapable of taking an idea and thinking it through sufficiently to give a detailed proposal on anything.

[williamgeorgeallen]

just get the students to pay back the 1.3 trillion in current student loans. can fix up all the crumbling bridges with that money. easy.

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

just get the students to pay back the 1.3 trillion in current student loans. can fix up all the crumbling bridges with that money. easy.

Can't get blood out of a rock. Most of the students can't find decent jobs to pay back the student loans--if we want to regain our lost jobs and compete with the rest of the world we need healthy educated workers--which means we need to spend our tax money on all the healthcare our people need and all the education they can stand--not just college, but journeyman trades education too.

Edited June 4, 2017 by smotherb
to correct some typos

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

just get the students to pay back the 1.3 trillion in current student loans. can fix up all the crumbling bridges with that money. easy.

Good luck. Under Trump new student loans will cost more.

The interest rate for undergraduate students is 4.45% for the 2017-18 school year, up from 3.76% for the current year. Graduate students can borrow at a rate of 6%, up from 5.31%. And for graduate students and parents who take out PLUS loans, the interest rate will be 7%, up from 6.31%.

http://time.com/money/4774325/student-loan-interest-rate-increase-2017/

The interest rate for undergraduate students is 4.45% for the 2017-18 school year, up from 3.76% for the current year. Graduate students can borrow at a rate of 6%, up from 5.31%. And for graduate students and parents who take out PLUS loans, the interest rate will be 7%, up from 6.31%.

[williamgeorgeallen]

42 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Good luck. Under Trump new student loans will cost more.

The interest rate for undergraduate students is 4.45% for the 2017-18 school year, up from 3.76% for the current year. Graduate students can borrow at a rate of 6%, up from 5.31%. And for graduate students and parents who take out PLUS loans, the interest rate will be 7%, up from 6.31%.

http://time.com/money/4774325/student-loan-interest-rate-increase-2017/

The interest rate for undergraduate students is 4.45% for the 2017-18 school year, up from 3.76% for the current year. Graduate students can borrow at a rate of 6%, up from 5.31%. And for graduate students and parents who take out PLUS loans, the interest rate will be 7%, up from 6.31%.

i just watched a documentary on the situation on student loans in  the US. students are also borrowing off private firms for up to 18%. student loans are going to cripple many financially for years to come.

[Traveler19491]

Y

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

On Monday, Trump will propose reforms to privatize the air traffic control system, calling on lawmakers to hive it off from the Federal Aviation Administratio

Gee, privatizing the air traffic control system...what an "ingenious" idea. Wonder how that will wind up being paid for? Maybe an extra few bucks (or more likely many) tacked onto your ticket, which will wind up being stuffed into the pockets of the already wealthy? Yup, that's gonna help the little guy, for sure.

 

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

His administration has said it wants states to expand the use of tolling on interstate highway

So gasoline taxes will be going down? Right. And highway use taxes paid by heavy vehicles will be reduced? Not likely. Those taxes are supposed to be used to fund our roadways and bridges but are most of the time siphoned off for other budget purposes, like making up the deficits incurred from tax breaks for the rich. The fact is that every single "idea" that this con man comes up with is designed with one thing, and one thing only, in mind...the further enrichment of the already wealthy.

[soalbundy]

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Lisa,dear Lisa, there's a hole in the bucket, dear Lisa, a hole.

[KBsinter]

AMERICA FIRST where are you lot coming from, .........

[ilostmypassword]

34 minutes ago, KBsinter said:

AMERICA FIRST where are you lot coming from, .........

The question is first in what?