Skip to main content

Trump, Democrats agree on $2 trillion infrastructure package

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speak to reporters after meeting with President Trump where they agreed on a $2 trillion infrastructure package. Screen shot from MSNBC video.

When President Trump met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday, they agreed to go after a $2 trillion infrastructure package in spite of their differences, The Hill reports. Pelosi and Schumer described the meeting as “constructive,” and that both sides wanted an infrastructure deal that would “be big and bold,” but said there was no agreement on how to pay for it.

“There was goodwill in this meeting, and that was different than some of the other meetings that we’ve had, which is a very good thing,” Schumer told reporters after the meeting, according to the news agency.

However, Congressional Republicans say they are unlikely to support a $2 trillion infrastructure package, something that could doom its chances in the GOP-controlled Senate.

“How this could be achieved in a fiscally responsible way remains the biggest question,” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a close Trump ally, told The Hill, noting that Republicans are unlikely to support that large a package. “Traditional methods for this increased investment would meet substantial pushback.”

“The devil is always in the details,” added Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), top Republican on the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing transportation spending, according to the the news agency.

Another meeting is scheduled in three weeks to discuss funding ideas. The Democrats hope the President will bring funding ideas that the Senate will support, while Republicans look for funding ideas from the Democrats.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said his party would not support the idea of paying for the package by hiking the gas tax and rolling back cuts in Trump’s 2017 signature tax law. “The common denominator, no matter what the subject the Democrats bring up, is a tax increase,” McCarthy told reporters before the meeting, according to The Hill.

According to the news agency, during the meeting, the Democrats pitched a plan where the federal government would pay for 80 percent of a project cost with local governments picking up the other 20 percent, while also including a public-private partnership element, but Trump said he would consider his own funding scheme.

Hopefully, this time, Trump and members of Congress from both parties will find some common ground and come to an agreement on how to finance the much-needed infrastructure package. With the 2020 election looming, not many in Washington believe a landmark piece of legislation will move through Congress this year, but Pelosi told reporters she had to live up to her commitment to seek bipartisan agreements to benefit Americans.

“While we may have our difficulties in other areas, we cannot ignore the needs of the American people as we go forward,” Pelosi said, according to The Hill.

 



from Equipment World http://bit.ly/2IVF0cM
via Handy Rep Ai

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Best Construction Companies in Bengaluru

Bangalore city which is now renamed as Bengaluru city is one of the biggest IT hubs in India. Bengaluru city has attracted many top construction companies in India to construct huge IT parks across the Bengaluru city. We have compiled a list of best construction companies in Bengaluru so that job seekers who are looking for civil engineering jobs can directly visit the job page of this top construction companies in Bengaluru and apply to appropriate jobs. Scope of top construction companies in Bengaluru Apart from building big IT parks, these leading construction companies in Bengaluru are also involved in construction of residential apartments in Bengaluru area, flats in Bengaluru city, big retail outlets in Bengaluru, hotels in Bengaluru, malls in Bengaluru, commercial spaces in Bengaluru etc. That is why in addition to big construction companies in Bengaluru, this city has also attracted top Architecture companies in India, best construction contractors in India, top scaffoldin...
19 comments
Read more

Toro unveils ‘first of its kind’ Dingo TXL 2000, a stand-on loader with extendable arms

Telescoping arms with a wide reach and a doubled load capacity are key features of Toro’s new Dingo TXL 2000, which is in development. A new compact utility loader in development by Toro was the talk of the American Rental Association show in New Orleans, with passers-by eying the long reach of the vertical telescoping loader arms on the Dingo TXL 2000. The gleaming red prototype represented this model’s debut, and plenty of dealers and contractors got a peek of what’s to come with this machine, which is the first of its kind, according to Toro. “This machine won’t be out until the late part of 2018, and why we’re introducing it here is because it’s our 20-year anniversary of the Dingo product line,” Kevin Conry, senior marketing manager at Toro Siteworks in Bloomington, Minnesota, had explained during the show held February 19-21. Related Toro intros Dingo TX 1000, positions strongest CUL as skid steer, CTL alternative at ICUEE (PHOTOS) The construction firms ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wash. construction workers strike for higher pay in battle with contractors

A union member pickets outside new Port Townsend elementary school in Jefferson County, Washington. Jefferson County government’s Twitter feed indicates the strike has cast doubt on whether the school will open as scheduled on September 4. Photo credit: Jefferson County Union construction workers in western Washington, which includes Seattle, went on strike at 6 a.m. August 21 and remain locked in a battle with local contractors over wages, hours and working conditions. The striking workers include crane operators who work in Seattle’s crane-dotted skyline, as well as workers in paving, concrete pumping, dirt work, hoisting and material handling. News reports say the strike has brought many large construction projects to a halt or slowed them. Seattle has the most cranes of any U.S. city, at 65, according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall North America crane index report . As the strike enters the second week, the Associated General Contractors of Washington, which is negotiatin...
Post a Comment
Read more