There are three elements of this plan according to the NYTimes:
1. The first element of the plan is a “fix it first” policy that calls for investing $50 billion in transportation infrastructure, subject to Congressional approval. Fully $40 billion of that amount would be directed to work on the highways, bridges, transit systems and airports “most in need of repair,” according to the document. There are 70,000 bridges classified as “structurally deficient” in the United States, and while that does not mean that all of them are unsafe, it does suggest an urgency in the kinds of repairs that could keep them from becoming unsafe. The White House estimates that 80 percent of those bridges could be brought up to date under the program.
2. The second part of the plan would draw on private investment from across the nation and around the world for federal, state and local projects. It revives the president’s call for creation of a National Infrastructure Bank, which could bring public and private financing together to plan projects. The proposal would also allow issuing new America Fast Forward bonds to follow up on the Build America Bonds program from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
3. The third portion of the plan would work to eliminate red tape in permits and review for infrastructure projects. This effort would build on a White House initiative to speed up plans for projects like harbor deepening and surface transportation. The administration has said modernizing the process of permits and review can “create better outcomes for communities and the environment.”
owenzidar 