WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump released an initiative on Monday to pump 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars into improving the nation's outdated infrastructure and cut red tape for construction, but said the decision was up to the Congress.
The initiative is part of a budget plan Trump sent on Monday to the Congress for approval -- a total of 4.4 trillion dollars in the 2019 fiscal year -- which increases military spending and cuts spending in social programs.
The 53-page document details Trump's plans of how to fund the infrastructure spending, shorten project permitting time, remove regulatory barriers, help rural areas, and improve worker training.
For the funding, Trump asked the federal government to authorize 200 billion dollars in the next 10 years to leverage another 1.3 trillion dollars contributions from states and private investors to build roads, railways and other public works.
Analysts and Democrats immediately doubted the feasibility of the ambitious plan, which suggests that for every dollar the federal government offers, other parties need to pay 6.5 dollars.
"Trump's plan is just another giveaway to corporations and wealthy developers at the expense of American workers, and it fails to address some of the most pressing infrastructure needs our country faces," the Democratic National Committee said.
In his meeting with several governors and state and local officials at the White House to ratchet up support for his massive infrastructure plan on Monday, Trump said he looked forward to working with lawmakers, but the decision is going to be "up to them," adding that what was very important to him was "the military," "the tax cuts," and "regulation."
The lawmakers' debate is expected to be a hard one. The legislation will need 60 votes for passage in the Senate, while the Republicans only hold 51 seats.
The initiative proposal came more a year later than Trump had vowed. Trump promised a 1-trillion-dollar infrastructure updating plan during his 2016 presidential campaign, and vowed to unleash it in his first 100 days in office.
The plan, however, was delayed due to the Trump Administration's efforts to overhaul former president Barack Obama's healthcare bill and to push for tax cuts.
On Monday morning, Trump tweeted, "This will be a big week for Infrastructure. After so stupidly spending 7 trillion (dollars) in the Middle East, it is now time to start investing in OUR Country!"
In his letter to the Congress, Trump said, "Our Nation's infrastructure is in an unacceptable state of disrepair, which damages our country's competitiveness and our citizens' quality of life."
As the federal government owns little infrastructure across the country, the Trump initiative handles decision making authority to state and local governments.
As for the 200 billion dollars to be authorized from the federal budget, the White House said it will raise the money by cutting spending in other areas, including some transit and transportation funds it reckons as ineffective.
Trump's infrastructure plan came on the heels of a 1.5-trillion tax cut bill and a budget deal that will increase federal spending by 300 billion dollars over the next two years.
Given that the U.S. fiscal deficit will balloon over 1 trillion dollars next year, Republicans have been wary of another big spending measure, further reducing the possibility of passing the bill this year.
