Trump Calls for $1.5 Trillion to End "Infrastructure Deficit"

President Donald Trump called for massive new spending on infrastructure in his State of the Union address Monday. 

“America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just 1 year — is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?” Trump asked the Joint session of Congress in his prepared remarks. 

In response, the president called for an overhaul to “streamline the permitting and approval process — getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one.”

With the red tape cut, Trump stated he wants “at least” $1.5 trillion for infrastructure projects. As previously announced, this figure would not be made up entirely of federal spending but would also encourage state and local spending and investment from the private sector. 

“Together, we can reclaim our building heritage,” Trump concluded. “We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land.  And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit.”