Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Call Congress and Tell Them to STOP Trump’s #InfrastructureScam


Donald Trump has finally released his infrastructure plan and it’s as terrible as we knew it would be.
Trump said that his infrastructure plan would bring jobs, roads, and bridges to communities in need. It does the exact opposite. The former Apprentice host wants major cuts to the infrastructure programs that are already working - including a 22.2% cut in funding to the Army Corps of Engineers, the elimination of funding for the popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program that provides $500 million in grants to state and local governments1, and a 19% reduction in the Department of Transportation budget. All of these cuts are in addition to forcing cities and states to raise taxes and fees to cover the $1.3 trillion needed to fund this Wall Street handout. And the $200 billion Trump promised the federal government would chip in? That's coming from a $237 billion cut to Medicaid. 
Over the long run Trump's bait and switch would result in a net reduction of federal support for infrastructure projects - leaving vulnerable communities unable to fund critical infrastructure like new schools, clean energy or clean drinking water. To top it off, Trump is gutting the clean air and water protections that keep us safe from dangerous chemicals, pollutants, and unsafe infrastructure projects. 
This is who Trump is. From his days dealing in real estate in NYC to his run as the most divisive Presidential candidate in US history, he has always made big promises he could never keep. This infrastructure plan and the budget that was released on Monday are nothing but a shell game being played on vulnerable communities. In addition to infrastructure program cuts, the new budget also defunds PBS2, makes drastic cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and Section 8 housing programs.3 These cuts would decimate many Black communities and leave them ripe for the picking by private corporations who will speed up gentrification and push Black people out of neighborhoods.
To stop Trump’s scam infrastructure plan we need to push Members of Congress to support the bold principles needed to create a just 21st century infrastructure bill.
- the Color Of Change team

 References:
  1. "Fiscal 2019 Budget Request Would Cut TIGER Grants", Transport Topics, 12 February 2018, http://act.colorofchange.org/go/19584?t=9&akid=9173%2E3510445%2EBKNsAk
  2. "Trump proposes eliminating federal funding for PBS, NPR", The Hill, 12 February 2018, http://act.colorofchange.org/go/19585?t=11&akid=9173%2E3510445%2EBKNsAk
  3. "Trump's 2019 budget: what he cuts, how much he cuts, and why it matters", VOX, 12 February 2018, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/19586?t=13&akid=9173%2E3510445%2EBKNsAk
Robert Reich: Trump's infrastructure scam

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