NATIONAL—President Trump and his administration are working on an infrastructure proposal worth almost $1 trillion aimed at giving the volatile United States economy a much-needed boost.
The existing infrastructure plan—the FAST Act—which authorized $305 billion over a 5-year term, will expire at the end of September.
The Department of Transportation is working on the first draft of the Trump administration's plan, which would use the lion's share of the funding on traditional infrastructure work, according to a report by Bloomberg last week.
While most of the money would go to new roads and bridge projects and repairs, the plan would also provide funding for a 5G wireless infrastructure and rural broadband.
However, even before it is up for review, some Senate Republicans are voicing opposition to the proposal, mainly over where the funding for the plan will come from.
Democrats have already prepared a new plan of their own, the Invest in America Act, authored by Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio.
The bill, if passed, would authorize almost $500 billion for roads, bridges, rail, public transit, and rural broadband. The House Transportation Committee was scheduled to start its review of the bill last week, and a vote could happen by the end of June.
Following Bloomberg's report last week, U.S. infrastructure stocks surged. U.S. Concrete's shares jumped 22.5%, Fluor Corp. was up 11%, Vulcan Materials Co. increased 8.3%, and Deere & Co. increased 2%.
