On Thursday, March 16, President Trump released his first proposed budget as president. Often referred to as the “skinny” budget because it is released soon after a President assumes office, the budget proposal included many cuts to infrastructure programs that in the past have been successful.
The following statement is from Norma Jean Mattei, President, American Society of Civil Engineers regarding the release of President Trump’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018:
“President Trump’s proposed budget would eliminate funding for many of the programs designed to improve our nation’s infrastructure, which last week was graded a ‘D+’ in ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. This budget unfortunately does little to raise that grade for our aging roads, water systems, dams, and other infrastructure, the deficiencies of which currently cost each American family $3,400 per year in disposable income.
“Our nation and economy can no longer afford to wait to restore and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. The President campaigned on a promise to invest in infrastructure, to the tune of $1 trillion. While the Administration has suggested that the cuts made in the FY18 budget will be restored through an infrastructure-specific package, that is not the way to effectively invest in, modernize, and maintain our aging and underperforming infrastructure. Government programs that have proven successful should continue to be funded through authorizations and appropriations, to ensure consistent funding from year to year.”