DALLAS -- President Trump is expected to focus on infrastructure in his address to Congress Tuesday amid concern that his $1 trillion 10-year plan may be sidetracked by contentious issues like repealing the affordable care act.
"The president is fully committed to finding the best plan to revitalize and reinvest in our nation's crumbling infrastructure," a White House spokeswoman said Thursday, after Axios Media reported the plan may be delayed until 2018. "We are currently considering many options for that plan, and it would be premature to speak about specifics, especially while he's still waiting to get some of his top leadership at the relevant agencies and departments in place."
The Axios report prompted speculation that Trump's infrastructure program may be dead in the water.
"Delaying something for a year is just the first step to never doing it in the first place," said Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., who has proposed using corporate tax reform to capitalize a $50 billion federal infrastructure bank.
Axios cited Republican sources who said a backup plan is needed because Congress is likely to be busy this year with contentious issues, including a Supreme Court nomination, health care, immigration, and the debt ceiling.
Republican leaders hope to "push off until next year any consideration of the massive infrastructure plan Trump wants … for roads, airports and other big projects, giving Republican lawmakers more breathing room amid a crowd of issues that'll require massive effort, time and political capital," Axios said.
Republicans believe that Democrats will be more amenable during an election year to a Trump infrastructure proposal that would include funding for projects in their districts, according to the Axios report.
So far Trump's infrastructure plan is all talk and no action, Delaney said.
"Despite a lot of big talk about infrastructure, since the election we've seen increasing signs that a truly transformative infrastructure plan isn't coming any time soon," Delaney said. "The American people are the losers in this political game."
Few details have been released about the Trump infrastructure proposal since it was announced in late October, Delaney said.
"I have been somewhat suspicious about how they were going with this because their orders of priorities were repealing the Affordable Care Act first, tax reform second, and then other things after that. I didn't hear infrastructure," Delaney said.
"It's made me pessimistic about how sincere the efforts to build infrastructure really are."
Delaney said he will propose legislation this spring to provide $120 billion to the Highway Trust Fund through a one-time, mandatory 8.75% tax on existing overseas profits accumulated by U.S. corporations. The funding includes an infrastructure bank capitalized with $50 billion from 50-year, 1% bonds that would allow companies to repatriate a portion of their profits tax-free.
Trump press secretary Sean Spicer said infrastructure will be part of the president's address to Congress on Tuesday and in the fiscal 2018 budget that will be released next month.
"The infrastructure projects and priorities that the President has talked about -- whether it's air control, and our airports, or the roads and bridges -- will be something that he's going to work with [the Transportation Department], but also talk about in his budget," Spicer said at Thursday's press briefing. "And you'll see more in his joint address to Congress."
Private investments in public infrastructure were on the agenda at a White House meeting on Thursday morning with 24 business and manufacturing executives, Spicer said.
"The CEOs and administration officials agreed that public-private partnerships will be the cornerstone of a robust plan to rebuild the nation's crumbling infrastructure," he said.
