Trump calls on Congress to produce a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill


In his State of the Union address, President Trump said it's time to rebuild America's "crumbling infrastructure," and called on Congress to "produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need."
Trump said the United States was able to build the Empire State Building in just one year, and it's a "disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road." The process must be streamlined down to one or two years, he said, so "we can reclaim our great building heritage." He promised to build "gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways" and it will be done with "American heart, American hands, and American grit."
Trump also said it's important to invest in workforce development and job training and to open more vocational schools. "We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day's work," he said. "We want every child to be safe in their home at night and we want every citizen to be proud of this land we love so much. We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence, and from poverty to prosperity."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Jasveen Sangha and the ketamine 'Wild West' of Hollywood
In The Spotlight Arrest of the 'ketamine queen' accused of supplying Friends star Matthew Perry with deadly dose has turned spotlight on a showbiz drug problem
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentary
The Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatment
Under the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
-
DC protests as Trump deployment ramps up
Speed Read Trump's 'crusade against crime' is targeting immigrants and the homeless
-
Ukraine, European leaders to meet Trump after Putin talks
Speed Read Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week
-
Border agents crash Newsom redistricting kickoff
Speed Read Armed federal Border Patrol agents amassed outside the venue where the California governor and other Democratic leaders were gathered
-
Man charged for hoagie attack as DC fights takeover
Speed Read The Trump administration filed felony charges against a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent
-
Trump BLS nominee floats ending key jobs report
Speed Read On Fox News, E.J. Antoni suggested scrapping the closely watched monthly jobs report
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics