FACT SHEET: Trump Failed On Infrastructure, Undermined A Clean Energy Economy
July 14, 2020
Trump has failed to deliver on his infrastructure promises — after at least a dozen “infrastructure weeks”— and undermined the country’s transition to a clean energy economy.
Trump repeatedly failed to pass an infrastructure plan and has ignored pressing infrastructure needs and climate concerns.
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Despite his campaign promises, Trump did not make infrastructure one of his legislative priorities from the outset.
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Trump’s many pledges to focus on fixing the nation’s infrastructure have become “a running joke in Washington, emblematic of the administration’s bumbling approach to governing.”
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Trump’s 2018 infrastructure plan relied on public-private partnerships, an approach that would have prioritized corporate profits over public benefits.
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Trump’s 2018 plan also failed to specify any dedicated funding to expand rural broadband access. Last year, Trump refused to negotiate with House Democrats over an infrastructure plan, and last month threatened to veto Democrats’ $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that would combat the effects of climate change while investing in mass transit.
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Trump proposed rolling back the National Environmental Policy Act, which would spare federal agencies from having to examine if major infrastructure projects worsened climate change.
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The Trump administration has dragged its feet in funding transit projects and dramatically reduced the share of grants that went to mass transit ventures.
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The White House has essentially given up on a large-scale infrastructure plan, and told infrastructure leaders they shouldn’t expect federal financial assistance.
Rather than advance a clean energy economy, Trump caved to special interests and boosted the fossil fuel industry every step of the way.
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Trump has stacked his administration with officials who had strong ties to the fossil fuel industry, including his EPA administrator and interior secretary.
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The Trump administration rolled back Obama-era auto emissions standards, eroding one of the country’s most important climate change and air pollution protections while putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
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Trump and his administration have sought to undermine programs that promote energy efficiency. He even called for cuts to a program that helps the auto industry build electric vehicles.
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Trump’s FY 2021 budget cut funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 75 percent.
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Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Deal, which economists, businesses, and labor leaders say will make the U.S. less competitive globally and hurt job creation in industries of the future.