President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass legislation that would spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending, which he said would "permanently fix the infrastructure deficit."
During his first State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Mr. Trump did not provide specifics on how much the federal government would invest directly, but he said that "every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment." The legislation also has to dramatically streamline the permitting and approval process, "getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one," he said.
Looking back at his first year's accomplishments, Mr. Trump touted what he called "the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history," and said that the stock market "has smashed one record after another, gaining $8 trillion in value. That's great news for Americans' 401(k), retirement, pension and college savings accounts."
Pledging to bring more accountability to the federal workforce, Mr. Trump also said that his administration has eliminated more regulations in its first year than any administration in history.