Yes, Mr. President, let’s get to work on infrastructure

During his address to Congress, President Trump restated his plan to create an enormous new infrastructure package. As he said during the address, he plans to ask “the Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States — financed through both public and private capital.”

An infrastructure plan like this was one of Trump’s talking points on the campaign trail. I’m glad to hear it’s still a priority for the president. Now let’s see it happen.

{mosads}America’s infrastructure needs attention but even more than that it needs action. Infrastructure is what keeps our economy moving. It’s what allows millions of Americans to get to work each day and moves the freight that fills our grocery stores and powers our businesses. It is literally the foundation that other economic efforts will be built on.

During last night’s address Trump also referred to what he called “the last great infrastructure package”—President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s interstate highway system. “The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding,” he said.

I agree that we need a new commitment to building. But the interstate highway system isn’t the model to look at. Our next infrastructure investment needs to be innovative and should help America better compete in a global, 21st century economy—not the economy of the 1950s. That means more investments in transit, and shoring up what we’ve already built rather than continuing to expand a system we are struggling to maintain. 

It means better understanding what we can get out of transportation investments — a stronger economy, more fiscally sound public agencies, and greater access to opportunity for all Americans — and taking measurable steps to achieve those goals.

The next wave of infrastructure money needs to fund investment, not just spending. Paying people to dig a hole and fill it up again creates jobs but doesn’t add value to the economy. 

New infrastructure investment must add value, ideally by awarding money on a competitive basis rather than by formula, being flexible, measuring how projects serve broader goals, preserving the investments we’ve already made, and leveraging local and private investment.

Federal agencies have already started to move in this direction. The administration could give this shift huge momentum.

And we need real funding for this, not just tax gimmicks. Many have said that paying for this investment will require some form of tax reform.

If that is the case, Congress and the administration will have a real opportunity to improve other investments related to infrastructure, most notably housing and the affordability crisis so many families in America face right now.

I couldn’t agree with President Trump more that infrastructure is important and needs the attention of the federal government. Let’s get to work and make it happen.

Geoff Anderson is the president and CEO of Smart Growth America, an urban planning advocacy group. Follow Smart Growth America on Twitter @SmartGrowthUSA

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