Senators press Trump to boost school funding in infrastructure package

A group of 25 predominantly Democratic senators is pressing the Trump administration to strengthen public school funding in a forthcoming infrastructure package.

In a letter to President Trump, Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) call on the administration to develop a partnership with states to fix the conditions of U.S. public schools.

“This is the right thing to do for students, educators, and communities. It is also a smart investment, since it will give a needed boost to our economy by creating local jobs in every community across the country,” the letter reads.

{mosads}

“According to a recent economic analysis, every $1 billion dollars invested in construction creates nearly 18,000 jobs. That means, for example, that a federal investment in school infrastructure of $100 billion would yield an estimated 1.8 million jobs.”

Several Democrats on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee signed the letter, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.).

“We believe this investment is an essential piece of a national infrastructure plan and stand ready work to with you to make sure it is a feature of any comprehensive infrastructure bill that makes it to your desk,” the lawmakers write.

The letter comes as the Trump administration’s long-awaited infrastructure proposal may not arrive until February, despite previous plans to reveal “detailed legislative principles” for a plan this month. 

While Murkowski was the only Republican to join her Democratic colleagues in signing the Wednesday letter to Trump, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers last week put forward detailed policy suggestions for a potential infrastructure package.

The White House said it was “encouraged” by that plan, which was unveiled by the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus.

Trump has expressed hope that infrastructure could be a point of bipartisanship for lawmakers, who spent much of 2017 fighting over health care and tax reform. 

“At some point, and for the good of the country, I predict we will start working with the Democrats in a Bipartisan fashion,” Trump said in December.

“Infrastructure would be a perfect place to start. After having foolishly spent $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is time to start rebuilding our country!”