Call for rebuilding offers big vision, but local leaders are still waiting for more details around funding After passing his tax bill and attempting to turn the American Health Care Act of 2017 into law, President Trump would, it?s been assumed, finally be able to focus on the need for infrastructure reform, a frequent campaign theme.
The leaked infrastructure plan from earlier this month stirred up additional anticipation that, despite the paucity of past infrastructure weeks, a comprehensive plan would finally be unveiled. Last night?s State of the Union address seemed like the perfect venue to make a broad, bipartisan appeal.
During last night?s address, Trump again sketched out the details of a potentially massive infrastructure plan, a $1.5 trillion investment that would give us safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure. Telling the nation that it is ?time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure,? Trump asked Congress to approve an initiative where every federal dollar was leveraged by state and local spending, as well as private sector investment, as a means to address the huge gulf in what is currently being spent and what is needed.

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President Donald J. Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The President said he wants a plan that ?generates? $1.5 trillion, an important phrase that causes many state and local leaders to pau...