Tom DeLay: No Way the House Will Pass Trump $1T Infrastructure Plan
The lame-duck Congress has set forth its final agenda items under President Obama, as lawmakers attempt to meet the Dec. 9th spending legislation deadline. But how much of that agenda will be approved as Republicans are set to assume control of the executive branch come January?
President-elect Donald Trump has proposed a $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan to be rolled out over the next 10 years. In an interview with FOX Business Network’s Countdown to the Closing Bell, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) said a conservative House will never pass a $1T infrastructure program.
“[Congress is] not going to spend that kind of money. If they wanted to spend that kind of money on infrastructure they would have voted on President Obama’s stimulus package,” DeLay said.
DeLay, who became the Republican majority leader of the House in 2003, and was known as “The Hammer” for his political style, said the Federal government has no business involving itself in running local airports and transit systems.
“The federal government has a constitutional duty for interstate highways and interstate transportation systems, then maybe you can make a case for airports. But, the biggest problem…is federal government regulations,” he said.
According DeLay, increasing infrastructure spending won’t stop federal regulations from creating a road block and preventing projects from meeting their completion dates.
“Do you realize it takes 10 years from the conception of building a road to actually starting construction only because the federal government mandating historical impact statements, environmental impact statements. You can increase spending by 40% and not blink an eye,” DeLay said.