Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Explainer: What you should know about Trump’s infrastructure plan
Explainer: What you should know about Trump’s infrastructure plan
Oct 31, 2025 5:51 PM

Earlier today, President Trump released his new $200 billion infrastructure plan. Here is what should know about the 53-page legislative outline:

What is infrastructure?

TheFederal government has defined infrastructureas the framework of interdependent networks and prising identifiable industries, institutions (including people and procedures), and distribution capabilities that provide a reliable flow of products and services essential to the defense and economic security of the United States, the smooth functioning of governments at all levels, and society as a whole.

While infrastructure plans traditionally address transportation assets such as roads, bridges, and airports, the Trump administration plan includes “other needs like drinking and wastewater systems, waterways, water resources, energy, rural infrastructure, public lands, veterans’ hospitals, and Brownfield and Superfund sites.”

What new programs are created by the plan?

The president’s plan includes three new programs for funding and financing infrastructure improvements: an infrastructure incentives program, a rural infrastructure program, and the “Transformative Projects Program.”

Infrastructure incentives program

Program: An “infrastructure incentives program” which would “provide for targeted Federal investments, encourage innovation, streamline project delivery, and help transform the way infrastructure is designed, built, and maintained.”

Program’s function: “Under this program, States and localities would receive incentives in the form of grants. Project sponsors selected for award would execute an agreement with express progress milestones. Federal incentive funds would be conditioned upon achieving the milestones within identified time frames.”

Program’s purpose: This program would provide funding for surface transportation and airports, passenger rail, ports and waterways, flood control, water supply, hydropower, water resources, drinking water facilities, wastewater facilities, stormwater facilities, and Brownfield and Superfund sites.

Program’s funding: $100 billion

Rural infrastructure program

Program: A “rural infrastructure program” which would “provide for significant

investment in rural infrastructure to address long-unmet needs.”

Program’s function: “Under this program, States would be incentivized to partner with local and private investments pletion and operation of rural infrastructure projects.”

Program’s purpose: This program would provide funding for roads, bridges, public transit, rail, airports, and maritime and inland waterway ports; broadband and other high-speed data munication conduits); drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, land revitalization and Brownfields; governmental generation, transmission and distribution facilities; flood risk management, water supply, and waterways.

Program’s funding: $50 billion

Transformative Projects Program

Program: The Transformative Projects Program would “provide Federal funding and technical assistance for bold, innovative, and transformative infrastructure projects that could dramatically improve infrastructure.”

Program’s function: “The Transformative Projects Program would support projects that, with Federal support, are capable of generating revenue, would provide net public benefits, and would have a significant positive impact on the Nation, a region, State, or metropolitan area.”

Program’s purpose: The purposes of the Transformative Projects Program would include: significantly improving performance, from the perspective of availability, safety, reliability, frequency, and service speed; substantially reducing user costs for services; introducing new types of services; and improving services based on other related metrics.

Program’s funding: $20 billion

The proposal also establishes a new infrastructure fund in the U.S. Treasury entitled the Interior Maintenance Fund prised of additional revenues from the amounts due and payable to the United States from mineral and energy development on Federal lands and waters.

What new provisions does the plan propose?

The president’s plan proposes several new provisions in a variety of areas related to infrastructure.

Changes to financing programs

Expand Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Funding and Broaden Program EligibilitySupport airport and non-Federal waterways and ports financing options.Expand Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) and Broaden Program EligibilitySubsidize RRIF for short-line freight and passenger rail.Expand Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Funding and Broaden Program EligibilityExpand EPA’s WIFIA authorization to include non-Federal flood mitigation, navigation and water supply.Eliminate requirement under WIFIA for borrowers to munity water systems.Authorize Brownfield rehabilitation and cleanup of Superfund sitesReduces rating agency opinions from two to one for all borrowers.Provides EPA authority to waive the springing lien in certain lending situations.Increases the base level of administrative funding authorized to ensure EPA has sufficient funding to operate the WIFIA program.Removes the restriction on the ability to reimburse costs incurred prior to loan closing under WIFIA.Expands the WIFIA program to authorize eligibility for credit assistance for water system acquisitions and restructurings.Expands WIFIA authorization to include Federal deauthorized water resource projectsExpands Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Lending Programs FundingCreates Flexibility and Broaden Eligibility to Facilitate use of Private Activity Bonds (PABs)Requires public attributes for public infrastructure projectsBroadens eligibility of PABsEliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax preference on PABsRemoves State volume caps and transportation volume caps on PABs for public purpose infrastructure projects and expand eligibility to ports and airportsProvides change-of-use provisions to preserve the tax-exempt status of governmental bondsProvide change-of-use cures for private leasing of projects to ensure preservation of tax exemption for infrastructure projects.

Disposal of Federal assets

• Changes the provisions to “allow for the disposal of Federal assets to improve the allocation of economic resources in infrastructure investment.”

Transportation

• Provides States flexibility to create tolls on Interstates and reinvest toll revenues in infrastructure.

• Extends streamlined passenger facility charge process from non-hub airports to small hub airports

• Provides states flexibility mercialize Interstate rest areas

• Provides new flexibility for transportation projects with de minimis federal share

• Expands qualified credit assistance and other capabilities for state infrastructure banks

• Authorizes federal land management agencies to use contracting methods available to states

• Raises the cost threshold for major project requirements to $1 billion

• Authorizes utility relocation to take place prior to pletion

• Authorizes repayment of federal investment to eliminate perpetual application of federal requirements

• Provides small highway projects with relief for the same federal requirements as major projects

• Require value capture financing as condition of receipt of transit funds for capital investment grants

• Eliminates constraints on use of public-private and public-public partnerships in transit

• Codifies expedited project delivery for capital investment grants pilot program

• Applies FAST act streamlining provisions to rail projects and shorten the statute of limitations

• Creates more efficient federal aviation administration oversight of non-aviation development activities at airports

• Reduce barriers to alternative project delivery for airports

• Clarifies authority for incentive payments under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP)

• Moves oversight of AIP funds to post-expenditure audits

Water infrastructure

• Authorizes clean water revolving fund for privately owned public-purpose treatment works

• Provides new flexibility for water projects with de minimis federal share

• Provides ERA infrastructure programs with “SEP-15” authorizing language

• Applies identical regulatory requirements to privately owned public-purpose treatment works and publicly owned treatment works

• Expands authority related to non-federal construction and operation of inland waterways projects

• Authorizes user fee collection and retention under the WRRDA Section 5014 pilot program and recreation user fees for operation and maintenance of public facilities

• Expands U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authority to engage in long-term contracts

• mercial operation and maintenance activities at hydropower facilities

• Deauthorizes certain federal civil works projects

• Expands authority for acceptance of contributed and advanced funds

• Amends water resources development act to allow for waiver of cost limits

Veterans Affairs

• Authorizes VA to retain proceeds from sales of properties and exchange existing facilities for construction of new facilities

• Authorizes pilot program for VA to exchange land or facilities for lease of space in multi-tenant facilities

• Increases the threshold above which VA is require to obtain congressional authorization for leases

Brownfield/Superfund reform

• Creates a superfund revolving loan fund and grant program and authorize national priorities list sites to be eligible for brownfield grants

• Provides liability relief for states and municipalities acquiring contaminated property through actions as sovereign governments

• Provides EPA express settlement authority to enter into administrative agreements

• Integrates cleanup, infrastructure and long-term stewardship needs by creating flexibility in funding and execution requirements

Infrastructure permitting improvement

• Creates a new, expedited structure for environmental reviews; increases delegation of more decision-making to States and enhancing coordination between State and Federal reviews; and authorizes pilot programs through which agencies may experiment with innovative approaches to environmental reviews while enhancing environmental protections.

Delegation to states

• Expands department of transportation NEPA assignment program to other agencies

• Allows states to assume FHWA responsibilities for approval of right-of-way acquisitions

• Broadens NEPA assignment program to include other determinations

Pilot programs and judicial reform

• Creates pilot programs to “experiment with new ways to address environmental impacts while delivering projects in a more timely and predictable way,” and includes proposals to reform judicial review standards for environmental reviews to

avoid protracted litigation and to make court decisions more consistent.

Workforce development

• Expands Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term programs

• Enacts reforms of the Federal Work Study program (FWS) and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) program

• Reforms licensing requirements to allow out-of-state individuals to work on infrastructure projects

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Verse of the Day
  1 Corinthians 1:10 In-Context   8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.   9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.   10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Matthew 7:1-6   (Read Matthew 7:1-6)   We must judge ourselves, and judge of our own acts, but not make our word a law to everybody. We must not judge rashly, nor pass judgment upon our brother without any ground. We must not make the worst of people. Here is a just reproof to those who...
Ons Program Abraham Kuyper Imperative Mandate
description
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Deuteronomy 30:15-20   (Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20)   What could be said more moving, and more likely to make deep and lasting impressions? Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on James 3:1-12   (Read James 3:1-12)   We are taught to dread an unruly tongue, as one of the greatest evils. The affairs of mankind are thrown into confusion by the tongues of men. Every age of the world, and every condition of life, private or public, affords examples of this. Hell has more to do...
Verse of the Day
  2 Corinthians 12:9 In-Context   7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.   8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.   9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient...
Verse of the Day
  Deuteronomy 4:29 In-Context   27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.   28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.   29 But if from there you seek the Lord your...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Proverbs 10:19   (Read Proverbs 10:19)   Those that speak much, speak much amiss. He that checks himself is a wise man, and therein consults his own peace.   Proverbs 10:19 In-Context   17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.   18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads...
Verse of the Day
  John 3:18 In-Context   16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.   18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,...
US and EU sanctions affecting West Michigan
US and EU sanctions affecting West Michigan community
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved