WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Republicans in the US Senate did not embrace the $1 trillion infrastructure package drafted by Democrats on Tuesday, Senator John Thune stated.
"They [Democrats] are trying to stake out their own ground on this," Senator John Thune was quoted by The Hill on Tuesday. "[For the] infrastructure plan to get through Congress and be signed into law is going to have to be one that the president agrees with and that enjoys the support of a lot of Republicans."
Earlier in the day, Senate Democrats proposed allocating $210 billion to repair roads and bridges, $100 billion for improving energy infrastructure and $180 billion for transportation as part of their infrastructure plan. The Democrats argued that nearly 15 million jobs will be created in the United States if the proposed plan is implemented.
Also on Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to expedite environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects.
Projects to improve the US electric grid and telecommunications systems, repair and upgrade critical port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges and highways have been assigned high priority.
Trump repeatedly pledged during the 2016 election campaign to launch a giant infrastructure construction program across the United States as soon as he entered office and to reduce excessive environmental and other regulations.
