The White House is reportedly drafting a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal to rev up the economy.
The Trump administration is preparing an up to $1 trillion infrastructure package focused on transportation projects as part of its push to spur the world’s largest economy back to life, Bloomberg first reported Tuesday. The news of the potential additional stimulus supported a U.S. stock market rise on the same day.
Reuters adds that President Donald Trump, Republican, is eager to boost the economy to bolster his political prospects after criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the response to protests after the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis sparked protests worldwide as he aims for re-election in November. With the economy slowly recovering from the roughly two-month shutdown to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Trump administration urgently wants to kick-start employment after more than 44 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance in the past three months.
A first bill, signed by Trump earlier this month, focused on funding for vaccines, as well as for states and individuals battling the pandemic, CNBC reports, but this much broader third relief bill, which details still remain in flux, could exceed $1 trillion.
It may include direct payments to individuals, small-business lending, payroll tax cuts, and credit facilities for larger businesses and commercial paper facilities that have been seeking relief in the past months. The U.S. travel and tourism industry, for example, is seeking $150 billion in aid while the U.S. airline industry is seeking government aid of more than $50 billion.
Donald Trump has openly talked about the necessity of planning an infrastructure boost, but as he has failed to patiently work with Congress, this new 1 trillion-promise is still very much in the air, with big disagreements over how to pay for everything planned. Passing significant legislation is also much more difficult in a presidential election year, The Financial Times says.
