During this week’s Republican National Convention, the GOP released its platform for the 2016 campaign, which includes a section on transportation.
In it, Republicans say they plan to eliminate programs from the Highway Trust Fund that “should not be the business of the federal government.” According to its platform, the GOP would eliminate funds for bike-share programs, sidewalks, recreational trails, landscaping and historical renovations that it claims are “inherently local affairs.”
According to a Washington Post report, Republicans are also pushing to eliminate public funds for passenger rail services, allowing private companies to operate them instead. However, according to the report, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of public transit. The report cites a speech Trump gave back in March, in which he highlights the need to upgrade the country’s trains and airports systems.
Though Trump has discussed the need for a transportation overhaul, he has yet to offer a specific plan for how he proposes to fix the nation’s decaying roads and bridges. But, according to The Hill, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee maintains that Trump is committed to major investments in the transportation system.
According to the report, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), who has endorsed Trump, said: “A couple weeks ago, [Trump] said he’s going to be the greatest infrastructure president in the nation’s history.”
The Hill goes on to report that during an attack on Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, “Trump said that he is the only presidential candidate who can restore the country’s decaying roads and bridges.”
