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| Donald Trump Proposes to Double Hillary Clinton’s Spending on Infrastructure | Donald Trump Proposes to Double Hillary Clinton’s Spending on Infrastructure |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Donald J. Trump took a step to Hillary Clinton’s left on Tuesday, saying that he would like to spend at least twice as much as his Democratic opponent has proposed to invest in new infrastructure as part of his plan to stimulate the United States’ economy. | |
| The idea takes a page out of the progressive playbook and is another indication that the Republican presidential nominee is prepared to break with the fiscal conservatism that his party has evangelized over the past eight years. | The idea takes a page out of the progressive playbook and is another indication that the Republican presidential nominee is prepared to break with the fiscal conservatism that his party has evangelized over the past eight years. |
| “We have bridges that are falling down,” Mr. Trump said on the Fox Business Network. “We have many, many bridges that are in danger of falling.” | “We have bridges that are falling down,” Mr. Trump said on the Fox Business Network. “We have many, many bridges that are in danger of falling.” |
| Mrs. Clinton has called for $275 billion in infrastructure spending over five years. That would include the creation of a national infrastructure bank, which would be given $25 billion to support loans and loan guarantees. In sum, the plan would support about $500 billion in spending on infrastructure. | Mrs. Clinton has called for $275 billion in infrastructure spending over five years. That would include the creation of a national infrastructure bank, which would be given $25 billion to support loans and loan guarantees. In sum, the plan would support about $500 billion in spending on infrastructure. |
| Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who competed against Mrs. Clinton for the Democratic nomination, also wanted to outspend her on infrastructure, calling for a $1 trillion investment over five years. | Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who competed against Mrs. Clinton for the Democratic nomination, also wanted to outspend her on infrastructure, calling for a $1 trillion investment over five years. |
| Asked how he would pay for $800 billion to $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, Mr. Trump described a strategy that has been favored by liberal economists over the years. He said he would create an infrastructure fund that would be supported by government bonds that investors and citizens could purchase. | Asked how he would pay for $800 billion to $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, Mr. Trump described a strategy that has been favored by liberal economists over the years. He said he would create an infrastructure fund that would be supported by government bonds that investors and citizens could purchase. |
| “We’re going to go out with a fund,” he said. “We’ll get a fund, make a phenomenal deal with low interest rates and rebuild our infrastructure.” | “We’re going to go out with a fund,” he said. “We’ll get a fund, make a phenomenal deal with low interest rates and rebuild our infrastructure.” |
| He added, “We’d do infrastructure bonds from the country, from the United States.” | |
| If Mr. Trump’s call for more spending sounds familiar, that could be because Lawrence H. Summers, who was President Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary and the director of President Obama’s National Economic Council, has been saying the same thing. At a Democratic National Convention round table last week in Philadelphia, he said the United States should invest between $1 trillion and $2 trillion in infrastructure over the next 10 years. | |
| “It’s the right thing for our children, it’s the right thing for our workers, and it’s the right thing for our growth,” Mr. Summers said. | “It’s the right thing for our children, it’s the right thing for our workers, and it’s the right thing for our growth,” Mr. Summers said. |
| Conservative critics of Mr. Trump expressed concern that the idea would put the country deeper in debt and that it sounded alarmingly similar to Mr. Obama’s 2009 stimulus program. | Conservative critics of Mr. Trump expressed concern that the idea would put the country deeper in debt and that it sounded alarmingly similar to Mr. Obama’s 2009 stimulus program. |
| “I’m old enough to remember when the people who supported Trump hated this idea when Obama proposed it,” said Leon Wolf, a commentator on the conservative website Red State. | “I’m old enough to remember when the people who supported Trump hated this idea when Obama proposed it,” said Leon Wolf, a commentator on the conservative website Red State. |
| Part of that plan, which Republicans opposed, was the issuance of “Build America Bonds,” which allowed a broader group of investors to help finance infrastructure projects in states and cities. | Part of that plan, which Republicans opposed, was the issuance of “Build America Bonds,” which allowed a broader group of investors to help finance infrastructure projects in states and cities. |
| While Mr. Trump was not specific about his plan, the proposal of a federal infrastructure bank is not new and has been supported by liberal think thanks such as the Brookings Institution as a way to improve ports, dams, water treatment facilities and large urban redevelopment projects. | While Mr. Trump was not specific about his plan, the proposal of a federal infrastructure bank is not new and has been supported by liberal think thanks such as the Brookings Institution as a way to improve ports, dams, water treatment facilities and large urban redevelopment projects. |
| Right-leaning groups such as the American Enterprise Institute have been more skeptical, arguing that users of roads and bridges should pay for them through tolls. | Right-leaning groups such as the American Enterprise Institute have been more skeptical, arguing that users of roads and bridges should pay for them through tolls. |
| Although Mr. Trump has said he would use his prowess as a builder to redevelop infrastructure more efficiently than others could, an investment of $1 trillion could conflict with Mr. Trump’s promises to reduce the deficit. | Although Mr. Trump has said he would use his prowess as a builder to redevelop infrastructure more efficiently than others could, an investment of $1 trillion could conflict with Mr. Trump’s promises to reduce the deficit. |
| “You’d be increasing the deficit for a significant period of time if you were deploying that money,” said Donald Marron, who was a member of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers. | “You’d be increasing the deficit for a significant period of time if you were deploying that money,” said Donald Marron, who was a member of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers. |
| The Clinton campaign rejected the idea that Mr. Trump has serious ideas for rebuilding American infrastructure. “Donald Trump’s only actual infrastructure proposal is to build a giant wall on the Mexican border and have Mexico pay for it,” said Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton. “Only one candidate in this campaign has put forward a specific and credible plan for investing in our nation’s infrastructure, and that’s Hillary Clinton.” |