PELOSI, SCHUMER WANT TO TURN TRUMP’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN INTO A CLIMATE CHANGE BILL
*Top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer made it clear to President Donald Trump they will use infrastructure to advance their climate change agenda.
*Their letter to Trump makes no mentions of roads, bridges or highways, but does mention climate change and “clean” energy.
*Democrats have said in the past they want to turn an infrastructure bill into a “green energy bill.”
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to President Donald Trump detailing their demands on infrastructure spending.
Pelosi and Schumer will meet Tuesday with Trump to discuss a potential infrastructure package. The Democrats made it clear, however, they plan to use infrastructure spending to advance their climate change agenda.
“To truly be a gamechanger for the American people, we should go beyond transportation and into broadband, water, energy, schools, housing and other initiatives,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote in a letter sent Monday.
“We must also invest in resiliency and risk mitigation of our current infrastructure to deal with climate change,” the two Democrats wrote to Trump.
Trump reportedly wants $2 trillion to beef up U.S. infrastructure, including bridges, highways and roads, but the Democrats’ letter makes clear their priorities are different from the president’s.
In fact, the letter does not contain any mention of roads, bridges or highways, but instead urges Trump to “go beyond transportation” and include spending for climate change, housing initiatives, public health and “clean energy.”
Conservatives oppose Democrats’ demands for infrastructure spending, saying it would likely mean higher gas taxes that would be diverted from beefing up transportation infrastructure.
“Trump and Republicans in Congress would like improved roads,” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said in a statement. “The Democrats want Trump to endorse higher taxes so Democrats could, once again, spend on everything except roads.”
“Every time Republicans have foolishly given Democrats money promised to roads — the tax dollars are found far away from roads and in the pockets of Democrat special interests,” Norquist said.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/30/pelosi-schumer-climate-change-bill/