Connecticut Democrats are optimistic Congress will take up President Donald Trump’s trillion-dollar federal infrastructure bill.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont says U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal of Massachusetts assured him of this when they met in Springfield.
“He just said ‘Connecticut, rev your engines. We are going to have a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. It’s coming down the pike and it’s got bipartisan support, including President Trump.’”
U.S. Representative Jim Himes from Connecticut says he’s confident House Democrats will back the bill.
“The big question mark, of course, is Mitch McConnell in the Senate. What will he be willing to bring up in the United States Senate? And I think that could be the challenge.”
Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund is running out of money. State Democrats are advocating for the return of highway tolls to raise revenue. That would require federal government approval, but a federal infrastructure bill might help reduce the amount the state would have to raise.
