Trump’s transportation pick in for a ride

One News Now discusses President-elect Trump’s pick for secretary of transportation with Marc Scribner. 

“No one really knows where that money is going to come from,” contends Marc Scribner – a research fellow focusing on transportation policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Scribner believes that a big priority for the Department of Transportation will involve figuring out what the federal role is – along with what kind of tools federal and state governments will have … namely by way of financing, rather than funding.

“So, debt financing and allowing some of these projects to be taken on by the private sector – say a privately constructed and managed toll road – [should be taken into consideration],” he explained. “Those sorts of tools are things that the Department of Transportation can play an active role in – and encouraging states to experiment with some of these innovative financing mechanisms.”

And while many Americans are focused on national security and or foreign policy, Scribner argues that infrastructure requires a great deal of attention, as well.

“That’s why someone like Ms. Chao, she may be more open to some of these innovative financing tools than previous administrations, although I will say that the Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration were quite open to a number of these tools,” Scribner maintained. “It was really Congress though that restrained the department in really experimenting.”

Read the full article at One News Now.