$1.5 trillion infrastructure plan may not pass...

Congress punctures Trump’s infrastructure and aviation plans, in one day

By BRIANNA GURCIULLO

President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan may not pass Congress this year, a key GOP lawmaker said Tuesday — shortly before a Trump-backed proposal to split up the Federal Aviation Administration collapsed as well.

Though expected, the two developments delivered major legislative blows for an administration that rolled into office banking on big populist wins on transportation.

Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate majority whip, said Tuesday that passing an infrastructure bill by the end of the year will be a tough task because lawmakers are facing a host of other priorities — news that would be a major blow to Trump’s hopes for another big legislative victory before the November midterm elections.

"I think it's gonna be hard, because we have so many other things to do and we don't have much time," Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters.

Trump outlined a $1.5 trillion plan this month that the White House says would use $200 billion in federal spending over the next decade to generate extra state, local and private investments in needs that include roads, bridges, railroads, airports, rural broadband service, veterans hospitals and drinking water.

But he has left it for Congress to fill in all the details — including how to pay for it. And the proposal faces resistance from Democrats unhappy about its relatively meager amount of federal cash, as well as the White House’s proposal to cut regulations in the name of getting projects built faster.

Cornyn made a similarly pessimistic comment earlier Tuesday to Bloomberg.

Hours later, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) acknowledged that he will no longer push for a bill that would split air traffic control away from the FAA and shift air traffic control operations into a nonprofit body. The bill has been held up for months by concerns over that piece from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Trump has endorsed the idea of splitting up the FAA since he took office, and has included it in his platforms, including his two budget requests since taking office.

“Today, we’re proposing to take American air travel into the future, finally,” Trump said at an East Room reception in June announcing his support for the proposal, with Shuster and others in attendance.

In a statement, Shuster said he continues to believe that his bill contains “good government reforms” but that it was stymied by “some of my own colleagues refused to support shrinking the federal government by 35,000 employees, cutting taxes, and stopping wasteful spending.”

“Although our air traffic control reform provisions did not reach the obvious level of support needed to pass Congress, I intend to work with Senator Thune and move forward with a reauthorization bill to provide long-term stability for the FAA,” Shuster said.

Asked about Cornyn's remarks, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's ranking member, told reporters: "I hope he's wrong."

"John's a smart guy, but I think he's wrong in this case, and I hope he's wrong," Carper said. "This administration, the president has talked so much about infrastructure, transportation, broadband deployment, water, sewer. If we can't figure out a path forward on this, shame on the president, shame on the administration, shame on the Congress."