Fix Our Infrastructure

Fix Our Infrastructure (Legislative Agenda)

To fix our infrastructure, the following 8-year agenda is proposed for the four two-year election cycles from 2021 to 2028.

  1. Election Cycle 1 – 2021 to 2022 (Infrastructure):
  1. Work with Congress to initiate design and construction contracts, in conjunction with local and state governments, to improve the safety and security of public schools, which would include the proposed PPIS to enable the citizens of every community to assist law enforcement in identifying and apprehending individuals who may be a threat to school safety and security.  (Department of Education, National Science Foundation)
     
  2. Work with Congress to begin work on the design of a national flood control system that transfers the flood waters from flood prone areas in the east to drought prone areas of the west through the Grand Canyon by the use of pumps, canals, dams, and tunnels.  The dams would provide more sources of electrical power and more sources of surface water for the nation, which would reduce the consumption of the ground water in the west and replenish depleted water tables that are creating substantial subsidence in coastal areas.  The pumps and tunnels would be used to transport all excess surface water from dams and rivers in the east to the Grand Canyon for transport to the west coast via the Colorado River.  The system would be managed by the Corps of Engineers through contracts with private companies.  (Department of Defense, Corps of Engineers)
     
  3. Work with Congress for funding to work with colleges and universities, the scientific community, and industry by the issuance of grants with goals and timetables and contracts to design a national electrical power/communications grid, which would be underground alongside the major arteries of the current interstate highway system and would connect to the various sources of electrical power generation and communications around the country.  This underground grid, which would be owned by the people, would substantially reduce the need for forest products for power and communication lines, and would be managed by the Department of Energy through contracts with private companies.  By being underground, it would also reduce damages and power outages to citizens during natural disasters and national emergencies and save lives.  By locating the power grid alongside the current interstate system, it would also support a new generation of electrically powered transportation vehicles.  The excess power poles and metal from power lines would be added to the agricultural and metal recycled reserves as liquid assets. (Department of Energy)
     
  4. Work with Congress for funding to work with colleges and universities, the scientific community, and industry by the issuance of grants with goals and timetables and contracts for the design and construction of solar panel farms in the desert areas of the country with ways to store that energy and connect that energy source to the power grid for added capacity.  The solar panel farms, which would be owned by the people, would be managed by the Department of Energy through contracts with private companies. Continue to provide tax incentives to households and companies that convert to solar power.  (Department of Energy)
     
  5. Work with Congress to establish a dedicated research team of scientists and engineers, similar to the WWII Manhattan Project for the atomic bomb, to determine how the half-lives of radioisotopes can be reduced or neutralized, so that the radioactive wastes and other byproducts of nuclear reactors can be recycled or safely disposed of in a relatively short period of time without potential damage to the environment.  (Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
     
  6. Work with Congress for funding to work with colleges and universities, the scientific community, and industry by the issuance of grants with goals and timetables and design contracts to begin the designs of the upgrades to the existing water and wastewater infrastructure and the development of new processes and equipment to remove and recycle harmful chemicals from wastewater such as glyphosate, estrogen, Prozac, and harmful discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants before they are pumped into lakes, rivers and streams.  Provide tax incentives for individuals and companies that convert to ecofriendly technologies and equipment. The new processes and equipment for recycling harmful chemicals would provide new sources of revenue for state and local governments.  (Department of the Interior)
     
  7. Work with Congress for funding to work with colleges and universities, the scientific community, and industry by the issuance of grants with goals and timetables and design contracts to begin the design of processes and processing plants to convert household organic waste, animal parts from meat processing plants, human and other animal excretions, and dead animals into commercial fertilizers with maximum control of odor and minimum pollution of the environment. These processing plants would provide new sources of revenue for state and local governments.  (Department of the Interior) (Department of Education, National Science Foundation)
     
  8. Work with Congress to initiate contracts to begin the planning and design of repairs and upgrades to existing inland waterways, marine ports, dams, and levees.  (Department of Defense, Corps of Engineers)
     
  9. Work with Congress to initiate contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to begin the planning and design of infrastructure projects associated with the repairs and upgrades to bridges, roads, mass transit, airports, and railroads.  (Department of Transportation)
     
  10. Work with Congress to initiate design and construction projects to address the deferred maintenance and repairs at the national parks that are managed by the National Park Service.  (Department of the Interior)

 

  1. Election Cycle 2 – 2023 to 2024 (Infrastructure):
  1. Work with Congress to initiate construction contracts to begin work on the national flood control system that transfers the flood waters from flood prone areas in the east to drought prone areas of the west through the Grand Canyon by the use of pumps, canals, dams, and tunnels.    (Department of Defense, Corps of Engineers)
     
  2. Work with Congress to Initiate construction contracts to begin the upgrade to the national electrical power grid and the construction of an underground power grid alongside the current interstate highway system of the country that would connect to the various sources of electrical power generation and communications. (Department of Energy)
     
  3. Depending on the success of the dedicated research team of scientists and engineers in recycling or neutralizing the radioactive wastes and other byproducts of nuclear reactors, work with Congress to begin initiating design contracts for nuclear power plants to replace existing fossil fuel power plants.  (Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
     
  4. Work with Congress to initiate construction contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to begin the upgrades to the existing water and wastewater infrastructure and the installation of new processes and equipment to remove and recycle harmful chemicals from wastewater. (Department of the Interior)
     
  5. Work with Congress to initiate construction contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to begin the construction of processing plants to convert household organic waste, animal parts from meat processing plants, human and other animal excretions, and dead animals into commercial fertilizers with maximum control of odor and minimum pollution of the environment. (Department of the Interior)
     
  6. Work with Congress to initiate construction contracts to begin the repairs and upgrades to existing inland waterways, marine ports, dams, and levees.  (Department of Defense, Corps of Engineers)
     
  7. Work with Congress to initiate construction contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to begin the construction of infrastructure projects associated with the repairs and upgrades to bridges, roads, mass transit, airports, and railroads.  (Department of Transportation)

 

  1. Election Cycle 3 – 2025 to 2026 (Infrastructure):
  1. Work with Congress to continue to initiate design and construction contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to complete the infrastructure projects identified in the previous two election cycles and to keep the infrastructure of the nation in good repair.
  1. Election Cycle 4 – 2027 to 2028 (Infrastructure):
  1. Work with Congress to continue to initiate design and construction contracts, in conjunction with state and local governments, to complete the infrastructure projects identified in the previous three election cycles and to keep the infrastructure of the nation in good repair.

 

Detailed Discussion of Proposed Infrastructure Initiatives

Before the Federal Government can effectively begin implementing infrastructure projects, America must first fix our relationship problems, our democracy problems, and our money problems.  However, the planning for the infrastructure problems that have already been identified should begin immediately.  Appendix 10 is an estimate by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) of the short-fall in the funding needed for infrastructure projects as identified between 2016 and 2025.  The 2017 ASCE Report Card estimated a short-fall of $2,064.1 billion spread over eleven (11) different infrastructure areas.  In order to begin the planning and scheduling of these infrastructure projects, the ARP would assign these eleven projects to the appropriate Cabinet Departments as follows in Table 28-1:

 

Table 28-1.  American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) U.S. Cumulative Infrastructure Needs for 2016-2025


Total Short-fall of Infrastructure Needs (in Billions of Dollars)

 

  $2,064.1

    Department of Transportation:

 

 

        Surface Transportation (Bridges, Roads, and Transit)

  $1,101.0

 

        Airports (Aviation)

         42.0

 

        Rail        

         29.4

 

            Sub-Total       

  $1,172.4

 

    Department of the Interior:

 

 

        Water/Wastewater Infrastructure

       105.0

 

        Hazardous & Solid Waste

           3.0

 

        Public Parks & Recreation

       102.3

 

            Sub-Total       

   $  210.3

 

    Department of Defense (Corps of Engineers):

 

 

        Inland Waterways & Marine Ports        

         15.0

 

        Dams                  

         39.4

 

        Levees

         70.0

 

            Sub-Total                   

   $  124.4

 

    Department of Energy:

  

 

        Electricity (Energy)       

    $  177.0

 

    Department of Education:

 

 

        Schools

   $   380.0

 

    Total Infrastructure Needs

   $2,064.1

 

 

 

 

Other longer-range infrastructure projects that should be considered are projects to reduce highway traffic congestion and air traffic congestion between short-distance major city pairs that have close economic or political ties in a very safe manner, such as the following:

  1. Two-way highspeed elevated rail transportation between New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
  2. Two-way highspeed elevated rail transportation between Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas.
  3. Also consider two-way elevated rail transportation within major cities with traffic congestion problems.

If properly planned, these projects could greatly reduce CO2 emissions and traffic congestion.

When the money problems associated with the public debt and the ceiling on government spending due to the public debt are resolved by converting from the current Debt/Credit-Based Monetary System to an Asset/Capital-Based Monetary System, the Federal Government will be able to generate funding for these infrastructure projects and the proposed environmental projects, which will create many new jobs and new industries.  The additional money to fund these projects would come from the interest charged to banks, the Federal Government (until the operational budget is balanced), and other lending institutions to support the M2 money supply, treasury notes and bonds sold to the public, income and savings from the sale and use of excess recycled assets, and the additional taxes received from the new jobs and industries generated by the infrastructure and environmental projects.

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