Hi all,
Quickly recirculating the link to
a folder with talking points, social guidance, and
graphics for today's Senate EPW hearing on President Trump's infrastructure
plan. Secretary of Transportation Chao will testify alongside RD James (head of the Army Corps of Engineers) at 10AM.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
-Justin
TALKING POINTS: Senate EPW Infrastructure Hearing
Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee will hold a hearing to discuss President Trump’s recently released infrastructure proposal.
President Trump’s proposal isn’t an infrastructure plan – it’s an infrastructure scam loaded with handouts for Wall Street developers that would roll back at least 9 bedrock environmental
laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- FACT: The Army Corps of Engineers has $96 billion in projects that have cleared all environmental reviews but remain stuck because of a lack of funding. The Corps’ current annual budget is $5 billion.
- FACT: Since taking office, President Trump has yet to appoint a Chair to the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) or an Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
- FACT CHECK: Secretary Chao will invariably cite an error-riddled study titled “Two Years Not Ten Years” claiming that severely curtailing the environmental review process will speed up the permitting process and save hundreds of billions of dollars. Those claims have been debunked in analysis by the Congressional Research Service, which has repeatedly concluded that NEPA is not a major cause of project delay. CRS stated: “[T]here is little data available to demonstrate that NEPA currently plays a significant role in delaying federal actions."
Americans know safe roads don’t have to come at the cost of clean drinking water
- Recent polling shows that 94% of American voters, including 92% of Trump voters,reject the idea that we have to threaten our clean air, clean water, and the places our families go to experience the outdoors to improve our nation’s infrastructure.
- Trump and his corporate allies are working hard to brand this package of environmental attacks as an “infrastructure plan.” In reality, it is a scam that would bulldoze environmental reviews and meaningful public input under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- Without NEPA, the federal government would be able to rubber stamp permits for corporations to build oil pipelines and toxic waste dumps without a single environmental review. Toxic waste incinerators and pipelines would be built without regard to public health and safety.
Trump’s toll bill scapegoats the environmental review process instead of addressing the biggest hurdle to slowing down infrastructure projects – a lack of funding
- For decades, Congress and the federal government have starved state and local governments of badly need money to finance infrastructure upgrades, effectively stalling projects before they can even be started.
- State and local governments are already responsible for over 80% of all infrastructure investment, but instead of addressing the trillion-dollar elephant in the room, the current proposal only contains $200 billion in dedicated federal funding.The rest of the invented money is supposed to come from private investment.
- That means more tolls in our cities and little or no improvements at all for rural America. After all, there is simply no incentive for Wall Street investors to fix a broken bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
- The kicker? That $200 billion wouldn’t actually include any new federal spending. Instead, that pot of money would come from massive cuts to Amtrak, TIGER and other existing infrastructure programs.
- In President Trump’s proposed $4.4 trillion FY2019 budget, the Highway Trust Fund, the main source of transportation funding in the United States, stands to lose $95 billion over the next 10 years. Also targeted for cuts are Amtrak ($7.6 billion) and the US Army Corps of Engineers ($14 billion).
- Add all of that up and President Trump’s proposed budget and infrastructure “plan” would cut $275 billion in infrastructure spending across the government, a net lossof $45 billion to $75 billion over 10 years.
- By scapegoating the environmental review process instead of acknowledging federal funding gaps, this infrastructure plan leaves America’s rural and suburban infrastructure needs behind
Sells out our public lands and fast-tracks pipelines through National Parks
- The Trump administration's proposal would open up the door to fast-tracking permits for pipelines through our National Parks.
- Under current law, construction of a pipeline through a National park requires a specific act of Congress, but under the Trump plan, the Secretary of the Interior would be empowered to grant approvals without asking Congress.
- Secretary Zinke has already has aggressively promoted oil and gas drilling on public lands including the recently shrunk Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.
Trump’s infrastructure plan restricts public participation and silences the people’s voice
- Industry groups and President Trump want to undermine NEPA and other bedrock environmental laws because they’re powerful tools for our communities to exercise their right to participate in important government decisions.
- By mandating public input, NEPA draws on our democratic values to ensure that projects are undertaken with the benefit of our communities in mind. This public input leads to better-developed projects with greater consensus and protections for our health and environment.
- Because of NEPA, federal agencies are no longer allowed to say “we know best” and make decisions without public accountability.
- Any law that provides broad opportunities for public participation in government decisions that affect the environment and local communities shouldn’t be rolled back. It should be embraced.
The Trump administration is not using its available toolbox to speed environmental reviews
- Since 2012, Congress has enacted legislation on three separate occasions to modify the infrastructure permitting process. President Trump has numerous tools at his disposal to increase permitting efficiencies. They simply aren’t being used or properly implemented.
- President Trump has yet to appoint a Chair to the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC). This person would have broad authority to advance the group’s mission and move large projects forward.
- The Federal Highway Administration, which processes approximately 10 percent of the federal government’s environmental impact statements in any given year, is still without an administrator.
- A 2003 GAO report found that 69% of transportation stakeholders reported that both state departments of transportations and federal environmental agencies lacked sufficient staff to handle their workloads. Rather than providing adequate funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOT, and other permitting agencies, the Trump administration has proposed budget cuts that would only make it more difficult to fast-track permitting timelines.
The overwhelming majority of projects already require little or no environmental review
- Over 99% of infrastructure projects are already cleared with minimal environmental assessment.
- If it is uncertain whether a proposed project will have significant effects on public health and the environment, federal agencies prepare a concise, preliminary evaluation of potential consequences. If the initial assessment demonstrates no significant effects, the agency issues a FONSI (“Finding of No Significant Impact”) and proceeds with the action without further environmental analysis.
- Preparation of a detailed Environmental Impact Survey (EIS) is only required for actions where an initial finding indicates that the action “may significantly affect the quality of the human environment.”
- The federal government undertakes 50,000 actions every year subject to NEPA review, but only 500 draft EISs are prepared annually. A Federal Highway Administration study found that from 1998 to 2004, no more than 3.5% percent of all proposed transportation projects required a detailed environmental study.
A Positive Agenda for NEPA Reform
- Make Agency Mitigation Promises Mandatory: Agency promises to “mitigate” the adverse effects of federal actions must be made mandatory. Failure to implement mitigation commitments undermines the integrity of NEPA. Information about ongoing mitigation projects should also be more easily accessible to the public.
- Require Ongoing Monitoring of Project Impacts: Too often, federal agencies invest significant resources in complex scientific assessments without committing sufficient resources to monitoring a project’s actual impacts.
- Improve Training and Funding for NEPA Compliance: Without adequate funding and staffing, pressure will mount on agencies to cut corners and bypass NEPA compliance. Rather than weakening NEPA, Congress should provide additional funding for full-time technical staff at the state and federal levels to ensure timely completion of environmental review.
A build-first-ask-questions-later infrastructure plan loaded with deceptive buzzwords likes buzzwords like “permitting reform” won’t speed up the review process or fix our crumbling
infrastructure – it will mean fewer environmental safeguards, more public health emergencies, and less public participation.
Social Media Guidance
(** note: please use the hashtags #InfrastructureScam and #ProtectNEPA **)
Sample Facebook:
President Trump's #InfrastructureScam would have disastrous consequences for the health
of local communities, but it would also strike a blow to the heart of our democracy. Why? Because bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are critical tools for civic engagement that empower our most marginalized communities.
#ProtectNEPA
HAPPENING NOW: Congress is holding a hearing on President Trump’s #InfrastructureScam
designed to roll back one of the most important environmental laws ever enacted. If they succeed, federal agencies would be able to limit public input and ignore project alternatives that better protect our health. We can’t let that happen. #ProtectNEPA
President Trump’s #InfrastructureScam would roll back critical protections for our environment
and public health. What does a world without laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) look like? Look no further than Senator [TAG]
Bill Nelson’s home state of Florida. #ProtectNEPA
Sample Twitter:
President Trump’s proposal isn’t an infrastructure plan – it’s an #InfrastructureScam
loaded with handouts for Wall Street developers that would roll back dozens of environmental laws. #ProtectNEPA
President Trump's #InfrastructureScam would have disastrous consequences for the environment
and the health of local communities, but it would also strike a blow to the heart of our democracy. #ProtectNEPA
Don’t be fooled by @SecElaineChao. President Trump’s #InfrastrucureScam is a massive handout
for Wall Street developers that would gut critical protections for our environment and public health.
Safe roads don’t have to come at the cost of clean drinking water, but that’s exactly
what President Trump and @SecElaineChao’s #InfrastructureScam would do.
HAPPENING NOW: The Senate @EPWGOP is holding a hearing on President Trump’s #InfrastructureScam
that would bulldoze public input and privatize our roads and bridges. We can’t let that happen. ☎ 202-224-3127
.@realdonaldtrump says
he wants to speed up the permitting process for infrastructure projects. His administration already has plenty of tools at his disposal. #InfrastructureScam
TOME ACCIÓN: Nuestra seguridad, salud y medio ambiente dependen de ello. #ProtectNEPA
Justin
McCarthy
Digital Director,
NEPA Campaign
The
Partnership Project
1101 Connecticut Ave NW, 10th Floor
1101 Connecticut Ave NW, 10th Floor
Washington,
DC 20036 USA
T: (202)
650-0327
C: (540) 312-3797
C: (540) 312-3797