Cohen quoted on apparent hypocrisy of Trump budget on infrastructure
As the dust settles on President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to critical transportation funding, Bay Area leaders are calling the plan hypocritical in light of the administration’s frequently touted but as yet unseen $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan.
The proposed 13 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Transportation zeros out funding for a capital-investment program that has financed big-ticket infrastructure projects in the past, including the first phases of the BART to Silicon Valley extension and MUNI’s Central Subway project, along with BART’s San Francisco International Airport extension.
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But several Bay Area transportation officials said it’s unclear whether the administration will fund public transit projects of any kind. Stuart Cohen, the executive director of TransForm, a transportation advocacy nonprofit, said he was immediately struck by the apparent hypocrisy in the proposed budget.
“Trump has been talking about infrastructure as the one thing that could potentially unite the country and both parties,” he said, “and then he puts out a budget proposal that takes a huge ax to critical infrastructure projects.”