Less than two weeks after President Trump's State of the Union in which he declared that “American heart, American hands, and American grit” would rebuild the country's infrastructure, workers barely register in his administration's newly-released infrastructure plan. Out of the plan's 53 pages, it is not until page 51 that workforce development even gets covered, with little public attention beyond that. Instead, the vast majority of the plan focuses on reforming permits to get projects done more quickly and new programs to boost infrastructure investment.
Given the ongoing need for infrastructure investment nationally, it's not surprising to see new funding and financing strategies gaining most of the limelight. But relegating workers to the bottom of the plan underplays the enormous opportunity for future infrastructure programs to promote shared prosperity.
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