In the midst of dwindling pre-election poll results, the Trump administration has announced its plans to move forward with one of its long sought after goals — and specific communities are set to reap the benefits.
Per Politico, the Trump administration seeks to reward “communities with high birth and marriage rates” by gaining “an advantage in securing federal transit money.”
Trump’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) aims to “revamp a multibillion-dollar program that helps state and local authorities fund infrastructure projects such as rail improvements and new bus lanes,” according to the outlet.
The plan, which is one of the top priorities of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, will ensure that states' grant money is distributed to parts of the U.S. that have higher than the national average of marriage and birth rates.
According to the terms of the program, the FTA “would cover up to 10 percentage points more of a project’s costs if an area’s average birth and marriage rates meet, exceed or are just below nationwide thresholds,” per Politico.
In a statement detailing the initiative, the Transportation Department highlighted its focus on rewarding growth communities.
“Moving forward, the federal government is focusing on smart, affordable projects with high ridership. If you want federal funding, your project needs to align with where communities and families are actually growing,” the department said.
While the Trump administration is touting the plan, there is a steep uphill battle ahead.
Per Politico, the program has “a lengthy approval process that can take years for applicants to navigate, with money becoming available after a binding grant agreement is executed.”
From there, the FTA then determines how much of a project’s total cost it will cover.
The “share of federal funding is capped at 60 percent for new, large transit infrastructure and 80 percent for boosting the capacity of existing systems,” the outlet reported.
As it stands, the marriage and birth rates plan has not been finalized and there is currently no set timeframe as to when (or if) it will be.
Trump, for his part, has previously stated that he wants to be known as the "fertilization president,” which is in response to years of falling national birth rates and reaching a record low last year.
The revamped plan went live earlier this month on Oct.1, and will be accepted through mid-November, specifically Nov. 16, just after Election Day.
