Sanders, Kasich Top-Rated For Infrastructure

sanders-bernie-bl071715.jpg
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, pauses while speaking during the Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame Celebration dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S., on Friday, July 17, 2015. All five Democratic presidential candidates descended on Cedar Rapids, Iowa to share a stage for the first time. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Bernie Sanders

DALLAS — Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are tied for the top spot in a new monthly ranking of infrastructure-friendly presidential candidates.

Sanders, a self-described independent socialist who is seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016, and Kasich, a Republican, earned 18 points in the ranking system developed by message strategy group CG/LA Infrastructure. Republican contender Donald Trump was a close third with 17 points, trailed by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton with 11 points.

The ratings are part of CG/LA Infrastructure's Blueprint 2025 initiative, an 18-month campaign to craft an infrastructure plan for the next presidential administration, said Norman Anderson, president of the public relations firm.

"Every successful presidential candidate for the last two generations has promised to build our infrastructure, helping us to regain our global competitiveness, and none has been able to do it," said Anderson. "Our monthly rating system provides a structure for the evaluation of candidates, Republicans and Democrats, rating their ability to get this done."

Candidates get points for having built infrastructure in the past, as well as whether they would have an achievable plan as president and could organize an executive team to carry out a complex plan. The rankings included 13 of the top contenders, Anderson said.

Blueprint 2025 intends to raise infrastructure to a priority level on a par with national security while generating long-term bipartisan support through at least the 2024 presidential election, Anderson said.

"Every presidential campaign since at least 1992 has talked about infrastructure but it's super-hard to do," he said. "When it takes over nine years just to get all the permits for a major project, the focus on infrastructure has to go beyond just a single presidential term."

Infrastructure has to be one of the next president's top three priorities going into office and stay there throughout the term, Anderson said.

"This is not a narrow issue," he said. "Infrastructure, like education, is a foundational issue, underlying our ability to be productive, to be prosperous, and to creatively imagine and create our country's future."

Sanders took the top spot in the initial monthly ranking with his Rebuild America Act, S. 268, which would allocate $1 trillion to transportation and water infrastructure projects over eight years, and his frequent calls for increased funding for infrastructure on the campaign trail.

The proposal would provide $735 billion for transportation infrastructure, including an additional $75 billion each year into the Highway Trust Fund, $15 billion per year for passenger and freight rail, and a national infrastructure bank capitalized with $5 billion per year.

"America once led the world in building and maintaining a nationwide network of safe and reliable bridges and roads," Sanders said in January when he introduced the bill. "Let's rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Let's make our country safer and more efficient."

Sanders said Tuesday that his plan would be funded with higher levies on wealthy taxpayers.

"We are going to demand that the wealthiest people and the largest corporations in this country do start paying their fair share of taxes," Sanders said in an interview on NBC with reporter Andrea Mitchell.

Kasich tied for the top spot with his experience as governor, having applied his public and private sector experience to pass a robust transportation budget in Ohio, Anderson said.

The $7 billion, two-year transportation budget that went into effect July 1 included funding for 1,600 state construction and maintenance projects, $600 million for local streets and bridges, and a streamlined contracting process aimed at reducing construction costs.

Trump came in a point behind Sanders and Kasich in the ranking based on his record as a builder and real estate developer.

 

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Infrastructure Transportation industry
MORE FROM BOND BUYER