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Chapter 3: The Choice is Ours to Make
“We can’t be in an environmental process for 15 years
if a bridge is going to be falling down or if a highway is
crumbling.”
Lawmakers and economists agree with President
Trump that America needs to fix our infrastructure, but
lengthy and costly legal battles with the EPA will stifle
his efforts. Executive orders alone will not do much to
change a decade’s long regulatory process. Even after
Congress approves these projects, it will take decades
to bring them to fruition.
Donald Trump supports one trillion-dollar
expenditure on the country’s infrastructure. But before
he can make this happen, he must deal with the EPA.
For example, state engineers discovered a deposit of
nickel and copper at Eagle Mine, a mine in Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula only 22 miles from the nearest refinery
as the crow flies, but 66 miles using existing roads
which pass through residential areas and Northern
Michigan University. The state tried to get a permit
from the EPA to construct a new road between the mine
and the refinery for eight years, which would help
preserve the environment and would be safer for
everyone while saving an estimated 500,000 gallons of
fuel annually. As of this date, the EPA has blocked all
attempts to build the road because of its environmental
concern for wetlands.
Security
The government cannot create jobs, guarantee
growth, or establish security because it can only
redistribute what the economy produces. If the economy
produces less, society receives less. The more
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