The Trump administration will prioritize funding transport projects in family-friendly parts of the country in an attempt to encourage Americans to have more babies.
There is growing alarm about the US’s fertility rate, which has crashed to an all-time low of 1.6, below the 2.0 level needed for the nation’s population to sustain itself.
Among those most concerned about the population collapsing is Trump ally Elon Musk, who has warned that ‘population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming,’ and that declining global fertility rates are ‘not just a crisis, but the crisis.’
A message to staff on Jan 30 from Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said families should be given preferential consideration when determining where to dole out DOT loans and grants.
These projects could include things such as road repairs, expanding airport terminals, installing traffic signals, and addressing crumbling public transit systems.
The memo said the DOT should improve transportation for ‘families with young children’ and ‘give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.’
The Department of Transportation is a massive agency that benefits every state. Mr Duffy will oversee a yearly budget of about $110 billion.
But the new move is expected to favor Republican-led states where birth and marriage rates tend to be higher.
In a Jan 30 memo, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged the DOT to prioritize families in funding transportation projects and favor communities with above-average marriage and birth rates
The Trump administration said that DOT-funded programs should focus on projects that enhance transportation for families with young children and prioritize communities with marriage and birth rates above the national average
Mr Duffy told staff in a memo, which was posted on X by journalist Ken Klippenstein: ‘The American people deserve an efficient, safe and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies.’
It said the administration is focused on awarding loans, contracts, and project grants ‘based on sound economic principles and analysis supported by rigorous cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions.’
Duffy’s memo instructs staffers to ‘mitigate the unique impacts’ of DOT programs on families and prioritize ‘family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children.’
The DOT supports a range of transportation initiatives, such as public transportation expansion, bridge improvements, highway and transit development, and airport improvements.
President Trump has not announced any kind of initiative to improve the nation’s infrastructure, though it was something he attempted in his first term.
But US infrastructure has been ailing for decades.
The US has more than 4million miles of public roads, and traffic has grown by 18 percent since 2000.
Almost half of these roads are in bad or fair condition, especially those in cities and rural areas, rather than highways.
Because of this, drivers end up spending $130billion every year via taxes on extra repairs.
On top of that, more and more people are driving on these damaged roads each year.
The US currently has a $786billion gap in road and bridge repairs. Most of the money – $435 billion – is needed to fix existing roads, with additional funds ($125 billion) for expanding and improving the transportation system ($225 billion).
Most of the money – $435 billion – is needed to fix existing roads, with additional funds ($125 billion) for expanding and improving the transportation system ($225 billion).
In 2022, the national marriage rate in the US stood at about six marriages per 1,000 people.
States that exceed that average are primarily in the Southeast and Mountain West, such as Florida, with a rate of seven per 1,000 people, and Utah, with 10 per 1,000.
Additionally, the US birth rate has been falling steadily since the late 2000s, reaching a new low of 55.4 births per 1,000 women as of last year.
But states in the Midwest and South — primarily Republican–led — had fertility rates exceeding the national average, including Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Mississippi, and Tennessee, meaning transportation infrastructure there could be due for improvements.
Colorado Gov Jared Polis, whose state has a fertility rate that falls below the national average, called the move ‘ludicrous on its face.’
The governor’s spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said: ‘A pothole doesn’t belong to a political party or care if you’re married or not, so it’s disappointing to see that President Trump and his team attempt to block road funding
Colorado will continue making investments in our roads and transit that are driven by market demand, reduce traffic, and drive economic growth. Donald Trump and his team should work to improve roads, rail, and transit across the entire country for all Americans.’
The administration is focused on awarding loans, contracts, and project grants ‘based on sound economic principles and analysis supported by rigorous cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions’
States that exceed that average are primarily in the Southeast and Mountain West, such as Florida , with a rate of 7.1 per 1,000, and Utah , with 9.9 per 1,000
And in Charlotte, North Carolina, officials expect the policy to take a hit on construction of the light rail system there which is partially funded by the government.
The county where Charlotte is located, Mecklenburg County, has a marriage rate the falls below the national average.
Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Kym Meyer said: ‘If [the policy] were to be followed I think you’d see Charlotte losing out on most federal funding.’
States with high marriage and birth rates that are likely to benefit, such as Wyoming, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Utah, Idaho, and Montana tend to be rural or a mix of rural and urban, and Republican-led.
Infrastructure in large, remote, rural areas can be lacking and need refurbishment or building from scratch.
The new policy allocating more funding there could potentially address transportation gaps that have existed in less metropolitan regions.
The policy could also result in much-needed funding for repairing aging roads and bridges, expanding public transit, and improving access to hospitals and schools in states with lower birth and marriage rates being overlooked or delayed.
At the same time, states with more densely populated suburban and urban areas, including Illinois, California, Colorado, and Michigan stand to lose access to funds that could improve their own aging infrastructure
Regardless, the new policy aligns with the administration’s long-time emphasis on resurrecting ‘traditional family values.’
President Trump said ahead of the election that ‘the family is really the foundation of a prosperous and good society.’
The new policy aligns with the administration’s long-time emphasis on resurrecting ‘traditional family values’
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, has long been a proponent of women prioritizing growing a family over their career goals.
He said in 2019: ‘Our people aren’t having enough children to replace themselves. That should bother us,”
‘We want babies not just because they are economically useful. We want more babies because children are good. And we believe children are good, because we are not sociopaths.’
Then, in May 2021, the then-Senator said: ‘We owe something to our country. We owe something to our future. The best way to invest in it is to ensure the next generation actually exists. I think we have to go to war against the anti-child ideology that exists in our country.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
