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Trump's Remarks on the Rebuilding of America's Infrastructure: Faster, Better, Stronger; 07-15-20
It's just another day of leadership and grown men crying.
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump on the Rebuilding of America’s Infrastructure: Faster, Better, Stronger | Atlanta, GA
INFRASTRUCTURE & TECHNOLOGY
Issued on: July 15, 2020
UPS Hapeville Airport Hub
Atlanta, Georgia
3:42 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Great honor. Please. Thank you. Sit down, please.
{snip}
For decades, the single biggest obstacle to building a modern transportation system has been the mountains and mountains of bureaucratic red tape in Washington, D.C. Before I took office, reviews for highways ballooned to an average of nearly 750 pages in length. And they were the good ones; they were the short ones.
And I know because I was in business for a long time, and I had to go through a process that was so ridiculous. It was so ridiculous. We went through a process for building buildings, usually. It would take forever. By the time you’d start building, the market changed. You said, “You know, the market was good when we started; now the market is lousy.” So you’d say, “The hell with it. We won’t build.” Sometimes you’d start building and you’d say, “That was a mistake.”
{snip}
But all of that ends today. We’re doing something very dramatic. (Applause.) We just completed an unprecedented — and I don’t want to say it’s absolutely unprecedented — top-to- bottom overhaul — should have been done years ago — of the infrastructure approval process; this approval process that has cost trillions of dollars over the years for our country and delays like you wouldn’t believe.
{snip}
And watch, please, those mail-in ballots. You’re going to watch that for me because, you know, they have a lot of problems all over the country. They just had Paterson, New Jersey, where massive percentages of the vote was a fraud. Mail-in ballots. Be careful. Be careful. They would understand, because they deliver. In fact, I’m going to have to be very nice to UPS. (Laughter.) UPS — I love you, Carol. Wherever you are, Carol. I love you, Carol.
No, it’s very bad what’s going on with mail-in ballots — okay? — as differentiated from absentee ballots, where you have to go and you go through a process because you can’t be there for some reason. But the mail-in ballots is going to be — they’re going to be rigged. They’re going to be a terrible situation. And you have to be careful in Georgia, but you have to be careful everywhere where they’re doing it.
You know, we went through a First World War and a Second World War and people went to vote. Now they’re saying, “Let’s use this as a chance not to vote.” And there’s been tremendous corruption — tremendous corruption — on mail-in ballots. So absentee ballot: Great. Mail-in ballot: Absolutely no good. It makes no sense. A governor sends out millions of ballots all over the place; they don’t know where they’re going. They’re going to wherever.
{snip}
Today’s action is part of my administration’s fierce commitment to slashing the web of needless bureaucracy that is holding back our citizens. I’ve been wanting to do this from day one. And we started it on day one — literally, on day one — but it takes a long time. You have statutory requirements; you have a lot of different roadblocks even to changing it. But the change you’ll be hearing about in a minute. And it’s one of the biggest things we can be doing for our country.
The last administration increased the Federal Register by 16,000 pages of job-killing regulations. Under my administration, we have cut the Federal Register by nearly 25,000 pages, more than any President in history, whether it’s four years, eight years, or in one case, more. And we, frankly — this, I would think, is maybe the biggest of all. We did the U.S. Waters — you saw that. The U.S. Waters Act. That was a big one. That was a big one. (Applause.)
I thought I was going to take a lot of heat when I did that, and instead it was just the opposite. People came up — grown men that had never cried, even when they were a baby — they were standing behind me when I signed that bill at the White House, and they were crying. They were crying — because we gave their life back to them. That took their life away. It took their livelihood away. It was a big, big moment.
{snip}
Here as well is the Commissioner of Georgia Department of Transportation, Russell McMurry. Russell, please come up and say a few words. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. MCMURRY: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, it was an honor for me to meet with you in Washington, D.C. at the USDOT with Secretary Elaine Chao and some other state DOT commissioners from around the nation for us to share with you this long, burdensome, often bureaucratic process. And you sat and listened to us with great detail that day.
{snip}
Now, finally, I’d just like to recognize somebody else — and the President acknowledged her earlier — but the leadership exemplified by Secretary Elaine Chao at the USDOT is exceptional. We have never experienced the kind of cooperation — (applause) — we, at the Georgia DOT, has never experienced this type of cooperation from your administration, Mr. President, that we enjoy today.
So thank you for your leadership. And thank you for the partnership you share, not only with Georgia but all the states. Mr. President, thank you for making this happen. Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And Russell said that so well because there have been many steps that we’ve made over the course of the last three years that allowed us to get to this big giant step. This is a big deal. And this is front page all over this country. And, frankly, nobody realizes what it means other than the people that are in this room and others that do what you do.
But the fact is this is something that nobody thought was possible. But it was all those little steps, Russell, that allowed us to get to this step bureaucratically and in every other way. So thank you very much. And you’ve done a great job. Appreciate it. (Applause.)
We’re also joined by Janelle King, a small-business owner here in Atlanta. Janelle, please come up and say a few words, please. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much.
MS. KING: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Governor Kemp. And thank you, UPS, for delivering all my shoes on time. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
I am Janelle King. Together, my husband Kelvin King and I — he’s the one that really goes through all of this — I serve as VP of External Affairs with Osprey Management, which is such an honor. We have 10 employees that are — by which one of them received their United States citizenship this morning. So that’s awesome. (Applause.)
{snip}
But, Mr. President, you have shown what leadership can do when you reform the old way of doing things. Infrastructure reform and building new roads faster will not only help our company to achieve our project goals, but they will help the entire state, both economically and socially.
So I would like to personally thank you for placing the needs of the constituents in the forefront of your list and addressing our infrastructure concerns; and our governor and first lady for are working along with you, and so we can get this done; and to our senators — Senator David Perdue and Senator Kelly Loeffler — for always being available as well.
Thank you so much. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
{snip}
So I want to thank everybody for being here. I want to thank and congratulate UPS on having a great run — many years, but a great run recently. You’ve done a fantastic job, whether it’s the SkyBridge or anything else that we’ve done with you. You’ve been fantastic. I want to apprec- — I really appreciate it.
But especially, I appreciate a state called Georgia. It’s a special place. It’s a great place. (Applause.) And it’s an honor to be with you, and it’s an honor — this is where I’m announcing. This is good for the whole country, not only Georgia. This is for the whole country. But I’m announcing it in Georgia because we have some great things planned for you. You are special people.
Mr. Governor, thank you very much. Marty, thank you very much. Everybody, thank you. Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you very much, everybody. Have a good time. Thank you.
END
4:23 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump on the Rebuilding of America’s Infrastructure: Faster, Better, Stronger | Atlanta, GA
INFRASTRUCTURE & TECHNOLOGY
Issued on: July 15, 2020
UPS Hapeville Airport Hub
Atlanta, Georgia
3:42 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Great honor. Please. Thank you. Sit down, please.
{snip}
For decades, the single biggest obstacle to building a modern transportation system has been the mountains and mountains of bureaucratic red tape in Washington, D.C. Before I took office, reviews for highways ballooned to an average of nearly 750 pages in length. And they were the good ones; they were the short ones.
And I know because I was in business for a long time, and I had to go through a process that was so ridiculous. It was so ridiculous. We went through a process for building buildings, usually. It would take forever. By the time you’d start building, the market changed. You said, “You know, the market was good when we started; now the market is lousy.” So you’d say, “The hell with it. We won’t build.” Sometimes you’d start building and you’d say, “That was a mistake.”
{snip}
But all of that ends today. We’re doing something very dramatic. (Applause.) We just completed an unprecedented — and I don’t want to say it’s absolutely unprecedented — top-to- bottom overhaul — should have been done years ago — of the infrastructure approval process; this approval process that has cost trillions of dollars over the years for our country and delays like you wouldn’t believe.
{snip}
And watch, please, those mail-in ballots. You’re going to watch that for me because, you know, they have a lot of problems all over the country. They just had Paterson, New Jersey, where massive percentages of the vote was a fraud. Mail-in ballots. Be careful. Be careful. They would understand, because they deliver. In fact, I’m going to have to be very nice to UPS. (Laughter.) UPS — I love you, Carol. Wherever you are, Carol. I love you, Carol.
No, it’s very bad what’s going on with mail-in ballots — okay? — as differentiated from absentee ballots, where you have to go and you go through a process because you can’t be there for some reason. But the mail-in ballots is going to be — they’re going to be rigged. They’re going to be a terrible situation. And you have to be careful in Georgia, but you have to be careful everywhere where they’re doing it.
You know, we went through a First World War and a Second World War and people went to vote. Now they’re saying, “Let’s use this as a chance not to vote.” And there’s been tremendous corruption — tremendous corruption — on mail-in ballots. So absentee ballot: Great. Mail-in ballot: Absolutely no good. It makes no sense. A governor sends out millions of ballots all over the place; they don’t know where they’re going. They’re going to wherever.
{snip}
Today’s action is part of my administration’s fierce commitment to slashing the web of needless bureaucracy that is holding back our citizens. I’ve been wanting to do this from day one. And we started it on day one — literally, on day one — but it takes a long time. You have statutory requirements; you have a lot of different roadblocks even to changing it. But the change you’ll be hearing about in a minute. And it’s one of the biggest things we can be doing for our country.
The last administration increased the Federal Register by 16,000 pages of job-killing regulations. Under my administration, we have cut the Federal Register by nearly 25,000 pages, more than any President in history, whether it’s four years, eight years, or in one case, more. And we, frankly — this, I would think, is maybe the biggest of all. We did the U.S. Waters — you saw that. The U.S. Waters Act. That was a big one. That was a big one. (Applause.)
I thought I was going to take a lot of heat when I did that, and instead it was just the opposite. People came up — grown men that had never cried, even when they were a baby — they were standing behind me when I signed that bill at the White House, and they were crying. They were crying — because we gave their life back to them. That took their life away. It took their livelihood away. It was a big, big moment.
{snip}
Here as well is the Commissioner of Georgia Department of Transportation, Russell McMurry. Russell, please come up and say a few words. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. MCMURRY: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, it was an honor for me to meet with you in Washington, D.C. at the USDOT with Secretary Elaine Chao and some other state DOT commissioners from around the nation for us to share with you this long, burdensome, often bureaucratic process. And you sat and listened to us with great detail that day.
{snip}
Now, finally, I’d just like to recognize somebody else — and the President acknowledged her earlier — but the leadership exemplified by Secretary Elaine Chao at the USDOT is exceptional. We have never experienced the kind of cooperation — (applause) — we, at the Georgia DOT, has never experienced this type of cooperation from your administration, Mr. President, that we enjoy today.
So thank you for your leadership. And thank you for the partnership you share, not only with Georgia but all the states. Mr. President, thank you for making this happen. Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And Russell said that so well because there have been many steps that we’ve made over the course of the last three years that allowed us to get to this big giant step. This is a big deal. And this is front page all over this country. And, frankly, nobody realizes what it means other than the people that are in this room and others that do what you do.
But the fact is this is something that nobody thought was possible. But it was all those little steps, Russell, that allowed us to get to this step bureaucratically and in every other way. So thank you very much. And you’ve done a great job. Appreciate it. (Applause.)
We’re also joined by Janelle King, a small-business owner here in Atlanta. Janelle, please come up and say a few words, please. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much.
MS. KING: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Governor Kemp. And thank you, UPS, for delivering all my shoes on time. (Laughs.) (Applause.)
I am Janelle King. Together, my husband Kelvin King and I — he’s the one that really goes through all of this — I serve as VP of External Affairs with Osprey Management, which is such an honor. We have 10 employees that are — by which one of them received their United States citizenship this morning. So that’s awesome. (Applause.)
{snip}
But, Mr. President, you have shown what leadership can do when you reform the old way of doing things. Infrastructure reform and building new roads faster will not only help our company to achieve our project goals, but they will help the entire state, both economically and socially.
So I would like to personally thank you for placing the needs of the constituents in the forefront of your list and addressing our infrastructure concerns; and our governor and first lady for are working along with you, and so we can get this done; and to our senators — Senator David Perdue and Senator Kelly Loeffler — for always being available as well.
Thank you so much. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
{snip}
So I want to thank everybody for being here. I want to thank and congratulate UPS on having a great run — many years, but a great run recently. You’ve done a fantastic job, whether it’s the SkyBridge or anything else that we’ve done with you. You’ve been fantastic. I want to apprec- — I really appreciate it.
But especially, I appreciate a state called Georgia. It’s a special place. It’s a great place. (Applause.) And it’s an honor to be with you, and it’s an honor — this is where I’m announcing. This is good for the whole country, not only Georgia. This is for the whole country. But I’m announcing it in Georgia because we have some great things planned for you. You are special people.
Mr. Governor, thank you very much. Marty, thank you very much. Everybody, thank you. Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you very much, everybody. Have a good time. Thank you.
END
4:23 P.M. EDT
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