Infrastructure is a word we’ve been hearing a lot. It’s a good, strong word. If we support healthy infrastructure, it just seems like we’re doing right by the country, doesn’t it?

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Except as I hear more and more about the $2.25 trillion “infrastructure” proposal touted by Democrats in Washington, I keep thinking of a famous line of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Actually, I’m more concerned that politicians do know what the word means — that some may simply be ignoring it.

Merriam Webster offers a definition of “underlying foundation or basic framework” as well as “the system of public works.” Traditionally, in the realm of public policy you would think about bridges, roads, rail, ports, and other bedrock networks that link our nation together.

This is, in fact, a sphere that officials in Washington, D.C., should engage. Strength in these assets is vital to the security and flourishing of our nation, and our forefathers wisely gave the federal government a role in taking care of them. Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress powers to regulate interstate commerce and to establish postal roads connecting the nation.

Of note, President Dwight D. Eisenhower later observed, “Our unity as a nation is sustained by free communication of thought and by easy transportation of people and goods… Together, the uniting forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear —United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.”

So President Joe Biden and Members of Congress are on solid ground to care about our nation’s infrastructure. They are also right to note that our traditional sectors of infrastructure — roads, bridges, water systems, etc. —  are in an alarming state. We have not kept up with proper maintenance, and now the American Society of Civil Engineers gives our infrastructure a C- on its most recent report card. That’s up from a D+ 4 years ago, but not satisfactory and certainly not securing a pathway of future flourishing.

There are many opinions about how much money to spend on infrastructure and how to find that money. That is a next-level conversation based on an essentially similar understanding of infrastructure’s sectors.  I won’t press into budget lines in this article (but certainly we should be mindful that a billion dollars here and there do add up quickly). What concerns me now is the word “infrastructure” being commandeered for a political wish list, which then undermines a truly healthy and productive process.

In a recent FOX News interview, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the top Republican lawmaker on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said, “I think the expansive definition of infrastructure that we see in this sort of ‘Green New Deal wish list’ is called into question. I don’t think that the American people when they think of infrastructure are thinking of home health aides and other things that are included in this bill.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was even more pointed. “Our nation could use a serious, targeted infrastructure plan. There would be bipartisan support for a smart proposal,” he said. But he called the Biden proposal a “missed opportunity” and “a Trojan horse for the largest set of tax hikes in a generation.”

America’s leaders do need to take responsible action to reinforce our nation’s physical infrastructure. But misusing words, even for immediate ends that could have real merit, is a recipe for continued erosion of another deeper, intangible “infrastructure” — public trust.

Let’s pray that for truth and wisdom to prevail.

How will you pray today for the physical and intangible infrastructure of our nation?

Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.’s public policy arena. He reflects on faith, technology, and the public square at FTPolicy.com. (Photo Credit: Canva.)