Transportation For America

President Obama’s jobs speech and plan for infrastructure spending

December 8, 2009
By Stephen Lee Davis

President Obama delivered a speech just a few minutes ago at the Brookings Institution here in Washington, D.C., on his plan for creating jobs and putting America back to work. We’ll add some details later and a link to the full speech, but here is the excerpt on infrastructure spending:

Second, we’re proposing a boost in investment in the nation’s infrastructure beyond what was included in the Recovery Act, to continue modernizing our transportation and communications networks. These are needed public works that engage private sector companies, spurring hiring across the country. Already, more than 10,000 of these projects have been funded through the Recovery Act. And by design, Recovery Act work on roads, bridges, water systems, Superfund sites, broadband networks, and clean energy projects will all be ramping up in the months ahead. It was planned this way for two reasons: so the impact would be felt over a two year period; and, more importantly, because we wanted to do this right. The potential for abuse in a program of this magnitude, while operating at such a fast pace, was enormous. So I asked Vice President Biden and others to make sure – to the extent humanly possible – that the investments were sound, the projects worthy, and the execution efficient. What this means is that we’re going to see even more work – and workers – on Recovery projects in the next six months than we saw in the last six months.

Even so, there are many more worthy projects than there were dollars to fund them. I recognize that by their nature these projects often take time, and will therefore create jobs over time. But the need for jobs will also last beyond next year and the benefits of these investments will last years beyond that. So adding to this initiative to rebuild America’s infrastructure is the right thing to do.

The White House Press Secretary also circulated a document ahead of the speech with details on President Obama’s plan. It outlined three key areas for stimulating job growth; small business, infrastructure, and clean energy and efficiency. Here’s the second point in full detail:

Investing in America’s Roads, Bridges and Infrastructure

Additional investment in highways, transit, rail, aviation and water. The President is calling for new investments in a wide range of infrastructure, designed to get out the door as quickly as possible while continuing a sustained effort at creating jobs and improving America’s productivity.

Support for merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars. The Administration supports financing infrastructure investments in new ways, allowing projects to be selected on merit and leveraging money with a combination of grants and loans as was done through the Recovery Act’s TIGER program.

Obama outlines a 21st-Century vision for high-speed rail

April 16, 2009
By Andrew Bielak

Are high speed trains no longer just for Europe and Asia? Photo of Rome Centrale Station by T4 supporter Kenneth G. Sislak

Updated: More details and a statement from T4 posted here

President Obama made headlines this morning by presenting a blueprint for creating a high-speed rail network in the United States.

By articulating this vision, the administration has put to rest any doubts that it is ready to connect our cities and regions with a 21st century network of passenger rail that will make us globally competitive and help us rebuild our economy for the long haul.

The new administration has already made the single biggest investment in high-speed rail by committing $8 billion in the recovery bill passed in February. At his press conference today, President Obama let Americans know that building out a technologically advanced rail network isn’t a pipe-dream — it’s a much-needed strategy for making our economy viable and putting us on the level of other developed countries for train travel:

“A major new high-speed rail line will generate many thousands of construction jobs over several years, as well as permanent jobs for rail employees and increased economic activity in the destinations these trains serve,” Obama said in prepared remarks. “High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways.”

Aside from simply articulating his administration’s commitment to passenger rail, President Obama announced the release of a new report that shows how we can help protect our climate, strengthen our economy, and regain our competitive edge by building on a set of 100 to 600 mile rail corridors across the U.S.

Geoff Anderson, the president of Smart Growth America and co-chair of Transportation for America, has been working at the front lines for years to help us grow smarter and build better transportation systems, and found much to support in Obama’s statements.

“It’s really exciting that this administration, unlike past administrations, is interested in transportation and will play a role,” Anderson said. “From the American public standpoint that’s an exciting thing, particularly when he has an understanding of how transportation affects us, from our pocket books to climate change, and from households to the global community.”

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Filed Under: Campaign Blog
Tags: administration, featured, high speed rail, obama, passenger rail, recovery bill

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