Obama calls for $50B in infrastructure spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Speaking at a union-organized rally in Milwaukee on Monday, President Obama called for a $50-billion surge in spending on the nation's roads, runways and railroads. The $50-billion plan amounted to roughly half of what was allocated to infrastructure in last year's stimulus package, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Officials said the proposal project would build on the work already begun.

"We at Building America's Future believe it is critical that our country not only fix our aging roads and bridges, but also modernize our airports and invest in high speed rail," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-N.Y.), co-chair of Building America's Future. "President Obama is right to focus now on long-term infrastructure investments. The challenge is to find the money, and we look forward to helping with that."

Added James Corless, director of Transportation for America: "While the 'front-loading' of a new transportation authorization will put many thousands of Americans to work over the next couple of years, this should not be seen as a mere short-term stimulus. This kind of aggressive, multi-year construction and rehabilitation effort is fundamental to the long-term health of our economy. The alternative is gridlocked cities, stranded rural residents, hampered freight delivery and continued over-reliance on increasingly hard-to-get oil supplies.

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