President Barack Obama will meet today with several governors and mayors to highlight a new report on the potential impact
of infrastructure spending, in hopes of putting momentum behind his $50 billion infrastructure-investment proposal.
Obama has proposed the initiative as a way to create more jobs, but Republicans have opposed further infrastructure
spending at a time of tight state and federal budgets. There isn’t a bill on the measure so far, and Congress is unlikely to act
on the issue when it convenes in November in a lame-duck session.
The report, which was prepared by the Treasury Department and the Council of Economic Advisers, notes that infrastructure
spending as a percentage of gross domestic product has fallen by 50% in the U.S. since 1960, and now accounts for 2% of
the country’s GDP. In contrast, China spends about 9% of its GDP on infrastructure, and Europe, about 5%, according to the
report.
“It is clear that persistent neglect of our infrastructure will impact America’s competitive position vis-a-vis the rest of the world,”
the report says. The report, a copy of which was seen by wsj.com Sunday, is due to be released officially today.
Republicans have opposed the administration’s infrastructure plan, especially its effort to expand high-speed rail. House
Minority Leader John Boehner criticized Obama’s infrastructure plan in September, saying “we can’t spend our way to
prosperity.”
In California, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has criticized the cost of the state’s high-speed rail program,
currently under development. Other GOP gubernatorial hopefuls in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Floria have all campaigned on
opposition to new rail projects; those states were recipients of federal stimulus money to develop the projects.
Obama’s billion infrastructure plan, unveiled on Labor Day, would help refurbish 150,000 miles of roads, build or maintain
4,000 miles of rail, and refurbish 150 miles of airport runways. It would also upgrade the country’s air traffic control system.
The proposal also floats the idea of an infrastructure bank that could make cheap loans to state and local governments.
The proposal would be the first part of a multi-year infrastructure bill that Congress has yet to draft.
According to the new report, spending more on projects like road construction and maintenance could help reduce
unemployment, by drawing on workers in the construction industry who lost their jobs when the housing bubble burst. The
report predicted that 61% of jobs under a surface-transportation infrastructure-investment plan would be in the construction
sector, with another 12% in the manufacturing sector.
Other administration officials expected to attend Monday’s meeting include Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta will also attend. He recently released
his own report on the U.S. infrastructure situation estimating that $134 billion to $194 billion is needed each year just to
maintain the country’s existing transportation system.
(转自 The Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire blog)