Posted on 05/14/2014 7:44:04 PM PDT by mdittmar
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will visit the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, where he will call on more federal spending for infrastructure projects. Obama has made numerous proposals to increase spending on bridges, roads and other infrastructure projects, but Republicans in Congress have blocked those efforts. The Tappan Zee Bridge is currently in the process of being replaced, financed by a record $1.6 billion federal loan. The old bridge, which opened in 1955, has fallen into disrepair and is serving a daily capacity above what it was designed for. While Congress has failed to provide the funds needed to move forward, Obama is using alternate methods, such as the loan, to help rebuild the country's crumbling infrastructure.
“The President will also highlight efforts by the administration to cut through red tape and modernize the federal infrastructure permitting process, and reduce project approval time lines,” the White House official said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden will appear in Cleveland to give a speech on similar themes of investing in infrastructure and the economy.
As part of Infrastructure Week 2014, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will speak at a rally on Thursday in front of the AFL-CIO headquarters about the vital need for upgrading our infrastructure and the positive impact doing so will have on the economy.
Trumka said:
Putting money in roads and bridges is like planting seed corn. Investing in good jobs yields a good return. When you put seed in the ground, you get something to harvest. When you put cement in the ground, you get roads. When you put steel in the ground, you get train tracks. You get it. But if you don’t put that seed in the ground, that’s not smart. It’s not sensible. It’s not “thinking like business.” It’s cutting yourself off at the knees. And that’s what these politicians are doing to the American economy....
Trumka pointed to a recent American Society of Civil Engineers report that said the country needs to spend $3.6 trillion just to make sure that our current infrastructure doesn't fall apart, with a similar investment needed to create the next generation infrastructure that will grow the economy.
Follow updates on infrastructure week on Twitter using the hashtag #RebuildRenew and learn more about Thursday's Jobs and Infrastructure Rally in Washington, D.C., here.
Which of Obama’s 57 States are going to have Country Club Jails built for Democrat Politicians and their Bureaucrats?
Infrastructure is a payoff to the unions; and pushing it is to rally that portion of the base.
Yes. I thought a significant amount was supposed to go to infrastructure. Did it just go to Obama donors and then down the rabbit hole??
More crony pork money to be passed around
Hey.that’s an idea,we could put a golf course there and have them maintain it.
....like the Keystone pipeline project?.....
“Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected,”
The democrats and the RINO Republicans are identical in matters such as this.
Spend, spend, spend. Spend money we don’t have. Don’t tackle the hard issues. Instead, spend. Promise money, promise more funding. Then wait for the applause that’s sure to come.
Round 2 of Obammy’s goofy “chubbel ready” stimulus bull****. Great. Hold on to your wallet.
Yup.
Obama failed miserably to create jobs, Jobs, JOBS, approve the XL Pipeline, or ever tell the Truth.
Building “Little Kenya” Federal Prisons in several States would create JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!
Prison would relieve Obama from the horrific stress of making decisions, instead of doing fun stuff such as riding around in his Corporate Jet, Air Force One.
The Little “Camp David” Golf courses would allow Obama and his bureaucrats to keep on telling lies, even if it is only about their “fair shots.”
I have an Idea to save union jobs,employ them building a fence on the border.
Obama promised to rebuild the nations infrastructure with his $900 billion dollar slush fund but didn't.
Jerky Joe Biden was supposed to track every penny of it but the money is gone and Obama is still crying that the same things need to be fixed.
Haven't we seen this scam before?
The GOP should step right up and insist that 70% of the jobs created by any such infrastructure project should be reserved for illegal aliens.
I think the brotherhood of union workers feces would hit the air circulator if that happened;)
Been there, done that. Steeple have already forgotten “stimulus”?
Translation: Obama and Biden will buy some votes on Wednesday.
It’s also a payoff to the consulting engineering firms, transportation planners, biological/environmental consultants, cultural/archeological firms, and the lawyers required to use $1 of federal money on any given project.
That is why it takes 5-10 years to build a simple project these days. It truly is disgusting. How do I know? Because I’m a County Engineer that has to put up with this crap and try to explain it our local communities. So then the public just says well we shouldn’t take federal money or grants, but the problem with that is then you do t have enough tax base to support all of the other things people expect from government these days and all of the unfounded mandates that are constantly passed down to us...
And in your statement is the answer,there is no federal money.
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