Obama proposes $50 billion in spending to boost economy

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Obama proposes $50 billion in spending to boost economy

By Wire reports – September 7, 2010

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President Obama on Monday proposed $50 billion in new federal spending to rebuild roads, railways and runways – a move he said would create badly needed jobs.

Obama announced the proposal in a Labor Day speech to union workers in Milwaukee. He will continue his focus on the economy this week with a speech in Ohio and a White House news conference on Friday.

With the unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, analysts are predicting that Democrats will take a drubbing in November. Increasingly, opinion polls show, voters blame Obama and the Democrats for the current economic climate.

The proposal outlined by the president Monday would:
Rebuild 150,000 miles of roads and highways.
Construct and maintain 4,000 miles of railway
Rebuild or repair 150 miles of airport runways and upgrade the nation's air traffic control system.
Boost spending for buses and modernize the Amtrak fleet of railroad cars.

Even if approved, the spending would not create new jobs until 2011, the White House said.

Republicans issued a quick and critical response.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the GOP leader in the House, was quoted as saying: "We don't need more government stimulus spending. We need to end Washington Democrats' out-of-control spending spree, stop their tax hikes, and create jobs by eliminating the job-killing uncertainty that is hampering our small businesses."

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, a Democrat, praised the proposal, saying it would benefit cities like Charlotte that are already focused on transportation-related projects. The federal government has committed more than $500 million for high-speed rail and millions more to support a third runway and intermodal cargo terminal at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, he noted.

“These investments are putting architects, engineers and construction workers back to work when their other lines of business are faltering,” Foxx said. “…Today, the President put out a bold infrastructure vision – a vision that will put even more ready, willing and able Americans back to work.”