Various groups applaud President’s transportation investment plan

February 14, 2001 President Barack Obama announced a robust and reformed transportation infrastructure plan on Labor Day that will focus on fixing America's roads, railways and runways, investing more wisely, and establishing a National Infrastructure Bank. In response, Building America's Future released the following statement:

"We applaud President
Obama for announcing a bold course to rebuild America’s infrastructure during
these difficult economic times," said Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.), co-chair of
Building America’s Future. "A reformed, robust transportation infrastructure
program will speed needed repairs for our crumbling assets, eliminate time
Americans waste in traffic, and establish a true high-speed passenger rail
network. We are a nation of innovators and builders, and the President’s
announcement will mean that thousands of Americans will go back to work to
repair and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure.

"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-New York City), 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."

For the last 18 months,
Building America’s Future has made the case to the White House and Congress
that the nation invest in infrastructure based on merit, rather than politics.
The President’s commitment to establishing a National Infrastructure Bank is
exactly the kind of new thinking needed to leverage federal dollars, attract
private capital, and invest these dollars on projects of regional and national
significance.

Building America’s Future
looks forward to seeing additional details about the President’s plan in the
days and weeks ahead. Congress should move swiftly and boldly to take up these
challenges.

Building America’s Future
is a national and bipartisan infrastructure coalition dedicated to smart
investment and reform – energy systems, roads and bridges, mass transit, water
and sewer systems, rail, ports, airports, levees and dams, schools and housing –
to enhance the quality of life and safety of our communities, create jobs and
economic growth, and promote energy independence. Founded in 2008, Building
America’s Future is co-chaired by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.),
Governor Rendell, and Mayor Bloomberg.

In response to the new
transportation infrastructure investment plan, the American Society of Civil
Engineers said: "Out nation’s economy can’t survive without the stable
foundation infrastructure provides. It allows goods to move across the country,
water to flow from our taps and energy to be accessed with the flip of a
switch. But, for decades, we have allowed that foundation to crumble,"
said Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, CAE, ASCE executive director. "The
solution to reversing the trend, and creating a better reality for our children
and our grandchildren, requires that we have a dedicated source of funding and
an increase in federal leadership to actually put it into use. The President’s
new investment plan has the potential to be a real part of such a solution. We
applaud him for taking a leadership position, and we encourage Congress to work
with the administration on this critical national issue. We also look forward
to learning more about the details of the plan, in particular, whether or not
it will be paid for by the users, as has successfully been done since the beginning
of the interstate system in the 1950s."

Amtrak stated: "President
Obama’s infrastructure investment plan to advance the development of a
high-speed rail network and modernize Amtrak’s intercity passenger rail fleet
is a smart move with major benefits for increasing personal mobility,
jump-starting job creation and improving the environment.

"President Obama
understands passenger rail is a key component of America’s transportation
system and connects the nation in ways no other mode can. We applaud his vision
for the future and his commitment to make the needed investments now to advance
and bring to reality the next generation of passenger rail."