Obama announces $50 billion infrastructure plan
Calls for 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of rail lines and 150 miles of airport runway over next six years.
President Barack Obama said during a Labor Day rally that he will ask Congress to approve a $50 billion program to rebuild the transportation system, create jobs and reduce unemployment. The plan calls for constructing or improving 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of rail lines and 150 miles of airport runway during a six-year period. The proposal is one of a series of job-creation initiatives the White House plans to announce as the November midterm election approaches.
"This will not only create jobs immediately, it's also going to make our economy hum over the long haul," Obama said in outlining the plan to union members at a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee. The announcement came less than a week after the U.S. Labor Department reported a slight uptick in the unemployment rate, now at 9.6%.
Construction trade groups and associations, including the AGC (Assocaited General Contractors of America) lauded the president's proposal.
