InfrastructureUSA.org is a non-profit, online community whose mission is to bring together infrastructure experts, industry leaders, government officials and most especially interested citizens, to participate in vigorous conversation and generate action to address the U.S. infrastructure crisis.

On Labor Day, President Barack Obama re-stated his conviction that large-scale infrastructure investment is necessary in the United States:

“Today, the average American household is forced to spend more on transportation each year than food.  Our roads, clogged with traffic, cost us $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel.  Our airports, choked with passengers, cost nearly $10 billion a year in productivity losses from flight delays.  And in some cases, our crumbling infrastructure costs American lives.  It should not take another collapsing bridge or failing levee to shock us into action.”

Infra advocates are already praising Obama’s proposal:

“We applaud the administration’s leadership on this issue and look forward to working with them to repair and modernize America’s transportation infrastructure.”
Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA)

“This administration will not allow our nation to stand by as infrastructure slows our economy and workers sit idle. The Recovery Act has been an effective first step forward. President Obama’s infrastructure initiative is the necessary next step.”
Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation

“The President’s commitment to establishing a National Infrastructure Bank is exactly the kind of new thinking needed to maximize limited federal dollars, attract private capital, and invest in projects of regional and national significance.”
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles)

“We now stand ready to roll up our sleeves and help the president and Congress enact a new transportation authorization act that is so desperately needed by states to continue addressing our most pressing transportation needs.”
John Horseley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

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Tags: AASHTO, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Antonio Villaraigosa, BAF, Barack Obama, Building America's Future, Ed Rendell, Governor Rendell, Infra Poll, Infrastructure Initiative, Infrastructure Proposal, John Horseley, Obama Administration, PA, Pennsylvania, President Obama, Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, T4America, Transportation for America

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 1:25 pm and is filed under Aging Infrastructure, Bipartisan, Democrat, Funding, National, Policy, Recession, Recovery, Republican, Roads, Tax, The Infra Blog . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.