infrastructure

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said today that Iowa has “been fortunate” that emergency funding for highways is soon to arrive, while additional funds for teachers and low-income health programs will likewise prevent imminent job losses within the state. He forgot to mention that voted against the stimulus package that will provide that money.
In Iowa [...]

The White House quickly shot down Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s proposal to tax mileage, but the debate over the idea continues.

One of the greatest obstacles to overarching energy policy reform is likely to come in the form of a group of moderate Democratic senators from states that rely heavily on manufacturing. Among this so-called Gang of 16 is Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who is also a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy, Science and [...]

It’s no news that many liberal critics of the Democrats’ stimulus plan are wondering why so much would go toward tax rebates and so little, relatively speaking, would target infrastructure projects. And those voices found new reason to be critical today.
A report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that America’s aging bridges, [...]

Various interest groups are touting infrastructure investment as a particularly effective economic stimulus strategy because, they claim, such projects can devour money and create jobs quickly, delivering a quick jolt to the economy. But it’s doubtful that the billions of dollars allocated for infrastructure in the economic stimulus package will be spent quickly, despite guidelines [...]

When House Democratic leaders unveiled their $825 billion stimulus wish-list last week, it marked only the beginning of a much longer process to forge the proposal upon which many argue the economy depends.
Indeed, the House Appropriations Committee yesterday tweaked the bill a bit, adding amendments requiring that projects funded by the stimulus use only U.S.-made [...]

In his first policy speech since the election, President-elect Barack Obama laid out his “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” to stimulate the economy by pumping money into infrastructure, alternative energy, technology and aid to states.
Speaking at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., he warned of the hard times to come and emphasized the urgent need [...]

Remember the good-old-days (like a month ago) when leading economists were pushing the federal government to boost the economy with $200 – $300 billion in new stimulus spending? Well, they’re gone.
As unemployment continues to skyrocket, the housing market continues to fall and consumers remain reluctant to open their pocketbooks, economists are now urging a package [...]

Following up on Matt’s nice post about the states tapping Obama for help with enormous budget shortfalls…
Few are saying it out loud, but the issue has a ring of class distinction surrounding it. That is, the White House has been quick to secure hundreds of billions of dollars for white-collar workers on Wall Street, but [...]

President-elect Barack Obama is often cautious to remind reporters that there is only one president at a time — and for the record, it’s still, sigh, President George W. Bush — but as far as the nation’s governors are concerned, Obama is the guy to talk to.
Obama is scheduled to attend a meeting of the [...]