WASHINGTON — In a bid to jump-start the sluggish economy and to help create jobs, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday announced a new plan to review and expand the nation’s roads, railways and runways.
With November’s elections for control of Congress approaching and pressure from recession-weary voters mounting, Obama announced the billion-dollar infrastructure spending program at an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marking the Labour Day holiday in the United States.
Over six years the proposal calls for investment, including modernizing and rebuilding 150 miles (241 kilometers) of runways, 4,000 miles (6,430 kilometers) or railways, 150,000 miles (241,350 kilometers) of roads.
Obama said, “It sets up an Infrastructure Bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on the smartest investment. All of this will not only create jobs now, but will make our economy run better over the long haul”. In an effort to buoy the U.S. economic recovery and long-term growth, this proposal is among an array of targeted initiative that Obama will outline on Wednesday. The Obama Administration has already made through in the Recovery Act about the plans which build upon the infrastructure investment.
Obama said, “This is a plan that will be fully paid for and will not add to the deficit over time”. Reflecting business reluctance to hire amid uncertain economic prospects, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in August. The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday, private-sector payroll edged up by 67,000, well below the amount generated in July.
In the United States, the president admitted that new jobs “have not been coming fast enough”. He further added, “These years would be some of the most difficult in our history. The problem facing working families are nothing new, but they are more serious than ever. And that makes our cause more urgent than ever”.
