UPDATE: The President's remarks at Laborfest are hereFollowing on Friday's August economic report that revealed an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, today at the AFL-CIO Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Obama will announce a comprehensive infrastructure plan to expand the nation’s roads, railways and runways, and create jobs, according to the White House. The new plan includes establishing a permanent Infrastructure Bank, and President Obama will call on Congress to provide $50 billion in funding to "jumpstart" job creation.
"This plan would build on the investments we have already made under the Recovery Act, create jobs for American workers to strengthen our economy now, and increase our nation’s growth and productivity in the future," the White House said in a statement. "At the same time, the plan would reform the way America currently invests in transportation, changing our focus to enhancing competition, innovation, performance, and real analysis that gets taxpayers the best bang for the buck, while moving away from the earmarks and formula debates of the past. In prior years, transportation infrastructure was an issue that both parties worked on together, and the Administration hopes the same can be true now."
Secretary of Transortation Ray LaHood and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis will join President Obama at Laborfest, which is sponsored by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, and takes place at Henry Maier Festival Park.
A livestream of the President's remarks will be on www.whitehouse.gov/live at 3:10 PM EDT. >See fact sheet on the new plan, below
Above, the President speaking on the economy at the White House last Friday. The President called the addition of 67,000 private sector jobs "positive news," but "not nearly good enough." The President's appearance at Laborfest continues what the White House has dubbed "Labor Week," which will include more presidential events devoted to the economy, and affirm the commitment to a strong middle class.
Supporting the middle class
On Friday, President Obama issued a Labor Day proclamation, and noted that organized labor must be protected, because unions have provided American workers with "an unprecedented path into our strong middle class." During his weekly internet and radio address, President Obama also focused on the middle class, asserting that Labor Day should be about far more than "a chance to get together with family and friends, to throw some food on the grill, and have a good time." (Above, President Obama with AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who will also join him today at Laborfest)"I don't have to tell you that this is a very tough time for our country," President Obama said, and credited his policies for having "stopped the bleeding" in the job market that he inherited when he took office. Those policies are designed to ensure a strong middle class, the President said, so families can send children to college, buy homes, save for retirement, and achieve economic security.
The Republicans are responsible for "this mess": The President has spent much time lately blasting Republicans for obstructionism, due to their blocking his jobs bill, which the White House deems critical for boosting employment and providing the kind of tax credits that will spur economic growth, especially for small businesses. In his weekly address, he hit the theme again.
"We didn't become the most prosperous country in the world by rewarding greed and recklessness. We did it by rewarding hard work and responsibility. We did it by recognizing that we rise or we fall together as one nation - one people - all of us vested in one another," President Obama said.
On Wednesday, September 8, President Obama will deliver remarks on the economy at Cuyahoga Community College West Campus in the Cleveland Area. The White House noted that the location - a Dem stronghold in a swing state - is where House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) delivered an economic speech a few weeks ago, that blasted administration policies, and called for the firing of key officials.
"Speaking in the city where Minority Leader Boehner recently detailed the Republican economic agenda, the President will lay out the choice between his ideas and the failed policies and failed philosophy that led us into this mess," White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog. He noted that President Obama will "discuss some targeted proposals to keep the economy growing including extending tax cuts for the middle class, and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest."
Last year, President Obama also spent Labor Day with the AFL-CIO; he attended a huge ALF-CIO family picnic at Coney Island Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the first sitting president to do so. During his August 4 remarks to the AFL-CIO execs, the President promised to keep on pushing for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA, or "card check") and other legislative priorities favored by the labor group. The last time President Obama visited Wisconsin in June, he sampled the local pastry before speaking on the economy.
President Obama's Weekly address: Honoring The American Worker
The Fact sheet for the Infrastructure plan, from the White House:
Some of the tangible accomplishments of the President’s plan over the next six years include:
*The establishment of a permanent Infrastructure Bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on investments of national and regional significance that often fall through the cracks in the current siloed transportation programs. This marks an important departure from the federal government’s traditional way of spending on infrastructure through earmarks and formula-based grants that are allocated more by geography and politics than demonstrated value. Instead, the Bank will base its investment decisions on clear analytical measures of performance, competing projects against each other to determine which will produce the greatest return for American taxpayers.
*Roads: Rebuild 150,000 miles of roads – renewing our commitment to the backbone of our transportation system.
*Runways: Rehabilitate or reconstruct 150 miles of runway – while putting in place a NextGen system that will reduce travel time and delays.
*Railways: Construct and maintain 4,000 miles of rail – enough to go coast-to-coast.
The President’s plan would accomplish this through:
*An up-front investment. The President will work with Congress to enact a new up-front investment in our nation’s infrastructure – an investment that would help jump-start additional job creation, while also laying the foundation for future growth. This initial investment would fund improvements in the nation’s surface transportation, as well as our airports and air traffic control system.
*A vision for the future. The President proposes to pair this with a long-term framework to reform and expand our nation’s investment in transportation infrastructure. Since the end of last year, when the last long-term surface transportation legislation expired, these investments have been continued on a temporary basis, even as the trust fund to finance them has fallen into insolvency. If we are to enjoy the benefits that come from a world-class transportation system, Congress must enact a long-term reauthorization that expands and reforms our infrastructure investments and returns the transportation trust fund to solvency. To jumpstart job creation, this long-run policy front-loads – through a $50 billion up-front investment – a significant share of the new infrastructure resources. As with other long-run policies, the Administration is committed to working with Congress to fully pay for the plan.
Transcript of the Labor Day proclamation:
Labor Day, 2010
A Proclamation
By The President of the United States of America
Working Americans are the foundation of our Nation's continued economic success and prosperity. From constructing the first transcontinental railroad to shaping our city skylines, they have built our country and propelled it forward. Through great innovation and perseverance, our labor force has forged America as a land of limitless possibility and a leader in the global marketplace. On Labor Day, we honor the enduring values and immeasurable contributions of working men and women today and throughout our history.As we recognize the contributions of the American workers who have built our country, we must continue to protect their vital role and that of organized labor in our national life. Workers have not always possessed the same rights and benefits many enjoy today. Over time, they have fought for and gained fairer pay, better benefits, and safer work environments. From the factory floors during the Industrial Revolution to the shopping aisles of today's superstores, organized labor has provided millions of hard-working men and women with a voice in the workplace and an unprecedented path into our strong middle class. By advocating on behalf of our families, labor unions have helped advance the safe and equitable working conditions that every worker deserves.
Today, as we emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression, far too many American workers remain without a job. With every work hour lost and every plant closure and layoff, families and communities struggle to make ends meet and face difficult decisions about how to stay afloat. Yet, in the face of this tremendous challenge, our workers have renewed their commitment to achieving the American dream by training and educating themselves for careers crucial to our long-term competitiveness. To rebuild our economy, my Administration is focusing on job training and investing in industries that cannot be outsourced. By focusing on recovery at home, we are saving or creating millions of jobs in America and supporting the working men and women who will drive our 21st-century economy. More remains to be done, but we have taken important steps forward toward recovery.
American workers have always been ready to roll up their sleeves, clock in, and earn an honest living. That steady determination is why I have confidence in the American economy and confidence that we can overcome the challenges we face. There is no greater example of our country's resolve and resilience than that of our workers. As we celebrate Labor Day, we honor those who have advanced our Nation's strength and prosperity -- American workers.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 6, 2010, as Labor Day. I call upon all public officials and people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the tremendous contributions of working Americans and their families.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
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*White House video; top photo by Chuck Kennedy/White House;second via Reuters
