President Obama in his State of the Union speech Tuesday called for more investments in infrastructure even as he urged a partial freeze in federal spending to rein in the U.S. deficit.
The president also reiterated his goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014 and said he would cut corporate tax rates if loopholes and breaks also could be eliminated so that an overhaul would note add to the deficit, Bloomberg reported.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a posting on his “Fast Lane” blog Wednesday that “as the President said last night, American businesses and workers are now competing in a global economy. If we are to thrive in competitive markets, we must be able to move goods and people faster and more reliably than ever.
“At DOT we have been working hard to help do just that. And the projects we are supporting to rebuild America’s transportation infrastructure are creating good jobs for American workers,” LaHood wrote.
The White House in a summary of the speech that the president will unveil a six-year transportation plan in his upcoming budget that will include his previously stated idea to create an infrastructure bank to help pay for projects, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers urged the president and Congress to “cooperate on policies that repair and modernize transportation infrastructure — an issue American voters agree is an essential investment in our country, and an immediate means to job creation.”
The federal Highway Trust Fund, which pays for road and transit projects from sales taxes on fuel, is on course to run out of money by 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Bloomberg said.
But House Republicans have ruled out raising the federal gasoline tax, as called for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Obama’s deficit reduction commission, Bloomberg reported.
