MILWAUKEE--President Barack Obama, scrambling to jump-start job creation in a sluggish U.S. economy, proposed a six-year plan on Monday to rebuild aging roads, railways and runways with an initial $50 billion investment.
"We are going to rebuild 150,000 miles (240,000 km) of our roads--that's enough to circle the world six times. ... We're going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of our railways--enough to stretch coast-to-coast," Obama told a labor rally in Milwaukee where several thousand supporters cheered his every line.
The infrastructure plan, one of several initiatives Obama is due to unveil this week, was immediately rejected by Republicans, who many analysts predict could win control of the House of Representatives in Nov. 2 congressional elections.
With fellow Democrats facing punishment from recession-weary voters in November, Obama is under pressure to do more to create jobs and bring down the stubbornly high 9.6 percent unemployment rate, even as economists agree he has few good options left. Economists are skeptical any measures Obama takes now will make a significant difference in the $13.2 trillion U.S. economy and point out that investments in infrastructure typically do not stimulate the economy quickly.
A centerpiece of his new plan is a proposal for the U.S. Congress to increase and permanently extend a tax credit for business research and development. The tax credit proposal, which was widely expected by investors, would cost $100 billion over 10 years. He is to lay out the plan on Wednesday in Cleveland.
While Obama declared some jobs would be created immediately by the infrastructure overhaul, a senior administration official told reporters the plan would not create jobs until 2011. "This is not a stimulus, immediate-jobs plan," the official said.
The White House stressed the plan would not add to the record U.S. deficit, a key issue for voters. "One thing (Obama) is willing to put on the table is closing some of the tax loopholes for big oil and gas companies that currently get subsidies from taxpayers that they certainly don't need. He thinks that is a perfectly good 'pay-for' to get this up and running," the administration official said.