President Obama's proposed a "fix-it-first" policy would provide $50 billion for repairs to transportation infrastructure, with a special focus on aging infrastructure in most need of urgent upgrades. It's not a new idea from the president: in 2001, he proposed a $50 infrastructure investment as part of his American Jobs Act.
Many in the transportation community haven't put much stock in the president's proposal. While they appreciate the White House touting the need for infrastructure investment, they say it amounts to little more than an idea since he has not offered up a plan on how to pay for it.
At a time when Congress if focused on deficit reduction, and with automatic spending cuts looming, a funding mechanism would likely be necessary to for any big infrastructure endeavor.
The president also reiterated his pitch for a national infrastructure bank, which he's also proposed before. The concept was discussed when Congress debated its highway bill last year but was not enacted in the legislation that ultimately passed.
Finally, Obama proposed creating something dubbed America Fast Forward Bonds, a sort of successor to the popular Build America Bonds which helped reduce borrowing costs for state and local governments.
Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement that he welcomed the president's interest in infrastructure. Be he also said the president was offering up a short-term proposal for a long-term challenge.
The existing highway bill expires in September 2014.
