Obama pushes infrastructure boost

As a way to bolster the sagging economy, President-elect Barack Obama has directed his economic team to create an Economic Recovery Plan that will add 2.5 million jobs in the U.S. by January 2011. The initiative would focus on infrastructure improvement.

“These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis, these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long,” he said. No cost estimate was given.

The announcement came just days after the Dept. of Transportation said the U.S. Highway Trust Fund has taken in $3 billion less in the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the same timeframe in 2007.

“We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead, but it will be a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy,” Obama said. “We'll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.”