Nutter, Rendell Attend Obama's Meeting On Transportation Funding
WASHINGTON (CBS) - President Obama today lobbied for Republican support for spending on transportation projects, calling the proposal a jobs creator for the middle class and an overdue investment in the country's foundation
Standing in the White House rose garden, Obama is proposing a $50-billion plan as an initial step toward a six-year program, which calls for building, fixing, and maintaining thousands of roads, rail lines, and airport runways:
"There's no reason why the world's best infrastructure should lie beyond our borders. This is America. We've always had the best infrastructure. All we need is the political will."
The plan was unveiled on Labor Day, but the president today rehashed the plan and met privately with governors, mayors, transportation officials, and cabinet secretaries.
Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter were among those in attendance.
As far as Mayor Nutter is concerned, the president's calls for a massive infusion of cash into roads and bridges will help both repair the nation's infrastructure and boost employment. And he hopes it doesn't get bogged down in partisan disputes in congress:
"There are Democratic or Republican roads or bridges or transit systems anywhere in the United States. Everyone uses them. Everyone gets a benefit from them when they're working well. And everyone suffers when they don't."
And Nutter says he made clear at the meeting that he would like to see at least some of the transportation funding sent directly to cities, rather than funneled entirely through state governments. That's a concern he repeatedly raised during the earlier debate over stimulus funding.
Governor Rendell and Mayor Nutter were among those in attendance at today's meeting on infrastructure at the White House.
Reported By Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio
(Information from the Associated Press was also used in this report. Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved.)
