Calling for National Investments in Transportation Infrastructure

Daniel Hudson makes the case for the policy goals set by President Obama in his recent visit to the Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown, New York.

"Investing in America's infrastructure is an imperative, but the funding to fix our crumbling roads and bridges is running out -- and only Congress can reauthorize it," writes Hudson for the White House website."

The post also shares some of the speech delivered by President Obama:

"Building a world-class transportation system is one of the reasons America became an economic superpower in the first place. But over the past 50 years, as a share of our economy, our investment in transportation has shrunk by 50 percent. Think about that. Our investment in transportation has been cut by half."

News coverage of the speech tended to trade on the fact that the president was visiting the under-construction Tappan Zee bridge, which is one of the more conspicuous transportation infrastructure projects in the country today. Laura Figueroa reports that President Obama cited the $3.9 billion Tappan Zee project as an example of the power of expedited federal approvals. Obama also addressed the ongoing political process behind reauthorization. According to Figueroa, "Obama pressed House Republicans to support his four-year transportation package. He said that while 'a bipartisan group of members in the Senate are working toward a compromise,' House Republicans have proposed cuts."