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| Woolsey Calls for New ‘New Deal’ to Jump Start Economy | | November 18, 2008 | |
| -Investment would rebuild crumbling infrastructure, create millions of green jobs-
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, today called for a massive investment in our nation’s sagging infrastructure, arguing that a new ‘New Deal’ could help jumpstart the struggling economy and create millions of new jobs. Woolsey made her remarks along other Progressive Caucus leaders such as Congresswomen Barbara Lee, and Rosa DeLauro and Congressman Keith Ellison at a forum hosted by the Institute for America’s Future, a leading edge progressive think tank which recently published a report identifying infrastructure gaps nationwide.
“Because of the failed leadership and the destructive ‘hands off’ policies of the Bush Administration, America now finds itself in the worst economic shape since the Great Depression,” said Woolsey. “What America needs, and needs as quickly as we can deliver it, is a commitment to funding our domestic priorities with a bold infusion of resources. The most obvious domestic need is our crumbling infrastructure.”
Woolsey has repeatedly called for a re-investment in infrastructure, and included $300 billion in such spending as part of the Progressive Caucus’ alternative budget which she introduced in the spring. In addition to creating millions of new jobs, Woolsey has stressed how the investment could be used to further develop the nation’s green-energy sector by supporting alternative fuel industries such as solar and wind, a point she reiterated at the conference.
“It’s time for a new ‘New Deal’ to re-energize America, get people back to work, and solve the most pressing problems of our time,” Woolsey told conference participants. “We need to get America back to work and there is no greater way to do that than by repairing and building new infrastructure and to once and for all, create new sources of energy to get us to real energy independence, and at the same time solve the problem of global warming.”
According to the report developed by the Institute for America’s Future, infrastructure spending has been cut in half in recent years, resulting in crumbling schools, unsafe bridges, and antiquated mass transit resources. It is estimated that $1.6 trillion in spending over the next five years will be required to repair and maintain existing infrastructure. |
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