On Monday, September 6, 2010, President Obama announced a plan to spend $50 billion on transportation infrastructure and reauthorize the surface transportation programs. Here are a few helpful facts relating to the Administration’s proposal:

• FACT: This proposal is just another Obama tax and spend program that will do nothing to get existing funding that is sitting idle because of bureaucratic red tape out the door.

• FACT: Only 7 percent of the initial $862 billion so-called stimulus was dedicated to infrastructure projects.

• FACT: As of September 2, 2010, less than 30 percent of the $63.5 billion in infrastructure funding provided in the stimulus has been spent.

• FACT: Tens of billions of dollars of existing federal infrastructure funding remains unspent because projects are bogged down in paperwork and red tape.

• FACT: Unemployment has climbed to 9.6 percent nationwide and in the hard-hit construction industry; joblessness exceeds 30 percent in some states like Florida.

• FACT: In June 2009 President Obama killed a 6-year transportation bill and instead opted for an 18-month extension of the status quo.

• FACT: According to GAO more than 60 percent of the highway stimulus funding is being spent on short-term repaving projects. These projects typically last only 3-4 weeks.

• FACT: 4 out of 5 jobs created by the 2009 stimulus bill are government jobs.

Details on President Obama’s plan are scarce but preliminary information indicates that the $50 billion proposal would be a one-time increase over and above the current transportation budget baseline. Obama proposes to pay for the additional $50 billion by increasing taxes.

Rep. Mica Statement