President Obama’s American Jobs Act

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S AMERICAN JOBS ACT

For those of us who watched President Obama‟s speech on Thursday night, there were few details but the President has promised to provide Congress with the proposed legislation details by September 19, 2011. The $447 billion legislation is a mix of tax cuts ($253 million) and spending ($194 billion). The new spending would include $50 billion for transportation -- $27 billion for highways, $9 billion for rapid transit, $4 billion for high-speed rail corridors, $2 billion for other intercity passenger rail, $5 billion for TIGER and TIFIA grant/loan assistance, $2 billion for airport improvement grants, and $1 billion for AA NextGen air traffic control. In addition, $10 billion would be available through an infrastructure bank (low interest loans to local governments that are guaranteed by the federal government) to help modernize roads, bridges, railroads, and airports. The legislation also includes money to modernize America‟s 35,000 public schools.

California normally receives an approximate 8% allocation of federal money so the $27 billion for highways would likely mean an additional $2.2 billion for California‟s highways and roadways. This is about the same amount of funding received from the 2009 stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

Others familiar with the legislation indicate that the funds are to be spent in 2012 and early 2013.
We can all watch for more details from Washington. Of course, Congress could decide to follow a different course of action to address the critical high unemployment situation and get our economy growing again.

CONGRESS APPEARS READY TO EXTEND FAA DN HIGHWAY FUNDING UNTIL MARCH 31, 2012
House and Senate Committees appear to have reached an agreement to extend airport and highway construction funding through March 31, 2012. The extension maintains funding at current levels. The House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to vote on the measure this week. This action is necessary to prevent a shutdown of the FAA programs on Friday, September 16 and the highway and transit programs on September 30, 2010.