Obama Seeking $300 Billion For Roads, Railways
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Source: Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $300 billion to update roads and railways, arguing the taxpayer investment will help put Americans to work.
Obama was announcing the proposal Wednesday at the Union Depot rail and bus station in St. Paul, Minn., after touring a light rail maintenance facility. Funding for surface transportation programs expires later this year, and the White House says 700,000 jobs could be at risk unless it is renewed.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned Wednesday of a "transportation cliff coming in August or September" when the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal highway and transit projects, is forecast to go broke.
The trust fund, which finances federal highway and transit programs, will need an influx of $100 billion over the next six years just to maintain current transportation spending levels. But Obama and Congress have been unwilling to raise federal gas and diesel taxes that have been the main source of federal transportation funding for decades.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-02-26-14-59-28
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