WASHINGTON (AP) - Vowing to find new ways to stimulate the sputtering economy, President Barack Obama will call for long-term investments in the nation's roads, railways and runways that would cost at least $50 billion.

The infrastructure investments are one part of a package of targeted proposals the White House is expected to announce in hopes of jump-starting the economy ahead of the November election. Obama will outline the infrastructure proposal Monday at a Labor Day event in Milwaukee.

While the proposal calls for investments over six years, the White House said spending would be front-loaded with an initial $50 billion to help create jobs in the near future.

The goals of the infrastructure plan include: rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; constructing and maintaining 4,000 miles of railways, enough to go coast-to-coast; and rehabilitating or reconstructing 150 miles of airport runways, while also installing a new air navigation system designed to reduce travel times and delays.

Obama will also call for the creation of a permanent infrastructure bank that would focus on funding national and regional infrastructure projects.

Administration officials wouldn't say what the total cost of the infrastructure investments would be, but did say the initial $50 billion represents a significant percentage. Officials said the White House would consider closing a number of special tax breaks for oil and gas companies to pay for the proposal.

Obama made infrastructure investments a central part of the $814 billion stimulus Congress passed last year, but with that spending winding down, the economy's growth has slowed. Officials said this infrastructure package differs from the stimulus because it's aimed at long-term growth, while still focusing on creating jobs in the short-term.

In a Labor Day interview on CBS'"Early Show," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the plan Obama was to unveil Monday would "put construction workers, welders, electricians back to work ... folks that have been unemployed for a long time."

With the unemployment rate ticking up to 9.6 percent, and polls showing the midterm elections could be dismal for Democrats, the president has promised to unveil a series of new measures on the economy.

In addition to Monday's announcement in Milwaukee, Obama will travel to Cleveland Wednesday to pitch a $100 billion proposal to increase and make permanent research and development tax credits for businesses, a White House official said.

While the idea is popular in Congress, coming up with offsetting tax increases or spending cuts has been a stumbling block. Similar to his proposal to pay for the infrastructure investments, Obama will ask lawmakers to close tax breaks for oil and gas companies and multinational corporations to pay for the plan.

Other stimulus measures the administration is considering include extending a law passed in March that exempts companies that hire unemployed workers from paying Social Security taxes on those workers through December. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has proposed extending the exemption an additional six months.

Obama is also continuing to prod the Senate to pass the small business bill that calls for about $12 billion in tax breaks and a $30 billion fund to help unfreeze lending. Republicans have likened the bill to the unpopular bailout of the financial industry. And the president wants to make permanent the portion of George W. Bush's tax cuts affecting the middle class.

Wary of the public's concern over rising deficits, the administration insists a second stimulus plan, similar to last year's $814 billion bill, is not in the works.

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And there's one of the real main reasons for this idiocy.

He hates oil companies and wants to destroy them, and thereby force us to drive electric cars powered by rainbows and unicorn farts.

I just hope we can elect a better President before the country is completely lost.

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The infrastructure of the US does need to be rebuilt and that is what all that stimulus money should have been spent on 2 years ago but NO they had to cater to special interest groups that did NOTHING to fix the economy. Now we don't have the money to fix our infrastructure, so let the roads crumble, bridges fall out of the sky and untreated sewage flow in the streets.

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Idiot does not seem to understand that if you raise the price of energy, you send the economy in the shitter.

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At least that dummy Sarah Palin isn't Vice President.

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At least that dummy Sarah Palin isn't Vice President.

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It should be paid for with tax revenue

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Like FDR, Obama plans to spend his way out of this depression recession.  

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Idiot does not seem to understand that if you raise the price of energy, you send the economy in the shitter.

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Obama is right on schedule in his Ideological Progressive Plan to destroy the USA, and rebuild it into a Socialist Utopia.

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The infrastructure of the US does need to be rebuilt and that is what all that stimulus money should have been spent on 2 years ago but NO they had to cater to special interest groups that did NOTHING to fix the economy.

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And there's one of the real main reasons for this idiocy.

He hates oil companies and wants to destroy them, and thereby force us to drive electric cars powered by rainbows and unicorn farts.

I just hope we can elect a better President before the country is completely lost.

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At least that dummy Sarah Palin isn't Vice President.

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First the auto unions, now the construction unions. He just doesn't get it, government doesn't make prosperity. The private sector does. unions don't make prosperity. Corporations do.

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Infrastructure, while important, does not sustain jobs.  Once the road, railway or runway is built, they're done for 50+ years.  Once built, they won't spawn new roads, runways or railways.  The only way to create job growth is to stimulate those areas where the growth and continue after unkle sugar cuts off the taps.  Same thing with tax "holidays".  If I'm a small business and I know I'm getting 15-30 days of tax breaks, I'm not going to hire new employees because I know the holiday will end and it'll end up costing me more afterwards.  Instead, I'm going to either pocket the cash to rebuild my reserves or maybe reinvest in durable goods like equipment.

If it wasn't for the seriousness of the moment, its actually quite amusing to watch the short sightedness of these people.

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And who do you think gets those contracts...the unions?



Halliburton builds roads, bridges and airports.



You need to quit listening to that fkn idiot entertainer, Limpjaw

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They did all sorts of road/bridge projects here with "stimulus money".  Temporary, unskilled work...not going to do a whole lot of good for the millions of white collar professionals who had their jobs disappear, never to return.

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none of which really require "skilled" labor.    

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So we shouldn't spend any money on infrastructure, just let the shit go until when?

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i see the spending of this 'infrastructure' money around where i live. i know at least one guy who runs a company that is involved, resurfacing/repaving roads.

everyone is starving, so all the road builders bid cutthroat. they end up loosing a bit or breaking even. the money employs (at least around here) illegals. or at least they appear to be illegals. they dont speak english and they look more like guatamalans or incas that mexicans. they spend their hard earned pesos on lotto tickets, beer and tacos.

i frankly dont see how that stimulates anything other than pessimism. so i hope the slacker-in-chief keeps up the effort until he's booted from office.

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866 more days.

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He knows that this is the only way to keep unemployment down is to keep throwing money into projects, he can stop once he wins the 2012 election.

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At least make somewhat of an attempt to stay on topic!!