Two weeks after first addressing his economic stimulus plan, President-elect Barack Obama shed more light on what he wants to do. In this week's address, he laid out plans to invest back into the nation's highways, update government buildings and schools, and expand broadband Internet use across the country.
- "A massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient," which would involve upgrading federal buildings (and creating jobs).
- "Making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s... If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money."
- "We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools."
- "Renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m President – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world."
While no spending numbers were mentioned, Obama did say, "We won’t do it the old Washington way. We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve -- by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world."
Meet the Press will have an interview with President-elect Obama tomorrow morning.
