President's American Jobs Act Includes Big Construction Plans

In last night's speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama told the legislators to "stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy" by quickly approving his proposed $447 billion package of measures so he can sign it into law.

Called the American Jobs Act, the president's plan includes a wide-ranging number of spending and tax-cut programs, as well as unemployment-insurance reform and regulatory reform. Obama says all of them can be paid for, and all of them have been either proposed by or met with bipartisan approval in the past.

For the construction industry, the American Jobs Act includes:

• $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000 public schools across the country
• $50 billion in immediate investments in highways, transit, rail and aviation
• Seeding a national infrastructure with $10 billion 
• A $15 billion "Project Rebuild" backed by public-private collaborations to rehab homes and businesses

More on the American Jobs Act:

• Read a transcript or watch a recording of President Obama's speech
• White House Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act
• AGC: Jobs Act Will Create Jobs, Boost the Economy and Protect Taxpayers
• Materials Groups Support President's Call for Infrastructure Investment
• ARTBA: Infrastructure Bank a Critical Tool but We Need Surface and Air Transportation Reauthorization First
• ABC: President's Plan 'Won't Pass Inspection" with Construction Industry
• AASHTO Endorses Obama's Call for Transport Investment
• Architects Agree with Obama's Payroll Tax Cut, Construction Program
• Mica Calls National Infrastructure Bank "a Step in the Wrong Direction" 
• Can Obama Rebuild Infrastructure Without Congress? 
• How Will House Allocate 2012 Transportation Spending?