Obama: National priorities should guide infrastructure investment

Obama: National priorities should guide infrastructure investment President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday articulated a governing philosophy that appears to give hope to transportation infrastructure advocates that project funding may be based more on merit and a national transportation plan rather than on earmarks and local political considerations, which have plagued previous multiyear spending bills.
   In his second press conference this week, Obama stressed the need for a new era of budget discipline that eliminates ineffective and outdated programs and makes the rest work more efficiently. He promised a smart-government approach in which policy and program decisions are based 'on what works' instead of ideology and special interests.
      Obama nominated Peter Orszag as budget director and Rob Nabors as deputy budget director. Orszag currently heads the Congressional Budget Office. The Office of Management and Budget will be tasked with combing the federal budget to eliminate wasteful programs to help offset planned spending for a massive economic recovery plan, which many have pegged on the order of $700 billion.   
   The former Illinois state and federal senator said input from governors and mayors will be sought to identify worthwhile fast-track infrastructure projects that have been scoped out and simply need funding to get going. But he made clear that infrastructure spending must be targeted at projects that provide widespread benefits and that the process be transparent so that citizens trust their money is wisely spent.
   The budget team's job, he said, 'is to make sure that we are proceeding on projects and investments based on national priorities and not based on politics.'
   And he dismissed the notion that his ties to local politicians in Illinois mean they will get special privileges when it comes to doling out money for the stimulus plan.
   'Friendship doesn’t come into this. That's part of the old way of doing business.
   'The new way of doing business is, let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck, how can we protect taxpayer dollars so this money is not wasted, and restore a sense of confidence among taxpayers that when we spend our money it's on things that are actually going to improve their quality of life, create the jobs that are so desperately needed, and spur on economic growth and business creation in the private sector,' Obama said. ' Eric Kulisch