Steel emphasizes urgency of highway, infrastructure spending

Dec 08, 2009 | 11:27 AM | Corinna Petry

Steel industry leaders continue to endorse calls by a wide variety of stakeholders for the need to pass a highway bill very soon, which they say would spur long-term job creation in numerous industries, including manufacturing and steel.

Building America's Future (BAF), a coalition of governors, mayors, city and county officials, this week is calling on Congress to use the few remaining legislative days of the year to facilitate private investment, economic growth and the creation of jobs through transportation and infrastructure investments.

"A diverse group of organizations and elected officials are standing together to illustrate the support and urgent need for smart infrastructure investment to get our economy moving in the right direction," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a BAF co-chairman, said in a statement.

"We would prefer to see Congress pass a fully reformed six-year transportation bill but that is not possible by the end of this year," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, also a co-chairman, said. However, "we are urging Congress to front-load some transportation investments now so states and cities can complete fix-it-first projects while at the same time creating jobs."....