On Thursday we participated in a media conference call with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman. The first portions of our coverage:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, part 1

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, part 2

Media asked questions on the subject of the economic stimulus bill:

…Operator: We go to the line of Jim Leach from Springfield, Illinois. Please state your media affiliation and your question.

Jim Leach: WMAY Radio in Springfield. Mr. Secretary, good to talk to you again. How are you?

Ray LaHood: Thank you Jim. Good to talk to you.

Jim Leach: Uh, two part question. If you could, one, elaborate on the situation with Illinois given our governmental turmoil here and also news of this massive budget defecit we’re dealing with. How prepared, is your sense, that we are to capitalize on some of these when we need matching funds and are we really in a position to do that? And also if you could address, are you doing any personal lobbying of your former, uh, colleagues on the hill, especially in the Republican caucus, to try to get their support for the stimulus package…?

…Ray LaHood: Well first of all Jim, I met with Governor Quinn. Uh, he was in Washington a couple of days ago. He and I had a very good meeting. Uh, I appreciate the approach that he’s taking. Uh, he knows that, uh, that our state can benefit. We have not funded, uh, very few if any road projects in the last two or three years. There are a number of projects that can be funded. Uh, as I think most of all of you know, uh, at the moment there is gon.. not gonna have to be any match on this. And so I know that the governor has talked about further down the road in terms of his infrastructure program. But there’ll be no shortage of projects that will be submitted, uh, from Illinois. Uh, and if they meet the criteria and meet the standards and, uh, are ready to go they will be considered along with, uh, all those from the other forty nine state. And uh, and so, we uh, you know, we feel that uh, you know, the governor and his people, have projects, uh, that will be ready to go and, uh, they’ll be considered, uh, like, like all the other states. I’m sorry Jim. What was your other question?

Jim Leach: …Doing any personal lobbying of Republicans on the hill, uh, given your, uh, affiliation with them and your contact with them in the past? Did you try to get their support for this?

Ray LaHood: …I’ve had senators call me, uh, with questions that they have because the, the bill is moving rather quickly, uh, through the senate. And I, what, whatever opportunity I have I try and test the temperatures of these senators. Uh, look it, uh, I, I’m a part of the, the Obama team here. I’m a part of a team of people that wants to see this passed and, uh, and so, I’m doing what I can, uh, to, uh, to be, uh, helpful in, in trying to make sure that it gets passed through the senate…

…Operator: …We go to the line of Alvin Reid from St. Louis, Missouri. Please state your affiliation and question.

Alvin Reid: Uh, St. Louis American. And Secretary, uh, LaHood, especially with the transportation and infrastructure projects, what kind of minority participation plan will be part of the recovery act, if any? Or, or how will that will be approached as, uh, these projects are decided?

Ray LaHood: Well, you know what? That’s a, that’s a point that I had not really considered and, uh, if possible, Amy, uh, if we can get back to him I’d rather do that than give an answer where I don’t really know thoroughly enough, uh, what the answer is. So, uh, and, and Amy, we can help get an answer back, so, uh, I’d rather leave it that way if I could.

Amy Brundage: Sure. Alvin, we’ll get right back to you after the call.

Operator: Our next question is from the line of Martin Ross from Bloomington, Illinois. Please state your affiliation and question.

Martin Ross: Uh, Illinois Farm Week. Uh, Mr. Secretary, uh, Illinois you know has a big emphasis on integrated inter modal transportation etcetera. To what extent will the team be looking at regional, particularly regional, but also larger interstate, uh, uh, national benefits, uh, economic benefits, uh, when triaging some of these projects? And then also, uh, Mr. Furman, if I could, uh, uh, flood control was mentioned. Are we talking about some upper Mississippi, uh, rehabilitation, uh, renovation efforts?

Ray LaHood: Well Martin the answer to your question is, is that these, these projects will be judged on are they ready to go, can people be put to work immediately, uh, do they meet all the criteria. Some of ’em will be regional in nature. Uh, and, you know, almost, in dealing with these I mean I think, uh, many of them will be regional in nature. Uh, probably not every one, but uh, we know that, uh, there’ll be multi-jurisdictional, uh, uh, they’ll be, uh, intrastate and interstate, and uh, and so, uh, I think you can count on us really taking a careful look at how quickly can people go to work, how quickly can the people spend the money, the, the states, and uh, and some of those obviously will be, uh, collaborative efforts…

…Operator:…We go to the line of Brandy Donaldson from Moline, Illinois. Please state your affiliation and question.

Brandy Donaldson: Hi, this is Brandy Donaldson. My affiliation is the Rock Island Argus Moline Dispatch newspaper. Um, Secretary LaHood, um, hello from the quad cities.

Ray LaHood: Hello.

Brandy Donaldson: And, uh, my question is: Once the money has been allocated to the states will there be any sort of mandates or checks put in place to make sure each state is spending the money in the way the plan calls for them to?

Ray LaHood: Absolutely. One of the things that the President has emphasized to all of us is the idea of transparency. People will be able to, uh, click into a web site to, to really look and pay attention. We will be, too. We’re gonna hold the governors’ feet to the fire on this. The money has to be spent, uh, effectively, efficiently in a way that reflects the idea that, uh, people are working and uh, there’ll be lots of access to, um, benchmarks on how the money is spent, when it is spent, how many people are working, and, uh, plenty, plenty of transparency on this. I guarantee you. And uh, this is one of the hallmarks of this administration, and uh, all of us that work on the Obama team have gotten the message on this. And we certainly have here at DOT because, uh, a good share of this money is gonna be spent out of, uh, our offices. And we want to make sure the taxpayers and the American people know that it’s being done in the right way, according to the way it should be, and, and that they have access to that information…

Operator:…Greg Hines (sp) from Chicago, Illinois. Again, please state your affiliation and question.

Greg Hines: Hi, Greg Hines with Greater Chicago Business. Mr. Secretary could you talk a little bit about the Amtrak money, particularly the two billion that’s in at least the senate version of the bill for high speed rail? Uh, what that might do for the Midwest as opposed to the Northeast corridor which traditionally has gotten the lion’s share of Amtrak money.

Ray LaHood: Well first let me say that this administration is, uh, is very committeed to Amtrak. I was just with the Vice President in Laurel, Maryland, uh just outside of the city of Washington, uh, earlier today at an Amtrak station, uh, that needs, that is in need of great repair. Not really the tracks, just the station, so that people can, uh, get up the steps, have a platform, uh that’s decent to stand on and to, and u
h, so uh. The idea that, uh, this money will be used for Amtrak is certainly a priority. And uh, something that, again, we’ll be looking very carefully at, uh, and not just in one particular part of the country. We’re gonna be working very closely, uh, to make sure that, uh, that the states that have really made the commitment to Amtrak, uh, certainly we know a number of states have, and more recently states have gotten more involved. But uh, we, we know that the Northeast corridor has made a huge commitment. States like Illinois have made a huge commitment. And uh, and so we’re gonna look carefully, and. And so the answer Greg really is that, uh, some of it will be spent on, uh, perhaps some infrastructure, but some of it will be spent on facilities like where the Vice President and I were at today so that people have a place to board and, and uh, and it’s uh, comports with, you know, the kind of service that people want. And, and so, uh, I, I think you can be assured that, that uh, the Amtrak money, uh, is a priority, not only just, uh, uh, in this, in this bill. But, uh, for the long haul there’s gonna be a pretty high priority. Congress passed an Amtrak bill, uh, last year. Every senator that I met with, before my confirmation, emphasized to me the importance of Amtrak and high speed rail. And it will be a priority of the, of President Obama’s administration and of the Department of Transportation, not only in the stimulus, but uh, but longer term…

…Operator:…That does conclude our conference for today…

Yesterday we participated in a media conference call with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman. The first part of our coverage:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, part 1

Media asked questions on the subject of the economic stimulus bill:

…Operator: Our first question is from line of Sabrina Eaton from Washington, D.C. Please state your media affiliation.

Sabrina Eaton: Hi, I’m with the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Shall I ask the question [crosstalk]?

Operator: Go ahead Sabrina.

Sabrina Eaton: Okay. Um, I wanted to ask Secretary LaHood – there are just tons of estimates coming out from, you know, government groups, members of Congress, uh think tanks, about how much money every state is going to get and for what. And those of us who cover particular states are obviously very interested in this. Can you give us an idea of, you know, where these numbers are coming from and why a, a lot of them are so different? From one another…?

…Ray LaHood: Yeah, well, look it, I mean part of the idea here is what I stated I stated earlier, and that is that we want projects that are ready to go that have met all the environmental standards, there are not going to be any shortcuts. We’re not going to shortcut any of the, uh, guidelines and rules and regulations. And, uh, I think the answer is, uh, we’ll have a better answer when we meet with the fifty secretaries of transportation or highway administrators next Wednesday. ‘Cause we’ve asked them to bring to us some of the projects that they think can really be funded immediately upon passage of this bill. And I think we’ll have a better idea and I, I think, to be honest with you, I don’t know how much each state is gonna get because at this point we, we know there are a lot of projects that have been sitting on a shelf somewhere in all of these states. Uh, an illustration is Illinois. We have not been able to pass a capital budget so we’ve never had the, the match to fund a lot of projects. And so I met with the governor of Illinois, he was out here this week, and he tells me that they’re, they’re ready with a number of projects. But I don’t know what the money amounts are to be honest with you. I, I think we’ll have a better handle on that next Wednesday.

Jason Furman: And this is Jason Furman with one small thing to add, which is the White House release and I’m sure Amy or [garbled] or someone can get you. State by state fact sheets we did which have some of the different elements of the plan. Like how many people would benefit from the tax cuts, the unemployment insurance, how many jobs created, go to college, how many schools would be modernized, so the White House has provided some numbers as well.

Ray LaHood: I would say this, this is Ray LaHood again. I would say this. We have not had one state tell us that they don’t have some projects that can be funded. I mean, we know there’s a pent up demand out there…

…Operator: We go to the line of Gordon Trowbridge from Washington, D.C. Please state your affiliation and question please.

Gordon Trowbridge: Okay. Thanks, hi. I’m from the Detroit News. And this is, this is for probably more for Mr. Furman although Secretary, if, if you feel like jumping in please feel free. Um, the stimulus package, at least at this point, has some, uh aid that would indirectly, uh, uh impact the auto industry, although there’s nothing specific. And, and our guess is that you’re gonna have some que..some decisions coming up fairly quickly on the auto industry. Um, specifically in terms of the request from Chrysler for additional funding and uh, um and also some decisions in terms of an auto czar or a team to, to, to handle the recovery packages that those companies have had to submit. I wondered if you could tell us a little bit about how far along you are in, uh, making those kinds of decisions and, uh, how, how, how you prioritize those sorts of those things versus the stimulus package that, that you’re, that you’re talking about today.

Jason Furman: Yeah, and Gordon, let me give you a big picture answer. And Secretary LaHood if you want to jump in you, if you want to answer you can. Um, and then have somebody get back to you offline with more detailed answers to your questions. Um, the administration’s, you know, first and top priority is passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment. And the three to four million jobs that will be saved or created by this plan are in every sector of the economy, including a significant number in manufacturing. Then, moving on from here, there are several other critical parts of our short run economic strategy, including autos, foreclosure mitigation, and financial recovery in a way that Secretary Geithner will be outlining the details of. This act itself will help the auto industry, both in terms of stimululating aggregate demand and creating jobs. There are some provisions, for example in energy, there’s a very big effort to purchase fuel efficient vehicles for the federal fleet, research into batteries, tax cuts that will help the auto industry, so there’s a lot in here that help, um, the auto industry. And it will be part of a broader strategy that we’ll be following through on after the passage of this legislation.

Ray LaHood: This is Ray LaHood. I, I don’t really have anything to add to what Jason had to say on that…

…Operator: We go to the line of Sylvia Smith of Washington, D.C. Please state your affiliation and your question.

Sylvia Smith: I’m with the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, um, Indiana. And I’ve got two questions, on the, for Secretary LaHood. Um, mayors have been making the case here in Washington that money would be more quickly spent for transportation projects, in particular if it was funded through them, not through the states. I’m wondering what you think about that and also, uh, solely on transportation projects would you expect, um, the funding formula that’s used in the, the highway bills to be used in this way of allocation as well?

Ray LaHood: Well, first of all, uh, I saw that a number of mayors had met, uh, with President Obama. I saw that reported and uh, our feeling is that, that the fastest way to get this money out is through the state department of transporation. And these are agencies, uh, that are under the offices of the governors in the state. They have mecahnism, they, they have all the paper work, they know what the requirements are. Uh, a lot of these communities and a lot of these cities, unless they’re big urban areas, simply do not have the ability to do what we want to do and to do what the President wants to do. Get the money out the door, have people building roads and bridges and infrastructures, Spring, Summer and Fall. And, uh, I, I’ve heard the argument from the mayors and, and I know they’re concerned, but look it, if they, if they, if they work closely with the states and with the governors they’re, they’re gonna get some roads built in their communities. And uh, I, I just have no doubt of that. Uh, I think it’ll happaen and uh, it’ll happen very efficiently and effectively and in a way that reflects what the President wants here. Get people back to work.

Um, with respect to your other question our idea is, and that’s why we have this “tiger team” or this coordinating group that we’ve assembled in the department, so, as soon as the bill is passed, and as soon as we start receiving, uh, projects and programs that need to be funded we will have a team in place to make sure they meet all the requirements, uh, and that we can get the money out the door. I suspect that some will fit in to certain programs, but if they’re ready to go, and they meet the criteria, and they’ve met all the rules and regulations, uh, the funding will flow…

This afternoon we participated in a media conference call with Treasury Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman arranged for Midwest reporters by the White House Media Affairs Office. The subject was the economic stimulus bill. Secretary LaHood spoke from his prepared remarks for about six minutes and then, with Jason Furman, took questions from media participants for almost another twenty minutes.

…Amy Brundage, Midwest Communications Director, White House: Hi everyone, this is Amy Brundage. I’m the Midwest Communications Director here at the White House. Thanks to everybody who took the time to join us today. And for those of you who I haven’t spoken with yet I look forward to getting to know you over the course of our time here. I am very, very pleased today to be joined by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who is on the line with us and who will be speaking about an American, exeuse me, an economic recovery and reinvestment plan. And we also have Jason Furman who is our Deputy Director of the National Economic Council here at the White House, who is on as well. So with that I will turn the call over to Secretary LaHood and we will take some questions after the opening remarks…

…Transportattion Secretary Ray LaHood: Thank you Amy and thanks to all of you for joining us. I’m, I’m here at the Department of Transportation and I’m pleased to give you sort of a, as much information as we possibly can. It’s no secret that the economy is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. And the President has called for unprecedented action. And the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will immediately jump start [job] creation and foster long term economic growth. The plan will create over three to four million jobs over the next two years. Every economist and analyst that the President has spoken to has confirmed that the recovery plan will meet this goal. And the job goal is to create and arrange, create jobs in a range of industries from clean energy to health care with over ninety per cent in the private sector.

In addition to essential investments designed to create and save jobs in the near term, the plan addresses long neglected needs that are critical to laying the foundation for a robust and sustainable 21st century economy.

A key component of the plan is enacting the largest investment in America’s roads, bridges, transit lines since the creation of the interstate system. The goal is to help jump start the economy by getting money out the door for projects that are ready to go. Projects that have met the environmental standards, projects that have gone through all the necessary paperwork so that people can begin working this Spring, Summer and Fall.

At my direction we’ve already set up, within the Department of Transportation, a multi-mode economic recovery team that will make sure that the economic recovery monies for transportation are spent rapidly, legally, and wisely. The team, as we’re calling it – the “tiger” team – Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, will also be developing common reporting standards and tracking the highway, road, bridge, transit, rail, aviation and intermodal investments directed by the economic recovery act. Also, I have asked all fifty state secretaries of transportation to come to Washington next Mon…, excuse me, next Wednesday, next Wednesday to tell them “this is what we want”. We want transparency, accountability, we’re going to do things by the book, and we’re looking for ready to go projects that can get started right away.

So you’ll be able to click on the web site – http://www.recovery.gov – and see where the dollars are spent, and which cities and towns the money is going to, and for which projects. And we’re going to do it without earmarks. The President has made that clear. This is a bill for project ready investments.

Under the plan over a hundred billion will be invested in roads, bridges, mass transit, flood control, and clean water projects and ninety five per cent of American workers will get a tax cut. The plan will get funds out quickly, and at least seventy five per cent of the package spending out in the first eighteen months after passage.

By including fast spending provisions like tax cuts for middle class Americans and families, measures to avoid state health care cuts, and temporary expansion of unemployment insurance, food stamps, and health care for the unemployed workers the package will spend out at least seventy five per cent of the total commitment within the first eighteen months after passage. The administration will work with Congress to refine the package to insure that it meets this seventy five per cent goal.

Critics have focused on a hand full of projects and programs that represent less than half of one per cent of the bill’s cost. While in almost every case these programs have merit and serve an important public purpose, the President has made clear that they do not meet the stimulus test they shou…, if they should not be included in the bill. And the President has made that clear in, in every instance that I know of.

This is an important time in our country’s history and an important time to invest wisely for the sake of our children and our children’s children. I’m proud to be at, a pivotal role in this and I also want to say just a couple illustrations providing, making work, paid, tax cut of up to a thousand to, for four million eight hundred ninety workers and their families in Illinois. The plan will make a down payment on the President’s “making work” tax cuts for ninety per cent of workers and their families – designed to pay out immediately in worker’s pay checks, creating or saving a hundred and fifteen thousand seven hundred jobs over the next two years in Michigan. Jobs created will be in a range of industries, again, from clean energy to health care with over ninety per cent in the private sector. And I guess I’ll leave it at that with those two examples. We have other examples and Amy I don’t know if we should take questions now or if there’s anything else you want to say.

Amy Brundage: Oh I think that’s great Secretary, thank you very much. With that we will open it up for a few questions…

The Show Me Progress corporate headquarters transcription elves will work diligently over the next few days to finish the transcript of the remainder of the conference call. We’ll post that material as it is completed.