Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met with President Barack Obama at the White House today to discuss the importance of large-scale and sustained federal infrastructure investment to the nation's economic growth, environmental protection and national security. Joined by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his co-chairs in the Building America's Future coalition, the group encouraged a new era of infrastructure investment in the United States, noting that a visionary national infrastructure policy can play a central role not only in fostering immediate job creation but also in establishing long-term U.S. economic competitiveness, addressing global warming and our dependence of fossil fuels, improving national security and enhancing quality of life and safety across the nation. 

 "Not only would greater, sustained investment in our nation's ailing infrastructure create jobs immediately, it would also establish long-term economic competitiveness, address our environmental needs, and enhance the quality of life across our nation," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "California knows first-hand from our Strategic Growth Plan that there are vast benefits to focusing on infrastructure, which is why we are aggressively pushing for long-term federal investment in our nation's infrastructure needs."

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the current grade of U.S. infrastructure is a "D" and estimate that the United States will need $2.2 trillion infrastructure investment from all levels of government and the private sector in the next five years alone. Additionally, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission recommends significantly increasing investment in surface transportation, including investing $225 billion over the next 50 years to upgrade transportation systems needed to sustain economic growth. For more information on the infrastructure needs of the nation please visit the Building America's Future, an organization chaired by Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Rendell and Mayor Bloomberg. 

Championed by the Governor Schwarzenegger and approved by voters in 2006, California's Strategic Growth plan authorized $42 billion in general obligation bonds for education, housing, levee repair, flood control, parks and transportation infrastructure. Conservative estimates show that every $1 billion spent on infrastructure creates approximately 18,000 jobs.