Secretary Geithner Visits UPS Worldport in Kentucky, Highlighting Importance of Investments in Infrastructure

Visit Underscores Need for Congress to Pass the American Jobs Act

LOUISVILLE, KY – Highlighting the need for Congress to pass President Obama’s American Jobs Act proposals to create jobs and invest in our nation’s infrastructure, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today toured UPS’s international air hub and met with local business leaders in Louisville, Kentucky.  As a company that interfaces with almost every facet of the country’s transportation system, UPS believes there needs to be immediate short term investment as well as long term planning to maintain and grow our transportation system.

“One of the most important parts of the President’s American Jobs Act is to put people to work right now rebuilding America’s infrastructure,” said Secretary Geithner. “In order to be as productive and efficient as possible, American businesses need the foundation of a strong, reliable, modern infrastructure – and that means they need government to do its part.  Investing in infrastructure creates good, middle-class jobs and helps our economy run at its full potential, which keeps us competitive and helps lower costs for businesses and consumers alike.”

“I am encouraged that both the President and Congressional leaders are working to develop bipartisan solutions to put people back to work, modernize and create an interconnected transportation system of ports, rails, roadways and runways, create jobs by expanding access to overseas markets for businesses large and small and reform America's tax system so we can get this economy moving again,” said Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO of UPS.

The Secretary’s visit highlighted the value government investment in 21st century infrastructure provides by increasing productivity and efficiency in our economy and strengthening the competitiveness of American businesses.  UPS estimates that a five minute daily delay for every UPS vehicle costs the company $100 million annually. Across the U.S., clogged roads cost our country at least $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel.  Flight delays cost another $33 billion in lost productivity. 

With more than 137,000 flights worldwide in 2010, and more than 31,000 of those from the Worldport Facility, the cost of routine flight delays and traffic congestion have a significant effect on UPS’s bottom line.  Because UPS’s operations require interactions with every level of American infrastructure – beyond just roads and bridges – the Secretary’s visit also highlighted the need to invest in the next generation of systems to help modernize air traffic control and create a 21st century energy grid.  

Earlier this month, President Obama sent to Congress the American Jobs Act, which creates jobs and cuts taxes for middle-class Americans.  The President’s plan addresses the problem of our nation’s crumbling infrastructure while putting hundreds of thousands of workers back on the job with a strategy that combines immediate investments in infrastructure with innovative reforms to ensure that the best projects get financing.  These investments would put people to work now and yield lasting benefits for our economy.

For additional information on the American Jobs Act’s proposals to put Americans back to work while rebuilding and modernizing our infrastructure, see the White House fact sheet here: WhiteHouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-and-overview.

VIDEO: Senator Rand Paul Responds to President Obama’s Jobs Speech

Source: Senator Rand Paul website (paul.senate.gov)

Here's how the American Jobs Act works

Good afternoon,

Last night President Obama walked Congress and the nation through the American Jobs Act, his plan to create jobs in America now. It's up to Congress to act on this set of bipartisan ideas that put people back to work and put more money into the pockets of working Americans.

You can watch a special enhanced version of the speech, featuring charts and other relevant information here.

Here are a few important points about how the American Jobs Act works, and why Congress should act quickly:

·         First, it provides a tax cut for small businesses, not big corporations, to help them hire and expand now and provides an additional tax cut to any business that increases wages.

·         Second, it puts people back to work, including teachers, first responders and veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and construction workers repairing crumbling bridges, roads and more than 35,000 public schools, with projects chosen by need and impact, not earmarks and politics.

·         Third, it helps out-of-work Americans by extending unemployment benefits to help them support their families while looking for work and reforming the system with training programs that build real skills, connect to real jobs and help the long-term unemployed.

·         Fourth, it puts more money in the pockets of working and middle class Americans by cutting in half the payroll tax that comes out of every worker's paycheck, saving families an average of $1,500 a year. And it removes the barriers that exist in the current federal refinancing program (HARP) to help more Americans refinance their mortgages at historically low rates, save money and stay in their homes.

The American Jobs Act is based on ideas supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and is fully paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes and by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share. It would have an immediate impact on job and economic growth, but Congress has to act now.

You can learn more about the American Jobs Act on Whitehouse.gov.

Over the next few days there are a number of ways for you to ask questions and engage with Administration officials about the American Jobs Act including Open for Questions live panels and Twitter Office Hours.

In fact, next week, I’ll be participating in my very first White House Office Hours on Twitter, so be sure to tune in and send me your questions using the hashtag #WHChat.

Sincerely,

David Plouffe

Senior Advisor to the President

P.S. After last night’s address, a few White House policy experts answered questions about the speech. Check out the video of the event at WhiteHouse.gov/JobsSpeechOFQ.

VIDEO: American Jobs Act: Get the Facts

By Colleen Curtis

This evening, the President addressed a joint session of Congress and presented the American Jobs Act, a comprehensive plan to put America back to work. It was created from a set of ideas supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and it acknowledges that if we are going to restore America's middle class, we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.

Viewers who tuned in to watch it live-streamed from whitehouse.gov/live got an enhanced experience, one that included real time graphic elements that explained the research and the facts that helped inform some of aspects of the American Jobs Act. And now you can watch it that way, too.

You can download the fact sheet here.