BULLY PULPIT

Obama Calls for Transportation Bill

Says political gamesmanship endangering jobs.

Ahead of his Thursday jobs speech, President Obama used his Sunday radio address to call for the extension of the Surface Transportation Bill, which funds roads, bridges, mass transit systems, and other projects with gasoline taxes. If Congress doesn't pass the extension of the bill, funding would be cut off in September. “Right away, over 4,000 workers would be furloughed without pay,” Obama said. If it's delayed for long, he said, almost 1 million workers could lose their jobs. “There’s a lot of talk in Washington these days about creating jobs. But it doesn’t help when those same folks turn around and risk losing hundreds of thousands of jobs just because of political gamesmanship.”