California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently welcomed 13 new governors to the “Building America’s Future” coalition, which seeks more federal investment in the nation’s infrastructure. “Building America's Future” was launched last month in Los Angeles by Schwarzenegger, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Joining “Building America’s Future” today are:
Governor Charlie Crist, FloridaGovernor Eliot Spitzer, New YorkGovernor Martin O’Malley, MarylandGovernor Janet Napolitano, ArizonaGovernor Jon Corzine, New JerseyGovernor Deval Patrick, MassachusettsGovernor John Baldacci, MaineGovernor Donald Carcieri, Rhode IslandGovernor Jim Douglas, VermontGovernor Christine Gregoire, WashingtonGovernor Jennifer Granholm, MichiganGovernor Tim Kaine, VirginiaGovernor Bill Ritter, Colorado
“We have Republicans, Democrats and Independents from all across the nation. And we are joining together for one reason – to force Washington to get serious about strengthening our nation’s infrastructure. Everyone here knows this is a big national problem that affects our economy and endangers our communities,” Schwarzenegger said .
“An efficient, well-planned and developed infrastructure is essential if America is to compete in the global economic marketplace,” said Rendell. “We need to build America’s future, brick by brick, and the support of governors from across the country is the first critical brick because it shows that local and state governments cannot continue to do it alone. Infrastructure is a federal challenge. It requires a federal commitment of resources.”
The coalition is composed of elected and executive officials serving at the state and local levels of government. In the short term, the coalition will work with presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding. In the long term, the coalition will serve as a repository of best practices on infrastructure funding issues and become a think tank focusing on emerging infrastructure issues.
