Worst president in 80 years mocks Congress on highway spending

[David Andres]

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/obama-mocks-congress-
highway-spending-108491.html

President Barack Obama openly mocked Congress on Tuesday for
failing to fix the looming shortfall in the federal Highway
Trust Fund � and took some shots at House Speaker John Boehner�s
threats to sue him for overstepping his powers.

�I haven�t heard a good reason for why they haven�t acted,�
Obama said of the lawmakers in a speech in front of the Key
Bridge, which connects Washington to Arlington, Virginia. �It�s
not like they�re busy with other stuff.�

The mockery was reminiscent of the all-out sarcasm the president
has used lately to attack congressional Republicans� attitudes
toward climate change, but this time he turned it to another of
his perennial themes: boosting infrastructure spending to create
jobs.

(Also on POLITICO: The Dick and Liz Cheney recovery tour)

�As long as they�re doing nothing, I�m not going to apologize
for doing something,� Obama said. He added, �So sue me.�

Obama noted that soon, money derived from the trust fund is
supposed to go toward repairing the bridge. But the fund itself,
which provides more than half of many states� road construction
and repair budgets, is set to begin running dry in August, and
Congress has yet to settle on short- or long-term fixes. The
administration has said 700,000 jobs are at risk if Congress
fails to act.

�That�d be like Congress threatening to lay off the entire
population of Denver or Seattle or Boston,� Obama said. �That�s
a lot of people.�

(Also on POLITICO: Obama's immigration pivot)

The administration has put forward a $402 billion, four-year
transportation bill that would be partially paid for with
revenues from tax reform, a long shot in the current Congress.
But Obama said he would continue to push his idea.

Speaking in front of a bridge named after the author of �The
Star-Spangled Banner� three days before the Fourth of July,
Obama framed his agenda as one of �economic patriotism� that
would help the country keep up with other economic powers, like
China and Germany.

�It shouldn�t be controversial,� Obama said of infrastructure
spending. �It hasn�t been controversial in the past.�

�