Government

Obama to Congress: Pass Highway-Transit, FAA Extensions Quickly

The departments—Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Transportation—have 30 days to identify the projects.

Obama also said that when Congress comes back into session after Labor Day, “we’re going to have to have a serious conversation in this country about making real, lasting investments in our infrastructure—from better ports to a smarter electric grid; from high-speed Internet to high-speed rail.”

Obama plans to deliver a major speech on job creation after Labor Day. He requested a joint session of Congress on September 7 as the venue. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) responded by proposing Sept. 8, citing "considerations regarding the congressional calendar," and the lenghty time needed for a security sweep of the House chamber."

As ENR's former Washington Bureau Chief, Tom Ichniowski wrote about the federal government since the George H.W. Bush administration, and covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

Post a comment to this article

Live: July 16, 2026 at 2:00 pm EDT We'll address the current state of the construction market as we reach the halfway point of 2026. ENR invites three top forecasters asking them to share their views on the market prospects for the industry at midyear, both nationally & regionally, in the midst of these unique challenges.