The president’s jobs plan calls for tens of billions of dollars of additional investment in roads, rails, and airports and $10 billion in seed money for a new national infrastructure bank. We’re encouraged that the president recognizes the need to modernize the nation’s aging infrastructure. Infrastructure investment is a component of the Chamber's six-point jobs plan.

However, a one-time stimulus-style infusion of infrastructure investment is not a sufficient substitute for a steady stream of investment. In his speech, the president missed an opportunity to urge Congress to pass legislation reauthorizing the surface transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU), the Federal Aviation Agency (four years overdue!), and the Water Resources Development Act.

Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue wasted no such opportunity in his op-ed appearing  in the Christian Science Monitor. Donohue writes that Congress should "move forward with multiyear reauthorizations to restore the nation’s highways; modernize air traffic control and improve airports; and maintain American ports, harbors, dams, and levees." In addition, Donohue urges the federal government to greenlight the Keystone XL pipeline project, accelerate the permitting process, and create an infrastructure bank to draw private investment into needed infrastructure projects.

Donohue explains why these investments are essential:

Recent research by the US Chamber of Commerce discovered that underperforming transport infrastructure cost the US economy nearly $2 trillion in lost gross domestic product in 2008 and 2009. The chamber’s Transportation Performance Index showed that America’s transit system is not keeping up with growing demands and is failing to meet the needs of the business community and consumers.

Most important, the research proved for the first time that there is a direct relationship between transportation infrastructure performance and GDP.

The index findings also showed that if America invests wisely in infrastructure, it can become more reliable, predictable, and safe. By improving underperforming transport infrastructure, the United States could unlock nearly $1 trillion in economic potential.