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The President: Hello, St. Paul!
(applause)
It is good to be back in Minnesota.
(applause)
Audience: We love you!
The President: I love you back.
That's why I came here.
Good to see you.
Although, can I just say that when we
got off the plane, Secretary Foxx,
who is from North Carolina,
turned to me and he said, this is the coldest I've
ever been in my life.
(laughter)
Now, we were only out
there for like a minute
-- (laughter) --
which goes to show how
soft these folks from North Carolina are when
it comes to the weather.
(laughter and applause)
I, on the other hand, am from Chicago
-- (applause) --
I walked off those stairs and I was like,
this is balmy, this is great.
(laughter)
February, in Minnesota
-- can't beat it.
Cannot beat it.
Now, in addition to Secretary Foxx, who I want
to -- give him a big round
of applause for that introduction.
(applause)
You've two champions for the people
of Minnesota who are here today.
You've got Representative Betty McCollum --
(applause)
-- and Representative Keith Ellison.
(applause)
You've got your Mayor, Chris Coleman,
in the house.
(applause)
The new Mayor of Minneapolis,
Betsy Hodges, is here.
(applause)
And my great friend, who actually told
me I was running for President before
I knew I was running for President
-- R.T. Rybak.
Love that name.
(applause)
Where's R.T.?
Now, I want to thank everybody who showed me
around Union Depot and gave me a preview
of this new light rail line.
It is fantastic.
(applause)
And I also just want to say -- even though
he's not here today -- I want to say to everybody
how Michelle and I have been keeping
in our thoughts and prayers one of the great Americans
that we know, as well as a great Minnesotan --
Walter Mondale.
(applause)
Now, like millions of Americans,
I've spent some time with Minnesotans lately --
because I was watching the Olympics.
(laughter)
Minnesota sent 19 athletes to the games.
(applause)
That's tied for second most of any state,
and they did us all proud.
It is not shocking that Minnesotans might be
pretty good at the Winter Olympics.
(laughter)
What is particularly interesting
is that, once again, the tiny town of Warroad
proved that it really is Hockeytown, USA,
thanks to T.J. Oshie
and Gigi Marvin, who we're just so proud of.
And T.J.' s
shootout performance against the Russians I
might say I enjoyed a lot.
(applause)
I tweeted at him about it.
So we've spent some time over the last few weeks
on hockey, but I'm not here to talk about hockey.
By the way, I cannot play hockey.
(laughter)
I grew up in Hawaii -- we do not have
hockey in Hawaii.
But I'm here to talk about what you're doing
in the Twin Cities, and how you're helping
to create new jobs and new opportunities
for every American.
We are at a moment when our economy is growing.
Our businesses have created about
8.5 million new jobs in the past four years.
Unemployment is at the lowest it's been in over
five years; in Minnesota, it's lower than it's been
in six and a half years.
(applause) And, by the way, you've got a great
governor who I served with in the Senate,
Mark Dayton, who is helping to make that happen.
(applause)
So in a lot of ways things are looking up.
But in some ways, the trends that had been
battering middle-class families for a long time
have gotten even starker, because those at the top
are doing better than ever, while wages and
incomes for a lot of families
have barely budged.
And too many families are working harder
than ever just to keep up.
So as I said at the State of the Union address a few
weeks back, our job is to reverse those trends.
(applause)
We've got to build an economy that
works for everybody.
We've got to restore opportunity for all
people, so that no matter who you
are, where you come from, what you look like, you can get ahead
if you work hard and you're responsible.
And so I laid out an opportunity agenda that
has four parts.
Number one, good jobs that pay good wages
in manufacturing, in energy,
in innovation and infrastructure.
Number two, train folks with the skills they need
to get those good jobs, something that your
senator, Al Franken, is doing great work
on every single day.
He cares a lot about that job training issue.
(applause)
Number three, guaranteeing every child
has access to a world-class education.
(applause)
And, number four, making sure that
hard work is rewarded with wages you can live on, and
savings you can retire on, and health care
you can count on.
That's what we're fighting for.
(applause)
Minnesota is helping
to lead the way on these issues.
Your state legislature is poised to raise your
minimum wage this year.
(applause)
In my State of the Union address,
I called for a new women's economic agenda.
It's actually a family economic agenda --
equal pay for equal work, paid sick leave and more.
And there are leaders in your state legislature
that are working hard at this, because they know
when women succeed, America succeeds.
(applause)
So on all these issues, we're reaching out
to members of Congress, looking to see if they're
willing to work with us on some of these priorities.
But what I also said at the State of the Union is,
in this year of action, whenever I can partner
directly with states or cities or business leaders
or civic leaders to act on this opportunity agenda,
I'm going to go ahead and do it.
We can't wait.
We've got to move.
We've got to get things going.
Too many families are counting on it.
(applause)
So yesterday, I launched new hubs
to attract 21st century manufacturing
jobs to America.
And today, I'm here to launch a new competition
for 21st century infrastructure and the
jobs that come with it, because
any opportunity agenda begins with creating more good jobs.
And one of the fastest and best ways to create good
jobs is by rebuilding America's infrastructure
-- our roads, our bridges, our rails, our ports,
our airports, our schools, our power grids.
We've got a lot of work to do out there, and we've
got to put folks to work.
(applause)
One of the most difficult things about the
financial crisis we went through was the housing
bubble bursting, and construction workers were
hammered harder than just about anybody.
And while we've cut the unemployment rate for
construction workers almost in half since 2010,
too many are still looking for jobs at a time when
we've got so much that we could put them
to work on rebuilding.
We've got ports that aren't ready for the next
generation of supertankers.
We've got more than 100,000 bridges
that are old enough to qualify for Medicare.
(laughter)
Minnesotans, when we've gone through 0:08:54.500,1193:02:47.295 Everybody knows, and nobody knows better than
a winter like this, roads are wrecked, full of potholes
all across the country.
(applause)
Now, other countries are not waiting
to rebuild their infrastructure.
They're trying to out-build us today
so they can out-compete us tomorrow.
As a percentage of GDP, countries like China,
Germany, they're spending about twice what we're
spending in order to build infrastructure --
because they know that if they have the fastest trains
on the planet or the highest-rated airports or
the busiest, most efficient ports that
businesses will go there.
But we don't want businesses to go there.
We want them to come here to Minnesota.
(applause)
We want them to come here
to the United States of America.
And that means the best airports and the best
roads and the best trains should
be right here in America.
At a time when companies are saying they intend
to hire more people this year, we need to make that
decision easier for them.
And we can create jobs at the same time, rebuilding
our transportation systems, our power grids,
our communications networks --
all the things that commerce relies on and that help
get workers to those jobs.
So the bottom line is there's work to be done,
workers ready to do it.
Rebuilding our infrastructure
is vital to business.
It creates good-paying jobs that, by the way,
cannot be outsourced.
(applause)
This is one of Congress's major
responsibilities -- helping states and cities
fund new infrastructure projects.
(applause)
And part of the reason I'm focused on this
is Congress has an important deadline coming up.
If Congress doesn't finish a transportation bill by
the end of the summer, we could see construction
projects stop in their tracks,
machines sitting idle, workers off the job.
So next week, I'm going to send Congress
a budget that funds rebuilding our transportation
infrastructure in a more responsible way --
by doing it over four years, which gives cities and
states and private investors the certainty
they need to plan major projects.
Projects like repairing essential highways and
bridges; building new transit systems in
fast-growing cities and communities, so folks who
live there can get to work and school every day and
spend less time sitting in traffic.
(applause)
And we're going to have to construct
smarter, more resilient transportation systems
that can withstand the worst impacts of climate
change, like bigger surges of water
that we've seen in recent floods.
So, all told, my transportation budget will
support millions of jobs nationwide.
And we'll pay for these investments
in part by simplifying the tax code.
We're going to close wasteful tax loopholes,
lower tax rates for businesses that create
jobs here at home, stop rewarding companies for
sending jobs to other countries,
use the money we save in this transition to create good jobs
with good wages rebuilding America.
It makes sense.
(applause)
Now, I'll be honest with you, there are leaders
in both parties who are willing to reach across
the aisle in Congress when it comes
to American infrastructure.
They know how important it is.
And infrastructure didn't use to be a partisan issue
-- shouldn't be Democrat or Republican.
Everybody uses roads, everybody
uses ports, airports.
Unfortunately, time and again over the past few
years, there have been some Republicans
in Congress who refused to act on common-sense
proposals that will create jobs and grow our economy.
It's not that they're -- I guess they don't like
roads; they just don't want to pay for them.
It doesn't work that way.
You've got to come up with a way
to get these projects going.
So while Congress is deciding what it's going
to do next, I'm just going to go ahead and do what I
can to create more good jobs.
And that's why I came here to St. Paul.
(applause)
Because this project
symbolizes what's possible.
Union Depot was renovated and expanded with
the help of what we call TIGER grants.
These are competitive grants that we created
as part of the Recovery Act, also known
as the stimulus, which actually worked
despite what everybody claims.
(applause)
So the idea is, if a city or state comes
up with a plan to modernize transportation
infrastructure that will have a significant impact
on economic activity, and if they line up other
sources of funding to help pay for it,
they can win a TIGER grant and the federal government becomes
a partner with these local communities.
So far, these grants have given a boost to 270
infrastructure projects across all 50 states.
(applause)
And you heard Secretary Foxx talk about
-- these grants are helping cities like
LA and states like North Carolina, and they helped
you rebuild this depot into a hub that will bring
different modes of transportation together
under one roof instead of scattered across the city.
Amtrak is going to be here.
The new Metro Green Line will be here.
Bus lines will be here.
(applause)
And I just had a chance to take a look at some
of those spiffy new trains.
(laughter)
They are nice.
And they're energy efficient.
They're going to be reliable.
You can get from one downtown to the other
in a little over 30 minutes instead of when it's
snowing being in traffic for two hours.
(applause)
The trains were made in California, which
meant folks were put to work here in the United
States building them.
(applause)
And here's the best part of it: Not only have you
made a more efficient transportation system,
cutting down commutes, saving on gas, reducing
carbon pollution, but this depot has helped to boost
economic development in Lowertown St. Paul.
(applause)
Just across the street the old downtown
post office building is becoming
apartments and shops.
All told, more than 4,000 jobs were created
for this project.
(applause)
And we're seeing businesses crop up
and new development crop up all along the line.
So everybody is winning.
And in part because of some flexibility that
we showed during the planning process, the line is also
going to stop in some poor neighborhoods that
oftentimes have difficulty getting to the places
where there are jobs.
(applause)
So it's going to help folks who are
willing to work hard, trying to get into the
middle class, it helps them get access -- helps
people get access to opportunity that,
up until this point, had a tough time.
So we know this works.
Today, we're kicking off the next round
of competition for TIGER grants.
Mayors and governors, city councils,
state legislatures, all of you who are watching here
today, if you've got a great idea for your city
or your state, then let us know your plan.
If it will encourage economic activity and
support local businesses, and help put people
to work, then your country is interested
in partnering with you.
And TIGER grants aren't the only way that we can
help cities like St. Paul and Minneapolis
rebuild their infrastructure.
You've got -- federal funding helped to build
the Green Line; that's going to make
it easier than ever to travel between the two cities.
You've got more than 5,000 construction workers
from all over Minnesota helping to build it.
Nearly 200 police officers, train operators
and maintenance workers are being hired.
And that's not counting all the jobs that are
being created from the offices and the apartment
buildings that are going
to be built along the line.
Because the trains stopped at neighborhoods that have
access to public transportation,
those folks are going to work.
And all of this can be duplicated
all across the country.
But unfortunately, funding for these projects are
going to be in jeopardy unless Congress passes
this new transportation bill.
So I want everybody to understand.
Now, the good news is Keith Ellison, Betty,
they're already onboard.
(applause)
They know this needs to happen.
Al Franken, all over it.
Some Democrats and Republicans are already
working together to make sure transportation
doesn't -- funding doesn't run out.
And we're seeing some glimmers of hope, because
this new round of TIGER grants was the result
of bipartisan cooperation.
That's what needs to happen
when we work together.
But we're going to need your voices telling
a story around the country about why this
is so important.
Roads and bridges should not be a partisan issue.
More Americans should have access to the kind
of efficient, affordable transit you're going
to have with the Green Line.
(applause)
There's no faster way or better way
for Congress to create jobs right now and to grow
our economy right now, and have a positive impact on
our economy for decades than if we start more
projects and finish more projects like this one.
Let's create more good jobs, build smarter
schools, better airports, faster railways,
better broadband networks.
Let's educate our kids and our workers better.
Let's rebuild an economy where everybody
who is willing to hard has a chance
to get ahead.
(applause)
This is the beginning, not the end.
We've got a lot more rail we got to lay.
We've got a lot more roads we got to travel.
Let's get going, Minnesota.
Thank you.
God bless you.
God bless the United States of America.
(applause)