Obama presses GOP to act on infrastructure

President Obama greets audience members after speaking about transportation and the economy at Georgetown Waterfront Park, on the Potomac River in Washington. President Obama greets audience members after speaking about transportation and the economy at Georgetown Waterfront Park, on the Potomac River in Washington. Photo: Charles Dharapak, Associated Press Photo: Charles Dharapak, Associated Press Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Obama presses GOP to act on infrastructure 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Washington --

President Obama called on congressional Republicans on Tuesday to take quick action to fund infrastructure projects throughout the country, arguing that failing to do so could mean huge layoffs for Americans this year.

Stepping up criticism of his opponents on Capitol Hill, Obama poked derisive fun at Republicans as he urged them to join Democrats to pass legislation that would replenish the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to exhaust its resources by August.

"I haven't heard a good reason why they haven't acted," Obama said in a speech at Georgetown Waterfront Park, overlooking the Potomac River and the Francis Scott Key Bridge, named for the Baltimore lawyer who wrote the lyrics for the song that would become the national anthem. It is one of several bridges undergoing federally funded repairs after being deemed structurally deficient. "It's not like they've been busy with other stuff. No, seriously!"

The president said that if Congress did not act in the next couple of months, states would have to decide which projects to continue and which to halt, ultimately placing as many as 700,000 jobs at risk.

And in keeping with his recent tactic of going around his Republican critics with executive action - which has prompted threats of a lawsuit by Republican congressional leaders - the president said he would not wait for Congress to act on infrastructure investments or a host of other priorities he said they had neglected.

"Middle-class families can't wait for Republicans in Congress to do stuff. So sue me," Obama said. "As long as they're doing nothing, I'm not going to apologize for trying to do something."

The transportation measure would fund projects in virtually every lawmaker's state or district and enjoys broad support, but it has been mired in a political fight over how to pay for it.

Some Democrats favor increasing the 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax to bring in more revenue for highway programs, whose expenditures have outpaced the amount brought in by the tax. Republicans have resisted that approach, arguing that the measure should be paid for by cutting federal spending elsewhere.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has proposed a package that would steer $8 billion to the Highway Trust Fund by closing tax loopholes. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has said he will unveil a plan this month.