Cantor Infrastructure Plan Offers Common Ground

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is proposing a plan that he says would release funds for critical transportation projects without adding to the nation’s debt and provide some jobs relief as well.

The proposal, which The Hill described today as a potential olive branch to President Barack Obama’s infrastructure overtures. Would eliminate a federal rule requiring states to set aside 10 percent of federal surface transportation money for “museums, education and preservation.”

Doing so “would allow states to devote these moneys to high-priority infrastructure projects, without adding to the deficit,” the Virginia Republican said.
.
The proposal, which Cantor advanced after a dismal jobs report Friday, would maintain the GOP’s strong opposition to new spending while also accommodating infrastructure needs.

The plan could be significant because Cantor, who has been one of the president’s most severe critics, “highlighted specific areas, in infrastructure and unemployment insurance reform, where he signaled the two parties could work together,” The Hill reports.

As Obama prepares to announce his own jobs proposal Thursday, “I believe there will be areas where we can work together to produce real results that will help job creators get people back to work,” Cantor said.