Rossi quick to assail Obama jobs plan

Over the Labor Day weekend, President Obama proposed a six-year, $50 billion plan to upgrade roads, railways and other infrastructure.

It's an effort to stimulate construction-job growth while also modernizing the nation's transportation system. The plan is somewhat of a mini-stimulus package — an effort to show Democrats are doing something about the economy as midterm elections approach.

Obama's proposal includes a government-operated "infrastructure bank" that would pool tax dollars with private investment, according to The New York Times.

That concept has been praised by some Republicans, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Proponents say it would encourage innovation.

But Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi quickly attacked the idea in a statement Tuesday:

"The folks in D.C. are again asking us to trust them, this time saying if we just spend $50 billion more, we'll get the economy back on track. Well, I don't believe them and neither do people here in Washington state. This new $50 billion won't work any better than the trillion-plus dollars they've already spent," Rossi said.

Rossi contends the only thing the last stimulus accomplished was running up the public debt, while joblessness remains high.

No surprise there. Rossi has attacked just about everything the Obama administration has done, vowing to repeal the health-care law and financial-regulation legislation.

But Rossi's opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, also appeared wary of quickly embracing the $50 billion package.

Her spokesman, Matt McAlvanah, said in an e-mail that Murray has told the Obama administration she first wants to see how the investments would be targeted and paid for.

"As average families are counting their pennies, she is working to ensure that Washington, D.C., is as well," McAlvanah said.

Democrats have been stung by public criticism of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that year's $800 billion stimulus package of tax cuts and public spending.

While supporters say the current economic crisis would have been worse without it, the public has had a hard time seeing the benefits with jobless rates remaining so high.

As The Christian Science Monitor noted Tuesday, the Obama administration is leery of having its new plan labeled as a "stimulus" effort.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com