������ý

President Obama said during his State of the Union address that the federal government should “redouble” its efforts to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure, a message met with praise from industry and labor groups.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO released a joint statement Wednesday praising President Obama’s stance on boosting U.S. infrastructure in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

President Obama in his State of the Union speech Tuesday called for more investments in infrastructure even as he urged a partial freeze in federal spending to rein in the U.S. deficit.

The year began with hopes the Obama administration and Congress could end their stalemate over the highway bill. But like 2009, this year is expected to end without a new long-term reauthorization agreement.

As expected, Florida Republican John Mica will head the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee when the new Congress convenes in January.

The outgoing chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has urged Congress to approve a one-year extension of current highway legislation so the new Congress that convenes in January will have time to “come to agreement on a funding mechanism for a six-year bill.”

The voters have spoken, and analysts and pundits are busily trying to explain the shifts in the political landscape that will result from the overwhelming Republican victory.   But one immediate potential gain that emerged from the cacophony of chatter in the wake of the election is a chance to move transportation and infrastructure improvement programs along quickly.

The electoral wave that handed control of the House of Representatives to the Republicans also roiled the body’s transportation committee, ousting the panel’s current chairman and putting Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) in position to lead the key committee.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is scheduled to deliver $20 million in federal infrastructure stimulus funding Wednesday to the New England states of Maine and New Hampshire.

President Obama last week pushed Congress to move forward with a $50 billion spending package for transportation infrastructure, his second such plea in five weeks.