I think Arnold has some really good idea.
We should really build a high speed rail!!!!!
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R-CA): Well, I think that infrastructure is extremely important. And I have been promoting and talking about infrastructure since I've come into office in 2003 because I felt that in California our infrastructure has fallen behind; in the last four decades we really didn't build much out there, and it's really something that is very important for the economy. In order for the economy to thrive and to live up to 100 percent of its potential, you need to have moved people and goods around very quickly. And so if that falls behind, then the economy falls behind. And so we were very successful in having the legislature in California and the people of California approve $42 billion of infrastructure bonds so that we can start rebuilding California. Now, my interest also isn't just in California. I want those in America to rebuild because our infrastructure in the whole United States is falling behind. And so we've formed this great partnership here because Governor Rendell is very much into building infrastructure in his own state; also, Mayor Bloomberg is interested and has done a great job in New York to build infrastructure. So we kind of joined forces and created this partnership here...
MR. GREGORY: Mm-hmm. Right.
GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: ...to put the spotlight on this issue. We're very fortunate that this president is listening to that and, and is interested in rebuilding America, and so we're trying to let him know we want to help and help draft the plan.
MR. GREGORY: So, Governor Rendell, first of all, it was Governor Schwarzenegger who said infrastructure's not a very sexy word when it comes to building political will. What are we talking about here? Bridges, roads, what else?
GOV. ED RENDELL (D-PA): Well, it's not just transportation infrastructure. First of all, high-speed rail. This country desperately needs to build a high-speed rail passenger system. We need to improve our rail freight system. But it's not just transportation. It's the levees that failed in Cedar Rapids and New Orleans. It's dams, it's water and wastewater systems. It's so much more. And the message is fairly clear. We started Building America's Future because we think this is about the future. We think it's about generations down the road. And unless we can rebuild our infrastructure, we're not going to be competitive. Unless we can rebuild our infrastructure, our quality of life is going to suffer. Unless we rebuild our infrastructure, things like what happened in Minnesota are going to repeat.
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