Obama sources: stimulus projects 'under budget,' 'ahead of schedule'
WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama is hoping for a public relations victory Monday with what the White House sees as a triple-hit of good news from the stimulus bill.
Sources tell CNN Radio that billions in road and bridge money is going "farther" and being used "faster" than expected.
Two administration officials say Obama will announce that the Department of Transportation has funded 2,000 projects so far with stimulus dollars and that those projects have come in "under budget" and "ahead of schedule."
The sources did not provide any details, and it is not yet clear how the White House is judging the expected pace or costs of stimulus projects.
More information may come at an announcement, scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET at transportation headquarters in Washington. The administration is putting three big names on stage: President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are all expected to attend.
In prepared remarks, Biden planned to say, "We have the 2,000th transportation project now under way - that's going to help create jobs, make it easier for folks to get to the jobs they have and improve our nation's infrastructure all at the same time."
Aides tell CNN the administration is pointing to a highway-widening project in Kalamazoo County, Michigan as the 2,000th transportation project to receive stimulus help. A stretch of Interstate 94 near Portage, Michigan is set to expand from four lanes to six lanes at a cost $68 million.
The transportation department controls some $48 billion for infrastructure from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill was signed into law two months ago this week.
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Does anyone doubt that this is not a budget, this is not a plan, it's smoke and mirrors and a series of velleities.
The point of this stimulus was to save or create 4 million jobs. Apparently people think the money being spent makes this stimulus a success. I think that the unemployment rate was around 6 or 7% when the stimulus was signed into law. The unemployment rate now is about 8.5% so this stimulus worked if the goal was to increase the unemployment rate.