Washington (CNN) – President Obama met up with his vice president for lunch Friday at a Shake Shack location not far from the White House.
But more than burgers were on the President's mind.
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The power duo met with four workers from a local redevelopment group called NoMa, which is responsible for rebuilding and developing one of the District's fastest growing neighborhoods. (NoMa is an acronym for North of Massachusetts Avenue.)
According to NoMa's website, developers have used the 35-block area to build new parks, public spaces, and close to 4,000 new apartments, along with hotels, restaurants and retail space. The group says it designed the neighborhood to have easy access to mass transit like trains and metro rail along with bike and walking paths.
The $9.1 million development project, set to be completed this week, included $6.9 million in federal aid, according to the White House.
The event caps off this week's push by the administration to expand federal aid for development and infrastructure projects across the country.
Obama pushes Congress to approve transportation funds
He told the workers that NoMa was an example of how the federal government should work with local municipalities and called on Congress to expand similar programs.
He also urged Congress to pass the transportation funding bill, warning that projects could be forced to close down and put construction workers out of jobs. Obama also stated that the National Highway Fund could run out of money by August.
"If Congress does not act by the end of the summer, we could have hundreds of projects like this stop,” he said.
"It is a no brainer for Congress to do what it is supposed to do."