U.S. mayors push $90B building plan

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. mayors, who have long complained of penny-pinching by the federal government, say they have a $90 billion infrastructure spending plan.

With U.S. President-elect Barack Obama saying he wants to create 2.5 million jobs largely by concentrating on public works infrastructure project, mayors say they've got the plans to build roads, bridges, schools, transit, water systems and other local priorities, ready to go, the Washington publication Politico reported Monday.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors have released a list of more than 4,600 projects that could be completed next year, adding more than 261,000 jobs in 154 cities around the country, the publication said. U.S. Conference of Mayors Executive Director Tom Cochran says the list could easily be expanded to $180 billion.

Rather than reinventing the wheel to fund infrastructure programs, Cochran is urging congressional Democrats and Obama's transition team to use existing community development block grants and other programs already in place, as well as warning lawmakers against using congressional earmarks.

"How do you get money on the streets and how do you get people back to work? You don't do it by creating a new law that takes three months to get passed," Cochran told Politico.