Now, I’m under no illusion that we’re where we need to be yet.  I know that a lot of families and communities have yet to feel the effects of the recovery in their own lives.  There are still too many people here in Ohio and across the country who can’t find work; many more can’t make ends meet.  And for these folks, the only jobs we create that matter are the ones that provide for their families.

So while the recovery may start with projects like this, it can’t end here.  The truth is if we want to keep on adding jobs, if we want to keep on raising incomes, if we want to keep growing both our economy and our middle class, if we want to ensure that Americans can compete with any nation in the world, we’re going to have to get serious about our long-term vision for this country and we’re going to have to get serious about our infrastructure.

And I want to say a few words about infrastructure generally.  Along with investments in health care education, clean energy and a 21st century financial system that protects consumers and our economy, rebuilding our infrastructure is one of the keys to our future prosperity.
 
If we’re going to rebuild America’s economy, then we’ve got to rebuild America, period -- from the ports and the airways that ship our goods, to the roads and the transit（运输，经过） systems that move our workers and connect cities and businesses.

Now, some of this work involves fixing infrastructure that’s already in place -- patching up roads, repairing bridges, replacing old sewer lines（污水管道） .  And the Recovery Act has made important investments in all these things.  I mean we’ve got a huge backlog（积压的工作） of work just with the infrastructure that we’ve got that could put hundreds of thousands of people to work all across the country -- just repairing roads that we already have and fixing sewer lines that are badly in need of repair.

But here’s the thing, Columbus.  Repairing our existing infrastructure is not enough.  We can’t build an economy that sustains our kids and our grandkids just by relying on the infrastructure that we inherited from our parents and our grandparents.

We can’t let other countries get the jump on us when it comes to broadband access.  There’s no reason why Europe or China should have the fastest trains instead of the United States.  There’s no reason that Germany or other countries in Europe should have the newest factories that manufacture clean energy products instead of us right here in the United States.

That’s why the Recovery Act has been making unprecedented investments in clean energy, spurring America’s businesses to build some of the world’s largest wind and solar projects right here in the United States of America.  I said this once at a State of the Union address:  America does not settle for second place.  And we’re going to make the investments to make sure we are first in the future -- not just in the past.  That’s got to be our priority.  That’s why we’re bringing high-speed Internet to ten thousands of homes -- tens of thousands of homes, and businesses and hospitals and schools.  It’s why Ray LaHood is helping to lead a surge（巨涌，澎湃） in new investment in high-speed rail.  That’s why we’re investing in electronic medical records.

A year ago, American businesses had just 2 percent of the market in the production of electric car batteries that power the vehicles of the future.  All these hybrid cars that have electric batteries?  Those batteries were made someplace else; we only had 2 percent of them.  We made investments in the Recovery Act, and by 2015, U.S. companies are going to have 40 percent of the global market.  We have created an advanced battery manufacturing facility -- facilities right here in the United States that are going to allow us to maintain that cutting edge.

From the very first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete.  And you know, the history of Ohio is a testament to that.  Nearly two centuries ago, our nation’s first federally funded highway -- the National Road -- was extended across Ohio, bringing a generation of settlers west to this new frontier, and paving the way for the automobile that would transform our landscape.

And for our economy to thrive in this new century, we’ve got to act with that same sense of purpose and that same spirit of innovation. That’s why the recovery is just beginning -- just the beginning of the investments we’re going to have to make for years on our infrastructure.  It’s just the beginning of the work of increasing our mobility and our productivity, reducing congestion（拥挤，充血） , reducing pollution, creating good jobs that can’t be shipped overseas.

Because we know what we can achieve when we act boldly and invest wisely.  We’re seeing it right here in this community.  We see it in this hospital and the depths of its commitment to this city.  We see it in the city leaders who saw a need and an opportunity in this neighborhood and decided to act.  We see it in the folks right here who are ready to get to work building this road and providing for their families.  And I’m confident that we’ll soon see it in new families and businesses that are calling this area home.

It is with that vision of a brighter future -- for this city and for the country -- that we begin this project, and I am looking forward to seeing all that you achieve in the years and months to come.

So thank you.  Congratulations for the great work you guys are doing.  God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END
12:08 P.M. EDT