LEWISTON, ME - Wed Sept 8: Congressman Mike Michaud reacted to the speech President Obama delivered in Cleveland, Ohio on the economy.

• "The American people expect Republicans and Democrats to work together to rebuild America and create jobs. They don't want the political games," said Michaud. "I appreciate the President's focus on transportation and infrastructure as a way to jumpstart our economy. I have long been pushing for a greater emphasis in this area and believe this focus is long overdue."

In July, Michaud introduced the BUILD Act, a bill that would provide states with an additional $65 billion to address a growing backlog of transportation and infrastructure projects. This approach provides more investment than the President's proposal, and it wouldn't add to the deficit because it would be paid for by using unspent Recovery Act funds. In fact, based on estimates from a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee analysis, Maine could see a boost of approximately $246 million through the BUILD Act to spur local transportation construction and job creation.

"Passing this bill would provide a meaningful boost to the economy, a good return on taxpayer investment and the benefit of improved infrastructure, which promotes sustainable economic growth for the long term," said Michaud.

Michaud also reacted to the President's remarks on taxes.

"When President Bush and his allies wrote their tax bill, they included an expiration date for a very specific reason: it helped hide the deficit impact," said Michaud, a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. "In working to extend the tax cuts, I am hopeful that the President will work with Congress to make sure we don't dig ourselves deeper into debt and play the same old budget games of the past. The needs of middle class families and small businesses must be our priority, not the wealthiest that have benefited from an economy that has been tilted in their favor for years."