Prepared Remarks for Secretary Ray LaHood
Livability Tour - U.S.-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Denver, CO
September 18, 2009

I’m delighted to be here to talk about the success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and highlight some important opportunities for the small-business community.

First, I want to thank all of you in the Hispanic business community for all your hard work. Because of you, the American Dream is a reality for so many families throughout this country.

Your work ethic, your can-do spirit, your success as entrepreneurs – these are qualities that have helped to make the United States so successful and a source of inspiration around the world.

I know times are tough and many of you are worried about when the economy will turn around.

As President Obama said quite candidly in his remarks to Congress earlier this month, a full and vibrant recovery is still many months away.

But we think there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the President noted, we’ve pulled our economy back from the brink.

And I believe that brighter days are ahead for all of us.

In the meantime, I am convinced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has prevented these tough times from becoming far worse.

I’ve traveled to dozens of states over the last 6 months, talking with contractors, construction workers, and transportation officials working on stimulus projects.

And I’ve seen first-hand what a difference our investments are making.

In state after state, contractors are creating or sustaining thousands of jobs as recovery-funded road projects get under way.

Between March and July, over 140,000 people were employed on recovery-funded surface transportation projects.

There’s no question – the orange cones are out, and many, many people are on the payroll repairing, rebuilding, and strengthening our roads, tunnels, bridges, airports, and transit systems.

So far, we’ve made over 28 billion dollars available for more than 8,600 transportation-related projects.

Nearly 5,000 of those projects are under construction right now.

On the highway side alone, more than 7,300 roadway projects have been authorized – and roughly half of those are under construction in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, territories, and federal lands.

Hundreds of projects are also under way to strengthen public transportation, improve airport runways, and improve infrastructure at our seaports.

There’s no question that the Recovery Act is working for America – and it’s working for the thousands of small businesses hired to provide goods and services on recovery-funded projects in every single state.

And there’s more good news for small and disadvantaged businesses.

We recently established a 20-million-dollar DBE Bonding Assistance program that will help small and disadvantaged businesses to compete for work on transportation projects funded by the Recovery Act.

Under this program, DBE companies can be reimbursed for bonding premiums and fees.

We think this is a tremendous opportunity to help level the playing field for businesses with less capital than their larger competitors.

This program is managed by DOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

I know that’s a mouthful, but it’s a very dynamic office that’s dedicated to helping small and disadvantaged businesses become more competitive and grow beyond their DBE status.

They’ve already helped a number of small companies get in on some great opportunities.

For example, KNJ is a small general contractor – Hispanic-owned -- working on road construction projects right here in Colorado.

This is the kind of small business that doesn’t always get a lot of attention from banks. But we’ve worked with the Colorado DOT to help this company get on track financially and compete successfully.

Looking ahead, the Obama Administration is going to transform transportation in this country. We’re going to rebuild and strengthen our infrastructure. Improve mobility. Reduce congestion. And invest in cleaner, greener transportation technologies.

I’ve been on the road this week with my colleagues from HUD and EPA, visiting cities that are transforming brownfields and abandoned buildings into vibrant, revitalized, walkable neighborhoods where families want to live and work – and businesses want to locate.

We invite you to participate in the economic development opportunities opening up in cities like Denver, Dubuque, and Chicago – and in many other communities near you.

Working together, we can rebuild the American economy and keep our small businesses going strong.

Thank you.