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Governor Rendell Releases New Poll: Majority of Americans Ready to Pay for Better Infrastructure but Demand Accountability

Posted on: Thursday, 8 January 2009, 16:55 CST

Rendell, Schwarzenegger, Bloomberg Highlight Nationwide, Bipartisan Support for Energy, Roads, Rail and School Projects

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell today was joined by co-chairs of Building America's Future to announce the results of a national poll that shows Americans are willing to pay for improvements to the nation's infrastructure and identifying their priorities.

"This poll confirms what many of us believe - the American public understands the importance of investing in a broad range of infrastructure, from the energy grid to roads and transit to clean water. And they understand why infrastructure is so important to them in their daily lives," said Governor Rendell.

"But the public is demanding strong accountability, transparency and oversight of any new investments in infrastructure," the Governor said. "They want us to set national priorities in infrastructure investment that improve people's lives, their communities and our economy. They would rather see us take the time to pick the right investments, rather than rush ahead with the same old projects."

Conducted by Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research, the poll shows widespread and bipartisan support for smart infrastructure investment with accountability measures. Key findings included:

-- A near unanimous 94 percent of Americans are concerned about our nation's infrastructure. -- 81 percent of Americans are prepared to pay 1 percent more in taxes to rebuild America's infrastructure. -- Accountability is their single highest priority (61 percent) in rebuilding America's infrastructure. -- Regarding infrastructure spending, Americans care most that projects are on time and on budget (31 percent), and that they can see exactly where the money is being spent (24 percent). -- Americans understand that infrastructure isn't just roads and highways. Indeed, energy facilities are their highest priority. Roads and highways score second, clean water is third.

"Americans don't want their children educated in portable classrooms, and they don't want to waste millions of gallons of water from leaky old pipes," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "They want the federal government to smartly invest in our nation's infrastructure. Now is the perfect time to put money into public-works projects because it will help create jobs while pumping up our economy. It's like hitting two homeruns with one swing. This poll confirms that infrastructure is a priority to all Americans, and that they are willing to invest in their own quality of life."

"The numbers don't lie: a majority of Americans want to invest in building up our nation's infrastructure, but they want to know that their money is being spent wisely," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "They want the government to clean up its act and take responsibility for both success and failure. Any investment made must have benchmarks attached so that we can evaluate what is getting done and what opportunities are being squandered."

"There simply isn't another issue with such widespread support across partisan lines and geographic boundaries," said Frank Luntz of Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research. "The public already sees the need and is ready to lend a hand financially to make sure it gets done - but they want it done correctly. This is a major test for government. Accountability is absolutely essential."

Paid for by Building America's Future, the national survey was comprised of 800 adult Americans aged 18 and older (+3.5 percent margin of error), on Dec. 22, 2008. Conducted online with a nationally representative sample of voters, the results were stratified by gender and region applying 2008 census data to insure an accurate representation of all adult Americans. The survey results are available online at: http://investininfrastructure.org/newsroom/press.html.

The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit: www.governor.state.pa.us.

CONTACT: Chuck Ardo 717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Source: PR Newswire

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