As part of jobs plan, Obama calls for speedy infrastructure permitting

President Obama put more meat on the bones of his jobs agenda Wednesday, outlining a plan to quickly permit major infrastructure projects pending approval at several federal agencies.

He signed a presidential memorandum instructing federal agencies to each identify three major infrastructure projects that will create jobs and can be greenlighted by the Obama administration within 18 months.

“Creating jobs is my highest priority as president, and investing in our nation’s infrastructure can help create those jobs and grow our economy,” Obama said in a news release.

“That’s why I’m asking agencies across the federal government to identify infrastructure projects that will put folks back to work and help make our country stronger, and take immediate steps to push these projects across the finish line.”

The plan comes a week before Obama is slated to outline his jobs plan during a speech before a joint session of Congress.

The memorandum — which is directed toward the Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Transportation departments — specifically calls on agencies to identify projects that have already secured funding.

In addition, the memorandum calls on federal agencies to employ new technology to further expedite the permitting process.

Federal agencies have already begun phasing in technologies to speed up permitting.

For example, the Interior Department’s offshore drilling arm announced earlier this week that it has added new features on its website to help operators track their permit applications.

Republicans and drill-state Democrats have accused the Interior Department of moving too slowly to permit new offshore drilling projects in the aftermath of last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which is slated to meet Thursday in Dallas, first proposed the plan.