Guidelines for renewing, rebuilding nation in Obama era

Tumultuous times and an unprecedented campaign have produced a singular president-elect who will face some of the most difficult challenges since President Franklin Roosevelt, maybe even President Lincoln.

President-elect Barack Obama will need a transformed policy agenda to address today’s daunting challenges. The economic crisis, security threats, energy instability, water stress and global warming all threaten our way of life as we have known it; our decaying infrastructure makes each of these challenges. Yet this urgent need to upgrade and expand our aging transportation, water, sewer, and energy transmission systems also presents us with key opportunities.

Whether the new administration and Congress will be equal to the challenge will be determined by our willingness to revitalize government itself. The Farm Bill showed how the power of special interests and inertial forces in government can overcome do-gooders, editorial writers and even a presidential veto. If the transformation promised by the president-elect is to avoid the same fate, the administration will need to work with Congress to ensure that strategic infrastructure investments are at the centerpiece of our economic and environmental policy.

In short, the Obama administration should embark on a new vision to Rebuild and Renew America, just as Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt created and implemented visions for America’s greatness in centuries past. No more “Bridges to Nowhere”; instead, we need to align our policies and resources to create a more sustainable future.

A new vision to Rebuild and Renew America should be based on the following guidelines:

• Instead of fixating on ways to increase funding, we should focus on getting more value out of each dollar we invest. Our problems in healthcare, education, energy, or defense are not caused by a lack of investments; no other nation spends as much on these critical issues as we do. No, we create many of our own problems by investing in the wrong things, at the wrong time and in the wrong way.

• We must move beyond our reliance on static rules and regulations and focus instead on meeting performance-driven standards that ensure protections for our citizens and the environment. This approach can secure enthusiastic support from local governments, business interests, and environmentalists alike. If we make it abundantly clear that our performance will be measured by reducing our oil dependence and our carbon footprint, we can save money and create jobs while we protect the planet.

• We must insist that the federal government lead by example. For instance, the federal government has created and owns more superfund sites than any entity in the United States. If the federal government were to assume — rather than avoid — the responsibility for cleaning up these toxic sites, we could return millions of polluted and contaminated acres to productive use.

• The federal government should be the national leader in energy efficiency. By definition, federal departments and agencies will be in business for centuries to come. Requiring federal agencies to install state-of-the-art conservation programs now will stimulate the marketplace for more efficient products, buildings, and services. The federal government will save money, and taxpayers will benefit.

• It’s well past time to modernize the federal budget process. The lack of a capital budget and the failure to account for present-value and life-cycle costs discourages investments that can actually pay for themselves. Reformed budget rules will not only make our accounting more accurate, it will save money, reduce energy demands and help us fight global warming.

Yes, our challenges are daunting. The good news, however, is that there is an emerging consensus about what this grand vision should look like and what elements it should contain.

The “experts” and the public are largely in agreement about budget priorities, social equity and community outcomes.

The best news is that we can revitalize the economy and protect the planet while ushering in a new political era. These solutions are not inherently partisan or ideological; Americans who live in Red State small towns will benefit every bit as much as those who reside in Blue State mega-regions. Using these guidelines to Rebuild and Renew America, the Obama administration can help strengthen the economy while making all of our families, safer, healthier, and more economically secure.

Blumenauer is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.