Looking for a way to raise aggregate demand to stimulate the economy, President Obama continues to push for further infrastructure spending. In remarks delivered in the White House Rose Garden on Columbus Day, Obama outlined his plan, saying, "Over the next six years, we will rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads -- enough to circle the world six times. We will lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways -- enough to stretch from coast to coast. And we will restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next generation air-traffic control system that reduces delays for the American people."

The president pointed to a recent report from his Council of Economic Advisers and the Treasury Department encouraging such a plan to spur growth. However, Representative John Mica (R-FL), the ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, criticized the proposal as an "attempted justification of a $50 billion spending proposal while more than 60 percent of the stimulus infrastructure dollars remain unspent," according to Bloomberg.

In other executive branch news, Jill Biden, Ph.D., the second lady of the United States, hosted the White House Summit on Community Colleges. The summit aimed to bring together leaders in the education field to celebrate these institutions and the role they play in educating members of the American workforce and to discuss how they can be improved to suit the needs of future students. Biden, who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, noted that "for more and more people, community colleges are the way to the future. They're giving real opportunity to students who otherwise wouldn't have it." The event was her most high-profile appearance to date.

Sparing over Trade with China

In the legislative branch, the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee last week continued to spar over the issue of trade with China. Both Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI)and Ranking Member David Camp (R-MI) were among the 348 House members who voted for a bill giving the Commerce Department the ability to slap tariffs on Chinese imports if China does not allow its currency, known as the yuan or Renminbi, to appreciate. Soon afterward, however, Camp told members of the National Foreign Trade Council that he doubted the bill's provisions would be sufficient to work and it was not on his agenda. Levin fired back against his fellow member of the Michigan delegation, saying, "I was deeply disappointed when David Camp goes a few hours later and says this bill isn't on his agenda," according to a report in Politico.

Supporters of the measure believe that it will create incentives for the Chinese leadership to allow the yuan to appreciate, making Chinese goods sold in the U.S. market more expensive relative to American-made goods. Critics see the measure as protectionism and point out that the tariff rates necessary to make it worthwhile for the Chinese government to act would be so high that prices would rise too high for middle class American consumers. Regardless of the merits of either argument, the fact that Chinese exports worldwide went up this past month ensure that the issue will continue to be contentious as the midterm elections approach.

In other House news, Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), chairwoman of the House Ethics Committee, announced that ethics trials for Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) will begin in November, after the midterm elections. During the lame-duck session, both Rangel and Waters will appear before special panels, with any sanctions expected to be handed down by a sanctions hearing before the end of the session. The announcement put to rest Republican fears that the trials would be put off until 2011.

Rangel is being charged with 13 violations of House ethics rules or federal laws, including improperly using a New York City apartment subject to rent control as a campaign office to sending out letters asking for donations using official House letterhead, funding a center named for him at the City College of New York and not paying taxes on property he owns in the Dominican Republic. Waters faces charges that she provided improper aid to OneUnited, a bank, during the financial crisis. Her husband owns stock in the bank and formerly served on its board of directors.