i have with me derek kan, undersecretary of policy, and jim gray, this unit advisor the secretary for infrastructure. they are here because of this gift, and so let me proceed. as many of you have heard yesterday, 12 federal agencies have been working with the white house on the comprehensive infrastructure proposal that the president announced yesterday. transportation is one component. the proposal also includes energy, drinking and wastewater, broadband, and veterans hospitals, as well. the goal of the president's of s proposal is to stimulate at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment, which includes a minimum of $200 billion in direct federal funding, and a key element is to empower decision-making at the state and local level because state and local officials know best the infrastructure needs of their communities. many of you know that the principles are behind this, and so i wanted to reiterate some of the principles. the principles behind this proposal are, one, to use federal dollars as seed money to encourage infrastructure investment by the states, localities, and