newy, i am here to launch a competition for 21st-century infrastructure and the jobs that come with it. any opportunity agenda begins with creating more good jobs. one of the fastest and best ways to create good jobs is by rebuilding america's infrastructure. our roads, our bridges, our rails, our airports, our schools, our power grids. we have a lot of work to do out there. we have to put folks to work. [applause] one of the most difficult things about the financial crisis was the housing bubble bursting. construction workers were hammered harder than just about anybody. while we have cut the unemployment rate for construction workers almost in half since 2010, too many are still looking for jobs at a time when we have got so much that we could put them to work on rebuilding. got ports that aren't ready for the next generation of supertankers. we have more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for medicare. [laughter] everybody knows -- and nobody knows better than minnesota, when we go through a winter like full ofads are racked, potholes all across the country. [applau