Under the Wire

Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement today "applauding" Virginia for finalizing, with 12 days to spare, its list of transportation projects to be funded under the federal stimulus plan.

OK, every state probably got its own "way-to-go" letter (as evidenced by the link above, which will send you to a generic version of the Virginia letter that went out via e-mail). But Virginia's is a bit more significant, because as Anita Kumar reported last week, Virginia was the last state to submit its list of shovel-ready projects to the federal government. The deadline was June 29.

According to the statement, which was released jointly with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the largest Virginia project to be funded under the stimulus -- a $2.8 million pavement repair in Fauquier County -- begins today.

"Our number one priority with the Recovery Act is getting folks back to work - and there is no better way to do that in these early days than by putting shovels in the ground and jump-starting projects like these that create jobs and boost local communities," said Biden. "By delivering on these projects ahead of schedule and under-budget, we have been able to do even more than we expected - create more job opportunities more quickly, with more dollars left over to put toward more projects that put people back on the job."