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(The following column appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on May 24, 2011.)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The promise of high-speed rail was a big topic of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the Region” meeting Tuesday.

But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made another point early and often: If Congress passed a transportation funding bill, it would create jobs.

It’s a message he has been repeating at speeches and appearances across the nation since the Obama administration released a $550 billion, six-year plan to pay for various transportation-related infrastructure projects on Labor Day last year.

Full column: Philadelphia Inquirer