A week in review of infrastructure news by Rick Karr, Blueprint America correspondent.

America lost 524,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate, at the same time, is at a 16-year-high of 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. There are currently 11.1 million unemployed throughout the country, which is nearly double the number out of work at the start of the economic recession a year ago. President Barack Obama has promised to sustain Americans in these hard times with an $825 billion economic stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009.

Transit funding has taken a big hit in the House version of the stimulus bill, and yesterday some bloggers were speculating that it was because House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D., MN) had rolled over and allowed the money to go to tax cuts instead. But, the situation may not be as bad as it looks –- yet.

Following his election last November, then President-elect Barack Obama continually advocated for federal spending on infrastructure projects to stimulate the depressed economy and, at the same time, to not just rebuild America’s failing infrastructure but to also establish a Twenty-First Century country.

The national credit crisis is hitting the housing market again, this time resulting in bankruptcy -- for builders.

Congressional officials have released a draft of the $825 billion federal stimulus package, a combination of spending and tax cuts. Some of spending components include $87 billion for a temporary increase in aid to states for Medicaid costs; and $79 billion in aid to local school districts and public colleges to prevent cutbacks.

The confirmation of President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Transportation Secretary was delayed just before the hearing was to begin. Former Congressman Ray LaHood (R., IL) had his confirmation hearing postponed until at least next week as the Senate Commerce Committee is still waiting to get some background paperwork from the President-elect’s transition team – information that is traditionally provided on nominees.

The bipartisan organization Building America's Future, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I.), California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R.), and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (D.), just released the results of a national survey indicating that Americans are willing to pay more taxes to fix the nation's infrastructure.

On Saturday, December 27, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, Arizona welcomed passengers aboard their brand-new light rail system. The 20-mile, $1.4 billion dollar rail system is a first for the state; until now, Phoenix had been the largest U.S. city without public trains.