Obama to push for infrastructure work

President Barack Obama is set to push for infrastructure projects and investments in a speech Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., officials said. The speech marks his third consecutive talk on the economy, The Hill said. Wednesday, Obama spoke in Illinois and claimed credit for the economic recovery. He challenged the congressional Republicans to propose alternatives to his solutions. Obama will again target the Republicans in his speech Thursday, White House officials said. "While in Jacksonville, the president will continue to talk about the cornerstones of middle-class security and discuss specifically how the House Republican budget approach poses a risk to the progress we've made," the official said. He will be speaking at a port which is home to two projects the administration expedited -- a container terminal and a rail yard, The Hill Said. "Expediting permitting projects through executive action is just one example of how the president can and will act through his own authority to promote our economic progress," the White House official said. Before the speech, the president and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will tour the container terminal, The Hill said.