"Obama called it [the stimulus] the largest public-works program since the creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.  The plan includes spending on what Obama called ‘shovel-ready' projects to rebuild roads, make buildings energy efficient, modernize schools and upgrade hospital technology.  The Democrat's blueprint is the right approach because projects such as roads incur maintenance costs that create jobs over the long term, said Sean Snaith, a University of Central Florida economist. ‘It's time-release medicine for the economy,' he said.  Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty criticized the plan on CNN's Late Edition as driving up federal debt."  USA Today, December 2008.