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Tuesday for Congress to authorize a significant new investment in high-speed passenger rail systems, at a cost of $53 billion over six years.

Appearing at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, Vice President Joe Biden pitched the proposed infrastructure program as a needed dose of stimulus at a time when states are looking for cheap sources of jobs. The proposal would spend $8 billion in its first year, the first step in what the White House projects would be a 25-year shift to modern, speedy railways able to reach 80 percent of the United States and offering thousands of jobs.

That first round of money would be a drop in the bucket relative to the price tag needed to complete a national system, even on top of the approximately $11 billion that the administration has already spent.

President Barack Obama have made high-speed rail a priority -- on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood referred to them as "visionaries." But unlike some other multibillion-dollar proposals for new government spending, this one has a growing coalition to help it get past the appropriations committee.

Of course, infrastructure investments tend to engender bipartisan support in Congress. Even in the world of advocacy, it's an issue that brings longtime foes together, with the AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce jointly supporting broad new development projects.