President-elect Obama pledges to launch public works program as part of job-creation plan

"We need action -- and action now," Obama said in a weekly address broadcast on radio and posted as a YouTube video.

His comments came the day after the government said 533,000 jobs were lost in November -- the worst monthly job-loss report in 34 years. The address marks the latest effort by the incoming president to shape events and build momentum for his agenda before he takes office.

Obama aides and Democratic lawmakers hope that a new economic stimulus plan, which could cost as much as $700 billion, will be passed by Congress in January so that Obama can sign it into law within hours or days of his inauguration on Jan. 20.

The plan, as Obama laid it out on Saturday, would include massive investments in roads and other infrastructure programs reminiscent of President Eisenhower's highway program, which employed millions of people and cost tens of billions of dollars. Obama said he would compel states to move quickly on construction projects or risk losing the help from Washington.

"We will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s," he said. "We'll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we'll set a simple rule -- use it or lose it. If a state doesn't act quickly to invest in roads and bridges . . . they'll lose the money."

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office has estimated that the state could initiate $28 billion worth of infrastructure projects within four months.

"Equipment could be ordered and shovels could be in the ground virtually immediately," said David Crane, a Schwarzenegger advisor who has met with Obama aides.

On Saturday, Obama said his plan would include a push to make federal buildings more energy efficient by installing new heating systems and energy-saving lightbulbs. Such initiatives, he said, would save billions of taxpayer dollars and "put people back to work."

Additional provisions would upgrade school buildings, enhance broadband technology and create a system to ensure that Americans have access to electronic medical records.