It looks like President Obama has taken another page from the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) playbook-- and we couldn't be happier.

This morning, the White House issued a press release, "The President’s Plan to Make America a Magnet for Jobs by Investing in Infrastructure," that touts the importance of rebuilding America's major bridges and roads.

AAM has made the same case, explaining that the country needs some urgent repair work.  And a good way to get going on a big fix-it project would be to create a national infrastructure bank and enact a robust infrastructure program.

The White House has said basically the same thing:

Investing in infrastructure not only makes our roads, bridges, and ports safer and allows our businesses and workers to be as competitive as they need to be in the global economy, it also creates thousands of good American jobs that cannot be outsourced...The President continues to call for the creation of a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank.

One point, though: If the president wants to ensure that this infrastructure investment creates thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs, he needs to push for strong Buy America preferences in any package.

In 2009, AAM commissioned a study that found manufacturing employment gains from an infrastructure program could be improved significantly if the percentage of U.S.-made material inputs were increased. Utilizing 100 percent domestically produced inputs for infrastructure projects would yield a 33 percent jump in total manufacturing jobs generated.

So, kudos to President Obama for jumping on the manufacturing bandwagon.  But now let's get serious about it by incorporating Buy America preferences.

Read the president's full plan.