The certainty offered by a long-term bill is precisely what America's transportation leaders--like the Champions of Change I met yesterday--need to plan confidently for tomorrow's infrastructure and begin putting our friends and neighbors back to work today.
Venture capitalists are beginning to make investments again, there is a sense that the economy is going to grow in the near term, and an increasing interest in private jet transportation.
And the disaster in the Gulf only underscores that even as we pursue domestic production to reduce our reliance on imported oil, our long-term security depends on the development of alternative sources of fuel and new transportation technologies.
But over the medium and long term a higher gasoline price would encourage fuel efficiency, so people would actually end up paying less for transportation.
In the short term, with the 109th Congress having punted on fiscal 2007 appropriations, spending authorized by the 2005 surface transportation act hangs in the balance.