With all of the uncertainty about the length of the bill, the levels of funding, the allocations between states, and the substantive provisions of a surface transportation bill that might emerge from the conference committee (or, indeed, if one is to emerge at all), it is difficult to address the issues of what is to be gained by such a bill and by whom.

For state transportation agencies and regional and local transit authorities, and for the construction companies and the engineering and consulting firms that provide services to them, a bill of longer duration and of established funding levels will be of great value and importance. For one thing, these agencies and companies will be able to plan and to staff with greater certainty. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the board of directors of a transportation consulting firm.)

However, the question remains, what opportunities for fundamental programmatic reform may have been sacrificied, in order to achieve this certainty, if it is, in fact, contained in the conference committee report and the final bill. Both a longer time-frame and the maintenance of current program funding levels will, almost certainly, require continued transfers of many billions of dollars from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) over the life of the bill and will still leave HTF drained of resources at its expiration.

Enactment of surface transortation authorization legislation presents an opportunity to Congress to address fundamental issues of defining national goals and purposes and the federal interest in surface transportation, and of establishing sustainable funding sources for these investments. For the past several years, the Bipartisan Policy Center(BPC), two national commissions, and a broad range of organizations and advocacy groups have called for fundamental reforms in national transportation policy and programs. Such reforms go beyond addressing issues of environmental streamlining and whether or not bikeways and hiking trails should be supported with HTF funds.

As BPC has noted, in a time of fiscal crisis and scarce resources, we need to determine how important investment in surface transportation infrastructure is to the nation's economic growth and long-term prosperity, and how we can make better and wiser investment decisions. The values of goals, outcomes, performance, measurement, and accountability should be introduced into the capital investment programs that use federal funds.

Ensuring that this bill is not "obsolete . . . as soon as the ink is dry" depends not only on assuring certainty of time and program authority for the bill's duration, but also on incorporating these reforms and principles into the federal program. I remain hopeful that the conference committee and Congress will not allow this opportunity to go by without making these changes in federal law.

More and more frequently I hear people say that they don't intend to vote for any incumbent Member of Congress. They don't always have definitive view on who to blame for the logjam in Congress but they are clearly frustrated with our elected officials' inability to take care of the nation's business. While it may not be at the center of every voter's radar screen, the stalemate in transportation illustrates why people are fed up.

Giving the transportation challenges facing the nation, Congress needs to work quickly to pass this critical legislation. Any forthcoming conference report may not perfect in policy, funding or duration, but it will likely contain program reforms that stakeholders have called for for years and the nation can build upon in the future. AAA predicts that over 35 million travelers will take to the roads during this Independence Day holiday period. This is an opportunity for Congress to prove that it can deliver legislation that will improve mobility and safety for millions of Americans.

Every business sector is dependent on a safe and efficient transportation system to improve its economic vitality – construction, manufacturing, travel and tourism and services, agriculture, shipping - transportation is the backbone of our nation’s economic well being. Transportation investment is a good tool for both short and long term job creation and economic development, while at the same time creating long-lasting assets that will help our domestic industries survive and thrive.

One year ago we were tempering our expectations over whether a middle ground could be found between the Senate’s two-year bill and the five-year bill under consideration in the House. One could argue that we were faced with more significant hurdles at that time but it did not deter the work going forward which has lead us to this point. The measure before Congress is not insignificant. It contains key policy revisions that have been years in the making and will have a lasting impact on making our transportation system more performance-based and safety driven. Now is not the time to reinforce voters' disenchantment with further inaction. Instead, this would be a great opportunity for Chairmen Mica and Boxer to prove that the nation's interests do occasionally trump politics.

"Why", Fawn asks "should the transportation community kill themselves to lobby for a bill that will be obsolete almost as soon as the ink is dry?" Many who are both transportation users and taxpayers ask a slightly different question: "Why should we support a bill that is so bad?"

Its principal weakness is that it is unfunded, as too many legislators want monies spent on transportation but are unwilling to increase the taxes dedicated to it. So they seek to top up the Highway Trust Fund out of general revenues. The replacement of the traditional "user pays" by "taxpayer pays" is one of the worst ideas on highway financing to come out of congress.

Would it not be better to abandon this unfortunate bill, in the hope that the next congress will craft a better one, or return transportation funding to the states, where it belongs?

A six months' extension seems rather short. Would not a nine or twelve months' extension be necessary for the new congress to give the subject the attention it deserves?