As elections near, candidates are making jobs their No. 1 priority.
That kind of campaign rhetoric may roll off the tongue easily, but perhaps be more difficult to deliver.
However, one way to create and maintain jobs, while at the same time ensuring a workable infrastructure, is the passage by Congress of the Surface Transportation Bill.
The Senate passed by a strong bipartisan vote of 74-22, a 2-year $109 billion transportation funding bill that pays for itself.
But the House seems to be stumbling on its version of the bill. The House Republican majority, it appears, is having difficulty agreeing with its own leader, Speaker John Boehner, on their version of a bill. Boehner has pushed his own version which relies on increased oil and gas drilling to pay for projects.
Democratic members of the House recently introduced the Senate bill for passage, but it’s not likely to get a vote.
Instead, House members have argued over a 5-year $260 billion plan. Some members objected to the cost and others to the cuts.
But without passage by Saturday — when transportation funding runs out — a temporary bill will be needed. A short-term bill would be the ninth since 2009 when the last transportation funding bill expired.
Federal highway funding touches every where, from maintenance of county roads and bridges to mass transit systems and federal highways that must safely link International Falls to the rest of the world.
It’s time to put bickering aside and work for the good of the nation by quickly moving forward the transportation bill.
