Construction groups and other organizations have launched a lobbying drive, aiming to nudge Congress to pass a new multiyear highway and transit bill. They see a window of opportunity—if not necessity—between now and March 31, when the current stopgap authorization runs out.
To be sure, industry officials have been campaigning for a new bill for a long time, beginning even before the last major surface transportation measure lapsed in September 2009. But now they are turning up the intensity. They know November's elections will keep the 2012 congressional session short, and if there's little progress toward a long-term transportation bill in the coming weeks, yet another extension is likely when the present one expires. A further stopgap probably couldn't be a long one because the Highway Trust Fund highway account is projected to dip into the red next year and would need an infusion to hold spending at present levels.