The Next B.F.D. But No One Will Notice

The United States today will have it first transportation bill in five years. The last one ended in 2009 and simply limped along with a series of temporary extensions. You would be forgiven if you forgot John Kerry's idea of an infrastructure bank and the rare unity between the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO urging Congress to pass more infrastructure funding last fall. 


The news story will be that student loans will retain their low interest rates for another year--good news but one year is all they could manage?


The transportation bill passed both the House and Senate and is on the way to the President's desk as I write. The Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012 allocates $109 billion for highway construction and maintenance , mass transit costs, and various fuel efficient projects. That and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are meant to be five-year programs. The funding of the outwears remains sketchy. 


Why a BFD? Because Obama campaigned for this highlighting the deteriorating bridge linking Ohio and Kentucky--the constituencies of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the infrastructure of the United States a "D" and points out we are lagging behind the rest of the world. 


This bill makes some advance in this area but most importantly it creates or saves 3 million jobs. Most of the funding will go to States and local cities and ,unfortunately, many will use these funds simply for their highway systems. But, given the political situation in the capital, this is a BFD because no one thought it could be done. Naturally it was passed so late it can not help Obama in his re-election campaign but this is another mini-stimulus package with real benefits.