Emil Frankel was recently invited to submit an entry on the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) official blog Talking Points discussing ‘What Changes Will the New Congress Bring?’
Given the new landscape on Capitol Hill, as a result of the recent mid-term elections, Emil suggests that debates over all domestic programs and initiatives are likely to be dominated by a push for fiscal constraint, expenditure freezes or caps, reductions in annual general fund deficits, and the ballooning national debt.
Transportation has typically been an issue that cuts across partisan and ideological lines, and in his blog Emil expresses hope that these conditions will continue in the new Congress. The likelihood of bipartisan support for passage of a surface transportation bill in 2011 rests on leaders of both parties recognizing that investment in transportation infrastructure is not only possible, but is essential, in a time of economic and fiscal constraint.
Check out Emil’s full blog entry, as well as that of other transportation experts here.