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Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) has announced that he and Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) have organized an effort to collect about 300 signatures on a letter calling on House leaders to produce what the congressmen call a responsibly paid-for, multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill.

Jack Gerard, executive director of the Washington-based American Petroleum Institute, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 3 to put aside political differences and agree on long-term funding programs that modernize the country’s aging transportation network.

Falling fuel prices, crumbling roads and bridges and a gridlocked Congress have U.S. states, even those run by Republicans, debating higher taxes.

Local, state and federal governments need to spend a combined $120 billion annually for the next six years just to bring highways and bridges to a condition that meets today’s traffic demands, said a new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

President Obama told chief executives on Dec. 3 he doubts congressional leaders will be able to advance a long-term comprehensive transportation measure next year, approving instead a short-term highway funding fix.