Work on important construction projects in communities across the country came to a temporary halt last week after Congress initially failed to extend legislation funding highway and transit programs. In addition, nearly 2,000 Department of Transportation employees--including inspectors--were furloughed without pay. Washington's failure to act couldn't have come at a worse time--unemployment is sky high and our nation's infrastructure is crumbling.

How can policymakers miss the boat on transportation when our needs are so obvious? Adequate funding will lead to reduced congestion and pollution. It will improve safety and the competitiveness of our businesses. And, most importantly, it will create thousands of good jobs. I'm not talking about make-work projects or pork, but badly needed improvements that will make a real difference, such as reducing highway bottlenecks and repairing aging bridges.

But instead of passing a long-term bill that provides certainty for the companies and other organizations that build our infrastructure, Congress continues to put Band-Aids on a gaping wound. After the major surface transportation bill expired in September 2009, lawmakers opted for a series of short-term extensions. What we need is a long-term solution that moves critical projects forward, jump-starts the modernization of America's aging infrastructure, and creates desperately needed construction jobs. At the moment, unemployment in the construction industry is at 24.7%.

U.S. businesses are suffering as a result of national underinvestment in infrastructure. Transportation delays negatively impact the supply chain and undermine customer service.

A robust infrastructure once gave American businesses a major competitive advantage in getting their goods and services to market quickly. It was a source of tremendous pride for Americans and a symbol of our can-do spirit. This is no longer the case and--without reauthorization of the surface transportation bill--things will only get worse.

One of the biggest challenges to overcome as we work toward modernizing the American infrastructure is finding the revenue to pay for it. Every option must be on the table. This includes an end to wasteful earmarks and an increase in the federal gas tax. The latter hasn't gone up in 17 years and, because it's not indexed to inflation, our ability to finance projects has diminished. Of course, any new revenues from such a tax must not be diverted to other purposes.

With the U.S. economy struggling to get back on track, we simply can't afford the disruption of critical construction projects. It's time to pass a long-term transportation bill and begin the work of rebuilding America.