(MI) The Detroit News - The nation’s unemployment rate is at its highest level in 26 years, 10.2 percent, so policymakers are searching for ways to stimulate the economy again. The hottest proposition so far is the federal transportation bill.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell separately suggested that reauthorizing a transportation bill soon could be the best way to create new jobs. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., has been pushing since last summer for a new federal surface transportation bill that would invest nearly $500 billion in transportation infrastructure. More