While the House of Representatives push for a long-term, six-year transportation bill and the Senate advocates for a two-year bill that maintains transportation and infrastructure at current funding levels, the House continues to look for ways to make up for the shortfalls of its funding plan.

Last month, House Speaker John Boehner (R., OH) spoke in support of several Republican proposals to expand offshore drilling as a means to supplement the Highway Trust Fund, an alternative believed to be more popular than raising the gas tax that has generally fed the fund. Boehner announced, "I'm not opposed to responsible spending to repair and improve infrastructure, but if we want to do it in a way that truly supports long-term economic growth and job creation, let's link the next highway bill to an expansion of American-made energy production."

Offshore drilling has typically been off the table for Senate Democrats. In an interview with Streetsblog last month, Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, responded to the House Republicans' strategy: "I don't want to pay for construction jobs by losing fisherman jobs, and tourism jobs, and recreation jobs, plus destroying some of our environment. It makes no sense. That's just a controversial way to pay for this." Others argue that offshore drilling may take years to generate profits and may not be able to deliver the economic promises its advocates offer.

Despite these concerns, the ground may be shifting a bit to make room for bipartisan support of drilling measures. The most recent news in the development of a transportation bill finds House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., MD) softening on the issue of offshore drilling and showing openness to compromise. Emphasizing long-term economic and environmental values, he admitted that, "America wants to be energy independent, and towards that end we have to maximize, consistent with environmental protections and considerations, our use of our energy here at home."

Though pursuing sources for American oil is not the favored strategy among Democrats, House Republicans seem to be gaining ground with those that believe infrastructure development to be of utmost importance in securing the nation's financial security.