From a reader:

Dear Mr. Goldberg,
My understanding is that it took three years to get agreement on the
Highway Bill, so it’s not just a matter of funding priorities and pork,
it’s a more fundamental question of governance. Here we are in an era of
war in which homeland security is our recognized priority, and they delay
an important infrastructure bill for years while they fight over the
pork. While I consider myself a liberal I don’t make this point
gratuitously — this episode, for me, is evidence that conservatives are
right about big government. At some point governments get over-committed,
and by trying to do too much, or to do everything, we can’t get the
important things done well.