Montana Sen. Jon Tester predicts next year will be busy for Congress, with a sharp focus on addressing the country's staggering economy.

Meeting with the Daily Inter Lake editorial board Thursday, Tester said Congress will produce economic stimulus legislation that will focus on infrastructure development.

An infusion of up to $850 billion into road, bridge, communications and transit projects will percolate into state and local economies, down to contractors and small businesses, Tester said.

But the freshman Democrat said such a huge spending bill will have to come with 'strings attached" to ensure accountability and worthy projects, with administrative costs held to a minimum.

"We don't need to be out there building bridges to nowhere," said Tester, who acknowledged that there also is a need for funding to be directed to projects that can be carried out in the near future. The country will not get the economic boost it needs now from projects that take years to start.

But Tester is convinced that there are plenty of worthy projects than can be fast-tracked, citing Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road and Kalispell's U.S. 93 Bypass as local examples.

"There's far more need [nationwide] than even a huge stimulus bill can address," he said.

The stimulus legislation also may include tax breaks for the middle class, said Tester, adding that small businesses are "the key" to an economic recovery and are worthy of tax breaks as well.

He stressed that in recent conversations with fellow lawmakers and others in Washington, D.C., he has heard no talk about tax increases during an economic crisis.

"I haven't heard anything, from anybody, about tax increases at any level," he said.

Tester addressed the bailout issue as well.

He opposed Congressional action that delivered $700 billion to bail out the struggling financial sector "because I could not find anybody … who could provide me with assurances that it would work."

Tester predicts there will be regulatory fallout for lending and mortgage institutions. "But we need to be careful," he said, referring to Congress. "We don't want to over-regulate."

Tester also opposed bailout packages for Detroit's "Big Three" automakers - Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

Tester said he believes that without restructuring their operations, the companies would be likely to return for federal help repeatedly in the future.

"I think over the long haul, they are going to have to make changes' to be competitive, Tester said, adding that their union workers as well as management will need to make concessions.

"I think everybody needs to give a little," he said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com