You are absolutely right Ted. But it's interesting to note that when Del. Hodges was attempting to justify his vote for HB2313 at our Republican Committee meeting recently, he described the need for transportation improvements if we were to compete with other ports resulting from increased maritime traffic, noting that the Panama Channel had been widened to accommodate larger ships. When I asked if every dime of increased tax money was devoted to only transportation his answer was a resounding YES. I don't believe that for a minute. When I asked him about the money that was found hidden away in the transportation fund when McDonnell took office he confirmed that there was but went immediately to someone else's question before I could ask him where that money went.
DeWitt Edwards
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
John Adams
From: Ted Williams <wmwships08@gmail.com>
To: Peninsula-Patriots-list@meetup.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 6:59 PM
Subject: [Peninsula-Patriots] Fwd: Nearly Three Decades!
Hi, All --
Here's what the "Revenue Enhancers" are sending out touting what a great achievement the VA transportation bill is. (Methinks the lady doth protest too much.) As I recall, only about half of the bill is allocated for enhancing transportation whereas the rest of it is for other pet projects. No real attempt to cut waste and inefficiency in VDOT. Any one else's take on this?
Best Regards,
Ted
____________________________________________________---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alex Stanley <info@bobmcdonnell.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 4:11 PM
Subject: Nearly Three Decades!
To: Ralph <wmwships08@gmail.com>
Dear Ralph,
As you know, before the General Assembly came together in February to pass the transportation bill, it had been 27 years since the Commonwealth had seen the enactment of a sustainable, long-term transportation plan for Virginia. Nearly three decades! In that time the value of the gas tax had declined by 55%, the binder price for asphalt had gone up 350%, and Northern Virginia had become the most-congested region in America, Virginia Beach the 20th, and Richmond the 60th. Virginians were losing $1400 a year sitting in traffic in Fairfax; $850 a year idling on 264 in Virginia Beach. And CNBC dropped Virginia from 1st to 3rd in their rankings of best states for business, citing a failure to properly fund transportation as the main reason for the decline.
Finally, this session, Republicans and Democrats came together to get results and make history. They passed a long-overdue and critically needed transportation plan. Over the past few weeks many have weighed in on the bill, and here's some of what they're saying:
John O. "Dubby" Wynne, retired president and chief executive of Landmark Communications and Harry Lester, president of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Virginian-Pilot"...a landmark decision. It will provide and maintain critical infrastructure for the state's economy to thrive and improve the quality of life for current and prospective citizens......As we prepare to build the roads we so desperately need to improve our community, we believe it worth dwelling on the courage it took for our elected leaders to reach an agreement a generation in the making."Daily Press Editorial board:"Thank you, Gov. Bob McDonnell, for having the guts to accept a transportation funding bill that requires something Virginians hadn't seen in a while from their representatives in Richmond: compromise."Clayton Roberts, president of Virginia FREE, Free-Lance Star:"The business community is overwhelmingly in support of the transportation package. In Virginia FREE's 25-year history, you can't find any issue in which that community is more united than in its support of the governor's plan for real money for transportation funding in Virginia."Washington Post Editorial Board:"...one of the most substantial achievements by a Virginia governor in years."Jeffrey C. Southard, Executive Vice President of the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance, Richmond Times-Dispatch"Governor McDonnell recognized that Virginia was at a critical point. He could be bold and address the issue, or kick the can down the road to the next governor and watch our transportation system fail. Fortunately, like Reagan, McDonnell chose the former...... The governor is to be commended for taking the initiative for solving one of Virginia's most pressing problems now and not counting on someone else to do the right thing later ... even if he did steal the idea from Ronald Reagan's playbook."Aubrey L. Layne Jr. , Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board, Wall Street Journal:"I applaud Gov. McDonnell's leadership and courage in finding a bipartisan solution to Virginia's transportation funding crisis. This legislation will improve mobility, lessen congestion, increase safety and improve the quality of life for Virginians. The governor's leadership is in stark contrast to what is occurring in Washington, D.C."Bill Hamlin, Boxley Materials Company, Roanoke Times:"Virginia has made history by passing the first major, long-term transportation funding package in 27 years. To get us there, Gov. Bob McDonnell took the initiative to offer a bold plan to his colleagues in the Virginia General Assembly... This is exactly what we should expect from our elected officials. This is why we vote them into office - to do what is best for their constituents, to do what is best for Virginia."W. Sheppard Miller III , Commonwealth Transportation Board, Virginian-Pilot:"Hampton Roads residents sent Gov. Bob McDonnell to Richmond with an overwhelming mandate that he fix this problem. He has done exactly that, by providing incredible leadership and exhibiting great courage to champion a historic step to fixing the problem that threatens us all...I would like to thank McDonnell for his leadership and courage and for doing what he promised. He is a man of his word."Moody's US Public Finance Weekly Credit Outlook, "Virginia's Robust New Transportation Funding Package Is Credit Positive":"...The new law could generate as much as $3.5 billion of net additional revenue for roads, rail and transit in the state over the next five years, a credit positive.....The legislation makes The Commonwealth of Virginia (Aaa negative) the first state to address stagnant gas tax collections that have been increasingly insufficient to meet transportation funding needs, a problem faced by many states as they, consumers and automakers embrace higher fuel efficiency standards..."Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Daily Progress:"We applaud Gov. McDonnell's leadership on this critically important issue...Our chamber has been a steadfast advocate for decades for a comprehensive transportation funding plan by which the commonwealth would meet its fundamental, core responsibility. This bill achieves that goal.'"Philip A. Shucet, former VDOT Commissioner, Virginian-Pilot"...2013 became the year when a band of women and men knew that this was the time - for this generation - to put a mechanism in place to establish a sustainable source of transportation funding not only for statewide needs, but for the specific needs of Virginia's most congested regions... We owe the Governor, Wagner and Jones our gratitude."Tom Farrell and Charles Moorman, Richmond Times-Dispatch"McDonnell and lawmakers from both parties and both houses showed tremendous leadership and statesmanship by compromising, and providing funding mechanisms that could generate as much as $3.5 billion of net additional revenue for roads, rail and transit over the next five years... They got the job done. And their critical work will aid economic prosperity, help create and retain jobs and contribute to Virginians' quality of life. The positive results of this bipartisan, bicameral compromise will be felt in the Old Dominion for decades to come."Virginians came together this year to get results. According to one review, this bill will mean 20,000 new jobs and $2.5 billion in additional economic activity in the state. It will mean Virginia will have the transportation system our economy needs to grow and private sector employers need to create more jobs and hire more Virginians. Please pass this email on to your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and thank you so much for your support!
Sincerely,
Alex Stanley
Political Director
Opportunity Virginia
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