Barbara Comstock is telling us one thing about transportation, but her proposals would hurt our quality of life in northern Virginia
Barbara Says:
Drill for oil with royalties accruing to the state for transportation funding.
In Reality?:
The Royalties from drilling for oil accrue to the Federal government, not the state. Further, drilling for oil presents major problems with the United States Navy, who use that space to train for fighter pilots engaged in the war on terrorism. Drilling could also have an adverse affect on the tourism industry, of which the coastal areas of Virginia rely heavily. Drilling for oil will not present the solutions we need today to fix our transportation crisis.
Barbara Says:
Push for accelerated use of the $3 billion in bonds authorized for transportation improvements.
In Reality?:
The state does not have the money to back up the bonds. The bonds are backed by auto insurance premiums, which have declined in the wake of a bad economy. This risky policy could jeopardize our triple AAA bond rating, which only a few states have earned.
Barbara Says:
Sell off the ABC stores
In Reality?:
This will give us one half of one years transportation requirements, eliminate the 100 million dollars annually that we currently receive from ABC revenues that goes into the General Fund to support education, public safety and core services and in the end will buy is 5 interchanges state wide, one time. This proposal is unrealistic and unsustainable.
Barbara Says:
Divert money from the General Fund to fund transportation.
In Reality?:
The General Fund provides funding for education, public safety and core services. Diverting this money will not solve our transportation crisis, but it will but severe strain on our K-12 education and our higher education funding. This means bigger class sizes, lower teacher salaries and fewer of our northern Virginia students getting into Virginia schools, less financial aide, higher in state tuition and fewer opportunities for business partnerships with our community colleges. If we raid funding for education to pay for transportation we will create problems in both and reduce the quality of life here in northern Virginia.
Barbara Says:
Promote Telework
In Reality?:
Telework can be part of the solution, however it is not the solution for all sectors of our economy. It certainly is not a solution to the transportation funding needed for construction and maintenance. Nurses, fire fighters, police officers and teachers cannot telework. This can be part of the solution but is not a substitute for a solution.
Barbara Says:
Use Federal stimulus money for weatherization to address transportation funding.
In Reality?:
This would be illegal but it is also misguided policy because these stimulus dollars are intended to reduce the cost of utility bills for low income families, and is anti jobs and anti business. The federal stimulus funds will enable the state of Virginia to both fabricate and provide service for energy efficient and weatherization policies.
Barbara Says
Create a Bipartisan Commission tasked with developing a comprehensive transportation plan that reprioritizes transportation funding to address traffic congestion and economic growth, and is committed to changing the state transportation funding formula so urban areas like Northern Virginia get more than 17 cents on every transportation dollar we send to Richmond.
In Reality?:
Commissions and audits do not ease congestion, build roads or repair bridges. A study of this nature occurred in 2005 that addressed transportation funding issues, transportation policies and transportation reorganization and criteria based performance. If the goals and recommendations that were identified in that study, we could address the congestion issues in northern Virginia and get our fair share of construction and maintenance funds. Talking about the problem will not solve it, we need real action.
We cannot trust Barbara Comstock to fight for our transportation needs in Richmond.
Barbara Comstock: Out of the mainstream, out of touch
