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[Shortpoet-GTD]

"House Republicans are going to unveil their transportation bill today, and it is expected to have a ton of backwards ideas in it. These include:

• Spending more money on highways than anything else
  
• Encouraging private companies to expand highways and charge for the use of those lanes
  
• Funding highway work through oil and gas drilling revenues
  
• Shortening environmental review periods
  
• Allowing heavier (and therefore more deadly) trucks on interstates
  
• Cutting the tiny slice of funding that biking and pedestrian projects get."

http://grist.org/lis...paign=gristacct

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"The Democrats were united in opposition to the worst transportation bill everand a growing number of Republican
lawmakers were especially concerned about the bill's blatant attack on transit funding.

Why in the world would Boehner declare war on transitby breaking the 30-year bi-partisan agreement to dedicate a small
portion of federal gas tax revenue to building and maintaining the nation's vital system of commuter trains, light rail and buses? Without transit, traffic would be much worsethan it already is.
So what is Boehner thinking?
Here is what he said this morning:
"This debate is a debate we want to have; ABC News reported last night that we will soon see $4-a-gallon gas prices.
Maybe higher. Certainly, this summer will see the highest gas prices in years.
Your constituents saw that report, and they'll be talking about it. When they do, tell them about this bill that we're working on."

So let me get this straight. With prices at the pump expected to rise, the GOP Leadership thinks the solution is to throw transit funding under the bus and devote transportation revenue to building more highways.
That will have the effect of driving people (pun absolutely intended) away from public transportation and into their cars,
clogging our roads even more and keeping us addicted to oil."


http://switchboard.n..._transit_p.html