Texas Governor chides US transport chairmen for anti-toll concession stance
Posted Fri, 2007-07-06 13:16
Texas governor Rick Perry has written a detailed and forceful four page rebuttal of the US House of Representatives' chairmen Obertsar and DeFazio's stance against toll concessions. Perry says the fundamental reason for "engaging the private sector" in concessions is that Texas can't wait for the US Government to solve the state's transport problems.
"(T)he assistance we need has not arrived... As we move forward with our own solutions, I would hope that the federal government would encourage innovation, not stifle
it."
If Texas relied on state and federal gas taxes, Perry wrote, the state's road capacity could only be increased 6% as opposed to the projected increase of 200% in traffic.
And: "If we do not find new ways to pay for our highways, by 2014 Texas will have no money to increase road capacity and the remaining funs used to maintain our infrastructure will quickly disappear... The result would be crumbling, congested roads."
Higher gas taxes are not the answer, Perry writes, because the tax would have to be raised to $1.40/gallon - a seven fold increase - to meet the projected needs for new capacity. The Texas House of Representatives recently voted 112 to 19 against simply indexing the present 20c/gallon to inflation.
Congestion won't wait...
"As governor I will not sit by and allow gridlock to consume our state's roads," writes Perry saying that regional governments are being empowered to solve their own problems and they are "engaging the private sector" to help. Market forces and competition are driving down costs and expediting projects:
"We cannot turn back now. Congestion doesn't wait for Congress to make up its mind."
Texas, Perry says, only gets 78c back in each federal gas tax dollar but even getting the full dollar back wouldn't address the state's needs. An increase in the federal gas tax would not be helpful, says Perry, because:
"Forcing (gas tax money) through a system that has no meaningful congestion relief goal, that pidgeonholes money into inflexible categories, and then dilutes what is left through earmarks, simply doesn't make sense..."
In addition federal money is subject to frequent "rescissions" or callbacks which Perry says have erased most of the improvements under SAFETEA-LU, the last five year federal funding scheme.
Tough talk on ineffectuality of federal program
Perry says: "It should be clear to you that I am not in favor of sending more of Texas' gas tax dollars to an unfocussed federal program. While we are
vigorously debating tolling and the private sector participation here in Texas I can tell my fellow citizens that I am not sending their hardearned money to Washington DC to have it redistributed, earmarked, and locked into programs that do little to relieve congestion. If Texans pay a user fee it now stays in that region to relieve congestion, increase safety, clean the air, promote economic opportunity, and maintains their system. The federal government cannot promise the same results."
The governor says Texas has no interest in "rushing into" any concession contracts with the private sector. He refutes the Oberstar/DeFazio "rushing" claim by saying that Texas has thorough contracting procedures. He says "fellow governors" are not making decisions lightly or haphazardly as the congressmen suggested.
Perry says he won't "haphazardly mortgage" the future of the state or turn his back on the challenge of congestion. He says elected officials will be remembered for whether they tackled congestion - a challenge to the House leaders who preside over programs that support clean air, rail transit, and local makework, anything but providing more road capacity.
see the full text of Perry's letter
TOLLROADSnews 2007-07-06
Texas governor Rick Perry has written a detailed and forceful four page rebuttal of the US House of Representatives' chairmen Obertsar and DeFazio's stance against toll concessions. Perry says the fundamental reason for "engaging the private sector" in concessions is that Texas can't wait for the US Government to solve the state's transport problems."(T)he assistance we need has not arrived... As we move forward with our own solutions, I would hope that the federal government would encourage innovation, not stifle
it."If Texas relied on state and federal gas taxes, Perry wrote, the state's road capacity could only be increased 6% as opposed to the projected increase of 200% in traffic.
And: "If we do not find new ways to pay for our highways, by 2014 Texas will have no money to increase road capacity and the remaining funs used to maintain our infrastructure will quickly disappear... The result would be crumbling, congested roads."
Higher gas taxes are not the answer, Perry writes, because the tax would have to be raised to $1.40/gallon - a seven fold increase - to meet the projected needs for new capacity. The Texas House of Representatives recently voted 112 to 19 against simply indexing the present 20c/gallon to inflation.
Congestion won't wait...
"As governor I will not sit by and allow gridlock to consume our state's roads," writes Perry saying that regional governments are being empowered to solve their own problems and they are "engaging the private sector" to help. Market forces and competition are driving down costs and expediting projects:
"We cannot turn back now. Congestion doesn't wait for Congress to make up its mind."Texas, Perry says, only gets 78c back in each federal gas tax dollar but even getting the full dollar back wouldn't address the state's needs. An increase in the federal gas tax would not be helpful, says Perry, because:
"Forcing (gas tax money) through a system that has no meaningful congestion relief goal, that pidgeonholes money into inflexible categories, and then dilutes what is left through earmarks, simply doesn't make sense..."
In addition federal money is subject to frequent "rescissions" or callbacks which Perry says have erased most of the improvements under SAFETEA-LU, the last five year federal funding scheme.
Tough talk on ineffectuality of federal program
Perry says: "It should be clear to you that I am not in favor of sending more of Texas' gas tax dollars to an unfocussed federal program. While we are
vigorously debating tolling and the private sector participation here in Texas I can tell my fellow citizens that I am not sending their hardearned money to Washington DC to have it redistributed, earmarked, and locked into programs that do little to relieve congestion. If Texans pay a user fee it now stays in that region to relieve congestion, increase safety, clean the air, promote economic opportunity, and maintains their system. The federal government cannot promise the same results."The governor says Texas has no interest in "rushing into" any concession contracts with the private sector. He refutes the Oberstar/DeFazio "rushing" claim by saying that Texas has thorough contracting procedures. He says "fellow governors" are not making decisions lightly or haphazardly as the congressmen suggested.
Perry says he won't "haphazardly mortgage" the future of the state or turn his back on the challenge of congestion. He says elected officials will be remembered for whether they tackled congestion - a challenge to the House leaders who preside over programs that support clean air, rail transit, and local makework, anything but providing more road capacity.see the full text of Perry's letter
TOLLROADSnews 2007-07-06
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| PerryToOB&Faz.pdf | 136.04 KB |