Transportation Package Passes House, Moves to Senate
Prince William Chamber Applauds Bipartisan Leadership in House of Delegates
In a show of bipartisan cooperation, the Virginia House of Delegates today passed the transportation conference report in a 60-40 vote. Prince William area Delegates Luke Torian and Mark Dudenhefer supported the landmark measure. Delegates Scott Lingamfelter, Rich Anderson, Bob Marshall, Jackson Miller, Tim Hugo and David Ramadan voted against it. The Senate will vote on the measure today or tomorrow at the latest.
“We applaud today’s bipartisan effort by the House of Delegates to get Virginians moving,” said Prince William Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Rob Clapper. “Delegates Torian and Dudenhefer demonstrated the level of leadership we need in Northern Virginia. It is time to end the gridlock that holds back those that live, work and travel in our region. The Delegates’ vote gets us closer to real funding for significant road construction and maintenance of existing infrastructure.”
Clapper noted that his organization, which represents over 2,000 businesses with more than 70,000 employees, is urging the Senate to also pass the measure. “We are halfway there. It is my hope that we will end this week knowing that we have ended decades of legislative gridlock on this issue,” said Clapper.
Chamber Chairman of the Board Pete Dolan, a longtime resident of Prince William County, said, “I am all too familiar with the need for comprehensive, sustainable transportation funding. Today, Delegates Torian and Dudenhefer voted for progress. This historic measure is a vote for sustaining and growing our local economy and for the future of the Northern Virginia region.”
If fully implemented, it is estimated that the package would generate $880 million in 2018 of which $200 million comes from existing General Funds. The five-year transportation total is estimated at $3.5 billion. The regional component for Northern Virginia is estimated to generate an additional $350 million per year for regional projects.
The Prince William Chamber will be posting transportation updates on its Twitter page,www.twitter.com/pwchamber. Its full 2013 Public Policy Priorities document can be found online atwww.pwchamberadvocate.org.
