[PRCo] Re: Transit___Funding

[John Swindler]

Hi Jim


That was an authorization bill.

Has the appropriation bill been passed for FY 2005/6?????

Suspect Pelosi's press release is just the usual p.r. --- b.s. -- to impress 
the multitude.

But good comment, Jim,  on 'rolling snowball'.  Let's see what happens after 
this weekend.

John

p.s.  As a New York railfan commented on several occasions:  'how can you 
tell when a politician is lying - their lips move'.

ps. to p.s.  On the other hand, lets see what DeLay does when Hurricane Rita 
hits his home district in suburban Houston.

p.s. to p.s.  to p.s. - the authorization bill under discussion includes the 
north shore connector in Pittsburgh, Schuylkill Valley Metro and Corridor 
One light rail proposals (just to bring it back to topic, Jim)



>From: "James B. Holland" <PRCoPCC at P-R-Co.com>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: - 1714 PRCo__WP__JTC - <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>Subject: [PRCo] Transit___Funding
>Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:30:40 -0700
>
>
>   What follows has implications for the Whole Nation  --  Is this a
>   Rolling SnowBall???????
>
>
>
>   Pelosi willing to give up S.F. funds for recovery
>
>Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
><mailto:eepstein at sfchronicle.com>
>
>Wednesday, September 21, 2005
>
>
>
>Washington -- House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco
>said Tuesday she was willing to return to the federal Treasury $70
>million designated for San Francisco projects in the new highway and
>transportation bill and use the money to help pay for Hurricane Katrina
>recovery efforts.
>
>Her counterpart, House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said
>that while he would consider cutting all other domestic discretionary
>spending to raise the tens of billions of dollars needed for Katrina
>relief, it was a bad idea to take money from transportation projects.
>
>His suburban Houston district is slated to get $64.4 million under the
>bill, and DeLay has said that he brought home an additional $50 million
>for freeway projects in the metropolitan area. He also helped secure
>$324 million in funding credits for Houston's light rail construction.
>
>Pelosi, a longtime Appropriations Committee member who gave up that post
>when she became Democratic leader in late 2002, said she had always
>opposed the practice of lawmakers' writing legislation that specifies
>federal money for their special district projects.
>
>"I would give them up to help Katrina victims," she said. "The people of
>San Francisco would be very proud of that.''
>
>Pelosi also endorsed Tuesday a proposal by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los
>Angeles, to create an independent commission to investigate possible
>fraud and waste in the billions that will be spent on Katrina recovery
>projects.
>
>While Pelosi opposes the increasing use of targeted spending for
>district projects, which often sidestep the normal application or
>hearing process, she has made sure San Francisco received its share of
>the money. Over the years, that has meant she has helped secure millions
>of dollars for Municipal Railway projects, street improvements, HIV-AIDS
>treatment and other programs.
>
>The federal cost for Katrina recovery has been estimated at $200
>billion. To help pay the cost, some have targeted the $286.4 billion
>transportation bill, passed in July, which contains about $24 billion in
>"earmarks'' for individual members' projects -- assailed as pork barrel
>spending at its worst.
>
>Most of the bill's money is distributed to states according to funding
>formulas for highways, bridges and mass transit.
>
>DeLay told reporters "I'll take a look'' at returning the members'
>individual transportation projects to pay for Katrina. But he sounded
>deeply unenthusiastic.
>
>"My earmarks are pretty important to that region,'' the Republican
>leader said. "The bill creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. It's an
>economic engine.''
>
>When Congress passed the long-delayed transportation bill, which was
>held up for two years as Congress and Bush wrangled over its size,
>Pelosi announced $129 million in special projects for her district,
>which covers about three-quarters of San Francisco.
>
>She offered to return $70 million of the $129 million to help pay for
>hurricane relief -- all except $59 million set aside for the Golden Gate
>Bridge earthquake retrofit project, which she termed vital for national
>security and public safety.
>
>Among the other projects are $29 million for the planned new Transbay
>Terminal in San Francisco and plans to extend Caltrain from Fourth and
>Townsend streets to the new terminal.
>
>While the debate rages over the transportation earmarks, one of
>Washington's leading critics of pork barrel spending said he doesn't
>think Congress will reopen the highway legislation to move money to
>Katrina relief.
>
>"Pigs will fly before we cut this pork,'' said Keith Ashdown of
>Taxpayers for Common Sense. "I don't know how we'll make this happen.''
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>San Francisco projects
>
>House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said she would
>pass up $70 million in federal money going for transportation projects
>in the Bay Area and use the tax dollars to help pay for Gulf Coast
>hurricane relief. Among the projects now scheduled to receive federal
>money are:
>
>-- San Francisco Transbay Terminal, Caltrain extension -- $29 million.
>
>-- Doyle Drive replacement -- $8 million
>
>-- Muni's Islais Creek bus yard -- $5 million
>
>-- Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, improvements -- $5.6 million
>
>-- Trails and bikeways at the Presidio and Golden Gate National
>Recreation Area -- $5 million
>
>-- Illinois Street bridge, port of San Francisco -- $3.2 million
>
>-- Muni's program of providing real-time arrival information for trains
>and buses -- $2.5 million
>
>-- City CarShare, a nonprofit that provides cars on an as-needed basis
>-- $1.6 million
>
>Source: Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office
>
>E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein at sfchronicle.com
><mailto:eepstein at sfchronicle.com>.
>
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>Jim__Holland
>
>
>I__Like__Ike.......And__PCCs!!
>
>down with pantographs ---- UP___WITH___TROLLEYPOLES!!!!!!!
>
>