I found this article in today's Washington Post to be fascinating. The headline is "$1 Billion Transportation Plan Emerging In Va. Senate," and the sub-head is "GOP Lawmakers Split Again On Proposals to Raise Taxes." Ahhh...Republican disunity, such music to my ears. Usually, I like it when the Neanderthal/Pat Robertson knuckledraggers face off against the Grover Norquist/flat earth/anti-tax crowd. But today it looks like Virginia's Republicans are setting themselves up for Round II of the Responsible Senate vs. the Irresponsible House.That's correct, in the (far) right corner we've got the Irresponsible House of Delegates, talking about squandering the transitory "budget surplus" just like George W. Bush did back in 2001 and 2002. No new revenues for those people, just new spending - and lots of it. Hey, why not? That combo worked so well on the national level, bringing us....welll, massive deficits and a mediocre economy. But, what the hell, why learn from your own party's mistakes?
Luckily, over in the center of the ring (there's no left corner in Virginia, by the way, except perhaps at Alice Marshall's place - ha ha), we've got the Responsible Senate. There, according to the Post, "Republican leaders in the Virginia Senate will propose as early as Friday a series of tax and fee increases that could grow to about $1 billion a year for road and transit projects... even larger than the $700 million-a-year proposal the Senate offered two years ago."
According to the Post article, this "once again [sets] the stage for a bitter clash over taxes with the House of Delegates" and possibly "spark another budget stalemate this year because of opposition to higher taxes in the House." The following 'graphs are interesting:
Sen. Martin E. Williams (R-Newport News), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said that the plan includes new funding that is "sustainable over time" and that Senate leaders would not raid the budget's general fund -- meant for education, hospitals and public safety -- to pay for roads.Sen. John H. Chichester (R-Northumberland), chairman of the Finance Committee, said he would reveal nothing of substance about the plan until it is submitted as legislation. Sources familiar with the Senate proposal said it is likely to include several of the following: increases to the sales or income tax, higher taxes on the sale of cars, a new sales tax on gasoline, higher auto registration fees and tolls.
Several senators said not raising taxes would mean leaving road problems to fester.
House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) has promised that his caucus will soon offer its own proposals to raise money for transportation. The House GOP plan is likely to rely more heavily on the budget surplus for one-time spending.
So there you have it. The Responsible Senate wants a transportation plan for Virginia that's sustainable over time, that actually has the ability to raise the tens of billions of dollars needed, and that doesn't squander a short-term budget surplus. The Irresponsible House wants to raid the cookie jar, cry and whine about how horrible the situation is, but do absolutely nothing about it.
And where's Tim Kaine in all this? Not sure, exactly, but according to the Post, Kaine's Policy Transition Committee on Transportation recommended that he press for "'reliable, dedicated, and permanent' sources of money for transportation or 'face a congestion and mobility crisis.'"
In other words, my guess is that Tim Kaine will side with the Responsible Senate in the end, but not before allowing the Republicans in the Irresponsible House to make utter fools of themselves. At least, that's what I would do if I were Governor. Anyway, it will be interesting to see who's still standing with all their teeth remaining after what promises to be a knock-down, drag-out, 12-round heavyweight boxing match over Virginia's transportation future. Pull up a seat, everybody, this could be a good one!