Bid to save Va. Rest stops fails in Congress
The planned closure of nearly half of Virginia's highway rest areas next week seems likely to move ahead, despite state officials' pleas to Congress to help keep them open.
The state is planning to close 18 rest areas Tuesday because of a shortfall in transportation revenue, but Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and other officials have asked Congress for a waiver or exemption from a federal law barring commercial activities at interstate rest stops. That would enable the state to have private businesses operate them.
That request was met with resistance in Congress today, as an attempt by Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, to push through an amendment to a federal transportation bill failed in committee on a 26-32 vote.
"The goal was to begin the process to let the state commercialize rest stops," said Dan Scandling, a spokesman for Wolf. "The whole effort here was keeping them open for safety reasons."
The closures are expected to save about $9 million, as state transportation officials grapple with a recession-driven revenue shortfall that led the Commonwealth Transportation Board to cut Virginia's six-year transportation program by $2.6 billion.
Reader Reactions
Virginia, the only state along I-95 that can’t afford to keep a few toilets running for travelers. Back in the 60s & 70s people used to joke about places like Mississippi. Look how far we’ve progressed.
This situation is an outrage! We must hold Kaine and the democrats responsible. Just like Warner punished us by closing the DMV offices Kaine is on the same track. We the people must send a message to the inept clowns that the people still are in control. Don’t vote for any democrat this next election.
This is a sad day for the Commonwealth of VA whose biggest business is tourism. The state will get its residents also by ticketing for things such as-stopping illegally on side of interstates so children can use the bathroom & more accidents because of tired drivers (how many deaths will be involved with this one). Many believe this is a sign of the times because of the economy, and maybe some of it is-but there are ways that state government could & should be saving state $$$, just to name a few:
1. VITA/NG raping the taxpayers and still not giving a quality computer network or having to wait days, sometimes weeks to get work orders filled.
2. eVA purchasing system that requires use of small businesses. These small businesses buy from the larger companies mark up items 10-50%. An agency can decide to use a larger company instead, but red tape attached-must justify why & document the file with no guarantee that auditors will not write the agency up. Most business managers are pressured to use the small businesses by the agency head. No percentage point has ever been given how far a small business can go in taking advantage of the state! Not all small business are guilty, but many are.
Yes, I am a state employee & see the waste daily. Most of the waste is due to favors given to businesses or persons involved in electing officials. When an employee tries to step forward & report abuse-they get the boot for some other made up reason-ex. VITA Director when questioning NG.
IT IS still a “good ole boys” network.
Why should Congress make an exception to the law simply because our Governor did a poor job with his budget? How many other laws would then be rescinded to accommodate our (or other’s) Governor’s lack of fiscal responsibility? Kaine should have learned to just say NO. No to VDOT. No we do not accept the VDOT budget, go back to the table and come up with something else or submit your resignations tomorrow. The $9 million could, and should come from VDOT’s budget.
To a large extent, much of Virginia’s financial troubles have their origins in a series of overly optimistic revenue projections from administrations of both parties. Based on revenue projections which no reasonable person could have expected to be realized, the members of both parties in the General Assembly continue to vote to spend money they do not have and which they never had any realistic prospect of having to begin with.
Relative to today’s failure to get an amendment through congress, one wonders what the result would have been if (a) that amendment had been championed by a Democratic member of Congress or (b) members of Congress were, rather than operating purely on partisan and party loyalties, willing to attempt to do what is best for all concerned.
One also wonders whether Congress prefers to deny states the rights to “outsource” operation of interstate rest areas because Congress intends to seize control and lease them to generate revenue for the Federal coffers.
At five cents a gallon with a 20-gallon gas tank, each individual would pay an extra $1 per tank. 9 million fillups covers the cost of keeping the rest stops open. If each car fills up once a week on average and about 4 million vehicles registered in Virginia, it would take a little more than 2 weeks of a five-cent gas tax to keep the rest areas open. This is how ignorant our elected government officials are.
By the way, $52—the extra you’d pay per year on a five-cent gas tax—will also be about two months worth of the new stormwater tax Kaine is going to force on us before we can finally get rid of him.
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