This past week the House voted down by a 38-32 margin against expanded
funding for public transportation. Legislators killed a plan to
generate about $1 million
in state funds for public transit through a $2.50 surcharge on vehicle
titles. The
state dollars would have attracted as much as $12 million in matching
federal public
transportation funds. The funds would have enable us to develop or
expand
public transportation in both urban and rural areas. Many Seniors who
live in both
rural and urban areas are highly dependent on this type of assistance.
Another
interesting fact of note is that by the year 2,000 the State will rank
10th nationally
in terms of the percentage of Seniors in our population.
The opposition stated they wanted to draw a line in the sand and not take
Federal
handouts. At the sametime it is apparent we don't hear many cries that
the Feds
are giving us too much money for highways. About $132 million will come
to us
from the Feds for Idaho highways next year
We don't put a cent into public transportation and yet there is a need
for our
non-drivers, Seniors, and the disabled. I guess it depends on what side
of
the line your on.
Rep. Tom Trail/Dist. 5
_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]