Issues

The current crisis is due to the failure of Virginia's General Assembly to follow through on the plans to accommodate anticipated growth in our region. Our population has doubled since 1970 and is expected to increase by another 50% by 2030.(see statistics)

In Virginia, it is the state's job to build roads, but Richmond has neglected this responsibility. Northern Virginia is the economic engine of the state, but it is overburdened by its critically-congested roads. High-volume traffic impacts air quality, reduces productivity, and detracts from the quality of life. The cost of road congestion is an estimated $4 billion each year.source

To reduce congestion, Northern Virginia needs new road construction. This will cost an additional $1 billion per year- a number that is less than three percent of the state budget! In the last budget cycle, the General Fund (un-earmarked money) increased by $5.5 billion. This was discretionary money the General Assembly could allocate without "taking away money" from any program. Yet, only 5% of that surplus was spent on roads.

Sen. Herring wants to use the desperate need for roads to force taxpayers to accept new taxes. Herring says we need a "dedicated source" for road funding. That is code word for new taxes. A 10 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax yields only a half billion dollars. A half cent increase in the state sales tax yields about the same. To meet our transportation needs of $1 billion extra each year we would need to implement both. Why should the hard working taxpayers of Virginia trust Richmond with an additional $1 billion if they can't prioritize the $5.5 billion bonus they received 4 years ago ?

We can fully fund our road needs without raising taxes. It's a matter of setting priorities.