NO FAIR SHARE FOR ROADS KERN COUNTY STEAM ROLLS L.A. IN FEDERAL HIGHWAY BILL.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Despite its massive traffic-congestion problems, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County got steamrolled in the recent fight for federal highway funds by nearby Kern County, which scored more than 15 times as much money per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. . The difference was powerful Republican congressman Bill Thomas For other people with similar names, see . William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941), commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979–2007, representing the 22nd District of , chairman of the House Ways and Means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. Committee, whose clout paved the way for Kern County - population 744,325 - to receive more than $722 million in the federal transportation spending bill approved Friday. That's nearly $1,000 per resident. L.A., with 10 million people, got $625 million - barely $60 per person. The L.A. figure includes the $130 million the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. got out of the $400 million sought for an expedited car-pool lane designed to ease congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. on the 405 Freeway. And the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. got only $155 million of the $900 million sought for the Alameda Corridor The Alameda Corridor is a 20 mile (32 km) freight rail "expressway"[1] owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (AAR reporting marks ATAX East, a massive freight-rail network needed to open the logjam log·jam n. 1. An immovable mass of floating logs crowded together. 2. A deadlock, as in negotiations; an impasse. Noun 1. between the nation's busiest seaport and the nation's railroads. ``This bill is supposed to be about equitably dealing with congestion,'' said Keith Ashdown, spokesman for Taxpayers for Common Sense Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is an nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. in the United States. TCS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; its 501(c)(4) affiliate is Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action). , a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group. ``A congressional district Noun 1. congressional district - a territorial division of a state; entitled to elect one member to the United States House of Representatives district, territorial dominion, territory, dominion - a region marked off for administrative or other purposes trumped the largest state in the country with the worst transportation problems. It flies in the face of logic.'' California lawmakers and other officials were careful not to accuse Thomas of impeding other allocations in the $286.5 billion federal transit bill now awaiting President George W. Bush's signature. But several officials in both Washington and the Southland said the amount of money obtained by Thomas - including $140 million from a fund reserved for projects of ``national and regional significance'' - underscores how parochial interests often win out when millions of dollars are at stake. ``Everybody is talking about the money Bill Thomas got,'' said Metropolitan Transportation Authority member John Fasana, who represents San Gabriel Valley cities. ``I'm hearing it all through the county. The (bill) may as well be known as the 'Thomas Guide to Transportation Funding.''' In awe of Thomas Others also are in awe of how Thomas pulled off his highway-funding coup, which works out to $1,128.25 for each of the 640,000 residents of his 22nd District, which includes most of Kern County. ``I really don't understand that one,'' said Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald Juanita Millender-McDonald (September 7, 1938 – April 22, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 until her death in 2007, representing California's 37th congressional district, which includes most of , D-Torrance. ``All I can say is, that he's a very powerful chairman.'' The funding for Thomas' district includes $330 million for the Centennial Corridor Loop, an eight-lane expressway and interchanges to serve downtown Bakersfield, and $100 million for highway improvements for western Bakersfield. ``This is what we run up against: people trying to get money for local projects,'' said Jack Kyser, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. ``Intrastate pork barrel pork barrel n. Slang A government project or appropriation that yields jobs or other benefits to a specific locale and patronage opportunities to its political representative. competition is what you could call it - and, evidently, he won.'' Thomas, who did not return repeated calls for comment, issued a statement saying, ``Bakersfield is one of California's fastest-growing cities. Our main roads simply cannot accommodate today's needs, let alone tomorrow's growth.'' But supporters of the Alameda Corridor East say their project is important to ease Southland traffic along the freight rail corridor - expected to increase by 160 percent over the next decade. The project would build 35 miles of freight rail through the San Gabriel Valley between East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. and Pomona to transport cargo containers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the transcontinental rail network. The corridor carries 25 percent of the nation's goods eastward from the ports to the rest of the country. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. corridor officials, the project serves an area of nearly 2 million residents and 30 municipalities. Leading California Republicans, whose districts the corridor runs through, called it their No. 1 priority for federal funding in the transportation bill. Among them: U.S. Rep. David Dreier David Timothy Dreier (born July 5, 1952), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since January 1981, representing California's 26th congressional district (map). He was first elected to the U.S. House at age 28 in 1980. , R-Glendora, and Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, the only California Republican on the House Transportation Committee. It also topped California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's list. Last month, when Democratic Congressman Howard Berman of Van Nuys accused Schwarzenegger of halfheartedly supporting his efforts to secure money for the Valley carpool car·pool n. also car pool 1. An arrangement whereby several participants or their children travel together in one vehicle, the participants sharing the costs and often taking turns as the driver. 2. lane, the governor's aides said they did not want to see the ACE lose out on needed federal dollars. Party divide Schwarzenegger ultimately supported the 405 Freeway project, and Berman got $130 million for the project out of that same, sought-after pot of money for nationally significant projects. Miller, Dreier and ACE authorities said the 405 Freeway money did not hurt the rail project's funding efforts because, in the partisan world of Washington, money is divided by party. As transit dollars were allocated, money for the 405 Freeway came out of a fund reserved for Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota and Sen. Barbara Boxer, both Democrats. Republicans were to be largely responsible for funding the mainly GOP-championed ACE project. But confusion struck as the highway bill neared completion late Thursday. The bill was falling apart, aides whispered. Money had gone missing from Alameda Corridor East and nobody knew where it was. ``We're trying to do as much as we can,'' Miller said as he rushed to a hastily called meeting of California Republicans that Dreier convened in Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office on the ground floor of the Capitol. Thomas did not attend. ``They're concerned that the kind of money they thought was going to be there isn't there,'' Fresno Rep. George Radanovich said as he and others left the room a half-hour later with few answers. A short time later, they huddled again - this time with Thomas present, as well as House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young. They emerged with money for the corridor: $155 million and a promise from Young that the project would never go hungry. Thomas, meanwhile, left for home with $140 million for a beltway around the Bakersfield metropolitan area, and more than $580 million for other Kern County projects. Corridor supporters were divided on describing the $155 million allotment. Dreier called it ``great news.'' Kyser called it ``a major disappointment.'' But Fasana said, ``Frankly, that's a sizable amount of funds. It continues to move the project along.'' Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, characterized the funding difference between Kern County and the corridor as a ``slash'' at the governor. Standing outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday, he said, ``It seems to indicate that, in that building, Bill Thomas has more muscle than Arnold Schwarzenegger.'' Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince Sollitto said the governor was pleased with the funding for the corridor project and ``chooses to remain positive and celebrate the tremendous gain for the state as a whole.'' Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Rep. Bill Thomas' clout paid off for Kern County |
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