VOTE IS NEXT STOP FOR `SUBWAY TO THE SEA' HOUSE EXPECTED TO APPROVE METRO RED LINE EXTENSION.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's vision of a ``subway to the sea'' is expected to roll one step closer to reality today with the passage of legislation allowing the extension of the Metro Red Line from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.

The bill by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, repeals a law he wrote 20 years ago that prohibits the use of federal funds for tunneling under Wilshire Boulevard.

Widely expected to pass, the legislation's approval would be a triumph for Villaraigosa, who has called the estimated $5 billion subway critical to unclogging Los Angeles freeways.

The Mayor's Office on Tuesday hailed Waxman's efforts.

``Wilshire Boulevard is the densest corridor and the most heavily traveled bus route in Los Angeles, making it the most logical choice for mass-transit investments,'' said Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

If the House votes to repeal the subway ban, it then would move to the Senate, where California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein both have vowed to push it as well.

``Severe gridlock is a reality faced by millions of residents in Los Angeles every day,'' Feinstein said Tuesday. ``This is why public transportation is so important.''

Waxman's initial prohibition on using federal funds for a subway was prompted by safety concerns sparked by a 1985 methane explosion during the expansion of the Red Line in Fairfax.

A 2005 report by a panel of experts, however, found that technological advancements now make tunneling safe, and Waxman agreed to reverse his position.

Construction is projected to last 15 years and cost about $300 million per mile. Villaraigosa hopes to extend the line 13 miles in three phases.

Analysts project that when adjusted for inflation, the final cost will be about $4.8 billion.

Joel Bellman, spokesman for county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, said the use of federal funds ``makes it possible to even begin to entertain the potential for continuing that project.''

The subway measure is just one of several Southland legislative efforts that are expected to see major action on Capitol Hill this week.

On Tuesday, the House voted unanimously to create a commission to study creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community.

The museum was the brainchild of Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles. The bill, which still requires Senate approval, would establish a panel to study whether and how to create a museum dedicated to Latino culture and history in America.

Meanwhile, Reps. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, made a major push Tuesday toward eliminating two obscure Social Security provisions that cripple retirement benefits for California teachers and other public employees.

Margaret Cagle, a math teacher at Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth, called the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provisions a hindrance to recruiting teachers from the private sector in California.

A former architect who worked in the private sector for 15 years before becoming a teacher, Cagle was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and said she is one of thousands who will never see the money she paid into Social Security when she retires because of the laws reducing benefits.

``In California, we're losing one-third of our teachers to retirement,'' she said. ``We need to be recruiting teachers from private industry, but there are not a lot of people who are going to be able to afford to make that transition.''

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com

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