| Whereas, The Los Angeles region faces severe unemployment and severe congestion in our transportation system, congestion that inhibits our economy; Whereas, Our nation and our county needs the thousands of jobs and the environmental benefits that come from the development of a sustainable transportation system with a robust, modern public transit system; Whereas, In November, 2008, LA County voters spoke with a clear voice about their priorities when they approved Measure R, a 1/2 cent sales tax that will raise nearly $40 billion for local transportation over 30 years; Whereas, Nearly 70% of Measure R funds will go for transit projects and programs including 12 transit projects such as the Wilshire subway and multiple light rail and bus rapid transit projects. Measure R includes 25% for transit operating costs; Whereas, The timing of these projects is driven overwhelmingly by the timing of cash flow, not by planning, environmental review, or construction requirements or timelines; Whereas, Our community and our nation should not have to wait 30 years for these projects to be completed, not when jobs, traffic congestion relief and clean air are needed now; Whereas, With the help of the federal government in the form of grants, low interest loans, and interest rate subsidies on private loans, and other mechanisms, these 12 transit projects can be completed in 10 years; Whereas, This proposed “30/10 Plan” would accelerate the delivery of these 12 Measure R transit projects from their current 30-year schedule to 10 years; Whereas, The “30/10 Plan” projects are part of a regional consensus approved by voters in Measure R. They were unanimously adopted by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors as part of its 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan; Whereas, The “30/10 Plan” seeks federal government support for LA Metro’s federal program in the form of New Start grants, low interest loans and interest rate subsidies on private loans; Whereas, With strong federal partnership as envisioned in the “30/10 Plan” the 12 Measure R transit projects can be developed much more quickly saving as much as $4 billion in avoided cost escalation; Whereas, The “30/10 Plan” will create over 160,000 construction jobs over the next decade and at least 2,800 permanent jobs operating and maintaining an expanded transit system, jobs that can support a family; Whereas, The 30/10 projects will run on clean natural gas and electricity. They will remove over 500,000 pounds of air pollution and greenhouse gases from the Los Angeles air basin; Therefore, We the undersigned organizations and individuals strongly support the LA Metro “30-10 Plan”, commend Mayor Villaraigosa for initiating and championing the 30-10 Plan, and urge Senators Boxer and Feinstein and all of the Los Angeles County Congressional delegation to join in strongly supporting the “30-10 Plan”. Therefore, We urge the President of the United States, Congress and the agencies of the federal government to vigorously support the "30/10 Plan" and create mechanisms for its implementation that might serve as models for national infrastructure development. |