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increases over previous years.
Philip Shucet who heads VDOT, should be commended for his work to improve the department. But he will be the first to tell you that more must be done. Shucet has not hesitated to fire people who don’t perform. He requires more accurate projections of costs and titning. We need to keep professionals, like Shucet, in charge of VDOT as we continue to reform the agency.
We also have to restore trust in our transportation expenditures by finally locking up the Transportation Trust Fund so that all revenues from the gas tax and other dedicated transportation funds are used only for transportation. In the last 15 years, the General Assembly has raided the Trust Fund three times to fund non-transportation projects. While the purposes may have been noble, it is fundamentally dishonest to advertise that the monies will be used purely for transportation, and then find other uses for those dollars.
Earlier this year, working with legislators from both parties, I proposed a constitutional amendment to lock up the Trust Fund. It failed on a tie vote in the Senate Finance Committee, but I am bringing the bill back in 2005.
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Finally, we have to
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