Virginia Republicans and Democrats are at odds about the potential impact of federal budget cuts on our transportation system. Democrats say those cuts could cause a major headache for drivers but Governor Bob McDonnell disagrees.
Democrats say if Republicans in Washington succeed in slashing the federal transportation budget, Virginia would lose money and jobs. The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) is sounding off against McDonnell, saying he's not looking out for Virginia's best interest.
"It's not true to say that even with some cuts in the transportation program in D.C. that it's going to affect the Virginia plan," said McDonnell.
DPVA Executive Director David Mills stated, "While everyone wants to balance the budget and put our fiscal house in order we have very different ways of going about achieving that goal."
The legislature this year approved a massive $4 billion transportation bill at the governor's request that includes about $1 billion in federal bonds.
Democrats say federal cuts would severely impact Virginia's ability to pay back that debt.
A spokesman for the governor's office has suggested Democrats are really playing politics in all of this and are more interested in scoring points than in transportation funding.
