Mayor: 'Doom And Gloom' Won't Stop Transportation Funding
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked lawmakers visiting the Southland on Wednesday for help in financing local transportation projects to boost the economy and create jobs.
Villaraigosa testified before Senator Barbara Boxer and other members of Congress in support of a national, bipartisan approach to financing transportation and highway projects.
KNX 1070's John Brooks reports the mayor wants federal dollars to help launch a floundering high-speed rail project.
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The House and Senate Joint Committee on Public Works and Transportation held a meeting at the Brentwood Theatre with a panel of top elected officials and union leaders to determine whether billions in stimulus money should launch the California high-speed rail project.
Villaraigosa predicts that the vast majority of funding would double the size of the state's transportation system.
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While acknowledging the federal government is short on funds, Villaraigosa says that fact creates opportunities for more localities like Los Angeles to partner with Washington.
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