Category: General

Government stops tracking foreign investment in U.S.

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Link to article here. As companies race to dig-up new sources of cash in a tight credit market thanks to the mortgage crash, they’re turning to foreign investors, many owned by un-democratic governments. It shouldn’t surprise us that in this climate, the government wants to hide how much of our country is being sold off to the highest foreign bidder after 83% of Americans said they opposed our ports falling under the control of an arm of the Dubai government in 2006. They know this is a threat to our sovereignty and economic independence as a Nation and that voters will naturally hold politicians responsible for such a dereliction of duty. We must restore transparency and accountability and stop selling off America to the highest bidder!

U.S. stops following foreign money trail
Expert says nation’s assets are being sold for billions
By Jerome R. Corsi
World Net Daily
June 09, 2008

NEW YORK – Foreign investment in the United States is on the rise and key U.S. businesses and infrastructures such as roads and airports are being sold to foreign investors. Now comes word from the U.S. Department of Commerce the Bureau of Economic Affairs will stop publishing a key report tracking those foreign dollars.

WND reported earlier on a decision by the Federal Reserve to quit publishing M3 data, a money-supply measure watched closely by economists.

Last month, econometrician John Williams reported on his subscription website, “Shadow Government Statistics,” that the M3 statistic he compiles from available government data shows the growth of M3 at historically high rates last seen in June 1971, two months before President Nixon closed the gold window and instituted wage and price controls.

Charles McMillion, president and chief economist at MBG Information Services in Washington, D.C., also has expressed concern over the recent decision by the Department of Commerce to discontinue publishing foreign investment data and warned that may forecast an unprecedented surge in foreign investment anticipated by the Bush administration.

In the announcement, BEA claimed funding limitations necessitated halting future reports.

The most recent report, released Wednesday, showed direct foreign investment in U.S. businesses reached $276.8 billion in 2007, the second largest amount recorded and the highest since 2000, when new foreign investment outlays peaked at $335.6 billion.

Of the direct foreign investments in the U.S. in 2007, only about 10 percent, approximately $21.9 billion, established new U.S. businesses, while foreign investments to acquire existing U.S. businesses totaled $255.0 billion.

Nearly 37 percent of the foreign investments in 2007 involved European investors, although the BEA noted investments from Asia and the Middle East rose substantially.

McMillion noted in an e-mail that the BEA decision to discontinue publishing foreign investment data comes at a time when public and congressional concerns have increased over the acquisition of U.S. assets by foreign investors

McMillian referenced the recent attempt by “China’s mysterious but closely state-aligned Huawei” to acquire 3Com, a key supplier of Internet security technologies to the U.S. Department of State, in conjunction with Boston-based Bain Capital, a private equity firm founded by Republican 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

In March, Bain pulled out of the deal after learning that the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, organized in the U.S. Treasury Department, planned to block the deal.

In May, during a four-day trip to the Middle East that included Saudi Arabia and Dubai, U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson encouraged foreign investment in the United States, arguing the controversy over Dubai Ports in 2006 did not reflect an adverse U.S. attitude toward foreign investment.

“I have met with many leaders from the Middle East who ask if the United States really continues to welcome investment,” Paulson said in a speech to the U.S.-United Arab Emirates Business Council, according to Bloomberg.com. “As we seek to open new markets abroad, America will keep our markets open at home to investment from private firms and from sovereign wealth funds.”

WND previously reported that since the beginning of the year, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the largest United Arab Emirate states, have been in discussions with the U.S. Treasury, offering reassurances that their investments in U.S. banks and security firms would not impose restrictions usually dictated by Islamic law, commonly known as sharia.

WND also has reported sovereign wealth funds in six Persian Gulf countries, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have now amassed $1.7 trillion, positioning them for attempts to control major banks and securities firms in the United States.

In September 2007, Dubai acquired 19.9 percent of Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange in the United States.

WND also reported last month the top bid to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike on a long-term public-private-partnership, or PPP lease, for a bid of $12.8 billion was submitted by Spanish infrastructure management company Abertis Infraestructuras of Barcelona.

TxDOT jet-sets all over state abusing access to State Aircraft

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Link to article here.

Just when you’d think things at TxDOT can’t get any worse, a front page story appears telling of their abuse of state airplanes for $130,000 worth of jet-setting across the state on the taxpayers’ dime! At least one of those trips was taken by Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton who used the planes to illegally lobby in favor of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 project at a workshop they initiated with elected officials (which is against the law) and then lied about sponsoring it.

This event is part of TURF’s evidence against TxDOT in our lawsuit to stop it’s propaganda campaign and illegal lobbying. The other two offenders: Rick Perry and the Attorney General (who is representing TxDOT against the taxpayers in our lawsuit to stop their illegal lobbying and ad campaign) with over $20,000 each in state-funded travel for what can be argued was personal and/or political travel.

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Empower Texans, whose Director is quoted in the article, put together this video as a spoof on TxDOT’s luxury airline use at taxpayer expense. Watch it!

Cost, uses of state’s plane fleet targeted
By Peggy Fikac
Express-News Austin Bureau
06/03/2008

AUSTIN — Five years after Texas leaders tried to disband the state’s airplane fleet, officials still call on the service to fly them to meetings, awards ceremonies, funerals and even a neighboring GOP governor’s inauguration.

Officeholders and bureaucrats, including Gov. Rick Perry, say they look at cost and efficiency before deciding whether to use the aircraft, which cost $258.75 to $977.50 per flight hour and are allowed for official state business.

But some question the fleet because bills are often footed by taxpayers and because commercial airfare may look cheaper.

“It sure does raise the eyebrows and make the nose crinkle a bit,” said Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. “Between two really good Texas-based airlines, there’s any number of options to get from anywhere to anywhere by air pretty quickly.”

Then-Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Perry talked up selling the planes during a 2003 budget crunch.

But the Texas Department of Transportation, which oversees the fleet, expects it to log 1,227 more flight hours — for a total of 3,350 or about $2.3 million worth of flying time — in this two-year budget period than the last.

“State agencies have seen the value of our services as an effective business tool,” said TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott, noting commercial air travel’s cost “continues to rise, and its reliability continues to deteriorate.”

State taxpayers don’t pay for the trips funded by donations or other sources. Among them: University of Texas football recruiting jaunts, paid by the self-sufficient athletics department; the UT president’s travel; and a trip by Texas A&M basketball coaches and players to the Big 12 media day in Kansas City.

Louisiana trip questioned

But many other trips are paid by the state and may draw closer scrutiny, such as a $3,962 trip by Perry, a staffer and a member of the governor’s security detail to Baton Rouge for the inauguration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a fellow Republican. Perry, who heads the Republican Governors Association, spoke at the prayer breakfast.

“I’d want to know, did he go to (Democratic New Mexico Gov.) Bill Richardson’s inauguration?” asked state Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, head of the House Democratic Caucus. “If he didn’t go to Richardson’s, I think it’s pretty apparent this is a partisan political trip. If he’s going to do that, he ought to do it on his own dime. He’s got plenty of money in his campaign. Taxpayers shouldn’t pay for it.”

Perry spokesman Robert Black dismissed the idea that the trip was political, asking, “When was Richardson inaugurated? I have no idea if he (Perry) was even invited.”

“Not only was the governor invited … to participate in Bobby Jindal’s inauguration, I think most Texans recognize that the states of Louisiana and Texas have a unique relationship that has grown out of the natural disasters that happened a few years ago,” Black said, noting efforts led by Perry to help after Hurricane Katrina.

Perry’s office notes that most of his travel, aside from that on state aircraft, is paid by his campaign.

His Baton Rouge trip was among a slew of state-airplane records covering the six months ending in March examined by the San Antonio Express-News.

Among officials using state money to pay for flights and billed more than $20,000 apiece for the time period were Perry ($24,537); Attorney General Greg Abbott and staff ($21,943); TxDOT administration, government and public affairs, and other divisions ($130,568); the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ($56,560); and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and staff ($50,302).

Commercial cost compared

Destinations used with the fleet included news conferences, public meetings and awards ceremonies. They also included memorial services for Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson and for Kate Marmion, granddaughter of former Gov. Dolph Briscoe, and meetings on the Trans-Texas Corridor by transportation officials.

In choosing a state plane, officials say they consider factors including productive use of time, avoiding the cost and delay of overnight stays, number of people traveling and availability of commercial flights.

Some trips invite comparison to commercial airfares — including Perry’s to Baton Rouge, because an online booking service currently shows roundtrip flights as low as $486 per person ($647 per person for a flight departing in the evening) or totals of $1,458 to $1,941 for three people. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle noted Perry’s schedule and commercial flight schedules play into such decisions.

Another is a March 7 trip to Houston by Staples and two others at a cost of $2,346. Southwest Airlines’ flight schedule shows three adults could currently travel roundtrip for $257.50 apiece, or a total of $772.50.

Staples spokesman Bryan Black said Staples got to Houston at 7:45 a.m. for a school award presentation and, after a day of events capped by a speech at the International Brangus Breeders Association Banquet and Awards Dinner, left at 9:30 p.m..

That would have been too late to make the last commercial flight. Compounding the time crunch was that Staples was due in Hereford the next day. (He went by state plane, at a cost of $2,659). Bryan Black noted Staples often visits hard-to-reach rural areas but uses commercial flights when he can and often drives. “He wants to make sure that he visits with Texans and listens to what they have to say.”

Three state senators flew state planes during the six-month period examined: Sens. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio; Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock; and Kip Averitt, R-Waco. Uresti racked up the largest bill of the three at $13,009 for trips to Marfa, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo.

“I have the largest senatorial district, geographically, not only in Texas but in the United States — 55,000 square miles,” Uresti said. He said he is “very selective” in using state aircraft but sometimes must make stops in hard-to-reach places.

“There’s no easy way to get to Marfa,” he said. “My constituents in Alpine, in Del Rio, in Fort Stockton — they want their state senator at their town hall meetings. It’s there for that use. I don’t abuse it.”

How small is $18 million?

The state fleet is in addition to airplanes belonging solely to individual agencies, such as the UT and A&M systems and the Department of Public Safety, which may still use the state fleet when their planes are busy.

Sullivan, of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, said he isn’t suggesting officials are wrong to use a fleet that’s at their disposal, but lawmakers should take a hard look at whether it’s necessary to maintain it.

“There’s certainly the occasional need for someone to be transported in that way,” Sullivan said, citing law enforcement and response to natural disasters. But, he added, “when you find out these various muckety-mucks are jumping on the planes just because it’s easier to do that, that’s not right.”

The fleet, previously under the State Aircraft Pooling Board, was targeted by Strayhorn and Perry in 2003 when the state faced a $10 billion budget shortfall. At the time, Strayhorn said selling the planes and associated property would yield $18.2 million. Perry vetoed the pooling board from the budget, but the fleet was transferred to TxDOT.

Perry spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said Perry “doesn’t really have an opinion one way or another” now about whether the fleet should be maintained.

“His main priority has always been that aircraft are used for state business and are operated on a cost recovery basis.”

Sullivan said $18 million is a small percentage of the state’s $152.5 billion two-year budget, but added, “It’s not a small amount of money. … You take the richest person in Texas, and they notice when $18 million is gone.”

Sunset Committee Report proposes major reform, greater accountability at TxDOT

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Link to article below here.

A scathing Sunset Committee Report on TxDOT was released today (news story below) and it recommends a “legislative conservator” takeover the agency among other reforms.

There are 6 problem areas identified in the report, but here are the key recommendations that pertain to our concerns:

• Abolish the Texas Transportation Commission and replace it with an appointed Commissioner of Transportation.
• Establish a Transportation Legislative Oversight Committee to provide necessary oversight of the Department and the state’s transportation system.
• Require the Transportation Legislative Oversight Committee to review and comment on TxDOT’s research program, including individual research projects and activities.
• The Sunset Commission should recommend that the Legislature directly fund the Texas Transportation Institute to conduct transportation research previously contracted through TxDOT.
• Continue TxDOT for four years (instead of 12).
• Require TxDOT to develop and implement a public involvement policy that guides and encourages more meaningful public involvement efforts agency-wide.
• Require TxDOT to develop standard procedures for documenting complaints and for tracking and analyzing complaint data.
• TxDOT should provide central coordination of the Department’s major marketing campaigns.

The big holes? We asked for the 5 member Transportation Commission APPOINTED by the Governor to be replaced with a single ELECTED commissioner, and while the Sunset Committee staff recommended abolishing the Commission and replacing it with a single commissioner, they still would have that position APPOINTED by the Governor (giving us the same mess we have now)! The difference is the Commissioner would be re-appointed and come before the Senate for confirmation every 2 years instead of every 4.

Hole #2 – “TxDOT should provide central coordination of the Department’s major marketing campaigns.” What??! TURF is suing the State to STOP TxDOT’s “marketing” propaganda campaign, the last thing we need is to centralize illegal activity! We also don’t need “public education” campaigns like “Don’t Mess With Texas” anti-litter program or its “Click it or Ticket” campaign when we’re supposedly “out of money” for basic highway needs. This is wasteful, useless spending and the Committee staff should have called for an end to it. It’s their job to eliminate waste. Well, this is prime fodder for the chopping block. It enriches marketing and PR firms, not provide transportation for taxpayers.

Hole #3 – There are no specific public involvement recommendations that would force TxDOT to do what the public asks them to, particularly in regards to toll projects and the Trans Texas Corridor. Simply taking public testimony and then ignoring it is what has caused a massive taxpayer revolt all over the state! We need some public involvement REQUIREMENTS that FORCE TxDOT to implement the alternative chosen by the public, not the one that makes the State the most tax revenue.

This is why we need YOU to come testify before the full Sunset Advisory Committee on July 15 in Austin to insist the Committee make any new commissioner directly accountable to the taxpayers at the ballot box so we don’t end up with the same problems we have now.

TxDOT labeled ‘out of control’
By Peggy Fikac
Express-News Austin Bureau
06/03/2008
AUSTIN — Saying big changes are needed to restore trust in the Texas Department of Transportation, the Sunset Advisory Commission staff is recommending a revamp of TxDOT’s governing board, project planning and its dealings with lawmakers and the public.

The Sunset staff report to be released today — and shared with the San Antonio Express-News by a source close to the process — comes in the wake of controversy over planned public-private partnerships on toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor and questions concerning agency funding figures.

“The Sunset review of the Texas Department of Transportation occurred against a backdrop of distrust and frustration with the Department and the demand for more transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. Many expressed concerns that TxDOT was ‘out of control,’ advancing its own agenda against objections of both the Legislature and the public,” according to the report.

It says that “tweaking the status quo is simply not enough” to restore trust.

TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott said Monday, “The confidence of the Legislature and the public are very important to us. We still have work to do, but we are confident that our ongoing efforts to improve the transparency and accessibility of TxDOT are making a positive impact.”

Among changes, the staff is recommending replacing the five-member commission with a single commissioner, who would have a two-year term rather than the current six years. The shorter term would mean required Senate confirmation would occur more often, giving lawmakers more oversight.

However, the commissioner still would be appointed by the governor, a concern for opponents of TxDOT’s policies.

That’s because the policies pushed by the Texas Transportation Commission are in sync with those of GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who named the commissioners. Opponents of those policies would prefer an elected commissioner or commissioners.

“The most important thing is that they’re elected positions,” said Sal Costello of TexasTollParty.com. “It gets right down to who’s accountable.”

“We wanted a single, elected commissioner who answers directly to the people of Texas … Having the governor’s paws on this department just has got to stop,” said Terri Hall of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom. She added, however, that proposed changes constitute “a step in the right direction. I’m glad the committee seems to be hearing what the public outcry is.”

The staff also proposes increasing legislative oversight through a new House-Senate committee; making TxDOT’s transportation planning and project development more open and easily understood; enhancing chances for meaningful public involvement; improving TxDOT’s contract management; and reviewing the agency again in four years, rather than the usual 12, to ensure needed changes have been made.

Agencies are reviewed periodically by the Sunset commission to see if they should continue to exist and whether changes are needed. Changes proposed by the commission will be considered in 2009 by the Legislature.

Lawmakers on the commission said it’s clear that change is needed, although they’ll need to weigh input including staff recommendations.

Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said he wants to give new Texas Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi a chance to improve agency operations but that he likes the direction of Sunset staff proposals.

Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, said straightforward, public accountability is key.

“There is obviously a great amount of distrust between the Legislature and the agency, as well as the general public. Something obviously needs to be done — major — to change the way this agency is doing business,” she said.

Hutchison calls for increase in refinery capacity

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Link to the article here.

Sen. Hutchison Urges Refinery Expansion to Help Alleviate Gas Prices
Texas Insider
Published: 05-29-08
Provision, which Passed in 2005, will Help Increase Domestic Refinery Capacity through Tax Deduction
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas’ senior senator, today sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging his department to expedite the regulation process for tax deductions to spur domestic refinery expansions.

Sen. Hutchison included a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), which provides a 50 percent tax deduction for domestic refineries that increase existing capacity by five percent or more. Although EPACT became law in 2005, the Treasury Department has not approved the pending regulation, also known as Section 179 C.

“At this time when Americans are paying record high prices for fuel, the U.S. government is standing in the way of increasing supply,” said Sen. Hutchison. “This regulation, which encourages expansion of domestic refinery capacity, will increase the supply of fuel to alleviate prices at the pump.”

Sen. Hutchison sent a similar letter to Treasury in April 2007 when gasoline was $2.86 a gallon. Today, the national average is $3.94 a gallon.

TEXT OF THE LETTER

May 28, 2008

The Honorable Henry M. Paulson
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Paulson:

I write today to express my continued support for expedited approval of a pending regulation which awaits final approval at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Almost three years have passed since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated that this regulation be finalized. American families need the relief that this regulation will provide now more than ever.

Specifically, this regulation, Sec. 179C of the Internal Revenue Code, allows a refinery to expense up to 50 percent of the cost of a refinery expansion if the project increases overall capacity by at least five percent. As you may recall, I wrote to you in April 2007 when gasoline was $2.86 a gallon, diesel was $2.79 a gallon, and a barrel of oil was $64. Today, gasoline is $3.94 a gallon, diesel is $4.72 a gallon, and a barrel of oil exceeds $127.

At this time when Americans are paying record high prices for gasoline and diesel, the U.S. Government should do all it can to reduce these prices. This regulation, which encourages expansion of domestic refining capacity, will increase the supply of fuel to alleviate prices at the pump. Moreover, the longer refineries must wait for these regulations, the more uncertainty is added to their investment decisions to expand capacity. These regulations must be finalized as soon as possible to allow companies to plan for future construction.

I appreciate your efforts to date to finalize this regulation and encourage you to expedite its approval.

Sincerely,

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Sunset Committee to recommend TxDOT be taken over by a conservator!

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Link to article here.

Yippeeeeeeee! Finally a voice of reason! The Sunset Committee report on TxDOT is likely to recommend TxDOT be taken over by a conservator and that the Transportation Commission appointed by the Governor be replaced with a single commissioner! Now we asked for an elected commissioner, they recommend a hired hand, but, boy, is this a step in the right direction! They recognize what the citizens do, that TxDOT is corrupt, fiscally irresponsible, broken, and unaccountable beyond repair. There is no fixing it. Wipe it out completely and start over from the ground up with accountability, transparency and an end to toll roads!

Panel to call for axing Texas’ transportation board
By GORDON DICKSON
Star-Telegram staff writer
Sat, May. 31, 2008

A legislative group will recommend next week that a conservator take over the Texas Department of Transportation, an agency under fire for planning toll roads in areas that don’t want them and failing to keep track of its finances properly, officials said.The staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission, which periodically reviews state agencies to see whether they’re still functioning properly, is expected to release a report on the department next week.

The Transportation Department has been overseen by a three- or five-member commission with members appointed by the governor throughout its 91-year history. But several people who have reviewed drafts of the sunset report say one of the key recommendations is to replace the current five-member transportation commission with a single commissioner who would serve a two-year, paid term and report to the Legislature.

“TxDOT has become an agency that is focused on making money and deciding policy, and they need to get back to the business of building roads,” said state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, who serves on the sunset commission.

Harper-Brown declined to comment on the report itself. But she said better communication with Texans — especially lawmakers — is crucial to the Transportation Department restoring its credibility.

“Whatever tools we give them, that’s what they need to work with,” she said.

Background

Since 2003, transportation commissioners have succeeded in having laws changed, creating alternatives to the state’s gas tax, including private investment in toll roads.

Opposition to those changes surfaced during the 2006 gubernatorial race, when three challengers attacked Gov. Rick Perry’s vision for the Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposal to build a network of mega-wide toll roads.

Many lawmakers in 2007 said they regretted giving the Transportation Department more power in previous sessions, and the Legislature passed a bill that put a moratorium on toll projects.

Also last year, transportation officials were forced to cancel many construction projects statewide after realizing they’d overestimated their funds by $1.1 billion. They blamed miscommunication between the agency’s planning and financial staffs, and promised to reorganize the department to prevent more mistakes.

What’s next

The Sunset Advisory Commission will debate the Transportation Department’s management during a hearing in Austin. Some recommendations could become state law during the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January.

Transportation commissioners and staff members say they’re ready for a tense hearing.

“I’m sure the agency will be roundly criticized, and you know what? It’s part of the public process,” said Commissioner Bill Meadows of Fort Worth. “The sunset process is not something you should be afraid of. It’s something you really should welcome.”

No shift away from current toll policy or Trans Texas Corridor despite spin

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Link to article here.

TxDOT’s new chief vows state will own toll roads
Trans-Texas Corridor plan still has skeptics
By KELLEY SHANNON
Associated Press
May 30, 2008
AUSTIN — Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi, whose political ties to Gov. Rick Perry drew criticism when he appointed her, led her first meeting Thursday and expressed a desire to build public trust in the transportation agency.

The commissioners adopted an order governing toll projects and the Trans-Texas Corridor and set out to improve citizen and legislative access to Texas Department of Transportation’s financial data.

The commission unanimously agreed that all Texas highways will be owned by the state, not private developers; that the state may buy back the interest of a private road developer; that only expansions to existing highways will be tolled and existing free lanes won’t be reduced; and that “non-compete clauses” will be banned, meaning no state contract will limit improvements to nearby existing roads.

The order also calls for an attempt to minimize disturbing private property and to consider using existing rights of way.

The clarifying statement came in response to public criticism during the early planning stages of the Trans Texas Corridor, Perry’s plan to contract with private companies to build toll roads throughout the state.

Opponents remained skeptical. Terri Hall, director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom said that if TxDOT expands or builds a competing road, the toll contractor could require compensation from taxpayers for any resulting loss in toll revenue.

David Stall, who operates the CorridorWatch.org with his wife, Linda, said the state had always intended to own the toll roads that it leased to private operators.

The new rules also call for only new lanes to be tolled, but Stall said that if TxDOT continues to rely on toll financing for new projects, it means “that they are not intending to expand existing free highways beyond the current expansion plans.”

Initial phases of the Trans Texas Corridor are a toll highway that would run roughly parallel to part of Interstate 35, and Interstate 69, a road that would be constructed from Northeast Texas to the Rio Grande Valley.

Delisi takes over a job formerly held by another close Perry ally, the late Ric Williamson.

Chronicle reporter Rad Sallee contributed to this story.

All talk, no teeth as Transportation Commission attempts to quell opposition

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Don’t believe the hype. Today the Texas Transportation Commission adopted a Minute Order designed to fool people into thinking they’ve changed their stripes. The reality? It’s all posturing. New Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi (who has no transportation experience only running political campaigns for Perry then becoming his Chief of Staff) wants the Senate to confirm her, and the Commission knows the Sunset Review will bring serious legislatively mandated changes they want to avoid. There’s nothing about a Minute Order that is even binding. TxDOT can change this at their whim and violate it anytime. Add to that, many of these provisions are already not allowed or required by state law.

Here’s a summary of the gaping holes and inadequacies of this Minute Order:

They don’t mention that a competing facility could require compensation (taxpayer payments to investors if TxDOT expands or builds a competing road), and there’s no mention of stripping non-competes from bond agreements (they only addressed CDAs or PPPs contracts here). Bond companies require non-competes and create the same guaranteed congestion on non-toll routes.

Also, there’s no prohibition against taking existing highway lanes and tolling them leaving the only non-toll lanes frontage roads (totally different in function and speed and stop light times can be manipulated to drive traffic to the toll lanes, etc.). That’s the crux of much of the angst on urban toll projects. They also failed to address their illegal ad campaign and lobbying. If they seriously wanted to build trust, they would have moved to cease those practices unconditionally.

Until the Legislature takes the power of decision-making of this type AWAY from an un-elected, unaccountable agency run amok and gives it back to the PEOPLE and their representatives, this whole exercise is a non-starter.

______________________________

Associated Press Newswire

May 29, 2008

AUSTIN (AP) – Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi led
her first meeting today and expressed a desire to build public
trust in the transportation agency.
The commissioners adopted an order governing toll projects and
the Trans-Texas Corridor. They also set out to improve citizen and
legislative access to Texas Department of Transportation’s
financial data.
The commission unanimously agreed that:
– all Texas highways will be owned by the state, not private
developers;
– the state may buy back the interest of a private road
developer;
– only expansions to existing highways will be tolled and
existing free lanes won’t be reduced;
– and that “non-compete clauses” will be banned, meaning no
state contract will limit improvements to nearby existing roads.
Transportation Chair Delisi’s political ties to Gov. Rick Perry
drew criticism when he appointed her.

Steepest decline in driving EVER RECORDED!

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Link to article here.

“Figures show… the steepest decline in driving ever recorded.”

That statement says it all. This is not the time to add toll taxes to our freeways or to proliferate toll roads in general. It’s simple economics. People’s wallets aren’t an endless cash cow for government and road contractors to pilfer at will. There’s a limit to the family budget, and there’s only so much money consumers can sink into transportation before radical changes in behavior ensue, including changes to where people live, work, and play. And most changes driven by severe economic times aren’t for the better.

As gas goes up, driving goes down
CNN.com
May 26, 2008

  • March figures show steepest decline in driving since 1942
  • Compared with last year, drivers have logged 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT says
  • Americans planned to drive less over Memorial Day weekend, AAA reports
  • Public transportation ridership on rise, in part because of gas prices, group says
    (CNN) — At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Americans have curtailed their driving at a historic rate.

    art.gas.pump.gi.jpg

    Americans are not driving as much as they did a year ago as gas prices skyrocket.

    The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded.

    Compared with March a year earlier, Americans drove an estimated 4.3 percent less — that’s 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration said Monday, calling it “the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history.” Records have been kept since 1942.

    According to AAA, for the first time since 2002, Americans said they were planning to drive less over the Memorial Day weekend than they did the year before.

    Tracy and Adam Crews posted on iReport that their annual Memorial Day weekend has traditionally involved camping and fishing.

    “Well, due to the continual rise in gas, we felt our only recourse was to nix the idea this year and stay home” in Jacksonville, Florida, they wrote.

    Instead, the couple said they “decided to camp out in the backyard. We set the tent up, just finished installing our above ground pool, and cleaned up the grill. … We have ourselves a campsite! It’s been a blast!”

    Nakeisha Easterwood of Smyrna, Georgia, said with gas prices on the rise, she sometimes catches rides with friends, and doesn’t drive into town more than once a day. “It’s crazy,” she said.

    According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to a record $3.936. That compares with an average price per gallon of $3.23 last Memorial Day.

    “With it being near $4 a gallon, you definitely have to drive slower and pick and choose when you’re going to do it,” said Steve Kahn of Roswell, Georgia, at a Memorial Day festival in Atlanta.

    Some Americans have turned to public transportation. Ridership increased by 2.1 percent in 2007, in part because of rising gas prices, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

    Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, the group said.

    The Energy Information Administration says gas consumption for the first three months of 2008 is estimated to be down about 0.6 percent from the same time period in 2007.

    For the summer season, gas consumption is expected to be down 0.4 percent from last year.

    • TxDOT brings lobbyists in-house

    Posted on by

    IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    TxDOT still engaging in illegal lobbying with impunity
    Chronicle reports TxDOT hired former lobbyist to lobby Democrats in Congress

    Houston, TX, May 27, 2008 – A May 25 Houston Chronicle article reveals that while TxDOT ceased hiring OUTSIDE lobbyists, it hired Rebecca Reyes using taxpayer money to work in TxDOT’s Washington office. Reyes is the daughter of Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso.

    TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott expressly stated she was hired because she has a background in “lobbying.” TURF filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for its taxpayer-funded political ad campaign to advocate toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor (in violation of Texas Government Code Chapter 556), and it found evidence TxDOT had also illegally hired registered lobbyists. Lippincott tried to spin it by claiming they stopped hiring outside lobbyists due to budget cuts.

    “TxDOT has ceased hiring outside lobbyists in response to being caught red-handed in violation of the law, but now it’s obviously still engaging in lobbying members of Congress by bringing a former lobbyist in-house. Both the Texas Government Code (Chapter 556.004) and federal law prohibit a government agency from engaging in lobbying and using taxpayer money for a political purpose. TxDOT is just getting more sneaky in how they do it,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (or TURF).

    “Where is the OUTRAGE from lawmakers and where is the Travis County District Attorney to put a stop to this illegal activity at taxpayer expense?” asks Hall.

    The applicable federal law is found in the Hatch Act:

    5 C.F.R. 151.121 – “a state or local officer or employee may not…directly or indirectly…command…a state or local officer or employee to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to a political party, committee, organization, agency or person for a political purpose.”

    What TxDOT calls “outreach” and “education” is, in reality, an advocacy and political ad campaign (www.KeepTexasMoving.com) using public relations firms and political strategists to “sell” the public on a privatized, toll roads, and this sales job includes members of Congress as evidenced in TxDOT’s Forward Momentum report asking them to relax federal legislation in order to buy back existing interstates in order to toll them.

    Through TURF’s lawsuit, it uncovered detailed logs showing a concerted campaign to lobby politicians, particularly newly elected officials, which is a BIG no-no for a state agency that must remain apolitical. Alliance for I-69 Lobbyist Gary Bushell was hired by TxDOT to personally lobby more than two-dozen elected officials in the path of TTC-69 prior to the Town Hall meetings.

    Houghton admits TxDOT violated the law!
    At the packed Town Hall meeting in Hempstead last February, Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton said he also personally met with every county judge in the path of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 as he defended the necessity of TxDOT hiring lobbyists to lobby elected officials.

    This action is in DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LAW!

    Texas Government Code:

    § 556.005. Employment of Lobbyist

    (a) A state agency may not use appropriated money to employ, as a regular full-time or part-time or contract employee, a person who is required by Chapter 305 to register as a lobbyist. Except for an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, a state agency may not use any money under its control to employ or contract with an individual who is required by Chapter 305 to register as a lobbyist.

    “TxDOT has now publicly admitted, on camera, that it has violated the LAW! Are government agencies under the rule of law or not? Who is going to step in and prosecute this rogue agency?” asks an outraged Hall.

    TURF also discovered in a memo to TxDOT dated November 8, 2007, that Rodman & Co. marketing gurus drafted positive, pro-TTC quotes on behalf of elected officials in order to place them as positive quotes in press releases about the TTC-69 project.

    Political Poll conducted on taxpayers’ dime
    TxDOT also hired Governor Rick Perry’s political polling outfit, Bacelice & Associates, to conduct a poll that included asking one’s political party affiliation in its questions.

    “What does a person’s political party have to do with a supposed ‘public information’ campaign? Nothing, it’s clear this ad campaign is about pushing a political agenda and brainwashing the public with pro-toll talking points like ‘tolls are better than gas taxes to fund roads.’ C’mon, this is politics run amok and an agency run amok. Who’s going to rein them in?” criticizes Hall.

    TxDOT’s behavior demonstrates why there are laws prohibiting the government from using its power and OUR money against the taxpayer. The citizens have the deck stacked against them when their own government forcibly takes their money and uses it to clobber them.

    Like TTC-35, TTC-69 plans to convert some existing highways into privately controlled toll roads, making Texas taxpayers pay twice for the same stretch of road as well as to force Texas landowners to give-up their farms and ranches for a massive new stretch of road in order to complete the entire Trans Texas Corridor project.

    Read more about TURF’s lawsuit against TxDOT’s misuse of taxpayer money for an ad campaign advocating tolls and against its lobbying activities here.

    Read TURF’s formal complaint against TxDOT’s illegal use of taxpayer money filed with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle here.

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