McDonnell’s VDOT audit uncovers hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation
By JR Hoeft | Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 | PolicyIn 2008, Gov. Tim Kaine called a special session of the Virginia General Assembly to deal with the “crisis” of transportation.
That day, Bearing Drift traveled to Richmond to cover the session, but we also had the chance to sit down with then Attorney General Bob McDonnell to discuss his idea of a VDOT audit to find some monies to fund transportation. In just over a minute, here’s what McDonnell said then:
Of course, that idea was summarily dismissed by liberals, including then part-time governor, full-time Obama campaigner Tim Kaine who said: “It’s an excuse for those who don’t want to do anything.”
But following his election, taking immediate action as Virginia’s chief executive, McDonnell made the audit happen.
Today, that audit has found over a billion dollars in unspent money for maintenance and construction in transportation. According to sources, the audit will result in over $1.4 billion more going to transportation than was planned or programmed, including $614 million this fiscal year. It also found $877 million in transportation funds left unspent over the past two fiscal years – at a time when the previous administration closed 19 rest stops, endangering motorists and causing unnecessary inconvenience.
Kaine and the Democrats owe McDonnell and the Virginia taxpayer an apology for gross negligence.
But, moving forward, it’s smart, conservative government that is setting the groundwork for a true, comprehensive solution to Virginia’s transportation network.
Kudos to Governor McDonnell for his vision and standing up for practical, commonsense, conservative solutions.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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15 Responses to "McDonnell’s VDOT audit uncovers hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation"
Mike Barrett what say you now?
That’s great! I appluad Gov. McDonnell on this. I support fiscal responsibility.
Now if he can do this a about 20 more times, we’ll actually have enough to complete planned transportation projects, at least those in Hampton Roads.
Time for a closer look at the Michigan Left http://www.michiganhighways.org/indepth/michigan_left.html
Had this conversation last night on DeStephs FB page.
This would greatly reduce congestion on local roads but the implementation may reduce the burdens placed on state roads in some cases.
Well Joel, based upon the fact that the initial information on any given topic is wrong 95% of the time, I’ll wait for the analysis. In the case of the PR conscious McDonnell, the percentage is 100% of the time. I suspect there is some money that should be re-committed, but that most is held in projects that are underway as required by the Federal Highway Administration. Of course, I can almost predict the response when that announcement is made. So thanks for the question, but I suspect the full story is not yet written.
[...] Read the rest at Bearing Drift [...]
I’m going to get in line to get a private Virginia liquor license since the “transportation infrastructure improvements” are now “paid for”. Good on Bob for ripping the cover off of the VDOT manhole and shedding light on the culture of mismanagement that we all knew was there, but couldn’t prove. Now some VDOT heads should roll…
“Money has been sitting in the state’s wallet while Virginian’s have been sitting in traffic.” This is the statement that accompanied the announcement; talk about PR and spin before presenting the facts. Of course, I believe the auditors would blanch if they read this. My review of the audit by a private auditing firm (did they contribute to the Governor’s campaign?) finds that the so called facts are essentially opinions about cash management. The statements in the press release and the audit do not match. What else is new? Frankly, this is the typical way in which this administration manages complex issues; they issue a press release explaining what they have concluded, and then you have to do your homework to find out the facts. After all, when you are the hero of the national republican party, your image must keep up, but once again, the facts tell a different story.
As long as the governor is into audits, how about an audit of the ABC business to find out what it’s REALLY worth before we auction it off to bidders who have set their own price.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BowlMeOverVa, Fiona B and Bearing Drift, Ed Badowski. Ed Badowski said: RT @BowlMeOverVa: RT @bearingdrift: McDonnell’s VDOT audit uncovers hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation http://bit.ly/9589cD [...]
That would build a lot of lightrail!
Seems to me conservatives are complaining about VDOT being too conservative with the money.
I too am going to withold comment on this potentially earth-shattering revelation. It seemshard to believe that anybody would “lose” a billion dollars ($1,000,000,000.) Where was it hiding all his time? In whose bank? The other shoe is yet to drop on this. I am sure bearingdrift.com will keep us informed.
If you are waiting for the other shoe to drop you are going to be left disappointed. No waste, fraud, or abuse was disclosed. The only thing VDOT is guilty of is saving too much money.
When is saving money a crime? Perhaps instead of saving money we should motivate them to spend every dime every budget year?
Perhaps they were trying to save enough to qualify for the federal matching funds we could get if we had the money?
No waste, fraud or abuse was disclosed by the audit.
No rational person can argue about the need for clear and concise cash management, but most so called private auditors doing a review are not expert on the requirements of the FHWA in regard to the expenditure of federal funds. Further, we all know about the cuts in personnel at the agency. Do I want to see faster recommitment of funds from projects that are complete and closed? Of course, but as the auditors themselves point out, there are risks in moving too fast. So just like the new Republican Pledge, this announcement, despite all the hype, is a dud as well.
Poor Mikey! Just cannot take it. Nor will he debate anyone in regard to any of his thoughts. Is he afraid or what. This is debate challenge 49.
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