Support for LAist comes from
We Explain L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

News

Villaraigosa Back in Washington D.C. for Public Transit Funding

3010-4th-trip.jpg
At the Red Line Subway Civic Center Station | Photo by delara-photos via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
LAist relies on your reader support.
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made his way back to the U.S. Capitol today to testify before a congressional subcommittee on securing billions in funding for regional public transportation projects. It's the fourth trip so far on the sole topic.

The Mayor's 30/10 Plan would build 12 transit projects in 10 years instead of 30, which is the current schedule under the voter-approved Measure R sales tax increase. To achieve that goal, Villaraigosa is seeking full funding upfront from the federal government with a guarantee of paying it back.

"We're not only arguing for infrastructure investment on the federal level," Villaraigosa said to a group of House Ways & Means Committee members in regards to establishing a National Infrastructure Bank, according to Streetsblog Capitol Hill. "We're saying ... at a time of spiraling deficits, we've got to encourage local governments to put up their own money. We have done that [in L.A.]."