WAMU 88.5 : News

Filed Under:

'Fiscal Cliff' Could Bring Budget Shortfalls For Regional Transportation

Play associated audio

The specter of sequestration and its potentially dire impact on the Metro D.C. area was the sobering agenda item on the Greater Washington Board of Trade's post-election roundup Thursday morning.

"Sequestration would hit us all pretty hard," says Virginia State Senator Richard Saslaw. "It would hit Northern Virginia and D.C. perhaps harder than the state of Maryland, but pretty hard nonetheless."

Saslaw was joined on the stage by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and Maryland Senate President Mike Miller, as they discussed the region's prospects

"I think there is a willingness on the part of these leaders to work together across the borders of the greater Washington area. I'm pleased about that," says Jim Dinegar, the head of the board. "But what I heard was no new funding is expected, as it concerns transportation."

Dinegar says that this will necessary result in more gridlock. He implores regional leaders not to follow the federal government down the path of budget cuts for the Metro system.

"We would hope that they can continue to work together to alleviate the congestion by potentially considering public-private partnerships if we're not going to get another revenue source," says Dinegar.

Mayor Vincent Gray was optimistic that national leaders could prevent the region from confronting the fiscal cliff altogether.

"I want to be optimistic, because I just can't believe that our leadership would allow this to go on," says Gray "I'm hopeful that they'll reach across the aisle and work with one another, because everybody loses if they don't."

NPR

Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Everywhere And Nowhere

FBI agents believe they have a credible lead on the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa's body. If they're right, it will solve a longstanding mystery, which will also deflate Hoffa's resonance in popular culture.
WAMU 88.5

After Four Years Of Fighting, D.C. Council Approves New Rules For Food Trucks

The new rules create a long-awaited regulatory framework for what has become a popular and industry made up of over 150 food trucks.

NPR

House Passes Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks

The legislation is one of the most far-reaching abortion bills in decades and follows the May murder convictions of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. The bill, which would ban nearly all abortions starting 20 weeks after fertilization, is unlikely to ever become law.
NPR

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Profits for the nation's carmakers are on the rise, but after years of doing more with less, higher profits are unlikely to translate into significant numbers of new jobs. There are eight fewer plants and hundreds of thousands fewer workers in the industry than before the Great Recession.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.