Mica's Hypocricy on West St. Augustine Sewer Health

In another prime example of two-faced John Mica's double talk, he acts like he cares about local sewer problems, while cutting off federal funding for clean water projects.

John Mica voted NO to Water Quality Investment Act of 2009

James L. Oberstar (Minn.), said, "The bills we approved today take us another step toward creating jobs and strengthening the economy through federal investment in public infrastructure."
The Water Quality Investment Act provides authorizes $13.8 billion in federal grants over five years to capitalize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and provide low-interest loans to communities for wastewater infrastructure.
It also reauthorizes $250 million in grants over five years for alternative water source projects and authorizes $1.8 billion over five years in grants to municipalities and states to control sewer overflows. It amends the Clean Water Act to provide a national standard for public notification of overflows, and increases the authorization of appropriations to $150 million for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

John Mica joins company with other haters of jobs and local clean water: Ander Crenshaw, Connie Mack, Jeff Miller, Bill Posey and Cliff Stearns.

While Mica is praised for delivering earmarks to his district, he cuts of funding through the regular appropriations process: NO LOW INTEREST loans or grants to municipalities and states to control sewer overflow!!!

Mica instead wants to have complete controle over who gets money and who doesn't. According to Mica, everything should go through earmarks,.....nothing through the regular low interest loan and grant programs,....after all without earmarks local municipalities don't need him.

I guess John Mica is employing the ultimate "job security" tactic for himself, at tax payers expense.

Private Investors Place Nation's Transit Agencies at Risk

The Danger of Public Private Partnerships

The National Council for Public Private Partnerships has been holding
presentations across the country to educate officials on how to tap private
sector capital to fund public transportation projects, and shift the
construction costs and operational risks to the private sector.Private funding
for public projects isn't new and the number of projects using private funds
seems to be growing.

In late September, John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and two other partners
announced they had won a $2.5 billion, 99-year lease to operate and develop
Chicago Midway Airport. If completed, the airport would be the first privatized
major airport in the U.S. In April, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
announced he would pursue private partnerships to fund transit projects.

Mica, who for years has been prmoting the Public Private Partnerships, is suddenly doing an about face. One wonders if this is just a symbolic stunt on his part?

He co-wrote a letter with Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn. to Mary Peters, the Transportation Secretary, to warn agains lack opf transparency with these Public Private Partnerships.

The letter in part says this:

....the current financial crisis on Wall Street is leading to more and more
so-called public-private partnerships that lack "adequate transparency" to
protect the public's interest."We are particularly concerned about efforts by
private investors to exploit the financial crisis to place a number of the
nation's transit agencies at risk of default and financial collapse," the letter
said.