Kaine Pushes Bonds To Cut Bay Pollution

The reaction from House Republicans underscores how Kaine is likely to be dogged by the debate over transportation even as he tries to succeed on other issues.

With a projected $550 million budget surplus, Kaine wants to spend more money on the environment, education and health care. He is also expected to propose new transportation spending, although he doesn't want the subject to dominate the upcoming legislative session, as it did last year.

But House Republicans, some of whom Kaine is targeting for defeat in next year's elections, are trying to preempt his budget announcement Friday by trying to shift the debate back to transportation.

House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) announced Monday that the House Republican caucus has pledged to spend at least half the surplus on transportation.

The eight Northern Virginia Republicans want to go even further, saying Wednesday that they hope to use the entire surplus, as well as bonds, to add $1 billion to this year's transportation budget.

"The governor has decided to flip-flop on bonding in order to address one priority. It is now past time for him to join the efforts of House Republicans and other forward-looking leaders to use all of the financing tools available to us to deal with transportation," House Majority Whip M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights) said.

Virginia has a triple-A bond rating, which allows it to borrow money at low interest rates. In opposing calls for higher taxes, House Republicans have noted the state could borrow an additional $900 million a year and still stay within its self-imposed cap of using no more than 5 percent of the budget to pay off its borrowing costs.

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William), who opposes raising taxes to pay for new roads, said it makes sense to use borrowed money for cleaning up the bay and building roads.

"Today, projects are fairly cheap; we can lock in some projects at low interest rates. It is kind of like buying a home at the right time," he said.

Senate leaders and Kaine remain cool to the idea of using bonds to pay for roads without a new revenue source to repay the debt.

"You just can't go out and sell paper," Senator Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico) said.