Tallahassee Young Republicans Resolution RE: High Speed Rail

Because the Tallahassee Young Republicans website is currently under construction, I've posted this resolution here.

On Tuesday, February 22, 2011 the Young Republicans Club of Tallahassee overwhelmingly approved the adoption of the following resolution regarding the high-speed rail proposal recently rejected by Governor Rick Scott.

RESOLUTION

Whereas, the United States government faces a staggering $14 trillion debt due to multiple years of budget deficits, and

Whereas, President Obama recently proposed the largest budget in United States history at $3.73 trillion, which includes a $1.65 trillion deficit, and

Whereas, President Obama’s America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the “stimulus” foisted at least $862 billion in additional debt on future generations and may eventually cost trillions of dollars over the next several years, and

Whereas, Republicans and conservatives across America united against President Obama’s stimulus plan, which was forced through the legislative process without a single Republican vote in the House of Representatives, and

Whereas, the proposed “high-speed rail” linking Orlando and Tampa would be overwhelmingly subsidized by funds appropriated from the aforementioned Obama stimulus, and

Whereas, historical data suggests that budget overruns are pervasive in over 90% of rail projects, and

Whereas, any budget overruns would be incurred by Florida taxpayers, and

Whereas, if revenues generated by “high-speed rail” are insufficient to cover its costs, Florida taxpayers would likely be forced to subsidize it in perpetuity, and

Whereas, if future lawmakers were to ever decide to dismantle “high-speed rail” due to cost overruns, underutilization, or any other factor, Florida would have to return the $2.4 billion to the federal government, NOW, THEREFORE,

Be it resolved by the Young Republicans Club of Tallahassee, a chapter duly chartered by the Florida Federation of Young Republicans:

That its leadership and membership support Florida Governor Rick Scott’s rejection of borrowed federal funds to subsidize a “high-speed rail” project between the metropolitan areas of Tampa and Orlando, Florida.

Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be dispatched to the Governor, President of the Florida Senate, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Florida Federation of Young Republicans, and to members of the media.