Georgia Legislature Blasts O'Hare Modernization Program as Wasteful Project

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A resolution has been introduced in the Georgia Legislature calling Chicago's O'Hare Modernization Program, or OMP, a "Runway to Nowhere" and describing the project as "ill-conceived and premature." House Resolution 535 was introduced by Representative Joe Wilkinson, Chairman of the House Ethics Committee. It calls on Georgia Congressional delegation to stop all wasteful federal spending in relation to President Obama's recently approved stimulus package. The cost of OMP, which would add a third terminal to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, is currently estimated at approximately $20 billion.

"President Obama was right to warn the nation's mayors that he would call them out for spending federal tax dollars on pork. He should start with his hometown mayor," said Representative Wilkinson. "Here is a public works project that's riddled with allegations of corruption. As an extension of the Rod Blagojevich investigation, crony contractors are being charged with fraudulent bid-rigging schemes, and Chicago's mayor wants upwards of $20 billion from the American taxpayers to pay for it? If that's not pork, I don't know what is."

No one in Illinois is publicly acknowledging where the stimulus funds for the state will be used but there has been speculation that a significant portion will be used for the O'Hare Modernization Program. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has yet to reveal how and where he would like stimulus funds to be used. Given that the state of Illinois will not invest in the project, and the city of Chicago does not have the resources, it's likely the mayor will go around state government and take his case directly to Washington.

"Why should the people of Georgia and the rest of the nation cough up $20 billion to build an airport in Chicago, when their own state won't even pay for it?" continued Wilkinson. "Compare Chicago's project to Atlanta's request of $500 million for the new Hartsfield-Jackson international terminal. Atlanta and Chicago have virtually identical airports with identical traffic volume, yet Chicago's terminal will cost more than $19 billion more the proposed Atlanta project, and the airlines have affirmed that it will do very little to alleviate flight delays. The American people were right to stand up against the 'bridge to nowhere,' and it's time to do the same with the 'runway to nowhere.'"

Work on the next phase of the O'Hare expansion has not begun and funding for the $20 billion Program has not been secured. FAA studies show that the expansion will not provide any significant improvement of airline delays or alleviate congestion at O'Hare. Aviation experts say that OMP will instead produce massive delays and increase costs for both consumers and airlines during and after initial construction. In addition, the airlines, including United Airlines and American Airlines, have also called the OMP plan "ill-conceived" and "premature."

www.stop-omp.org is dedicated to stopping the senseless, ill advised and flawed O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP) and preventing further unnecessary displacement of families and the wasting of taxpayer dollars. Community leaders, concerned citizens, aviation industry leaders and economic experts continue to urge the FAA to adopt viable alternatives. These include runway configurations proposed by the Chicago air traffic controllers, use of congestion management techniques, reliance on other nearby airports, and construction of a third airport.

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Carbon Motors Corporation Announces Five US States on Short List for 10,000 New American Jobs

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carbon Motors Corporation announced today that 5 US States have made the short list for the location of the Carbon Campus, which will house the entirety of the company’s operations. Carbon Motors is a bold, new homeland security company that has developed the Carbon E7, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle. Independent projections forecast that 10,000 new sustainable direct and indirect American jobs will be created driving a $3 billion positive economic impact over ten years in the selected region. Formal Request for Proposals (RFPs) have been issued to local, state, and federal authorities in:

* Georgia (Braselton and Pooler)
* Indiana (Connersville)
* Michigan (Plymouth)
* North Carolina (Charlotte)
* South Carolina (Greenville and Spartanburg)

“We are keeping our commitment to share transparently with the public our discussions regarding the site location for Carbon Motors as we work to foster the public-private sector collaboration needed to provide our first responders the equipment they so sorely need,” said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Carbon Motors Corporation.

“Moreover, as we have traveled across the nation during the Pure Justice Tour, we have become even more attuned to the critical needs of our first responders and the nation as a whole. We must innovate our way out of this national crisis, show courage and leadership despite the challenges, create new American jobs quickly, secure our homeland, re-energize our industrial sector, eliminate wasteful government spending, and address our critical energy issues. The White House has called for the country’s entrepreneurs to help bring America back to its rightful glory – we are here to do exactly just that with the most visible government fleet in the country,” continued Li.

“Beyond all the benefits that the Carbon E7 provides, our country has a moral obligation to provide our nation’s 840,000 law enforcement first responders with the world-class equipment needed to secure our homeland. We look forward to working closely with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice as well as the White House and Auto Task Force to insure that we provide our brave women and men in law enforcement the same capability, protection and support that we provide our U.S. soldiers in a theatre of war. Absolutely nothing less will suffice,” said Li.

KEY FACTS

* American Jobs – the over 450,000 law enforcement patrol vehicles that protect and secure our communities across America are not manufactured in the USA. The Carbon E7 will be produced in one of five U.S. States under consideration.
* Energy – the nation’s law enforcement government fleet burns through an estimated 1.5 billion gallons of fuel annually and emits an estimated 14 million tons of CO2; the Carbon E7 will cut that by up to 40% using clean diesel technology, also capable of running on biodiesel
* Homeland Security – over 7 years after 9-11 our country’s 840,000 law enforcement first responders continue to utilize inconsistently outfitted retail passenger vehicles meant for consumer use which do not provide the safety and performance capabilities appropriate to secure our homeland; over 2,800 law enforcement professionals across all 50 US States at the local, state, and federal level helped design the Carbon E7 to specifically address their needs in the field
* Wasteful Government Spending – unlike the U.S. Department of Defense that oversees our military operations, the country’s over 19,000 law enforcement agencies have very limited economies of scale in purchasing the equipment they need and are forced to utilize an outdated and wildly inefficient process to operate and service these vehicles in the field. Moreover, they experience unnecessarily high operating costs due to unacceptable fuel economy, poor durability, excessive service requirements, and critical safety concerns. The Carbon E7 will reduce the total life cycle costs as well as the overall taxpayer burden required to support our law enforcement operations and provide dramatic improvements in safety and effectiveness at the same time.
* Industrial Investment – Carbon Motors will invest over $350 million into developing and producing the Carbon E7, which is slated for start of production in 2012. This amount is less than 1.5% of the $25 billion administered by the U.S. Department of Energy for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. Carbon Motors looks to work with federal authorities to balance the amount of backing provided to struggling legacy players with support provided to those looking to innovate and leverage best practices to reinvigorate America’s leadership in the industrial sector.

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