Cynthia Barnett | 9/28/2011

Government Investment

The Texas Capitol in Austin

Hillwood's Michael K. Berry attributes much of the AllianceTexas success to vigorous federal, state and local involvement, including public-private partnerships and plenty of political muscle. The fact that U.S. Congressman Jim Wright of Fort Worth was the U.S. House Speaker in 1987 and bought into Perot's vision for an air-rail transportation hub cannot be overstated, says Berry. A 10-year House Majority Leader who became Speaker in January that year, Wright helped convince the FAA to spend more than $30 million — 90% of the cost — to build the Fort Worth Alliance airport on land donated by the Perot family. The airport is owned by the city of Fort Worth and managed by Alliance Air/Aviation Services, another Hillwood company.

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Given the federal budget squeeze, the lack of a comparable Floridian in such a powerful position, and Scott's well-established bias against federal spending and involvement, it's hard to image conditions favoring that sort of push here.

Tags: Politics & Law, Around Florida, Government/Politics & Law