Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s newly released compliance report confirming that California’s High-Speed Rail project is in default of its federal grant agreements and has no viable path to completion.
The 315-page report, released by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, cites years of mismanagement, missed deadlines, inflated ridership projections, and a staggering $7 billion funding gap just to complete a small segment between Merced and Bakersfield. The full cost of the project has now ballooned to $128 billion. Notably, the Federal Railroad Administration stated it has no confidence CHSRA will ever deliver an operating high-speed rail system and found that the state cannot support the representations it made when applying for Federal funds. In other words, California misled the federal government to secure billions in taxpayer dollars—and still has nothing to show for it.
“This report confirms what Californians have known for years: this project is a train to nowhere. It was supposed to be done by 2020. Now they’re saying 2030 just to finish a small stretch that costs more than the entire original plan. The price tag has quadrupled to $128 billion, they’re now an incredible $110 billion short, and have only raised about $17 billion after 17 years. They’ve barely built anything. It’s a waste of time, money, and trust—a shining example of government waste. The state has not held up its end of the deal. It’s well past time to shut this down and send the money to real infrastructure projects that can actually be delivered, like water storage that California desperately needs, or road repairs and traffic relief. I appreciate Secretary Duffy’s leadership in holding the line for taxpayers. It’s long past time for accountability,” said Rep. LaMalfa.
Congressman LaMalfa joined Secretary Duffy earlier this year at a press conference calling attention to the project’s mounting failures and urging a full federal review. The report issued today by the Federal Railroad Administration makes clear that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has failed to meet its basic obligations under the $4 billion in federal grant funding it received.
The DOT has given the state until mid-July to respond before the administration moves to terminate the grants. You can find a full copy of the letter and report, here.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.
###
The 315-page report, released by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, cites years of mismanagement, missed deadlines, inflated ridership projections, and a staggering $7 billion funding gap just to complete a small segment between Merced and Bakersfield. The full cost of the project has now ballooned to $128 billion. Notably, the Federal Railroad Administration stated it has no confidence CHSRA will ever deliver an operating high-speed rail system and found that the state cannot support the representations it made when applying for Federal funds. In other words, California misled the federal government to secure billions in taxpayer dollars—and still has nothing to show for it.
“This report confirms what Californians have known for years: this project is a train to nowhere. It was supposed to be done by 2020. Now they’re saying 2030 just to finish a small stretch that costs more than the entire original plan. The price tag has quadrupled to $128 billion, they’re now an incredible $110 billion short, and have only raised about $17 billion after 17 years. They’ve barely built anything. It’s a waste of time, money, and trust—a shining example of government waste. The state has not held up its end of the deal. It’s well past time to shut this down and send the money to real infrastructure projects that can actually be delivered, like water storage that California desperately needs, or road repairs and traffic relief. I appreciate Secretary Duffy’s leadership in holding the line for taxpayers. It’s long past time for accountability,” said Rep. LaMalfa.
Congressman LaMalfa joined Secretary Duffy earlier this year at a press conference calling attention to the project’s mounting failures and urging a full federal review. The report issued today by the Federal Railroad Administration makes clear that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has failed to meet its basic obligations under the $4 billion in federal grant funding it received.
The DOT has given the state until mid-July to respond before the administration moves to terminate the grants. You can find a full copy of the letter and report, here.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.
###
