‘It’s time for this boondoggle to die’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Railroad Administration terminated approximately $4 billion in unspent federal funding for California’s High Speed Rail Boondoggle. After 16 years and roughly $15 billion spent, not one high speed track has been laid by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The $135 billion projected total cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and LA resident nearly 200 roundtrip flights between the cities.
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results. After over a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “It’s time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.”
The decision follows FRA’s exhaustive compliance review, after which the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) was given two opportunities to respond consistent with the grant agreements. Neither response addressed FRA’s significant concerns. CHSRA simply cannot meet its obligations under the grant agreement.
Read the full termination here.
In addition to canceling $4 billion in unspent federal funds to CHSRA, Secretary Duffy has directed FRA to review other obligated and unobligated grants related to the CHSRA project. The Department of Transportation will also consult with the Department of Justice on the finding of FRA’s Compliance Review, including potentially clawing back funding related to California’s train to nowhere and other potential issues under Federal law.
Additional Information:
CHSRA’s own Inspector General issued a report in February noting serious issues with the project, including that CHSRA would not complete the Merced to Bakersfield line by 2033.
Following this report, FRA conducted an exhaustive Compliance Review, which resulted in a comprehensive report over 300 pages long, containing 9 key findings, and ultimately concluding that CHSRA could not meet its binding obligations under the agreements it made to receive Federal funding.
The findings included:
By terminating these grant agreements, FRA is saving taxpayers nearly $4 billion. FRA will start exploring how these funds can be made available to viable and meritorious passenger rail projects.
LaMalfa, California Republicans Urge Secretary Duffy to Redirect High-Speed Rail Funds to Highway Projects
Washington, D.C.--Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) along with members of the California Republican delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging that the $4 billion recently recovered from the failed California High-Speed Rail project be redirected to long-overdue highway improvements across the state.
The letter outlines key projects for the federal funding, including expansion and repairs to State Route 99, Interstates 5 and 395, State Routes 65 and 70 as well as others. Some key features highlighted in the letter are improvements requested near San Louis Reservoir and Lake Shasta to allow for both reservoirs to be expanded, as well as the Marysville bypass.
“California drivers have been stuck in traffic on worn-out, undersized highways while billions were wasted on this boondoggle,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “It’s decades behind and over $100 billion short. Finally, this is an opportunity to get serious about upgrading our highways and make improvements that also clear the way to build additional water storage capacity. Instead, we should be clearing bottlenecks, moving freight, and getting people where they need to go. The federal government took this money back from a failing, worthless project, and now we can use that money in a way that truly helps Californians. These projects have been put off for too long. We need real infrastructure that real people can use.”
A full copy of the letter can be found 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.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Railroad Administration terminated approximately $4 billion in unspent federal funding for California’s High Speed Rail Boondoggle. After 16 years and roughly $15 billion spent, not one high speed track has been laid by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The $135 billion projected total cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and LA resident nearly 200 roundtrip flights between the cities.
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results. After over a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “It’s time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.”
The decision follows FRA’s exhaustive compliance review, after which the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) was given two opportunities to respond consistent with the grant agreements. Neither response addressed FRA’s significant concerns. CHSRA simply cannot meet its obligations under the grant agreement.
Read the full termination here.
In addition to canceling $4 billion in unspent federal funds to CHSRA, Secretary Duffy has directed FRA to review other obligated and unobligated grants related to the CHSRA project. The Department of Transportation will also consult with the Department of Justice on the finding of FRA’s Compliance Review, including potentially clawing back funding related to California’s train to nowhere and other potential issues under Federal law.
Additional Information:
CHSRA’s own Inspector General issued a report in February noting serious issues with the project, including that CHSRA would not complete the Merced to Bakersfield line by 2033.
Following this report, FRA conducted an exhaustive Compliance Review, which resulted in a comprehensive report over 300 pages long, containing 9 key findings, and ultimately concluding that CHSRA could not meet its binding obligations under the agreements it made to receive Federal funding.
The findings included:
- CHSRA has executed numerous change orders and will likely have many more change orders in the near future to account for contractor expenses as a result of project delays.
- CHSRA has already missed its deadline for finalizing its rolling stock procurement.
- CHSRA has at least a $7 billion funding gap to complete the EOS, with no credible plan to secure additional funds.
- CHSRA does not have a viable path to complete the EOS by 2033 per its commitment in the FY10 Agreement and the FSP Agreement.
- CHSRA relies on volatile non-federal funding sources, which present significant project risk.
- CHSRA lacks time and money to electrify the EOS by 2033.
- CHSRA’s budget contingency is inadequate to cover anticipated contractor delay claims.
- CHSRA has overrepresented its ridership projections for the EOS substantially.
- CHSRA lacks the capacity to deliver the EOS by 2033.
By terminating these grant agreements, FRA is saving taxpayers nearly $4 billion. FRA will start exploring how these funds can be made available to viable and meritorious passenger rail projects.
LaMalfa, California Republicans Urge Secretary Duffy to Redirect High-Speed Rail Funds to Highway Projects
Washington, D.C.--Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) along with members of the California Republican delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging that the $4 billion recently recovered from the failed California High-Speed Rail project be redirected to long-overdue highway improvements across the state.
The letter outlines key projects for the federal funding, including expansion and repairs to State Route 99, Interstates 5 and 395, State Routes 65 and 70 as well as others. Some key features highlighted in the letter are improvements requested near San Louis Reservoir and Lake Shasta to allow for both reservoirs to be expanded, as well as the Marysville bypass.
“California drivers have been stuck in traffic on worn-out, undersized highways while billions were wasted on this boondoggle,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “It’s decades behind and over $100 billion short. Finally, this is an opportunity to get serious about upgrading our highways and make improvements that also clear the way to build additional water storage capacity. Instead, we should be clearing bottlenecks, moving freight, and getting people where they need to go. The federal government took this money back from a failing, worthless project, and now we can use that money in a way that truly helps Californians. These projects have been put off for too long. We need real infrastructure that real people can use.”
A full copy of the letter can be found 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.
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