Despite setbacks that have hit California’s high speed rail project to connect San Francisco with Los Angeles, regional members of Congress are pushing for federal funding to be maintained by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
In a letter to Chao this week, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and 15 Democratic members of the California congressional delegation stressed California’s ongoing commitment to the project and begged the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to maintain its own. The department had earlier threatened to cancel $929 million in federal funding for the project, first appropriated by Congress in 2010. Despite assertions from critics, which include the president, the California writers claim that California has remained within compliance of the grant agreement’s terms.
“Cancelling the department’s commitment to fulfill its outstanding legal obligations and attempting to claw back funding already lawfully spent would be unjustified and harmful,” the members wrote. “This unprecedented action would invite years of litigation and would cause the federal government to be rightly viewed as an unreliable and politically motivated partner on all future infrastructure investments throughout the country.”
They asked for the USDOT to work constructively with them. They went on to stress the project’s progress, despite smaller federal share in the project than the 80 percent typically provided for new highway construction. They also pointed to the 2,600 workers and 488 small businesses the project’s funds currently keep employed.