This article had my attention all the way to the end, where the mindless blather of Ray LaHood in the final paragraph jarred me out of my reverie. Well, we've already covered Ray LaHood's HSR intentions in previous blogs. You should understand that these are a stage costume that covers the real agenda of shipping dollars to select states deemed worthy of reward or political stimulus according to the White House.
The central point in this article, which we all should pay close attention to, is the new intent of Congress, especially the House. Republicans are determined to reign in the so-called 'pump-priming' grant awards -- 'free money' -- being passed through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Democratic California has been awarded generously, given the available total amounts. But so far, it's not been a large amount of money by federal standards.
In California, several State agencies have been warning the CHSRA that starting this project (with federal funds) without any notion of where the rest of the funding is to come from is an exercise in futility. So far, no one is listening.
What the DOT and LaHood havn't been saying -- not one word -- is what the total costs of this high-speed rail vision would be if the funding demands actually approach reality. What the DOT Secretary is so enthusiastic about for his American high-speed rail dream will cost well over one trillion, perhaps as much as two trillion dollars. As Everett Dirksen famously said, "A billion here, a billion there. It's starting running into real money."
It's what happens to me whenever I drive past the Ferrari dealer. The difference is that I don't stop to shop, while LaHood is determined to have us go to some foreign store to buy his luxury train -- which he and we can't afford -- for the White House's political wardrobe. They believe that we need to look good to the rest of the world in order to remain the world's leader. I consider that simple-minded vanity.
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AHN All Headline News
Republican agenda takes aim at high-speed passenger rail funding
Source:(AHN)
Reporter:Tom Ramstack
Location:Washington, D.C., United States
Published:January 14, 2011 04:40 pm EST
Topics: Politics, Government, National Government, Economy, Business And Finance, Transport, Railway, Economy, Business And Finance, Transport, Road Transport
The new session of Congress resumes its normal schedule of hearings and debates next week with an agenda nearly certain to halt Obama administration transportation projects.
Among them is President Obama’s plan for a nationwide network of high-speed passenger trains.
Incoming chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee John Mica said he would try to limit spending to “what we can afford.”
He has been a harsh critic of government subsidies for Amtrak.
The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives approved procedural rules last week that remove transportation funding from long-range priorities.
The new rules make transportation funding subject to annual appropriations, which can vary widely if other priorities arise.
Republican leaders are calling for a 20 percent across-the-board reduction next year in major program funding, such as transportation.
Until now, passenger rail, highways and other transportation priorities operated with budgets that required minimum levels under the Highway Trust Fund. The fund receives money from the federal gasoline tax.
The rules the House set last week eliminate the minimums.
Potential projects on the chopping block include California’s planned 220-mph bullet train that would run the length of the state.
The rail line would cost an estimated $43 billion when it is fully built out to include Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The federal government has allocated $$2.25 billion to the project.
However, conflicting state and private feasibility studies disagree about whether enough people would ride it to make it worthwhile.
A Wall Street Journal editorial last month said “a realistic concern is that the state will have to terminate the project after completing the first segment because the feds and private investors won’t pay to finish it.”
Another blow to Obama’s high-speed rail plans came last month from the incoming governors of Wisconsin and Ohio.
Both decided to cancel their federally-funded passenger rail projects that already had received federal funding.
Republican governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio said the economic stimulus funding was a waste of taxpayer money.
The U.S. Transportation Department rerouted the $1.2 billion to other states for their rail projects.
“High-speed rail will modernize America’s valuable transportation network, while reinvigorating the manufacturing sector and putting people back to work in good-paying jobs,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “I am pleased that so many other states are enthusiastic about the additional support they are receiving to help bring America’s high-speed rail network to life.”
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And, as a bonus, here is another article with the same basic message; the new Republicans are not enthusiastic about High-Speed Rail. What we won't know until it actually happens is what these new House members will actually do when push comes to shove, and how will the new RNC head, Reince Priebus, lead them.
TransportationNation
New GOP Party Chief Not A High Speed Rail Fan
Posted on January 14, 2011.
http://transportationnation.org/2011/01/14/634new-gop-party-chief-not-a-high-speed-rail-fan/
Reince Priebus, Newly Elected RNC Chairman (Getty Images)
(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation)
The new head of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, is no fan of high speed rail. Priebus, who’s been serving as Chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party, worked strenuously for the election of Governor Scott Walker of of Wisconsin, who recently returned some $810 million in high speed rail stimulus funding to the federal government. U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood redistributed the money to other projects — mostly to California and Florida, who are actively working on rail systems.
Scott was the most vehement foe of high speed rail in the 2010 election cycle, setting up a anti-high speed rail website, notrain.com, and mocking rail investment in an “our roads” versus “their rail” television commercial.
Priebus wasn’t as vocal in his opposition, but he did mock the project in this July tweet:
“Wis Dems & WH are pushing an unpopular high-speed rail that the state can’t afford before Republicans can stop it. http://bit.ly/bpm21I”
National Republicans are showing little appetite for spending on big projects. In addition to Walker, NJ Governor Chris Christie recently killed a $9 billion commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River, and Florida Governor Rick Scott expressed queasiness over spending any state money on a Tampa to Orlando high speed rail line, now backed with $3 billion in federal funds.
But Priebus hasn’t exactly made opposition to high speed rail a central issue, and it remains to be seen whether such opposition finds its way into national GOP politics.
