California High-Speed Rail faces an investigation from the federal government on how it will spend $4 billion that was pledged by the Biden administration.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday in Los Angeles that the government has launched a compliance review into the project.
The backstory: California voters approved a high-speed rail line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2008.
- It was expected to cost $33 billion in total and be completed by 2020, but the project is well behind schedule, with only the Merced to Bakersfield segment set to open no sooner than 2031. The total cost for the project will also potentially cost $133 billion to finish it.
- The Biden administration allocated $4 billion to High-Speed Rail to help complete the 171-mile stretch in the Central Valley.
The big picture: Duffy announced that the review will help determine if the $4 billion should even be used on High-Speed Rail or moved to other projects.
- The federal government will investigate the delays to the project and the significant cost and budget increases with a compliance and performance review.
What they’re saying: “We’re going to look at whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority has actually complied with the agreements that they’ve signed with the federal government,” Duffy said at a press conference. “We can’t just say we’re going to give money and then not hold states accountable to how they spend that money.”
- Duffy said that President Donald Trump was correct in his assertion earlier this month that the project needed to be investigated.
- “If California wants to continue to invest, that’s fine, but we in the Trump administration are going to take a look at whether this project is worthy of a continual investment,” Duffy said.
- Several Republican lawmakers attended the press conference alongside Duffy, including Rep. Vince Fong (R–Bakersfield), State Sen. Shannon Grove (R–Bakersfield), Asm. David Tangipa (R–Clovis) and Asm. Alexandra Macedo (R–Tulare), among others.
- Fong said he has seen the failure of High-Speed Rail first-hand since it runs through his district and thanked Duffy for shining a light on the gross mismanagement of the project.
- “I look forward to working with Secretary Duffy and the Trump administration as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring sanity and common sense to California and to protect American taxpayers,” Fong said.
- Grove called High-Speed Rail a “failed project” and a “complete waste of money for California taxpayers and federal taxpayers.”
The other side: High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri released a statement in response saying the authority welcomes the investigation.
- “With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, every dollar is accounted for, and we stand by the progress and impact of this project,” Choudri said. “California’s high-speed rail is 171 miles under active construction, with over 50 major structures completed, 14,700 jobs created, and more than 880 small businesses engaged. This investment has already generated $22 billion in economic impact, primarily benefiting the Central Valley.”
