The Home Oversight Committee launched an investigation into California’s high-speed rail undertaking earlier this week, probing whether or not price and ridership estimates have been “misrepresented” with a view to safe federal and state funding.
Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, requested paperwork and communications, in addition to a “staff-level briefing” from the U.S. Division of Transportation by Sept. 2, associated to the California Excessive-Pace Rail Authority. Comer, in his letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, mentioned the request is “to raised perceive the allocation of taxpayer {dollars}.”
“As a part of our investigation, we’re searching for to grasp whether or not the Authority knowingly misrepresented the ridership projections and the related monetary viability of the California Excessive-Pace Rail Undertaking to safe federal and state funds,” Comer mentioned in an announcement.
“The Authority’s obvious repeated use of deceptive ridership projections, regardless of longstanding warnings from consultants, raises critical questions on whether or not funds have been allotted underneath false pretenses,” Comer mentioned. “The huge price overruns and lack of progress warrant a reassessment of whether or not CHSRA acted with transparency and complied with the legislation.”
The letter to Duffy — who has been important of the high-speed rail undertaking himself — requested for paperwork and communications from the Excessive-Pace Rail Authority and “some other California entity or third get together” to the Transportation Division “to solicit or procure state and federal taxpayer funds” for the undertaking.
It additionally requested for paperwork from the Transportation Division “analyzing the event and sustained viability of the undertaking,” associated to acquisition of property, contracts, environmental evaluations and ridership projections.
A spokesperson for the rail authority pushed again on the accusations raised in Comer’s announcement of the accusation, calling it “one other baseless try and manufacture controversy round America’s largest and most advanced infrastructure undertaking.”
“The Authority has already addressed these recycled criticisms in its response to the (Federal Railroad Administration’s) compliance assessment supported by details, noting the ridership critiques are ‘nonsensical,’ ‘cherrypicked and out-of-date, and due to this fact deceptive,’” the spokesperson mentioned.
Voters first approved $10 billion in borrowed funds in 2008 to cowl a few third of the estimated price, with a promise that the prepare could be up and operating by 2020, connecting Los Angeles, the Central Valley, San Francisco and different communities. 5 years past that deadline, no everlasting tracks have been laid, and its estimated price ticket has ballooned to over $100 billion.
A 2025 “undertaking replace” report from the rail authority exhibits a stretch of the deliberate route from Madera via mid-way between Kings and Bakersfield is “underneath building.” A smaller section outdoors of Bakersfield is taken into account “considerably full,” in line with the report.
The report says the undertaking has created almost 14,800 building jobs and touted “many new efforts underway to get to constructing quicker and laying tracks sooner — which in the end brings the key inhabitants facilities nearer collectively sooner.”
However a report launched Friday by the authority discovered that the undertaking’s Central Valley section, the one portion underneath building in the intervening time, is just not prone to be worthwhile when it’s up and operating, probably as early as 2032. Income is just anticipated to cowl between 45% to 74% of working prices, the Mercury Information reported.
The Trump administration final month pulled about $4 billion in unspent federal cash for the undertaking, which has lengthy been criticized by President Donald Trump and Republicans over its mounting price ticket and sluggish building.
The choice to drag the federal funding got here after a scathing federal report discovered there was “no viable path” to finish even a partial part of the long-delayed undertaking.
Duffy, then, mentioned he directed the Federal Railroad Administration to assessment different grants associated to the high-speed rail undertaking. He mentioned the Transportation Division, in session with the Division of Justice, will think about different strikes, “together with doubtlessly clawing again funding associated to” the undertaking.
Then, state Sen. Dave Cortese, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, mentioned the federal funding loss received’t “derail this undertaking,” sustaining it has sufficient assist from state funding.
He’s deliberate a press convention for Monday, Aug. 25, with different lawmakers, building commerce employees and labor leaders for updates concerning the undertaking.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the Lengthy Seaside Democrat who was not too long ago sworn in because the rating member on the Oversight Committee, is copied on Comer’s letter to Duffy.
Representatives for Garcia didn’t reply to requests for touch upon Friday.
