T&I’s reconciliation section is chock full of progressive transportation priorities. It’s got $10 billion for transit, tucked into a new joint HUD/FTA program on housing access. It also has $10 billion specifically for high-speed rail, money that many Democrats have been calling for.
The nation’s rail networks have the potential to offer safe, reliable, efficient, and climate-friendly alternatives for moving people and freight. However, unlike highways and transit, rail lacks a multi-year funding stream to address deferred maintenance, enhance existing corridors, and build new lines in high-potential locations. There are currently projects just waiting to be funded [emphasis added] that will give millions more Americans reliable and fast inter-city train service.
The breakdown comes out to about $57 billion from that pot that the California HSR Authority could compete for, in addition to the $10 billion that just got tossed on the pile.
A breakdown of potential money pots from D.C.'s infrastructure bill, *before* the $10 billion HSR fund. Source: CAHSRAfalse
Rod Diridon, Sr., Co-Chair of the US High Speed Rail Coalition, attributes the additional $10 billion to "the US HSR Coalition's negotiating successes with the House T&I Committee." This has involved some serious heavyweights, including former Republican and Democratic Transportation Secretaries Mineta, LaHood, and Foxx ...what a team! We're so happy to share appreciation for Andy Kunz and the venerable US HSR Association, supported by APTA and others, for sponsoring this massive coalition."
Meanwhile, California's State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is so "concerned" about HSR not getting funded that he repeated his vow to make sure it's never funded.
Rendon also repeated the tired lie that the Central Valley segment is isolated. “I think the, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ theory is pure fantasy,” Rendon told NBC Bay Area. “They will come where? How will they magically appear in Merced?” Reporter Stephen Stock, once again, participated in this lie.
The founders of the Bay Area's advocacy group dedicated to fare integration and rational schedules talk about a half-decade of fighting for better transit and what's likely to happen in the next five years.
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