$4 BILLION TAKEN FROM THE HIGH-SPEED FAIL SYSTEM

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

The Feds, via the DOT, have (as previously threatened) just pulled $4 billion sort-of scheduled for the so-called California High-Speed Rail Authority.  They are also looking to audit previous expenditures of federal money with an eye towards recovering some of it which may have been spent inappropriately.

The HSRA was created by voter initiative in 2008.  It was supposed to be up and running by 2020 with a total budget of $33 billion.  There were performance benchmarks built into the law which was passed by voters to ensure that things went as promised.  The system has met NONE of those performance bench marks.  Not one.  In fact at least one lawsuit was filed to shut down the project based on those failures but the CA courts have a sometimes very interesting way of looking at what the voters want.  Like not giving a shit.

The HSRA now asserts that the system (assuming they can get funding) will cost $135 billion and will be up and running in another ten years.  Maybe.  Also, under ideal circumstances, the system will be a lot less high-speed than was originally planned.

Gavin Newsom is screaming like a mashed cat.  He is asserting that it is illegal for the feds to not continue giving them grants of money to pour down the toilet.  I am confident it will generate another lawsuit.  I am also confident it will go nowhere when it is fully adjudicated.  As the SecTrans points out DOT grants are not presents.  They have strings attached.  You have to actually do something with them and not just spend money.