Rep. Mike Garcia (CA-25) offered an amendment during the House Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2023 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Bill that would prohibit federal funds from being used for California’s failing High-Speed Rail project.
Originally, the high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco was estimated to cost about $33 billion and begin operating in 2020. However, the failed project is now projected to cost $105 billion and counting, and still has no concrete date of completion.
“This rail project was meant to cost the taxpayers only so much, and yet the failing execution of this project is now resulting in a ballooning cost estimate without a realistic timeline for completion. The coordinate system for this project is completely out of whack from its initial plan, which is why I proposed there be no further federal dollars wasted here,” Garcia said.
“This is a straightforward amendment,” he added. “I’m not anti-trains. I think they serve a purpose in the greater metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco. I am however against anti-government waste and that is why I proposed this amendment.”
Garcia’s amendment was ultimately shot down by the Democrat majority in the committee.
Last year, Garcia advocated against funding the California Rail Project to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development hearing.
