Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) joined U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy during a visit to the Los Angeles Union Station to shed light on the gross mismanagement of California's High-Speed Rail project by launching a compliance review of the $4 billion in federal funds allocated to the project.
As Secretary Duffy witnessed firsthand, the project's promised completion date of 2020 has ballooned to a staggering unknown, with costs skyrocketing from an initial $34 billion to a mind-boggling $128 billion. To make matters worse, taxpayers are shouldering the entire burden, contrary to promises that 20% of the funding would come from private sources.
The numbers are equally alarming: $13.7 billion spent to date, with $1.6 billion squandered on marketing materials and consultants. The sole completed segment, connecting a field and an orchard, has cost an astonishing $1.4 billion for a mere 22 miles of raised dirt and 11 overpass structures – with zero feet of track laid.
"We appreciate Secretary Duffy's attention to this blatant example of government waste and mismanagement," said Senator Shannon Grove. "The people of the state of California were lied to, they were told this was going to be a $33 billion project and that we would be on a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just over 2 hours, yet there is not any track connected. It's time for California to reexamine its priorities and stop wasting federal taxpayer funds, focusing on vital needs like wildfire protection, natural disaster response, and water infrastructure."
Last week, Senator Shannon Grove and her colleagues sent a letter to the White House calling for an audit on the high-speed rail funding. Senator Grove is appreciative of Secretary Duffy’s quick response to this call for action and is thankful for his commitment to transparency and accountability to the taxpayers of California. Senator Grove looks forward to his forthcoming investigation into the High-Speed Rail project and echo his call for a thorough examination of this boondoggle.