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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - February 10, 2011
High-Speed Rail Becomes First Obama-GOP Budget Battle
by: Steven Thomma
McClatchy Newspapers
Washington - In a preview of the epic budget fight that
will kick off in earnest next week, the Obama administr-
ation on Monday proposed a $53 billion plan for high-
speed rail, and Republicans who control the purse strings
said not so fast.
The quick clash over a relatively small item in a budget
expected to total about $3.8 trillion that President
Barack Obama will propose next Monday underscored how
tough it could be for Obama and the Congress to agree on
federal spending.
Obama wants to increase spending on such things as educa-
tion, energy, research and the nation's infrastructure.
He calls them "investments" to help U.S. businesses speed
goods and information, create jobs and compete against
foreign rivals.
But Republicans who control the House of Representatives
say that cutting such spending, not increasing it, is
key to improving the economy. And Republicans who won
governor's offices Wisconsin and Ohio in November have
rejected federal money already allocated for rail projects
in their states.
The first clash came over the White House proposal to
spend $8 billion in the coming fiscal year on high-speed
trains, with $45 billion more coming over the following
five years.
"If we do not, you tell me how America is going to be
able to lead the world in the 21st Century," said Vice
President Joe Biden.
Biden, a regular train rider when he was a senator
commuting to and from his home in Delaware to Washington,
traveled by train Tuesday to Philadelphia's 30th Street
Station to pitch the benefits of the proposal to build
high-speed rail lines or improve speed on existing lines.
He said the plan would focus on three types of rail
projects: a national high-speed rail network with speeds
between 125 mph and 250 mph; regional lines where speed
would be increased to 90-125 mph; and lines with speeds
as much as 90 mph that would link to higher-speed national
or regional lines.
Outside the Northeast Corridor, which serves the densely
populated region from Washington to Boston, most of
Amtrak's trains currently travel no faster than 79 mph.
Biden said the spending plan would build on $10.5 billion
already allocated for rail projects ? $8 billion from the
2009 stimulus law and $2.5 billion in last year's budget.
"These investments are already paying economic dividends
in places like Brunswick, Maine, where construction
workers are laying track that will provide the first rail
service since the 1940s from Brunswick to Portland to
Boston," he said.
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But that money was approved when the Democrats controlled
the House of Representatives.
Republicans who chair key committees signaled Tuesday that
the new GOP-controlled House will be much more skeptical,
if not hostile, to taxpayer-subsidized rail.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the chairman of the House Transport-
ation Committee, said the first $10.5 billion was poorly
allocated, mostly to projects that aren't what he considers
truly high-speed.
"Rather than focusing on the Northeast Corridor, the most
congested corridor in the nation and the only corridor
owned by the federal government, the administration
continues to squander limited taxpayer dollars on marginal
projects," Mica said.
Approving more money, he said, "is like giving Bernie
Madoff another chance at handling your investment
portfolio."
Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., the chairman of the panel's Rail-
road Subcommittee, complained that the Obama administration
has ignored a requirement for competition on money-losing
Amtrak routes. He also said that Obama's failed to show
how he's allocated money so far.
"I have no problem with sound investments in alternative
transportation projects," he said. "But selecting routes
behind closed doors runs counter to the administration's
pledges of transparency. I am concerned that without
appropriate controls to ensure the most worthy projects
are the ones that receive funding, high-speed rail fund-
ing could become another political grab bag for the
president."
Obama's also finding it tough to sell taxpayer-financed
high-speed rail beyond Congress.
In Wisconsin, newly inaugurated Republican Gov. Scott
Walker said he'll refuse $810 million from the federal
government for a rail link from Milwaukee to Madison.
He said it would cost the state millions more to maintain
it, money the state can't afford.
That also jeopardizes hopes for a high-speed line from
Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul that would run through
Wisconsin.
In Ohio, new Republican Gov. John Kasich said no thanks
to $400 million in federal money already in the pipeline
toward a rail line linking Cleveland, Columbus and
Cincinnati. Kasich said the state couldn't afford its
designated share.
The Obama administration has reallocated the cash from
Ohio and Wisconsin to other states. The largest recipients
are California and Florida, getting roughly $600 million
and $300 million respectively for high-speed rail
projects. Other states, such as Illinois and Washington,
got lesser amounts.
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