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Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach), Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, issued the following statement after legislative Democrats recently voted to waste another $700,000 of taxpayers’ dollars to further study the problematic high-speed rail.
“The skyrocketing costs and lack of transparency surrounding this mismanaged high-speed rail project further erode the public’s trust.
"California does not have a revenue problem, we have a wasteful spending problem. Californians are sensitive to government waste, and this project stands out as one of the most significant examples of budgetary waste in the state.
“This is yet another expensive, state-funded study of California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project. How many studies does one train need?
“We are well beyond the original completion date of 2020, and I am concerned that the high-speed rail project TODAY is not the same project that voters passed in 2008.”
As Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Senator Strickland repeatedly has urged his colleagues in the Senate to have a serious discussion about the failed project, including redirecting the high-speed rail funds to reduce the gas tax.
Background:
The High-Speed Rail project is projected to cost $128 billion and rising, a nearly 300% increase from the initial $33 billion sold to the voters as Prop. 1A in 2008. With the aspiration of connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2020, currently, only 171 miles of track are under construction on this project that will now only connect from Bakersfield to Merced and is not projected to be complete until 2033 at the earliest.