A U.S. House committee hearing about a high-speed train system between Los Angeles and San Francisco had opponents talking in circles for four hours on Thursday. The hearing, called "California's High Speed Rail Plan: Skyrocketing Costs & Project Concerns,"
included a heated and highly critical discussion led by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla), who has lately stepped away from his support of the transit mode.
Mica has made it clear that he is skeptical of the Obama administration's pet program. "The California project appears to be a disaster," he said in his opening statement. "The project seems to be imploding.
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/transportation/high-speed-project-railed-at-in-hearing.html
GOP lawmakers critical of Calif. rail proposal
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press
Thursday, December 15, 2011
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(12-15) 11:48 PST Washington, CA (AP) --
Republican lawmakers expressed doubts Thursday about the viability of California's high-speed rail project, indicating that it will be extremely difficult for supporters to generate the tens of billions of dollars in federal investment that will be needed to complete the proposed 800-mile line.
A House panel held an oversight hearing to review why the project has more than doubled in cost to $98.5 billion and why it's expected to take until 2033 to complete â€" 13 years longer than originally projected.
GOP Rep. John Mica of Florida, the chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, described the project as "imploding." He noted that the California line has received about $4 billion in federal money, or about a third of the government's investment in high speed rail nationally.
"That's a huge amount of money that will not show success," Mica said.
State voters approved $10 billion in funding for high-speed rail, but a recent poll shows dwindling support for the project, which would extend from Sacramento and San Francisco to San Diego. More government dollars will be needed, but several members of the Republican-controlled House indicated that the tap should be shut off.
Democratic lawmakers pushed back, saying the state's transportation network is overwhelmed and that alternatives are needed to keep the state economically competitive. They noted that China is undergoing a construction boom in high-speed rail.
Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of California said that with low interest rates and inflation, now is the perfect time to invest heavily in the high-speed rail line. He said that the nation relied on bold, visionary leaders to build the transcontinental railroad during the Civil War, the Hoover Dam during a depression and the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
"It sounds like some of you say we can't do anything," he said in response to the Republicans' criticism.
"It's never an easy thing to invest in the beginning," added Rep. Loretta Sanchez. "We must have the courage to say we need high-speed rail and that it makes sense for the backbone of California to have that in place and that it will cost money."
The high-speed rail line would be built in two phases. The first would extend from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim; the second would extend the line to Sacramento in the north and San Diego in the south. Proponents said that construction would generate 100,000 jobs over the next five years.
Rep Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said that some of money going to high-speed rail could be put to better use, such as building up infrastructure that would make more water available to California's farms and residents.
Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia observed early in the hearing that the political divide he was hearing from the GOP and Democratic members of the state's congressional delegation reminded him of the political battles over water supply that he had watched over the years.
"It's like a never-ending TV reality show," Rahall said.
Rohrabacher responded that he would rather be compared to a reality show than to be compared to "Fantasy Island," underscoring his belief that the project didn't make economic sense.
The Obama administration reiterated its support for the high-speed rail proposal in California. Joseph C. Szabo, administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration, said each stage of the line would generate an operating profit and would produce substantial public benefits, such as improved air quality and reduced congestion.
He said that private investors are interested in the project, but it's not realistic to expect substantial private investments until after initial construction.
"The worst thing we can do is show uncertainty," Szabo said.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Republican lawmakers are casting doubts on the viability of California's high-speed rail project and suggesting they're ready to halt federal funding to build the proposed 800-mile line.
A House panel held a hearing Thursday on the viability of the project, which has more than doubled in cost to $98.5 billion. GOP Rep. John Mica of Florida, the panel's chairman, described the project as "imploding." Others called it a boondoggle.
But Democratic lawmakers said the state's transportation network is overwhelmed and that alternatives are needed to keep the state economically competitive.
Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of California said that with low interest rates and inflation, now is the perfect time to invest heavily in the high-speed rail line.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/15/state/n114838S46.DTL#ixzz1gkLL7eFg
so are you going to run against him in 2012?
Based on the recent explosion of Faye postings... I have to say... welcome home Faye! Returning from Brazil? Amsterdam? :)
Quote from: tufsu1 on December 17, 2011, 10:17:49 AM
so are you going to run against him in 2012?
No, even though Mica will be drawn out of his district.
Funny thing was that we each lived on opposite ends of the district...............which was literally drawn around his house in a tiny sliver of Orange county, while I live just within walking distance from Duval county in St Johns.
The district snaked alongside Corinne Brown's district, with a rediculous distance from Orlando to Jax, spanning (portions of) 6 counties.
I just want more informed voters.........particularly when it comes to Transit.
The kind of Rick Scott lying that even John Mica does is counterproductive to good HSR planning. For example:
Quote“The entire high-speed rail program has been a bait and switch operation,†said T&I Chair John Mica (R-FL) â€" repeating his argument (refuted by federal officials) that none of the programs would deliver trains close to 220 mph.
http://transportationnation.org/2011/12/15/more-congressional-outrage-on-high-speed-rail/
My question is: Do we have a real Democracy, or do we have congressmen for life regardless of how bad they are for the public good?
Reality show antics are based on non-specific regressive fear mongering..............contrast that to Real American Vision:
In the end, Brown had this to say to HSR foes: “Critics of the high-speed rail project abound as they often do when something of this magnitude is proposed.
- During the 1930's, the Central Valley Water Project was called a ‘fantastic dream’ that ‘will not work.’
- The Master Plan for the Interstate Highway System in 1939 was derided as ‘New Deal jitterbug economics.’
- In 1966, then-Mayor Johnson of Berkeley called BART a ‘billion dollar potential fiasco.’
- Similarly, the Panama Canal was for years thought to be impractical and Benjamin Disraeli himself said of the Suez Canal: ‘totally impossible.’
Well, the critics were wrong then and they're wrong now.â€
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/18/browns-high-speed-rail-endorsement-draws-fire-prai/