By James Bickerton
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Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Representative Sam Graves of Missouri have written to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg demanding answers about what they called a "highly questionable" new high-speed rail line in California.
The Republicans are raising concerns about the California High-Speed Rail project which is intended to link San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim in its first stage and is currently under construction. There are subsequent proposals to extend the line to Sacramento in the north and San Diego in the south, though these have not been confirmed.
The past few years have seen a renaissance in plans for high-speed railways, with construction beginning in January on a 218-mile line intended to link Las Vegas, Nevada, to southern California. In April, President Joe Biden endorsed a proposed 240-mile-per-hour line linking Houston and Dallas in Texas. There are also proposals for a line connecting Dallas to Fort Worth.
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ABC News was the first to report the news and said it obtained a copy of the letter from Cruz, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Graves, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, to Buttigieg.
The two Republicans called on the Department of Transportation to give briefings to both congressional committees covering both the "highly questionable" project's progress and the recent grant of $3 billion to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is building the network, via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Cruz and Graves said the "California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) still has not completed a single segment of the system, the total estimated cost has ballooned to $128 billion and counting, and there is no expected completion date."
They continued: "Despite evidence that continues to show that the California High Speed Rail project has critical issues indicating there is no reasonable path forward for successful completion of the project...the Biden administration continues to allocate substantial federal taxpayer dollars to this highly questionable endeavor."
A Department of Transportation spokesperson defended the project, telling ABC News, "High-speed rail will revolutionize travel and expand economic opportunity here in America.
"We're not only supporting projects that are underway, and, in the case of California, already employing thousands of people. We're also building a pipeline of potential projects across the country that will take shape in the decades to come."
Speaking to Newsweek about the letter, a spokesperson for the California High-Speed Rail Authority said: "We've just seen a copy of the letter referenced. We are reviewing it and take the issue seriously. We stand ready to respond to the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] and US DOT [Department of Transportation] at their request.
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Despite his skepticism over the California project, Cruz previously expressed support for a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas.
Speaking to Newsweek, the senator said the proposal would "create jobs and support the economy, but it needs to get the permitting and capital to go forward.
"If the project is completed, I'm sure a great many Texans would use it and appreciate an easy and fast way to travel between Houston and Dallas.
Cruz insisted the project wouldn't alter Texas's primarily car-based culture, commenting: "We Texans love our cars, love our trucks, but the trip between Houston and Dallas is one many Texans make regularly.
"My family is divided between Houston and Dallas, so I've made that trip my whole life. It's not a terrible drive, but it would certainly be more convenient to get on a high-speed rail."
Update 5/30/24 3:00 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
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