Trump Administration Pulls $929 Million In Funding For California's High-Speed Rail

An anonymous reader shares a report from CNBC: The Federal Railroad Administration announced Thursday that it terminated a 2010 agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority and will pull a nearly $929 million federal grant. In a release, the FRA said the California agency 'repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of the FY10 agreement and has failed to make reasonable progress on the project.' At the same time, the federal agency said, 'California has abandoned its original vision of a high-speed passenger rail service connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, which was essential to its applications for FRA grant funding.' In addition, the FRA said it 'continues to consider all options regarding the return of $2.5 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds awarded to CHSRA.' 'The Trump administration's action is illegal and a direct assault on California, our green infrastructure, and the thousands of Central Valley workers who are building this project,' Newsom said in a statement Thursday. 'Just as we have seen from the Trump administration's attacks on our clean air standards, our immigrant communities and in countless other areas, the Trump administration is trying to exact political retribution on our state. This is California's money, appropriated by Congress, and we will vigorously defend it in court.'

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