Liberals have been obsessed with building high-speed rail systems across America for decades.
The Biden administration was no different as they poured taxpayer dollars into fantasy projects.
And Sean Duffy hit Democrats with a brutal wake-up call after shutting down Biden’s rail fantasy.
Transportation Secretary Duffy terminates wasteful $64 million high-speed rail project
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Monday that his department is saving American taxpayers a fortune by pulling the plug on a Biden-era boondoggle in Texas.
The Department of Transportation reached an agreement with Amtrak to terminate a $63.9 million grant that was supposed to fund a high-speed rail project connecting Dallas and Houston.
“I am pleased to announce that FRA and Amtrak are in agreement that underwriting this project is a waste of taxpayer funds and a distraction from Amtrak’s core mission of improving its existing subpar services,” Duffy said.
The former Wisconsin Congressman made it clear that if the private sector thinks the project is viable, they should fund it themselves.
“If the private sector believes this project is feasible, they should carry the pre-construction work forward, rather than relying on Amtrak and the American taxpayer to bail them out,” Duffy added.
Biden’s rail fantasy has turned into a $40 billion nightmare
The Texas Central Railway project was initially announced as a private venture, but quickly turned into a taxpayer-funded nightmare.
Cost estimates for the project have skyrocketed to more than $40 billion, making it a risky gamble with taxpayer money.
The Biden administration tried desperately to keep the project alive, considering massive loans backed by the U.S. government and additional grants to fund construction activities.
FRA Chief Counsel Kyle Fields admitted that “federalizing the Texas Central Railway proposal is not the best use of taxpayer funding,” a stunning about-face from the Biden administration’s rail obsession.
Amtrak can barely keep its trains running on time
The truth is that Amtrak has bigger issues to worry about than building shiny new rail lines in Texas.
The government-funded rail service continues to struggle with massive operating deficits and can barely keep its existing services running properly.
Amtrak has lost much of its Horizon coach fleet to corrosion and faces significant delays in the heavily-traveled Northeast Corridor.
These operational failures have made fixing Amtrak’s existing problems a top priority for the Federal Railroad Administration.
Duffy is putting taxpayers first
Secretary Duffy’s decision to pull the plug on this wasteful project shows that the Trump administration is committed to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.
The $60 million saved by terminating the Texas boondoggle will be redirected to projects that actually improve existing rail transportation instead of building fantasy rail lines.
This is a significant departure from the previous administration’s approach, which seemed more interested in ribbon-cutting ceremonies than in making sure existing infrastructure actually worked.
Under Biden, Amtrak became a slush fund for pie-in-the-sky projects that had little chance of success but looked good in press releases.
Duffy is bringing much-needed fiscal discipline back to the Department of Transportation by prioritizing essential infrastructure improvements over flashy but impractical new ventures.
The Transportation Secretary has shown that the Trump administration will not rubber-stamp wasteful spending projects just because they carry the “green” label or fulfill a liberal fantasy.
Instead, Duffy is focused on making sure transportation dollars are spent wisely to benefit actual Americans who rely on our nation’s infrastructure every day.
This decision sends a clear message that the days of throwing taxpayer money at unproven, overpriced “green” infrastructure projects are over.
The Texas rail project is just the latest example of the Biden administration’s reckless spending habits that the Trump administration is working to correct.
