The House Oversight Committee opened an investigation into the California high-speed rail project amid concerns that cost and ridership estimates were misrepresented to secure federal and state funding. Rep. James Comer requested documents, communications, and a staff-level briefing from the U.S. Department of Transportation by Sept. 2 related to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The inquiry seeks records from the Authority and any California entity or third party that solicited taxpayer funds. The request also seeks DOT analyses on project viability, property acquisition, contracts, environmental reviews, and ridership projections amid allegations of misleading forecasts and cost overruns.
The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into California's high-speed rail project earlier this week, probing whether cost and ridership estimates were "misrepresented" in order to secure federal and state funding. Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, requested documents and communications, as well as a "staff-level briefing" from the U.S. Department of Transportation by Sept. 2, related to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Comer, in his letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, said the request is "to better understand the allocation of taxpayer dollars."
"As part of our investigation, we are seeking to understand whether the Authority knowingly misrepresented the ridership projections and the associated financial viability of the California High-Speed Rail Project to secure federal and state funds," Comer said in a statement.
"The Authority's apparent repeated use of misleading ridership projections, despite longstanding warnings from experts, raises serious questions about whether funds were allocated under false pretenses," Comer said. "The massive cost overruns and lack of progress warrant a reassessment of whether CHSRA acted with transparency and complied with the law."
#california-high-speed-rail #house-oversight-committee #ridership-projections #federal-funding #cost-overruns
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