FL high speed rail battle not over yet

Federal government involved

Marci Gilbert, Feb 21, 11.

Last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal money to build a high-speed rail line though the state, as reported by The Huffington Post. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with Florida’s congressional delegation late last week to discuss ways to circumvent the Governor to get the rail line built.

Many of his own Senate are not happy with Scott rejecting the money, and a “veto-proof majority of the Florida Senate rebuked Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday in a letter that urged the federal government to give the state $2.4 billion in high-speed rail money that Scott wants to reject” as reported by the St. Petersburg Times:

“Politics should have no place in the future of Florida’s transportation, as evidenced by this letter of bipartisan support,” said the letter signed by 26 members of the Republican-controlled Florida Senate.
“This project would create real jobs, cleaner and smarter transportation and true economic development for Floridians,” said the letter written to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Suggestions to the problem include:

It’s been suggested that the federal government could simply foot the entire bill for the project, rather than requiring Florida to put up matching funds. But if the administration shows a willingness to pick up the full tab, other governors could well follow Scott’s script.

LaHood’s trip to the Hill suggests that the Obama administration is not content to simply leave Florida out of its plans for a national high-speed rail system, but administration officials have offered some tough talk. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that the president was willing to spend the $2 billion intended for Florida on other states. Officials in New York, Washington and California quickly requested the money.

Previous Story: Florida Governor rejects $2.4B in federal money for rail service

Source: Tampa Bay
Huffington Post