High-Speed Derailing

As soon as Republican governors came to office in states with existing high-speed rail projects, it was only a matter of time before they canceled them with the complaint that it would take too much spending and taxation to support passenger rail systems few people asked for anyway. Some of these governors announced the cancellations of these programs before they were even sworn in. But, at least high-speed rail supporters could look to states with high-speed rail projects that had Democratic governors, like Illinois . . . except that the Illinois project will have trains with top speeds of 110 miles an hour, a pathetic speed in comparison to the speeds of French and Japanese bullet trains. But, there is California, where Governor Jerry Brown aims to build the real thing. At least the Republicans aren't in a position to stop that, right?

Wrong. California's own Representative Darrell Issa, Republican chairman of the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Oversight Committee, is launching an investigation into the use of federal funds meant for a planned high-speed rail line Los Angeles with San Francisco. Issa, who's never found a Democratic party policy he didn't feel a need to investigate, claimed that the project appears to be driven by political interests and spending on consultants without regard to an appropriate cost-benefit analysis. He also voiced concerns that federal money may have been misused, and that there may have been conflicts of interest involving the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CaHRSA), which could lead to taxpayers being the ultimate losers.

The people who will lose when Issa is through are Californians, who will have to continue putting up with airline departure delays or a tedious drive on Interstate 5 if they want to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Cost overruns have already hurt the high-speed rail program, and Brown is being accused of trying to build a major public works project more for his own legacy than for the state's transportation needs. Political pressures have already forced the scuttling of a proposed high-speed rail line to Orange County. The state has gotten $3.3 billion in federal funding and has $8.2 billion in bonds so far, but Republicans in Congress are unlikely to approve more money for the project, and the chances of generating more rail bonds are grim. Brown has tried to redo the project to cut costs down to $68 billion, with little effect on its viability. In other words, it's the perfect time for Issa to stick the knife in. Because, ladies and gents, even if he doesn't find evidence of wrongdoing - and CaHRSA chairman Dan Richard is confident that Issa won't - even the mere appearance or suggestion of wrongdoing is enough to sink the project.

To wit: Issa doesn't want to investigate the California high-speed rail project to uncover corruption. He just wants to use his power to kill the project. Republicans who oppose high-speed rail don't oppose it out of cost concerns. They just don't want to let it happen because they hate public transportation. 

When I travel to Paris and then get on the TGV to go elsewhere in France, or travel through Germany on the Inter-City Express, I'll enjoy the experience and wonder why the U.S. can't get its freakin' act together and build a sleek, modern bullet train as well. Oh, wait, that's right - I can't afford to travel abroad!