California Rail at high speed faces a house probe on hot air balloons

First on Fox: The Chamber’s supervisory committee launches an investigation into the costly high -speed railway project in California.

The president of the James Comer Committee, R-KY., Wrote on Tuesday at the Ministry of Transport (DOT) requesting a briefing at the level of staff, as well as documents linked to federal funding which was devoted to the project, supported by the governor of California Gavin Newsom.

“As part of our investigation, we seek to understand whether the authority has knowingly distorted the projections of the traffic and the associated financial viability of the California High-Speed Rail Project (CHSR project) to guarantee federal and state funds,” Comer wrote to the Secretary of Transports Sean Duffy.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom pushes the Trump administration’s repression against the high -speed rail project of his state. (CARLIN STIEHL / LOS Angeles Times via Getty Images)

California voters approved nearly $ 10 billion in taxpayers’ dollars via municipal bonds in 2008 for a high -speed rail system of 800 miles connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, which was estimated at around 33 billion dollars.

But the project, which started under former governor Jerry Brown, was in the grip of costs and delays, reports indicating that the price could now reach $ 128 billion.

California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) said it expects trains to start working in 2030, a decade after the initial objective of Golden State.

It is a subject of conflict between California and the Trump administration, which announced last month that he was drawing $ 4 billion in unused federal funds from the project.

“To date, no route is over and the CHSRA project is faced with a financial collapse, but now Chsra says they will start service in the central valley in 2032. Current cost estimates vary from $ 89 billion to 128 billion dollars,” Comer wrote.

California’s high-speed rail project, called “boondoggy” by the Trump administration, is supposed to cross this bridge over CA-99 in Fresno. (Reuters)

“Despite this, the Biden administration committed about $ 4 billion in federal taxpayers to the CHSR project, including nearly $ 89.65 million in the last days of the administration.”

Commer has also eliminated the estimates of traffic and the income of the project, citing reports called “absurdly high” and “unrealistic” projections.

“The apparent repeated use of the deceptive traffic projections authority, despite the long -standing warnings of the experts, raises serious questions as to whether the funds have been allocated under false pretexts. Despite massive cost overruns and the lack of progress, CHSRA continued the FRA to prevent the end of these funds, and the dispute is in progress,” wrote.

In a declaration announce a trial The $ 4 billion in blocked funds, Newsom described The Move as a “political blow to punish California” and “a heartless attack” against jobs in the Central State Valley region.

Newsom also signed a law last month, forcing the CHSRA to create a financing plan for the sector on which he is currently working.

Its state budget provides that the high -speed rail project receives funding of $ 1 billion each year for the next 20 years to complete its initial segment, According to ABC30.

Dot estimated that the project finally cost $ 135 billion in total and rejected it as a “boondoggy”.

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“It is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and accomplice democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a white check – they come with a promise to provide results,” Duffy said in a statement announcing the blockade on federal funds not spent last month.

When contacted to comment on Comer’s investigation, DOT spokesperson Nate Sizemore said the department was impatient to work with the Républicains de la Chambre.

“Secretary Duffy thanks President Comer for his leadership in the California High-Speed Rail Authority investigation and the apparent use of the misleading measures agency.

A CHSRA spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the investigation was an “baseless attempt to manufacture the controversy in the largest and most complex infrastructure project”.

“Authority has already addressed these recycled criticisms in its response to the examination of the compliance of the FR supported by facts, noting that the traffic criticisms are absurd ”, said the cherry, said the spokesman.

Fox News Digital also contacted Newsom’s office to comment but did not immediately obtain an answer.