Senator Wiener Responds to Trump Targeting California High-Speed Rail with Sham Compliance Review: “This is a Government Handout To Elon Musk”
SAN FRANCISCO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement in response to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s announcement that the Trump Administration will conduct a compliance review of California’s High-Speed Rail project — a step towards withholding its federal funding and killing the project:
“Fresh off his attack on New York City’s successful congestion pricing program — which is reducing traffic congestion, increasing foot traffic, and funding public transportation — Donald Trump is now trying to destroy California’s High-Speed Rail project, which is under construction and moving forward. Trump is determined to increase traffic delays, make transportation more expensive, make our air dirtier, and fuel climate change.
”This is also a massive government handout by Trump to his Co-President Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who is afraid that modern public transportation will undermine his business interests — including Tesla and his scam ‘Boring Company.’
“High-Speed Rail — or as I call it, a modern, integrated rail system for California — is essential for the future of our state. It will prevent traffic from clogging our roads, support massive growth in our economy, slash air pollution, and restore California’s status as a leader on sustainable transportation. It’s an embarrassment that California does not have a modern statewide rail system — Trump wants to prolong that embarrassment instead of doing something to help.
”High-Speed Rail is an incredibly transparent project that has nothing to hide. The project has an independent inspector general established by the legislature and is subject to ongoing, broad-based public scrutiny.”
“California is committed to High-Speed Rail. The project is happening. Sabotage from federal actors should never impede our responsibility to deliver affordable transportation for Californians. To that end, I’m authoring legislation this year to speed up the permitting and construction process for High-Speed Rail and other transportation projects to make affordable, great public transportation a reality in California.”
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Elon Musk has long opposed High Speed Rail and has admitted that his opposition stems from its potential impact to his businesses, especially Tesla. In 2013, he proposed replacing HSR with untested Hyperloop technology built by a company he owns. He later admitted the proposal was intended to prevent the High-Speed Rail project from breaking ground. He recently used X, a platform he owns, to falsely claim that the entire project is fraudulent.
Recent polling found that the majority of Californians continue to support High-Speed Rail.
This week, Senator Wiener introduced SB 445, legislation that would dramatically reduce construction delays and cost overruns for High-Speed Rail by streamlining the permitting process.
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