Republicans seem to have abandoned all of their principles as a party and have begun to nit pick their way though the recently passed economic stimulus conference report to find anything that will provide them with something that doesn't appear in the bill but gives the GOP, room to create a media buzz: 'Look at what the Democrats are going to waste taxpayer dollars on!'
This time, the Republicans are making claims tat Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader has finagled earmarks into the stimulus package that will provide the funds needed to get a propose Anaheim-Las Vegas high speed Rail System successfully of the ground.
The Republicans point of contention concerns the inclusion of "$8 billion for unspecified high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects, more than three times as much as allocated in earlier versions of the legislation," The LA Times reported.
Republicans eagerly jumped on the fact that since Senator Reid was a major player in the legislation; he took advantage of his situation and used it to push funding toward his home state of Nevada.
The Republicans have begun to focus their criticism against the bill by arguing that it amounted to little more than a series of earmarks, designed to Democrats and their supporters.
"Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district," The LA Times reported that; "House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio," as he "complained as he and all his fellow Republicans voted against the stimulus. Republicans cited the rail project in accusing Democrats of breaking their word to keep the bill free of pet projects."
Jon Summers, a spokesman for Senator Reid, according to The LA Times explained that; "the money was not being earmarked for any specific project but would be available on a competitive basis. Summers went on to explain: "This was a major priority for President Obama, and Sen. Reid as a conferee supported it."
Chairman Bruce Aguilera, of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission; said: "It's not just specifically for us." The Commission, according to The L A Times; "plans to seek a still-undetermined amount of the stimulus money for the $12-billion-to-$14-billion project."
So, the monies provided by the stimulus plan could provide an opportunity to make a more than 2o year old dream to link Los Angeles and Anaheim with passenger rail services that could travel at over 150 miles per hour with the necessary seed monies needed to initiate development of the plan according to a California newspaper. The Press-Enterprise further explains that the stimulus money "... would be tied to federally sponsored projects and does not make reference to the type of high-speed train. A number of proposed lines from Southern California to Las Vegas have been discussed in the past, including Maglev, which uses magnetic force to levitate the train above a guide line and a privately funded Desert Xpress train planned between Victorville and Las Vegas."
Victoriaville, California Councilman Mike Rothschild, who has supported high speed rail systems provides a local perspective and compares it "to the beginnings of what Eisenhower did with the federal highway system, ... It is one thing to talk about it. It is another thing to get it rolling."
The $8 billion does not specify the Los Angeles to Las Vegas route, rather it spreads the money around the nation for various projects.
Matthew Ygesias provides the best description of the high-speed references in the stimulus bill: "The Stimulus Plan includes two provisions modeled after the Act that finance high-speed rail development. First, the Stimulus Plan provides a $2 billion grant for high-speed rail projects that will remain available until September 30, 2011. The grant will be distributed among applicant states, interstate compacts, public agencies having responsibility for providing high-speed rail service and Amtrak for capital projects associated with inter-city passenger rail services reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour. The Secretary of Transportation will have discretion to award grants based on an extensive set of criteria, including the legal, financial and technical capacity of the applicant to carry out the project; compatibility with relevant national plans; and anticipated economic, environmental and transportation effects."
The map below depicts the Obama administrations nation-wide intentions for initiating high-speed rail travel throughout the nation.
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