Jan. 28, 2010 - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after California received an America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding award for high-speed rail:
"Today's announcement is fantastic news for job creation in California," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "By showing leadership and including high-speed rail funding in the Recovery Act, the Obama Administration is strongly supporting California's high speed rail project, which is the largest public works project in the nation and will create jobs, save billions of pounds of greenhouse gases and will be the first true-high speed rail system to break ground in the nation."
Benefits of Investing in California High Speed Rail
· Recovery Act funding for high-speed rail will go further and create more jobs in California than in any other state in the nation – because we have pledged to match it dollar-for-dollar.
- Dollar-for-dollar match in California. Stimulus funding will have the greatest effect in California because federal investment will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, essentially doubling the federal government's investment.
· The federal government designated funding for High Speed Rail – and California proposed the only true high-speed train capable of 200-plus miles per hour and is further along in planning than any other similar project in the nation.
- In California, when we say "high-speed trains," we truly mean high speed – up to 220 mph – not improving existing, non-high speed rail lines like other states have proposed.
- Planning and engineering work for our 800-mile system has been ongoing for over 13 years.
- Significant environmental review work has already been completed.
- In 2008, Californians voted to put $9.95 billion in bond funding toward the effort. No other state in the nation brings this level of investment to the table.
- California's proposed system already has the support of its local governments, regional transportation agencies and the Legislature.
· Californians voted to put $9.95 billion in bond funding toward the effort. No other state in the nation brings this level of investment to the table. California voters approved Proposition 1A, the $9.95 million high-speed rail bond, in November 2008. In August 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 3034 replacing Proposition 1 with Proposition 1A on the November 2008 ballot. The measure improved the High-Speed Train Bond Act by providing increased taxpayer protections and fiscal controls. The Governor's signing of this measure also assured public-private partnership financing for high-speed rail and limited the amount of bond funding that can be spent on non-construction items.
· Labor, business, environmental and government leaders across the state united in support of California's proposal because it would lay the foundation for California's 21st century transportation system, create jobs and improve our mobility, quality of life and environment.
- Voters said "yes" to a ballot initiative to put $9.95 billion toward high-speed rail.
- Legislators support high-speed rail, voting to put the bond issue on the ballot.
- Labor leaders know this historic investment in infrastructure will mean quality construction and related jobs.
- Business groups, including chambers of commerce, understand the need to maintain and improve mobility in California to support our economy – which is the 8th-largest in the world.
- Environmentalists rally behind this clean mode of transportation, which is responsible for just a third of the greenhouse gases of airplanes and a fifth of that of automobiles. California's high-speed train system will run on 100 percent renewable energy and will take 12 billion pounds of GHGs out of the environment annually.
- Local governments are vying for the train to bring jobs and intermodal links to their communities.
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