Florida’s governor rejects high speed rail funds

In a development that stunned the global railway community, Florida’s Tea Party-leaning Gov. Rick Scott (pictured) announced Wednesday morning that he is turning down $2.3 billion in promised federal grants to help build a high speed rail link between Orlando and Tampa and eventually to Miami. Scott’s fellow Republican, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, lost a last-minute plea with the governor to change his mind.

“I have urged the Governor to reconsider going forward and allow the private sector to assume the risk and any future costs for the project,” Mica said. “I made this appeal to the Governor this morning. With the federal government assuming 90% of the cost of the project, I am disappointed the private sector will not have an opportunity to even offer innovative proposals to help finance the balance of the costs and to construct and operate this system.”

Among several states that have received grants under President Obama’s high speed rail initiative, only Florida and California have plans for true high speed corridors—those with trains operating at around 200 mph—and Florida’s defection is regarded by many as a severe blow to the overall high speed plan. When two states with lesser goals—Ohio and Wisconsin—turned back their their grants, those funds largely were divided between Florida and California.

In rejecting the federal funds, Florida’s governor said the state risked responsibility for billions of dollars in cost overruns. He also said: “Government has become addicted spending beyond is means and we cannot continue this flawed policy.”

A little over a year ago, the Obama Administration proposed an $8 billion high speed initiative. This has now expanded to the $53 billion that the President now says he wants to invest in high speed corridors in the next six years.

Negative reaction was swiftly forthcoming. “Governor Scott rejected billions of federal dollars that would have created jobs and supercharged Florida’s tourism industry,” said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Instead, he placed short-sighted partisan politics above people’s transportation needs and job creation. Governor Scott’s true motivations were reflected in his partisan statements criticizing President Obama.”

APTAPresident William Millar was more circumspect in issuing the following statement:

“Whilerecent attention has focused on three states (Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio) returningtheir federal grants for high speed rail, the facts are that 28 states areforging ahead in planning and implementing high speed and intercity passengerrail improvements. These states recognize the critical importance of investingto create a modern, intermodal 21st century transportation system toaccommodate expected population and economic growth. Thisinvestment is expanding the rail industry in the United States and will lead tohundreds of thousands of much-needed American jobs. High speed rail will be aneconomic boon to the communities and states it serves and will help relievehighway and aviation congestion in many corridors. Americais expected to grow dramatically in the next several decades. We must makeinfrastructure investments now just as President Eisenhower did in the1950s in creating the interstate highway system. President Obama and thegovernors of these 28 states are to be congratulated for their vision.”