Joni Ernst Pushes to Cancel Federal Rail Funds

Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa is making a renewed effort to halt or redirect federal transportation funds, specifically targeting what she describes as a “Boondoggle” rail project, which she claims is siphoning off billions beyond budget. This was outlined in a letter sent to the Transportation Secretary this week.

In the correspondence, Ernst references a long-standing audit of California’s high-speed rail project, which resulted in the cancellation of $4 billion in federal funds. A comprehensive 315-page report, mandated by provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, highlighted issues such as project delays, mismanagement, excessive costs, and budget overruns.

The audit pointed out that the California high-speed rail project failed to meet the requirements for federal grant funding due to unrealistic timelines and inflated ridership projections. Originally proposed in 2008 as a $33 billion rail connection between San Francisco and Los Angeles to be completed by 2020, the project’s costs ballooned to an estimated $128 billion, with no high-speed tracks laid as of yet.

Ernst commended the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) review for establishing “a new gold standard in accountability” and urged Secretary Duffy to apply the same diligence to other federally funded projects identified under her legislation. She specifically named four projects currently receiving a collective $4.5 billion in taxpayer funding: the Honolulu Rail Transport in Hawaii, Maryland’s Purple Line Transit, the Transbay Corridor Core Capacity Project in California, and the Queens Railroad Project in New York.

The letter also mentioned three additional projects that Ernst felt were overlooked during the official audit, despite being over budget and delayed. These include a subway extension to Silicon Valley, which has surpassed $5 billion; the San Francisco Transit Center at $3.38 billion; and the Minneapolis Light Rail Project, costing around $939 million. According to her, the DOT has committed $9.4 billion for these three projects alone.

Ernst expressed, “If these cannot be managed better, they must be canceled as well,” suggesting that the $14 billion could either be allocated to more urgent infrastructure needs or utilized to help repay national debt.

Despite the detailed audit of the California project, Ernst pointed out that the DOT’s summary of the other 14 projects required by her regulations was merely a one-page chart. She is seeking more comprehensive information in future reports, focusing on budget overruns, scheduling delays, and other Department of Defense-supported transport initiatives.

Recently, Ernst has been vocal against mandates on progressive rail systems. In May, she proposed legislation asking states like California to block EPA exemptions and mandate zero emissions for all new trains by 2030. This included restrictions on train idling, regulations for older rail cars, and new spending requirements for railway operators, though California later withdrew its exemption request.

In closing her letter, Ernst expressed support for the DOT’s ongoing efforts, hoping to see the number of listed projects in future reports drop to zero.