California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) put forth a proposal on Wednesday that entails allocating $1 billion annually for the state’s high-speed rail project, even in light of a significant budget deficit.
According to reports, his revised budget plan suggests cuts to a variety of programs to help offset a $12 billion deficit. He even hinted at restricting new Medicaid enrollees to those who are undocumented, targeting “free” healthcare services.
Despite Newsom’s ongoing advocacy for the high-speed rail as an environmental vision, the project is decades behind schedule, and the $100 billion program will continue to receive funding without any actual construction budget of $100 million.
Politics It has been reported:
On Wednesday, Newsom proposed a 15-year extension of California’s prominent cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions, a cornerstone of the state’s climate strategy and a dependable source of revenue.
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The governor’s plans will also address an initiative facing opposition from the Trump administration, converting funding from a 25% allotment into a guaranteed $1 billion annual commitment for the contentious high-speed rail project.
“California will not yield to a federal administration that has been marked by contamination,” Newsom remarked in a statement to Politico. “Cap-and-Invest is the next phase in one of the most effective strategies to improve air quality and maintain community health.”
Interestingly, Newsom was the first to abandon the high-speed rail initiative upon taking office in 2019, citing the San Francisco to Los Angeles segment as “too costly and overly time-consuming.”
Nevertheless, to bolster political backing in the Central Valley region, he has aimed to maintain the project in rural areas, despite low demand for travel between smaller towns.
The previous Trump administration withheld $1 billion in federal support for the program, which was later reinstated by the Biden administration. The new Trump administration is currently reviewing projects for potential fraud.
Newsom appears to be leveraging support for high-speed rail to reframe the state’s pricey cap-and-trade tax as “cap-and-invest,” positioning it as a stand against Trump. However, this may have created political complications for him.
By limiting new applications from undocumented individuals for the state Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, he risks inciting conflict with Latino advocacy groups while simultaneously funding high-speed rail for affluent, environmentally-conscious travelers.
