$1.2 Billion Was Slated For Wisconsin, Ohio Projects
President Barack Obama’s administration is taking $1.2 billion in high-speed rail money away from Ohio and Wisconsin and awarding it to 12 other states, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.
Both Ohio and Wisconsin have elected incoming Republican governors who oppose the rail projects. Those governors, whose states have been hit hard by the economic downturn, had asked if they could divert the money to other projects.
But LaHood said he was awarding the money to states that are eager to have it for their rail projects.
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High-speed trains will not only improve transportation but reinvigorate manufacturing and put people back to work in jobs that pay well, LaHood predicted in a statement.
States gaining the most money include California, $624 million; Florida, $342 million; Washington, $161 million; and Illinois, $42 million. Other states receiving lesser amounts include New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, Iowa, Vermont and Indiana.
“It’s great day for the state of California,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “Let there be no mistake, he (Walker) is sending thousands of jobs to other states. It’s a victory for construction workers in California.”
“A month before he’s even been sworn into to office, Gov.-elect Scott Walker has lost good jobs for Wisconsinites. He’s denied our state an opportunity to be part of a new, nationwide transportation system that would have brought economic benefits along with it,” U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement.
“I hope to be proven wrong, but I think this will build a fence around Wisconsin. We’ll be forced to watch economic development in Illinois and in Minnesota as both states continue a commitment to a rail a line that connects Chicago and the Twin Cities. And it’s a gift we’ll have handed them,” she said.
The Milwaukee Common Council scheduled a public hearing for Monday as they considered a resolution in support of high speed rail construction. Labor and community groups planned to draw attention to the jobs the rail line between Milwaukee and Madison would have created.
“This is a very sad Christmas for the state of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee,” Milwaukee Alderman Willie Wade said.
Talgo, which builds train cars, was putting its high-speed passenger rail manufacturing and assembly facility at the former Tower Automotive site in Milwaukee. Talgo is in Wade’s district.
“This is a terrible loss of family-supporting, good-paying jobs in Milwaukee and throughout the state of Wisconsin and a shameful slap in the face to all the workers who would have benefitted from this significant investment in transportation and infrastructure,” Barrett said. “With so many construction workers out of work, this project could have been the perfect spark to help turn the economy around.”
“This is a tragic moment for the State of Wisconsin,” Gov. Jim Doyle released in a statement. “Our team worked hard to win a national competition to make us a leader in high speed passenger rail. We were positioned to be not only a center of the line, but to be a manufacturing center as well. Now we are moving from being the leader to the back of the line.”
Several other Wisconsin lawmakers have released statements on the loss of the funds:
“I’m disappointed to see this project leave Wisconsin. High-speed rail held a lot of promise to create thousands of jobs and spur economic growth,” U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl said.
“It is to the Wisconsin taxpayers’ benefit that they will no longer be required to pick up the additional tab for a high-speed train that the majority of residents will never ride,” U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner said. “However, with our nation facing a nearly $14 trillion debt, it is an absolute mistake for the federal government to redistribute $808 million from Wisconsin to other states, instead of returning that money to the U.S. Treasury Department and using it to help pay down our deficit, as I’ve called for in legislation I introduced in Congress.”
“Instead of joining the 21st century in transportation, and creating the jobs to move us into the future, Wisconsin is now left in the dust with more people out of work and higher bills to pay for rail improvements that need to happen and in some cases are required by law to happen,” state Rep. Jon Richards said.