Topline: California’s high-speed rail line has more than tripled in price from $40 billion to $128 billion, causing President Donald Trump to rescind $4 billion in federal funding and claim the project has “the worst overruns that there have ever been in the history of our country,” The Washington Free Beacon quoted him as saying.
It’s easy to see why. State audits reviewed by the Free Beacon found cash spent not on construction, but on graffiti removal, Politico subscriptions, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and more.
Key facts: Construction on the rail line was supposed to begin in 2015 and finish in 2020. To date, no track has been laid, and there is no estimate for when the project will be completed. The deadline for the first portion of the track is 2033, but an inspector general report says that is unlikely.
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Meanwhile, the state’s High-Speed Rail Authority has spent $537 million on environmental services, according to the Free Beacon. The project’s environmental impacts statement took 14 years to write. One company, Westervelt Ecological Services, received $20 million to build new animal habitats, since many could be destroyed by the construction.
The City of Fresno received $5 million for graffiti cleanup. Kadesh & Associates received almost $2 million for lobbying and “congressional advisory services.” CPS HR Consulting received almost $51,000 to run meetings for the rail authority’s DEI task force and train employees, the Free Beacon reported.
Another $177,000 was spent on subscriptions to Politico Pro, a surprisingly common practice. The federal government spent $44 million on Politico subscriptions from 2017 to 2024, with the Pro service costing upwards of $3,000 per person.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Supporting quote: California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference, “I think we’ve been audited a hundred times there. At a certain point, you have audit fatigue. Audits for audits’ sake service no one … what people want is problems solved.”
Had the rail line been completed in 2020 as planned, the audits probably would have ended.
Background: The high-speed rail isn’t the only transportation project facing extreme delays. The County of Santa Clara announced last year that its planned rail station was 11 years behind schedule and $8 billion over budget. Rail cars purchased by the county for $173 million will now be used at other stations for a decade on Santa Clara’s dime.
The federal government decided last year to give that project $5 billion in funding. At the time it was the second-largest federal transportation grant in history.
Summary: California’s taxpayers are likely just as “fatigued” as their governor. It takes tremendous time and effort to stay up to date with all of the state’s cost overruns.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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