He loves trains and wants to spend $80 billion for rail projects in his $2.2 trillion infrastructure goal, but today, a top GOP lawmaker is flashing a yellow warning light at President Joe Biden’s plan, citing the example of a massive boondoggle and decades-delayed “shovel ready” project.
In the latest uncovering of federal pork for her “Make ’em Squeal” award, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst pointed to a long-delayed and over-budget 20-mile rail project in Hawaii to caution a rush to spend federal tax dollars freely in infrastructure projects touted as ready to go by local governments.
“This rail service began as one of those ‘shovel ready’ projects funded by the Obama-Biden stimulus program a decade ago. While never completed, it’s still digging a deeper money pit for taxpayer dollars,” she said.
Initially set to be completed in January 2020 for $5.1 billion, the 20-mile rail line now might not be ready until 2033 and cost at least $21 billion. And, Ernst said, to dig into the Biden spending plan, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation plans to spend $1 million on lobbyists.
With promises of infrastructure riches, lobbyists are working with state and local governments to rush their proposals to Washington for the Biden plan, which sets aside a small percentage of the $2.2 trillion for traditional projects, such as rail lines, roads, and bridges.
Just as former President Barack Obama did in 2009, so-called “shovel ready” projects are expected to be prioritized. Biden also wants them to be “shovel-worthy,” according to officials.
But Ernst is eager for the administration and lawmakers to look deeper at the projects before signing contracts.
Her concerns are rooted in other boondoggles she’s uncovered, notably California’s estimated $100 billion high-speed rail project that the administration has cited as an example of projects it wants to support.
Instead of Biden’s slogan of “Build Back Better,” Ernst said, “I vote we change the slogan to: ‘Bailout Bankrupt Boondoggles.’ That’s more appropriate for Washington’s track record of finding new ways to fund failed projects.”
And citing the Hawaii rail project’s failings, she pushed for the passage of her Billion Dollar Boondoggle Ban Act to stop federal spending on projects $1 billion or more over budget or five years or more behind schedule and the Earmark Elimination Act to stop lawmakers from spending on pet projects.
