House Republicans are trying to divert $1 billion dollars of high-speed rail funding still left in the federal government’s coffers from President Obama’s stimulus program toward flood-control aid in the Midwest.
Slightly more than $1 billion dollars of high-speed rail projects have been approved by the Department of Transportation, but checks haven’t yet been sent to the project builders. Those are called “unobligated” funds in budget language.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., has succeeded in getting an amendment added to the House Energy and Water Appropriation bill that would shift the unobligated money to the Army Corps of Engineers for flood relief projects in the Midwest.
The $1.028 billion would “both pledge adequate funds for the immediate fight as well as repair damages in their wake,” Frelinghuysen said. He called it a conservative but reasonable estimate of correcting the most critical damages.
Frelinghuysen and his allies have pulled a deft political maneuver. Flood relief has become almost an annual obligation of Congress, which has been much-criticized for not investing in flood control.
High-speed rail advocates say it’s a political smokescreen. “It’s pretty underhanded. Who could be against helping people?” said Andy Kunz of the National High Speed Rail Association.
In reality, he said, “they’re trying everything they can to kill high-speed rail.” Amtrak, California, andMmidwestern states could lose money, he added.
Natural-disaster aid typically has been paid for through emergency appropriations, rather than through transfers of appropriations funds.
Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., has argued that Afghanistan and Iraq are also “emergency” appropriations.
“If it’s good enough and wise enough to spend in Iraq, shouldn’t we spend on an emergency basis in Iowa?” he recently said.
The energy and water bill is scheduled for a vote Thursday. But the Congress has a record of delays on appropriation bills that could let the DOT send out the checks, or most of them, before the money disappears from its budget.
