Florida Gov. Rick Scott Monday took credit for federal budget cuts to high-speed rail funding that were in the continuing resolution signed by President Obama over the weekend.
In search of spending reductions to avoid a government shutdown, budget negotiators trimmed $1.5 billion for high-speed and intercity passenger where Scott said he left it — “in the boondoggle high-speed rail proposal.”
Earlier this year, the freshman Republican governor rejected $2.4 billion that the federal government granted to Florida for its project.
“I am proud to have brought this waste to the attention of those in Washington,” he said. “These funds should either be returned to taxpayers as tax cuts or applied to reducing the burden that our national debt is passing to future generations.”
However, the cuts proposed in the continuing resolution for the fiscal 2011 budget are not Florida’s high-speed rail funds that other states now are seeking, according to Andy Kunz, president of the High Speed Rail Association.
The funding cut does not affect specific projects underway, but means that future projects will have less money to apply for, he said.
The fast-rail money rejected by Florida last month will not be affected because that was allocated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are among the 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Amtrak that have turned in 90 applications totaling nearly $10 billion for the money Scott rejected.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said a date has not been determined for announcing winners of the high-speed rail funds.
