the Administration the importance of addressing the struggles that are being faced by our agricultural industry, namely our shortage of water; and secondly, California is the only state in the nation that has a high-speed rail bond that has passed. So, it’s time to put high-speed rail into effect so that we can get California on the fast track to high-speed recovery, and it’s important that we advocate that the Administration match our state funding with federal dollars so that we get high-speed rail going and get jobs back for California workers.”
Galgiani authored the Bond measure passed by voters last November to provide $9.9 billion toward the high-speed train project from the state. Of the $8 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Grant dollars available nationally for high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs, California is requesting $4 billion of these federal dollars in their grant application. The three corridors included in this application are, San Francisco to San Jose; Merced to Bakersfield; and Los Angeles to Anaheim. The California High Speed Rail Authority Board will announce their decision on the recommended corridors for submittal for federal stimulus funding at its September 23rd meeting.
The Assemblymember, as part of the California delegation, has met with officials including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Joel Szabat, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation and Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator with the Federal Railroad Administration, to name a few. In addition, she met with the French Trade Minister and French National Railway officials involved with the construction and operation of the high-speed train in France. France is one of the four countries that have entered into an MOU with the California High Speed Rail Authority. |
