Trump Administration Scolded for Not Spending on NYC Rail Project

(Bloomberg) -- The Democratic chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee sharply criticized the Trump administration for not including “even 1 cent” for a rail tunnel linking New Jersey and Manhattan, while Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the project isn’t ready for funding.

Representative Nita Lowey of New York said Wednesday during a subcommittee hearing on President Donald Trump’s 2020 transportation budget that not including money for the tunnel project neglects a federal asset owned by Amtrak. The proposed $12.7 billion project, known as Gateway, calls for building a new tunnel under the Hudson River and refurbishing a deteriorating, century-old tube damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 that’s critical for the Northeast Corridor and its 800,000 daily passengers.

“Instead of paying attention to the urgent reality that an unplanned closure of the Hudson tunnel would be disastrous for our economy and disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of daily commuters, your administration has made a political decision that endangers the safety of travelers who pass through that tunnel every day,’’ Lowey told Chao in her opening statement.

Chao didn’t directly respond to Lowey, but said in answers to other questions that the tunnel project isn’t yet ready for federal funding. The Federal Transit Administration has assigned “medium-low” ratings to the Hudson tunnel and companion Portal North bridge projects in New Jersey, meaning they are ineligible for federal funding. The FTA has said proposed non-federal funds haven’t been firmly committed.

But Democratic Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said that the state’s Economic Development Authority has pledged $600 million in bonds. While Governor Phil Murphy has said that “fulfills the full local funding requirement” for the bridge project, Chao said during the hearing that the funds aren’t yet committed.

The exchange underscored the tension between the states and the Trump administration over the Gateway project. State officials have accused the administration of not funding the bridge and tunnel work because the Trump administration opposes Gateway for political reasons. Transportation officials have said that besides not committing enough local funding, the states are seeking too much federal money for projects that benefit mostly local passengers.

“There is not yet any discernible path forward,” Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen said in a March 11 call with reporters.

Trump promised during his 2016 presidential campaign to invest at least $1 trillion to upgrade crumbling roads, bridges and other public works, but the plan his administration released last year was criticized for lacking enough direct federal funding. Trump has said he’s eager to work with House Democrats who are pledging to pass an infrastructure package that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech Tuesday would be “at least $1 trillion.”

Democratic Representative David Price of North Carolina, chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, said Congress needs to act because Trump has “refused to engage substantively” on infrastructure.

“Regrettably, I don’t think we can count on this administration to be a serious partner in a major infrastructure effort,” Price said. “We’re still waiting for anything resembling a realistic plan.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus at mniquette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, William Selway

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