06/03/2009 GAAS:278:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Senior Advisor David Crane Issues Statement After High-Speed Rail Roundtable with Vice President Joe Biden
After attending a White House state roundtable hosted by Vice President
Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss the American
Recovery and Reinvestment (Recovery Act) funding application for high-speed rail,
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Senior Advisor David Crane issued the statement
below. David Crane also serves as a board member of the California High-Speed
Rail Commission.
"California leads the nation as the first state to commence and fund high-speed
rail development and under the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger, we are very
well positioned to aggressively compete for billions in Recovery Act funding
designated for high speed rail investment. We are working around the clock to bring
as much of this Recovery Act funding to California as possible, because federal
investment in our high-speed rail system will create jobs, lay the foundation
for future economic growth, help us meet our environment goals and improve
quality of life here in California."
The federal government is expected to issue application
guidelines for this funding on June 17, 2009. With California voter support of Proposition
1A last November providing nearly $10 billion in state bond funding for
high-speed rail and with Governor Schwarzenegger's signing of AB 3034 clearing
the way for public private partnership authority in this arena, California is
very well positioned to compete for the High-Speed Rail Grant Program Recovery
Act funding. In the Schwarzenegger
Administration's continued efforts to push for increased Recovery Act funding in
this area, California officials presented a preliminary view of California's vision
to Federal Railway Administration personnel at a federal workshop in Sacramento
on May 28, 2009. ###
