[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 198 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H6054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL BOONDOGGLE

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, if you want to look in the dictionary 
under the word ``boondoggle,'' you would probably find the California 
High-Speed Rail project.
  It was passed in 2008 by a narrow majority with $9 billion worth of 
State funding by the taxpayers for this project to connect L.A. to San 
Francisco.
  Fifteen years later, they still haven't laid any track. They have 
interrupted the flow of towns up and down the Central Valley and have 
put some causeways in so far, but many billions have been spent, and it 
is woefully over time. It was supposed to be completed by 2020.
  They are going to seek more and more Federal funding. It started out 
to be a $33 billion project, and now it is a $128 billion project. At 
most, they would identify $20 billion worth of funding. They are going 
to come here looking for the rest of it.
  Instead, why don't we invest in something that can help all 
Americans, such as food supply and building water storage in 
California. That would help all Americans, not a boondoggle running up 
and down the valley stopping at an almond orchard near Bakersfield. 
That is why I am seeking to get help for Sites Reservoir, raising 
Shasta Dam, and other water projects that will grow the food that 
Americans use from California.

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