No More Tax Dollars for California's High-Speed Rail

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 22, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Speaker, a year ago, I introduced legislation to cut off all funding for California's high-speed rail project and today, in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote, the House passed this measure as part of an appropriations bill that will soon be signed into law.

This is fantastic news for American taxpayers and for California taxpayers as the high-speed rail project is the biggest public infrastructure failure in United States history. It was supposed to be done in 2020 and yet now in 2026, no track has been laid despite spending $18 billion.

The estimated total cost has ballooned from $33 billion to $128 billion, and even The New York Times found that it is not on pace to be finished this century.

With the success of this legislation, our Federal tax dollars in California can go where they are needed when it comes to transportation and that is to improve our failing roads, to alleviate traffic, and to actually improve the quality of life for Californians.

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