(Washington, DC). Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:
“Today is yet another sad day for high speed rail and for job creation in the state of Florida. Unfortunately, Florida Governor Rick Scott is much more interested in politics than in creating jobs or improving the transportation system for Florida residents. Indeed, the high speed rail plan for Florida would have served as a true example of a successful public-private partnership and would have created tens of thousands of private sector jobs (Department of Transportation statistics say that for every $1 billion invested in transportation-infrastructure, 40,000 jobs are created).
And, as was clearly demonstrated in a study released early last week, the Tampa – Orlando rail line would have had a more than $10 million operating surplus in its first year of operation alone. The study also went on to say that this line would have operated at a $28.6 million surplus by its 10th year; and have had an estimated 3.3 million riders in just the first year of operation, yet because of Governor Rick Scott's decision to kill the project, high speed rail in Florida will be put on hold for several more years.
Indisputably, President Obama and Transportation Secretary LaHood have done everything possible to make high speed rail a success for the state of Florida. Every single request made by the state, every concern, every issue – was addressed and remedied by the Department of Transportation. Secretary LaHood in fact even went so far as to grant the state two-one week extensions in an attempt to allay Governor Rick Scott's concerns. I have already formally requested that the Transportation Secretary’s office continue conducting the preliminary design and environmental impact study for the Orlando-Miami portion of the rail corridor.
I would like to thank President Obama, Vice President Biden, Senator Nelson, Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, Congresswoman Castor, Orlando Mayor Dyer, Lakeland Mayor Fields and Tampa Mayor Iorio for all their hard work in trying to secure high speed rail for the state of Florida. I would also like to thank all of the stakeholders throughout the state of Florida for their efforts to make high speed rail an option for the state, in particular, the Chambers of Commerce, environmental and labor groups, all of whom have advocated strongly for rail and for the future of Florida's transportation system. I also want to send a very special salute to ALL FLORIDA HOUSE AND SENATE state legislators, who have been more than outstanding advocates for transportation in the state. They have held hearings, town hall meetings, and have lent strong support to high speed rail, Sun Rail, Tri Rail and commuter rail projects throught the state.
Our nation is experiencing a renaissance in transportation, and I know that one day, under different leadership in the governor's mansion, we will move the state of Florida forward. All of the stakeholders had already reached agreement for the high speed rail project, we were awarded 2.5 billion dollars in federal money, and had nearly 30 international companies bidding for a chance to participate. Yet all of this hard work and cooperation on the part of so many participants was undone by Governor Rick Scott's decision. And this decision is a perfect example of the Biblical verse: ‘when there is no vision, the people perish.’ The difference between winners and losers is how we handle setbacks - but again, I am certain that the state of Florida will have a high speed rail corridor running throughout the state one day in the not too distant future.
As the Ranking Member of the Railroad subcommittee, I will continue to fight for passenger rail, here in Florida and throughout the nation, even though Governor Rick Scott deems the project unworthy. Additionally, Governor Rick Scott likes to point out what he views as flaws in Florida's system. He denigrates Tri Rail with only superficial criticism, claiming the system is not profitable. Yet what Governor Scott fails to understand is that Tri Rail is just one segment in an interconnected system. And if he had allowed all of the parts in the state's transportation system to work together uniformly: commuter rail, light rail and high speed together could move Floridians off congested highways, and our state could serve as an exemplary Transportation model not only for the United States, but for the entire world."
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