Obama Makes Case for $53 Billion High-Speed Rail

As part of a larger plan to create more jobs and further assist the U.S. economy come out of the doldrums, President Obama has announced a plan that would allot $53 billion to building a high-speed rail. The infrastructure program would both help to create jobs and, presumably, decrease dependence on fossil fuels. A budget plan that Obama released on Monday called for $8 billion in spending that would go towards the improvement of existing trains that travel in excess of 250 miles per hour, as well as connecting already-existing rail lines to new projects.

Where the remaining money would come from has not been noted at this point, but the plan for a high-speed rail does offer a nice follow up to the president’s note during his State of the Union Address that he would like to offer 80% of Americans access to such high-speed rails within the next 25 years. The addition of $53 billion to the budget has also been coupled with a promise by the president to cut spending overall, as the U.S. debt continues to grow and offers potentially crippling consequences in the near future.

Vice President Joe Biden, for his part, noted that no compromise must be made on spending for transportation, infrastructure and broadly-categorized "innovation" programs. Noted Biden, "We cannot compromise. The rest of the world is not compromising." Still, some are critical of the plans to place high-speed rail across the country. House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Florida, for instance, notes that the country’s Northeast corridor should be the focus of high-speed rail.
By Buzzle Staff and Agencies