Newark, NJ - January 6, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., released the following statement after the Trump administration claimed the federal government never agreed to fund 50 percent of the Gateway Project, one of the nation’s most important multi-year, multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects.
“On December 29th, the Trump administration announced another petulant attack on the tri-state area,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10). “For years, New Jersey, New York, Amtrak, and the federal government have cooperated to make the Gateway Project a reality. The Gateway Project is a multi-billion-dollar expansion and enhancement of the railroad that connects New Jersey and New York. The plan for Gateway's financing is centered on the principle of federal-state cooperation, but the Trump administration now says that the ‘50/50’ agreement is ‘non-existent.’ Trump has a long history of reneging on business deals, but the Gateway Project is not just another golf course. I am confident officials who led the Department of Transportation just one year ago will set the record straight.
“This is not a partisan issue, and it should not be written off as merely a project of local concern. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, have come together in good faith to demonstrate that the states are ready and willing to put up billions of dollars to make Gateway a reality. The assets Gateway will restore and enhance are Amtrak properties: the bridges, the tunnels, the rails, all of it. I will remind the administration that Congress created Amtrak to maintain the nation’s passenger railroad infrastructure and service. The Gateway Project will create thousands of jobs, pump money into the economy, and increase rail capacity along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
“I am disheartened by the Trump administration’s attack on our region, coming only days after enacting a tax bill that disproportionately hits homeowners in New Jersey. This one-two punch makes it glaringly apparent that this President has no interest in rebuilding America's infrastructure or putting Americans back to work.”
Rep. Payne, Jr., is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
See more headlines at The Ponder News Web Site
No comments:
Post a Comment