Free Republic

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) stated that Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg hasn’t had enough involvement in trying to avert a potential rail strike, which, along with rising diesel costs, “will be a one-two shot to an already struggling economy.” Waltz said that in addition to the cost of gas spiking if there’s a rail strike, “the cost of diesel is through the roof as well. You know, the average trucker used to spend 300, $400 to fill up his rig. Now, he’s spending over $1,000, and this will be...

Florida Governor Rick Scott avoided a costly train wreck this week by hitting the brakes on his state's high-speed rail project. Alas, the White House continues to charge full-speed ahead. Mr. Scott rejected $2.4 billion of federal money for an 84-mile line from Tampa to Orlando, saying that it would likely end up costing state taxpayers an additional $3 billion when the state's budget deficit this year is $3.6 billion. Then there's the half a billion dollars in operating subsidies that the train would need every decade, which could be more depending on how much the state has inflated ridership...

High-speed rail in Texas, long left for dead, is likely to regain a pulse today when U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announces a $5.6 million grant to plan a passenger rail line from Oklahoma City to the Rio Grande. The money is part of $2.4 billion in federal grants to be unveiled today for high-speed rail projects, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said. The $5.6 million grant, announced Wednesday by the office of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, would pay for what is expected to be a 42-month study that would identify a preferred route on existing or...