Chao: NY, NJ can come up with more money for Gateway rail tunnel project

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told lawmakers on Tuesday that New York and New Jersey should come up with more funding for a multibillion-dollar rail project that would connect the two states.

Chao said during an appearance before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the $30 billion program, known as the Gateway Project, would take funds away from other transit efforts across the United States.

“It’s going to take money from every other transit project in America,” Chao said.

“New York and New Jersey can come up with larger than zero or 5 percent,” she added.

{mosads}New York and New Jersey lawmakers are pushing for answers after the administration backed away from the program, which is aimed at rebuilding passenger rail connections under the Hudson River between Manhattan and Newark, N.J.

President Trump last week reportedly pressed Speaker Ryan (R-Wis.) to withhold funding for Gateway, which has been a crucial focus for lawmakers from New York and New Jersey, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Last summer, the Trump administration withdrew from the program’s board. 

And the Federal Transit Administration in a December letter denied the presence of an agreement that says the federal government would split the cost of the project with New Jersey and New York.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) on Tuesday pressed Chao on the states’ commitment to providing half of the funds for the project. But the secretary denied the existence of any documentation for such an accord, saying that New Jersey and New York are seeking to finance the program using loans from the federal government.

“There’s no commitment. There’s no document. There’s no pending application,” Chao told the New Jersey lawmaker, who urged the secretary to “look at the facts” about the project.

The administration would “be more than pleased to look at” any proposal from the states should they submit it in writing, Chao said.

“The misinformation on this project has been stunning,” said Chao.