How much Joe?! Biden is mocked after botching announcement for ‘over a billion, three hundred million, trillion, three hundred million dollars’ investment in major rail projects across the country – as he retells debunked Amtrak anecdote AGAIN
Joe Biden on Friday bungled his big announcement on rail investment, saying the federal government would spend “over a billion, three hundred million, trillion, three hundred million dollars.”
The president was in Las Vegas announcing $8.2 billion in new federal funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country. Among them is a new line from Nevada City to Los Angeles, which when completed – potentially as early as 2028 – will be able to carry more than 11 million passengers a year, powered entirely by renewable energy.
Biden mocked his predecessor for repeatedly promising Infrastructure Week but failing to deliver.
“Trump just says what he says. We’re walking the walk,” Biden said, speaking at a hall for union carpenters.
“He likes to say that America is a failed nation. Honestly, he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. I see shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky. People are working hard together to rebuild America.”
Joe Biden announced an $8.2 billion investment in railroads on Friday, but was confused about the amount.
But he stumbled over the cost of the project, stumbling in his speech about millions and billions.
He also repeated his oft-told story about how often he rode Amtrak trains.
Biden spent years traveling between his home in Delaware and Washington, D.C., and said a member of the train crew told him he had read that Biden had reached the million-mile mark on Air Force Two.
But according to employee Angelo Negri, they knew he had actually traveled further on Amtrak.
Biden told the crowd, “He said, ‘Big deal, Joey.’ He said, “We just had a retirement dinner in Newark, New Jersey… Do you know how many miles you drove?”
“I said, “No, Ang.”
“And he said, ‘1,000,327 miles.’ I don’t hear anything more about the Air Force.
– Well, guys, I… I’m a railway worker, this is not a joke.
This story was debunked years ago: Air Force Two didn’t reach the million-mile mark until September 2015, and Negri retired from Amtrak in 1993. Negri died in May 2014 before this milestone was reached.
Biden told a crowd of union workers at a woodworking factory that, unlike Donald Trump, he “walked the walk.”
This technology, not yet implemented in the United States, would allow the train to cross the desert in just two hours instead of the usual four or five. Meanwhile, the cash infusion is unprecedented for a private firm and comes months after the Florida company asked for it.
Biden also used his visit to Las Vegas to address this week’s shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which left three people dead and a fourth wounded.
Biden again called on Congress to take action to ban assault weapons.
“I will not rest until we do everything we can to prevent more families and more communities from being torn apart by gun violence,” Biden said.
Friday’s trip was planned before the shooting, and Biden’s focus on rail service comes as no surprise to the president, who is a big supporter of passenger rail.
Biden has championed several major federal investments in passenger rail, including last month when he announced a $16 billion federal investment for rail service along the busy Northeast Corridor.
Bringing high-speed rail to life in California won’t be easy, however, as the U.S.-first project has long been plagued by schedule extensions and cost overruns.
The infrastructure could be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Rendering of a high-speed train from California to Las Vegas, which will make stops in Rancho Cucamonga, Hesperia, Victor Valley and Las Vegas. It connects to the existing commuter line to Los Angeles.
Travelers will travel at approximately 200 mph on routes that follow pre-existing highways through the arid Nevada desert.
The plan was funded by some previous federal grants, as well as a bond fund approved by voters in 2008 and revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade climate program. But overall, this amount is much lower than the estimated cost of the project, which now exceeds $100 billion.
California Republicans have long been critical of the project, but even some state Democrats have become more vocal in their skepticism.
Construction and land acquisition are underway in the Central Valley. But Brian Kelly, the project’s CEO, has long said the new infusion of federal money is an important part of moving the project forward.
The Biden administration previously signaled support for the project when it restored nearly $1 billion in federal money that the Trump administration had tried to withdraw.
Asked about rising costs and mounting delays on the high-speed line, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters, “They face a lot of the challenges that come with being the first to do something.”
He added: “We wouldn’t be funding all these projects if we didn’t believe they could be done.”