House votes against California high speed rail

◼ Daring a presidential veto, GOP lawmakers are deploying a Fiscal 2015 transportation funding bill to effectively block the federal Surface Transportation Board from issuing new permits for the California project. - Sacramento Bee

...Hammering home the point, House Republicans on Tuesday approved an amendment by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., that blocks any money from the $52 billion bill from going to California high-speed rail.

“This is a project that is going out of control,” Denham declared during House debate. “It’s a project that has no end in sight. We’ve got to stop this train wreck.”

The Republican-controlled House passed Denham’s amendment on a largely party line 227-186 vote following a 15-minute debate.

The House actions follow the GOP policy of opposing the Obama administration’s high-speed rail efforts, and they are to some extent symbolic. California’s high-speed rail planners, who have already obtained some $3.8 billion in federal funds, do not anticipate needing additional federal dollars in the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.