Federal regulators were not aggressive enough in reacting to the California bullet train’s problems since 2009 while overseeing a $2.5-billion grant to the troubled project, a federal audit released Friday found.
The review by the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general said the Federal Railroad Administration did not adequately oversee the grant to reduce financial risks in the largest and most complex grant in its history.
As a result, “the California High-Speed Rail Authority is at increased risk of not achieving the purpose of the agreements,” it said.
The Trump administration has threatened to claw back the grant money, asserting that the project has violated the terms of the grant. In February 2018, it terminated a second grant for $927 million on the same basis, an action that is now in legal dispute.
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