Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the federal government will provide nearly $7 billion for the construction of a long-delayed rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
The funds come from President Biden’s 2021 infrastructure law. Of the $1.2 trillion allocated by the law, $66 billion was marked for railway use. The tunnel grant is the largest sum ever awarded for a mass transit project.
It is a big win for Schumer, Biden’s most powerful ally in Congress, as well as lawmakers on both sides of the Hudson River who have been pushing for the project for a decade.
“BIG: I’m thrilled to announce the new Gateway tunnel will receive $6.88 BILLION thanks to our infrastructure law! The largest grant ever from [the Federal Transit Administration’s] Capital Investment Grants Program,” Schumer wrote on Twitter.
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“I’ve long fought for Gateway. This is a giant leap forward to build Gateway for NY & USA!” he added.
The ambitious Gateway project is aimed at refurbishing the railways between New York and New Jersey, which are part of the heavily-trafficked Northeast Corridor. The existing train lines were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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However, the money secured by Schumer, the project’s most ardent supporter, is only part of the total $16.1 billion expected cost for the underground tunnel – the largest piece of the greater Gateway effort.
Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain pointed out, alongside Schumer’s celebratory tweet, that the Democratic Senate leader “made it clear that this was his top infrastructure priority.”
The $6.88 billion grant comes after the project secured $292 million in January, also from Biden’s infrastructure law. The president joined Schumer and other local officials at the time to unveil the award.
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Its construction had been virtually stalled under the former President Trump – something Schumer had pointed out often during the last administration.
In 2020, shortly after Biden won the presidential race, Schumer accused Trump of holding the Gateway project “hostage for four years.”
He claimed in a speech this year that Trump threatened to withhold Gateway’s funding in a power play to force Congress to approve funds for his border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
“When he invited me into the Oval Office to try and force an agreement to build the wall and then maybe Gateway, I had a few choice Brooklyn words for him – ‘No effing way, Mr. President,’” Schumer said.