Mast Requested Hearing on Brightline’s Business Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today announced that the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Subcommitteeon Government Operations will conduct a hearing next week into Brightline. Rep. Mast requested this hearing in February.
“Despite their claims to the contrary, Brightline has pursued public, taxpayer-funded financing,” Rep. Mast said. “Taxpayers deserve the truth about who is paying for Brightline, and our community deserves answers about why they are refusing to address critical safety and economic concerns.”
The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. A live stream of the hearing will be available for Florida-based press and more details will be released as they become available.
BACKGROUND
Despite their claim that Brightline is “not publicly funded at all,” there are at least four instances in which Brightline has sought public financial support:
- All Aboard Florida applied for nearly $1.6 billion in publicly-subsidized federal loans in 2013.
- Then, in 2014, All Aboard Florida applied for $1.75 billion in tax-exempt federal bonds. A U.S. District Court judge found that the cost to taxpayers would be up to $600 million.
- In 2014, the State of Florida allocated $213.5 million in its budget for the construction of a facility at Orlando International Airport. All Aboard Florida would be the sole tenant of this facility.
- Last year, Brightline was issued $600 million in tax-free bonds and then secured an additional $1.15 billion in tax-exempt bonds to pay for Phase 2 of the project.
Moreover, because Brightline failed to qualify for public financing under the statutory definition of high-speed rail, Brightline instead sought and secured the public financing for this expansion by claiming that their passenger rail train is actually a “highway.”
In addition to these financial concerns, Brightline trains have been involved in six deaths since they began running, raising serious safety concerns ahead of the proposed expansion through the Treasure Coast to Orlando.
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