Port St. Lucie, FL - U.S. Representative Brian Mast (FL-21) joined the district meeting of the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) Board of Commissioners on Friday, February 20, to advocate for Florida’s 21st Congressional District as Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) and Brightline attempt to expand their footprint in the Treasure Coast. 

The agenda item at hand, a federal grant proposal jointly sponsored by FEC and FIND, raises serious questions about FEC and Brightline’s financial standing, their treatment of local communities, and overall ability to act as a good-faith partner. 

The $208,500,000 federal grant would be used to replace the St. Lucie River drawbridge—a nearly 100-year-old, single-track drawbridge—with a fixed, double-track bridge that is significantly higher above the mean high water. This would improve maritime navigation and access, however, Brightline stands to benefit significantly as it seeks to increase passenger transport between Miami and Orlando. Despite the significant benefit to a private, foreign-owned company, taxpayers would fund 90 percent of the project. 

“This infrastructure could benefit our community and ease maritime traffic,” Rep. Brian Mast said. “But if taxpayers are paying for the bridge, taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability, and clarity about who actually owns it and who’s responsible.”

The 90-10 split in the cost of the bridge led Rep. Mast to question whether the bridge would ultimately be publicly owned, or the property of FEC. He urged FIND, as a co-applicant on the grant request, to ensure that any agreement prioritizes the interests of residents on the Treasure Coast. 

“If you choose to enter into this partnership, it must benefit the taxpayers first—because it is their money being spent,” Rep. Brian Mast said. “The decisions made here today will ripple across our community for decades.”

The grant request to replace the drawbridge is just the latest of public funds sought by Brightline and FEC, including $90 million for a new rail station in Stuart, and ongoing track improvement costs. This is a dramatic change in position from the initial proposal made over a decade ago, which asserted that the project would be “privately owned, operated, and maintained…at no risk to Florida taxpayers.” That poses additional questions about the long-term financial stability of these private entities. 

“If a Florida family applies for a mortgage or a car loan, they are required to disclose their financial standing,” Rep. Brian Mast said. “Any private company asking for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars should have to meet this same standard.”

The grant request also highlights Brightline and FEC’s unfair treatment of local communities. While requesting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, they are simultaneously fining local governments upwards of $1,828,265,394 under the guise of easement laws. To add insult to injury, these entities are also hauling garbage through communities and disrupting waterway access that mariners rely on. 

“We deserve a good-faith partner,” Rep. Brian Mast said. “If there is going to be a partnership, it must respect the taxpayers. Any partner must respect our waterways and respect the Treasure Coast.”

Watch the full exchange here.