The Feds Sends New Jersey a $271 Billion Invoice for Cancelling a Federal Rail Project

Republican Gov. Chris Christie return to common sense government in New Jersey has apparently angered the federal government. Christie quickly took his pen out upon becoming governor and began cancelling projects around the state with huge cost overruns and obvious wasteful government spending. One of those projects was a rail tunnel that connects Jersey with New York.

The tunnel was huge source of wasteful spending and cost overruns, and Christie killed the project.

The $8.7 billion project to construct a second rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York was 15 years in the making when Christie pulled the plug on Oct. 27, citing potential cost overruns. More than $600 million had been spent for engineering, construction and environmental studies.

Yesterday, the governor received a bill from the federal government for $271 million. They want it in 30 days.

So the feds decide they want a tunnel to connect Jersey to New York. It has been a project full of mismanagement that was costing taxpayers far more than projected. Governor Christie says enough and cancels the boondoggle, and now the federal government is going to push their weight around demanding compensation for their losses within 30 days.

If I was the state of New Jersey, I would say bring it on. We aren't paying it back. We saved taxpayers money from this mess that was going to continue to rise in cost. Leave it at that.

The state of New Jersey is deciding whether or not to pay it back.