Republicans seek to gut federal funding for three Minnesota transit projects

St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Nelson met just last week with the staff of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in Washington, D.C., who he said affirmed to him that federal money for a transit line to connect Minneapolis and Duluth was still coming.

Two days after his meeting, Nelson, a self-described “Iron Range conservative” who’s voted twice for President Donald Trump, learned that the four Republicans in the Minnesota congressional delegation sent a letter to an appropriations subcommittee urging its members to eliminate funding for the Northern Lights Express (NLX) project.

That letter, which included the signature of northeastern Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber, also asked for the elimination of funding for two other state rail projects, the Northstar Commuter Rail line and proposed Blue Line light-rail extension.

Nelson and supporters say the NLX has bipartisan support and would be a vital boost to the region’s tourism and economy and help bring veterans from Duluth to the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the letter, extremely disappointed in [Stauber’s] lack of support, and extremely disappointed in the fact that [Stauber] has yet — and I have asked several times — yet to sit down with myself and other leaders on NLX to discuss the value of this project,” said Nelson, who previously served with Stauber in St. Louis County and considers him a friend.

Minnesota congressional Republicans argue that NLX and the two other projects have “raised serious financial and community-centered concerns.” They believe any future federal investment should be closely scrutinized and all short-term funding for the projects eliminated.

Their effort comes as Republicans have been looking to drastically cut federal spending.

It’s unclear if the appropriations subcommittee will act on the delegation’s request. The office of GOP Rep. Steve Womack, the committee’s chair, declined to comment. Rep. James Clyburn, the committee’s ranking Democratic member, could not immediately be reached.

The Republican members of the transportation committees in both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature, who share in the opposition to the three projects, think congressional Republicans may be able to get the appropriations subcommittee to heed their request.

“You really want return on investment, and I just don’t think we’re getting that from any of those three [projects],” said state Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, the ranking minority member on the state Senate Transportation Committee.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum, a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, was dismayed by the letter and said she’s never seen any congressional delegation ask the committee to cut funding for their own communities. With Rep. Tom Emmer, who led the delegation in writing the letter, in U.S. House leadership, McCollum thinks he could sway the committee.

Stauber said he thinks his colleagues on the appropriations subcommittee will understand the delegation’s concerns.

“The NLX project would likely be another Minnesota rail boondoggle,” Stauber argued in a statement, also claiming that he spoke with Nelson about the NLX a few months ago.

“Not only are there cost and commuter efficiency concerns, but it would also likely never be self-sustaining, making it a massive waste of taxpayer dollars,” he continued. “Under the leadership of the Trump administration, we are seeking to reduce wasteful spending and ensure that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently. This project would contradict this very important mission.”

Emmer’s office could not be reached to discuss the letter.

The $3.2 billion Blue Line LRT extension, between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park, is set to start service in 2030. However, that depends on more than $1 billion in federal money needed to help construct it.

Federal funding would also be crucial for the $719 million NLX project, which hinges on the Federal Railroad Administration covering 80% of its cost. The state Legislature this session cut part of the $194 million in funds set aside to cover the state’s share of the cost to build the 152-mile line.

Meanwhile, the Northstar Commuter Rail, which has long struggled with ridership between Minneapolis and Big Lake, is headed toward replacement with bus service.

Without federal funding, state Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, who chairs the chamber’s Transportation Committee, said he thinks the Blue Line extension and NLX wouldn’t survive.

“The Blue Line would be looking for a 50 percent match. … I think that would effectively kill it,” Dibble said. “And if the funding is taken away for NLX, that’s an 80 percent match, with the state putting in 20 percent, and yes, of course, that would kill it.

“That would be on their hands,” Dibble said of the congressional Republicans. “They would then have to take responsibility for having disinvested in our state.”

Nelson argues that federal funding for NLX has already been appropriated for passenger rail, so he does not see how it could be eliminated by the appropriations subcommittee.

The head of the transportation advocacy group Move Minnesota thinks the delegation’s request is shortsighted.

“The Blue Line extension hasn’t been completed, the NLX hasn’t been built and the Northstar does not currently go to St. Cloud as intended, and so what you’re effectively doing is you’re shortchanging communities,” said MJ Carpio, Move Minnesota’s executive director.

Minneapolis Rep. Ilhan Omar called the Republican delegation’s request “shameful.”

“In the Fifth District, the Blue Line extension would connect some of our most diverse and underserved neighborhoods to jobs and even educational opportunities. These are communities that have been systematically excluded from public investment for generations,” Omar said in a statement. “Transit projects like these reduce emissions, ease traffic, create thousands of union jobs and boost regional economies.”

Janet Moore of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.