White House Halts Billions for Windy City Infrastructure Projects
A national pause on $2.1 billion earmarked for the city of Chicago transit projects was announced on the end of the week, according to Budget Director the budget director.
Affected Projects
Among the projects impacted by the funding freeze are the Red Line extension, which was planned to begin construction in the coming year and improve transportation services to underprivileged areas in the urban area.
Additionally, modernization efforts on a series of rail lines were also paused.
Reasoning for the Freeze
Vought stated on online platforms that the funds was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”
This declaration follows a comparable move recently involving New York, where the director announced that significant funding for transportation would be paused, including money for a planned rail tunnel under the Hudson.
Federal Shutdown Background
This decision occurs as the national stoppage continues into its third day, with the Senate scheduled to conduct a vote later in the day.
In spite of the scheduled vote in the Senate, there is minimal confidence that a resolution is near, as Democrats hold out for a set of health-focused agreements.
Broader Effects
At the same time, a increasing number of government departments and employees are explicitly blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
This government communication by departments may be a infraction of the Hatch Act, which bans federal employees from participating in electioneering.
Furloughed government workers at various offices have been instructed to set email responses explaining that they are not working because Democrats caused a shutdown.
“The radical left has chosen to shut down the United States government in the name of reckless spending and obstructionism,” a federal agency page states.
Additionally, warnings over financial harm seem not to be encouraging negotiation attempts.
An analysis by an economic analyst estimated that every seven-day period the shutdown continues will mean a multi-billion dollar blow to the national economy.
