U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd laid it all out pretty clearly the other day: there's $8 billion in federal stimulus funding available to help spur high speed rail. There are $140 billion in potential high speed rail projects, he said.
It doesn't take a genius to see the odds aren't too good.
But what everyone was counting on is that as long as Connecticut got the paperwork done to request the cash, Dodd could find a way to push its case to the top of the list. The Democrats' desire to see him reelected in a tough race would, of course, be the reason to lend him a hand.
Now Dodd's gone and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal doesn't have the same kind of clout in Washington -- not yet anyway.
So the chances of getting that rail money look longer than ever.
Does that matter to Bristol's dreams of commuter rail? I'm not sure.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Dodd's not gone yet. He's still the senior senator until January 2011.
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