WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A total of $8 billion in economic stimulus bill funding for high-speed rail was inserted at the behest of U.S. President Barack Obama, his chief of staff says.
The funding, which far surpasses anything ever attempted by the United States in establishing new high-speed intercity trains, was specifically requested by Obama late in the process of U.S. House of Representatives-Senate negotiations on the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Tuesday's edition of the Washington publication Politico.