Booker On Gateway Tunnel Project: Time For Trump To 'Put Up Or Shut Up'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Democratic senators from New York and New Jersey are calling on President Donald Trump to honor a commitment made under President Barack Obama to fund a project to build a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
Sens. Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker spoke Monday near Penn Station where commuters were experiencing the first day of reduced schedules to accommodate a two-month repair project.
GUIDE: Penn Station Repairs: What You Need To Know
Booker believes if the federal government doesn't fund the Gateway Project, the "summer of hell" commute will seem quaint by comparison.
"Instead of a problem lasting weeks, it'll be a problem lasting more than a year," Booker said.
A second tunnel under the Hudson would add capacity and ease overcrowding and delays.
Schumer said the repair work at Penn Station should serve as a lesson.
"Why did that happen? Because they didn't invest enough in keeping the infrastructure going," Schumer said, adding that the project would be an economic engine. "There is no better way to provide middle class jobs than doing construction and doing it through labor unions which is how Gateway will be built."
Trump has proposed eliminating a grant program that was to pay for half of the tunnel project, which is currently estimated to cost about $13 billion.
Booker said it's time for Trump to "put up or shut up."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
