Commenters at a public meeting (date not specified) urged federal officials to stop further funding for the California high-speed rail project, saying billions have been spent with little construction to show and that revised timelines push meaningful service decades into the future.

The issue drew criticism from one participant, Speaker 1, a commenter, who said, "California was given billions of dollars to build a high speed, rail system and didn't build anything." Speaker 1 said an initial Merced-to-Bakersfield segment now appears likely to miss a 2033 deadline and cited a plan described by "the CEO of the rail authority" that would not complete an LA-to-San Francisco trip until 2045 and would require riders to use three different transit systems and multiple transfers.

"Best case scenario, 20 years from now, you'll be able to ride 3 different standard transit systems on a 6 hour trip," Speaker 1 said, adding that such a trip can be made in about an hour by airplane.

Speaker 1 also referenced an international example, saying an early operator left California and helped bring a high-speed train online in Morocco in 2018.

Another participant, Speaker 2, a commenter, said federal transportation officials should redirect funds to projects that will be built. "California itself should not be angry at DOT. They should be angry at the governor, the legislature, those who have been unable to deliver this project," Speaker 2 said. Speaker 2 added, "If they can't, it's only appropriate that we pull money and try to put it into projects that are actually going to be built."

The remarks at this meeting were expressions of opinion and criticism; no formal motion or vote to withhold federal funds was recorded at the meeting.