Kasich pitches his $400M rail plan to Obama

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WASHINGTON — Following meetings Thursday with President Barack Obama and his advisers, Gov.-elect John Kasich acknowledged he does not “expect’’ the administration will allow Ohio to divert $400 million in high-speed rail money to rebuild freight rail lines in the state.

Emerging from a meeting at the White House with Obama and other newly elected governors, Kasich said he “made it clear to them that I want to use the money for freight rail,’’ adding that “if you’re for flexibility, give us the money and let us solve our problems.’’

But in a session with reporters from Ohio newspapers, Kasich made clear he doubts the administration will allow the state to use the $400 million in economic stimulus money for anything other than high-speed rail.

Kasich, during his campaign against Gov. Ted Strickland, said he would scrap a proposed high-speed rail system, saying it would cost the state too much money while providing slow service.

In addition, Kasich suggested he had little hope that the administration would provide Ohio with the flexibility to use federal Medicaid, job training and education programs the way the state chooses as opposed to following strict federal guidelines.

As an example, Kasich asserted that the federal government requires states to use virtually all federal job training money for workers who have already lost their jobs. By contrast, Kasich wants to devote a larger share of that money to retrain people who still have their jobs.

But Kasich, who also spoke with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said he was not worried that the state would lose $400 million in federal Race to the Top money even though he plans to change the school financing formula adopted last year.

Earlier in the day, Strickland met with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House.

Strickland’s office said the governor was in Washington for a meeting of the Democratic Governors Association, and that the president had time on his calendar to meet as the two had discussed doing after the election.

Strickland did not make himself available for an interview after the meeting.

The White House said it focused on “ways to continue economic progress in Ohio,” and the governor’s office said there was discussion about efforts to secure federal loan guarantees for a new Coda Automotive battery plant in Columbus and a uranium-enrichment plant in southern Ohio.