Missouri going after Florida's rejected high-speed rail funding

Missouri is one of a handful of states applying for some $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail projects that Florida rejected last month.

Governor Jay Nixon was in Kirkwood today to announce Missouri's application for nearly $1 billion in new funding.

In recent months, rail projects have  become politicized with many GOP lawmakers calling for states to refuse the funds.

For his part, Nixon, a Democrat, says he sees rail as a good investment for Missouri.

"From my chair I don't look at this as a partisan issue, I mean dollars that weren't available have been made available," Nixon said. "And we have a very very small amount of state resources that we have to be put up, I mean $4.5 million to potentially get a billion dollars."

Missouri's application is earmarked for Amtrak's St. Louis to Kansas City line.

The project would complement a high-speed project already underway between St. Louis and Chicago.

President Barack Obama has championed $53 billion in high-speed projects to spur job growth across the country.