Federal Transit Administration to block Metrorail extension?

Well this certainly is news I'm having a hard time forming an opinion on. Being a resident of Arlington county, I, along with virtually everyone else familiar with the project favor the underground option as opposed to the above ground rail. However, the fact that the FTA is threatening to reject it because they are "reluctant to promote large scale transit projects" kind of makes me sick.

Officials on Capitol Hill, in Richmond and at the airports authority's headquarters have speculated in recent days about what the problem might be. Some say the FTA has long been skeptical of expensive rail projects; in recent years, it has more often championed bus rapid transit projects.

Others point to a long-standing desire in the Transportation Department to move away from public investments in infrastructure. Peters, the transportation secretary, for example, refused to endorse a report published Tuesday by a bipartisan national commission on the future of the nation's transportation system. She instead issued a dissent decrying wasteful spending and the federal government's large share of the investment. She said she favored private investment and more tolling to control congestion.

I would hardly call a "bus" rapid transit, first of all. Second of all, isn't it great how we're spending trillions in Iraq to "build" (destroy) their infrastructure but projects like this within our own country remain in limbo decades after they are needed.