President Obama has threatened to veto H.R. 2610 because of its lack of funding for the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program. In a written statement the president said that the House bill would, among other things, “...halt the pipeline for any new construction on larger New Starts or Core Capacity Projects.” Importantly, the New Starts funding recommended by President Obama in his Fiscal Year 2014 Budget would fund LA Metro's two New Starts projects (the Purple Line Extension and Regional Connector) while the House transportation bill, as currently drafted, would offer no federal funding for these same projects. The president also criticized the House transportation bill for eliminating funding for the popular TIGER grant program and for prohibiting the use of federal funds for the California High Speed Rail project. The House transportation bill is expected to be considered by the full House later this week.