Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Elaine Lan ChaoChick-fil-A drops fight for San Antonio airport location Overnight Defense: US marks 19th anniversary of 9/11 attacks | Trump awards Medal of Honor to Army Ranger for hostage rescue mission | Bahrain, Israel normalizing diplomatic ties Trump marks 9/11 with moment of silence on Air Force One, remarks in PA MORE told lawmakers on Tuesday that New York and New Jersey should come up with more funding for a multibillion-dollar rail project that would connect the two states.

Chao said during an appearance before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the $30 billion program, known as the Gateway Project, would take funds away from other transit efforts across the United States.

“It’s going to take money from every other transit project in America,” Chao said.

“New York and New Jersey can come up with larger than zero or 5 percent,” she added.

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New York and New Jersey lawmakers are pushing for answers after the administration backed away from the program, which is aimed at rebuilding passenger rail connections under the Hudson River between Manhattan and Newark, N.J.

President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE last week reportedly pressed Speaker Ryan (R-Wis.) to withhold funding for Gateway, which has been a crucial focus for lawmakers from New York and New Jersey, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerRepublican senator says plans to confirm justice before election 'completely consistent with the precedent' Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral Graham signals support for confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year MORE (D-N.Y.).

Last summer, the Trump administration withdrew from the program’s board.

And the Federal Transit Administration in a December letter denied the presence of an agreement that says the federal government would split the cost of the project with New Jersey and New York.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. Donald Milford Payne Jr.Here are the 95 Democrats who voted to support impeachment Harris hops past Biden in early race for Black Caucus support New Jersey Dems tell Pentagon not to use military funds for border wall MORE (D-N.J.) on Tuesday pressed Chao on the states’ commitment to providing half of the funds for the project. But the secretary denied the existence of any documentation for such an accord, saying that New Jersey and New York are seeking to finance the program using loans from the federal government.

“There’s no commitment. There’s no document. There’s no pending application,” Chao told the New Jersey lawmaker, who urged the secretary to “look at the facts” about the project.

The administration would “be more than pleased to look at” any proposal from the states should they submit it in writing, Chao said.

“The misinformation on this project has been stunning,” said Chao.