It unquestionably is but it sounds like you're implying that high speed rail is some sort of utopian megaproject and not a solved problem of basic, reliable and effective infrastructure that is a great bang for your buck in every country that builds it.
I mean we actually own land in the US where it’s not owned by a person in the same sense in China. So it’s easier for the government to cease it and do whatever it wants with it
Spain has the lowest cost per kilometer in the world when it comes to building High Speed train (14.5 million €/km) and they care for the environment and don't have slave labour. Rather, they have very strong unions.
They can name a bill whatever the fuck they want. They usually get authoritarian bullshit passed by calling it something like the PATRIOT Act. Who wouldn't vote for something so patriotic. If you don't vote for it you're anti-american!
Literally all it does is replace the line in the California State Constitution that says "Involuntary servitude is prohibited except to punish crime" with a line that says "Slavery of any form is prohibited" and then defines slavery as "forced labor compelled by the use or threat of physical or legal coercion"
Nobody needed it. They don't force people to work in prison, but if you do it shows your willingness to go with the program and better yourself instead of joining gangs. There's a good reason for people getting reductions in sentences or good boy points for working and it's not slavery.
If everyone is required to work, it's not really a "work and you leave sooner" situation it's a "don't work and you stay longer" situation. Besides if the work is already not cohersed, why would there be any opposition to banning cohersed labor?