plan for a new Trans-Hudson tunnel, the Gateway Program, was unveiled on February 7, 2011, by Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman and New Jersey Senators Menendez and Frank Lautenberg. The announcement also included endorsements from New York Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak's Board of Directors. Officials said Amtrak would take the lead in seeking financing; a list of potential sources included the states of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York, the PANYNJ, and the MTA as well as private investors. As of 2017, the Gateway Program is expected to cost $12.9 billion. In October 2012, a year after the Gateway Program was announced, the North River Tubes were inundated by seawater from Hurricane Sandy, marking the first time in the tunnel's history that both tubes had been completely flooded. The surge damaged overhead wires, electrical systems, concrete bench walls, and drainage systems. As a result of the storm damage and the tunnels' age, component failures within the tubes increased, resulting in frequent delays. One report in 2019 estimated that the North River Tubes and the Portal Bridge, two components that the Gateway Program will replace, contributed to 2,000 hours of delays between 2014 and 2018. After the North River Tunnels were flooded, the Gateway Program was prioritized. In May 2014, Boardman told the Regional Plan Association that there was less than 20 years before one or both of the tunnels would have to be shut down. In July 2017, the draft Environmental Impact Study for the project was issued. Funding for the Gateway Project had been unclear for several years due to a lack of funding commitments from New Jersey officials and the federal government. In 2015, a Gateway Development Corporation, consisting of members from Amtrak, the Port Authority and USDOT, was created to oversee construction of the Gateway Project. The federal government and the states agreed to split the cost of funding the project. The administration of President Donald Trump cast doubts about funding for the project, and in December 2017, a Federal Transit Administration official called the previous funding agreement "nonexistent". In March 2018, up to $541 million for the project was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. On June 24, 2019, the state governments of New York and New Jersey passed legislation to create the bi-state Gateway Development Commission, whose job it is to oversee the planning, funding and construction of the rail tunnels