Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg Testifies Before House Appropriations Committee

last year

On Tuesday, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Appropriations Committee.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00:00 come to order. Welcome to our first subcommittee hearing of the fiscal year

00:00:07 25 appropriations season and my first hearing as chairman of this subcommittee.

00:00:13 Thank you. Right on cue Mike. I'm deeply honored to lead this piece of the

00:00:21 appropriations committee with potentially the most direct impact on

00:00:25 each congressional district across the United States including my own. Today we

00:00:31 welcome the testimony from the Honorable Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the

00:00:35 Department of Transportation on the fiscal year 2025 budget. Thank you Mr.

00:00:41 Mayor for appearing before us today and for your service to this country. I know

00:00:46 I've said it to you before but as a former mayor myself I appreciate that we

00:00:51 have such a successful mayor at the helm of the DOT and I mean that. The

00:00:58 Department of Transportation is requesting 25 and a half billion dollars

00:01:01 in discretionary budget authority for fiscal year 25 coupled with the 36.8

00:01:07 billion in advanced appropriations provided by the Infrastructure

00:01:11 Investments and Jobs Act the IIJA and the nearly 81 billion from the Highway

00:01:17 Trust Fund. DOT is seeking 143 billion dollars in total resources. In total the

00:01:24 IIJA provides 184 billion in advanced appropriations from 22 to 26. Let me

00:01:31 remind you these appropriations are under the jurisdiction of this

00:01:34 subcommittee. As such we will continue to subject the IIJA appropriations to

00:01:40 strong oversight as we develop the fiscal 25 bill. Mr. Secretary I look

00:01:46 forward to working with you to prioritize our nation's vital

00:01:49 infrastructure and transportation needs in Arkansas's 3rd District and across

00:01:54 the country while safeguarding hard-working the hard-earned taxpayer

00:02:00 dollars of our citizens. I know our work on this subcommittee impacts the safety,

00:02:05 economic opportunity, and the quality of life of every American, a duty I take

00:02:10 seriously. Even as we work to rein in excessive spending let me assure you

00:02:16 that safety will remain our top priority for the subcommittee as we prepare the

00:02:21 25 bill. From the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse to the East Palestine

00:02:27 Trail derailment to the close calls happening far too often at our airports

00:02:31 you can see the importance of safe transportation systems. We will continue

00:02:37 to provide appropriate levels of support to DOT programs that ensure the safety

00:02:42 of our skies, our roads, and our railroads. I want to work with you Mr. Secretary to

00:02:49 ensure that our states and localities are getting the most bang for their buck

00:02:53 out of this

00:02:55 [no audio]

00:03:18 infusion of federal support for infrastructure. We cannot expect these

00:03:24 unprecedented levels of funding to continue in perpetuity which means the

00:03:28 grants being delivered now need to be an effective use of taxpayer dollars.

00:03:33 Burdensome 100-page applications and an immense web of new regulatory

00:03:38 requirements is not helpful to grantees trying to get shovels in the ground. I

00:03:43 also want to ensure that the impacts of these unprecedented levels of investment

00:03:48 continue to be felt by all districts around the country not just the large

00:03:53 urban areas. I recognize the mega projects that have been needed for a

00:03:58 long time in our big cities but Arkansas's 3rd District and rural areas

00:04:02 around the nation need a level playing field. I look forward to your testimony

00:04:07 today and working with you to ensure that the department can continue to

00:04:11 deliver on its mission to ensure a safe and modern transportation system. The

00:04:16 jurisdiction of this subcommittee is one of the most unique of the

00:04:19 Appropriations Committee as it impacts its impacts are seen in every single

00:04:24 congressional district. As such we have a history of bipartisanship that I look

00:04:29 forward to continuing as we begin the fiscal 25 appropriations process. I'd now

00:04:36 like to recognize my good friend and the ranking member from Illinois Mr. Quigley

00:04:42 for his opening statement. Mike. Thank you Mr. Chairman. For those who didn't

00:04:47 know we had a very strong bipartisan partnership during a time where we

00:04:51 flipped and did both chair and ranking members of the FSGG subcommittee. I look

00:04:57 forward to carrying on that tradition on the THUD subcommittee and I must

00:05:01 recognize from Rogers Arkansas to South Bend Indiana America's mayors are the

00:05:10 cradle of leadership. So Mr. Secretary welcome back. You've been a great partner

00:05:16 over the years and I appreciate your continued commitment to work with this

00:05:19 committee to strengthen our transportation networks. Overall the

00:05:24 budget request dedicates nearly 10.9 billion, 109 billion to sustain our

00:05:32 transportation networks and protect the safety of our transportation workers.

00:05:36 This investment includes hiring 2,000 additional air traffic controllers to

00:05:40 keep our skies and runways safe and efficient. 2.4 billion to expand bus and

00:05:46 rapid transit to help everyday Americans travel to work, school and health

00:05:50 appointments. And more than 3 billion to prevent collisions, improve worker safety

00:05:54 and perform signal and traffic upgrade track upgrades on our rail systems. These

00:06:00 investments combined with those made during the bipartisan infrastructure

00:06:04 investment and jobs act will ensure that whether it flies, floats or rolls

00:06:08 advancements in safety and modernization of our transportation can be made in

00:06:13 this decade. These targeted investments will help accelerate transportation

00:06:18 safety, resiliency and mobility improvements while prioritizing lengthy

00:06:23 and costly capital backlogs that propel the sophistication of America's

00:06:28 transportation networks. Yet and still emergencies and unforeseen circumstances

00:06:33 happen and this subcommittee should be prepared to help our federal partners

00:06:36 respond. Ensuring agencies such as DOT have the resources and flexibility

00:06:41 necessary to deploy and rapidly respond to accidents, near incursions or major

00:06:46 catastrophe in real time is vital. We must continue to invest in solutions to

00:06:52 create more resilient supply chain networks, workforce pipelines and

00:06:57 multi-modal reliability. Revisiting the emergence of these needs each year

00:07:03 through the annual appropriation process is critical. I look forward to working

00:07:08 with the chairman and you Mr. Secretary in getting to fiscal year 2025

00:07:12 agreement that adheres to the Fiscal Responsibility Act requirements without

00:07:17 compromising the future of America's transportation system. We look forward to

00:07:21 your testimony today and I yield back the balance of my time. I think the

00:07:26 gentleman from Illinois and he is correct, we had a terrific working

00:07:31 relationship over at Financial Services and General Government, look forward to

00:07:34 continuing that relationship here today. The overall chairman of the

00:07:39 Appropriations Committee, Mr. Cole, had intended to be here today but I think

00:07:43 everybody knows he's facing a disaster in his own district with tornadoes a

00:07:47 couple of days ago and he is there attending the matters in his district in

00:07:52 Oklahoma. Without objection his prepared remarks will be included in the record.

00:07:58 And now I'd like to recognize my good friend from the great state of

00:08:03 Connecticut and the ranking member on Appropriations, Mr. Laurel. Thank you so

00:08:08 much Mr. Chairman, Chairman Womack, Ranking Member Quigley. Thank you both

00:08:13 for holding this hearing. Congratulations to you Chairman Womack on your first

00:08:17 hearing as chair of the subcommittee and you are indeed a great friend. I want to

00:08:21 say a thank you to you Secretary Buttigieg for being here today, for all

00:08:24 that you have done to streamline and improve the travel experience throughout

00:08:28 our airports, rail systems, and other transportation modes, and for your role

00:08:32 in overseeing all the work underway across this country rebuilding American

00:08:38 infrastructure and that is thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. I

00:08:43 know we all wish we were joined in this hearing by the new chair of the full

00:08:47 committee and the previous chair of this subcommittee, Chairman Cole, but as the

00:08:52 chair remarked, he's unable to be here but we pray for a swift recovery for the

00:08:58 communities across Oklahoma that are impacted by the recent tornadoes. For

00:09:04 hard-working Americans, business travel, daily commutes, hard-earned leisure

00:09:09 travel, everything in between, life in America requires safe and efficient ways

00:09:14 of connecting. Americans deserve the safest, most advanced systems in the

00:09:19 world across all forms of transportation. Our transportation

00:09:24 infrastructure is central to the health and to the well-being of all of our

00:09:29 communities. It connects everyone, urban, suburban, rural areas, to their jobs,

00:09:34 schools, grocery stores, and the care that they depend on. And the work of your

00:09:39 department, together with this subcommittee, ensures every American has

00:09:43 access to reliable, safe, and efficient transportation. As Americans travel in

00:09:49 greater numbers than ever before, we have seen our transportation

00:09:53 infrastructure really put to the test. Massive air travel disruptions,

00:09:58 catastrophic train derailments, elevated pedestrian fatality rates emphasize the

00:10:03 work to improve our transportation systems is never, never ending. And

00:10:08 together, over the past three years, through this committee's annual

00:10:12 investments and in the bipartisan infrastructure law, we have done so much

00:10:17 to repair our transportation infrastructure. But the progress must

00:10:21 continue. In the 2024 government funding package, this committee made robust

00:10:27 investments in the safety and durability of our transportation infrastructure. We

00:10:32 created and sustained tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs with

00:10:37 investments in airports, highways, transit systems, passenger rail, and in our ports.

00:10:42 We made targeted investments to improve our transportation system safety,

00:10:47 cut emissions, increase resiliency, address inequities, and fight the climate

00:10:52 crisis while generating economic opportunities for working and middle

00:10:57 class families. And we protected the bipartisan infrastructure law, ensuring

00:11:02 that the legislation's generational investments continue to complement the

00:11:08 work that your department does on an annual basis. To build on the success, the

00:11:13 president's request for DOT includes $25.7 billion in discretionary funding to

00:11:19 create safer, more equitable, and more modern transportation systems. Critically,

00:11:25 the budget calls for an additional $1.7 billion in funding for the Federal

00:11:29 Aviation Administration, which desperately needs to bolster staffing,

00:11:33 modernize its systems, to keep up with the historic rates at which Americans

00:11:38 are traveling through the skies. The budget also invests in the Federal

00:11:42 Railroad Administration for infrastructure and safety enhancements,

00:11:45 and to ensure that Amtrak is able to meet the needs and demands of the public,

00:11:51 which is increasingly looking for rail options to meet their travel needs. And

00:11:56 just as an aside, Mr. Secretary, I ride Amtrak twice a week and it's

00:12:04 always crowded. It really is, and it is a great and wonderful, safe way to

00:12:10 travel, and we thank you for that. I know you believe, like I do, that investing in

00:12:14 our transportation infrastructure is one of the best ways to supercharge the

00:12:18 American economy. We get an extraordinary return on our investment dollar when we

00:12:23 connect communities, facilitate commerce, and draw Americans closer together by

00:12:28 building modern, fast, and safe transportation systems. So it's wonderful

00:12:34 to have you here with us this morning. We thank you for all of your work. Look

00:12:37 forward to your testimony, and with that I want to say a thank you to Chairman

00:12:42 Womack and Ranking Member Quigley. And I yield back. I thank the gentlelady. Mr.

00:12:46 Secretary, this is the first hearing of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban

00:12:51 Development Subcommittee in this cycle of appropriations, and I can't think of a

00:12:56 more appropriate first witness than the Secretary of Transportation. And with

00:13:01 that, sir, the floor is yours, and we'll accept your opening statement. Well,

00:13:06 thanks very much, Chairman, and let me add to the congratulations for your

00:13:09 taking on this leadership role. We're looking forward to working with you, and

00:13:12 our whole department feels the same way. Likewise, I want to acknowledge and

00:13:16 congratulate Chairman Cole, and our thoughts are certainly with the

00:13:19 communities impacted that he's with right now. So with that, Chair, Ranking

00:13:23 Member Quigley, Ranking Member DeLauro, and all of the members of the

00:13:26 subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss President Biden's

00:13:30 fiscal year 2025 budget request for our Department of Transportation. And thank

00:13:35 you for your partnership, as we have delivered safer, stronger transportation

00:13:38 across every mode and across the United States. Roadway fatalities are at last

00:13:43 trending downward, shipping costs are down as supply chains run more smoothly,

00:13:48 and airline cancellations last year were the lowest in a decade. As you all know,

00:13:53 we also have much more to do. We are rebuilding, not just from the pandemic,

00:13:58 but from decades of disinvestment, and an enforcement environment that in our

00:14:02 view for too long privileged corporations instead of protecting

00:14:06 people. The President's budget request, totaling $146.2 billion,

00:14:11 builds on the progress that we've made, and enables us to deliver on the

00:14:15 important challenges and opportunities that remain. I'll start with our primary

00:14:19 mission across every mode, which is safety. On our roads, we have funded

00:14:24 projects in every state to improve safety for all travelers. After years of

00:14:28 heading in the wrong direction, we've now had seven consecutive quarters of

00:14:32 declining deaths on America's roadways. But this remains a national crisis,

00:14:37 taking over 40,000 lives a year, and we're requesting $72 billion to improve

00:14:43 America's roads and bridges, with an emphasis on safety and efficiency. We are

00:14:48 constantly reminded of the importance of transportation safety. The country

00:14:51 watched in shock as a cargo ship struck and destroyed the Francis Scott Key

00:14:56 Bridge in Baltimore, taking six lives and closing a vital port. We're working

00:15:00 across the Biden-Harris administration and with state, local, and private sector

00:15:04 partners to help reopen that port as quickly as possible. We also immediately

00:15:10 got to work with the state on the first steps toward rebuilding the bridge. With

00:15:14 regard to aviation, America was rightly alarmed when a door blew out of an

00:15:18 Alaska Airlines flight in January. The FAA acted swiftly to ground 737 MAX 9

00:15:24 aircraft until each plane was safe to return to the air. And the FAA is

00:15:28 significantly increasing oversight of Boeing. The agency is also investing

00:15:32 in the physical infrastructure, staffing, and technology of our national airspace

00:15:36 and airports, and requesting $26.8 billion to the FAA, which will support

00:15:40 oversight of aircraft production, accelerate the modernization of the

00:15:43 national airspace system, increase the target to hire 2,000 air traffic

00:15:48 controllers, and continue improving airports. On our rails, we're modernizing

00:15:52 infrastructure, fixing road rail crossings, and improving service in

00:15:55 places like Chicago, Moore, Oklahoma, and between New Jersey, New York, and

00:15:59 Connecticut, just to name a few. We are requesting $16.4 billion, which in

00:16:04 addition to expanding and improving rail service, will allow us to increase the

00:16:08 number of safety inspectors to 400 and add new staff to complete safety audits.

00:16:12 We recently finalized the rule for safe train crew sizes, establishing what most

00:16:17 Americans assumed was already the case, which is a minimum of two crew members

00:16:21 generally applying to large freight trains. Indeed, we're taking every step

00:16:25 that does not require an act of Congress, but we are also continuing to call on

00:16:29 Congress to pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act that would provide much

00:16:33 needed authorities to keep passengers, workers, and communities safe. Across the

00:16:38 country, we are repairing and replacing what existed in building and modernizing

00:16:41 for the future. Last week, I was in Las Vegas for the groundbreaking of the new

00:16:46 rail line from Southern California to Las Vegas, which will, we expect, be the

00:16:51 first true high-speed rail line in service in the United States. It was a

00:16:54 very good day for the millions of Americans who will ride that train every

00:16:58 year, for our truck drivers and supply chains that will benefit from less

00:17:01 congested highways, for everyone across the country who will live in a climate

00:17:04 with 800 million fewer pounds of carbon pollution annually, but it is more than

00:17:09 each of those separate benefits. It's a celebration of the idea that America can

00:17:12 still build massive, forward-looking engineering marvels that make people's

00:17:16 lives better, with the potential of many more to come. One project is creating

00:17:21 good union jobs for 1,000 men and women who will maintain and operate the train

00:17:25 line, plus another 10,000 good union construction jobs to build it. And

00:17:29 everywhere I go, I meet workers already benefiting from these jobs. I think of

00:17:33 workers like a young veteran I met in Washington State, who reminded me of so

00:17:37 many people that I got to know in uniform, now facing the challenges of

00:17:40 building a civilian life. He talked about what it was like coming off active duty

00:17:44 as a Marine, how hard it was to get on his feet as a civilian, and then he said,

00:17:48 quote, "I came across this union, the amount of training I got, the amount of work

00:17:52 stability, the level I have to conduct myself at, the purpose I have, prevented

00:17:56 me from becoming a statistic." End quote. And now he is the first person in his

00:18:00 family to own a house. Everywhere we're meeting people who remind us what it

00:18:04 means to have these kinds of jobs. These benefits are being multiplied across

00:18:07 tens of thousands of projects, including construction workers building

00:18:11 livelihoods as they modernize America's infrastructure, helping us build stronger

00:18:15 supply chains, cleaner air, and safer, more affordable ways for every American

00:18:19 to get where they go, where they need to go. We're making good progress, but

00:18:23 there's more to do, and we look forward to working with this committee to

00:18:26 continue delivering for every community in the country. Thanks very much, and I

00:18:30 look forward to our discussion. Thank you, sir. We'll now begin the Q&A portion of

00:18:35 this hearing. Let me remind everybody, strict adherence to the five-minute rule

00:18:39 should be noted that sometime in the next hour and 10 or 15 minutes, we'll

00:18:44 have votes called. We will make a game time decision at that time about whether

00:18:50 we break for votes and come back. The Secretary has been very generous with

00:18:54 his time, and we'll have to kind of sort out where we are in the rounds before we

00:19:00 determine that, and some of that will be influenced by how many members are

00:19:03 expecting to return for potentially a second round of questions. So I'll

00:19:08 recognize myself first, and not surprisingly, we're going to talk a

00:19:11 little bit about the Baltimore Bridge, Mr. Secretary. A couple weeks ago, I had a

00:19:15 chance to sit down with my friend Governor Wes Moore of Maryland to

00:19:19 express my support to Maryland in its recovery efforts after the Baltimore

00:19:25 Bridge collapse. Chairman Cole and I and other members of this subcommittee and

00:19:29 others will get to see those efforts firsthand this coming Thursday when we

00:19:34 take a trip there. I want to take this opportunity to send my condolences, and I

00:19:40 speak on behalf of this entire subcommittee, in expressing our

00:19:44 condolences to the families of the workers who perished in the line of duty,

00:19:48 and convey my sincere appreciation to the first responders who kept this event

00:19:53 from being a bigger tragedy, and to the men and women who are working at night

00:19:57 and day to clear the wreckage and reopen the Port of Baltimore. I understand the

00:20:01 goal is to restore full service to the port by the end of May. I was pleased to

00:20:06 see that more temporary channels have opened recently and ahead of schedule to

00:20:10 allow bigger ships to leave and enter the port. Along those lines, Mr. Secretary,

00:20:14 give us an update on the status of the full reopening of the port, what the

00:20:19 impact on the economy and supply chain has been, and what your department has

00:20:24 done to help the truckers, the shippers, and other industries affected by its

00:20:28 closure. Thank you, and thank you for your and this committee's attention to to that

00:20:36 situation, and certainly was glad to hear that you and other members of the

00:20:39 subcommittee will be visiting, will participate in that visit as well as

00:20:43 Governor Moore hosts you. The Port of Baltimore is essential to the regional

00:20:47 economy and it plays an important role in the national supply chain as well,

00:20:51 especially given its specialization in the transit of vehicles. It's, and then

00:20:57 the bridge itself, which provides such a vital connection for people and goods,

00:21:02 obviously missing that has a substantial impact, there are about 30,000 vehicles

00:21:07 crossing that bridge on a daily basis. We got to work right away as soon as we

00:21:12 got those calls in the middle of the night and have been working with

00:21:15 Maryland throughout to try to help them get back to normal. That's included the

00:21:19 immediate availability of 60 million dollars in quick-release

00:21:23 emergency relief funds for the Maryland DOT. We view that as a down payment on

00:21:28 what we know will be the substantial cost of building a new bridge. With

00:21:33 regard to the opening of the channel, I can tell you that while that limited

00:21:38 access deep draft channel was open, that allowed for 19 total transit, 10

00:21:43 outbound ships, some vessels were effectively stuck there because of the

00:21:47 wreckage, as well as nine inbound and made it possible for more of the workers

00:21:50 in that port to be able to do what they do best. The Army Corps of Engineers is

00:21:57 projecting that they are on track, as I understand it, for that May opening

00:22:02 timeline of the full channel. That really is necessary even that 38-foot

00:22:07 channel is not enough to accommodate the largest vessels and get the port and the

00:22:11 workers who count on it back to normal. Briefly, I would just also note that

00:22:16 through our port infrastructure development program, we were able to make

00:22:18 funds available for paving of a cargo lay down area at a facility called

00:22:23 Trade Point, which is one of the few parts of the port that is outside and

00:22:27 not inside of the channel that was obstructed by the wreckage of the bridge.

00:22:30 My understanding is that that is already now helping to move some cargo. I

00:22:36 would note that we continue to be in regular contact both on the supply chain

00:22:41 side through our new multimodal freight office and our maritime administration,

00:22:44 and then on the bridge rebuilding side through our Federal Highway

00:22:47 Administration and have conveyed our department's echo of the President's

00:22:52 commitment that Baltimore and Maryland will have everything that they need on

00:22:55 the federal side. We'll have some other questions that we'll submit for the

00:22:59 record on the Baltimore Bridge, and I'm sure they will follow our visit up there

00:23:03 on Thursday. Real quickly, in my last minute, the Fiscal '24 Appropriations Act

00:23:09 included $12 million to start the recapitalization of the National Defense

00:23:13 Reserve fleet, which is a project designed to help us in the Navy meet

00:23:19 specifications and build that design of an American shipyard. Can you give us an

00:23:25 update on the status of this project and the timeline to get a contract awarded

00:23:29 in these remaining 45 seconds? I'll do my best to be brief, and knowing that you

00:23:35 will have our Marriott administrator before you soon, I'll just note that we

00:23:39 take great pride in helping to fulfill that important defense mission with the

00:23:42 ready reserve fleet and are working to recapitalize it using the resources that

00:23:47 were provided, while candidly noting that it has been a challenge to

00:23:51 recapitalize the vessels as quickly as they are going out of date. But my

00:23:56 understanding is that we are on track to proceed with that and we'll be happy to

00:24:00 invite the Maritime Administrator to provide a more fulsome update when

00:24:03 there's the opportunity later today. Thank you. Mr. Quigley. Thanks, Chairman. I

00:24:07 want to associate myself with the remarks the Chairman made about the

00:24:11 tragedy in Baltimore and the families who lost loved ones there, but I think we

00:24:18 need to have an honest discussion here about the Emergency Relief Fund. Going

00:24:24 into this, there was a significant backlog and recognizing that disasters

00:24:29 like this can and do happen, but the severity, the number and severity of

00:24:35 natural disasters as well, wearing on our resources is significant.

00:24:41 So we need to have this discussion because there's not enough in that fund

00:24:46 and we can argue, "Oh, we want to cut spending." Well, disasters happen. They

00:24:50 disproportionately impact one area that simply can't handle this, but they do

00:24:55 impact the country. So if you could give us, Secretary, a deeper understanding of

00:25:01 the status of the Emergency Relief Fund, how you envision a supplemental, at least

00:25:07 addressing this Baltimore disaster, but perhaps also the fact that we have a

00:25:13 backlog and that we need to recognize that that spigot, that fund, has to be

00:25:18 larger every year, just to be honest with ourselves, that it needs more money.

00:25:23 Thank you for the question and for your attention to the Emergency Relief

00:25:27 Program, which we know is so important anytime there is an incident affecting

00:25:32 transportation like the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. For perspective in

00:25:37 terms of the proportions that are in play, in May of 2023, FHWA provided $749

00:25:43 million in ER program funds to help 39 states, District of Columbia and

00:25:48 Puerto Rico, make repairs for roads and bridges that had been damaged by storms,

00:25:52 floods, wildfires, and other events. In January 2024, Federal Highways provided

00:25:57 $729 million in ER program funds to help 34 states, as well as DC, the US Virgin

00:26:03 Islands, and Puerto Rico. The last update I got showed $950 million available in

00:26:10 that fund, but we're tracking approximately $2 billion of unmet need

00:26:15 and that is not including the projected cost of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Now

00:26:19 to be clear, that does not necessarily mean that we would have $2 billion of

00:26:23 requests ready to go looking for reimbursement in a single year. What is

00:26:27 that $2 billion? So that's effectively a pipeline that will then be

00:26:31 reimbursed as the states are ready and do their spending. We've had some cases

00:26:35 where, just because of the length of time it takes to do reconstruction, checks may

00:26:40 be going out five or even more years after the original incident, just through

00:26:44 the flow of the project. But what we do see is there is a mismatch between the

00:26:50 $950 million and the $2 billion plus and counting that we see by way of need. And

00:26:56 so we would welcome support on ways to make sure that that fund is adequately

00:27:00 topped up, knowing that severe weather is becoming more severe and more

00:27:05 frequent, not less, and that even though we are separately working through

00:27:09 programs like PROTECT to make our infrastructure more resilient in the

00:27:13 first place against the kinds of threats that weather, natural disasters, and

00:27:17 other effects can cause, we still are facing an uphill struggle and are going

00:27:22 to need to do everything we can to be ready on the back end to respond when

00:27:25 disaster strikes. So if we equate this as we often do with a household, it's like

00:27:34 operating without insurance in a sense, and disasters do happen. What is the

00:27:40 probable need for a supplemental? And if we're going to go to that expense, what

00:27:46 would it take to fill that fund with a reasonable amount of money, an endowment

00:27:51 in a sense, to not have to have a wanting a wait for a supplemental when

00:27:59 the next disaster takes place? Well I'd certainly concur that it would be

00:28:03 optimal to know that the fund is being refreshed at a rate that keeps up with

00:28:07 the needs that have come to it. Again, if we're using recent years as an index, we

00:28:12 would see the last two years disbursements would have been between

00:28:15 700 and 800 million, but we know there is even more, and you would want, given the

00:28:20 Francis Scott Key Bridge, and you would want some kind of cushion there. So while

00:28:24 we have not proposed a specific supplemental at this time, that gives you

00:28:28 a sense of the proportion that we think would be needed in order to make sure

00:28:32 the ER fund was at a healthy level, and of course would also spare us needing to

00:28:36 go to supplementals in the future if we knew that there were adequate balances

00:28:39 for the unmet need that was coming in. No, again, and those details are matters, so

00:28:44 again, making sure the committee knows for the future, what would it take to get

00:28:48 the fund at a healthy level to address the needs as they hit, and what would be

00:28:54 a normal, appropriate amount to fund that spigot every year? Thank you. Thank you.

00:29:00 So, sorry, you know, being authorized at a hundred million a year and then

00:29:04 periodically being supplemented by Congress, we can work with that,

00:29:08 but a cushion that's more in the line of the levels that we've found ourselves

00:29:12 dispersing in recent years would help us to stay ahead of that and reduce the

00:29:16 need for supplementals or additional work outside of the regular budget cycle.

00:29:20 Sheriff Rutherford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary, great to see you

00:29:25 again, and thank you for being here this morning. One of the things that I want to

00:29:30 bring up is this issue of vehicle technology and cybersecurity, you know,

00:29:35 these new connective vehicles, as they're called, particularly in light of the fact

00:29:40 that China has emerged now as the largest exporter of vehicles globally,

00:29:45 including here in the United States, and Mr. Secretary, I have to tell you, I'm

00:29:50 concerned about the potential security risk of these connective vehicles built

00:29:55 by the Chinese automakers and now operating in the United States, because

00:30:00 through their massive subsidies and workforce practices, as I said, they've

00:30:07 become the largest exporter. They're here, and these vehicles literally have the

00:30:13 capability of being manipulated and manipulating the vehicle's life and safety

00:30:21 systems, collect and transmit data, and implement surveillance capabilities

00:30:28 embedded within the vehicle's technology. Now, I know the Select Committee on the

00:30:37 Chinese Communist Party has sent a letter to the Department of Commerce and

00:30:42 the Department of Defense issuing those concerns about these vehicles. Can

00:30:47 you talk a little bit about what DOT, maybe NHTSA, whoever can really help here

00:30:55 in America ensure, like the Chinese are doing, if you - any vehicle

00:31:02 data collected in China has to be stored locally. Are we requiring anything like

00:31:08 that? Thank you for the question. It touches on something we take very

00:31:12 seriously, which is the safety implications of vehicle cybersecurity

00:31:16 issues. The reality is that vehicles are becoming more and more complex and

00:31:23 more and more software intensive each passing year. There's already probably

00:31:28 been more computerization on board than many consumers were aware of, but

00:31:31 that is only increasing. NHTSA was involved in establishing a body called

00:31:38 the Auto ISAC, an industry data sharing partnership, which is committed to

00:31:42 quickly identifying and responding to cybersecurity risks and threats in the

00:31:46 nation's vehicle fleet. NHTSA has refreshed its own updated cybersecurity

00:31:52 best practices, which we also believe is a contribution to this issue, working

00:31:58 with a number of stakeholders and also updating a cybersecurity incident

00:32:01 response plan, which makes more clear the agency's responsibilities in the event

00:32:06 of a cyber attack or any issue that would involve safety critical systems

00:32:11 there. I think that going forward we need to continue assessing how best to

00:32:16 protect consumers without, of course, hindering the technological

00:32:20 developments that can make vehicles safer, more convenient. There's a lot of

00:32:25 consumer demand for this. Did they say anything about

00:32:30 collecting data here locally, keep it in America as opposed to

00:32:35 going back to the CCP? I'm not aware of restrictions in terms of how data is

00:32:41 stored. Of course, most of our international automakers are not Chinese

00:32:46 automakers, but you also know how many different components are finding their

00:32:50 way into any vehicle regardless of the OEM. So it's certainly an area that we'd

00:32:55 welcome more dialogue on and be eager to work on. Okay, thank you. I'd like to

00:33:01 flip over to the EV standards and really talk about the CAFE standards that

00:33:09 have recently been announced that everyone is, I don't want to say, well, I

00:33:17 might say up in arms about because nowhere in law did Congress authorize

00:33:23 DOT to set fuel economy standards that effectively mandate EVs while at the

00:33:29 same time will force the internal combustion engine out of the market. In

00:33:33 fact, Mr. Secretary, federal statute expressly prohibits NHTSA from

00:33:38 considering the fuel economy of EVs when determining maximum feasible CAFE

00:33:44 standards for passenger cars and trucks. Now, can you give me a little update on

00:33:50 the CAFE standards? What are they finally going to boil down to?

00:33:55 And how does DOT plan to implement such a massive move to EVs without

00:34:05 consumer buy-in really because as we've all seen, so few really want to

00:34:12 buy them at this point. Well, I do think it's important to note that every year

00:34:16 more Americans choose EVs than the year before and very few Americans who choose

00:34:20 an EV decide to go back. But I do want to agree and note that as you correctly

00:34:25 stated, NHTSA does not take EVs into account when it's formulating CAFE

00:34:30 standards. They're about the quality of an internal combustion engine. The rule

00:34:36 that was proposed would require a fleet-wide average of 58 miles per gallon

00:34:41 by 2032. I know that seems aggressive, but frankly every CAFE... To say the least.

00:34:46 Yeah, but that's exactly what they said when we outrageously suggested that you

00:34:49 could get 20 miles a gallon back in the 80s or 90s. So every time we raise the

00:34:54 bar, we find that the industry is able to meet it and it's remarkable the

00:34:58 innovation that goes on. But ultimately we believe these are about not just

00:35:02 cleaner air but saving Americans money by having more efficient gas engines and

00:35:06 we know that, you know, these gas cars are going to be on the road a long time even

00:35:10 as the EV market share grows, which is part of why we continue to think it's

00:35:13 important to meet our statutory responsibility with the CAFE standards.

00:35:16 Thank You, Mr. Speaker. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Watson-Coleman. Thank You,

00:35:24 Mr. Chairman. Congratulations to you. I look forward to working with you. It's

00:35:27 good to see you, Mr. Secretary. It's always good to see you. Thank you for your visit

00:35:33 to New Jersey. Let's make it happen again. You know, through the funding from both

00:35:38 the bipartisan infrastructure and the budget, your department has been able to

00:35:43 provide really good union jobs to many people in this country, uplifting our

00:35:50 working-class families. While lifting them up is vitally important, it's also

00:35:55 very important that we are inclusive and for those communities which have been

00:36:00 marginalized, particularly black and brown, we want to make sure that they are

00:36:05 reaping the benefit of this wonderful work under this administration. Can you

00:36:12 please discuss the Department of Transportation's ongoing efforts to

00:36:16 ensure that members of historically marginalized communities, again,

00:36:20 especially black and brown and even women in non-traditional jobs, are being

00:36:24 included in the efforts to uplift America's working class? Thank you.

00:36:30 This continues to be a very important consideration for us and as we advance

00:36:35 initiatives like the President's Justice 40 commitment, always of course being

00:36:39 mindful of the statutory authority behind it, we believe we continue to have

00:36:44 extraordinary opportunities to lift up communities that have been passed over

00:36:49 or in some cases even harmed by the transportation decisions of past

00:36:53 generations. And we know that when we do that, nobody is made worse off and a lot

00:36:58 of people are better off. In terms of how we can best do that, that has included

00:37:02 measures like technical assistance to help communities that aren't wealthy

00:37:06 enough to have the sometimes the most well-heeled federal relations

00:37:11 organizations, for example, still be able to compete and win in our discretionary

00:37:16 grant processes. It means, to the extent permitted by statute, considering the

00:37:21 areas of persistent poverty or other factors that have placed an area at a

00:37:26 disadvantage and generally ensuring that all community voices are heard in the

00:37:32 proposals for projects that are coming forward. And I really believe that

00:37:36 we are turning a corner as a country in terms of how we make sure that federal

00:37:40 dollars benefit everybody and not just the few or the well-off. Thank you, Mr.

00:37:44 Secretary. How is the Department measuring the success of those efforts?

00:37:49 Well, this is, first of all, again I would point to Justice 40 because that has set

00:37:55 a clear goal for us as an administration and that is being tracked not just in

00:38:01 our department but on a government-wide basis. The White House has updated its

00:38:07 covered program list and 40 of those programs are in the USDOT alone and

00:38:14 they're subject to a level of data gathering that can help us understand

00:38:19 the impacts of the choices that we're making. We're also making sure that we

00:38:24 just track the level of projects that are moving through the different stages

00:38:29 to make sure that those are in lower capacity or lower wealth communities are

00:38:32 not systematically encountering more issues. We know that can happen just

00:38:36 because they have sometimes fewer resources, less experience working with

00:38:40 federal programs. And we're actively engaging those who don't succeed in some

00:38:44 of our applications through debriefs knowing that often it's on a third or a

00:38:48 second or third attempt that a community, especially a low-income community, can

00:38:53 successfully get these kinds of federal funds. So what is it that you all are

00:38:57 doing to be able to demonstrate whether or not you're being successful in

00:39:02 accomplishing what I believe is your noble and genuine goal? My issue has

00:39:08 always been working in this field myself years ago that we put in these good

00:39:13 faith efforts but we missed the mark when it comes time to actually showing

00:39:19 where the dollars went, where the contracts went. So how are we measuring

00:39:24 that, sir? What is your department doing to collect that information and is it

00:39:29 available for us to peruse? So I certainly agree that often we see the

00:39:35 phrase good faith effort used but we don't always see the results. So we've

00:39:39 held ourselves to a higher standard beginning with the dollars that we have

00:39:43 the most visibility and control over which is of course our direct

00:39:46 contracting dollars. There we set a 20% goal. We're transparent about how we're

00:39:51 doing on that and I'm pleased to report we've exceeded that goal and we're

00:39:53 thinking about how to take it higher in terms of the proportion of grant grants

00:39:57 that go to SDBs, small and disadvantaged businesses. We're likewise encouraging

00:40:01 our project sponsors who of course handle the bulk of the money, states,

00:40:05 cities, airport authorities, transit agencies to do the same and our recently

00:40:10 revised DBE and ACDBE role, rules, excuse me, contains provisions to make sure we

00:40:16 have good data going forward too. The balance we're trying to strike of course

00:40:20 is we don't want to make it harder for those very same businesses with overly

00:40:23 burdensome data reporting requirements but we do want to make sure we have and

00:40:26 can publish enough data to really see how we're doing in that regard. We'd be

00:40:31 happy to share with your office more granular numbers especially about the

00:40:34 progress we've made in our own contracting. Thank you. Thank you Mr.

00:40:38 Chairman. Thank you Mr. Secretary. Mr. Gonzales. Thank you Chairman. Thank you

00:40:42 Secretary. Texas has the greatest increase in population than any other

00:40:47 state in the country and I was a little shocked to learn that the chairman of

00:40:52 TxDOT hasn't had an opportunity to to meet you and have a conversation with

00:40:57 you. Would you be willing to get on a call with myself, your team, and the

00:41:01 chairman of TxDOT, an introductory call? Sure I'd be happy to. Typically

00:41:05 engage with leaders of state DOTs in the context of AASHTO but if there's a more

00:41:11 specific issue we can work or you just like to arrange an introduction I'd be

00:41:14 happy to do that. Fantastic. Thank you for that. Mr. Secretary, San Antonio, Texas is

00:41:18 home to one of the largest military populations in the nation. As a 20-year

00:41:23 Navy veteran it is critical, I know that it is critical, that we equip our

00:41:27 military personnel with the tools they need to succeed. One of those tools is

00:41:31 travel and we have yet to see a direct flight added to the DCA to San Antonio.

00:41:36 There are a significant number of personnel that travel back and forth

00:41:39 from San Antonio to our nation's capital. It is critical that we have that we make

00:41:43 this as painless as possible for our men and women in uniform. Currently there are

00:41:47 discussions about adding a direct flight between San Antonio and DCA. I'm

00:41:51 in full support of that. My question for you is do you believe it is important

00:41:56 for our military men and women to have direct access to our nation's capital?

00:41:59 Well having traveled on orders myself I certainly recognize and appreciate the

00:42:04 importance of good air travel and other travel options for our military members.

00:42:08 Excellent. My next question is my district is massive. It's larger than the

00:42:13 state of Pennsylvania. I have 29 counties. 27 of those counties are rural.

00:42:18 Livestock plays a very important role in our economy. For years livestock has been

00:42:23 relied on has relied on an exemption to the electronic logging device, ELD rule.

00:42:29 Without these exemptions for livestock carriers there is a risk of animals

00:42:34 being left without proper grazing accommodations or becoming subject to

00:42:40 other health risks. Mr. Secretary do you have any do you have any plans to grant

00:42:45 an exception to livestock haulers for the ELD rules in fiscal year 2025?

00:42:51 Certainly I'm aware of the unique issues that livestock haulers face when you

00:42:57 have a living cargo. It's a little bit different than than boxes and inanimate

00:43:02 objects and I think that's contemplated in the practices of FMCSA. I'm not aware

00:43:07 of any change to the current practice that is forthcoming in terms of some of

00:43:11 the flexibilities. Of course what we're trying to do is balance the importance

00:43:14 of livestock with the importance of safety and those ELDs are there for

00:43:18 safety reasons but we continually seek to strike the right balance to be

00:43:22 reasonable in our flexibilities and yet demonstrate our commitment to the life

00:43:27 safety issues that are implicated in any of our regulations with FMCSA.

00:43:31 Excellent. I also represent a large part of the Texas-Mexico border. Nearly half

00:43:36 of the overall Texas-Mexico border and trade and commerce is a big part of

00:43:40 that. You know big function of trade and commerce is the infrastructure that

00:43:44 builds out to that and the level of different roads and I'd ask that you

00:43:47 take a look at that as we as we're reviewing you know updating USMCA and

00:43:52 some of these other trade partnerships. It's so critical that we have the

00:43:55 infrastructure built out right as we near shore from other places not only

00:44:00 near shore to America but also North America. I think it's critical that we

00:44:04 we look to you know our partners to the south and how do we have this

00:44:07 infrastructure once again built out. We can't just turn a switch off and turn it

00:44:11 on without that investment in there so I look forward to working with you and

00:44:14 your team on on these projects and others and thank you once again for

00:44:18 coming before the committee and I look forward to that call. Mr. Chairman I yield back.

00:44:21 Thank you Tony. Thank you very much. Ms. Torres. Thank you chairman and I also

00:44:25 want to congratulate you on your new position. I hope that you are kind to us

00:44:30 when it comes to community projects. You started by getting your name right. Yes, thank you.

00:44:38 Secretary it's really great to see you again and I really look forward to

00:44:44 hosting you in my district when the Brightline project finishes and I hope

00:44:50 that you and I and my colleague here can work together to ensure that you know we

00:44:59 move this project as fast as a train will travel. So you know on time, on

00:45:05 budget, all of that. As you know I represent SoCal's inland Empire. You

00:45:12 visited my district a couple of years ago and we were fortunate to receive a

00:45:18 15 million dollar award for a pedestrian bridge that was so desperately needed. We

00:45:25 are the suburbs of workers that work in Los Angeles and you know they travel to

00:45:32 40, 50, 60 miles one way to work. I represent a freight corridor so anything

00:45:40 that happens at the Port of LA and Long Beach impact my district. Alameda

00:45:46 corridor runs and splits my district in half so you can imagine the needs that

00:45:51 we have as you have seen them yourself. In fiscal year 23 funding package I

00:46:00 secured a transit oriented development pilot program with over 13 million

00:46:05 dollars of funding. It's a pilot program transit oriented development is

00:46:10 important as you know for bringing transit and affordable housing together

00:46:15 which is what we desperately need in the inland Empire. Can you provide us an

00:46:20 update on the department's transit oriented development pilot program and

00:46:24 have you worked with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure

00:46:29 that we are coordinating the the goal of this pilot program? Thank you and the

00:46:35 short answer on working with HUD is yes. I've spoken with both Acting

00:46:42 Secretary Todman and before that Secretary Fudge about this because we

00:46:46 recognize the relationship between housing affordability and

00:46:49 transportation options. Specifically with regard to the program just recently in

00:46:55 fact earlier this month FTA announced 17.6 million in grants going to 20

00:47:01 communities in 16 states to support equitable transit oriented development

00:47:06 and the goal is to again try to integrate our thinking about the what

00:47:11 are the two biggest costs for most households taking together housing and

00:47:15 transportation. The overall funding for that program is 68.9 million dollars

00:47:21 provided by the IIJA which is a substantial increase over the prior five

00:47:26 years. I would also note that we have credit programs in the Build America

00:47:31 Bureau which can also be used to support transit oriented development. We hope to

00:47:35 be able to make an announcement in the coming days about a project that will go

00:47:39 forward based on that. So we certainly believe in the importance of transit

00:47:44 solutions to help with housing affordability and welcome the

00:47:46 opportunity to continue working to bring that to your constituents. Thank you.

00:47:49 Thank you so much. This pilot program was so successful that I look forward to

00:47:54 working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to put it into law to

00:47:58 ensure that we continue to support. By the way, the 16 states that received this

00:48:05 funding and communities across those 16 states, none of them were from SoCal's

00:48:11 Inland Empire. We didn't apply and we didn't apply because again what you

00:48:16 talked about in your opening statement, the need for assistance in filling out

00:48:23 these lengthy applications. I can't stress to you how much we need to ensure

00:48:31 that we simplify the processes, that we simplify the reporting options that we

00:48:39 have currently available for our communities because they just, it is

00:48:44 not sustainable for smaller cities like the ones that I represent. I also want to

00:48:49 ask if you have a status on another program that we funded and that's the

00:48:56 Regional Infrastructure Accelerator, a program that was created for the

00:49:03 development of regional projects to get cities to work together.

00:49:09 Thank you, yes. That's also part of the Build America Bureau that I mentioned

00:49:13 earlier that that program accelerates project delivery and helps clear

00:49:17 barriers. In October we were able to announce another step forward, thereby

00:49:22 expanding the RAA program to 24 accelerators receiving 24 million

00:49:27 dollars in new funding and we look forward to continuing to develop that

00:49:30 program. Also with regard to your earlier note, I appreciate the opportunity to

00:49:34 mention our belief in the Thriving Communities Program and how that has

00:49:38 helped link many of these communities up to support for navigating those

00:49:41 sometimes challenging federal processes. Mayors get things done and with that I

00:49:46 yield back. Amen. Thank you. Mr. Valadiello. Thank you,

00:49:49 Chair. Thank you, Secretary, for your time today. I really appreciate you taking

00:49:52 some time to be with us today. Mr. Secretary, the state of California has

00:49:56 adopted a regulation targeting emissions of locomotives and they are seeking

00:49:59 authorization from EPA to begin enforcing that regulation. The

00:50:03 regulation requires that railroads operating in California must quickly

00:50:07 begin adopting zero emission technology for locomotives, technology that is

00:50:12 currently not commercially available. The EPA authorizes, if the EPA authorizes

00:50:17 California's regulation, supply chains across the country would be in danger due

00:50:21 to the operational and financial restraints placed on the railroads. For

00:50:25 that reason, numerous groups representing manufacturers, businesses, farmers,

00:50:28 ranchers weighed in, with the EPA expressing significant concerns. One of

00:50:32 the reasons why I bring this up is 65% of the national locomotive fleet touches

00:50:37 California. We're obviously 40 million people. We have major ports all along the

00:50:42 coast, moving products. I think 167 million tons of freight that were moved

00:50:49 by rail in California in 2021. It employs thousands of people. It's huge for our

00:50:54 economy. Where do you stand on this? How do you plan to move forward on

00:50:59 this? Hopefully some common sense will prevail here. So when it comes to

00:51:04 railroad regulation, our authorities mostly relate to the physical safety and

00:51:09 safe operation of locomotives and railroads and are in that sense neutral

00:51:17 to forms of propulsion or air pollution issues that might be the jurisdiction of

00:51:21 the EPA. I would have to refer you to the EPA for anything more on their rule. I'm

00:51:26 not as familiar with it. Again, given that our authorities typically have more to

00:51:30 do with physical safety. I understand that it is the EPA that's going to have this position, but

00:51:33 you're the one that's going to be left holding the bag when, again, it's controlling or

00:51:39 having an impact on not just California citizens, across the country. If 65% of

00:51:44 the locomotives in the country are touching California and are being

00:51:47 delayed because of having either changed engines or completely removed engines

00:51:52 off the fleet, it's going to have an impact and you're going to be the one to

00:51:56 blame because when they think locomotives, they don't think EPA.

00:51:59 They're thinking Secretary of Transportation. I mean our experience in

00:52:03 this regard probably is mostly more in the realm of the CAFE rule that I was

00:52:07 discussing with Mr. Rutherford. Certainly corporations tend to resist

00:52:11 regulations to have cleaner air. Our job is to try to make sure that we strike a

00:52:16 reasonable balance between what's feasible and what's going to lead to

00:52:19 fewer harms from pollution. Certainly we're hopeful that our supply

00:52:23 chains can become both more efficient and greener at the same time. But again, I

00:52:28 say that without professing to have more knowledge than I do about the pending

00:52:33 EPA rule or California rule. So 1.6 billion tons of goods

00:52:37 were moved nationwide and the EPA's own numbers, only 2% was from

00:52:45 locomotives of all the greenhouse gas emissions. So we're

00:52:52 talking about a very small amount. I mean you can move a huge amount of goods with

00:52:56 very little fuel, but they play such a vital role. Over the last

00:53:01 few years, and I know your office was really helpful on this, but we struggled

00:53:05 a lot with moving goods. We had cattle all across California were running out of

00:53:08 feed mills because we move in so many goods from Canada and from the Midwest

00:53:11 to feed animals. But there was even a point in time where we were on the verge

00:53:14 of running out of cement at our concrete plants to stop construction in our major

00:53:19 areas. I mean these are things that have a huge impact on housing prices, food,

00:53:24 every other item that is on a storefront. And when you look at greenhouse gas

00:53:30 emissions, locomotives are such a small part of it. But when you look at the

00:53:34 overall part of what they play in moving goods across the country, this is a huge

00:53:39 issue for us. And we have to take this with, we really do have to pay some

00:53:44 attention to it. And shifting just a little bit, you were in Vegas the other day for

00:53:48 the high-speed rail. One comment that you made that stood out to me, because high

00:53:53 speed rail in California they broke around in 2015, was that this was going

00:53:57 to be the first true high-speed rail. What do you mean by that? And why is

00:54:01 California ten years into this project, construction already started, why is Las

00:54:05 Vegas is going to be done before ours? Well Las Vegas is, the Las Vegas to Rancho

00:54:10 Cucamonga project follows a unique right-of-way, the bulk of which is

00:54:15 actually basically shooting down the middle of the median of I-15. It's part of

00:54:21 how they were able to establish the project timelines that they were. So my

00:54:25 remark, I should to be very specific, it is not the first true high-speed rail to

00:54:29 break ground. What I mean by that is it will, we project, be the first high-speed

00:54:34 rail to be in service in terms of revenue rise. Their goal is to be in

00:54:38 operation by 2028. They've got an eye on the Olympics and so we're excited that

00:54:43 that would be happening sooner. The North-South project, which we also believe

00:54:48 in, are investing in, but recognize has a much more complex right-of-way picture, is

00:54:52 on a longer timeline than the Brightline West project. All right, thank you and I

00:54:56 yield back. Now let's have a real Pete to Pete conversation. Mr. Aguilar. Thank you,

00:55:02 thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to your leadership and your

00:55:06 tenure in this committee. I've indicated to you privately I want you to be

00:55:09 successful. Whether that means you want me to be for you or against you, I will

00:55:13 do whatever is best for you. Secretary Buttigieg, good to see you again. As

00:55:21 former Mayor Torres mentioned, it was good to be in your company at that

00:55:25 Brightline event and I want to thank Mr. Valadao for the segue in this question

00:55:31 that I have. The California delegation is incredibly excited to play a role in

00:55:35 bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Southern California in 2028. The

00:55:41 ELA Olympic Organizing Committee is already fully engaged in the planning

00:55:44 process. Historically, the federal government has provided significant

00:55:48 resources to support and ensure the safety and success of the Olympic and

00:55:52 Paralympic Games. Just thinking ahead about the department and their

00:55:58 preparations for LA-28 Olympic transportation needs, how are we, how are

00:56:05 you thinking through that, realizing that this is always difficult, these are not

00:56:09 annual things, but clearly this is a significant event. It was equal to seven

00:56:15 Super Bowls over a short period of time and the significant challenges that we

00:56:21 have. How are you guiding the department and thinking about the LA-28 Olympics?

00:56:25 Well, thank you for the question and as you note, the Olympic Games are just a

00:56:30 massive undertaking that requires a lot of forward thinking about how to move

00:56:34 people around efficiently and safely. DOTB, in particular our Federal Transit

00:56:38 Administration, have been working with the Olympic Organizing Committee, LA-28,

00:56:42 since early 2023. I just had a conversation the other day, most recently,

00:56:47 with that committee myself and I should note there's an intergovernmental

00:56:52 working group that's been set up by the White House to try to make sure that

00:56:55 transportation security and other needs faced by the organizers are well

00:57:00 coordinated on the federal side. We've had DOT staff tour the expected venues,

00:57:05 housing, and transportation projects recently and are committed to working

00:57:10 with the LA region to make these the best Olympic and Paralympic Games in

00:57:13 American history. A couple things of note, they have declared their intention to

00:57:16 expand transit in the region to meet the needs for these games, so they are

00:57:21 establishing a games bus route network to provide the ability to reach relevant

00:57:26 destinations and hubs. There's also the supplemental bus system or SBS concept.

00:57:31 We'll continue to work with LA to address the challenges that come with

00:57:36 that, basically mobilizing vehicles borrowed from other jurisdictions, trying

00:57:40 to help make sure they can navigate funding, availability of vehicles,

00:57:44 drivers, and mechanics, and just the logistics of borrowing buses from other

00:57:47 transit operators in other jurisdictions. I'd also note there are plans to

00:57:51 establish mobility hubs that will create inclusivity for all of the suburbs and

00:57:56 the outlying communities that are going to play a very important role in the

00:58:00 Games, and we're pleased to see that the GM of LA Metro has been working hard to

00:58:05 try to turn LA's resources to work for what we think could be a chance to

00:58:11 really showcase what 21st century transportation can look like under the

00:58:16 kind of pressure that the foot traffic associated with the Games can cause.

00:58:20 And we want that to be successful. What resources do you anticipate

00:58:25 needing from this committee in order to make that happen, specifically the

00:58:28 bus program that you mentioned? It's been discussed about resources. That

00:58:33 certainly is one where funding could play an important role. We'd be happy to

00:58:37 work with this committee and work with the organizers depending on what funding

00:58:41 Congress could make available, just because we're talking about a lot of

00:58:45 vehicles and a lot of pieces that have to come into place. We're also working to

00:58:49 just make sure we have the technical expertise and assistance in place and

00:58:53 think that that working group and that regular cadence of contact is going to

00:58:56 serve us well. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. As Representative Torres mentioned, and

00:59:03 again, Mr. Valadao alluded to, we were at that Brightline event. I appreciate in

00:59:08 your testimony, I also wanted to highlight that you discussed the project

00:59:11 creating 35,000 jobs, lowering our carbon footprint, and bringing communities

00:59:16 closer together. As the DOT distributes funds from the infrastructure law and

00:59:21 the Inflation Reduction Act, how do we ensure that communities and

00:59:24 transportation agencies at the state level are working together for that

00:59:29 shared goal of lowering emissions while connecting communities? Well, we certainly

00:59:36 find that every state has a different strategy for addressing air pollution

00:59:39 and carbon emissions. So we're trying to meet them where they are and at the

00:59:44 same time ensure that every statutory high bar is met. Often we

00:59:50 find there are projects that the states have been wanting to do for a long time,

00:59:53 but until the IIJA just didn't have the resources for. And so whether we're

00:59:58 talking about long-standing programs like the Congestion Mitigation Air

01:00:01 Quality Program or things like the Protect Grants on Resilience that didn't

01:00:06 exist before the bill, we're mobilizing every tool that we can. And also, I would

01:00:12 mention in addition to our state partners, sometimes directly engaging

01:00:14 cities, transit agencies, airport authorities, especially if we find that

01:00:18 they have maybe a higher level of climate ambition than their respective

01:00:21 state capitals. And we want to make sure we're supporting them too. Thank you, Mr.

01:00:25 Secretary. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Pete. Mr. Kline. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank

01:00:29 you, Mr. Secretary, for being here. I want to ask a couple of questions about the

01:00:33 6th District of Virginia and the way that various national events are

01:00:38 impacting transportation in the 6th. We all are concerned about the bridge

01:00:43 collapse, the tragedy involving the six deaths and the billions dollars in

01:00:48 damage, effectively closing the Port of Baltimore, affecting 100 to 200 million

01:00:52 dollars in cargo every day. Understand that this could have some impact on rail

01:00:56 traffic in western Virginia. Union officials say some coal trains are being

01:01:00 rerouted through Roanoke to coal piers in Norfolk. It could require Norfolk

01:01:04 Southern to double the amount of export coal loaded each month at the Lambert

01:01:08 Point terminal. With coal, Baltimore is the number two port, but Norfolk is the

01:01:13 number one port. And it's my understanding that CSX and Norfolk

01:01:17 Southern are the two main coal carriers in the region. Can you tell us how you've

01:01:22 been working with the railroads in the Port of Norfolk to ensure not only that

01:01:26 Norfolk plays an integral role there in accommodating a lot of the traffic from

01:01:29 Baltimore and that there's a seamless transition there, but how we can

01:01:37 ensure that rail is able to accommodate without delays, in particular to

01:01:41 passenger rail that's grown quite a bit in that area as well. Thanks, and

01:01:45 yes, this is not only a shipping picture, but really has impacted rail, trucking,

01:01:50 every form of freight transportation. The week of the Francis Scott Key

01:01:56 Bridge collapse, I convened supply chain stakeholders from across the spectrum as

01:02:00 well as across the region and the country, not just the ports, but for this

01:02:04 very reason. We had rail trucking and cargo owners and other representatives

01:02:09 there. I will say I've been impressed by how various ports, including Virginia

01:02:14 ports, have stepped up to absorb some of that temporarily diverted cargo, and not

01:02:19 just what that means in terms of port capacity, but the railroad and also

01:02:23 trucking elements of that as well. Just to convey how complex it can be, there

01:02:27 are actually some processes in the automotive finishing process that take

01:02:32 place on the grounds of the Port of Baltimore that can't easily be moved

01:02:36 such that vehicles that were absorbed in Georgia or in Rhode Island because they

01:02:40 couldn't get to Baltimore coming off the ships still had to be trucked to

01:02:43 Baltimore in order to be finished and then trucked back out, and obviously they

01:02:46 had to do that without the benefit of having the key bridge which serves so

01:02:49 much of that cargo. So at the working level, our multimodal freight office,

01:02:54 which was newly created by the IIJA, has been a very important tool that's helped

01:02:58 us to have those conversations, that dialogue, and we find that all the

01:03:01 different players have stepped up very effectively to absorb what we certainly

01:03:05 expect is a temporary but not trivial impact. Now when it comes to road

01:03:10 transportation, Interstate 81 has been overburdened by truck traffic for

01:03:17 decades now. Originally built for around 15% truck traffic, it accommodates over

01:03:22 30, 40, sometimes even 50% truck traffic depending on the day of the week,

01:03:28 traveling up to the northeast from Point South, but and while we are working to

01:03:35 add a third lane, and would appreciate your cooperation with that, traffic

01:03:39 fatalities are up on 81. NHTSA estimated that nearly 41,000 people died in traffic

01:03:45 crashes nationwide in 2023. What are NHTSA's plans to reduce fatalities

01:03:51 impacted by crashes? Is widening one of those ways that you all are seeking

01:03:57 to reduce crashes, and can you speak to the department support for adding that

01:04:04 third lane to 81? Thanks. NHTSA is very focused on reversing the rise in roadway

01:04:09 deaths that we've experienced in recent years. The data is suggesting we have

01:04:14 finally come off the peak, but I am certainly not satisfied with the current

01:04:19 level of roadway death in this country. About 40,000 people, which means roughly

01:04:23 the equivalent of a fully loaded airliner every single day, and a number

01:04:28 that I should also add is significantly higher than our peer-developed

01:04:33 countries. Our strategy for addressing that has five elements, safer roads,

01:04:37 safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer people, including drivers, and then a higher

01:04:42 standard post crash care. And that first thing that you mentioned, safer roads,

01:04:46 wouldn't adding additional lanes mileage be part of that? Potentially, yes.

01:04:51 It certainly depends on the project and the specifics, but we want to make sure

01:04:55 that there's a healthy and safe flow of traffic on any interstate. Let me ask one

01:04:59 more question before my time expires. That impacts the Roanoke Airport because

01:05:03 we do have flights that go through Reagan National. The FAA recently issued

01:05:06 an analysis of adding more daily round-trip flights to Reagan National. It

01:05:11 found that five more round trips would result in an extra 12 hours of delays

01:05:14 each day. It's already the 10th most delayed airport in the country. It would

01:05:17 have a negative impact on safety at the airport. Just a few weeks ago there was a

01:05:20 near collision between two commercial flights on a runway. With 819 daily

01:05:25 takeoffs, more than LAX, Newark, or O'Hare, it's clear that Reagan National's

01:05:29 runway is the busiest in the nation, already ranks third for runway incursions.

01:05:33 Can you comment on the administration's position on adding those extra five

01:05:38 slots? Yes, we certainly recognize and respect the role of Congress in

01:05:42 determining the availability of slots. I would note, having spent time up in that

01:05:46 tower at DCA, that it really is an exceptionally, as you noticed, not only an

01:05:51 exceptionally busy, but airstrip in terms of that one runway, the hardest

01:05:56 working runway in the the national airspace. We would be concerned about the

01:06:00 pressure that that could put on the system. Of course, we stand ready to to

01:06:05 make good on whatever Congress provides. Thank you. Mr. Espaillat. Thank you, Mr.

01:06:10 Chairman, Secretary, thank you. First, I want to thank you for your recent

01:06:16 compensation program for flights delay and cancel, and the dashboard page that

01:06:23 you have available for consumers. I think it's important that we help consumers as

01:06:29 delays and cancellations continue to occur. But thank you for that, and I also

01:06:37 obviously want to thank you, express my sincerity for including 496 million

01:06:45 dollars in the proposed funding for Second Avenue subway. And thank you for

01:06:50 coming to Harlem. That's an important project that will obviously connect

01:06:55 Harlem to the rest of the world. And I also want to stress to my colleagues in

01:07:01 the committee that this also provides a social equity component that I

01:07:07 think is so important to the communities that we represent, those that have been

01:07:12 left behind for far too long, and that need for these projects not just to be a

01:07:18 transportation project for a transportation desert, but an economic

01:07:24 stimulus for the communities that we serve. And I thank you for your

01:07:29 vision and the President's vision for this particular model. Given the complex

01:07:35 nature of urban subway expansions, what measures are being implemented to ensure

01:07:41 that Second Avenue phase, Second Avenue subway phase two remains on schedule and

01:07:47 within budget? Well, thank you for your ongoing support for this effort, and

01:07:54 it was an absolute joy and one of the highlights of my time here to be able to

01:07:58 celebrate that signature with people who had been waiting for so long in

01:08:04 the case of the Second Avenue subway, and finally seeing that funding. Now all eyes

01:08:09 are on delivery, and that means making sure that we maintain a tight cadence of

01:08:14 interaction and collaboration with MTA and all the players involved in that.

01:08:18 And we're doing that through our Federal Transit Administration, but this is also

01:08:21 a big enough project that is being tracked at an agency-wide level, too. We

01:08:26 know that hurdles and issues can come up. We stand committed to working

01:08:30 through any of those to make sure that this is delivered now that the funding

01:08:35 is in place, because the people of those Harlem communities and really that

01:08:40 whole part of New York that has served up to 125th Street

01:08:46 deserve finally seeing that project through after having waited literally

01:08:51 for decades in order to see it become real. Well, I hope the subway leaves the

01:08:55 station fairly soon, Mr. Secretary. But I have another question. As you know, I

01:09:00 represent a district that has a significant number of Dominican

01:09:04 Americans, and as you know, the Department of State and the

01:09:09 government of the Dominican Republic are in final talks for a long-anticipated

01:09:14 modern USDR Open Skies Agreement. The cost of flying back home for many of

01:09:21 these families is exuberant. When they go visit their families back home, sometimes

01:09:27 they have to pay $1,500 to $2,000. So a family of four is going to have a

01:09:33 difficult time going back home. And I want to know, given the evolving

01:09:38 dynamics of international air travel, what strategies are in place to ensure

01:09:43 the effective implementation of the modernized USDR Open Skies Agreement?

01:09:49 Thank you. I know how important this is, especially to Dominican communities in

01:09:53 the U.S. and to the Dominican Republic, and have had direct conversations with

01:09:57 my counterparts from the Dominican Republic about the importance of this.

01:10:00 Our department and our interagency partners at State and Commerce are all

01:10:05 participating in these negotiations. We've been negotiating for some time.

01:10:09 We're very encouraged by recent progress, though we're not there quite yet.

01:10:13 And the real focus is to make sure that we can get to a good place while

01:10:19 maintaining the essential elements of the U.S. Open Skies Agreement and the

01:10:24 policies that have helped to define that through us in our relationships with all

01:10:28 of the countries where we have an air transport agreement.

01:10:31 So we're looking forward to getting to a conclusion on a modernized agreement for

01:10:35 what is the largest Caribbean market for U.S. travelers. And Open Skies would

01:10:39 certainly further facilitate travel and tourism by promoting competition and, we

01:10:44 think, creating more affordable options for travelers.

01:10:47 Thank you. And finally, could you elaborate how the Federal Highway

01:10:51 Administration investment will help to advance environmental restoration and

01:10:55 cleanup within our nation's highways?

01:10:58 Yes, thank you. Often there is a brownfield element to some of the grants

01:11:04 that we are pursuing, including federal highways. That's one of the things that,

01:11:08 pursuant to our statutory authority, can help a project to score well in

01:11:12 discretionary programs. And we certainly value chances to work with project

01:11:17 sponsors to make sure that cleanups are, where required, part of the benefit of a

01:11:23 transportation project for the future.

01:11:25 Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

01:11:26 Thank you. Mr. Soskomany.

01:11:29 Thank you, Chairman. And glad to see you in this committee as well. And I've been

01:11:33 serving for a while and it was great serving with you on FSGG, so great to be

01:11:36 working with you here as well. Thank you. And thank you, Secretary Budajk, for being

01:11:40 here today. First, I actually want to thank you, offer you our gratitude in

01:11:46 Arizona for, it's great to see the I-10, as you know, a main corridor here for us

01:11:51 in our state, both for commerce and for tourism, for safety reasons, all of the

01:11:56 above, receive a desperately needed funding for widening earlier this year.

01:12:00 So I want to thank you for that. The grant will go a long way in improving

01:12:05 safety, travel, and commerce, like I mentioned. This was long overdue, so I do

01:12:09 want to once again thank your department for prioritizing this important issue

01:12:13 for Arizona. Now, Mr. Secretary, I'm sure you're aware that there was recently a

01:12:18 major train derailment along the Arizona-New Mexico border in which a train

01:12:24 carrying cars and hazardous material fell off the tracks, caught a fire, and

01:12:28 consequently closed down parts of the I-40, which is an essential route for

01:12:33 trade and commerce. Many Arizona-New Mexico residents, as well as the Navajo

01:12:38 Nation tribal members, have been evacuated from their homes, and many more

01:12:43 are concerned about the health effects that this derailment will have on their

01:12:46 neighborhoods moving forward. While I'm grateful for the fact that local first

01:12:51 responders took immediate and effective action to ensure that no one was injured,

01:12:55 train derailment after train derailment should not be the new normal. In America,

01:13:00 our transportation safety standards should be the gold standard, but the

01:13:03 American people are rightfully beginning to lose faith in that standard when they

01:13:08 see incidents like this one in Arizona putting their communities at risk. What

01:13:13 are those - what specifically - what are you specifically changing within your

01:13:18 department to ensure something like this never happens again?

01:13:22 Well, thank you for the question. I passionately agree that there needs to

01:13:25 be more done to secure rail safety and to prevent derailments and other

01:13:29 accidents. In regards to this particular incident, that day I was in touch with

01:13:34 the leadership of the Navajo Nation, as well as Arizona and New Mexico. Our FRA

01:13:39 administrator was on site yesterday and will continue to engage. I-40 - that

01:13:43 stretch of I-40 is back open, but there continue, of course, to be effects due to

01:13:47 that derailment and that fire. Within the department, we've taken a number of

01:13:52 steps, some of which we were working on from day one, others accelerated in the

01:13:56 week - in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio derailment. That's included

01:14:00 focused inspection programs, including a focused review of the phase-in of

01:14:05 robust tank cars that can handle the transportation of hazardous materials, as

01:14:09 well as a route assessment for high hazard flammable trains. Railroad by

01:14:15 railroad, we've been conducting safety assessments and acting on the findings

01:14:21 of those assessments. And I'm pleased to note that just a couple of days ago, we

01:14:26 welcomed a new partner to our C3RS, or confidential close call reporting system,

01:14:30 as BNSF agreed to join that pilot following the lead of Norfolk Southern. I

01:14:36 will say, though, that the overall rates are an extreme concern. With the

01:14:40 exception of Norfolk Southern, we have not seen a dramatic reduction in

01:14:46 derailments in the last year with Class 1 railroads. In fact, for many, if not all,

01:14:50 of them, the rate has gone up. That's one reason that I take every opportunity to

01:14:54 renew my urgent call for Congress to act on the Bipartisan Railway Safety Act. We

01:14:59 will continue to do everything that we can that doesn't require an act of

01:15:02 Congress, but given that it's been more than a year since East Palestine, we

01:15:08 strongly believe that it is time for Congress to act because that bipartisan

01:15:13 legislation would give us a stronger hand and more tools to try to drive down

01:15:17 that accident rate. I don't think most Americans realize that there were

01:15:21 derailments on a daily basis in this country until what happened in Ohio, and

01:15:25 every community that lives near a railroad, including where I grew up, is

01:15:29 asking whether they're safe. Well, I agree with you that there's a heightened

01:15:32 attention on this, and certainly in Arizona we're seeing the effects of the

01:15:36 rates that you're mentioning. I do want to urge you and your team to prioritize

01:15:41 rail safety, which it seems that you have a clear understanding of the rates

01:15:44 going up on that, and get boots on the ground as soon as possible to see what

01:15:48 the community is dealing with in Arizona as soon as you can. And as a result of

01:15:53 this incident, analyze how DOT can do better moving forward, which by

01:15:59 your notes it seems that that's what you're doing. I'd love to work with you on

01:16:02 this. I do have another question, but we're running out of time, and I know

01:16:05 votes were called, sir, so we'll, um, well, it may take more than 30 seconds, so I'll

01:16:11 wait for the second round if that's okay.

01:16:13 Next question.

01:16:17 Thank you, Chairman Womack. Congratulations to you. I have no doubt

01:16:29 you will continue Chairman Cole's high standard of leadership for this great

01:16:33 subcommittee. As members of the committee may know, last year I was

01:16:37 diagnosed with progressive supernuclear palsy, or PSP. I describe it as

01:16:42 Parkinson's on steroids, and I don't recommend it. PSP makes it very difficult

01:16:46 for me to speak, so I use an assistive app so that I can participate and you

01:16:51 can understand me. I want to thank the chair and the ranking member for

01:16:54 allowing me to do so today. Secretary Buttigieg, it's great to see you again. I

01:17:00 want to take a moment to thank you on behalf of the father and father to be in

01:17:04 my office for taking parental leave not long after you and Jason adopted your

01:17:08 two kids as newborns. Even though you didn't take anything close to the 12

01:17:11 weeks that your staff would, it was still a great example to set. I was also happy

01:17:16 to read recently that although you are not the stay-at-home parent, you give the

01:17:20 twins their bath every night. I'm intrigued that you composed a bath time

01:17:24 song. My husband was a stay-at-home dad when our kids were young, and when they

01:17:29 were toddlers, bath time was my special time with them. I'm not creative enough

01:17:33 to compose my own song, but my bath time selection was "I Like You" by Ernie and

01:17:38 Bert from Sesame Street, and yes, I sang both parts. If you're ever looking for

01:17:43 another bath time song, I highly recommend it. I also want to thank you

01:17:50 for the recent alternative PNTRFP that DOT released. We've spoken about this

01:17:55 critical vulnerability several times before, and I'm excited to see things

01:17:59 moving forward to address it, thanks to you and the department's leadership. It's

01:18:03 an exciting time to be a passenger rail supporter in Virginia. At the end of the

01:18:07 last year, and in large part thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law, two

01:18:12 major awards were announced through the Federal-State Partnership Program for

01:18:16 the expansion of Long Bridge and for high-speed rail service between Richmond

01:18:20 and Raleigh. The FRA also awarded two grants to extend the DC to Roanoke Amtrak

01:18:26 line to Bristol and establish daily Cardinal Line service, which travels

01:18:30 right through my district in Manassas. Just yesterday, it was announced that

01:18:34 Amtrak Virginia had its highest ridership ever this past March, with over

01:18:39 123,000 passengers. As you know, Union Station is the second busiest rail

01:18:45 station in the country. We are all aware that it has significant infrastructure

01:18:49 needs, yet it is getting no direct funding from the infrastructure law. I

01:18:53 was glad to see the environmental impact statement and record of decision in

01:18:57 March, but that's just one step towards the much-needed expansion project. We all

01:19:02 want to maximize the investments in Virginia that I mentioned, as well as all

01:19:06 the work that's being done in the Northeast Corridor, but we won't be able

01:19:10 to if Union Station remains a bottleneck. My question for you is, how can DOT, FRA,

01:19:16 our regional delegation, and other important partners like Amtrak work

01:19:20 together to identify funding solutions for this critical project? Well, thanks

01:19:26 for the question. First, let me just note my admiration for the courage and

01:19:31 spirit that you have shown in confronting your diagnosis and

01:19:34 continuing to be an effective leader here in Congress, and for your kind words

01:19:38 about my family. With regard to Union Station, we recognize its importance

01:19:45 really as not just a regional but a national transportation center, and while

01:19:49 we're glad that the President's budget proposes to reserve a $15 million

01:19:54 set-aside for immediate state-of-good-repair projects, as you are

01:19:58 well aware, the ultimate needs at Union Station are at another order of

01:20:02 magnitude. The completion of the EIS is certainly an important step, and I've

01:20:08 been in dialogue with the District of Columbia and other stakeholders about how

01:20:12 to best position Union Station for long-term success. That's going to

01:20:18 include working to make sure that they are not just on top of addressing some

01:20:23 end-of-life station infrastructure, but really preparing the vision for what the

01:20:28 future can look like in ways that would qualify for discretionary funds. And, of

01:20:33 course, we welcome opportunities to work with appropriators on any source

01:20:38 of funding that could help get that done. There's little questions that will

01:20:42 require multiple sources, federal, district, Amtrak, and others. Certainly

01:20:46 that's an eligibility for Amtrak with the Amtrak grants, but we know how many

01:20:50 different needs they're trying to cover on the Amtrak side as well, and we'll

01:20:53 maintain that dialogue to try to make progress there. Thank you. I also want to

01:21:00 thank you for your and the administration's steadfast support for

01:21:03 our nation's transit systems and transit workers. Transit workers deserve to be

01:21:07 treated with respect and to be free from violence, injury, and harassment in the

01:21:12 workplace. I was very glad to see the FDA announce a final rule earlier this

01:21:16 month taking major steps to protect transit workers, including giving workers

01:21:21 an equal seat at the table with transit agencies in identifying and addressing

01:21:25 safety and policy issues. How do you see this rule making things safer for

01:21:30 transit workers and riders, and how can this subcommittee support that goal?

01:21:34 Well, thank you for the question, for your support of transit workers. We believe

01:21:38 this rule is an important step forward in giving transit workers the right

01:21:42 kinds of protections and the right kind of voice, participating in the newer

01:21:47 structures that have been created by legislation, including committee

01:21:50 processes so that any kind of safety critical needs are addressed in a way

01:21:55 that has to include the voice of transit workers. Operators have been through so

01:21:59 much, and we think it's very important to back them and believe it's absolutely

01:22:03 possible to back them and hear them while also meeting the needs of

01:22:07 management and operating these agencies. And I should note that I was thinking of

01:22:11 them and of your longtime advocacy yesterday when the family minivan became

01:22:15 unavailable and I found myself on a WMATA bus in the morning and the Metro

01:22:19 in the afternoon getting my kids back and forth from daycare, and that bus was

01:22:23 full of people who count on it every single day.

01:22:27 Thank you. I yield back. Thank you. Jennifer, you are a valued member of this

01:22:37 subcommittee, and I share in the Secretary's remarks about your courage

01:22:44 and your willingness to continue to participate, and I for one am thankful

01:22:49 for the technology that has been developed that allows you to be that

01:22:54 valued and important member of this subcommittee. Thank you so much. We are

01:23:00 going to be called for votes here in three or four minutes, which means in

01:23:05 typical congressional fashion we probably got a good half hour left if we

01:23:09 need it. And Mr. Joyce walks in just in time to go have a seat and I'll call on

01:23:16 you here, Mr. Joyce. If anybody at the dais has a burning question that they

01:23:22 would like to ask in round two, I'm going to be able to yield that. And so, Miss

01:23:27 Watson-Coleman, I'll recognize you first. Just be as brief as you can so that we

01:23:31 can get - well, I know you are, and you are recognized. Yeah, please. Thank you, Mr.

01:23:38 Chairman. Mr. Buttigieg, you know what I'm going to ask about. I'm going to ask

01:23:41 about Mercer Airport. For three years we've been trying to get that

01:23:45 infrastructure built. We were told most recently that we asked for too much for

01:23:51 this size airport. A, I needed to know is there sort of a metrics where size equals

01:23:57 the maximum amount you can be awarded? That's number one. Number two is, can I

01:24:03 have a conversation with someone who will kind of guide me as to how to

01:24:07 direct this airport to ask for the right amount to get this infrastructure? You

01:24:12 know how much we need it? We deal with 400,000 people a year now, looking to

01:24:17 double that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Was that quick enough? Thank you.

01:24:22 I'll try to likewise be concise. There's of course no way that I could miss out

01:24:26 on the importance of Mercer Airport after you hosted us for a visit there,

01:24:30 and I saw both the importance of it to passengers there and the and the needs.

01:24:33 With regard to successfully receiving a discretionary grant, it is often the case

01:24:41 that a project might be re-scoped in dialogue with the partner to try to get

01:24:44 the size to something that is enough to get something done, but but also fits

01:24:48 within the program given all of the different grants that are needed. Without

01:24:51 knowing all of the details of the most recent application, you certainly have my

01:24:54 commitment to make sure that there is a good debrief, which we would welcome

01:24:58 your office participating in as well, to try to get them the best possible

01:25:02 information about how to put their best foot forward for any upcoming rounds of

01:25:06 discretionary grants. Thank you. Mr. Joyce is ready. The gentleman is recognized.

01:25:13 Thank you, Chairman Womack, and I apologize for being late. I was at the

01:25:16 defense hearing and certainly apologize to you, sir. Mr. Secretary, in FY19, the

01:25:23 Department of Transportation launched the Port Infrastructure Development

01:25:27 Program. Since then, the department has distributed more than $2 billion to port

01:25:30 authorities, tribal, state, and local governments, and private companies. While

01:25:34 72% of those funds have gone to the West and East Coast, only 8% of those funds

01:25:39 have gone to the Great Lakes ports over the last five years. I'm concerned that

01:25:44 these funds are not being distributed in a regionally equitable manner. Given the

01:25:48 concerning disparity, what should we in the Great Lakes region be telling our

01:25:51 local communities? Well, as you know, Representative, I'm myself a creature of

01:25:57 the Great Lakes. I grew up in Indiana, live in Michigan, met my spouse in Chicago

01:26:04 soon after he'd returned from Milwaukee, and I know how important those

01:26:08 facilities are. I will say that while the dollar amounts can vary on our grants,

01:26:13 especially when you consider the different size ports that we support, the

01:26:17 Great Lakes ports characteristically have been punching above their weight,

01:26:20 not just in the value they add to the American economy, but also in the

01:26:23 last couple of rounds of the PIDP program. Now that, of course, doesn't mean

01:26:27 that every application was successful, but what I will say is that we

01:26:31 recognize that America's supply chains and the importance of our ports isn't

01:26:35 just about the well-publicized matter of the large container ships that are

01:26:40 bearing down often on ports like LA and Long Beach, but the traffic that goes on,

01:26:44 often bulk traffic, that traverses the Great Lakes and that we also, of course,

01:26:50 support through our management of the U.S. side of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence

01:26:54 Seaway, which links those to the Atlantic. And we're certainly happy to provide

01:26:58 debriefs to any port that was hopeful of a grant recently, is going to try to come

01:27:04 back for another round, again noting that these ports have really demonstrated

01:27:08 their often small but mighty character, both in our programs and just in their

01:27:12 contributions to U.S. shipping. Can you describe any actions your department has

01:27:16 taken to ensure and improve the equitable distribution of federal grant

01:27:19 assistance under the program? Well, one thing I did was I sat with the

01:27:22 representatives of Great Lakes Ports, make sure that my staff and I had an

01:27:25 opportunity to hear about the pride they rightfully take and the value they add,

01:27:29 and to share some thoughts on how our programs are structured and how to make

01:27:32 sure that they do well and continue to grow their share. At a project-by-

01:27:38 project, report-by-port level, also would be happy to engage and would note that

01:27:42 our GLS administrator is himself a veteran of the Great Lakes Ports world

01:27:47 and we just see a ton of opportunity there. Thank you, I appreciate it, and I

01:27:52 apologize again for being late, sir. Mr. Siskimani. Great, thank you, Chair, for

01:27:58 this second opportunity. Mr. Secretary, my question is around rest stops and rest

01:28:03 areas. As you know, Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the country,

01:28:07 and such, it's got pressing needs in transportation now. Arizona DOT needs

01:28:13 more financial resources and it's looking at creative ways to bring in

01:28:16 additional revenue, and also you may know that many states in the Northeast,

01:28:22 especially along the I-95 corridor, have commercialized rest areas. They add

01:28:26 convenience, safety, and more importantly, a revenue stream for states to utilize

01:28:30 them. However, because of a 1956 federal regulation, some western states like

01:28:34 Arizona can't commercialize their rest areas. While some states produce revenue

01:28:39 because of these rest areas, Arizona is burdened with the cost of these areas. I

01:28:43 kind of see this as a double standard, to be honest with you, that's what it strikes

01:28:47 me as. So all I'm looking for is, can you commit to working with me to address the

01:28:52 disparity through the appropriations process or the surface transportation

01:28:56 reauthorization? Yes, as you know, this relates to federal law that prohibits

01:29:00 that kind of commercialization, knowing that there's a great interest in

01:29:04 provisions that would either open up additional exceptions or change that

01:29:09 provision. We'd welcome any request to provide technical assistance and work

01:29:13 with you in your office on that. Excellent. Well, I'll follow up offline

01:29:17 here as well so we can work on something. This is something that Arizona has been

01:29:21 working on for a long time. We've worked with different secretaries on this and

01:29:24 in different Congresses. We haven't been able to get the result that we need

01:29:29 on this, so I'm looking forward to working with you on that and hopefully

01:29:32 get it done. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Chairman. All right, thank you.

01:29:35 Mr. Joyce. Given the opportunity for a second round, thank you very much, Mr.

01:29:39 Secretary. It pays to come late. Discretionary grants are becoming more

01:29:45 and more difficult for smaller communities to apply for because the

01:29:47 amount of work needed to complete a given application. From completing the

01:29:52 benefit cost analysis to having to review 60 pages for notices of funding

01:29:56 opportunities, small businesses are effectively being disqualified from

01:29:59 receiving funds for vital community projects because of this burdensome

01:30:02 process. Mr. Secretary, what is the Department doing to make these programs

01:30:06 more accessible to small and rural communities? And once these funds are

01:30:10 awarded, what is the Department doing to streamline the process so that they can

01:30:13 be completed in a timely manner? Thanks for the question. I approach this, as many

01:30:18 other things, with the mentality of a mayor who once found myself knocking on

01:30:21 the door of the USDOT and a mayor of not the biggest city. I also think back to

01:30:26 our time as a mayor when I found out that our paperwork for tax abatements

01:30:30 was 17 pages and that we had a chance to get it down to two double-sized sheets,

01:30:34 and I try to take the same approach in getting our federal paperwork under

01:30:39 control. Believe it or not, when I began pressing our team to find ways to get

01:30:43 our notices of funding opportunity under 100 pages, that was actually considered a

01:30:47 reduction from past practice. Of course, part of what contributes to the

01:30:50 complexity of it is just the nature and the number of statutory requirements

01:30:55 that are built into each program, but it's certainly our intention to make

01:30:58 sure that these are more user-friendly processes, especially so that smaller,

01:31:02 rural, tribal, and lower-income communities, which are some of the ones we most want

01:31:06 and need to help, find it just as easy to navigate and succeed as the biggest

01:31:11 cities that have a full-time staff of federal relations personnel here in DC.

01:31:16 Some of the measures we've taken to do that include not just trying to simplify

01:31:20 or consolidate our application processes. For example, we took rural, mega, and

01:31:25 infra programs and rolled them up into a single notice of funding opportunity,

01:31:29 kind of the same way when you have an application for college, there's a common

01:31:33 application so you don't have to fill in your zip code seven different times, but

01:31:38 also working hand-in-hand with those communities on the front end. I'd like to

01:31:43 take this opportunity just to again mention our belief in the thriving

01:31:47 communities program, far from the biggest dollar item that we'll be asking this

01:31:51 committee for, but one that's enabled us already to enlist dozens of communities

01:31:55 in a program where we pair them up with capacity-building partners with a view

01:31:59 toward making them better able to to compete and win. The last thing I'll

01:32:03 mention is that it's not just the matter of applying for a grant and getting

01:32:07 the yes, but then once you get the grant there's the whole matter of actually

01:32:10 getting through implementation, and the smaller or lower income of community, the

01:32:14 more challenges they often face, and even just getting from the award announcement

01:32:17 to the grant agreement, a process that it's not unusual for just that part to

01:32:21 take a year, and we're trying to fight that down to a tighter timeline. There I

01:32:24 think hands-on assistance helps, but we're also always interested in ways to

01:32:27 simplify it all the way down to just creating templates or finding ways to

01:32:32 use online tools where there had been paper, pre-selected drop-down menus,

01:32:38 anything that can just take some of the complexity out of it, and if you're

01:32:41 hearing specific examples or pain points from communities you serve, we'd be

01:32:46 interested in hearing that too so that we can make these processes, again, more

01:32:49 user-friendly. Thank you, and you'll appreciate the fact that I sort of

01:32:53 tailored my questions to your background being a Great Lakes kid and a former

01:32:57 mayor, and I also want you to know that if there's something that's in the

01:33:01 statutory process that's creating these type of issues for you, this is a two-way

01:33:05 street. You tell us where you think we can help simplify those and we'll do the

01:33:09 necessary work here to make sure that we make it easier for these communities to

01:33:12 get those, because I think you hit the point. The smaller communities are the ones

01:33:16 that need the grant the most, and they have the hardest time in doing that, or

01:33:19 they're hiring somebody from the outside to be their grant person, and the money's

01:33:23 not going to where it's needed, the people itself. So, thank you for your time.

01:33:26 Thank you. Thank you, Dave. Quiggs. Thank you, Chair. I hope the public has enjoyed

01:33:32 Mayor's Day here on the Hill. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here.

01:33:38 Appreciate your good work, and Mr. Chairman, great initial hearing, very

01:33:43 important. We all know we have critical work to do in a pivotal year on all this.

01:33:48 I think we have the right team in place. Very important hearing and well done.

01:33:54 Thank you all. Thank you. All right, before we go, Mr. Secretary, one one final

01:34:00 question from me as we wrap up. Federal Transit Administration's Capital

01:34:05 Investment Grant Program is heading into an era where the size of the grants

01:34:10 committed for transit projects are the largest in history. Inflation has had a

01:34:16 big impact on it, but the amount of demand on the Capital Investment Grant

01:34:22 Program pipeline looks astronomical over the next decade. Now, based on projects

01:34:26 selected for FY25 in the annual report, FDA is slating over 20 billion in

01:34:32 commitments via grant agreements, many of which are expecting hundreds of

01:34:36 millions in payments each year from the from the THUD bill. IIJA provides a

01:34:41 billion six in advance appropriations, but the well runs dry in '26. So quickly,

01:34:47 what is your response to the concern that this 20 billion dollar projected

01:34:51 level of commitment over the next decade might create a check that we can't cash?

01:34:56 In brief, we are working to make sure that we support as many worthy transit

01:35:03 projects as we can with the funding that we have. As you note, there is a long list

01:35:08 of projects that have met the statutory criteria to get a full funding grant

01:35:13 agreement or to go into engineering. The 25 budget request 2.4 billion combined

01:35:20 with that 1.6 that came through the infrastructure law that gets us to about

01:35:24 four billion dollars to meet those current and future needs. Just in terms

01:35:29 of how that breaks out, that's about 1 billion for four existing new starts,

01:35:33 2.1 billion for six new starts projects not yet under construction grants, and

01:35:38 then funding for new starts projects that might become ready for construction

01:35:43 funding in '25, core capacity projects that might be ready in '25, and then 533

01:35:49 million for four projects that come under our small starts project. We do

01:35:55 have enough currently to meet these commitments, but the impacts of budget

01:35:59 cuts could force us to make payments over a longer period of time, which as

01:36:04 you note, can increase the time-related costs to projects. Not to go one more

01:36:10 time into former mayor mode, but we all know that the longer a project takes, the

01:36:15 more it costs if you've been in the business of delivering it. If FTA is to

01:36:20 run up against the funding cap during the later years of an authorization, what

01:36:25 that would mean is that FTA would have to delay signing any new full funding

01:36:29 grant agreements until a new authorization was signed and provided

01:36:32 additional funding authority, and it's fair to say that each passing year those

01:36:36 projects would become more expensive if we can't get to them yet, because the

01:36:40 funding hasn't been available. Thank you. We are not going to require a second

01:36:47 round. We've had a sampling of it here today. We're going to release the

01:36:51 secretary to a cheeseburger or whatever he has on the menu for lunch today.

01:36:58 The rest of us are going to go vote. I want to thank publicly our team, Doug,

01:37:02 your team, Avery, Kate, Jared, Naomi, Christina, Charlie, Dimlin. How could I miss you?

01:37:12 Christina, thank you. We don't want to overlook you, but we just appreciate the

01:37:19 outstanding work of our team that has WOMAC-proofed this hearing today, so

01:37:26 thank you so much. Mr. Secretary, as always, we're just delighted to have you

01:37:30 here, and thank you so much. For members that have follow-up questions that want

01:37:35 to submit them for the record, you've got seven days. Get them to subcommittee

01:37:38 staff, and we'll make them a formal part of our record. In closing, again, thanks to

01:37:43 all for coming this morning. Look forward to working with you as we continue down

01:37:46 the path of the FY25 appropriations season.

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg Testifies Before House Appropriations Committee

Category

Transcript

Recommended