On Thursday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) questioned Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg on infrastructure innovation durign a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00One more question, Mr. Cohen. Thank you.
00:06Thank you for coming, Mr. Secretary. I appreciate your coming and testifying, and it's always good
00:11to see you and discuss America's needs and Memphis's needs, which are America's needs,
00:15as you well know. Your department and your leadership have made tireless
00:20efforts and been instrumental in advancing our infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment
00:24Jobs Act, we've had the most significant investment in infrastructure in decades,
00:28addressing critical needs in our roads, bridges, transit systems, and more. I thank you and
00:32President Biden and those that voted for this bill. Several discretionary grant programs,
00:37such as the Rebuilding America Infrastructure and Sustainability Equity Discretionary Grant
00:42Program, RAISE, important, just funded a program, which I appreciate in my district,
00:47that completed the Wolf River Greenway, a 26-mile pedestrian and bicycle path that needed to be
00:54completed. It's a great opportunity for people to get exercise and get away from some communities
00:59and get into a better natural surroundings. We passed, almost unanimously, not unanimously,
01:04great bipartisan support, the FAA reauthorization. Those improvements were needed yesterday,
01:09but we've got them now. Let me ask you about the I-55 bridge. I know you've heard from multiple
01:13stakeholders in my district about the bridge investment program to replace the I-55 bridge.
01:18Only two bridges cross the Mississippi River in Memphis, one of which you came to Memphis to see
01:22when it was closed for several months because of problems basically caused by Arkansas not
01:30expecting it well. But now it's clear we need a new bridge. This was built at a time when there
01:34were not, before the interstate highway system, so it didn't have any interstate highway
01:41levels of protection and stats, and it was before we had seismic vulnerabilities for older bridges.
01:49The bridge investment program is very competitive, I understand, but this is an
01:52important bridge for America. Can you give us any idea of when the FHWA ratings will be
01:59shared with applicants and when funding might be announced? Thank you. As you noted, I had an
02:04opportunity to see for myself the critical importance of the I-55 bridge, both for
02:09individuals and for America's supply chains, and we're conscious that that bridge project has
02:16approached the department and in the bridge investment program. Right now, Federal Highway
02:22is going through its process with a preliminary review and rating and then a dialogue with
02:27applicants that gives them an opportunity to supplement their applications based on anything
02:32they've learned. We reached out to Tennessee's DOT earlier this year to provide some of that
02:36feedback and then continue that process. I also want to note that any highly recommended or
02:42recommended bridge project application that doesn't give an award in the year when it comes
02:47in will be automatically carried forward for consideration under the next fiscal year unless
02:53they opt out. In terms of timing, we're working through it right now for the 23-24 cycle,
02:58hoping to make a round of awards later on this summer and, again, very conscious of the importance
03:03of that particular opportunity for the community in the region. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
03:08Passenger rights has been an important part of my service on this committee, and I know you've done
03:13a lot with it, and I thank you for your recent rules on fee transparency and cash refunds for
03:18flight cancellations. What do the implementation timelines and enforcement of these rules look like?
03:24So the rulemakings each have their own clock, typically six months or less to comply,
03:31although I will note that the refund provisions that were included in the FAA reauthorization
03:37go into effect right away, and so it's simply a matter of us aligning the mechanisms
03:42to be able to do so, which we're working to do promptly. We are proud of our record on
03:49passenger protection. We know there's always more work to do as well, and so we're continuing
03:53rulemakings on topics like making sure that you don't have to pay extra to sit next to your kid
03:58on a flight and looking into the issue of compensating passengers for extreme delays.
04:04In addition for not sitting next to somebody else's kid.
04:10Let me ask you about the airplane seat sizes, which is something I've worked on for many,
04:14many years. They've gotten smaller and more crowded. There were 26,000 comments about the
04:20discomfort of current seat sizes. Given your recent efforts to improve the passenger experience,
04:24nothing could be more important than a comfortable seat. Can you assure us that seat width and pitch
04:29will not get smaller? We continue to assess what our authorities might be in this regard. I can
04:36certainly assure you as a frequent flyer that I've experienced the squeeze you're describing.
04:41Of course, in order for us to undertake regulatory action, it would need to align
04:45with one of our statutory authorities. FAA has looked into some of the safety implications of
04:49that. Let me just ask you this. When they do the study, last time they didn't have anybody over 60
04:54or 65 and nobody under 18, nobody with a disability, nobody with a dog. Can you make sure it
04:58looks like the flying public? That was an absurd test they did. We're conscious of the limitations
05:03under the study that was run before and we'll certainly hold that in mind in going into any
05:08future study. My last question is about safe streets. Memphis was unfortunately first in
05:12pedestrian deaths. We need more safe streets money. I know you're dying to ride the train
05:18from Memphis to Nashville to Atlanta. I look forward to doing it with you. I yield back the
05:21balance of my time. Likewise.