Sec. Pete Buttigieg Questioned By Dem On Growing ‘Small Airport’ Infrastructure

last year

Last month, Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-OH) questioned Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on airport infrastructure during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.

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

00:00The gentleman yields.

00:03Ms. Sykes is recognized for five minutes.

00:06Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Ranking Member Larson, for holding this hearing, and

00:10of course, Secretary Buttigieg, for your testimony.

00:13I'm certainly going to piggyback a little bit off of my colleague and continue to talk

00:17about rail safety.

00:19As you know, the East Palestine Trail derailment happened just next door to my district, and

00:24we have been very much involved and engaged.

00:27Since we've heard from the NTSB, we have penned a letter to this committee, including

00:35to Chairman Nails, to hold a hearing on rail safety.

00:39I've signed that letter with my colleague, Nakima Williams, from Georgia, who is also

00:44very interested in making sure that we are holding corporate actors accountable and protecting

00:48the safety and security of people across the nation.

00:52Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your efforts in supporting bipartisan rail safety provisions

00:57and many of the things that we just heard about.

00:59I also want to say thank you for visiting Ohio's 13th district, the best district, of

01:04course, in the nation, as we all say, to highlight some of the local efforts to create workforce

01:09development opportunities, expand apprenticeships, and invest in infrastructure to lower costs.

01:15None of these would be possible without the historic legislation, like the bipartisan

01:19infrastructure law and the implementation work that you have done.

01:22We're very grateful for those funds that have made it to our communities, and a lot of people

01:27have gotten great jobs, union jobs especially, that pay well and are safe.

01:32One thing that we didn't get to do in the district during your visit this week was visit

01:37our crown jewel, which we call the Akron Canyon Airport, which is CAK.

01:43They have received over $3 million in funding, and this airport was established during World

01:48War II and served as a vital asset for economic development in the community and generated

01:54over a billion dollars in the area and over 4,000 jobs.

01:59However, even with this type of activity and ridership, passenger rides, it has not protected

02:06this airport from threats faced by other small to mid-sized regional airports.

02:11For example, CAK has seen major airlines consolidate their routes to Cleveland-Hopkins,

02:18in part because CAK is designated within the Cleveland Airport as one market based on the

02:24Department of Transportation.

02:27This designation has unfairly excluded CAK from the list of airports that require maximum

02:32air service levels and limits their ability to optimize their role as a key promoter of

02:37economic development.

02:38This directly impacts my constituents because these were their jobs that now have moved.

02:42So, Mr. Secretary, how can airports like Akron Canyon distinguish itself as a unique, stand-alone

02:48market when some of the decisions by agencies don't allow them to do so?

02:53Well, first let me thank you for welcoming us to the district.

02:56It was a very informative and inspiring visit.

02:58And also let me thank you for your work on rail safety legislation that we are very hopeful

03:03gets quick action and results in this chamber.

03:07Having been the mayor of a city that had a small airport that was within driving distance

03:12of a big airport, but meant a lot to our community, I certainly understand and sympathize with

03:17the aspirations of Akron Canyon and want to make sure that airport gets the support that

03:22it needs and deserves.

03:23I know that we've been in dialogue with the airport about planned upgrades for the air

03:28traffic control tower there, but also understand that there is a level of market pressure that's

03:34affecting the region.

03:36While some of the ways that these radii are set up may be pursuant to statute, to the

03:43extent there's any flexibility, we welcome opportunities to work with you on that so

03:46that it really makes sense for the region, for the market, and for a community or a facility

03:50like Akron Canyon.

03:51Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

03:53We have felt the downside of the consolidations and larger airlines going way back to U.S.

04:03Air.

04:04American Airline, when we had Northwest, Delta, even with full flights, loyal customers,

04:09and large populations based close to our airport, and really a segment of our rural communities

04:15really preferring this route, it has been very, very impactful.

04:19Again, we just want to work with you on that very specific need in our community.

04:24We do not want to see this airport go away.

04:26It would be negatively impact not just Northeast Ohio, my district, but the entire eastern

04:31region of the state that certainly needs a lot of love.

04:36With that, Mr. Secretary, I promised you when you were in the district that we were going

04:41to be very positive and give you good vibes, because I do know that this can be tough sitting

04:45in meetings for several hours, and I'm going to yield back my final 13 seconds so you can

04:50take a breath.

04:51Thank you, Mr. Chair.

04:52I yield back.

Sec. Pete Buttigieg Questioned By Dem On Growing ‘Small Airport’ Infrastructure

Category

Transcript

Recommended