[Senate Hearing 114-144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 114-144
EXAMINING THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 BUDGET
REQUESTS FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
COMMERCE AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MARCH 3, 2015
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
MARCO RUBIO, Florida CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TOM UDALL, New Mexico
DEAN HELLER, Nevada JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY PETERS, Michigan
STEVE DAINES, Montana
David Schwietert, Staff Director
Nick Rossi, Deputy Staff Director
Rebecca Seidel, General Counsel
Jason Van Beek, Deputy General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Chris Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Clint Odom, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on March 3, 2015.................................... 1
Statement of Senator Thune....................................... 1
Statement of Senator Cantwell.................................... 2
Prepared statement........................................... 2
Statement of Senator Fischer..................................... 19
Statement of Senator Schatz...................................... 21
Statement of Senator Moran....................................... 22
Statement of Senator Wicker...................................... 24
Statement of Senator Blumenthal.................................. 26
Statement of Senator Manchin..................................... 27
Statement of Senator Markey...................................... 31
Statement of Senator Udall....................................... 32
Statement of Senator Gardner..................................... 34
Statement of Senator Sullivan.................................... 36
Statement of Senator Peters...................................... 39
Statement of Senator Daines...................................... 41
Witnesses
Hon. Penny Pritzker, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce...... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx, Secretary, U.S. Department of
Transportation................................................. 9
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Appendix
Response to written questions submitted to Hon. Penny Pritzker
by:
Hon. John Thune.............................................. 43
Hon. Marco Rubio............................................. 48
Hon. Kelly Ayotte............................................ 53
Hon. Jerry Moran............................................. 53
Hon. Bill Nelson............................................. 61
Hon. Amy Klobuchar........................................... 68
Hon. Richard Blumenthal...................................... 69
Hon. Edward Markey........................................... 71
Hon. Cory Booker............................................. 73
Hon. Tom Udall............................................... 74
Response to written questions submitted to Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
by:
Hon. John Thune.............................................. 80
Hon. Jerry Moran............................................. 92
Hon. Bill Nelson............................................. 99
Hon. Amy Klobuchar........................................... 102
Hon. Maria Cantwell.......................................... 103
Hon. Cory Booker............................................. 104
Hon. Richard Blumenthal...................................... 108
Hon. Tom Udall............................................... 110
Hon. Gary Peters............................................. 117
EXAMINING THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 BUDGET REQUESTS FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF COMMERCE AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
----------
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:01 a.m. in room
SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John Thune,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Thune [presiding], Wicker, Ayotte,
Fischer, Sullivan, Moran, Johnson, Gardner, Daines, Cantwell,
Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Schatz, Markey, Booker, Udall, Manchin,
and Peters.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN THUNE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
The Chairman. Good morning. This hearing will come to
order.
We are here today to examine the administration's budget
request for the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, the
two leading Departments under this committee's jurisdiction.
I am sorry to report that Ranking Member Nelson is fighting
the flu and will not be joining us today. So Senator Cantwell
is here to very ably serve as Ranking Member.
And I know my colleagues will all be pleased to hear that
we are not going to do opening statements up here today because
in the interest of time, we are going to get right to our
cabinet Secretaries and allow them to make their comments.
I just want to note that we are pleased to welcome
Secretaries Pritzker and Foxx back to the Committee. Secretary
Pritzker was last here in November 2013, encouraging us to move
legislation on manufacturing, which we finally did late last
year. And for his part, Secretary Foxx is back to continue the
conversation on reauthorization of the surface transportation
law, which was the subject of his May 2014 appearance before
the Committee. No doubt this will not be our last discussion of
that subject.
So, indeed, tomorrow Senator Fischer's subcommittee is
going to begin a series of hearings on the reauthorization with
the first focusing on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
And you all are very fortunate as well that we have a short
timeline today. You will not get the full monty from the
Committee here I guess, so to speak, in terms of the questions.
But we do have something we have to get over to the Capitol
for, as I think you all, know later. So we will try and be as
efficient here as possible today.
And I want to turn now to Senator Cantwell, if she would
like to make an opening statement.
STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON
Senator Cantwell. Mr. Chairman, I thought we were going to
skip those this morning. So I will put mine in the record.
[The prepared statement of Senator Cantwell follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator from Washington
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The foundation of our country's success was built by great
Americans with big ideas. Whether it was the way our country
revolutionized the manufacturing of cars or constructed the
transcontinental railroad--these big transportation ideas helped our
country become a global leader.
We see the legacy of these ideas in our country's ports, bridges,
airports, highways, and rails today. Every corner of the country, every
state, and every city continues to rely on visionary investments of
past generations.
But today, our country is hitting pothole after pothole. Where we
once planned for the future growth of our country, we now scramble just
to maintain what we have. And we struggle to even meet that challenge.
It's time that we do more. And I believe that we must begin this
process now.
That's why I am so pleased to see our distinguished panel here
today.
Secretary Foxx, in the Department's budget and thirty year plan,
the Administration is looking at how to meet the long-term challenges
our country is facing.
And let's be honest, those challenges are numerous.
They range from underinvestment in our transportation
infrastructure to important, long-delayed rulemakings on the movement
of crude-by-rail.
Which is a topic I will be discussing more in my questions.
But if we don't rise to the broader infrastructure challenge, then
our economy, global competitiveness, and the safety of the traveling
public will suffer.
In fact, we are suffering already. Projects that are ready-to-go
get pushed further and further down the road, because there aren't
resources to support them.
That includes a dedicated source of revenue for freight mobility
projects, something else I care deeply about and hope to improve in our
next surface bill.
I'm pleased that the Department proposed $18 billion over six years
for a new, national freight program.
We need to get the policy right, and then we need to get funding
behind it. That's what the National Freight Advisory Committee told us
in recommendations last July. And that's what I'm working on as we
speak.
Furthermore, the Department's budget recognizes the need to
prioritize the safety of the driving public by proposing a significant
increase in funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA).
The recent debacles involving General Motors and Takata airbags
have once again highlighted the need to provide the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with more resources and employees
so that it can quickly identify, investigate and address safety defects
in vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) safety
budget has long been flat-lined for over a decade, and it's time we end
this trend.
As we gear up for reauthorization on the aviation front, we need to
continue efforts to modernize our air traffic control system through
``NextGen,'' which will enable the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to lay the groundwork for future technologies that will improve
the safety, efficiency, and capacity of air travel here in the United
States.
Other areas of safety must also remain a critical focus of the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While I was encouraged to see
the proposed rule on small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) released a
few weeks back, I believe that much work remains to protect the public
both in the air and on the ground.
The proposed rule would create an important framework for
businesses to use small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for engaging in
dangerous or difficult jobs, creating new opportunities for small
businesses and making hard work safer.
Unfortunately, I am concerned that the current framework does not
do enough to stem the dangerous trend of reckless unmanned aircraft
system (UAS) operation near aircraft, airports, and other sensitive
areas.
In fact, just last month, we saw how easy it was for an unmanned
aircraft system (UAS) to penetrate the grounds of the White House.
These are safety and security concerns that we must continue to
address, whether through geo-fencing technology or other common-sense,
targeted regulation.
I also want to make sure that UAS operators which are not covered
by the new rule are allowed to safely test and develop their
technologies in the United States. Many American companies, Mr.
Secretary, have been forced to move their testing to countries such as
Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom, and Israel. I think this is a
deeply troubling trend, and I hope that we will redouble our efforts to
find a way to allow this important work to continue in the United
States in a safe and efficient manner.
I hope I have your commitment, Mr. Secretary, to work on this and
other safety concerns going forward.
Commerce
Secretary Pritzker, there aren't many national priorities that the
Commerce Department doesn't touch. From manufacturing to weather
forecasting--your Department directly impacts the daily lives of
Americans.
I look forward to bringing you to Washington state, because we have
got it all: technological innovators, large-scale manufacturing, world-
class fisheries, and coastal hazards.
Last year, the Commerce Committee led the Senate's legislative
efforts to promote advance manufacturing in the United States, and I am
pleased that the President's budget builds off of this work.
The Committee favorably reported and Congress eventually passed the
Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, introduced by
Senators Brown and Blunt, which authorized the establishment of
advanced manufacturing institutes. The President's budget proposes to
expand these manufacturing institutes all across America.
I am also very supportive of the Administration's proposal to
increase funding for cybersecurity initiatives. Last year, the National
Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) released its Framework for
Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, which has been the
recipient of universal praise.
The Administration's budget builds off of the Framework and devotes
increased resources to government efforts to protect our networks from
cyberattacks. The dangers posed to the American public by cyberattacks
cannot be overstated--as a nation, we must make this issue a top
priority.
Though, we have significant investments to make when it comes to
oil spill research--which in part is conducted by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
Twenty-six years ago this month, the Exxon-Valdez oil tanker ran
aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 10.8 MILLION GALLONS
of oil into the ocean. While much of the oil has been cleaned up, there
are lasting impacts. The Pacific Herring population there has not
rebounded.
Next month will mark five years since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. I look forward to hearing more about
spill science, natural resource damage assessment and habitat
restoration. Because unfortunately, Exxon-Valdez was not the first--and
Deepwater Horizon was not the last--oil spill that we will face.
The budget also requests investment to construct a new NOAA ocean
survey vessel. This ship will have a flexible platform from which NOAA
can study fisheries, research marine mammals, and maintain our nations
DART buoys which alert us to incoming tsunami.
I am concerned about cuts to salmon programs, fishery observer
coverage and other restoration lines. Our fisheries fuel our vibrant
maritime economy in Washington state and support ONE MILLION fishing
jobs across the Nation. I look forward to hearing more about those
issues during the NOAA Budget hearing later this year.
I also want to take a moment to commend the work done by the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in
planning and preparing for the recent spectrum auction held by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). I think it is fair to say that
the whole world has noticed the success of that auction--and a great
deal of the credit for that goes to the hard work done by the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in overseeing
and coordinating the efforts by other Federal agencies and stakeholders
to come up with a reasonable and effective plan for transitioning
Federal spectrum to commercial use. My hope is that this effort becomes
a model for how everyone works to make additional, scarce spectrum
available to commercial users while preserving essential Federal
operations.
I look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman, on all of these
issues.
The Chairman. I just wanted to make sure I gave you that
opportunity. Thank you, Senator Cantwell.
We will turn now to our witnesses. Secretary Pritzker, the
Commerce Department was established about 50 years before the
Department of Transportation, and NOAA traces its history back
to the first decade after the Revolution, believe it or not. So
you go first, Secretary Pritzker.
STATEMENT OF HON. PENNY PRITZKER, SECRETARY,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Secretary Pritzker. Thank you very much. Chairman Thune,
Senator Cantwell, and members of the Committee, thank you for
this opportunity to lay out the priorities of President Obama's
Fiscal Year 2016 budget request for the Department of Commerce.
This budget advances the core tenets of our Department's
mission to develop and implement policies that support economic
growth, enhance our country's competitiveness and global
leadership, as well as strengthen America's businesses both at
home and abroad.
To support this mission, the Fiscal Year 2016 budget
provides $9.8 billion in discretionary funding to reinforce the
priorities of the Department's strategy, our ``open for
business'' agenda, by promoting U.S. exports, trade, and
investment, by spurring high-tech manufacturing and innovation,
by unleashing more data for economic benefit, by gathering and
acting on environmental intelligence, and by making our
agencies' operations more efficient and effective.
Today I want to highlight some key initiatives supported by
this budget.
First, the Census Bureau creates data products used by
businesses, policymakers, and the public. And this budget
reflects the fact that this is a critical year for the
preparation of the 2020 Census as we test the use of
administrative records, re-engineered field operations, and
Internet data collection, create new systems to improve the
quality of the Census, and develop plans for the fiscal years
2017 and 2018 integrity test of the entire process, all leading
to a potential savings of $5 billion to taxpayers. To achieve
these savings, we must invest today.
Another part of our agenda is to help communities and
businesses prosper in a changing environment. NOAA's budget
will enhance our ability to meet this goal through two
investments. First, the budget proposes $2.4 billion to fully
fund the next generation of weather and environmental
satellites. Funding the development and launch of future
satellites is absolutely critical to reduce the risk of a
potential gap in weather data in 2017 and beyond. Second, the
budget requests $147 million to develop a high-endurance, long-
range ocean survey vessel. Immediate action is necessary to
maintain our critical ocean observing capabilities. Making this
investment this year will enable NOAA to take advantage of the
Navy's design work and project management team which will save
taxpayers millions of dollars in acquisition and design costs.
For generations, manufacturing has been a key to U.S.
innovation, a source of middle class jobs, and a pillar of our
global leadership. Over the last 5 years, America's
manufacturers have added 870,000 jobs, growing for the first
time in decades. Recognizing the importance of manufacturing to
our competitiveness, Congress passed the Revitalize American
Manufacturing and Innovation Act, which calls for the expansion
of the National Network for Manufacturing and Innovation. This
initiative brings together industry, university researchers,
community colleges, NGOs, and government to accelerate the
development of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. Our
Fiscal Year 2016 budget requests funding, first, to support and
coordinate current and future NNMI institutes and, second, to
support two institutes led by the Commerce Department which
will focus on manufacturing technologies that industry
determines have the most potential.
This budget will also provide the International Trade
Administration with the resources needed to advance President
Obama's robust trade agenda and to help U.S. businesses expand
their exports and reach the 95 percent of customers who live
outside of the United States.
Finally, our budget requests $24 million for the renovation
of our Department's headquarters to enable us to make better
use of our space and ultimately to reduce the amount of funds
required to house our employees.
These priorities only scratch the surface of our
Department's work to support U.S. businesses, communities, and
our economy.
I look forward to answering your questions today and to
partnering with this committee to keep America open for
business. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Pritzker follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Penny Pritzker, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Commerce
Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and members of the
Committee, thank you for this opportunity to discuss with you President
Obama's Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) Budget Request for the U.S. Department
of Commerce. The investments included in the FY16 Budget request build
upon the important investments you enacted in FY15 and I am grateful
for your support.
The Department plays a critical role in promoting U.S. economic
growth and providing vital scientific and environmental information. To
support this mission across its diverse bureaus, the Budget provides
$9.8 billion in discretionary funding for Commerce. This funding level
will enable key investments in areas such as promotion of exports and
foreign investment; development of weather satellites; wireless and
broadband access; and research and development to support long-term
economic growth. At the same time, efficiency gains, such as
streamlining operations in the Census Bureau and reductions in lower-
priority activities enable Commerce to reduce costs and operate more
efficiently.
The FY16 Budget request reflects and advances the priorities of the
Department's ``Open for Business'' Agenda. It maintains our role as the
voice of business in the Obama Administration by making critical
investments in areas that will grow our economy and create good
American jobs. This Budget prioritizes promoting U.S. trade and
investment, spurring high-tech manufacturing and innovation, unleashing
more of our data, and gathering and acting on environmental
intelligence, while also streamlining operations to help businesses
grow. We are committed to working with Congress to achieve these goals
so we can continue to build on our economic momentum and keep America
more competitive in the global economy.
The FY16 Department of Commerce Budget includes key investments in
the following areas:
Strengthening U.S. Trade and Investment:
Increasing trade and investment is critical to growing our economy.
Exports have driven nearly one-third of economic growth since 2009 and
support 11.3 million jobs. 96 percent of companies that export are
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Today, 95 percent of potential
customers are outside our borders and growing the number of export-
related jobs, which pay up to 18 percent more on average, will require
expanding our ability to reach these foreign markets.
The Budget includes $497 million for the International Trade
Administration (ITA) to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S.
industry, promote job-creating trade and investment, and ensure fair
trade through the rigorous enforcement of our trade laws and
agreements. Funding for ITA includes $15 million to accelerate
operations of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC), a multi-
agency effort to address unfair trade practices and barriers that
impede U.S. exports.
The Budget also provides $20 million within ITA to further
strengthen SelectUSA, which is the government-wide effort to promote
and facilitate business investment into the United States. From a vast
domestic market, to a transparent legal system, to the most innovative
companies in the world, America is the place for business. Building
upon the successes of the inaugural SelectUSA Summit in 2013, the
Department will host its second SelectUSA Investment Summit in March
2015. Other funds will support ITA's efforts to make it easier for U.S.
companies of all sizes to reach consumers who live beyond our borders,
including program and policy improvements to provide exporters more
tailored assistance and to strengthen partnerships at the state and
local level that support export promotion and foreign direct investment
attraction strategies.
The President's FY16 Budget requests $115 million for the Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS). Following the successful realignment of
significant license application responsibilities from the Department of
State to BIS, our capacity-building now focuses on fully funding export
administration while enhancing export enforcement. Approximately 43,000
of the license applications that the State Department has processed
annually are becoming the responsibility of the Commerce Department's
BIS, either as Commerce licenses, license exceptions, or other
authorizations. This is almost a doubling of the 24,782 license
applications that BIS processed in FY13, prior to any of the transfers
from the State Department.
The requested level of funding will allow us to increase the number
of enforcement agents within BIS to ensure enforcement of export
controls and compliance-related activities to ensure that exporters and
re-exporters are following our export control regulations.
If we are to ensure that we can export U.S. goods more quickly,
while also ensuring that sensitive technologies do not end up in the
wrong hands, we must be able to educate exporters and re-exporters
about our regulations and their responsibilities, and we must put
sufficient teeth into our enforcement efforts. Strong enforcement
levels the playing field for U.S. exporters, while lax enforcement
threatens our national security and permits violators to flourish at
the expense of the compliant.
To continue supporting the national growth of minority-owned U.S.
businesses, the Budget includes $30 million for the Minority Business
Development Agency. Minority owned firms make a significant and
valuable contribution to our economy and export at a higher rate
compared to all U.S. firms. This investment will promote further growth
and global competitiveness of our Nation's minority-owned businesses.
Spurring Innovation, Growth and Competitiveness:
Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing: As global competition continues
to increase, the United States must find ways to foster the innovation
that produces economic growth and creates well-paying middle-class
jobs. A national effort to create institutes focused on advanced
manufacturing innovation will accelerate development and adoption of
cutting-edge manufacturing technologies for new products that can
compete in international markets. The National Network for
Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) provides an advanced manufacturing
research infrastructure where U.S. industry and academia collaborate to
solve industry-relevant problems. To date, five institutes, funded by
the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, have been
launched, involving more than 300 companies and universities and
attracting $480 million in private funding in the institutes. NNMI will
keep America on the front-lines of discovery, which will result in our
businesses, our manufacturers, and the American economy becoming more
competitive in the 21st century global economy.
The Budget supports the President's vision of creating a full
national network, expanding NNMI with up to 45 manufacturing innovation
institutes across the Nation during the next ten years. In total, the
Budget includes discretionary funding for seven new institutes in FY16,
including $140 million for the first two Commerce-led institutes. The
Budget includes an additional $10 million for the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) to coordinate the activities of the
current and future institutes, leveraging the authorities in the
bipartisan Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI),
enacted as part of the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2015, thanks to your support.
The Budget also provides $141 million for NIST's Hollings
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which will continue to focus
on expanding technology and supply chain capabilities to support
cutting edge technology adoption by smaller manufacturers to improve
their global competitiveness.
Manufacturing is a key sector of the U.S. economy and is important
for boosting exports. Small and medium sized manufacturers contribute
significantly to America's exports. Twenty-three percent of
manufacturing firms are exporters, and the most recent data shows that
97 percent of manufacturing exporters are small and medium size
companies. The investments proposed in the Department's budget to
support manufacturing growth will help more U.S. firms achieve success
at home and abroad.
Supporting 21st Century Economic Development: Economic Development
helps create the conditions for economic growth and improved quality of
life by expanding the capacity of individuals, firms, and communities
to maximize the use of their talents and skills to support innovation,
lower transaction costs, and responsibly produce and trade valuable
goods and services. The Budget invests $273 million in the Economic
Development Administration (EDA) to support innovative community
planning, regional capacity building, and capital projects. Within this
amount, $25 million is included for the Regional Innovation Strategies
Program to promote economic development projects that spur
entrepreneurship and innovation at the regional level. The EDA Budget
also includes $39 million for Partnership Planning to support local
organizations with their long-term economic development planning
efforts and outreach. Additionally, $53 million is provided for
Economic Adjustment Assistance for critical investments such as
economic diversification planning, and implementation, technical
assistance, and access to business start-up facilities and equipment.
Further, the budget request includes $85 million for public works
investments.
Supporting the Digital Economy: The FY16 Budget request
demonstrates the Administration's continued commitment to broadband
telecommunications as a driver of economic development, job creation,
technological innovation, and enhanced public safety. The investment of
$49.2 million will allow the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration to develop, implement, and advocate policies
to help meet challenges related to the digital economy, Internet
openness, privacy, and security. The President's broadband vision of
freeing up 500 MHz of Federal spectrum, promoting broadband competition
in communities throughout the country, and connecting over 99 percent
of schools to high-speed broadband connections through the ConnectED
initiative will create thousands of quality jobs and ensure that
students have access to the best educational tools available.
The Budget supports implementation of telecommunications provisions
enacted in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012,
which are expected to reduce the deficit by more than $40 billion over
the next 10 years through spectrum auctions. These auctions will
increase commercial access to wireless broadband spectrum while fully
funding an interoperable public safety and first responder broadband
network.
Beyond our efforts to promote innovation, the Budget highlights the
Administration's commitment to cybersecurity by supporting NIST's
efforts to work with industry on implementing the Cybersecurity
Framework of standards and best practices, as well as sustaining
initiatives associated with cybersecurity automation, cybersecurity
information, and the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in
Cyberspace (NSTIC).
Spurring Innovation for American Businesses: Through implementation
of the America Invents Act, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) continues to make it easier for American entrepreneurs and
businesses to bring their inventions to the marketplace sooner,
converting ideas into new products and new jobs. The Budget supports a
program level of $3.5 billion for USPTO, a level that would allow USPTO
to fund operations and to further implement administrative actions
proposed by the President's Patent Task Force.
Fueling a Data-Driven Economy: Data is the fuel that powers the
21st century economy, and Commerce Department data touches every
American and informs business decisions every day. The Budget will
support data-related efforts ranging from our preparations for the 2020
Census to unleashing more NOAA data through public-private
partnerships.
Improving Federal Statistical Measures: The Budget provides $1.5
billion to provide critical support for the U.S. Census Bureau to
research, test, and implement innovative design decisions made at the
end of 2015. Funding in FY16 supports the rapid system and operational
development necessary to achieve the goal of conducting a Census at a
lower cost per household than in the 2010 Census, potentially saving up
to $5 billion compared to the costs of repeating the 2010 Census design
in 2020. We have to invest in research and testing now to ensure the
2020 Census model works to produce a quality and cost effective census
when it is implemented. The Budget also includes a planned cyclical
increase for the Economic Census. The Budget includes $10 million in
additional funding for the Census Bureau to lay the ground for
acquiring and processing administrative data sets in an administrative
records clearinghouse that will benefit program evaluation and
statistical work across the government as well as amongst private
researchers. The Bureau will accomplish this by building on its
existing strengths to develop a more comprehensive infrastructure for
linking, sharing, and analyzing key datasets.
Gathering and Acting on Environmental Intelligence: The
Department's environment agenda aims to help communities and businesses
prepare for and prosper in a changing environment through the models,
assessments, forecasts, and tools generated based on data from our
network of satellites, ships, and world-wide sensors.
The Budget provides $6.0 billion to advance the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) ability to understand and
anticipate changes in the Earth's environment, improve society's
ability to make scientifically informed decisions, deliver vital
services to the economy and public safety, and conserve and manage
ocean and coastal ecosystems and resources. The Budget invests in
NOAA's observational infrastructure, including $2.4 billion to fully
fund NOAA's weather and space weather satellite programs. This includes
$380 million for the Polar Follow-On satellite program which minimizes
the risk of a gap after JPSS 2, allowing for a launch schedule that is
necessary to improve the robustness of the satellite systems that
provide critical weather data.
The Department continues its commitment to support a Weather-Ready
Nation, and evolve the National Weather Service to become a more agile
decision support organization capable of providing more accurate and
more timely weather forecasts. The United States has the greatest
number and greatest variety of severe weather events of any country on
the planet. The Budget invests $1.1 billion for the National Weather
Service, including funding increases for critical infrastructure.
The President's Budget makes investments to fill information needs
in observations, surveys, and fisheries management, including $147
million for a new ocean survey vessel. The Budget also provides $50
million for an expanded Regional Coastal Resilience Grant Program,
which will help reduce the risks and impacts associated with extreme
weather events and changing ocean conditions and uses, along with $30
million for ocean acidification research to improve understanding of
its impacts and support tool development and adaptive strategies for
affected industries and stakeholders. Additionally, the Budget requests
an increase of $19 million for expanded Endangered Species and
Magnuson-Stevens Act consultation capacity that will reduce permitting
timeframes.
Streamlining Operations: To further the President's goals of
improving customer service and enhancing the efficiency of government,
the Budget includes $6 million to support a Commerce Digital Services
team to adopt private sector best practices and recruit talent to
improve Commerce's information technology systems. This team will be
responsible for driving the efficiency and effectiveness of the
Agency's highest impact, client focused information technology systems.
In addition, the Budget includes $3 million to support the development
of an ``Idea Lab,'' which will house a team dedicated to incubating and
investing in innovative approaches to more efficiently and effectively
meet Agency strategic goals and objectives through greater employee
engagement.
Securing the Department's Systems and Infrastructure: Cybersecurity
is a very high priority for the Department. Our strategic plan's
Operational Excellence goal calls for an improvement in the
Department's cybersecurity enterprise architecture, and the
Department's FY 2016 budget request enhances network security, incident
response, and other activities in support of this plan. We are
currently in the process of deploying a Department-wide system for
continuous monitoring of several key security controls. This is the
first operational cybersecurity capability to be deployed Department-
wide at Commerce.
Conclusion
With the FY16 Budget, the Department seeks to advance the core
tenets of its mission: to create the conditions for economic growth;
help U.S. businesses expand; and to ensure that America stays
competitive, stays ahead, and continues to lead the global economy in
the 21st century. The smart investments proposed in President's FY16
Budget will support a globally competitive economy by promoting trade
and investment, spurring innovation, fueling a data-driven economy, and
gathering and acting on environmental intelligence. With this budget, I
am confident that we will keep America ``Open for Business.'' I look
forward to working with the Committee to achieve these important goals.
The Chairman. Thank you, Secretary Pritzker.
Secretary Foxx?
STATEMENT OF HON. ANTHONY R. FOXX, SECRETARY,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Secretary Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking
Member--today--Senator Cantwell. Thank you so much. It is great
to be with you, as well as with all the members of the
Committee.
I am very glad to be joined today by my colleague,
Secretary Pritzker, of the Commerce Department and appreciate
her great work.
Mr. Chairman, a tidal wave is coming. It is a tidal wave of
people and of passengers and goods. In just 30 years' time, we
are going to have to squeeze into this country a population
larger than New York, Texas, and Florida all combined. Seventy
million more people will call America home in 30 years. Air
traffic will shoot up by 50 percent. Demand for inter-city
passenger rail will also rise significantly, and for every 10
trucks now on the road, there will be four more in the year
2045. And they will be carrying a large part of the additional
29 billion tons of freight we will have to move every year.
That is a weight so big that if it came through America's
ports, it would take all 360 of them more than a decade to
move.
A tidal wave is coming for us, Mr. Chairman, and the
question is--are we going to choke on our own growth or are we
going to build for it?
Well, last spring, this administration sent Congress the
GROW AMERICA Act to help answer this question. Instead, what
our transportation system received last year was no growth in
funding at all. In fact, we received flat funding with no
meaningful policy reforms for just 10 months.
What happened next was predictable. States like Delaware,
Arkansas, and Tennessee looked at the short-term measure and
mothballed $1 billion worth of projects because of how much
uncertainty it created in the system. Thousands of potential
jobs were lost and so were 10 months that we could have spent
preparing for the next generation.
In the weeks and months to come, we will see more states
make the same difficult choices and potentially destructive
choices as we get closer to the expiration of our spending
authority. And all this is why the administration will be
coming back again in the next few weeks and sending Congress a
new and improved GROW AMERICA Act, a 6-year, $478 billion bill.
The new GROW AMERICA would not just give states the long-term
funding they need to build, nor would it just give the system
the 50 percent bump in funding it needs, it would also save
people's lives because a growing population is not just a
capacity issue, it is also a safety issue. When 70 million more
people are crowding the system, the room for error is much
smaller, and GROW AMERICA would make the chance for error as
small as it has ever been.
It would allow us, for example, to step up our prosecution
of unsafe bus companies. It would beef up the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, doubling the number of
investigators who are tasked with uncovering car defects. It
would provide dedicated funding from our Transportation Trust
Fund to make investments in a first-class rail network that
will alleviate highway congestion and allow for the smoother
and more efficient movement of freight on our highways and
railways. It would also include needed funding for rail safety,
including funding for grade crossings which have been a hot
topic of discussions after the recent incidents in New York and
California.
In the end, Mr. Chairman, when more traffic hits our roads,
the roads will not expand by themselves to relieve congestion,
nor will cars automatically get safer to navigate, and when
more passengers show up at our airports, more flights will not
be safely added by default.
All of that requires leadership from all of us, and that is
why I look forward to working with you and with all of Congress
on surface reauthorization now and aviation legislation in the
coming months.
With that, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Foxx follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Anthony R. Foxx, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Transportation
Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and Members of the
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to talk
about the President's $94.7 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Budget
Request for our transportation programs and the importance of these
programs to our economy and job creation. This is a critical area for
our Nation, and it is critically important that we work together to
enact the priorities reflected in this budget that make much-needed
investments in our Nation's infrastructure, provide long-term funding
certainty to States and local governments, and implement policies that
modernize the Federal programs to meet our current challenges.
Over the last year, I traveled across the country--to engage with
local officials, business leaders, and everyday people about the state
of our transportation system. In the Spring last year, I spent a week
traveling by bus from Ohio to Texas stopping in cities and one-
stoplight towns along the way. Just two weeks ago I took a similar
trip, starting in Florida and stopping in cities on our way back to
Washington D.C. What we saw on all of these trips--and what we heard
from people around the country and in State Departments of
Transportation--demonstrated to me that people outside the Beltway
desperately want us to find a way to work together in Washington and
fix the serious transportation problems we have in the United States.
Transportation is a critical engine of the Nation's economy.
Investments in our transportation network over the country's history
have been instrumental in developing our Nation into the world's
largest economy and most mobile society. Over time, however, our level
of investment as a percentage of the gross domestic product has dropped
significantly, as it fails to keep pace with our growing economy and
population. The costs of inadequate infrastructure investment are
exhibited all around us. It is estimated that Americans spend 5.5
billion hours in traffic each year, costing families more than $120
billion in extra fuel and lost time. American businesses pay $27
billion a year in extra freight transportation costs, increasing
shipping delays and raising prices on everyday products. Also, 65
percent of our Nation's roads are in less than good condition; one in
four bridges require significant repair or can't handle current traffic
demands and 45 percent of Americans lack access to basic transit
services.
Underinvestment impacts safety too. There were over 32,000 highway
traffic fatalities in 2013, and roadway conditions are a significant
factor in approximately one-third of them. Such fatalities occur
disproportionately in rural America, in part because of inadequate road
conditions. For a Nation that is expected to have 70 million more
citizens by 2050 and an increase in the volume of freight traveling on
our highways, railroads, and aviation systems, the current investments
we put into our transportation system will not be sufficient to address
these competing but urgent needs.
Worse still, in recent years, the transportation enterprise--and
the millions of jobs that come with it--has been thrown into a
continuing period of uncertainty due to the numerous short-term
spending ``patches'' that we use to fund our Federal transportation
programs. The inability to pass a long term surface transportation
funding bill creates uncertainty for local project sponsors and
inhibits their ability to plan effectively. Since 2009, our surface
transportation programs have operated under 11 short term extensions,
including a two day lapse in March 2010. In addition there have been 21
continuing resolutions, forcing all transportation programs to operate
under a CR for 39 of the last 77 months, not to mention a 2\1/2\ week
stretch where the government was shutdown. Governors, mayors, city and
county councils, and tribal leaders can't commit to needed projects
because they don't know whether the Federal program and payments will
be suspended--again--in just a few months' time.
Increasingly, we are seeing State and local officials abandon
planning on the more ambitious and expensive projects that will move
our economy forward. Instead, these officials are targeting available
dollars on smaller preventative maintenance and repaving projects that
while important for maintaining infrastructure availability in the near
term, do not address the longer term needs for additional investment in
transportation infrastructure capacity and quality. State and local
officials are rightly concerned about whether Congress will allow
spending authority from the Highway Trust Fund to expire three months
from now--precisely when the construction season should be heading into
full swing. Just recently, the Commissioner of Tennessee's DOT
announced he was delaying $400 million in highway projects because of
the funding uncertainty in Washington, saying ``this piecemeal funding
of projects and programs is having a significant impact on how and when
State DOTs and municipal planning organizations deliver much needed
investment in our transportation networks.'' Similarly, the Director of
the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department decided to
delay $100 million in highway construction projects because of
uncertainty over the Highway Trust Fund and the Delaware state
transportation commissioner to delay $600 million in transportation
construction projects until greater certainty can be provided. We may
not see it directly, but failure to act on a long-term bill is actually
making investments in critical infrastructure more expensive--and more
difficult, for all of our State DOTs.
Inadequate and inconsistent funding is not our only problem. The
Federal programs that govern how we deliver projects must be
modernized. Too often, projects undergo unnecessarily lengthy reviews,
and we need to be able to make the types of reforms that will expedite
high priority projects and identify best practices to guide future
efforts without undermining bedrock environmental and labor laws or
public engagement. We also need to reward States and local communities
that coordinate their decision making with their neighbors and
prioritize funding for freight projects that will benefit the Nation's
economy. Finally, we need to reform our Federal programs so that they
focus our resources on achieving priorities of national importance. For
example, we need to prioritize our investments on projects that benefit
the movement of goods in this country to maintain our long-term
economic competitiveness and support job creation.
For these reasons, I hope that the Administration, this Committee,
and the many other Committees in Congress who must be heard from, will
agree that we must bring this period of short-term patches to a close.
Last year as part of the Budget, the Administration submitted to
Congress the Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated
Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities
throughout America--or GROW AMERICA--Act. This proposal was a
comprehensive four-year, $302 billion reauthorization proposal which
called for substantial funding increases as well as dozens of critical
policy reforms. What America received instead was yet another short-
term extension, with status-quo policies and flat funding. The
President's 2016 Budget adds additional certainty by requesting a 6-
year, $478 billion multimodal proposal that includes essential program
improvements so we can improve safety, support critical infrastructure
projects, and create jobs while improving America's roads, bridges,
transit systems and railways in our cities, fast-growing metropolitan
areas, small towns and rural communities across the country.
Our proposal is fully paid for through an important element of the
President's plan for a reformed business tax system, which will
encourage firms to create U.S. jobs instead of shifting jobs and
profits overseas. Specifically, the Administration's proposal would
impose a one-time 14 percent transition tax on the untaxed foreign
earnings that U.S. companies have accumulated overseas. Unlike a
voluntary repatriation holiday, which the President opposes and which
would lose revenue, this transition tax would mean that companies have
to pay U.S. tax right now on the $2 trillion they already have
overseas, rather than being able to delay paying any U.S. tax
indefinitely. And it would be coupled with reforms to eliminate the
incentive to shift profits and jobs to tax havens in the future.
Revenue from the transition tax--along with projected fuel tax
receipts--will fully pay for the GROW AMERICA Act.
Our six-year proposal will provide the funding growth and long-term
certainty so desperately needed by our states and local communities so
they can make real progress on addressing our infrastructure deficit.
The GROW AMERICA Act will also build ladders of opportunity to help
Americans get to the middle class by providing transportation options
in rural, suburban and urban areas that are more affordable and
reliable and by improving their quality of life through greater access
to education and new job opportunities. Most importantly, the GROW
AMERICA Act will put into place a program structure and funding stream
focused on the transportation needs of the future.
Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration is also
approaching in 2015. The FAA is developing its goals and objectives to
improve the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system. The
FAA is currently in the middle of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar
modernization known as NextGen. This overhaul will take advantage of
satellite-based navigation technology to create a safer, more efficient
system. NextGen's new technology and procedures will also help to
enable the integration of new entrants, such as unmanned aerial
systems, into the national airspace.
As part of our effort to focus on the future of transportation, the
beginning of February, I released the Department's 30-year vision for
the future of transportation in America--entitled ``Beyond Traffic.''
It is intended to start a meaningful national dialogue on the choices
we must make as a nation if we are to avoid a painfully congested
future where our transportation system serves as a crippling drag on
our economy rather than a catalyst for growth. I would encourage all
Committee members to review the document and participate in this
dialogue. One thing our report makes clear is that technology will have
to play an essential role in helping us get maximum capacity out of our
existing infrastructure as well as all the new roadways, transit
systems, and railways we are going to need to build to accommodate the
70 million additional citizens that will join our Nation by 2050.
The Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request and the GROW AMERICA Act aim to
tackle this challenge head on by modernizing the U.S. Transportation
system through technology and process innovation. The bill also
advances our shared priorities of protecting the safety of the
traveling public while closing the Nation's infrastructure deficit.
Protecting the safety of the traveling public: In 2013, vehicle
crashes killed approximately 32,000 Americans and injured more than 2.3
million, making motor vehicle crashes one of the leading causes of
death in the U.S. Every life is precious, and one life lost on our
roads is one too many. The GROW AMERICA Act addresses safety
vulnerabilities across our transportation network, both through
increased investment in safety programs, and through policy changes
that strengthen oversight and increase accountability. It includes:
Allows Criminal Prosecution for Unscrupulous Carriers. The
GROW AMERICA Act will take stronger steps to prevent
unscrupulous motor carriers from skirting Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforcement actions by allowing
for criminal prosecution of a person who knowingly and
willfully violates an imminent hazard out-of-service order
issued to prevent the death or serious physical harm to the
public.
Improving safety on railroads. The proposal will assist
commuter railroads implement positive train control (PTC) by
providing $3 billion over six years, including $825 million in
FY 2016. The proposal will also help reduce the impact and
improve the safety of rail transportation in communities using
$250 million in FY 2016 for rail line relocation projects,
highway-rail grade crossing enhancement, and investments in
short line railroad infrastructure.
Increasing the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's capabilities by providing $6 billion over six
years, including $908 million in FY 2016. This will ensure that
vehicles on the road meet the highest safety standards and that
the agency has the personnel and tools to identify vehicle
defects early and respond quickly. This includes a request in
FY 2016 to hire 57 new people within the Office of Defects
Investigation to meet the challenge of rapidly evolving
technology within the average car.
Continuing focus on the Safe Transport of Energy Products.
The FY 2016 Budget makes approximately $34 million in targeted
investments across the Department to continue and further our
focus on the safe movement of energy products throughout our
transportation system by supporting enhanced inspection levels,
investigative efforts, research and data analysis, and testing
in the highest risk areas.
Streamline and consolidate FMCSA's commercial motor vehicle
safety grant programs. The FY 2016 Budget will streamline and
consolidate FMCSA's commercial motor vehicle safety grant
program--a change that will reduce redundant grant application
submissions, reviews, awards approvals, vouchering and
oversight time, and thus increase dramatically efficiencies not
only for FMCSA but for its State partners.
Closing the Nation's surface transportation deficit: The FY 2016
Budget Request and the GROW AMERICA Act propose important policy
improvements and make critical investments to close this Nation's
infrastructure deficit, including:
Strengthening policies and providing $317 billion, including
$51.3 billion in FY 2016, to invest in our Nation's highway
system: The proposal will increase the amount of highway funds
by an average of nearly 29 percent above FY 2015, emphasizing
``Fix-it-First'' policies and reforms that prioritize
investments for much needed repairs and improvements to roads,
with particular attention to investments in rural and tribal
areas.
A dedicated grant program for projects that benefit the
Nation's commerce: The U.S. transportation system moves more
than 52 million tons of freight worth nearly $46 billion each
day, or almost 40 tons of freight per person per year, and
freight tonnage is expected to increase 62 percent by 2040. The
Budget proposes $18 billion over 6 years, including $1 billion
in FY 2016, for a new multimodal freight program that will
relieve specific bottlenecks in the system, strengthen
America's exports and trade, and give freight stakeholders a
meaningful seat at the table in selecting funded projects. The
new initiative encourages better coordination of planning among
the Federal Government, states, ports, and local communities to
improve decision-making.
Strengthening policies and providing nearly $115 billion
over six years, including $18.4 billion in FY 2016, for transit
systems to expand transportation options: The proposal
increases average transit spending by nearly 76 percent above
FY 2015 enacted levels, which will enable the expansion of new
projects that improve connectivity, such as light rail, street
cars, and bus rapid transit, in suburbs, fast-growing cities,
small towns, and rural communities, while still maintaining
existing transit systems. These transit investments will play a
critical role in supporting communities around the country--for
example, providing transportation options in rural communities
that have growing numbers of seniors.
Strengthening policies and providing nearly $29 billion over
six years, including $5 billion in FY 2016, for the Nation's
intercity passenger and freight rail network: Highways,
transit, aviation, inland waterways, and ports all have
dedicated trust funds. Rail does not have a dedicated source of
Federal revenue. The GROW AMERICA Act will provide predictable,
dedicated funding for rail, which will provide states,
localities, and railroads with the certainty they need to
effectively plan and implement their projects--primarily to
improve and expand passenger rail service. This funding will
allow our Nation to better address the growing backlog of state
of good repair needs on our rail system and deliver the
improvements required to accommodate growing passenger and
freight rail demand.
Expanding access to markets and strengthening rural
communities: America's rural communities are the critical
linkage in the Nation's multimodal transportation network. From
manufacturing to farming, freight logistics to energy
production and more, rural America is home to many of the
Nation's most critical infrastructure assets including 444,000
bridges, 2.98 million miles of roadways, 30,500 miles of
interstate highways. Specifically, the GROW AMERICA Act will
encourage safety on high-risk rural corridors, provide
workforce development in rural areas, make badly needed freight
investments, increase deployment of broadband use in rural
areas, and improve the Federal Lands Transportation Program to
achieve a strategic, high-use transportation system on roads
that directly access Federal lands.
Expanding and strengthening of DOT credit programs to spur
innovative financing and increase overall infrastructure
investment: The GROW AMERICA Act expands financing options
under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Act (TIFIA), which leverages Federal dollars by facilitating
private participation in transportation projects and
encouraging innovative financing mechanisms that help advance
projects more quickly. The Act will provide $6 billion over 6
years, which could result in $60 billion of TIFIA credit
assistance, including direct loans and loan guarantees. In
addition, the Act increases the accessibility of the Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program by reducing
the cost of obtaining a loan for short line railroads and
increases the availability of Private Activity Bonds by raising
the existing $15 billion cap to $19 billion.
Strengthening domestic manufacturing: The GROW AMERICA Act
will strengthen existing ``Buy America'' requirements to ensure
that taxpayer investments for public transportation translate
into American jobs and opportunities for innovation. The Act
allows for an orderly phase in by transit suppliers by raising
the current sixty percent threshold to 100 percent over
multiple years to bring the ``Buy America'' requirements for
transit in line with the requirements in other modes.
Modernizing the U.S. Transportation System through technology and
process innovation: Technological changes and innovation have the
potential to transform vehicles and infrastructure, logistics, and
delivery of transportation services to promote efficiency and safety.
Federally inspired safety reforms, such as seat belt and drunk-driving
laws, have saved thousands of American lives and avoided billions in
property losses. Likewise, process innovation has the potential to
improve the way that the government operates in the service of the
American people. To that end, the FY 2016 Budget Request and the GROW
AMERICA Act are focused on:
Encouraging innovative solutions through competition: The
Act more than doubles the size of the highly successfully
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER)
competitive grant program and cements it in authorizing
statute, which will encourage states and localities to bring
more innovative, cross-modal proposals to the table and give
the Department more resources to see that the most meritorious
projects ultimately are constructed. In addition, the Act would
dedicate $6 billion over 6 years, including $1.25 billion in FY
2016, to establishing the Fixing and Accelerating Surface
Transportation (FAST) program, designed to create incentives
for State and local partners to adopt critical reforms in a
variety of areas, including safety and peak traffic demand
management. These kinds of Federally inspired safety reforms,
such as seat belt and drunk-driving laws, have saved thousands
of American lives and avoided billions in property losses.
Improving project delivery and the Federal permitting
process: The GROW AMERICA Act will help projects break ground
faster by expanding on successful Administration efforts to
modernize the permitting process while protecting communities
and the environment. The Budget requests $4 million in FY 2016
to create an Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement
Center that will institutionalize capacity within DOT to
improve interagency coordination and implement best practices,
such as advancing concurrent, rather than sequential, project
review, and using the online permitting dashboard to improve
transparency and coordination and track project schedules. The
Act will also increase flexibility for recipients to use
Federal transportation funds to support environmental reviews,
and help to integrate overlapping requirements and eliminate
unnecessary duplication.
Supporting NextGen: The FY 2016 Budget Request includes $956
million for to advance the modernization of our air traffic
control system which will make aviation safer and more
efficient. Although NextGen is a long-term and complex
undertaking, we are already witnessing benefits from it--giving
pilots and controllers more flexibility at certain airports,
reducing wake-based separation standards at others, and
reducing congestion in some busy metro areas. This budget will
support stakeholder identified priorities as well as invest in
core FAA information technology infrastructure necessary to
deliver additional benefits.
At the end of 2013, policymakers came together on a bipartisan
basis to partially reverse sequestration and to pay for higher
discretionary funding levels with long-term reforms. We have seen the
positive consequences of that bipartisan agreement on our ability to
invest in areas ranging from research and manufacturing to
strengthening our military. The President's Budget builds on this
progress by reversing sequestration, paid for with a balanced mix of
commonsense spending cuts and tax loophole closers, while also
proposing additional deficit reduction that would put debt on a
downward path as a share of the economy.
This Committee will play a key role in evaluating the provisions
contained in our budget request and the GROW AMERICA Act, due to its
jurisdiction on the Department's overall transportation policy as well
as its emphasis on freight and safety. Thank you and I look forward to
your questions.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
We have a number of members who are here who I think want
to ask questions. We will use 5-minute rounds and try and get
as much in as we can before we have to leave in about an hour
and a half.
Secretary Foxx, yesterday Ranking Member Nelson and I sent
a letter to the FAA regarding a troubling GAO report that
described vulnerabilities in critical FAA information systems.
We asked for a full accounting of the FAA's actions to
implement GAO's recommendations and secure mission-critical
systems.
Can we count on a quick reply from the FAA and your
personal engagement as we address this issue and others in
preparation for reauthorization of the FAA later this year?
Secretary Foxx. Mr. Chairman, yes. And I know that the FAA
is actively addressing the recommendations in the GAO report,
and I look forward to giving you as quick a response as
possible, sir.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Secretary Pritzker, your testimony underscored that the
administration's budget prioritizes promoting U.S. trade. And
as you noted, exports have been a driving force for economic
growth. We need to expand our ability to reach foreign markets
if we are going to keep growing the number of export-related
jobs. At the same time, you were recently quoted as saying that
getting trade promotion legislation passed is a hard task
because it, quote, takes a lot of explanation as to what it is.
End quote.
Can you take this opportunity to explain the importance of
passing TPA?
Secretary Pritzker. Thank you, Senator. Yes. Trade
promotion authority or trade promotion legislation is an
opportunity for Congress to express itself as to what it wants
to see in our trade agreements, as well as ultimately creating
the right if agreements meet those standards to get an up or
down vote from Congress. And I have spent a significant amount
of time trying to support the idea of getting trade promotion
legislation because I think it is extremely important that we
expand our trade agreements around the world. It is a time when
America needs to lead in terms of setting the standards for
trade in the 21st century, and that is at risk.
The Chairman. As you may know, there has been some
discussion of late around here of making it easier for Congress
to turn off TPA when considering a trade agreement that the
President submitted. And I am wondering if you share the
concern that was voiced last week by Agricultural Secretary
Vilsack that adding a new element of uncertainty to TPA
procedures would make it harder for the U.S. to get good
outcomes in our negotiations with our foreign trading partners.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, I think it is very important
that we give our U.S. Trade Representative as much backing and
support as possible, and that means creating greater certainty
so that as he is out negotiating these agreements, which are
very difficult to do, as you can imagine, with 12 countries at
the table. So I think it is very important that we get trade
promotion legislation particularly at this time because
getting, I think, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement done
really requires us to have trade promotion authority in place.
The Chairman. Again, without all the additional conditions
that are being discussed and talked about up here.
Secretary Pritzker. Yes.
The Chairman. Thank you.
And by the way, I would encourage you, Madam Secretary, as
much as you can, and members of the administration to really
weigh into this up here. It is going to be a big debate. We
need to get it done.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, as I explained to Senator
Cantwell just before we started, I think I was on the phone
with eight or nine Members of Congress, both the Senate and the
House, yesterday and I have been out around the country. I was
all over the West Coast 2 weeks ago. I will be in Texas next
week. This is a very high priority for me and my team to get
done. I think it is extremely important for this country.
The Chairman. Good. I am glad to hear that, and I hope you
will continue those efforts.
Secretary Pritzker. Yes, I will.
The Chairman. I direct this to either or both of you. Our
ports are an absolutely vital link in our nation's supply
chain. The current labor issues on the West Coast, I think,
have highlighted the major nationwide disruption of commerce,
including for shippers in my home state of South Dakota, that
can arise from such self-imposed problems in our transportation
network.
The extent of the slowdown led many to ask if there is a
better way to handle labor issues at our ports instead of
relying on the National Labor Relations Act. Some have even
suggested using the Railway Labor Act, which protects other
vital transportation workers in the railroad and airline
industries, by providing robust contract mediation procedures
while also providing our Nation's supply chain with additional
protections from unnecessary slowdowns and work stoppages.
Given the importance of ports and port workers to our
nation's transportation network, do you think port workers
should be covered by the Railway Labor Act like railroad and
airline workers?
Secretary Foxx. Mr. Chairman, we have taken great pains as
the administration, including having our colleague, Secretary
Perez, engage directly with the parties on this question. My
feeling about this--and I do not speak for Secretary Pritzker
on this--is that we have to maintain a balance here between the
interests of labor and the interests of the business community.
And in this instance, we were able to avert a larger crisis by
the engagement of the administration, and going forward, I am
certain there will be a conversation about the long-term
impacts of this, but I do not believe at this point that I can
say that I would support those types of changes.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, there is great cost to our
country with the slowdown in the ports. I was out in San
Francisco with Secretary Perez for part of the week that he was
out there. And I also spoke with the CEOs of many of the
companies involved in running the ports, as well as with Mayor
Garcetti. And a slowdown in our ports not only is an economic
cost to the country, there is a real reputational issue at risk
here as to whether our ports are reliable. It is extremely
important that they are functioning.
The other thing that I learned that I think is of great
interest and something that we ought to contemplate, now that
this dispute is behind us, is the fact that most of the owners
who are operating in our ports told me that our ports are 10 to
15 years behind global competitiveness and that in fact it is
American innovation and American technology that is running
most of the ports around the world. But our ports do not have
the benefit of that.
And we need to really look into how we make sure that our
ports are globally competitive because we are also working, on
the other hand, as you said, to promote trade. I mean, exports
are at record highs, $2.35 trillion last year. My Department
works very hard to help small and medium-sized businesses take
advantage of the global marketplace. But that means like your
state and the folks in your state, we need our ports to be
functioning, and it is extremely important that we do all that
we can to keep the ports open and operating.
The Chairman. And by the way, that did not sneak up on us.
That thing has been hanging around out there for nine months.
So, yes, we have got to have a better way of making sure that
we do not end up with the kind of logjam that we had here this
last year.
Very quickly. Secretary Foxx, there are five, I think,
Acting Administrators out of the nine modal administrations,
including one at FMCSA, who will no longer be able to serve in
that capacity by the end of the month. So we have only gotten
one nomination for any of those positions, and that is at FTA.
So we cannot even begin the confirmation process for the rest
of these important agencies. And I just want to convey to you
the importance of getting those up here. It seems like it is
awfully important, and I think that the sooner we can get those
leadership posts filled, the better off we are going to be.
Secretary Foxx. Yes.
The Chairman. Senator Cantwell?
Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I could probably
have enough questions to go 5 minutes on just one of our
Secretaries, let alone two. And I do not know whether we are
going to get to a second round given today's scheduling event.
So I want to say a couple things. First of all, thank you
for what I call ``digital weather'' efforts by the agency. I
think this is critically important, critically, critically,
critically important. We should not depend on the Europeans for
the best data about what the effects of a storm are, and if we
need supercomputing time and more digital analysis, let us get
that. To me this is critically important.
Thank you both for your focus on freight and the movement
of freight. The $18 billion over the next 6 years to implement
what I think is a new freight strategy for our country so we
can be more competitive at our ports is critically important
given the amount of consumer growth around the world, and being
able to move our products effectively is going to be very
important.
And, Secretary Pritzker, I would love to talk to you about
the cuts in the salmon recovery fund because I am very anxious
about what that is going to do to treaty rights at risk and our
salmon recovery efforts.
I want to ask you a question about recapitalization of the
rest of NOAA's fleet. There is some money in here, but we
obviously want NOAA to recapitalize.
So I may not get to get a response to you on that. So I
will submit those for the record.
And on spectrum allocation, now that we have gotten that
done, what do we need to do to clear the clearing part so that
we can actually get the allocations done. These are very
important economic issues to the Pacific Northwest.
Secretary Foxx, I need to focus on something that is of
utmost importance to the people of the Northwest, and that is
the issue of our enormous increase in volume of oil trains and
what we are doing on safety. This boils down, for me, to two
issues: the thickness of the hulls and when we are going to
phaseout the less safe cars.
Now, I think that you are moving through a rule process, if
I am correct, but that rule process today leaves many options
on the table, including a thickness that is not as good, not as
durable. I know my colleague from West Virginia will probably
have some interest in this, given what just happened then. Are
we expected to see a final rule in May of this year? And what
will be the phase-out time for these railcars to be moved over
to the new standard? And will there be a definite commitment to
the thickness that we need, at least this nine-sixteenths with
a thermal jacket?
Secretary Foxx. First of all, Senator, I want to thank you
for your leadership and focus on this effort. There have been a
number of Members of Congress who have expressed concern, as
well as Governors and local officials in parts of the country
on this issue.
It is an issue that we take very seriously at the
Department of the Transportation, and that is why we think that
a comprehensive approach is important, an approach that takes
into account prevention, mitigation, as well as emergency
response. And that was reflected in the notice of proposed
rulemaking that was issued last year.
We are in the process of working with the OMB and the
Administration on moving that rule into a final rule. I would
be getting ahead of myself and probably OMB by putting a tight
deadline on it, but I can tell you that there is a high level
of urgency on it. And the issues of tank cars and standards and
things like that are being worked through. I would also add
that we are working with our Canadian counterparts to ensure
that there is a good level of harmony between the two rules.
Senator Cantwell. Well, I explained to my staff that I
thought you would be a talented public servant to be able to
get around this particular question.
So I just want to be clear on the record. I will be
introducing legislation to support a thicker hull and a quicker
phase-out than what is currently proposed in this rule. We are
not moving fast enough, and I think the uncertainty in the
marketplace over the last decade has not kept pace with the
volume of traffic that we are seeing now. So I look forward to
seeing your rule, but we are going to come out for tougher
standards than are currently--I see loopholes in this current
policy. If one of the three options is adopted, basically we
are going to have the same cars that are relevant to what we
have on the tracks today, and that is unacceptable.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Cantwell. That is a really
important issue and one that I think there is a lot of focus
on. And I want to make sure, Mr. Secretary, too that--can we
get your assurance that you will closely examine with an eye
toward realistic implementation deadlines and also as you work
through this process and making this transition possible,
unintended consequences that could also create congestion and
other safety issues?
Secretary Foxx. Yes, sir. That is definitely part of what
we are looking through.
The Chairman. Senator Fischer?
STATEMENT OF HON. DEB FISCHER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Madam Secretary, Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here
today.
Secretary Foxx, I enjoyed our conversation yesterday. We
touched on long-term funding for the Highway Trust Fund. We
discussed a couple ideas there.
Senator Fischer. With regards to repatriation, do you
support that, and do you think it would be a long-term source
of funding for the many needs that we have with our roads and
bridges?
Secretary Foxx. Thank you for the question.
Repatriation, no. But business tax reform, yes. And let me
explain the administration's approach here.
We believe that a comprehensive business tax reform
approach is warranted. One part of our business tax approach
would help pay for the GROW AMERICA Act that I described
before. The way that works is that we would impose a one-time
toll, so to speak, a 14 percent levy on existing overseas
untaxed corporate earnings. They are estimated to be up to $2
trillion. That one-time levy would provide us with the
resources necessary to pay for our entire bill. There are other
components of the administration's approach that deal with
future generated revenues overseas, but that is how we pay for
our bill.
Now, the reason why that is not repatriation is because in
the classic sense of the word, that is usually considered to be
something like a holiday, a voluntary type of bringing back of
proceeds. Our proposal would essentially clean the deck for all
companies that have overseas earnings, allow them to bring them
back or not bring them back, but there would be a one-time
charge.
Senator Fischer. So with that one-time charge, again we
face the issue of how are we going to fund the trust fund going
into the future. You and I both know that you have to have a
steady source of revenue in order to build infrastructure. It
takes long-term planning. It is a long process. It takes years
to go through regulations and environmental impact statements.
So how would you suggest long-term we look at it? Are we going
to step away from user fees that have been really the basis for
funding for infrastructure, for highways and bridges in the
past?
Secretary Foxx. It is a good question, and let me frame it
this way. For the last several years, we have not been a
completely user fee-dependent system. We have been actually
moving money from different places to cover the shortfall of
gas tax revenues. And we are at a point where we have had so
many short-term measures--32 over the last six years--that at
the state and local level, the planning process is basically
grinding to a halt. So a 6-year bump of 50 percent stable
funding and good new policy would actually put the system in a
dramatically different place. We would actually start seeing
planning happening again on big projects.
Longer-term I think you point out that there is a
discussion that needs to happen in this country about what we
do long-term, and we do not shrink from that. If there is a
willingness to engage on those longer-term questions, even the
President has said that we would be willing to listen to what
Congress wants to work through there. But I think that we
really need to understand that we are so far away from having
had a 6-year bill--more than a decade since the last one--that
getting a 6-year bill with stable funding that gives a 50
percent bump and good new policy would be a sea change from
where we are today.
Senator Fischer. I look forward to working with you on
those issues. As you know, they are near and dear to my heart,
and they should be a priority for this country as well.
Let us shift gears here a minute and talk about the FMCSA.
As we look at the challenges that that agency is facing with
regard to regulatory efforts with hours of service, rulemaking,
the CSA program, I guess how do you look forward to seeing
reform take place at the regulatory level?
Secretary Foxx. Well, first of all, trucking is one of the
backbones of our country's commerce. There is no question about
it. And I, in fact, have members of my family who drive trucks.
So I am very interested in making sure the world is good for
folks that are truck drivers.
On the other hand, the trucking industry is one where we
still have a little more risk than we want to see in terms of
safety, particularly when it comes to fatigue. So we have been
asked and actually directed by Congress to do a study on the
hours-of-service rule. We will undertake that study as well as
we possibly can, using all of the available ways to stress test
our work and to come back to Congress with what we find.
But overall, I think that as a country we have to continue
supporting not only the industry by good infrastructure and by
providing opportunities, but we also need to make sure that we
are as safe as possible because, as I say, by 2045, we are
going to see 60 percent more trucks on the road, and we want to
make sure those trucks are moving safely.
Senator Fischer. We had a Subcommittee hearing, as you
know, on this, and I was fortunate to have one of our big
trucking companies in Nebraska come. The gentleman who
represented that company on the panel at the hearing I know has
met with a number of Senators and is having these discussions
at a stakeholder level. So I hope that you will take into
consideration some of the ideas and the facts and the
information that those companies are able to provide as well.
Secretary Foxx. Absolutely.
Senator Fischer. OK. Thank you, sir.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
I have in this order Senator Schatz, Moran, Wicker, Booker.
Senator Schatz?
STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN SCHATZ,
U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII
Senator Schatz. Thank you, Chairman Thune.
Secretary Pritzker, the U.S. tsunami program consists of
three main activities: forecast, research, and preparedness.
For the past 2 years, however, the Administration has proposed
$6 million in cuts to the preparedness side, known as the
National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. I believe this
program is extremely important to coastal states. And the
Commerce Committee has agreed, and in fact, Senator Cantwell
has led and Chairman Thune has supported with my participation
our own version of legislation to authorize the tsunami
program.
Do I have your commitment to work with the Committee to
make sure that we have sufficient resources to run this program
right?
Secretary Pritzker. Senator Schatz, you have my commitment.
The tsunami program is the highest priority for us to warn and
advise the American public. And we think that we do have
sufficient funding to do our warning and to make sure that we
do community education. I am happy to have my team work with
yours.
Senator Schatz. Thank you.
Last year, the Administration created the largest marine-
protected area in the world by expanding the Pacific Remote
Island Marine National Monument. And we worked with your
Department and the White House on this. But I am concerned
about financial resources to manage the monument resources.
Because there is so much Pacific Ocean to take care of, we need
resources.
So to that end, in Fiscal Year 2016, the Administration
requested funding for a new NOAA vessel, which is good news,
but the budget also cuts NOAA's sanctuaries in the NERRS
program. Likewise, can we work together to make sure that this
is sufficiently resourced and not just a paper monument?
Secretary Pritzker. Absolutely. Happy to work with you, and
I believe our office is already working with yours on
additional requested information on that.
Senator Schatz. Thank you.
Secretary Foxx, I wrote to FAA Administrator Huerta twice
about the possibility of issuing emergency rules for drones to
address safety issues that have recently come up in the news.
FAA finally got back to me months later with a letter that said
the agency was working on it and it expected it to take about
16 months to finalize rules once the comment period closed.
My question is I am uncomfortable with taking 16 months
before rules are issued. Are you comfortable with that
timeframe or do you think it is necessary to entertain
something before a year and a half from now to take care of
these safety issues related to drones?
Secretary Foxx. Senator, I am never comfortable if you are
uncomfortable.
[Laughter.]
Secretary Foxx. And so I will tell you that----
Senator Schatz. Well, I appreciate that, but to be clear,
this is a question of a threat assessment not my political
judgment.
Secretary Foxx. I understand.
And I should say that what the FAA is trying to accomplish
is a comprehensive approach of which the small UAS rule is one
piece, but it is only a single piece of the overall approach.
We have the most complicated airspace in the entire world, and
integrating these unmanned aircraft systems into a very complex
airspace is a very challenging thing because you want to make
sure you are doing it as safely as possible.
I would like to go back to the FAA and to see if we can
turn around a better answer to you, and we will see what we can
do.
Senator Schatz. Thank you.
And my final question--and it is really a thank you for
announcing and working on safer people, safer streets. I think
the agency has done really good work in improving safety and
attempting to mitigate the growing number of fatalities among
pedestrians and bicyclists. Certainly in the state of Hawaii,
we have one of the, unfortunately, highest rates of pedestrian
fatalities especially among the elderly. And so I am hoping
that we as a committee on the authorizing side and then on the
appropriations side can integrate these best practices to keep
our seniors safe without spending any additional money.
Secretary Foxx. Thank you. I think it is a very important
issue, sir, as you point out.
Senator Schatz. Thank you. Thank you, both.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Schatz.
Senator Moran?
STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MORAN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS
Senator Moran. Chairman Thune, thank you very much for this
hearing.
Secretaries, welcome.
Let me start with the Secretary of Transportation.
Secretary, you would know that bridges in this country--one out
of nine are structurally deficient. It is a serious problem in
a state like mine, I would guess no different probably than 49
other states. But the City of Topeka, the County of Shawnee
where Topeka, the capital city, is located brought to my
attention within the last month or so a bridge called the
Willard Bridge. And it connects two highways running to the
north and south. At this point the bridge over the Kansas River
is no longer structurally sound enough for school buses to ride
over that bridge. It is a significant disruption of commerce
and agriculture, not to mention public safety.
In days gone by, I would have been talking to you about
MAP-21. That program, as I understand it, no longer exists.
My question to you is twofold. One, is there any
opportunity within the Department of Transportation for help
for a county that is struggling to afford the significant
millions of dollars that it costs to replace this bridge? And I
am hoping the answer to that question is yes. And then how does
your proposal or the GROW AMERICA Act address bridges?
Secretary Foxx. Well, Senator, first of all, unfortunately,
I am not proud to say that this is a problem that I have seen
in many, many parts of the country. I was in Mississippi
actually a few months ago, and the same problem. School buses
were not allowed to pass over some of the bridges because of
the deteriorated state of them, and it created longer travel
times for school kids.
Regarding your question specifically, in our program we
have a $70 billion budget, plus or minus, and about $40 billion
of it goes directly to states by way of formula. The formula
program is really the bread and butter of the road and bridge
program. I think what other choices is the state DOT making.
Aside from that, we do have a program like TIGER that is a
discretionary program that is highly competitive but we were
able in Mississippi, for instance, to provide funding for three
counties that join together to get 18 bridges done. That may be
a potential source for this work.
Our GROW AMERICA Act puts a significant amount of money
into critical repair of bridges, including what I believe is
$29 billion over 6 years that are specifically focused on
improving bridges in our system, one of four of which is in a
state of deficient condition. That is how we would try to
address the bridges specifically within our bill.
Senator Moran. Mr. Secretary, thank you. I look forward to
working with my colleagues and you at the Department of
Transportation to see that we have a long-term transportation
plan.
Let me ask both Secretaries. I want to raise a topic that
has troubled me for a number of years, and it has to do with
manufacturing, Madam Secretary, and it has to do with
transportation, Mr. Secretary.
Wichita, Kansas is considered the air capital of the world.
We manufacture general aviation aircraft. In fact, 40 percent
of all general aviation aircraft are manufactured in Wichita. I
would invite both of you. Secretary Foxx, your predecessor was
in Wichita at one point in time to visit. I would encourage
both of you, and if I can help make the arrangements for you to
see a highly important manufacturing sector for our country's
economy, I would love to do that.
My concern and a message that I would like for you to
deliver to your boss, the President, too often the general
aviation sector is highlighted as something that is just for
the wealthy. The President and others within the administration
have continually made the issue of accelerated depreciation a
provision of our tax code for more than 25 years. This topic of
how we are going to get to the wealthy--we manufacture
airplanes. The ability to buy an airplane is so important. This
is not an issue of wealth. This is an issue of 32,000 jobs in
Kansas related to the manufacturing of planes. And every time
the President or others within the administration talk about
trying to get to the wealthy by changing the tax code, it
creates not only a psychological but an economic consequence in
our state. And I would love for both of you to come see the
manufacturing sector, and I would love for this topic to be a
lot less rhetorical or political. I understand the point of
being able to make a political--score a point. But this has
consequences to the economy to lots of people who depend upon
this industry for their livelihoods.
And I know that we are a place that manufactures airplanes.
And so often the way that I am perceived as somebody trying to
take care of that industry but I represent a very rural state.
That is how we are able to keep a manufacturing business in a
small town is access to getting customers' parts and supplies
in and out of those small towns. And this is an important issue
for a rural state like Kansas, but also one that manufactures
planes.
Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I appreciate Secretary
Foxx nodding his head. I will see you in Kansas is what I take
from that nod.
Secretary Foxx. See you in Kansas. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Moran.
Senator Wicker?
STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER F. WICKER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI
Senator Wicker. Yes. May the record reflect that Secretary
Foxx nodded his head.
[Laughter.]
Senator Wicker. And, Secretary Foxx, let me just pick up on
the remarks that Senator Moran made with regard to roads and
bridges to the critical need for addressing these
infrastructure deficiencies. And I am also interested in
working with you to make Grow America a program that we can all
be proud of.
Let me just say it is my understanding that later this
morning more than 250 Chamber of Commerce executives will send
to Congress a letter requesting action, number one, to fund the
Nation's transportation system and, second, to empower local
communities--I know as a former mayor, you were very interested
in empowering local communities--with more authority over both
Federal funding and decisionmaking.
And let me say that Senator Booker has had to leave, but
last year I was pleased to coauthor with Senator Booker the
Innovation in Surface Transportation Act, known as Wicker-
Booker, to provide local governments of all sizes access and
opportunity to participate in the Federal transportation
program.
I can tell you, Mr. Secretary, that when county governments
come to see me, when city officials come to see me, they are
excited about this concept of a program to dedicate a portion
of Federal funding, that formula money that goes to states--a
portion of that to create a small pool of competitive grant
funds to be awarded on a merit basis available to mayors,
county officials, and local leaders.
These Chamber of Commerce executives who will release this
letter today--they represent all 50 states, both large and
small communities throughout this country.
So I would say to you and I would say to the members of
this committee that I certainly hope you will work with us. I
think the inclusion of this Innovation in Surface
Transportation Act as an amendment to the GROW AMERICA concept
will enhance the chances for enactment of this. It will cause a
great deal of support at the local grassroots level for a
program that could actually get some money there to address the
needs such as the one that Senator Moran was discussing.
So do you have any comment about the Wicker-Booker proposal
or something like it to dedicate a small portion of funds for
local governments?
Secretary Foxx. It sounds very similar to a provision in
the GROW AMERICA Act to provide more funding at the local
level, and it is something that I think we should absolutely
take a close look at, and I hope Congress will seriously
consider it.
I think a critical component of it is raising the growth
levels in the investment we are making in the overall system
because otherwise if it becomes a food fight between the states
and the local governments, I think it becomes a win-lose
situation as opposed to a win-win which it should be.
Senator Wicker. I have to say that I agree with you on
that. We have an infrastructure problem in this country, Mr.
Secretary, and everybody in this room knows it. And it is going
to take a larger pot of money to address those needs. So I hope
to work with you on that, and I hope we will all 'fess up in
Congress as adults that if you are going to build some
infrastructure, you got to pay for it. We have to find a
legitimate way to do so.
Let me just ask you briefly if you can tell us how we are
coming on tire safety. As part of the 2007 Energy Independence
and Security Act, the Department was to finalize a rule 2 years
from now, 2017, to establish a tire fuel efficiency consumer
information. Are you familiar with this requirement, and can
you tell the Committee how we are doing on a timeline for
action to complete this rulemaking?
Secretary Foxx. Yes, I am familiar with it, Senator, and we
do have it in our plan of work and our goal is to get it
accomplished by the year 2017.
Senator Wicker. Thank you very much. So we are on time on
that.
Secretary Foxx. We are on time with that.
Senator Wicker. Let me just say this, Secretary Pritzker, I
appreciate everything you have said about Trade Promotion
Authority and the importance of trade agreements to create jobs
in America and to expand our exports. I have to say this,
though. There is a feeling among many people in this city that
actually the administration is not speaking with one clear
voice on this. We frankly hear determination and resolve from
some parts of the administration, and we get signals from other
parts of the administration that so many things need to be
added that are absolutely unrealistic and cannot be passed by
this Congress. There are people who doubt the administration
seriousness of getting something done in this current term of
Congress.
Now, I am willing to wait till 2017, if we have to, to get
TPA done right, but I would hope that a strong signal could be
sent from this Obama administration that, indeed, we are
serious about getting something done that actually works and
that the President is going to put the full force of his
administration behind this with members of his party to
actually get it done. I would just toss that out for your
information.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, I can assure you that the
administration is unambiguously committed to Trade Promotion
Authority and getting this done in this administration. We have
a full court press on in this administration, time, energy, and
it starts at the top. So we are happy to address any kind of
confusion or appearance of lack of speaking with one voice
because we do speak with one voice. Thank you.
Senator Wicker. I hope it works out that way. Thank you,
Ma'am.
Secretary Pritzker. You and me both.
The Chairman. Senator Blumenthal followed by Senator
Manchin.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT
Senator Blumenthal. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank you both for your very dedicated work, and
I appreciate the opportunity to work with both of you and your
responsiveness, both of you and your teams, to the questions
that many of us ask you day to day.
I have a whole bunch of questions for the Secretary of
Transportation, and I am going to try to cover as many as
possible. But if I miss some, I am going to submit a number in
writing particularly concerning the study that MAP-21 required
on weights and sizes of trucks and the limits on fines that can
be imposed in cases like the failure to provide information by
GM where I have submitted legislation. The President has and
you have as well. But I think to bring them together is
important.
Let me focus for the moment on the Federal Highway
Administration and the guardrail end terminals. The Federal
Highway Administration disbursed about $40 billion to states
for projects to build, improve, and maintain the nation's
highways and bridges, including steel guardrails, signposts,
and highway guardrail end terminals. As you know now, problems
were found as early as 2012, but the Federal Highway
Administration did nothing, in fact, continues to provide
inadequate action even after October 2014 when a Federal jury
in Texas returned a $525 million verdict against the
manufacturer of these devices.
Senator Schumer and I wrote to the head of that agency in
January. We received a response yesterday that I consider still
to be lacking. I do not want to be too harsh, but it is
inadequate. And therefore, a group of us are writing today to
the GAO to ask for an investigation of the structure of
oversight and scrutiny protecting safety on our roads. There
are thousands of guardrail devices on our roads today,
including in Connecticut, that are simply unsafe, and the
testing being done by the Federal Highway Administration is
inadequate.
In our letter, we detail why we consider this GAO
investigation necessary to be done, but I would like a
commitment from you, Mr. Secretary, that you will work with us
on eliminating the all-too-cozy relationship, frankly, that
exists right now between the Federal Highway Administration and
this manufacturer and others who may be involved in imperiling
safety on the roads.
Secretary Foxx. Senator, I appreciate your focus on this
issue and many other safety issues, and I want our Department
to always be asking as hard questions or harder questions than
even those who are watching us.
Let me say this. Number one, we are not done. The testing
that has been done to this point is still being researched and
reviewed, and if we find that it is insufficient, we have the
goal of taking another step to do some of our own research if
we need to. So I would not take what has happened to this point
as being a final answer in terms of where the agency is.
Senator Blumenthal. I know the testing is underway, but
part of our criticism is that the guardrails that have been
used for testing are unrepresentative of the ones actually out
there on our roads and highways, and the methodology used for
testing has been inadequate. So I hope that you will take a
close look at some of these issues.
Secretary Foxx. Sure.
I would also point out one other thing here, which is that
what has not been as carefully reported on this is that the
standards that you are referencing are standards that are
established by AASHTO, and the Department's certification
process is actually a matter of basically a practical
convenience to the states. If a product meets the AASHTO
standard, the Department has had a practice of certifying those
products for other states so the states do not have to do 50
different tests. But that is something that I think, as you and
I look at this issue going forward, is something that we also
should be looking at.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you.
And let me just mention in closing that after the tragic
accident/crash in Valhalla causing six deaths--still under
investigation--Senator Schumer and I have submitted the Highway
Rail Grade Crossing Safety Act of 2015. As you well know, these
collisions on tracks at rail grade crossings happen actually
once every 3 hours, believe it or not, 2,000 every year across
the country, causing more than 700 injuries and more than 230
deaths. These are not just accidents waiting to happen. They
are accidents happening throughout the country. And may I have
your commitment that you will work with us on this legislation?
I want to say I respect your personal commitment to safety
and reliability. I should have said that at the very beginning.
And I really appreciate your cooperation and your focus on
these issues.
Secretary Foxx. Always happy to help, sir.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal.
Senators Manchin, Markey, and Udall up next.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOE MANCHIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Manchin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thanks to both of you all for being here.
And Ms. Pritzker, if I may ask you concerning the TPA. The
Obama administration has operated trade agreements without a
TPA since they have been in office. Why is it imperative to
have a TPA just to pass TPP? Why can we not go under the same
review that we have had--input that we have had before?
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, I think TPA is critical for a
number of reasons. First of all----
Senator Manchin. It was not critical for the other trade
agreements. We have never had a TPA.
Secretary Pritzker. I think at this time TPA is really
important to, one, bring the parties together so that there is
a clarity as to what is important to Congress to be in the
trade agreements. And second, it is extremely important to
actually getting TPP over the finish line because there are
governments around the world that are looking to us and
wondering if we can actually pass these agreements, and they
are unwilling to put forward their most troublesome, for them
domestically in their own political environment, reforms.
Senator Manchin. Very quickly, let me because I only have
so much time.
Secretary Pritzker. Sure.
Senator Manchin. We were able to do other trade agreements
without a TPA. All of a sudden, if we do not have a TPA, we
cannot even do a TPP. That does not make sense.
Secretary Pritzker. Well, I think that we are also trying
to do an agreement here that is a regional agreement that
involves 12 countries. It is extremely complicated, and----
Senator Manchin. We should not be involved or have any
input. That is why you need a TPA.
Secretary Pritzker. No. The opportunity in TPA is to
express what are the important standards that are in our trade
agreements. That is an important function that TPA provides.
Senator Manchin. Maybe we can talk more on this.
Secretary Pritzker. I would be happy to talk to you.
Senator Manchin. I would love to have you up there.
Secretary Pritzker. I would love that.
Senator Manchin. And, Secretary Foxx, how are you?
Let me just say that in West Virginia we just had a
horrific train accident, and it could have been absolutely
devastating to a community. If it happened a mile down the
track, it would have wiped out a whole town. And now there are
predictions, I think, of 10 more derailments because of all the
transportation on the rails with crude. And with that I think
Senator Cantwell asked you about the new rules on the new cars.
We have been looking into that braking system, a little bit of
everything, and we are hoping that that can come to fruition
pretty soon.
But anyway, infrastructure. I do not think we need to speak
about how important infrastructure is. I got to throw something
at you.
The Keystone Pipeline. For those of us--it is one of the
few things we have been able to pass bipartisan. And we are
very much committed to that, those of us who believe very
strongly that it is a safer way to transport. The product is
going to be produced, as we know. If we put that into a truly
all-encompassing infrastructure bill, what do you think our
chances are?
Secretary Foxx. Well, Senator, let me start by saying that
the thoughts of our Department have been with the folks in West
Virginia who have----
Senator Manchin. We dodged a bullet.
Secretary Foxx.--suffered as a result of the train
derailment there. And you have my commitment, as I said earlier
to Senator Cantwell, that I will push as hard and as fast and
as well to get us a comprehensive approach to the safe movement
of energy products.
Senator Manchin. Let me throw the infrastructure right now.
What is your recommendation for funding the Highway Trust Fund?
Secretary Foxx. Pro-growth business tax reform. We need
something big.
Senator Manchin. So you are talking about pro-growth
business tax being planned, but then a certain amount of
targeted revenue for infrastructure?
Secretary Foxx. Yes, sir.
Senator Manchin. So the gasoline tax is not one that----
Secretary Foxx. It will still spin off about $238 billion,
but we need more money in the system or else it is going to
fall apart.
Senator Manchin. And then finally on the new rulemaking, in
2004 I believe on hair sampling in lieu of your urinalysis
test----
Secretary Foxx. I am sorry. Can you repeat?
Senator Manchin. You started in 2004 a standard for a hair
test to allow employees to use hair drug tests in place of
urinalysis tests. It has been going on for more than 10 years.
There is no clarity. So it might be something I am throwing at
you new because it is a concern to certain segments in my
state. What test? They know they have to have a urinalysis
test. Sometimes they are made to comply with both. They want to
know which one the Federal Government is going to back and what
they have to adhere to.
Secretary Foxx. Can I send you something on the record----
Senator Manchin. If you could on that, I would appreciate
it.
[The information requested follows:]
Secretary Foxx. DOT is required by the Omnibus Transportation
Employee Testing Act of 1991 to limit transportation employee drug
testing to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) scientific
protocols at HHS-certified laboratories. Currently, those HHS
laboratory protocols authorize only the testing of urine specimens. In
2004, HHS issued a Notice in the Federal Register that proposed to
certify laboratories for hair, sweat, and oral fluid (aka, alternative
testing methodologies) drug testing of Federal employees. Due to
scientific issues weighing against these methodologies, HHS withdrew
that Notice.
Since the withdrawal of the 2004 Notice, HHS, working with its Drug
Testing Advisory Board, has developed a proposal that would allow oral
fluid testing as an alternative to urinalysis testing. That proposal is
currently under Executive Review. Once that review is completed, the
public will also have an opportunity to review and provide comment. In
addition, HHS, through its Drug Testing Advisory Board, continues to
consider whether hair testing may also be a viable alternative to
urinalysis testing, as there remain concerns about the science,
integrity, and forensic defensibility of hair testing. Thus, to date,
the only method of drug testing that is approved for use by HHS, and
thus, by DOT, is urinalysis. We continue to work with HHS and our
industry stakeholders to address and resolve these issues related to
oral fluid and hair testing so that a viable alternative to urinalysis
may be adopted.
DOT has no legal basis to authorize alternative testing
methodologies in the transportation industries. DOT-regulated employers
must conduct urine testing currently, and there is no Federal
requirement for a DOT-regulated company to conduct a hair test. As
mentioned above, HHS is about to engage in rulemaking regarding oral
fluid testing as an alternate methodology. In addition, HHS has
recently indicated a williness to look at hair testing through the HHS
Federal Drug Testing Advisory Board.
Senator Manchin. There is one other one I had real quick,
if I may, on the Contract Tower Program. The Contract Tower
Program basically has been very effective and very safe. We
have three towers in West Virginia that are being targeted to
close. And I was wondering how much funding does the President
propose to continue for operations of the Contract Tower
Program in 2016.
Secretary Foxx. Our proposal would continue the program.
Senator Manchin. So you all are committed to the Contract
Tower. You all see the safety records versus the Federal----
Secretary Foxx. We continue the program. But let me say
this too, that we also believe that sequestration should be
reversed and that we should not be pushed into a corner as we
were a few years ago to having to make some tough choices about
some of these important programs.
Senator Manchin. Sequestration would be reversed if we got
a budget, and if we get a budget, then we will be able to do
infrastructure and take care of sequestration and have a
country that can operate.
Secretary Foxx. Absolutely. Yes, sir. I am with you.
Senator Manchin. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Manchin.
And by the way, I think, unless I am wrong, since the time
I have been here, all the trade agreements have been negotiated
under TPA procedures, including Panama, Colombia, and South
Korea.
Senator Manchin. You might be able to clarify that. I just
know that we did not have a TPA--we have not had a TPA under
this administration specifically.
The Chairman. Correct.
Senator Manchin. We were involved. We were able to
participate as Congress. This one here will take us out of that
participation.
The Chairman. Yes. The last TPA expired in 2007. All the
agreements that we have enacted since that time were subject to
that agreement and, when they went to the Congress, covered
under TPA procedures. So it has been used.
I think the problem, obviously, with bringing them up here
without an agreement like that is we open it up to amendment on
the floor of the House and the Senate, and that has always been
the concern, that it weakens our negotiators hands going into
those agreements if they think that they are going to be
subject to 535 Members of Congress amending when they get here.
Senator Manchin. I am open to learning as much as I
possibly can about it, but I can tell that we might have just a
little bit maybe of----
The Chairman. I think the Senator from West Virginia is
going to be very passionate on the issue, I can tell.
Senator Markey is up next, then Senator Udall.
STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD MARKEY,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS
Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Secretary Pritzker, on Friday the White House and the
Department of Commerce released draft privacy legislation. The
proposal rightly focuses attention on the need to strengthen
the privacy rights of Americans. But I think that we are going
to have to have a discussion about how strong those rules are
in order to ensure that there are adequate privacy protections
on the books.
So that is why tomorrow Senator Blumenthal and Senator
Whitehouse and I are going to introduce legislation that will
allow consumers to access and correct personal information that
is held by data brokers. The bill provides consumers with the
right to stop data brokers from using, sharing, or selling
their personal information for marketing purposes without the
permission of the individual.
So I would like you, if you could, to talk about three
issues. The first is whether or not consumers should have a
right to access personal information that is held by data
brokers. Two, whether consumers should have a right to correct
personal information that may be wrong. And three, whether or
not consumers should have the right to say no to monetizing
their personal information for advertising or marketing
purposes.
Secretary Pritzker. Well, Senator, first of all, I look
forward to reading the legislation that you and Senator
Blumenthal and others are proposing. And your work on privacy
is something that is something I have great admiration for.
In terms of consumer access to information, I think it is a
good idea. I think your ability to correct is very important.
It is applicable in other businesses that I have been in. I
think the right to monetize is one you want to figure out
exactly what are the rules of the road.
What we did in the consumer legislation that we put out
about a week ago is really to put out something that is meant
to be for discussion. It is a draft with the idea we need to
address consumer privacy in this country, and we have not done
so adequately. And it is an opportunity for the private sector,
for government, for civil society, and other interested parties
to come together to comment so that we can get something
accomplished.
Senator Markey. Well, I would like to work with you.
Senator Blumenthal, Senator Whitehouse, I think many members
want to talk about how we can provide more privacy for
Americans in this incredible era of intrusiveness with every
device that every child, every adult in America now has and
putting on information that they would have no idea would ever
be used.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, this is a very important
issue, and we would be happy to work with you and Senator
Blumenthal and Senator Whitehouse and others.
Senator Markey. Madam Secretary, over the last 8 months,
the United States' gasoline prices have decreased by 45
percent. And this gas price slide is acting like a massive
stimulus for middle class families and small businesses.
For 40 years, the United States has had a statutory ban on
exporting oil produced in the United States in order to protect
consumers and our national security. Last year, the Commerce
Department ruled that oil companies could export a type of
crude oil known as condensate.
Before the Commerce Department issued its private ruling on
condensate or completed the industry-wide guidance that it
issued in December which Federal agencies would then implement,
did the Commerce Department consider the impacts of these
decisions on U.S. consumers or prices, meaning by the
exportation of this oil, was there a calculus put together as
to how much that would then put pressure on raising prices
rather than lowering them?
Secretary Pritzker. Well, Senator, first of all, what we
did last year we do not view as a change in policy. What we did
was try to clarify what has been the policy to help explain to
exporters of petroleum products how they could comply. And that
is what led us to publish guidelines. We took into account how
to make it clearer as to what is a petroleum product versus
crude oil.
Senator Markey. Well, you know, we still import 5 million
barrels of oil a day in the United States. We are the largest
importer of any country in the world. We surpass China or
anyone else bringing in oil. To be exporting crude oil at this
time does not make much sense to me.
So my next question would be, are you considering further
expanding any other additional exports of condensate or other
crude oil that could affect that balance between exports and
imports in the United States?
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, at this time, we have no plans
for a change of policy, and we are following the law of the
land, which is crude oil is not exportable. Petroleum products
are. And what we tried to do is simply clarify what the
difference was in a day and age where technology has changed
dramatically over the last 5 years.
Senator Markey. And as you know, I disagree with that
interpretation. I think condensate falls squarely within the
crude oil family.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Markey.
Senator Udall, then Senator Gardner.
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Thune.
And thank you both, Secretary Foxx and Secretary Pritzker,
for being here and for the hard work you do for our country.
Secretary Foxx, I enjoyed having you in New Mexico recently
and visiting about infrastructure, and several of my questions
today are going to follow up on some of the things we talked
about then.
Capitalizing on the growth of freight rail infrastructure
in New Mexico is an issue I have been working on for some time.
Recently Union Pacific opened a $400 million Union Pacific
transloading facility at the Santa Teresa port of entry. And
BNSF has broken ground on a $5 million transloading facility in
Belen, south of Albuquerque. These private investments are
helping connect New Mexico's businesses with the world and
creating a transportation hub in my home state.
The Department recognized this opportunity and recently
awarded a $400,000 TIGER grant to develop a strategic
transportation plan for Santa Teresa. And I support the
President's request for $7.5 billion over 6 years to more than
double the size of the TIGER grant program because I think
investments like this are critical.
A couple of questions around this. What other resources in
the President's request can help local communities capitalize
on rail growth? Are there other sources of funding or support
that you believe can help local communities who are
experiencing growth update their infrastructure? And how can
growing communities get help in the short term?
Secretary Foxx. So in terms of your question on freight
growth, the President's proposal contains a $29.4 billion
allocation to the National Freight Plan. Senator Cantwell has
been just an incredible voice on pushing for a National Freight
Plan. It is important to get that plan funded so that the local
projects can happen. Our proposal would put a very substantial
amount of money in place.
Now, how that would work is states, local communities, even
groups of states could apply to the Department for that money.
It would be awarded on a competitive basis. But the idea is to
get scale out of investments that are specifically designed to
connect us to the 21st century economy.
In terms of what can be done in the short term, we do have
another round of TIGER that will be announced shortly. Sometime
in the spring, there will be a notice of funding availability
for that program. It is a $500 million program this year. As
you point out, we would like to see that program much bigger
because we can get a lot more done and get many more good
projects happening around the country.
Senator Udall. Great. Thank you.
As usual, Senator Cantwell is always out in front on an
important issue like this.
Secretary Pritzker, I supported legislation championed by
Senator Blunt and Senator Brown to establish a network for
manufacturing innovation. Today the University of New Mexico is
part of a consortium that is a finalist for one of the
manufacturing institutes focused on advanced photonics. Could
you expand on your testimony about how the Commerce Department
intends to help coordinate activities between the various new
national network of advanced manufacturing institutes?
Secretary Pritzker. Well, Senator, we are very excited
about the fact that the Revitalize American Manufacturing bill
passed toward the end of last year. The bill calls for NIST,
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to act as
the network provider, if you will. And so in our budget, we
call for $10 million to provide the glue between the various
institutes, in other words, if you think that we will probably,
by the end of this calendar year, have roughly nine institutes
up and operating I believe, the point being there is an
opportunity for them to learn from one another and we would run
that effort.
The second proposal in our budget is for two institutes to
be created by the Department of Commerce, and those would be
the result of a competition where the private sector would
determine the technology that would be the focus of those
institutes. The previous institutes--the technologies have been
determined by either the Department of Energy or the Department
of Defense. And we think that is an important differentiation
that some of our manufacturing institutes ought to have.
Senator Udall. Thank you both for your testimony.
I have a question also on the Economic Development
Administration that I will submit for the record. There is some
really important work you are doing in Albuquerque. But I have
run out of time.
Secretary Pritzker. Thank you.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Udall.
Senator Gardner, then Senator Sullivan and Senator Peters.
STATEMENT OF HON. CORY GARDNER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO
Senator Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman
And thank you to the witnesses, the Secretaries, for being
here today. Secretary Foxx, thank you, and Secretary Pritzker,
thank you very much for being here. I particularly thank you
for your outreach efforts to the newly elected Members of the
Senate, both the Republicans and Democrats. Thank you for the
opportunity to meet with you and discuss issues that are
important to our state. So I appreciate the efforts that you
have made.
I wanted to follow up on some of the comments that Chairman
Thune had made regarding the West Coast port situation.
Secretary Pritzker, the West Coast port slowdown had a
tremendous effect on our economy. It is reported $2.1 billion a
day. Particularly in Colorado, it depended on West Coast ports
imports and exports and even including some ski equipment that
was caught up in issues over the World Ski Championships in
Vail.
I wanted to just ask you this. The East Coast and West
Coast ports will be up for renegotiation when?
Secretary Pritzker. I do not know the exact--the West Coast
ports is just being resolved now, and so it would be 5 years
from now would be the next contract expiration.
Senator Gardner. And so you are looking at the possibility
of both East Coast and West Coast port renegotiations happening
at the same time.
What actions are you taking to ensure that this kind of
slowdown/shutdown does not happen again?
Secretary Pritzker. The ports do not actually fall under
Department of Commerce. The engagement that I have had now is
talking with some of the port owners about what I learned
during this process about trying to bring the ports into the
21st century in terms of their technology. But in terms of the
labor negotiations, we are not directly involved in those
negotiations, but happy to be of help if we can be.
Senator Gardner. Would you be willing to put together a
report from the Department of Commerce that showed the
cumulative economic impacts of congestion at the West Coast
ports, including lost economic activities, wages, and jobs?
Secretary Pritzker. I would be happy to work with my team.
It may require other parts of the government also to really
give you a fulsome picture.
Senator Gardner. That would be fantastic. Thank you,
Secretary.
Secretary Foxx, I wanted to talk a little bit more about
highway reauthorization, the National Freight Program in
particular. In northern Colorado, I-25, Interstate 25, we have
seen over a 425 percent increase in population in the last 20
years. There is a tremendous increase in traffic, as well as
freight. And I wanted to talk about the regional coordination
that you are working on.
What kinds of efforts are you doing regionally to help
coordinate the movement of freight across this country?
Secretary Foxx. Through our TIGER program, for instance, we
were given some planning dollars last year which enabled us to
do projects like Senator Udall was talking about where a
community has a need to actually vision how these pieces tie
together and to create a plan that can be executed later.
I frankly think that one of the big dangers we are facing
because of the 32 short-term measures in the last six years is
that the planning process is really grinding to a halt. That is
the seed corn for our transportation system. If we are not
planning, we are not getting things done.
The last thing I would say is that I think that it cannot
be understated that the need for a long-term bill would help
just open things up and get us back into an action mode again.
I am a Secretary, not a magician. I cannot make stuff happen
without the resources to do it.
Senator Gardner. And we also, in MAP-21, talked about
projects of regional and national significance. And so at some
point, I wanted to follow up with you on what the ultimate
outcome of designation of a national significant highway is
particularly when it comes to freight.
But I wanted to go on to a question--I am running out of
time here--dealing with a particular issue in Colorado. At Aims
Community College, we have a control tower training program. It
has been about 20 years that they have been working through the
Collegiate Training Initiative, several universities and
community colleges nationwide working on this program.
Last year, the FAA advised that they would no longer accept
the recommendations of or give preference to graduates of the
Collegiate Training Initiative program. The FAA has, instead,
opted to employ a general public announcement seeking to
recruit U.S. citizens with no aviation or no air traffic
control education or experience to fulfill future personnel
requirements at air traffic control facilities. Moreover, CTI
graduates that already have an AT-SAT or Air Traffic Standard
Aptitude Test score will be require to retake the exam at a
cost of about $500 per test paid for by the U.S. taxpayer.
I was wondering if you could explain why this decision was
made, what metrics or decision points were used when coming to
this conclusion, and why the partnership should end, and why
this decision will make our skies any safer than they
previously were.
Secretary Foxx. So I also would like to provide a more
complete answer for the record on this.
[The information referred to follows:]
The FAA continues to recruit qualified individuals for air traffic
control specialist positions and will conduct a two track announcement
process for Calendar Year 2015.
The first track vacancy announcement was advertised in January
2015, targeted applicants who have at least 52 weeks of certified air
traffic control experience in either a civilian or military air traffic
control facility.
Applicants for this round of hiring will not take the
biographical assessment or the Air Traffic Standardized
Aptitude Test (AT-SAT).
Instead, they must furnish documentation of their experience
and previous air traffic certifications in order to be
considered. Those selected applicants will fill immediate needs
at various air traffic facilities.
The second track announcement was advertised in March 2015 for all
U.S. citizens and will target candidates without ATCS experience.
These candidates must meet age and minimum qualification
requirements, and will be required to take the biographical
assessment and the At-SAT.
Additional announcements will be conducted as needed to
fulfill FAA hiring needs.
CTI graduates with 52 weeks of certified air traffic controller
experience were eligible to apply under the experienced track
announcement. CTI graduates without 52 weeks of certified air traffic
controller experience were eligible to apply under the general
experience track announcement.
Secretary Foxx. But the upshot of it is that what the FAA
is attempting to do here is to create a diagnostic at the very
beginning of the input process so that we know that the pool of
folks that come into the air traffic system have the basic
competencies that are needed. This is not a substantive
knowledge test. It is simply a test of whether how someone
handles pressure, for instance, because there are very highly
pressurized situations that air traffic controllers deal with.
From there, the FAA would bring the pool together and then go
through a subjective part of the process and then bring them
into a training process. And it takes fully 2 years within the
FAA to train people up.
Our experience, based on last year, was that folks that
went through the training programs that you are describing
actually did pretty well. Now, not 100 percent for sure, but in
terms relative to the rest of the population, they actually did
very well.
Senator Gardner. We will follow up more with that.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Gardner.
If we move quickly, we have got Senator Sullivan, Senator
Peters, and Senator Klobuchar, and we have no more than about
12 minutes to do this. So Senator Sullivan.
STATEMENT OF HON. DAN SULLIVAN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I want to thank Secretary Foxx, Secretary Pritzker for
your testimony, for your service to our country.
I want to echo Senator Gardner on the outreach that you
have made with regard to some of the freshmen Senators on the
Committee here.
You know, Secretary Pritzker, one of the things--when you
look at our country and our economy, we have tremendous areas
of strength, whether it is our universities, whether it is our
high-tech sector, whether it is this great new area where we
are becoming the world's energy superpower again. And yet, one
of the big failures I think of this administration is when you
look at where we are on economic growth, broad-based economic
growth if you compare it to previous decades, whether Reagan
era, whether Clinton era, whether first term of the Bush
administration where we were growing 3 and a half, 4, 4 and a
half, 5 percent GDP growth.
Right now, one of the things that we see we are growing at
1, 1 and a half, 2 percent consistently. And you know, one of
the things that I am most troubled by in Washington, that is
being called the ``new normal.'' This is what we should now
expect, 2 percent GDP growth for this country. I think that
would be a disaster if we start looking at that as the new
normal.
I know we could go on. Just very quickly, you have a lot of
experience in the private sector. Why are we growing so slowly?
I think it is going to impact so many things in our country.
How can we get back to traditional levels of American growth, 4
percent, 4 and a half, 5 percent GDP growth?
Secretary Pritzker. Well, Senator, we at the Department of
Commerce have been working to--we are never satisfied with the
growth in America, and our job is to try and help America grow
faster, whether that is expanding the opportunity for our
companies to sell our goods not just in the United States, but
around the world. So we have a national export initiative we
are working on. I think the National Network of Manufacturing
Innovation is extremely important. We need to stay on the
cutting edge of innovation. Fully a third of our growth and our
job growth since 2009 has come from innovation and innovative
sectors----
Senator Sullivan. But do you agree that 2 percent GDP
growth is unacceptable for the United States?
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, I would agree that whatever
our growth is, it needs to be more, and that is my job is to
guide our Department to try and enhance that.
Senator Sullivan. Secretary Foxx, one of the things that I
think has been a problem in terms of growth is the over-
regulation of our economy. And in terms of the delivery of
highway projects, it is now on average 14 years from start to
finish. Environmental reviews for major transportation projects
have increased to 8 years on average, just to review them, from
3 years, 3 and a half years ago in 2000. EIS, Environmental
Impact Statements, have begun at, you know, 22-30 pages to now
on average over 1,000 pages. The EPA is coming out with a new
reg, the water of the U.S. I think it will be a disaster. I am
certainly going to fight that reg. I do not think they have the
authority to do it.
Do you agree that these numbers are unacceptable, 8 years
to permit a bridge in America?
Secretary Foxx. Senator, I am from local government, so I
am naturally impatient. I want to see projects happen as soon
as they can possibly happen.
The first title of last year's GROW AMERICA Act was a
series of project delivery reforms that we think can be done
without jeopardizing the environment and accelerating projects.
Senator Sullivan. I do not think anyone wants to jeopardize
the environment, but 8 years to permit a bridge in America--I
do not think anyone wants that, Democrats, Republicans.
I would welcome your commitment. We are going to work on
legislation, based on some of the things that you are
proposing, to make that permitting system more efficient,
timely, and certain so we can get Americans back to work. I
would welcome the opportunity to work with your agency on that.
Secretary Pritzker, I want to turn to fisheries. As you
know, that is a hugely important industry for Alaska. We are
the superpower of America's fisheries. We harvest well over 50
percent of America's fisheries. I was a little disappointed to
see that your testimony only gave one sentence to fisheries.
Just two questions. How are you looking to work with the
state of Alaska and other fishing communities to enhance our
opportunities? And more specifically, there have been concerns
in Kodiak about the closure of the National Weather Service
station there. That is a hugely important asset. You know, we
have very tough weather out there in Kodiak. And we want to
work with you on enhancing our opportunities in fisheries, but
shutting down stations like that is not a good sign. And I
would like your thoughts on how we can work with you on
ensuring great opportunities in that big export element of our
economy.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, both the fisheries and the
Weather Service are an important part of what we do. And I was
up in Alaska and did actually meet with the Weather Service
there. I am not familiar with the Kodiak situation. I would
have to look into that particularly. But our goal at the
Weather Service is to run the Weather Service more effectively
and efficiently which sometimes requires consolidation of some
efforts because of technology. It is easier to run different
parts of our organization with more regional technology
centers. I do not know if that is the situation in Kodiak. So I
have to look into it.
In terms of the fisheries, I am well aware of how important
the fisheries are not just to Alaska but to all of our coastal
communities. And we are working closely. NOAA is very focused
on fish stock assessment and making sure that we are working
with our local stakeholders to understand the quality of that
stock assessment. That is one of the reasons that it is very
important that we ultimately begin the renewal of our fleet
because we need to be able not only to do a stock assessment
but also charting and mapping and things like that that are
also very important to our fishermen, as well as all that use
our navigable waterways.
So this is an ongoing partnership, and the way we think
about our relationship with our fishermen is it is a
partnership and one that we take very seriously around our
coastlines.
Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Sullivan.
Senator Peters?
STATEMENT OF HON. GARY PETERS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And it is great to have two great Secretaries here. Thank
you for your service to our country. I appreciate your
testimony here today.
Secretary Pritzker, I want to actually pick up on something
that Senator Udall mentioned, which is the Network for
Manufacturing Innovation, something that I am very passionate
about coming from Michigan, the Detroit area.
I am happy to say that in January, the American Lightweight
Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute opened its doors
in Detroit--we are very excited about that--which is part of
the broader network around the country. But this institute has
got a focus on lightweight materials, a research lab for the
production for materials like aluminum, magnesium, titanium,
advanced high-strength steel alloys. The center will also train
workers who will use these new processes in factories and
maintenance facilities across the country.
And I want to take an opportunity to express publicly my
support for these institutes to keep moving forward. But as you
know, the President has requested an additional $1.9 billion in
funding to reach the goal of ultimately creating about 45 of
these institutes.
Why do we need to be doing 45 institutes? What sort of
things are we expecting? Certainly we are expecting big things
out of Detroit, but if you could talk as to the importance of
this funding to the future competitiveness of this country.
Secretary Pritzker. Senator, first of all, I share your
passion for these institutes.
The reason that the President is aggressively pursuing this
is for several reasons.
First of all, we did a benchmarking study to look at how
many different technologies there are that are viable that we
ought to be pursuing. I think there were over 100.
Second is the President set a goal for 45 institutes over a
10-year period, and we have, I think, five that are announced
and several more on the way. But we have a long way to go.
And if you look at our competitive situation globally, if
you take a country like Germany whose economy is about a
quarter the size of ours, they have 60 such institutes. And the
thing you know from having seen the institute in Detroit--and I
have gone to visit the one in Chicago--is they are unique
places that would not happen without the Federal catalyst.
And so the President is pushing this at this time because
he recognizes that so much of our economic future depends upon
our continued innovation, and manufacturing is at the root of
our innovation. Fully 30 percent of the world's patents come
from the United States and 70-plus percent of those roughly are
from manufacturing. And so it is an extremely important part of
our economy, and we need to invest. And that is why the
President is pushing so hard.
Senator Peters. Well, I appreciate those comments.
I also want to say I am also a big proponent of the
Manufacturing Extension Program as well that you head up which,
over the last 2 decades, has helped provide advice and support
particularly for the small and medium-sized manufacturers where
you have got an awful lot of that innovation and job creation.
Just recently it was announced that NIST awarded over $4
million to the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. And I
was certainly encouraged by NIST's decision to reopen that
process, to recompete some of these centers to bring more
centers online. This is certainly going to allow more
innovation to new manufacturers in Michigan, as well as across
the country, to get into this space, which I think is very
important.
So if you could address a little bit about the
recompetition process and also just generally why it is so
important we continue to fund these manufacturing extension
programs.
Secretary Pritzker. Well, the Manufacturing Extension
Partnerships are vital to small-and medium-sized manufacturers
because it is an opportunity for these manufacturers to get
access to world-class processes and technologies. And
otherwise, they would not be able to afford to do so.
And frankly, you know, I have been 27 years in the private
sector, and if you told me the Federal Government was going to
play this kind of critical role with small and medium-sized
manufacturers, I would have seriously questioned it until I saw
it myself. I have actually met with manufacturers. I met with
the MEP providers. And I really got to see hands-on the kind of
difference they can make for companies that are employing 50,
100, 300 people. They can make an extraordinary difference.
The reason for the recompetition is we had not done so in
over a decade. So this is about keeping people fresh and sharp.
Also, one of the things that we learned is the funding match
was 1 to 2, and that was precluding some small manufacturers
from participating. So we changed the funding to be a 1 to 1
match based upon the feedback that we had gotten from
customers, and that has been very well received. And we think,
therefore, we can help more small businesses.
Senator Peters. Well, I appreciate your efforts and look
forward to supporting you in your efforts. Thank you.
Secretary Pritzker. Thank you, Senator Peters.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Peters.
Senator Klobuchar was going to be next. She is going to
submit her questions for the record in the interest of time
since we have the Prime Minister's speech coming up.
Senators Booker, Johnson, and Ayotte are also here and will
submit questions for the record.
I am going to let Senator Daines take us out.
But I want to thank you, Madam Secretary, Mr. Secretary,
for being here, for answering questions.
The hearing record will remain open for 2 weeks, during
which time Senators are asked to submit questions for the
record. Upon receipt, the witnesses are requested to submit
their written answers to the Committee as soon as possible.
And, Secretary Foxx, since you did not get your testimony up
here on time, maybe you can get your questions up here in a
really timely way--the responses to the questions.
We are going to let Senator Daines take us out, and then we
will close out the hearing.
Thank you all very much.
STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Secretary Pritzker, I am grateful that we have 27 years of
private sector experience for the Secretary of Commerce with
your resume. That is a good thing.
In your testimony, you mentioned the President's budget
prioritizes creating good American jobs, spurring high-tech
manufacturing innovation, and that the Fiscal Year 2016 budget
request demonstrates the administration's continued commitment
to broadband telecommunications as a driver of economic
development, job creation, and technological innovation.
I completely agree. And I can tell you in my hometown of
Bozeman, Montana, we created 1,000 good, high paying tech jobs
in a cloud computing company that we started up, and we could
create even more. And it is thanks to the Internet, and it was
thanks to this laboratory of economic freedom that the Internet
provides. It is unconstrained innovation.
However, I think many of us were concerned when we heard
that the Obama administration, the FCC, decided to step in and
take over Internet regulatory control. And so it is really
reconciling justifying how we can spur high-tech job creation
and innovation while turning a blind eye to what is happening
with the FCC that I believe will negate this effort. I have had
e-mails from respected, well-known CIOs in our country playing
right in the middle of cloud computing, some of whom are almost
despondent over what was announced last week with the FCC.
How do you reconcile the words of the budget versus I think
the reality of what the FCC is planning to do?
Secretary Pritzker. Senator Daines, you know, the
Administration is committed to broadband access for the entire
country, and so this is something that we take very seriously.
The President's position and the FCC's work on net neutrality
is something that they take the lead on. I do think that the
policy of supporting no blocking, no throttling, no paid
prioritization, and increased transparency--I think those are
important. Exactly how one gets there, that is up to the FCC to
discuss with them.
What we at the National Telecommunications and Information
Agency--what we are focused on, though, also is your question
about how do we get broadband to as many communities as
possible. And we did have BTOP grants out of earlier
legislation where we laid 113,000 miles of broadband networks
and accessed 25,000 schools and libraries, et cetera. Today we
do not have that kind of grant money, but what we are doing is
using some of the talent that we developed in doing that to
work with communities on local broadband----
Senator Daines. My concern--you know, certainly broadband
access is important especially for rural states like Montana. I
am just concerned that the FCC stepping in to regulate
something that it does not understand fully and number two,
cannot keep up with the rapid change in the Internet and so
forth--perhaps good intentions. But I am very, very concerned
about the consequences.
Secretary Pritzker. I understand.
Senator Daines. Secretary Foxx, there are five major
operating agencies in the Department of Transportation,
including the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, that are currently led by acting
administrators. And to my knowledge, for four of those five, it
does not appear that the White House has nominated a
replacement.
In Montana, energy infrastructure is an important issue. In
fact, the border crossing location for the Keystone XL Pipeline
is in Montana. How are we supposed to be proactive and working
with these agencies when they are without appropriate
leadership?
Secretary Foxx. Well, first of all, there is an awful lot
of work underway to move forward on some of these roles, and
that is information that I will have to let the White House
move forward with at an appropriate time. But I do believe
there is some imminent work on those.
We have good leaders in place, even if they are acting. The
expectation is that there is no drop-off in our ability to
focus.
Senator Daines. What is the barrier there? Just I am
curious. Again, I spent, probably similar to Secretary
Pritzker, 28 years in the private sector. What is the barrier
to filling these roles?
Secretary Foxx. We do want to make sure we get the right
fit for these jobs, and it is more than just trying to find
somebody off the street. It is trying to make sure we have good
people that are being placed in these roles, and I do believe
both with the folks that we have in acting roles, as well as
those that may or may not be moving through the process right
now, that we will keep our standards very high.
Senator Daines. On the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration, any sense of when you think you might
have the position filled?
Secretary Foxx. I am not going to get ahead of the White
House on that, sir.
Senator Daines. All right. Thank you for the questions.
Senator Cantwell [presiding]. Well, I want to thank both
our Secretaries.
And this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:40 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. John Thune to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Oversight and Investigation
Question 1. In the annual financial statements audit for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2014, external auditors identified some significant
deficiencies, including information technology access, configuration
management, and segregation of duties, controls, and accounting for
Economic Development Administration (EDA) accrued grants. What specific
actions have you taken to ensure that the Department addresses these
significant deficiencies properly and swiftly?
Answer. The Department of Commerce (Department) takes its fiduciary
responsibilities to this Nation and its taxpayers very seriously. Even
before the external auditors issued the final report, the Department
had already started developing and implementing corrective actions. The
Office of Financial Management (OFM) reviews each bureau's corrective
action plans, making sure those actions properly and promptly addresses
each deficiency. The plans are then sent to the Office of Inspector
General for their official acceptance of the plans. The OFM then
monitors the bureau's progress towards implementing the corrective
action on a monthly basis, or more frequently if required, and randomly
tests a sample of the completed actions to ensure that they are indeed
complete. Additionally, the external auditors will retest areas found
to be deficient as a means of validating the effectiveness of the
corrective actions.
Rest assured that the highest levels of management are committed to
ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the Department's financial
statements.
Question 2. The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General
(OIG) has repeatedly identified significant flaws in security measures
at the Department. Will you commit to working with the OIG and this
Committee to address these outstanding deficiencies?
Answer. Cybersecurity is a very high priority for the
Administration and the Department. I personally review our Department's
progress on cybersecurity with my senior team monthly. The Department's
Strategic Plan calls for an improvement in the Department's
cybersecurity enterprise architecture, and the Department's Fiscal Year
2016 budget request supports activities that will bolster cybersecurity
at the Department. We are currently in the process of deploying a
Department-wide system for continuous monitoring of several key
security controls, which will provide operational cybersecurity
capability throughout the Department. Further, we have overhauled our
cybersecurity risk management framework and have significantly enhanced
policies relating to cybersecurity, including increasing authority of
bureau Chief Information Officers over security for systems they don't
directly manage and mandating professional certifications for IT
professionals in certain security-related roles. As we continue to
pursue opportunities to improve our security posture, we fully commit
to working with OIG and this Committee to address security issues.
Question 3. In his written testimony at a February 25, 2015 hearing
before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Inspector General Todd J.
Zinser mentioned a number of recent issues concerning OIG access and
independence. Will you commit to providing the OIG with complete and
timely access to all Department information and materials?
Answer. I take compliance and oversight very seriously, and deeply
appreciate the critical role Inspector General offices play in
improving management and preventing waste and abuse in the government.
I am fully committed to working cooperatively with the Department's
Inspector General on his oversight work and, as the Inspector General
Act requires, providing full and open access to information the
Inspector General needs to do his job.
Question 4. The OIG has identified ``Providing Stronger Controls
over Finances, Contracts, and Grants'' as an area of concern for the
upcoming year. What steps is the Department taking to eliminate sole-
source contracting when there is inadequate justification for it and to
bolster recordkeeping to ensure transparency and accountability?
Answer. The Department considers competition to be the cornerstone
of an effective business strategy and promotes its use to the maximum
extent practicable. The Deputy Senior Procurement Executive is
designated as the Department Competition Advocate responsible for
promoting full and open competition as well as challenging barriers to
the acquisition of commercial items and full and open competition. In
addition, each of the Department's Operating Units with authority to
operate a contracting office has a designated Competition Advocate
responsible for promoting competition at the Operating Unit level.
In Fiscal Year 2014, the Department demonstrated a continued
commitment by achieving competition on 77 percent of its available
competition base dollars. This is in part a result of several actions
taken to achieve full and open competition in contracting operations,
such as:
Required review of sole source justifications for proposed
actions up to $650,000 by the Operating Unit Competition
Advocate and by the Department's Competition Advocate for
actions over $650,000;
Partnered with stakeholders in Industry Day events and pre-
proposal conferences to increase emphasis on market research
and competition;
Briefed program directors and staff on the benefits of
competition;
Provided training to acquisition and program staff on
effective market research and maximizing competition;
Conducted acquisition reviews to evaluate the acquisition
strategy of proposed contracts and promote the use of
competition;
Increased emphasis on improved acquisition planning and
increased competition at all working levels;
Established competition achievement goals and track
performance on a monthly basis through the Department's
Acquisition Council. The competition achievement metrics are
also available real-time on the Secretarial Dashboard.
Question 5. How will you go about implementing a culture of
accountability at the Department?
Answer. The Department takes its fiduciary responsibilities to this
Nation and its taxpayers very seriously and maintains a culture of
accountability to ensure that we meet these fiduciary responsibilities.
The Department's culture of accountability cascades from the top
leadership of the Department to individual employees. Our culture of
accountability starts at the top of the agency with the Executive
Management Team (EMT) led by the Secretary and composed of the heads of
the Department's bureaus. This group ensures that the Department is
closely monitoring its program and policy commitments and that bureaus
are collaborating to optimize return on investment in the Department's
programs.
The oversight provided by the EMT is supplemented by the same group
sitting once a month as a review group to examine progress on specific
Department Strategic Goals. Further, the Deputy Secretary meets monthly
with the Goal Leads individually and as a group to discuss how plans
and strategies should be evolving based on current developments.
One level down from the EMT is the Departmental Management Council
(DMC). The DMC is led by the Deputy Secretary and composed of the
Associate Director, Chief Operating Officer or equivalent career senior
executive from each of the Department's bureaus, who are responsible
for the day-to-day bureau operations and have an understanding of the
management and budget resources that support bureau activities. The DMC
focuses on increasing the efficiency and quality of mission support
processes.
At a functional level, the Department has councils that provide
oversight and accountability for the various functions, including the
Chief Financial Officers Council, Chief Information Officers Council,
Acquisitions Council, Grants Council, Enterprise Risk Management
Council, the Performance Excellence Council and Human Resource Council.
These councils review multi-bureau performance data related to their
functional areas to facilitate preemptive action if processes depart
from standards and/or targets. Risk management is supported by written
policies and procedures that are facilitated by dedicated staff
professionals.
Accountability for follow-up on Inspector General and Government
Accountability Office findings is supported by a Department-wide
tracking system used to monitor that timely action is taken on
recommendations. At the functional level there are councils and groups
responsible for ensuring accountability such as the internal controls
Senior Assessment Team, which monitors corrective actions for internal
and external financial management findings.
At the employee level, accountability is written into individual
performance plans; for instance, employees responsible for the
safeguarding of property have critical elements in their performance
plans that address these duties. This accountability structure is
mirrored at the bureau level.
Federal Records Act
The Federal Records Act (FRA) requires Federal employees to
preserve all records, including e-mails, documenting official
government business. The National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) further clarified this requirement in 1995 by adopting
regulations specifically requiring the preservation of official e-mails
created on non-official accounts. The cornerstone of transparency, this
clear and unambiguous requirement ensures that complete and accurate
documentation of the business of Federal departments and agencies is
available for congressional inquiries, Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) requests, litigation, and historical research. Given reports
about deficiencies in FRA compliance at several departments and
agencies, please answer the following questions:
Question 6. Do you use an official government e-mail account for
official business?
Answer. Yes. Pursuant to Department policy, the Secretary uses an
official government e-mail account for official business.
Question 7. Do you or any other senior Department officials use an
alternate, alias, or other official account (apart from your primary
official account) for official business? If so, is the Department's
Chief FOIA Officer aware of this practice? Have you ever used a non-
official e-mail account for official business? If yes, please explain
your purpose and justification for this practice.
Answer. As previously noted, the Secretary uses an official
government e-mail account to conduct official business. As a general
matter, senior Department officials use a single official e-mail
account for official business. Because of the volume of e-mails she
receives, the Secretary, with the knowledge of the Department's FOIA
Officer, maintains both an official e-mail account published on the
Department's website and administered by the Executive Secretariat for
inquiries from the general public, as well as two additional official
e-mail accounts for other official communications.
For the same reason, the Office of the Deputy Secretary, the Office
of the General Counsel, and certain other Department bureaus and
operating units maintain official accounts managed by administrative
staff for inquiries from the general public, and these accounts are
distinct from the official Department e-mail accounts that the
associated senior officials use for their day-to-day communications.
In addition, for security reasons, certain senior officials
traveling overseas may use mobile devices configured with travel
accounts that are deliberately segregated from their primary e-mail
accounts. Finally, certain senior officials maintain secondary official
e-mail accounts that were created when their primary official accounts
reached their storage capacity. Department officials' primary and
alternate official e-mail accounts are equally subject to FOIA.
Question 8. Are you aware of any other Department or Administration
officials who use or have used non-official e-mail accounts for
official business?
Answer. As a matter of practice and consistent with Department
policy, the Secretary and other Department officials use official
government e-mail accounts to conduct official business. In answering
this and other questions, we consulted with the Offices of the Chief
Information Officers for the Department and its bureaus, generally
addressing the time-frame from the Secretary's swearing-in through
present. Based on this inquiry, we believe any use of non-official e-
mail by Department officials, including during emergencies or otherwise
unusual circumstances, is minimal--and we are unaware of any
widespread, ongoing use of non-official e-mail by officials to conduct
official business.
Separately, for a limited time following their September 2012
appointment, certain non-federal board members of the First Responder
Network Authority (``FirstNet'')--who were full-time employees of
private and public-sector entities or otherwise engaged in non-federal
activities, had limited access to Federal communications devices, and
worked only intermittently on FirstNet business--sent some
communications from their non-federal e-mail accounts. Personnel at the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, within
which FirstNet is housed, as a matter of practice copied those board
members' official government accounts when corresponding with them
during this limited period of time. At present, board members generally
communicate using official Federal e-mail accounts, consistent with the
practices described in the paragraph above.
Question 9. What steps have you taken to ensure the preservation of
all Federal records, including e-mails, at the Department in accordance
with the FRA? Has the Department adopted the Capstone approach to
managing e-mail, outlined in the September 14, 2014 memorandum to the
heads of Federal departments and agencies from the Office of Management
and Budget and NARA? Have any Department employees using non-official
e-mail accounts to conduct official business forwarded the e-mails to
their official accounts within 20 days as required by law?
Answer. Various Department policies require the preservation of
Federal records, including e-mails, in accordance with the FRA and with
NARA-approved general records schedules. The Department also maintains
a comprehensive access and use policy prohibiting the use of personal
e-mail for official business. The Department publishes these policies
on its intranet and conducts periodic records training for employees.
Like other Federal agencies, the Department is working to implement
recent Office of Management and Budget electronic records directives
that agencies electronically manage e-mail records by December 31,
2016--and electronically manage all records by December 31, 2019. In
connection with these directives, the Department is working to
implement a Capstone approach to e-mail records management.
Question 10. What policies and procedures does the Department have
in place to ensure that all employees comply with their FRA
obligations? When was the most recent FRA training session offered to
Department employees, including Senate-confirmed individuals?
Answer. As previously noted, the Department maintains various
policies that require the preservation of Federal records. They include
comprehensive, Department-wide policies setting forth employees'
obligations to preserve records, as well as an access and use policy
prohibiting the use of personal e-mail for official business. The
Department publishes these policies on its intranet and conducts
periodic records training for employees; for example, training on the
access and use policy was conducted in early April 2015.
The Department's records training is handled at the bureau and
operating unit level, with additional briefing on recordkeeping
obligations occurring periodically at the Department Management Council
level. Senate-confirmed employees receive records training on an
individualized basis. Going forward, the Department intends to move
toward a virtual and uniform records training based on the Federal
Government-wide, NARA-sanctioned model that the Federal Records Officer
Network is developing.
Question 11. Is any senior Department employee aware of any
unlawful or accidental removal, alteration, or destruction of
electronic Federal records in the Department's custody or control,
including e-mails? If so, has the Department reported these incidents
to NARA? Please provide details of any such incidents, including the
dates, number and type of records, and custodians involved, as well as
any reports, including dates, made to NARA.
Answer. Based on the consultation described in response to question
three, we are unaware of the unlawful or accidental removal,
alteration, or destruction of electronic Federal records in the
Department's custody or control.
Question 12. Are you or any Department official aware of any
Department employee's use of a private or independent e-mail server to
conduct official business? If yes, who approved its use? What was the
rationale or justification for its use?
Answer. Based on the consultation described in response to question
three, the Department is not aware of any Department employee's use of
a private or independent e-mail server to conduct official business. As
noted, Department policy requires employees to use official e-mail
accounts to conduct official business.
Question 13. Has the Department received any inquiries from
employees about the permissibility of using a private or independent e-
mail server to conduct official business? If yes, who made the inquiry
and what was the response?
Answer. Based on the same consultation described above, the
Department is likewise unaware of any inquiries from employees
regarding the permissibility of using a private or independent e-mail
server to conduct official business.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Question 14. BEA Relocation to Suitland Federal Center: The
President's budget seeks a $14 million increase in FY 2016 for the
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the agency best known for producing
the Nation's quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. Among the
requests for additional funding for this agency is $4.3 million for
relocating the agency to the Suitland Federal Center. Will this
relocation result in long term savings for the taxpayer?
Answer. Yes, we project the accumulated renovation and rent savings
over a ten year period to be greater than $65 million. The Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA) is currently under a short-term lease extension
at 1441 L Street NW, Washington, D.C. that expires in June, 2016. As
part of establishing a new long-term lease, the General Services
Administration (GSA) looked at options to (1) build out and relocate to
a new facility or (2) reconfigure its current facility to a smaller
footprint. The GSA estimated these costs at approximately $16 million.
BEA requested $8 million in FY 2015 to partially pay for this one-time
required build-out, and planned to request the remaining $8 million in
FY 2016. The Department, in conjunction with the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA), has
decided to move BEA to Suitland, MD and co-locate them with the Census
Bureau. Operationally, this makes sense. The Census Bureau provides 66
percent of the data that BEA uses to generate GDP. We know that our
customers want, and will benefit from, data that is more timely and in
greater detail regarding region and industry. Bringing these two
operating units closer together will help us better deliver our
important mission through greater collaboration. Financially, this
relocation will result in long term tax savings. BEA will reduce the
one time renovation costs by approximately $8 million and its rent will
be cut by $2.5 million a year. Additionally, Census annual rent will be
reduced by $3.5 million based on the rent paid by BEA.
Question 15. BEA Energy Satellite Account: As previously noted, the
President's budget requests a $14 million increase in FY 2016 for the
BEA. Among the requests for additional funding for the BEA is $2
million to develop what's referred to as an ``Energy Satellite
Account'' that will focus on national and regional energy production in
the U.S., the use of energy goods and services by consumers and
businesses in the U.S., and energy prices, among other things. Doesn't
this initiative duplicate what the Energy Information Administration is
already doing? How is this proposed expenditure not a duplication of
the efforts of the Energy Information Administration?
Answer. No, it does not duplicate existing efforts at the Energy
Information Administration (EIA); it complements and builds upon those
efforts. Energy statistics produced by the EIA are not intended to
provide the full macroeconomic picture for the sector, such as the
sector's contribution to U.S. economic growth, productivity, and jobs
and wages. Moreover, the EIA data do not provide for the ability to
compare and contrast important sectors in the economy--for example, the
energy sector's economic performance in relation to the manufacturing
sector or to the financial sector. EIA's very detailed energy data is
important for understanding specific changes in energy production and
consumption, such as changes in barrels of crude or refined petroleum,
or spot prices for oil. These detailed energy data are important for
forecasting certain things like future energy consumption, production,
or world oil prices.
In contrast, BEA's proposed energy satellite account will pull
together estimates on the economic performance of the energy sector and
its supply chain, including the energy sector's contribution to the
change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The satellite account will
bring together existing and new sources of data into a coherent
estimation framework and presentation, consistent with GDP, that will
shed new light on the performance of the sector--from oil and gas
extraction, to specialized manufacturing that provides the capital
equipment necessary to produce energy, to refining, to the delivery of
energy goods and services to businesses and people.
Question 16. Proposal for a BEA Broadband Satellite Account: With
the Federal Communications Commission recently voting to encumber the
Internet with Depression-era Title II regulation, I'm concerned that
that, over time, we will observe a noticeable diminishment of
investment by Internet service providers to improve upon and innovate
within their networks. I recognize there is disagreement on this issue.
That is why I think it's particularly important for the BEA to measure
the impact of broadband investment on GDP over the next several years.
Would you support establishing a broadband satellite account at BEA to
measure the impact of broadband investment on GDP?
Answer. We would be happy to explore this idea with you, and also
provide a brief description of the currently available information from
BEA that may be helpful.
BEA's fixed asset accounts provide information on capital
investment for the ``broadcasting and telecommunications'' industry,
which includes broadband activity. The fixed asset accounts provide
estimates of capital investment, net stock of assets, depreciation, and
average ages of the stock of assets for types of equipment, structures,
and intellectual property assets of the broadcasting and
telecommunications industry. These estimates can be used to track
changes in investment over time for this industry.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Marco Rubio to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. The world is going wireless, which is leading to
incredible benefits for our economy and consumers. I plan to
reintroduce the Wireless Innovation Act this Congress and work to pass
it, but in the meantime, can you tell me what you are doing to ensure
this valuable public resource is being put to its best and most
efficient use on behalf of the taxpayer?
Answer. The Department and the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) continue to play a leading role
towards meeting the President's directive to identify 500 megahertz of
new spectrum for wireless broadband use by 2020. The recent AWS-3
auction of spectrum that was freed up through the joint efforts of
NTIA, the Federal agencies and the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) is an important milestone in the Administration's efforts to meet
this goal. The success of the AWS-3 auction, which raised more than $40
billion, was made possible in part by an unprecedented level of
collaboration between NTIA, affected Federal agencies, wireless
industry representatives, the FCC, and Congress.
As part of the Administration's efforts to make more spectrum
available for wireless broadband, the Department has been working to
identify other Federal bands that could be designated for commercial
use. We are collaborating with the FCC on making 100 megahertz of
spectrum available for small cell mobile broadband use in the 3.5 GHz
band on a shared basis with military radar systems. Meanwhile we also
are evaluating the feasibility of increased sharing for unlicensed
devices in the 5 GHz band while protecting incumbent Federal Government
systems. NTIA is also working with Federal agencies to quantify their
use of 960 megahertz of spectrum, spanning several key bands. The
results of this quantification assessment are one factor that will be
used to prioritize bands for more detailed study focused on expanding
shared access. We are also beginning a dialogue with Federal agencies
on best approaches to begin enabling expanded bi-directional Federal
access to non-federal bands.
We are also working to improve the efficient management of Federal
spectrum through increased transparency of Federal operations,
collaboration with industry, and incentives for Federal users to update
their systems to improve sharing spectrum with the private sector.
Question 2. The Commerce Department has a long history in the
identification and reallocation of under-utilized Federal spectrum. In
fact, the Commerce Department's report pursuant to the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993 led to the reallocation of spectrum occupied
by Federal agencies that facilitated the migration of mobile services
in the United States from 1G to 2G. Do you believe that the Commerce
Department should continue to play a central role in the evaluation of
what under-utilized Federal spectrum can be reallocated for commercial
use?
Answer. Yes. As described above, the Department plays an integral
role in working with Federal agencies to maximize spectrum efficiency.
NTIA is working towards meeting the President's directive to identify
500 megahertz of new spectrum for wireless broadband use by 2020. The
recent AWS-3 auction of spectrum that was freed up through the joint
efforts of NTIA, the Federal agencies and the FCC is an important
milestone in the Administration's efforts to meet this goal. The
success of the AWS-3 auction, which raised more than $40 billion, was
made possible in part by an unprecedented level of collaboration
between NTIA, affected Federal agencies, wireless industry
representatives, the FCC, and Congress.
The auction also represents a paradigm shift in our approach to
making spectrum available for commercial wireless providers. In many
instances, the bands that were auctioned will require the clearing of
incumbent Federal users from these bands; while in other instances,
non-federal entrants will be required to share spectrum with incumbent
Federal agencies indefinitely. As NTIA continues to review spectrum
bands for reallocation, spectrum sharing is becoming the new reality.
Out of necessity where it is cost prohibitive, takes too long to
relocate incumbent users, or where spectrum offering comparable
operational capability is not available to ensure continuity of
critical Federal Government functions, we must move beyond the
traditional approach of clearing Federal users from spectrum in order
to auction it to the private sector for its exclusive use.
We continue to work to identify other Federal bands that could be
designated for commercial use. In the near term, we are evaluating the
feasibility of increased sharing for unlicensed devices in the 5 GHz
band. We have also worked with the FCC and Federal agencies to enable
innovative spectrum sharing approaches in the 3.5 GHz band, and just
recently the FCC adopted new rules for the 3.5 GHz band creating a
three-tiered sharing scheme that authorizes advanced spectrum sharing
among commercial and Federal operators. Looking ahead, NTIA is also
working with Federal agencies to quantify their use of 960 megahertz of
spectrum, spanning several key bands.
We are also working to improve the efficient management of Federal
spectrum by increasing transparency of Federal operations,
collaboration with industry, and incentives for Federal users to update
their systems to improve sharing spectrum with the private sector.
Question 3. The AWS-3 auction demonstrated that there is strong
commercial demand for spectrum. What efforts will the Commerce
Department take to evaluate whether there are other Federal bands that
are being under-utilized and can be reallocated for commercial mobile
use?
Answer. Identifying additional spectrum to keep up with
unprecedented demand for both Federal and non-federal uses is a top
priority for NTIA, which manages Federal spectrum usage. NTIA is
collaborating with the FCC on making 100 megahertz of spectrum
available for shared small cell use in the 3.5 GHz band currently used
primarily for military radar systems. The 3.5 GHz band is well suited
to exploring the next generation of shared spectrum technologies,
driving greater productivity and efficiency in spectrum use and could
be an important pivot point toward a new sharing paradigm. Recently,
the FCC adopted new rules for the 3.5 GHz band creating a three-tiered
sharing scheme that authorizes advanced spectrum sharing among
commercial and Federal operators. We are also evaluating the
feasibility of increased sharing with unlicensed devices in the 5 GHz
band. NTIA is also working with Federal agencies to quantify their use
of 960 megahertz of spectrum, spanning several key bands.
NTIA recognizes that spectrum is the lifeblood of the mobile
broadband revolution. We are committed to ensuring the industry has the
bandwidth it needs to continue to innovate and thrive. But we face an
important balancing act since Federal agencies also rely on this
precious and finite resource to perform all sorts of mission-critical
functions--from communicating with weather satellites (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration) to navigating passenger planes (Federal
Aviation Administration) to operating weapons systems (Defense
Department).
To achieve the President's goal of identifying 500 MHz of spectrum
for commercial use by 2020, we need to move beyond the traditional
approach of clearing government-held spectrum of Federal users in order
to auction it off to the private sector for exclusive use. Too often,
relocating incumbent operations is too costly, too time-consuming and
too disruptive to Federal missions. The future lies in sharing
spectrum--across government agencies and commercial services, and
across time, geography and other dimensions.
To support these efforts, NTIA is seeking to increase transparency
into existing Federal spectrum use. Last year, NTIA unveiled
Spectrum.gov, a new online tool that provides band-by-band descriptions
of Federal spectrum uses between 225 MHz and 5 GHz, including a summary
of frequency assignments authorized by NTIA. We will continue to
improve that tool to make it more easily searchable and user-friendly,
and to provide as much helpful data as we can without disclosing
sensitive information.
If spectrum sharing is to become reality, though, we need to build
trust on multiple levels. First, we need to build trust in dynamic
sharing technology, including spectrum databases and smart radios that
can track which frequencies are available for use. Our new Center for
Advanced Communications in Boulder, a partnership with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will conduct vital
research and testing to drive development of dynamic sharing
technology.
Second, we must build trust between the public and private sectors
so that we can partner to identify more sharing opportunities and
collaborate to make sharing work. With the help of our Commerce
Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, NTIA will increase industry
engagement to enhance this trust moving forward.
Finally, we need to build trust in policies and processes to ensure
that everyone--public and private sector alike--plays by the rules. Our
proposed model city initiative, a collaboration with the FCC which will
serve as a test bed to evaluate spectrum-sharing technology in a real-
world environment, will provide a good opportunity to develop these
policies and processes.
The Department shares your commitment to maximizing the efficiency
of Federal spectrum use and is working at all levels to ensure that we
achieve this outcome.
Question 4. On March 13, 2015, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Texas announced a state-based Gulf red snapper
management agreement that would transfer authority away from the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council. What are the Department's views
of this agreement and management structure?
Answer. The Department supports regional management in concept as a
way to resolve the current challenges created by inconsistent state
jurisdictions and regulations, stabilize management of the recreational
sector, and better manage the expectations of for-hire fishermen and
private anglers.
It is difficult to judge the merits of the states' red snapper
management agreement because it lacks sufficient detail regarding what
we believe to be the hallmark elements of a successful regional
management strategy. These include: fair and equitable allocations
among all of the states and user groups; sound, science-based decision-
making that accounts for all sources of fishing mortality; coordinated
data collection systems, which provide consistent, reliable data; and,
catch accountability, including mechanisms to prevent and respond to
quota overages.
The Department is concerned the states' agreement proposes to
regionalize management of the commercial red snapper sector after an
initial three year grace period. The individual fishing quota program
implemented in 2007 addressed many long-standing challenges faced by
the commercial sector by better aligning fleet capacity with the
commercial catch limit, mitigating short fishing seasons, improving
safety at sea, and increasing economic profitability. The Department
believes strongly that any management program adopted for red snapper
should recognize and continue those hard-earned achievements.
While the Department appreciates the states coming together on this
difficult issue, the Department continues to believe the best way to
develop an effective regional management strategy is through the
regional fishery management council process. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
established that process to ensure fishery management decisions are
developed from the bottom up and are stakeholder-based, transparent,
and consistent with all applicable law. Although sometimes cumbersome,
it is a good process for working through the types of difficult
decisions that regional management requires. Gulf of Mexico fishermen
and fishing communities sacrificed a great deal to get here. It is
critical that all involved remain engaged and work together to find a
way forward in the cooperative spirit that the regional fishery
management council process promotes.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council continues to actively
develop a regional management proposal and the Department will continue
to support the state representatives on the Council in reaching
agreement on a regional management strategy that works for all. Such a
program could be finalized before the end of 2015 for implementation in
the 2016 fishing season.
Question 5. Please provide details on how much the Department plans
to spend for stock assessments and data collection for the red snapper
fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Ocean.
Answer. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center expects to provide
new assessments for both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico red
snapper stocks this year. However, the data collection that supports
red snapper stock assessments is not conducted just for red snapper,
but includes a broad range of species.
Our fish surveys are designed to sample all species that occur in a
given habitat in a way that reflects their relative densities within
that habitat. Trawl surveys collect data on shrimp and juvenile fish of
the several species that inhabit muddy bottom habitat. Our video trap
surveys collect data on reef-associated species that include multiple
snapper and grouper species plus amberjack and gray triggerfish.
Similarly, our sampling of catches from commercial and recreational
vessels is not carried out by species. For example, commercial port
samplers collect data from commercial vessels across the wide variety
of species harvested.
As a result of this blending of data collection efforts, it is not
possible to provide an estimate of how much is spent to assess any one
species.
Question 6. NOAA recently announced a recovery plan for the elkhorn
and staghorn corals and listed them as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. How will the designation impact research and development
of U.S. coastline, waterways and ports?
Answer. The final recovery plan for elkhorn and staghorn corals
provides a blueprint for recovering these species. It identifies
recovery criteria, strategies and actions that are needed for recovery.
It doesn't change any of the regulations governing the take of corals
or modify any of the regulatory requirements of an Endangered Species
Act (ESA) listing. In 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) issued a protective regulation for these corals under section
4(d) of the ESA. That regulation did not prohibit take associated with
scientific research provided other necessary permits were issued to the
researcher (such as those from the State of Florida or the National
Marine Sanctuary). The recovery plan will not affect research
activities in terms of permit requirements, but we do hope that it will
spur additional research on these species as identified in the recovery
plan. Likewise, the recovery plan will not affect development of the
U.S. coastline, waterways or ports.
Question 7. In your testimony, you state that the President's NOAA
budget calls for $2.4 billion to fund the next generation of weather
satellites ``to reduce the risk of a potential gap in weather data in
2017 and beyond.'' The current satellite, Suomi NPP, is estimated to
reach the end of its lifespan in 2016. For Floridians, this potential
gap could mean delayed weather reporting or even worse, loss of data
during the afternoon orbit, resulting in catastrophic circumstances.
What are the Department's estimates for the actual life span of Suomi
NPP?
Answer. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP)
satellite is functioning well with observations and data availability
meeting or exceeding expectations. The satellite is not showing any
signs of degradation or anomalies indicating life limits. The satellite
has a design life of five years; however current predictions indicate
sufficient propellant for operations to the mid-2020s.
Question 8. How did the Department come to this estimate?
Answer. These lifetime probability estimates are updated annually.
The 2014 Polar Constellation Weather Data Reliability Report provides a
detailed explanation of the process of reliability modelling. The 2014
Suomi NPP satellite probability of success model is based on a
specialized model to determine failure rates called ``Military
Handbook, Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment'', MIL-HDBK-
217. This model was applied at the system level (e.g., spacecraft and
instruments) and modelled degradation of system components.
The model output suggests that around the year 2020, the
Probability of Success for the system components that are required to
produce key data products to be below 60 percent with continued
degradation until the satellite has to be de-orbited due to propellant
depletion, which is currently predicted to be no later than 2026.
NOAA assumes a satellite will not be available if its predicted
reliability is below 50-60 percent. These analyses are repeated
annually as part of our continuous process to understand and manage our
overall program risk.
Question 9. Does NOAA currently have a contingency plan should the
monies not be appropriated? If so, what is that plan?
Answer. NOAA has submitted a balanced FY 2016 budget request to
support NOAA's satellite portfolio, including sufficient funds to
achieve a robust Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) system
architecture that will continue operations of Suomi NPP, continue
development of the JPSS-1 and JPSS-2 satellites, complete the block 2
upgrades for the JPSS ground system, and develop two additional
satellites beyond JPSS-2 in the proposed Polar Follow On (PFO). NOAA's
polar-orbiting weather satellites are aging and must be replaced in
order to maintain weather forecast accuracy and reliability. Federal,
state and local governments, U.S. citizens and businesses are reliant
on timely and accurate weather forecasts to protect life, property and
economic competitiveness. A loss of coverage by NOAA's polar satellites
would severely degrade the National Weather Service's early detection
and forecast prediction ability, setting them back years in terms of
weather forecasting improvements. Diminishing this capability will
negatively impact millions of people and cost U.S. business billions of
dollars in revenue.
NOAA has developed an extensive mitigation plan to reduce the
impact of a gap, in the event one occurs; however, mitigation
activities cannot replace the performance of the JPSS system. If NOAA
is not appropriated funds at the requested level for the JPSS program
in FY 2016, NOAA's ability to operate the Suomi NPP satellite and
maintain development of the JPSS-1 and JPSS-2 missions will be
impacted--resulting in a gap in observations in the late 2020s in the
afternoon polar-orbit.
If NOAA is not appropriated funds at the requested level for the
PFO in FY 2016, the risk of a gap in polar observations following the
launch of JPSS-2 will be increased. The follow on satellites, PFO/JPSS-
3 and PFO/JPSS-4, ensure NOAA's ability to provide accurate and timely
weather forecasts and warnings through 2038. Full funding of the
request allows NOAA to achieve polar weather constellation robustness
as early as FY 2023.
Question 10. Within the President's requested budget, how much do
you estimate NOAA to expend on weather forecasting research? What, if
any, projects are currently being studied, or are planned? How much do
you estimate to expend on seal level research?
Answer.
NOAA Weather Forecasting Research
In FY 2016 NOAA requests a total of $102.7 million across the
Office of Oceanic Research, the National Weather Service, and National
Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service for weather
forecasting research and development. In fiscal 2016, weather
forecasting research efforts are detailed as follows:
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
OAR requests $78.6 million for weather forecasting research and
development. Under its Weather and Air Chemistry Research sub-program,
OAR will support:
Research and development that provides the Nation with
accurate and timely warnings and forecasts of high-impact
weather events and their broader impact on issues of societal
concern such as weather and air quality;
Research that provides the scientific basis for informed
management decisions about weather, water, and air quality; and
An increase in the pace, scope, and efficiency of
exploration and research through the development of new,
innovative and emerging technologies.
National Weather Service (NWS)
NWS requests $22.1 million for weather forecasting research and
development. The research efforts are focused on improving tsunami
warnings, air quality forecasting, and science enhancement for Next
Generation Aviation forecast services. Major development efforts
include the development for the next generation global and hurricane
weather prediction model, and demonstration of centralized water
forecasting.
National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS)
NESDIS requests $2.0 million for weather forecasting research under
its Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation and Satellite
Altimetry Laboratory.
NOAA Sea Level Research
NOAA conducts sea level-related research through OAR's Climate
Program Office and the National Ocean Service. OAR's Climate Program
Office manages research to incorporate ice sheet dynamics, ocean-ice
shelf and ocean-iceberg interactions, ice shelf cavity circulations and
processes driving regional variations in sea level rise and inundation
into NOAA's Earth System Models. Model development goals will include
routine global ocean data assimilation capabilities linked to Global
Ocean Observing System observations and innovative approaches to
achieving high resolution in regions of interest including coasts,
shelves and marginal seas, shelves, coasts and estuaries. OAR will
spend approximately $4.7 million on sea level rise related research and
development in FY 2016. This total includes high performance computing
related to regional sea level rise work.
The National Ocean Service has operational water level programs
that support sea level research and applied research programs that
focus on sea level-related issues (such as risks and vulnerabilities
related to changes in sea level, associated impacts to the coastal
built and natural environment, and the development of tools, resources,
and methodologies to inform adaptation and planning decisions), but no
programs specific to sea level research.
Question 11. The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is imperative to
passing meaningful trade agreements that will in turn expand our
exports and create jobs in America. Realizing there are some in the
President's party who are serving as roadblocks in the Administration's
efforts to garner an up or down vote on this critical measure, it is my
hope the Senate can resolve the discord. What is the Department
currently doing to ease the concerns of members opposed to TPA?
Answer. Congress has enacted Trade Promotion Authority laws to
guide both Democratic and Republican Administrations in pursuing trade
agreements that eliminate barriers in foreign markets, establish rules
to stop unfair trade, and thereby create and support jobs in the United
States. That is why, at the President's direction, there is a whole-of-
Administration effort to have conversations about trade all over the
country and make sure the American people have the full facts about the
benefits of our trade agreements.
Senior officials from the Department have played a key role in
delivering this message, meeting with businesses and workers to make
clear that trade agreements help open new markets and level the playing
field for our goods and services; advance American values and
strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. companies; and reinforce the
United States as a global leader setting fair rules of the road for a
next generation of U.S. jobs and economic growth. The Department,
through its trained professionals in U.S. Export Assistance Centers and
the implementation of the National Export Initiative/NEXT strategy, is
also pursuing a number of initiatives specifically designed to better
help our businesses know about and take advantage of opportunities
available under our trade agreements. Successes associated with helping
U.S. firms enter new markets, grow their bottom lines, and develop
local workforces reinforce the value of trade agreements for all
stakeholders.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Kelly Ayotte to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question. As you know, the New England Groundfish Fishery has faced
significant hardship in recent years. Fishing is a historic and
honorable trade that has been in many New Hampshire families for
generations and sustains the livelihood of fishing communities across
New England. The fishery in my home state of New Hampshire has been
forced to near extinction.
Recently, I have heard concerns from fishermen regarding NOAA's At-
Sea-Monitoring Program. NOAA officials have told fishermen in New
Hampshire that due to budget constraints, in this fishing year,
fishermen will be forced to pay for part or all of the monitoring
costs. Has NOAA budgeted the correct amount of funding to cover the
required observer under its At-Sea-Monitoring Program?
Answer. Amendment 16 for New England Groundfish that established
the sector program envisioned that the industry would pay for at-sea
monitors after an initial transition period. In the interim, the
Administration requested and Congress appropriated observer funds
including at-sea monitors in four specific budget lines and the
Department has been funding this program. However, in response to a
ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals, NMFS has worked with the New
England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils to adopt and
approve a revised Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus
Amendment, which will greatly limit our discretion in funding the at
sea monitoring program.
Our proposed rule implementing this Amendment would require
observer funds from these specific budget lines to be used first to
meet the requirements of the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology
for the purposes of monitoring bycatch before allocating such resources
for additional observer needs including at-sea monitors in the New
England ground fishery.
Because we anticipate that appropriated observer funds will be
insufficient to meet the requirements of the Standardized Bycatch
Reporting Methodology, we do not anticipate having sufficient funds to
continue to cover all of the at-sea costs associated with the At-Sea
Monitoring Program for the entire 2015 fishing year. Therefore, the
fishing industry would be required to pay for at-sea monitoring
coverage beginning partway through the 2015 fishing year, which begins
on May 1, 2015, and ends on April 30, 2016.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Jerry Moran to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. How has Regional Innovation Program housed at the
Economic Development Administration helped regional economies?
Answer. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is committed
to fostering connected, innovation-centric economic sectors which
support commercialization and entrepreneurship as described in the
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Working with regions
across the country to develop regional innovation strategies, including
regional innovation clusters, is also a goal of the DOC's FY 2014-2018
Strategic Plan and a keystone of the Secretary's commitment to building
globally competitive regions.
As part of this strategy, the Regional Innovation Strategies
Program (RIS Program) supports capacity-building activities that
include: (1) Proof of Concept Centers and Commercialization Centers as
well as scaling of existing commercialization programs and centers; (2)
feasibility studies for the creation and expansion of facilities such
as science and research parks; and (3) supporting opportunities to
close the funding gap for early-stage companies. To that end, EDA's
existing and highly successful i6 Challenge is being joined by Cluster
Grants for Seed Capital Funds, and Science and Research Park
Development Grants to create the RIS Program.
According to preliminary studies of the i6 program conducted by the
University of North Carolina and SRI International, evidence from the
client/participant survey of i6 grantees indicates that over 90 percent
of respondents attributed direct positive impacts on their capacity to
the services or support that they received through the i6 program; most
reported results across multiple categories, advancing technology and
developing network contacts being the most significant.
Examples of short-term and long-term impacts included increased
innovation and entrepreneurship capacity and knowledge, increased
competitiveness, growth and expansion, and new opportunities. The
preliminary findings also indicate that the impacts can occur at both
the firm/organizational level and at the regional level.
For example, the Digital Sandbox KC in Kansas City, Missouri,
offers a central connection point for large businesses, emerging
enterprises, and entrepreneurs to evaluate and develop new products and
services. Established in 2012, this facility is a hub for proof-of-
concept work, mentorship, technical assistance, and early-stage
investments and new jobs. By mid-2014, the Digital Sandbox had assisted
local entrepreneurs with more than 200 business concepts, resulting in
funding for 37 proof-of-concept projects. Furthermore, 26 of these grew
into businesses that received more than $10.2 million in follow-on
funding, creating 154 jobs for the local Kansas City economy.
Question 2. What outcomes have you seen for those economies and
grant recipients?
Answer. The Digital Sandbox KC is not alone in such success.
Another example is the University of Virginia, which joined forces with
Virginia Tech and SRI International in 2012 to create a statewide
innovation network, the Virginia Innovation Partnership (VIP). VIP's
goal is to accelerate innovation and economic growth by breaking down
silos and establishing better connections among the state's research
and entrepreneurial assets. By October 2014, this partnership resulted
in 36 research projects receiving initial funding--12 of which grew
into new businesses with over $3.5 million in follow-on funding--17
patents, two statewide venture conferences, and one very robust
entrepreneurship mentor network.
Question 3. How do you measure success of these programs?
Answer. EDA, partnered with the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and SRI International to develop performance and outcome
metrics for EDA-funded projects and to incorporate these metrics into a
comprehensive and user-friendly evaluation system. The multi-year
collaboration produced a logic model to guide future EDA initiatives
and both partners offered a set of recommendations to enhance project/
program evaluation. An improved EDA evaluation system will enable
policymakers to better target their investments and to measure their
potential impact on economic activity. The partners reviewed data
sources and developed metrics to enhance the quality of information
collected from EDA grantees. These metrics can measure economic
development activities in new ways and allow policymakers to get a more
complete picture of the impact of EDA-funded projects on a local or
regional economy. A comprehensive evaluation of EDA-funded projects can
lead to increased evidence-based decision making and allow EDA to lead
the Federal economic development agenda by promoting and measuring
innovation and competitiveness.
This framework was used as a baseline from which EDA, along with
Department's Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), created
standard metrics for each respective program under the RIS Program.
Each award recipient agrees to collect and report on the metrics
relevant to that recipient's program. EDA collects and analyzes the
reported metrics.
These outputs drive local economies forward via outcomes such as
increases in jobs, improvements in human capital, and growth in
investment into the community. These outcomes are measured by new jobs
created, new skill development, venture capital invested, and other
respective metrics.
Additionally, Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology
Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 3722) as amended by the
Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014 (Title VII
of 113 H.R. 83) [hereinafter RAMI] mandates an independent third-party
evaluation of the RIS Program no later than three years after RAMI's
enactment. (Sec. 3722(e) (1)) ``The evaluation shall include--(A)
whether the program is achieving its goals; (B) any recommendations for
how the program may be improved; and (C) a recommendation as to whether
the program should be continued or terminated.'' (Sec. 3722(e) (2)) The
aforementioned outputs and outcomes that are measured throughout the
program will be used as part of this evaluation. In order to allow
programs using these consistent set of metrics to have time to generate
measurable outcomes, it is anticipated this evaluation will be
initiated toward the end of the mandated three year period stated
above.
Question 4. I recently reintroduced the Startup Act. One portion of
this legislation seeks to improve how Federal research is commercialize
for the purpose of new businesses and job growth. What programs at the
Department of Commerce assist companies and universities in
commercializing Federal research?
Answer. Thank you for the opportunity to provide information
related to the leading role of the Department in supporting innovation,
such as the activities that relate to the Startup Act. The Department
provides both a leadership role in coordinating these activities across
agencies, as well as firsthand experience in operating Federal
laboratories at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
In addition, the Department works with and promotes the
commercialization of Federal research through partner organizations
such as the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) and efforts such as the
Lab to Market Cross Agency Priority (CAP) goal, and through the
administration of grants through the Economic Development
Administration (EDA).
The government-wide coordination of policy issues, including the
regulatory authority for rules on how to deal with intellectual
property resulting from government funded research are performed by
NIST. In addition, NIST has specific responsibilities for coordinating
public-private collaboration efforts by Federal laboratories and
serving as the host agency for the Federal Laboratory Consortium for
Technology Transfer.
EDA's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship leads the
Department's Regional Innovation Strategies Program. The objective of
this program is to make funding available for capacity-building
activities that include Proof of Concept Centers and Commercialization
Centers as well as scaling of existing commercialization programs and
centers; feasibility studies for the creation and expansion of
facilities such as science and research parks; and supporting
opportunities to close the funding gap for early-stage companies. In
September 2014, EDA announced three separate funding opportunities
under this program, including: the i6 Challenge, Science and Research
Park Development Grants, and Cluster Grants to support the development
of Seed Capital Funds.
EDA announced $8 million in funding to 17 grantees of the 2014 i6
Challenge on March 30, 2015. The i6 Challenge, in its fourth iteration,
is a leading national initiative designed to support the creation of
centers for innovation and entrepreneurship that increase the
commercialization of innovations, ideas, intellectual property and
research into viable companies.
EDA's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship also runs the
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE),
an external advisory council which the Secretary of Commerce chairs.
The current council was established in October of 2014 and is made up
of 27 accomplished individuals from academia, industry, and non-
profits. It is charged with advising the Department on various matters
that include the commercialization of research and is currently
considering various projects around this topic. The former NACIE,
seated from 2010--2012, created a report titled ``The Innovative and
Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation, and
Entrepreneurship'' that includes best practices in technology
commercialization from universities. The current NACIE is working with
the White House Lab-to-Market inter-agency working group to determine
if there is an opportunity to do the same kind of report for
commercialization of research from Federal labs.
In addition, both NIST and NOAA participate in the Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which provides funding grants for
entrepreneurial research. These grants can be focused on the
development of Federal technology as well as external technologies.
NOAA plans to expand its SBIR program in 2015 to include at least one
SBIR technology transfer subtopic, which will enable private sector
firms to take a NOAA-developed technology from the lab to
commercialization with the help of SBIR funds.
The Technology Partnerships Offices at NIST and NOAA focus on
commercialization and the needs of small businesses, start-ups and
entrepreneurs, and have implemented licensing options to aid these
innovators and to lower the risk for other potential partners in
obtaining and using their technologies. In addition to traditional
commercialization licenses and licenses through the SBIR program, NIST
and NOAA offer a no-cost, exploratory license to advance the
development of their technologies for eventual commercialization. NIST
also offers a low-cost one-year license for NIST technology not
licensed within five years of the patent issue date, and a small
business license agreement to help attract investors to develop early
stage technologies.
When it comes to collaborations with the private sector, the
Department is a leader across Federal laboratories and agencies, making
extensive use of the authority to enter into Cooperative Research and
Development Agreements or CRADAs. NIST alone accounts for approximately
one third of the government's active CRADAs annually, while NOAA has
been greatly expanding its use of this powerful tool in the last three
years. NOAA has been gradually rebuilding its technology transfer
program over the past three years and has now begun work to baseline
the effectiveness of its CRADAs from the past decade.
The Department also has focused on technology outreach efforts to
both industry and academia. For example, NIST is currently working with
the Secretary of Technology for the state of Virginia to produce
showcase events for the small business sector highlighting licensable
NIST technologies. In 2014, NIST and NOAA conducted a joint technology
showcase on the campus of their Boulder, Colorado, laboratories, which
was marketed to local industry and academic groups. NOAA is also
working closely with the technology transfer offices at its Cooperative
Institutes to ensure jointly developed technologies are most
effectively moved to commercialization.
Through the Lab to Market effort, NIST is also coordinating with a
number of university groups, including the Council on Government
Relations, the Association of University Technology Managers, and the
Association of American Universities, to solicit feedback on current
grant and partnership procedures. Under the Lab to Market and Open Data
initiatives, NOAA is working to make more of its data publicly
available through a strategic engagement with private sector partners.
NOAA is also exploring establishing an Entrepreneur-in-Residence
program at one or more of its labs in the United States. The United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is also evaluating patent
entity status for inventions that develop from a university-government
research partnership.
Question 5. Has there been any research on the effectiveness of
these commercialization programs?
Answer. Yes, NIST and other Federal agencies have historically
conducted economic analysis research on the effectiveness of technology
transfer. One of the five strategic areas of the Lab to Market effort
is metrics. NIST coordinated the development of improved tech transfer
metrics, which were first required to be reported by agencies in their
FY13 Federal Tech Transfer Reports. NIST has been collecting data from
each research agency and will release an interagency summary report to
the President and Congress this summer. NIST is also expanding metrics
analysis to include not only reports of (substantial) numbers of
Federal technology transactions such as licenses executed and patents
filed, but also the long term economic impact analysis of these
transactions through published literature. Internally, NIST is
developing a list of start-ups and NIST-assisted young technology
companies, and will gather data to track supported companies over time
in order to develop metrics that gauge the effectiveness of NIST's
support of these companies.
Question 6. Are there other strategies that can help improve how
Federal research makes its way to the marketplace?
Answer. There are many potential strategies to improve how Federal
research leads to economic growth. The Department's leadership in the
Lab to Market initiative includes a focus on open data for Federal
intellectual property and Federal research facilities. We are
considering the various components of this strategy, including human
factors, public-private collaborations, improved access to Federal
technologies and facilities, and working with state and local economic
development organizations. New tools, such as the Federal Laboratory
Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) Business tool and Available
Technologies tool, have simplified the ability of potential partners to
search across the Federal labs. The Department and other agencies
regularly work with state and local economic development groups to hold
Federal technology showcases, place Entrepreneurs in Residence within
tech transfer offices to evaluate Federal technologies, and facilitate
partnerships with businesses and universities. Additionally, as noted
above, the Department has reactivated NACIE to make recommendations in
using Federal technologies to advance the economy, develop the U.S.
workforce, and encourage entrepreneurship. The USPTO also has a host of
initiatives to improve the patent experience for inventors and patent
quality to protect both inventors and the public. The NIST
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program actively assists the
transition of technologies from our Federal labs to U.S. manufacturers.
The Department continues to explore many alternatives to bring together
all of our assets to focus on growth.
Federal I.T. Reform
Question 7. Describe the role of your department's Chief
Information Officer (CIO) in the development and oversight of the IT
budget for your department. How is the CIO involved in the decision to
make an IT investment, determine its scope, oversee its contract, and
oversee continued operation and maintenance?
Answer. The Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO)
participates directly in the budget development via three related
processes. All major Information Technology (IT) initiatives that are
proposed for the agency budget request to the President are first
reviewed and approved by the Commerce IT Review Board (CITRB) which is
chaired by the CIO. The CITRB rates the investments on a 1 to 5 scale
across five major assessment areas: Program/Project Management, Shared
Services, IT and Cyber Security, Approach and Subject Matter Expertise,
and overall Health and Wellness. This assessment allows the board to
identify areas of concern relating to specific aspects of the IT
investment. If the areas of concern are not addressed and the overall
rating stays low, it is highly unlikely that this investment will get
approval to be included in the Department's budget request to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In addition, the CIO
participates in the Deputy Secretary's review of the agency budget
request each year and incorporates his/her thoughts concerning such
investment proposals. Besides the annual budget process, the CIO is the
chair and/or participating member of the CITRB, the Acquisition Review
Board (ARB), and the Milestone Review Board all of which review major
investments. A major IT acquisition ($25M +) requires the Department's
CIO to issue IT investment authority in order for the acquisition to
proceed. Once a major IT initiative is under development or in
operations, it is monitored monthly by the CIO. During the operation
and maintenance phase, the CIO will continue to review and monitor
investments via the CITRB and/or convene a Tiger Team if targeted
investigation or analysis is required.
Question 8. Describe the existing authorities, organizational
structure, and reporting relationship of the Chief Information Officer.
Note and explain any variance from that prescribed in the newly-enacted
Federal Information Technology and Acquisition Reform Act of 2014
(FITARA, PL 113-291) for the above.
Answer. In addition to the statutory responsibilities through the
Clinger-Cohen Act and related laws, the Department of Commerce has
implemented a set of CIO responsibilities that are fully responsive to
OMB Memorandum M-11-29, Chief Information Officer Authorities. These
responsibilities are conferred on the CIO through the Acting
Secretary's June 21, 2012, Memorandum Department IT Portfolio
Management Strategy. These responsibilities focus on the areas of
Governance, Commodity IT, Program Management, and Information Security.
We believe that these responsibilities are in line with those
prescribed by FITARA, and we will await guidance from OMB in regards to
any implementation requirements.
Question 9. What formal or informal mechanisms exist in your
department to ensure coordination and alignment within the CXO
community (i.e., the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Acquisition
Officer, the Chief Finance Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer,
and so on)?
Answer. The Department's CXO's meet informally and formally on a
regular basis to discuss issues, concerns and immediate and urgent
initiatives. Each CXO manages a Council to discuss and address their
specific constituent needs and requirements. Each Council includes
cross-member CXO participation on a routine basis either as a standing
member or by briefing specific subject matter issues and concerns. For
example, the CIO routinely briefs the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Council during the Department's budget formulation process.
Additionally, the CIO is a standing member on the CFO Council, the ARB
and the Acquisition Council just to name a few. Additionally, the
CITRB, chaired by the CIO and co-chaired by the CFO, includes
membership of the Chief Acquisition Officer, Budget Director,
Department's Risk Management Officer, Commerce Bureau CIOs, etc.
Therefore, there are many opportunities across department councils,
working groups and review boards for departmental CXOs to discuss
issues and concerns and provide timely and critical feedback and
updates.
Question 10. According to the Office of Personnel Management, 46
percent of the more than 80,000 Federal IT workers are 50 years of age
or older, and more than 10 percent are 60 or older. Just four percent
of the Federal IT workforce is under 30 years of age. Does your
department have such demographic imbalances? How is it addressing them?
Answer. The Department's IT Workforce numbers are similar to
overall Federal IT Workforce demographics--50 percent are 50 years of
age or older, 11 percent are 60 or older and only 3 percent of our IT
workforce is 30 years of age or younger.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age DOC IT Workforce Federal IT Workforce
------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 and below 3% 4%
>=50 50% 46%
>=60 11% 10%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For current and future vacancies, the Office of the Chief
Information Officer is developing a recruitment strategy to attract IT
workers that includes partnering with the Department's Office of Human
Resources Management to utilize existing hiring programs to recruit
current college students and recent graduates in entry level positions.
Question 11. How much of the department's budget goes to
Demonstration, Modernization, and Enhancement of IT systems as opposed
to supporting existing and ongoing programs and infrastructure? How has
this changed in the last five years?
Answer. Of the Department's current IT funding, 35 percent is for
Development, Modernization and Enhancement (DME) as defined by OMB. In
2010, the Department's percentage IT funding allocated to DME was 48
percent. However, this was heavily skewed by the almost $1 billion
spent for the 2010 Decennial Census. Excluding this anomaly, the
percent of DME funding for the department would have been approximately
23 percent.
Question 12. What are the 10 highest priority IT investment
projects that are under development in your department? Of these, which
ones are being developed using an ``agile'' or incremental approach,
such as delivering working functionality in smaller increments and
completing initial deployment to end-users in short, six-month time
frames?
Answer. The Commerce mission is supported by many strategic and
critical IT investments ranging from weather prediction and reporting
systems, enumeration and economic reporting/tracking systems, to patent
and trademark systems, all supporting a critical mission to the
citizens of the United States. The ten highest priority IT investments
under development across the Department include:
DOC--Business Application Solutions (BAS)
DOC--Enterprise Security Operations Center (ESOC)
DOC--Commerce BusinessUSA
NOAA--Weather Wire Service (NWWS)
NOAA--NCEP Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System--
Agile
Census--2020 Decennial
Census--Enterprise Data Collection and Processing (CEDCaP)
program
USPTO--Trademark Next Generation (TM NG)
NIST--Website Redesign and Realignment
ITA--Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Question 13. To ensure that steady state investments continue to
meet agency needs, OMB has a longstanding policy for agencies to
annually review, evaluate, and report on their legacy IT infrastructure
through Operational Assessments. What Operational Assessments have you
conducted and what were the results?
Answer. The Department employs several interconnected processes for
monitoring legacy IT infrastructure. Per official Department policy,
all operational investments including IT infrastructure are required to
conduct annual operational analyses. In addition, the Department's IT
infrastructure investments are required to come before the Department's
CITRB every year to discuss their current and proposed strategy and
performance. In addition to yearly reviews, all IT infrastructure
systems are required to send in progress reports and updated
performance metrics to the OCIO monthly, in order to get even more
timely information and greater transparency on the performance of IT
infrastructure operations.
Question 14. What are the 10 oldest IT systems or infrastructures
in your department? How old are they? Would it be cost-effective to
replace them with newer IT investments?
Answer. The oldest IT systems currently used across the Department
include:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost Effective
Bureau IT System/Infrastructure System Age (Yrs.) Replacement Possible?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST e-Travel Manager System (ETS) 6.5 Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Grant Management Information System (GMIS) 14 Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOC Commerce Business System11CBS) Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) 10+ Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA National Weather Telecommunications Gateway 10+ Yes
(NWSTG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA Advanced Weather Processing System (AWIPS) 8+ Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Decennial 2010 5+ Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Frequency Management Records System (FMRS) 25+ Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Spectrum 21 (SXXI) 15 Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA FreqNet Portal 15 Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Lotus Notes 15+ Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Oracle Content Management Syst15+(CMS) Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 15. How does your department's IT governance process allow
for your department to terminate or ``off ramp'' IT investments that
are critically over budget, over schedule, or failing to meet
performance goals? Similarly, how does your department's IT governance
process allow for your department to replace or ``on-ramp'' new
solutions after terminating a failing IT investment?
Answer. The CITRB reviews IT projects, programs, and portfolios on
a routine basis. The CITRB acts as a board of directors that advises
the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on critical IT matters. Projects
that are consistently rated ``red'' on the OMB IT Dashboard are
reviewed by the Board.
Depending on the severity of issues, problems or escalating risk
impacting the project, the CITRB may recommend termination, or halting
of the project.
In addition to termination or halting the project, the CITRB
ensures that proposed investments contribute to the Secretary's
strategic vision and mission requirements, employ sound IT investment
program management methodologies, comply with Departmental systems
architectures, employ sound security measures, and provide the highest
return on the investment or acceptable project risk. The CITRB provides
for coordinated risk management, review, and advice to the Secretary
and Deputy Secretary regarding IT investments. This advice includes
recommendations for approval or disapproval of funding for new or base
investments as well as recommendations for continuation or termination
of projects under development at key milestones or when they fail to
meet performance, cost, or schedule criteria. The Board also recommends
approval or disapproval of requests for IT investment authority.
Disapproval means they are not approved to enter into a contract to
proceed to the next phase--this decision may result in overall
termination or halting the investment until certain key actions have
been completed.
Question 16. What IT projects has your department decommissioned in
the last year? What are your department's plans to decommission IT
projects this year?
Answer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decommissioned Projects
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau IT Projects/Systems Comments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA 1000+ Legacy Programs/Applications Incorporated into centralized
databases
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census IBM Lotus Domino web-based e-mail Migration to cloud-based solution
and calendar system
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Microsoft Exchange Infrastructure Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projects Planned For 2015 Decommissioning
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau IT Projects/Systems Comments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA On-premise SharePoint Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA On-premise data center servers Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA ITA Government Network Transition to network as a service
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 17. The newly-enacted Federal Information Technology and
Acquisition Reform Act of 2014 (FITARA, PL 113-291) directs CIOs to
conduct annual reviews of their department's IT portfolio. Please
describe your department's efforts to identify and reduce wasteful,
low-value or duplicative information technology (IT) investments as
part of these portfolio reviews.
Answer. In order to monitor and promote optimal investment
strategies and project management practices, the Office of the CIO
charters the CITRB. Typically, the CITRB reviews two to three
investments every month to review their performance and strategy.
Following each review, comments and questions are sent to the managers
and sponsors of that investment. This has led to many efforts within
Commerce operating units and across the Department to consolidate
similar efforts and contracts. For example, the Department is currently
in the process of moving to a single cloud e-mail system and towards a
single financial and business management system. On a local level the
number of networks, help desks and data centers throughout the
Department continue to be steadily reduced. In parallel, and to
facilitate such streamlining and consolidation, the Department has
provided contract vehicles available to all operating units.
Question 18. In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
issued a ``Cloud First'' policy that required agency Chief Information
Officers to implement a cloud-based service whenever there was a
secure, reliable, and cost-effective option. How many of the
department's IT investments are cloud-based services (Infrastructure as
a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, etc.)? What
percentage of the department's overall IT investments are cloud-based
services? How has this changed since 2011?
Answer. The Department implemented OMB's ``Cloud First'' policy and
includes this as a requirement during annual Budget Formulation
reviews. All new IT investments are required to investigate and if
possible leverage cloud strategies and technologies during alternative
analysis processes. Below is a consolidate list of cloud solutions
across the Department:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of Service
Cloud Service (Infrastructure,
Bureau IT Service Name Provider Name Software,
Platform, Etc.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA Office 365 Microsoft Platform
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA SharePoint Microsoft Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA Help Desk Ticketing TBD Software
Application
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Cloud Computing Amazon Infrastructure
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST IT Service Management ServiceNow Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Cloud E-mail and Microsoft Platform
Collaboration
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Enterprise Mobile MaaS 360 Platform
Device Management
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA E-mail Platform
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Infrastructure Various providers Infrastructure
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA IT Infrastructure Various providers Infrastructure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Akamai Content Akamai Infrastructure
Delivery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census GovDelivery E-mail GovDelivery Software
and Blogging
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Cloud Testing For Noblis Infrastructure
Centurion/Community
TIGER/Real-Time Non-
ID
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Salesforce.com Salesforce Software
Integrated Partner
Contact Database
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census SunFlower (Property SunFlower Software
Mgt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Adobe Site Catalyst Adobe Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census MaaS 360 Mobile Fiberlink Software
Device Management
(MDM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA SalesForce.com Sales Force Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA E-mail, Microsoft Platform
Collaboration, VTC,
and Storage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Infrastructure Amazon Infrastructure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA IT Service Management ServiceNow Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 19. Provide short summaries of three recent IT program
successes--projects that were delivered on time, within budget, and
delivered the promised functionality and benefits to the end user. How
does your department define ``success'' in IT program management? What
``best practices'' have emerged and been adopted from these recent IT
program successes? What have proven to be the most significant barriers
encountered to more common or frequent IT program successes?
Answer. The Department defines an IT program/project as successful
when, in addition to delivering within cost, schedule and budget, the
program/project delivers the planned and measureable levels of benefit
and addresses the specific requirements as originally defined, while
staying in alignment with the mission and goals of the Department.
Program/project success is being able to effectively integrate the
various components of the program, at every level to ensure the people,
process, and technology function successfully together. Barriers within
Commerce include the ability to aggressively work across the
organization on shared initiatives given the diverse mission areas and
the federated culture. Program/project management teams must ensure
that they conduct integration activities to ensure that the elements of
the program are compatible and function together to satisfy business
needs, while meeting cost and schedule constraints, and optimizing
effectiveness. Several successful projects implemented across the
Department include:
BEA Data Flow Improvement Project
Within the Bureau of Economics and Analysis (BEA), the bureau
implemented a project to enable more efficient data flows of
the huge amounts of data processed and analyzed. BEA enhanced
its centralized IT framework by achieving cross-program
consensus on a design, developing, and releasing a BEA data hub
which standardizes secure transmission of data across BEA's
four major program areas.
NIST PIV Enablement Project
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
implemented the PIV Enablement Project which was implemented to
meet OMB, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department's
policies requiring the use of HSPD-12 credentials (PIV cards)
for network access. The project successfully enabled more than
90 percent of NIST Information System users to use their
assigned PIV cards to authenticate to PIV enabled information
systems as the normal mode of authentication with Windows
computers. The project improved IT security by providing the
capability to require two-factor authentication using the PIV
card.
Census Enterprise Systems Development Lifecycle Initiative
In 2014, the Census Bureau implemented the Enterprise Systems
Development Lifecycle (eSDLC) initiative. The eSDLC leveraged
best practices and processes from internal stakeholders,
Federal agencies, and private industry to develop a full set of
processes and templates. Having all IT projects follow the
eSDLC has increased the control of schedule, costs, and risks.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Bill Nelson to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. The recent AWS-3 spectrum auction was a success in part
because of the work done by the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration to oversee the collaborative efforts the
government users and the private sector to develop an effective
transition plan. That plan preserved essential Federal spectrum
operations, while opening up additional commercial spectrum
opportunities. Do you think the AWS-3 auction set a model for future
efforts to make additional Federal spectrum available for commercial
use?
Answer. Yes. Drawing more than $40 billion in net bids for 65
megahertz of spectrum, the AWS-3 auction was clearly a ringing
financial success, but it also is an important milestone in the Obama
Administration's efforts to meet the President's goal of making
available 500 megahertz of spectrum for wireless broadband by 2020.
The auction proceeds will help fund the Nation's first nationwide
public safety broadband network being established by the First
Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), as well as pay for deficit
reduction, relocation costs Federal agencies will incur to vacate or
share bands for commercial use and other priorities.
The success of the auction was made possible in part by an
unprecedented level of collaboration between the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), affected
Federal agencies, wireless industry representatives, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), and Congress.
The auction also represents a paradigm shift in our approach to
making spectrum available for commercial wireless providers. In many
instances, the bands that were auctioned will require the clearing of
incumbent Federal users from these bands; while in other instances,
non-federal entrants will be required to share spectrum with incumbent
Federal agencies indefinitely. As NTIA continues to review spectrum
bands for reallocation, spectrum sharing is becoming the new reality.
Out of necessity, where it is cost prohibitive, takes too long to
relocate incumbent users, or where spectrum offering comparable
operational capability is not available to ensure continuity of
critical Federal Government functions, we must move beyond the
traditional approach of clearing Federal users from spectrum in order
to auction it to the private sector for its exclusive use.
As part of the Administration's efforts to make more spectrum
available for wireless broadband, NTIA has been working to identify
Federal bands that could be repurposed for commercial use. In our March
2012 report, NTIA concluded that while it was possible to clear all
Federal users from the 1755-1780 MHz band as a step in making this
spectrum available for commercial use, it would take far too much time
and money to relocate all the Federal systems operating in the band
and, instead, proposed sharing as an option. This view was echoed by
the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in a
groundbreaking report released later that year, which made
recommendations on how to realize the full potential of government-held
spectrum by facilitating spectrum sharing.
NTIA was assisted in its work on the AWS-3 bands by the Commerce
Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), a diverse group of
private sector spectrum experts who advise NTIA. CSMAC, in
collaboration with the Federal agencies, did groundbreaking work to
explore viable spectrum sharing arrangements between Federal agencies
and private industry in both the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands,
which are two of the three bands that were part of the AWS-3 auction.
NTIA also worked with Federal agencies to develop transition plans
that include detailed actions they will take to either share or
relocate from the affected frequencies in the AWS-3 bands. Information
from these transition plans, along with more granular information on
how Department of Defense systems may impact certain bands and
locations over time, provided an unprecedented level of detail to
better inform potential bidders.
The AWS-3 auction represents an important pivot point as we embrace
spectrum sharing as part of a new approach to increased spectrum access
for both public and private sector users while continuing to support
critical Federal operations. With a sustained level of cooperation
between Federal agencies and industry, this approach will produce
benefits for both.
Question 2. How can Congress help facilitate this sort of
cooperative dialog between Federal Government spectrum users and
commercial users?
Answer. Congress played an important role in the successful AWS-3
auction in several respects. It passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and
Job Creation Act of 2012 that authorized the auction of AWS-3 spectrum
and updated the way in which Federal users receive compensation for
relocation and sharing. Congress also worked closely with NTIA, the
FCC, and Federal agencies to ensure timely and efficient transition
planning in preparation for the auction. This leadership helped all
parties work as collaboratively as possible towards a successful
outcome that expanded broadband opportunities and reduced the deficit.
As a result, NTIA is building on the lessons learned from these AWS-3
efforts to establish a repeatable and sustainable collaboration
framework between NTIA, FCC, Federal agencies, industry, and Congress
to maximize the value and use of this important resource.
We welcome efforts to look at additional reforms that would further
expedite and expand these collaborative efforts and maximize the
benefits of spectrum access for both government and commercial users.
One area for consideration is enhancing the flexibility to utilize the
Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) for up-front studies and research and
development (R&D) activities that are not specifically tied to an
eligible frequency band. These enhancements would be in addition to the
existing statutory requirements the SRF fulfills. The FY 2016
President's Budget included a proposal to increase flexibility in the
use of the SRF and highlighted that targeted investments can return
more than they cost in the form of enhanced auction value or sharing
arrangements. We welcome continued dialogue on all innovative ideas to
improve upon the already successful collaboration between Federal and
commercial entities.
Question 3. I regard the threat of cyberattacks to be one of the
greatest dangers to the American public. It has been a year since NIST
released its highly acclaimed Framework, but more needs to be done in
order to adequately address this national security priority. The
Administration's budget as proposed a $7 million increase for NIST's
cybersecurity program. Can you tell the Committee what NIST will do
with this increased funding?
Answer. Cybersecurity is indeed one of the greatest challenges
facing the American public and the American economy. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework
called for in the President's Executive Order 13636 on ``Improving
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity'' is one tool that can help
industry across all sectors to better understand their cybersecurity
postures in order to target areas for improvement. We continue to be
informed about examples of industry adopting the Framework. For
example, Apple has reported that it is incorporating the framework as
part of its broader security protocols across its corporate networks.
U.S. Bank and Pacific Gas and Electric have indicated their commitment
to use the Framework. AIG is starting to incorporate the Framework into
its business processes when underwriting cyber insurance for large,
medium, and small businesses. As part of our ongoing cybersecurity
efforts, NIST will continue to conduct extensive outreach to businesses
to help raise awareness of the Framework and its use.
But, as you are aware, NIST is also engaged in cybersecurity
efforts that extend beyond the Framework, and the additional funds
requested in FY 2016 will help expand and strengthen these efforts.
NIST's FY 2016 budget requests a $7 million increase for its
cybersecurity program. This request will strengthen NIST's independent
cryptography and privacy-enhancing capabilities. We want to ensure that
we can continue to provide strong and independently verified
cryptography solutions and to begin work on building the quantum
resistant public-key architectures and systems that will take 15+ years
to fully develop and deploy. With the requested funding, we plan to
expand the NIST cryptographic team to strengthen our capacity to
identify, design, develop and standardize effective crypto algorithms,
modes, key-management and protocols. We will identify and analyze
quantum resistant security technologies and develop and promulgate
standards, guidelines, tests, and measurements to support a post
quantum security market. The very specialized nature of cryptography
significantly limits the availability of skilled technical experts. In
the past, we looked to expertise available outside of NIST, including
at the National Security Agency, to complement the limited expertise
that we had within NIST. With expanded in-house skills and capabilities
we anticipate not being solely reliant on these external resources. We
also anticipate greater cooperation with the private sector and
specifically increased access to top academic talent in this space.
This funding will also help NIST in developing and providing tools for
privacy risk management. NIST will provide the fundamental tools that
can lead to the development of privacy guidelines that reflect Fair
Information Practices Principles.
Question 4. Can you inform us what the rest of the Commerce
Department is doing on cybersecurity?
Answer. The Department of Commerce (Department) is committed to
enhancing cybersecurity across U.S. industry, with all of the relevant
bureaus contributing consistent with their mission. Since 2010, the
Department has worked on these issues through the Department-wide
Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF), which leverages the expertise of the
entire Department to address key Internet policy challenges, including
cybersecurity. The IPTF incorporates views across many bureaus,
including those responsible for domestic and international information
and communications technology policy, international trade,
cybersecurity standards and best practices, intellectual property,
business advocacy and export control. A few examples of recent
engagements with industry are set out below.
In March 2015, the IPTF issued a request for comment (RFC) seeking
public input on potential topics addressing key cybersecurity issues
facing the digital economy that could be best addressed by a consensus-
based multistakeholder process. The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) will lead this initiative by
facilitating stakeholder dialogues aimed at making concrete progress on
important cybersecurity issues. The RFC asked for input on which topics
would be most conducive to discussion by a wide range of stakeholders,
including Internet service providers, software developers, security
vendors, equipment manufacturers, mobile application developers, cloud
and content providers, vulnerability researchers, civil liberties
advocates, digital infrastructure owners, digital economy experts, and
others.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has held
several forums to support the industry on issues intersecting
cybersecurity and intellectual property. Last November, the USPTO
hosted its first Cybersecurity Partnership meeting to discuss topics
relevant to their stakeholders. These topics included providing
guidance for those seeking patent protection in the cybersecurity and
network security sector; cybersecurity patent initiatives; key computer
security patent application statistics; and updated examination
guidelines. Also, in February, the USPTO worked with the Silicon Valley
Leadership Group to host one of several events held in conjunction with
the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at
Stanford University. The event featured a roundtable discussion with
Michael Daniel, Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity
Coordinator, along with experts from the NIST and leaders from the
venture capital and startup communities. In addition, the USPTO is an
active participant in other cybersecurity events including the most
recent NIST Cybersecurity Framework Workshop, and in April, the USPTO
will participate in a roundtable discussion at this year's RSA
conference. Finally, to help keep patent examiners abreast of new
developments in cyber technology, the USPTO has been expanding
technical training opportunities by inviting scientists and engineers
to provide relevant training to their examiners on cybersecurity
standards and emerging technology via their Patent Examiner Technical
Training Program.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) addresses
international cybersecurity issues related to trade, seeking in
particular to open foreign markets to U.S. goods and services. With
additional FTE, the Office of Digital Services Industries (ODSI)
anticipates playing a more substantive role ensuring that foreign
governments' cybersecurity policies and regulations are necessary to
achieve a legitimate public policy goal, non-discriminatory, and not
disguised restrictions on trade. In addition, an increase in resources
in ITA would allow ODSI the opportunity to better promote the exports
of U.S. cybersecurity products and services through its worldwide
network of offices. Given the importance of cybersecurity to the
digital economy, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce H. Andrews and
Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis Marcus D. Jadotte will
lead a Cyber Security Business Development Mission to Romania and
Poland May 11-15, 2015. The mission will introduce U.S. cybersecurity
and critical infrastructure protection firms to key players in Central
and Eastern Europe's information and communications sector and assist
them in finding business partners and identifying export opportunities.
In addition, Deputy Secretary Andrews and Assistant Secretary Jadotte
will engage with government representatives in the region to discuss
the importance of cybersecurity, promote implementation the NIST
framework, and highlight U.S. expertise in the field.
Question 5. One of the largest investments in the budget request is
to initiate the Polar-orbiting satellite follow-on mission. This
includes the next two large polar-orbiting satellites and a new small
satellite or ``nanosatellite.'' It is clear that NOAA is planning ahead
to avoid the cost overruns, schedule delays, and potential data gaps
that have plagued our satellite programs in the past. Can you speak
about how this investment will ensure robust weather forecasting?
Answer. The President's FY 2016 Budget request includes $380
million for Polar Follow On (PFO) activities designed to achieve
afternoon polar-orbit weather constellation robustness as early as FY
2023. PFO implements a long-term strategy to build a robust
architecture that ensures the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) ability to provide accurate and timely weather
forecasts and warnings through 2038.
There are three activities funded within PFO:
initiate development of PFO/JPSS-3 to meet a launch
readiness date (LRD) in the second quarter of FY 2024, and PFO/
JPSS-4 development to meet a LRD in the third quarter of FY
2026.
provide the option to accelerate PFO/JPSS-3 as a contingency
mission with critical sounders Advanced Technology Microwave
Sounder (ATMS) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) only.
invest in development of an advanced technology Earth
Observing Nanosatellite-Microwave (EON-MW).
Authorizing PFO in FY 2016 will allow NOAA to take advantage of the
ongoing JPSS-2 instrument and spacecraft bus development to reduce
schedule, risk and life cycle costs for the follow on missions and
implement a simultaneous instrument block buy for PFO/JPSS-3 and PFO/
JPSS-4 instruments for the most efficient acquisition strategy and
production cadence.
Initiate development of PFO/JPSS-3 and PFO/JPSS-4
PFO will extend NOAA's polar satellite system to ensure continuity
of the data necessary for input to NOAA's numerical weather prediction
models that support the development of accurate and timely weather
forecasts and warnings. PFO will maintain continuity of polar
observations beyond JPSS-2.
The JPSS Program of Record supports development of JPSS-1 and JPSS-
2. PFO supports development of two additional polar satellites
identical in capability to the JPSS-2 satellite, PFO/JPSS-3 and PFO/
JPSS-4. The full PFO/JPSS-3 and -4 missions are comprised of ATMS,
CrIS, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), and the Ozone
Mapping Profiler Suite-Nadir (OMPS-Nadir).
Option for an ATMS and CrIS only mission
As part of the robust architecture for NOAA's afternoon polar-
orbiting satellite system, the PFO includes a contingency capability in
the event of a mid-term (early 2020s) loss of polar-orbiting
observations. This contingency mission would include only ATMS and CrIS
instruments, and, if exercised, would replace the full JPSS-3 mission.
If the contingency is not exercised, the full JPSS-3 mission (ATMS,
CrIS, VIIRS, OMPS-Nadir) would continue as planned.
Investment in EON-MW
As a further gap mitigation capability to address the possibility
of a near term (prior to 2020) loss of polar-orbiting observations, PFO
supports an investment to develop an advanced technology, EON-MW. While
not a replacement, EON-MW will approximate some of the atmospheric
profiling capabilities of the ATMS instrument and would provide a
usable subset of comparable quality data in the event of a launch or
instrument failure on JPSS-1. The ATMS instrument that flies on the
JPSS series satellites collects microwave temperatures and moisture
data to produce atmospheric profiles; these data have been identified
as one of the most important inputs to National Weather Service
numerical weather prediction models that produce weather forecasts
three days and beyond.
Question 6. NOAA maintains a fleet of ships and aircraft that are
essential platforms for executing its missions. I actually went up in
one of the P3 Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft. And NOAA ships are like
the satellites of our oceans in terms of their contribution to the NOAA
mission. But the fleet is aging. What is the plan to recapitalize the
NOAA fleet?
Answer. NOAA is requesting $147.0 million in the FY 2016
President's Budget for the construction of a new Ocean Survey Vessel
(OSV). This request is based on a robust Requirements Validation
Assessment and analysis process. NOAA also continues to work closely
with the NOAA Fleet Advisory Committee, a group of external experts
from other Federal agencies involved with the management of at-sea
assets. Committee membership includes representation from the U.S.
Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, National Science Foundation, Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management, Environmental Protection Agency, and University-
National Oceanographic Laboratory Systems.
Per the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Status Report, released May
2013 by the National Ocean Council, the Federal oceanographic fleet
will experience a 50 percent decline in the number of active vessels by
2026 without further modernization. Without an investment, the NOAA
fleet will decline by 50 percent from 16 to eight active ships between
FY 2016 and FY 2028.
Question 7. I'm glad to see that the budget proposes to leverage
cost savings by investing in construction of a new Ocean Survey Vessel
this year. As you know, during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the
NOAA vessels were critical to monitoring where the oil was going and
what the impact was to the fish and wildlife. Given our extensive
coastline, it would be great to have a NOAA ship based in Florida. Can
you talk about the potential uses for a new NOAA vessel?
Answer. The homeport and specific missions for the requested Ocean
Survey Vessel (OSV) have not yet been determined. However, the OSV will
be a multi-mission capable vessel serving NOAA's primary mission areas
throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone such as surveying marine
mammal populations; collecting samples and observations to support
ecosystem-based management activities; conducting oceanographic and
climate research; mapping the ocean floor to update nautical charts;
and servicing National Weather Service's buoys.
Question 8. 2015 will be a big year for the RESTORE Council--five
years after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded--and three years
after we passed the RESTORE Act by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.
Maybe Judge Barbier will rule on the civil fines that BP will have to
pay. But the Council has funds to invest in restoring the Gulf of
Mexico from the settlement with Transocean--another responsible party.
We established a voting structure that vested significant power in
the Chair of the RESTORE Council. It is very important that the
delicate balance of each of the streams of Gulf restoration funding be
preserved. As Chair of the Council, how are you providing leadership to
ensure that these Federal Clean Water Act fines are used in the way
that we intended?
Answer. I appreciate that the RESTORE Act is the result of a
delicate, bipartisan compromise. As Chair of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem
Restoration Council (Council), I am committed to implementing the Act
as passed by Congress. While the Council has taken an integrated
approach to Gulf restoration--recognizing that ecosystem restoration is
inextricably linked to economic growth and development--we recognize
that each component under the Council's purview has a unique set of
eligible uses and criteria for funding.
As Council Chair, Commerce is working with the Gulf Coast States
and other entities to help ensure a coordinated and collaborative
approach to restoration that will advance common goals, avoid
duplication, and maximize the benefits to the Gulf Coast region.
For the Council-Selected Restoration Component, the RESTORE Act
directs the Council to use the best available science and give highest
priority to projects or programs that meet one or more of the
restoration priorities enumerated in the Act. Under Commerce's
leadership, the Council has implemented a project selection and vetting
process that incorporates an independent peer review evaluation to
ensure projects are grounded in best available science, provides for
coordination at a project level with other restoration efforts, and
gives the highest priority to projects that meet one or more of the
evaluation criteria enumerated in the law. Additionally, for the Oil
Spill Impact Component, staying true to the way that the law was
written, the Council is developing a draft regulation for notice and
public comment.
The Council recognizes this unique and unprecedented opportunity to
implement a coordinated Gulf Coast region-wide restoration effort in a
way that restores and protects the Gulf Coast environment,
reinvigorates local economies, and creates jobs in the Gulf region. Our
goal and commitment is not simply to address the damage caused by the
spill--it is to enhance the long-term environmental health and economic
prosperity of the Gulf Coast region for generations.
Question 9. Can you provide an updated timeline as to when we can
expect to see the first funded priorities list from the Council
allocation?
Answer. The Council is currently evaluating submissions for
potential funding under the Council-Selected Restoration Component.
Over the past two years, the Council has adopted an Initial
Comprehensive Plan, adopted a science-based project evaluation process,
released project submission guidelines, engaged the public in project
selection, and state and Federal members have submitted project
proposals.
In November 2014, the Council received a total of 50 submissions
totaling almost $800 million from its members for consideration in the
first round of Council funding. Over the past four months, the
proposals have been evaluated against requirements established in the
RESTORE Act as well as for: (1) best available science; (2)
environmental compliance readiness; and (3) whether they meet the
commitments in the Comprehensive Plan. The Council has made the results
of these evaluations publicly available through the Council's website.
The Council is in the process of reviewing these evaluations and
selecting projects and programs to be included in a draft funded
priorities list.
The Council expects to publish a draft funded priorities list later
this year for public comment. After consideration of all comments, the
Council will incorporate changes, as appropriate, and anticipates
releasing a final funded priorities list by the end of the calendar
year.
Question 10. Florida has the most saltwater anglers; the most
International Game Fish records; and the second largest commercial
fishery in the Nation. Fishery resources form a pillar of our economy.
But we don't invest enough in the science to understand our fisheries.
I appreciate that the Administration has proposed a $5 million increase
in fishery stock assessments, data collection, and surveys--and funding
to construct a new Ocean Survey Vessel. Can you describe what it would
take to adequately characterize and monitor the status of domestic fish
stocks?
Answer. The Administration has four requests that work together to
provide strong science-based fisheries management and advance potential
for more efficient monitoring practices. It includes a $2.8 million
increase for Data Collection and Surveys for expanding annual stock
assessments, a total of $10.6 million increase in Fisheries and
Ecosystem Science Programs and Services for eco-system-based solutions
for fisheries management ($5.0 million) and electronic monitoring and
reporting ($5.6 million), and $1.5 million in Fisheries Management
Programs and Services to support the regulatory integration of
electronic technologies.
The $2.8 million increase for expanding annual stock assessments is
specifically directed towards implementing NOAA's next generation stock
assessment framework and filling critical gaps identified during recent
program reviews and evaluations. Stock assessments provide the
scientific information needed to determine stock status for sustainable
management of fisheries. Key focal areas for NOAA's stock assessment
program include coordinated efforts to monitor fishery catch and
bycatch; improved capacity to conduct surveys that collect data on
trends in fish stock abundance, habitat, and other ecosystem data; and
implementation of a new approach to prioritizing stock assessments and
establishing stock-specific assessment goals.
To characterize and monitor fish stocks, all assessments require
information on total fishery catch and bycatch. This is achieved
through coordinated programs for commercial catch monitoring,
recreational catch monitoring, and at-sea observer programs; all with
increasing use of electronic monitoring tools. (See below for a
discussion of the budget request for additional electronic monitoring
tools.) For most domestic fish stocks, total catch monitoring is
adequate for assessment purposes, with notable exceptions for stocks in
the Caribbean and western Pacific, and for stocks with a high
percentage of the total catch coming from either recreational fishing,
or from discarded bycatch. In addition to its use in a stock
assessment, catch monitoring is also critical for monitoring sector
specific catch against Annual Catch Limits.
The second most valuable data source for assessments is surveys to
monitor trends in abundance. Fortunately, surveys rarely need to be
stock-specific so a small set of surveys in a region can provide
coverage for many fished stocks. These surveys need to be re-visited at
a regular pace, generally annually, in order to maintain the monitoring
of stock trends amidst natural and fishery-caused fluctuations.
Regional differences in surveys are due to historical investments,
availability of suitable survey vessels, the nature of the fish in that
region, and the nature of the habitats these fish live in; one size
does not fit all.
Finally, NMFS has developed a new stock assessment prioritization
process, which describes an approach to setting stock-specific
assessment goals and prioritizing assessment efforts to achieve those
goals. NMFS is testing the implementation of this prioritization
process in FY 2015 and expects full implementation to begin in FY 2016
across all regions. The prioritization process recognizes that not all
stocks need annual assessments and that not all stocks warrant
assessments that require extensive data sets. Some managed stocks
provide little value to the fishery, or are not currently being fished
close to biological limits, or show little sign of natural fluctuations
in status and hence have little need for intensive, frequent
assessments. On the other hand, high profile stocks for which there is
significant recreational or commercial fishery interest in obtaining
maximum value, such as red snapper, scallops, cod, walleye pollock and
many others do warrant large investments and frequent assessment
updates. The prioritization process will allow us to develop a
portfolio of assessments that makes the best use of available data and
assessment capacity. Also, it will provide insights into the remaining
challenges that limit NOAA from providing better and more stock
assessments such as gaps in data, workforce, and infrastructure,
including survey ships.
Separately, the $5.0 million increase is the NMFS component of the
cross-line office initiative with NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS)
to support ecosystem-based solutions for fisheries management and
focuses on increasing support for habitat science. This request seeks
to strengthen the science needed to understand the ecological
connections between the inshore habitats and the offshore fisheries
that are managed by NMFS and that support many coastal communities.
Many stocks depend on these inshore habitats at some point in their
life histories; however, they are vulnerable to habitat degradation and
loss. Thus, the request has broad relevance to fisheries management,
including relevance to stock assessments.
The request of $5.6 million in Fisheries and Ecosystem Science
Programs and Services for electronic monitoring and reporting, as well
as the request of $1.5 million in Fisheries Management Programs and
Services to support the regulatory integration of electronic
technologies, are designed to support the development and
implementation of electronic monitoring and reporting technologies
across the country. These electronic solutions will improve the
timeliness, quality, integration, and accessibility of fishery-
dependent data for fishery managers, stock assessment scientists, the
fishing industry, and other key stakeholders. The goal is to deliver
cost-effective and sustainable electronic data collection solutions
that enhance monitoring of catch and bycatch in U.S. fisheries.
Progress to date has been limited due to insufficient funding to
address shortcomings identified in the pilot studies and to support
implementation of electronic monitoring (EM) and electronic reporting
(ER) programs beyond the pilot stage for both catch share and non-catch
share fisheries.
Understanding the ecosystem and environmental setting in which
fisheries occur is increasingly recognized as a necessary component of
an adequate monitoring and assessment program. While fish assessments
zero in on the status of each stock, ecosystem assessments help explain
why past stock changes occurred and help forecast future changes. They
also identify cumulative impacts of fishing that may be missed by
individual fish assessments. Together, the four requested increases
will move NOAA toward improved stock assessment services.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. The President's Budget requests $115 million for the
Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) in order to successfully transition
the export licensing responsibilities from the State Department to the
Commerce Department. I support these reforms to our export control
system that will make it easier for businesses to get their goods to
markets while also providing the necessary enforcements to make sure
sensitive products don't make it into the wrong hands. Can you give an
example of how the transition of more items from the State Department's
Munitions List to the Commerce Control List has helped U.S. exporters?
Answer. Before answering your questions, a correction is necessary.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is not seeking $115 million
to transition items to its licensing responsibility from the Department
of State. Most of the $115 million is to fund the minimum necessary
basic operations of BIS. This includes the addition of funding to BIS'
base for fewer than 20 licensing officers to process the new items (at
a cost of less than $6 million), plus additional enforcement-related
resources to handle enforcement of the new items and related
activities. A fully funded BIS is able to process licenses and
implement other authorizations for items for which it is now
responsible, under regulations that impose far less regulatory burden
than those of the State Department. For this relatively small
investment, BIS has processed (as of February 2015) a total of 11,686
additional license applications for items worth $19.2 billion. Nearly
$2 billion of exports have been shipped to close friends and allies
under license exceptions or situations where no license is required at
all. The volume of license applications to the Department of State has
decreased by more than 60 percent.
As evidenced by this data, the primary benefit is that the BIS
system has a significant number of license exceptions that allow for
exports of controlled items to specific countries without the need to
seek a license from the U.S. Government. In particular, License
Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) was created as part of
the reform effort to allow for exports, to NATO and other close allies,
of less sensitive military items, primarily parts and components, and
many commercial items with potential military uses without the need for
a specific license so long as certain conditions are met. Exceptions
like these, which exist in Commerce regulations but not those of State,
enhance our national security by allowing greater interoperability with
close allies. They allow for quicker supply to allies of items in the
military supply chain and greater opportunities for joint development
and production with allied governments and companies in allied
countries.
In addition, controls under BIS's Export Administration Regulations
(EAR) reduce the incentives that State's International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (ITAR) create for non-US companies to ``design out'' or
avoid U.S.-origin content. An ITAR item is always subject to U.S. law
no matter how insignificant it is and even if it represents only a tiny
percentage of a foreign-made end product. This requirement creates
incentives for non-U.S. companies to avoid even small amounts of U.S.-
origin items or related services to avoid regulatory entanglements with
U.S. law. It thus creates incentives to purchase non-U.S. origin items
even if the U.S.-origin item is better in terms of performance or
value. By contrast, the EAR do not control a foreign made end item so
long as it has less than a de minimis amount (i.e., less than 25
percent) of U.S.-origin content so long as a country subject to an
embargo is not involved. Thus, coverage by the EAR instead of the ITAR
reduces the incentives for non-U.S. companies to avoid U.S.-origin
content.
In addition, the authorizations issued by BIS are less complicated
than those issued by the Department of State. BIS does not have
regulatory burdens regarding the temporary import of items, the
brokering of items, the provision of defense services, or the mere act
of producing items overseas. Under the BIS regulations, one does not
need to separately register with the U.S. Government or pay to
register. Moreover, BIS does not charge fees to apply for a license;
indeed, such fees are prohibited by statute. And, under the BIS system,
one can apply for a license before having a purchase order or similar
document in hand. This is not permitted under the State system. This
allows exporters to know well before a potential export sale that they
have the necessary authorization. The BIS approach also greatly reduces
the total number of authorizations required for situations where the
end use, end user, destination, and items are the same as in previous
licenses.
Question 2. The Commerce Department provides crucial up-to-date
information about the social and economic needs of communities.
However, most people aren't aware that business leaders heavily rely on
this for demographic and socioeconomic data, using it as a tool for
market evaluation and consumer segmentation. As the leading Senate
Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, I know just how important
this data is to informing our policies. I have a few questions about
important statistical programs in your Department and ways you can
promote a data-driven economy. Would you be willing to work with me on
creating a national data set on the importance of our outdoor economy
in terms of jobs, retail, tourism, etc?
Answer. The Department would be happy to work with you to explore
potential options related to the development of a new satellite account
focused on the impact of the outdoor economy. Currently, our Bureau of
Economic Analysis is engaged in on-going conversations, led by the
Council on Environmental Quality, on the feasibility and key issues
regarding this very topic. We would be pleased to keep you apprised of
these discussions, and as these conversations progress, we would
welcome further dialogue with you.
Question 3. Current statistics measuring service exports from the
U.S. are estimated to be understated by as much as 4-5 percent. Would
you be willing to work with me on streamlining the data used by Federal
agencies to improve the measurement of service exports?
Answer. The Department, and specifically the Economics & Statistics
Administration (ESA), which encompasses the Census Bureau and Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA), is committed to the highest levels of
statistical accuracy, operational efficiency, and data privacy. Given
the importance of trade in services to our economy (currently about 30
percent of all of our exports and an area where the United States
enjoys a trade surplus), and the role it plays in understanding the
impact of trade legislation past, present and future, we need the best
information possible on our trade in services.
To that end, we strongly support improving our statistical products
through better access to data currently collected by the Federal
Government, including administrative records that are unavailable to
the Federal statistical agencies charged with measuring our Nation's
economy. With respect to BEA's measures of trade, we share your
concerns that quantifiable undercounts occur as a direct result of this
inability to share and synchronize Federal data. This affects not only
trade data, but also other vital economic indicators like Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). Improvements to these important measurements
are being limited by outdated restrictions in 26 U.S.C. 6103(j) of the
tax code, which governs access to Federal tax data by the statistical
agencies.
26 U.S.C. 6103(j) provides Census full access to Federal tax data
while BEA is permitted access only to corporate tax data. For BEA, that
has meant important data on sole proprietorships and partnerships, now
the preponderance of business formations, is unavailable, leading to
unresolvable discrepancies such as the trade in services example
referenced in your question.
In 2002, Congress passed the ``Confidential Information Protection
and Statistical Efficiency Act'' (CIPSEA), which aimed to resolve this
issue, but fell short of the needed adjustments to the tax code. CIPSEA
authorized Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and BEA to share
business information for statistical purposes, while imposing severe
criminal and civil penalties for misuse of data. Unfortunately, CIPSEA
did not amend section 26 U.S.C. 6103(j) to actually permit this data
sharing to occur. We welcome the opportunity to work with you and your
staff to amend a small, yet significant, provision in the tax code
preventing decision makers in the public and private sectors from
having better information to make better decisions.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Issue: Forensic Science and Undue Prosecutorial Influence
Question 1. In 2013, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established the National
Commission on Forensic Science for the purpose of enhancing the
practice and reliability of forensic science. In January, the only
Federal judge on the Commission, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, resigned from the
Commission temporarily to protest the decision from the DOJ co-chair on
the Commission that pre-trial forensic discovery is beyond the scope of
the Commission's work. In his resignation letter, he accused the DOJ of
placing ``strategic advantage [for prosecutors] over a search for the
truth.'' Forensic science plays a critical role in both the conviction
of criminals and the exoneration of the innocent and it is paramount
that law enforcement and prosecutors are not able to exercise undue
influence. What more can NIST do to make it sure it serves as an
effective check and balance on such undue influence through its role on
the Commission?
Answer. It is important to keep in mind that under the original
charter of the National Commission on Forensic Science this group is a
Federal Advisory Committee to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and thus
provides recommendations and advice to the Attorney General. Under the
DOJ-National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Memorandum of
Understanding that initially formed the Commission, responsibilities
for co-chairing the Commission were provided to both DOJ and NIST
because it was recognized that DOJ and NIST could bring complementary
strengths to the Commission. Forensic science involves the intersection
between science and the law and is a profession that attempts to apply
scientific measurements in a legal setting to address issues brought
before a court of law. NIST enjoys the respect of the community for its
ability to strengthen the measurement science underlying evaluation of
forensic evidence. NIST has played an active role in co-chairing the
Commission with DOJ and jointly selecting balanced membership to
represent a wide range of stakeholders. NIST is committed to continuing
to work with DOJ to enable the Commission to provide scientifically
sound advice to the Attorney General.
Question 2. How can you make sure that NIST retains its unbiased
oversight in setting forensic science best practices and standards?
Answer. The development of both measurement and documentary
standards, and the provision of the scientific underpinnings to support
the development of voluntary consensus standards are core to our
mission. It has been so since the establishment of the National Bureau
of Standards (the predecessor of NIST) in 1901 . . . and will continue
to be.
NIST will maintain its leadership and independence with respect to
the development and/critical evaluation of measurement methods,
standards and best measurement practices to facilitate a greater level
of transparency, rigor, and confidence in the forensic evidence used in
the U.S. criminal justice system.
Issue: Support for Fishery Science Centers
Question 3. NOAA's FY16 budget request highlights aquaculture as
one of the agency's priorities, citing its economic impact and
potential to increase consumption of domestic shellfish. NOAA's budget
states that ``Of the total amount of seafood consumed in the United
States, more than 90 percent (by value) is imported from foreign
countries--and about half of that is produced by aquaculture. Creating
an environment for a safe and environmentally sustainable aquaculture
industry in the U.S.--and the jobs it creates--is important to this
Administration and Department.''
NOAA's justification for increased aquaculture funding also goes on
to emphasize the benefits of having a coordinated system to provide
critical mapping, habitat and water quality research, and best
practices to ``maximize the sustainability and productivity of
fisheries and marine ecosystems.''
At the center of such a coordinated research effort are NOAA's
Fisheries Science Centers, like the Northeast Fisheries Science Center
in Milford, CT. These research facilities are instrumental in improving
conditions for shellfish farming and for providing essential
information to shellfishermen. The strength of the industry and NOAA's
goal to increase aquaculture production rely on science centers like
the Milford Lab. How big of a priority is aquaculture for the
Administration?
Answer. Developing sustainable marine aquaculture is a central part
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) mission
and is crucial to both global food security and ocean sustainability.
It is clear that marine aquaculture can and should play a larger role
in United States fisheries and that NOAA has a central role to play.
The increasing importance of aquaculture as an Administration priority
is highlighted in the White House's fact sheet issued during the ``Our
Ocean'' conference (June 2014) in which President Obama called for
bolstering domestic shellfish production and implementing a National
Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research among a short list of
new actions to Protect and Preserve the Ocean.
NOAA has already taken substantial steps to foster marine
aquaculture development. For example, NOAA issued an Aquaculture Policy
in 2011, which helped launch the National Shellfish Initiative which,
in turn, spawned a successful shellfish initiative in Washington State.
Now other states, including Connecticut, are following the lead and are
at various stages of developing similar programs. Last year, NOAA
Fisheries released a proposed rule to implement the first ever regional
fishery management plan for environmentally sound and economically
sustainable aquaculture (in the Gulf of Mexico); and helped to secure
permits for the first ever commercial offshore aquaculture operations
(one off of California, two off of Massachusetts). In these and other
ways, NOAA is working to develop and streamline regulatory systems to
increase access for aquaculture operations.
NOAA's efforts have contributed to U.S. marine aquaculture growing
at 8 percent annually over the past few years. While this is
encouraging progress, production levels are still very low relative to
aquaculture's potential. The industry struggles to establish and
maintain a foothold, in part because of regulatory uncertainty. And as
a consequence, advanced technology, feed, equipment, and other
investments are exported to producers around the world. NOAA's goal is
to start using more of this U.S.-developed technology and expertise to
help pave the way for a more robust industry in the U.S., and stop
exporting jobs to other countries that are more aquaculture friendly.
NOAA is facilitating increased production in U.S. waters and increased
public awareness of its importance to the U.S. sustainable seafood
portfolio.
Question 4. What role does your department see the NOAA science
centers, like Milford, playing in the growth of the aquaculture
industry?
Answer. Science is essential to supporting aquaculture expansion in
an intelligent and sustainable manner, and NOAA supports U.S.
aquaculture development in part through world class research. It is
clear from past experience both at home and abroad that poorly sited or
managed marine aquaculture operations can have negative impacts to the
marine environment. But with sound scientific advice and science-based
tools, it is possible to avoid such potential impacts and allow for the
industry to grow in environmentally and economically sustainable ways.
NOAA's aquaculture science portfolio comprises complementary and
coordinated efforts in three NOAA line offices. Together these efforts
are critical to achieving the Administration's goal of supporting
sustainable marine aquaculture. NOAA Fisheries focuses on developing
science-based ``tools for rules'' to help inform permitting and other
regulatory decisions, as well as working with industry partners on a
range of topics such as hatchery techniques and disease management. The
NOAA National Ocean Service develops coastal planning and management
tools and services. The Sea Grant program at NOAA Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research provides grants to external partners for industry
development, as well as technology transfer and extension. These
efforts and those of other Federal agencies (e.g., the U.S. Department
of Agriculture) are coordinated under the 2014 Strategic Plan for
Federal Aquaculture Research, published with NOAA's assistance and
leadership by the White House's Office of Science and Technology
Policy.
Two laboratories house the bulk of NOAA Fisheries' aquaculture
science portfolio--the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Milford, CT
lab; and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center's Manchester, WA lab.
Milford has traditionally been a shellfish aquaculture lab (e.g.,
siting tools, disease management, and ecosystem services) and
Manchester has been a finfish aquaculture lab (e.g., feeds development,
finfish hatchery and growout methods). However, there is growing
coordination and collaboration in certain areas such as some aspects of
feeds research.
NOAA's science, regulatory, and outreach activities have made a
substantial and measureable impact on the sustainable development of
marine aquaculture and related jobs, especially in the northeast. From
Virginia to New England, aquaculture has grown significantly over the
past several years, with booming production of shellfish leading the
way. Aquaculture in the northeast has grown to be the third most
valuable fishery in the region, behind only lobster and scallops and
roughly three times the value of the groundfish fishery. All
indications are that, with continued support, there will be additional
growth, providing more domestic seafood and jobs.
Question 5. What efforts are being made to provide more resources
for these critical research facilities?
Answer. The President's 2016 Budget request includes a $4.5 million
increase for marine aquaculture. This increase includes $2.5 million at
NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research's National Sea Grant Office for
competitive grants and aquaculture extension, and $2.0 million at NOAA
Fisheries for both research and regulatory activities that support
sustainable aquaculture development. The NOAA Fisheries funds would be
allocated annually based on an internal competition, and NOAA Fisheries
science centers, including the Milford Lab, would compete for these
funds. In past competitions, over 90 percent of similar funds were
directed toward NOAA Fisheries science center projects.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Edward Markey to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. Before the Commerce Department issued its private
rulings on condensate exports or completed the industry-wide Frequently
Asked Question guidance that it issued in December, did the Department
consult with or meet with any Federal agencies with technical expertise
in energy production or quasi-governmental organizations such as the
National Academy of Engineering? If yes, please provide a complete list
of the Federal agencies or quasi-governmental organizations that the
Commerce Department met with or consulted prior to taking these
actions, the dates of such meetings and the organizations present at
each meeting.
Answer. The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and
Security (BIS) meets or consults with a range of government
stakeholders on issues related to controls on the export of crude oil
and seeks out technical expertise when appropriate.
Question 2. Prior to taking either of these actions--the private
rulings on condensate exports or issuing industry-wide guidance in
December--did the Commerce Department meet with or consult any energy
companies or other non-governmental entities? If yes, please provide a
complete list of all companies or non-governmental organizations that
the Commerce Department met with or consulted prior to taking these
actions, the dates of such meetings and the organizations present at
each meeting.
Answer. BIS routinely meets with the public, including companies
and trade associations, to answer questions about the Export
Administration Regulations' (EAR) licensing requirements and policies.
BIS has met with numerous companies to answer questions about the EAR's
crude oil provisions generally, as well as companies with specific
questions about the EAR's definition of crude oil and the status of
potential and pending commodity classification requests.
Question 3. If there are any other entities not covered by
questions one or two that were consulted or with whom Commerce
Department staff met prior to taking either of these actions related to
condensate exports, please provide a complete list of those entities
and the dates that such meetings or consultations occurred.
Answer. As noted above, BIS meets with the public and other
government stakeholders on matters relating to controls on the export
of crude oil.
Question 4. Does the Commerce Department believe that companies are
employing new techniques, technologies or processes to sufficiently
process condensate to allow for export as described in section 4--
entitled ``What is required in order for liquid hydrocarbons to have
been `processed through a crude oil distillation tower' ''--of the
document entitled ``FAQs--Crude Oil and Petroleum Products'' issued by
the Bureau of Industry and Security on December 30, 2014?
If so, please describe in full detail the new techniques,
technologies or processes that are being employed by industry, when
they began to be employed, and how they differ from past industry
practices.
If the Department does not believe that the industry is employing
new techniques, technologies or processes to process condensate, how
does the Commerce Department justify the private rulings and industry-
wide guidance issued last year and why did the Department choose to
make those rulings and issue new guidance at that time despite no new
techniques, technologies or processes being employed by the industry
Answer. Commodity classification requests typically contain
technical information relevant to control criteria, which can include
descriptions of techniques, technologies or processes. BIS determines
the commodity classification of liquid hydrocarbons based on the EAR's
definition of crude oil--liquid hydrocarbons that have not been
processed through a crude oil distillation tower--taking into account
the factors set forth in the December 2014 FAQs, and what is set forth
in commodity classification requests filed with BIS. BIS does not have
information on whether companies are employing ``new'' techniques,
technologies, or processes.
Question 5. Did the Commerce Department consider and reject
conducting a formal rulemaking before issuing private rulings to two
companies to allow for the export of condensate in 2014 or before
issuing the industry wide guidance in December?
Answer. BIS regularly considers whether revisions to its rules and
regulations are warranted. In this instance, because BIS continues to
apply its long-standing regulations when issuing commodity
classifications, no formal rulemaking was necessary.
Question 6. Please provide the full definition that the Commerce
Department is using for ``condensate'' or ``lease condensate.''
Answer. Although the EAR does not define ``condensate'' or ``lease
condensate,'' lease condensate is identified in the definition of crude
oil in section 754.2(a) of the EAR as being crude oil. Under the EAR's
definition of crude oil, once crude oil, including lease condensate has
been processed through a crude oil distillation tower, it is a
petroleum product and no longer crude oil.
Question 7. How much condensate, subject to the requirements
outlined in the December 2014 BIS industry guidance entitled ``FAQs--
Crude Oil and Petroleum Products,'' is currently being exported from
the United States? What are the maximum volumes of condensate that the
Commerce Department believes could potentially be exported under the
requirements outlined in the December 2014 BIS guidance?
Answer. BIS does not track the exports of condensate subject to the
requirements outlined in the December 2014 BIS industry guidance.
Question 8. Does the Commerce Department believe that the industry-
wide guidance issued by BIS in December 2014 entitled ``FAQs--Crude Oil
and Petroleum Products'' could cover or be applied to other types of
crude oil other than condensate? If not, why not? If so, which other
types of crude oil could potentially be covered by this guidance?
Please provide the Department's rationale.
Answer. As the EAR definition of crude oil applies to all crude
oil, the December 2014 FAQs are not limited to condensate. As the FAQs
note, ``[I]n order for liquid hydrocarbons to be classified as
petroleum products, there must be a material processing through a crude
oil distillation tower. If there is no processing in the distillation
tower, or the processing is de minimis, the liquid hydrocarbons will
not qualify as petroleum products.''
Question 9. Since the fall of 2012 when the Commerce Department
declared the northeast ground fishery a disaster, we have been working
with the department, Congressional appropriators and the affected
states to provide some financial relief for our cod fishermen, their
crew and the shoreside economy that depends on the fishing industry. A
grant was made to Massachusetts last month to fund their state-designed
support programs. I am grateful that that money is finally getting to
captains, crewmen and their communities. But I am concerned that it
took from Massachusetts submitting their proposal on October 24 2014
until February 5 for it to be approved by the Commerce department. Can
you explain why it took this long and what additional resources you
might need to speed up this process in the future?
Answer. Resource disaster grant applications require review and
clearances at various levels to ensure that the requested funding
complies with the requirements of the authorizing legislation. We
strive to expedite our review in whatever way we can. Given the urgency
of this funding, we ensured that the Massachusetts Division of Marine
Fisheries was kept aware of progress in awarding the grant throughout
this period.
______
Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Cory Booker to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Spectrum
Question. What is the Department doing to make available more radio
spectrum to meet the Nation's rapidly-growing demand for commercial
wireless broadband services?
Answer. The Department and the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) continue to play a leading role
towards meeting the President's directive to identify 500 megahertz of
Federal and non-federal spectrum for wireless broadband use by 2020.
The recent AWS-3 auction, resulting from the joint efforts of NTIA,
Federal agencies and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is an
important milestone in the Administration's efforts to meet this goal.
The success of the AWS-3 auction, which drew more than $40 billion in
net winning bids, was made possible in part by an unprecedented level
of collaboration between NTIA, affected Federal agencies, wireless
industry representatives, the FCC, and Congress.
As part of the Administration's efforts to make more spectrum
available for wireless broadband, the Department has been working to
identify other Federal bands that could be designated for commercial
use. We are collaborating with the FCC on making 100 megahertz of
spectrum available for small cell mobile broadband use in the 3.5 GHz
band on a shared basis with military radar systems. Meanwhile we also
are evaluating the feasibility of increased sharing for unlicensed
devices in the 5 GHz band while protecting incumbent Federal Government
systems. NTIA is also working with Federal agencies to quantify their
use of nearly 960 megahertz of spectrum, spanning several key bands.
The results of this quantification assessment are one factor that will
be used to prioritize bands for more detailed study focused on
expanding shared access. We are also beginning a dialogue with Federal
agencies on best approaches to begin enabling expanded bi-directional
Federal access to non-federal bands.
We are also working to improve the efficient management of Federal
spectrum by increasing transparency of Federal operations,
collaboration with industry, and incentives for Federal users to update
their systems to improve sharing spectrum with the private sector.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
Hon. Penny Pritzker
Question 1. Describe the role of your department's Chief
Information Officer (CIO) in the development and oversight of the IT
budget for your department. How is the CIO involved in the decision to
make an IT investment, determine its scope, oversee its contract, and
oversee continued operation and maintenance?
Answer. The Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO)
participates directly in the budget development via three related
processes. All major Information Technology (IT) initiatives that are
proposed for the agency budget request to the President are first
reviewed and approved by the Commerce IT Review Board (CITRB) which is
chaired by the CIO. The CITRB rates the investments on a 1 to 5 scale
across five major assessment areas: Program/Project Management, Shared
Services, IT and Cyber Security, Approach and Subject Matter Expertise,
and overall Health and Wellness. This assessment allows the board to
identify areas of concern relating to specific aspects of the IT
investment. If the areas of concern are not addressed and the overall
rating stays low, it is highly unlikely that this investment will get
approval to be included in the Department's budget request to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In addition, the CIO
participates in the Deputy Secretary's review of the agency budget
request each year and incorporates his/her thoughts concerning such
investment proposals. Besides the annual budget process, the CIO is the
chair and/or participating member of the CITRB, the Acquisition Review
Board (ARB), and the Milestone Review Board all of which review major
investments. A major IT acquisition ($25M +) requires the Department's
CIO to issue IT investment authority in order for the acquisition to
proceed. Once a major IT initiative is under development or in
operations, it is monitored monthly by the CIO. During the operation
and maintenance phase, the CIO will continue to review and monitor
investments via the CITRB and/or convene a Tiger Team if targeted
investigation or analysis is required.
Question 2. Describe the existing authorities, organizational
structure, and reporting relationship of the Chief Information Officer.
Note and explain any variance from that prescribed in the newly-enacted
Federal Information Technology and Acquisition Reform Act of 2014
(FITARA, PL 113-291) for the above.
Answer. In addition to the statutory responsibilities through the
Clinger-Cohen Act and related laws, the Department of Commerce has
implemented a set of CIO responsibilities that are fully responsive to
OMB Memorandum M-11-29, Chief Information Officer Authorities. These
responsibilities are conferred on the CIO through the Acting
Secretary's June 21, 2012, Memorandum Department IT Portfolio
Management Strategy. These responsibilities focus on the areas of
Governance, Commodity IT, Program Management, and Information Security.
We believe that these responsibilities are in line with those
prescribed by FITARA, and we will await guidance from OMB in regards to
any implementation requirements.
Question 3. What formal or informal mechanisms exist in your
department to ensure coordination and alignment within the CXO
community (i.e., the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Acquisition
Officer, the Chief Finance Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer,
and so on)?
Answer. The Department's CXOs meet informally and formally on a
regular basis to discuss issues, concerns and immediate and urgent
initiatives. Each CXO manages a Council to discuss and address their
specific constituent needs and requirements. Each Council includes
cross-member CXO participation on a routine basis either as a standing
member or by briefing specific subject matter issues and concerns. For
example, the CIO routinely briefs the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Council during the Department's budget formulation process.
Additionally, the CIO is a standing member on the CFO Council, the ARB
and the Acquisition Council just to name a few. Additionally, the
CITRB, chaired by the CIO and co-chaired by the CFO, includes
membership of the Chief Acquisition Officer, Budget Director,
Department's Risk Management Officer, Commerce Bureau CIOs, etc.
Therefore, there are many opportunities across department councils,
working groups and review boards for departmental CXOs to discuss
issues and concerns and provide timely and critical feedback and
updates.
Question 4. According to the Office of Personnel Management, 46
percent of the more than 80,000 Federal IT workers are 50 years of age
or older, and more than 10 percent are 60 or older. Just four percent
of the Federal IT workforce is under 30 years of age. Does your
department have such demographic imbalances? How is it addressing them?
Answer. The Department's IT Workforce numbers are similar to
overall Federal IT Workforce demographics--50 percent are 50 years of
age or older, 11 percent are 60 or older and only 3 percent of our IT
workforce is 30 years of age or younger.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age DOC IT Workforce Federal IT Workforce
------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 and below 3% 4%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>=50 50% 46%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>=60 11% 10%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For current and future vacancies, the Office of the Chief
Information Officer is developing a recruitment strategy to attract IT
workers that includes partnering with the Department's Office of Human
Resources Management to utilize existing hiring programs to recruit
current college students and recent graduates in entry level positions.
Question 5. How much of the department's budget goes to
Demonstration, Modernization, and Enhancement of IT systems as opposed
to supporting existing and ongoing programs and infrastructure? How has
this changed in the last five years?
Answer. Of the Department's current IT funding, 35 percent is for
Development, Modernization and Enhancement (DME) as defined by OMB. In
2010, the Department's percentage IT funding allocated to DME was 48
percent. However, this was heavily skewed by the almost $1 billion
spent for the 2010 Decennial Census. Excluding this anomaly, the
percent of DME funding for the department would have been approximately
23 percent.
Question 6. What are the 10 highest priority IT investment projects
that are under development in your department? Of these, which ones are
being developed using an ``agile'' or incremental approach, such as
delivering working functionality in smaller increments and completing
initial deployment to end-users in short, six-month time frames?
Answer. The Commerce mission is supported by many strategic and
critical IT investments ranging from weather prediction and reporting
systems, enumeration and economic reporting/tracking systems, to patent
and trademark systems, all supporting a critical mission to the
citizens of the United States. The ten highest priority IT investments
under development across the Department include:
DOC--Business Application Solutions (BAS)
DOC--Enterprise Security Operations Center (ESOC)
DOC--Commerce BusinessUSA
NOAA--Weather Wire Service (NWWS)
NOAA--NCEP Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System--
Agile
Census--2020 Decennial
Census--Enterprise Data Collection and Processing (CEDCaP)
program
USPTO--Trademark Next Generation (TM NG)
NIST--Website Redesign and Realignment
ITA--Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Question 7. To ensure that steady state investments continue to
meet agency needs, OMB has a longstanding policy for agencies to
annually review, evaluate, and report on their legacy IT infrastructure
through Operational Assessments. What Operational Assessments have you
conducted and what were the results?
Answer. The Department employs several interconnected processes for
monitoring legacy IT infrastructure. Per official Department policy,
all operational investments including IT infrastructure are required to
conduct annual operational analyses. In addition, the Department's IT
infrastructure investments are required to come before the Department's
CITRB every year to discuss their current and proposed strategy and
performance. In addition to yearly reviews, all IT infrastructure
systems are required to send in progress reports and updated
performance metrics to the OCIO monthly, in order to get even more
timely information and greater transparency on the performance of IT
infrastructure operations.
Question 8. What are the 10 oldest IT systems or infrastructures in
your department? How old are they? Would it be cost-effective to
replace them with newer IT investments?
Answer. The oldest IT systems currently used across the Department
include:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT System/ System Age Cost Effective
Bureau Infrastructure (Yrs.) Replacement Possible?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST e-Travel Manager System 6.5 Yes
(ETS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Grant Management 14 Yes
Information System
(GMIS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOC Commerce Business 11 Yes
System (CBS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA Automated Surface 10+ Yes
Observing System
(ASOS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA National Weather 10+ Yes
Telecommunications
Gateway (NWSTG)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA Advanced Weather 8+ Yes
Processing System
(AWIPS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Decennial 2010 5+ Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Frequency Management 25+ Yes
Records System (FMRS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Spectrum 21 (SXXI) 15 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA FreqNet Portal 15 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Lotus Notes 15+ Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Oracle Content 15+ Yes
Management System
(CMS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 9. How does your department's IT governance process allow
for your department to terminate or ``off ramp'' IT investments that
are critically over budget, over schedule, or failing to meet
performance goals? Similarly, how does your department's IT governance
process allow for your department to replace or ``on-ramp'' new
solutions after terminating a failing IT investment?
Answer. The CITRB reviews IT projects, programs, and portfolios on
a routine basis. The CITRB acts as a board of directors that advises
the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on critical IT matters. Projects
that are consistently rated ``red'' on the OMB IT Dashboard are
reviewed by the Board. Depending on the severity of issues, problems or
escalating risk impacting the project, the CITRB may recommend
termination, or halting of the project.
In addition to termination or halting the project, the CITRB
ensures that proposed investments contribute to the Secretary's
strategic vision and mission requirements, employ sound IT investment
program management methodologies, comply with Departmental systems
architectures, employ sound security measures, and provide the highest
return on the investment or acceptable project risk. The CITRB provides
for coordinated risk management, review, and advice to the Secretary
and Deputy Secretary regarding IT investments. This advice includes
recommendations for approval or disapproval of funding for new or base
investments as well as recommendations for continuation or termination
of projects under development at key milestones or when they fail to
meet performance, cost, or schedule criteria. The Board also recommends
approval or disapproval of requests for IT investment authority.
Disapproval means they are not approved to enter into a contract to
proceed to the next phase--this decision may result in overall
termination or halting the investment until certain key actions have
been completed.
Question 10. What IT projects has your department decommissioned in
the last year? What are your department's plans to decommission IT
projects this year?
Answer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decommissioned Projects
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau IT Projects/Systems Comments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA 1000+ Legacy Programs/Applications Incorporated into centralized
databases
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census IBM Lotus Domino web-based e-mail Migration to cloud-based solution
and calendar system
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Microsoft Exchange Infrastructure Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projects Planned For 2015 Decommissioning
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau IT Projects/Systems Comments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA On-premise SharePoint Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA On-premise data center servers Migration to cloud-based solution
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA ITA Government Network Transition to network as a service
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 11. The newly-enacted Federal Information Technology and
Acquisition Reform Act of 2014 (FITARA, PL 113-291) directs CIOs to
conduct annual reviews of their agency/department's IT portfolio.
Please describe your department's efforts to identify and reduce
wasteful, low-value or duplicative information technology (IT)
investments as part of these portfolio reviews.
Answer. In order to monitor and promote optimal investment
strategies and project management practices, the Office of the CIO
charters the CITRB. Typically, the CITRB reviews two to three
investments every month to review their performance and strategy.
Following each review, comments and questions are sent to the managers
and sponsors of that investment. This has led to many efforts within
Commerce operating units and across the Department to consolidate
similar efforts and contracts. For example, the Department is currently
in the process of moving to a single cloud e-mail system and towards a
single financial and business management system. On a local level the
number of networks, help desks and data centers throughout the
Department continue to be steadily reduced. In parallel, and to
facilitate such streamlining and consolidation, the Department has
provided contract vehicles available to all operating units.
Question 12. In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
issued a ``Cloud First'' policy that required agency Chief Information
Officers to implement a cloud-based service whenever there was a
secure, reliable, and cost-effective option. How many of the
department's IT investments are cloud-based services (Infrastructure as
a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, etc.)? What
percentage of the department's overall IT investments are cloud-based
services? How has this changed since 2011?
Answer. The Department implemented OMB's ``Cloud First'' policy and
includes this as a requirement during annual Budget Formulation
reviews. All new IT investments are required to investigate and if
possible leverage cloud strategies and technologies during alternative
analysis processes. Below is a consolidate list of cloud solutions
across the Department:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of Service
Cloud Service (Infrastructure,
Bureau IT Service Name Provider Name Software,
Platform, Etc.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA Office 365 Microsoft Platform
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA SharePoint Microsoft Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA Help Desk Ticketing TBD Software
Application
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Cloud Computing Amazon Infrastructure
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST IT Service Management ServiceNow Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Cloud E-mail and Microsoft Platform
Collaboration
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIST Enterprise Mobile MaaS 360 Platform
Device Management
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA E-mail Platform
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NTIA Infrastructure Various providers Infrastructure
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAA IT Infrastructure Various providers Infrastructure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Akamai Content Akamai Infrastructure
Delivery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census GovDelivery E-mail GovDelivery Software
and Blogging
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Cloud Testing For Noblis Infrastructure
Centurion/Community
TIGER/Real-Time Non-
ID
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Salesforce.com Salesforce Software
Integrated Partner
Contact Database
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census SunFlower (Property SunFlower Software
Mgt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census Adobe Site Catalyst Adobe Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census MaaS 360 Mobile Fiberlink Software
Device Management
(MDM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA SalesForce.com Sales Force Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA E-mail, Microsoft Platform
Collaboration, VTC,
and Storage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA Infrastructure Amazon Infrastructure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITA IT Service Management ServiceNow Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 13. Provide short summaries of three recent IT program
successes--projects that were delivered on time, within budget, and
delivered the promised functionality and benefits to the end user. How
does your department define ``success'' in IT program management? What
``best practices'' have emerged and been adopted from these recent IT
program successes? What have proven to be the most significant barriers
encountered to more common or frequent IT program successes?
Answer. The Department defines an IT program/project as successful
when, in addition to delivering within cost, schedule and budget, the
program/project delivers the planned and measureable levels of benefit
and addresses the specific requirements as originally defined, while
staying in alignment with the mission and goals of the Department.
Program/project success is being able to effectively integrate the
various components of the program, at every level to ensure the people,
process, and technology function successfully together. Barriers within
Commerce include the ability to aggressively work across the
organization on shared initiatives given the diverse mission areas and
the federated culture. Program/project management teams must ensure
that they conduct integration activities to ensure that the elements of
the program are compatible and function together to satisfy business
needs, while meeting cost and schedule constraints, and optimizing
effectiveness. Several successful projects implemented across the
Department include:
BEA Data Flow Improvement Project
Within the Bureau of Economics and Analysis (BEA), the bureau
implemented a project to enable more efficient data flows of
the huge amounts of data processed and analyzed. BEA enhanced
its centralized IT framework by achieving cross-program
consensus on a design, developing, and releasing a BEA data hub
which standardizes secure transmission of data across BEA's
four major program areas.
NIST PIV Enablement Project
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
implemented the PIV Enablement Project which was implemented to
meet OMB, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department's
policies requiring the use of HSPD-12 credentials (PIV cards)
for network access. The project successfully enabled more than
90 percent of NIST Information System users to use their
assigned PIV cards to authenticate to PIV enabled information
systems as the normal mode of authentication with Windows
computers. The project improved IT security by providing the
capability to require two-factor authentication using the PIV
card.
Census Enterprise Systems Development Lifecycle Initiative
In 2014, the Census Bureau implemented the Enterprise Systems
Development Lifecycle (eSDLC) initiative. The eSDLC leveraged
best practices and processes from internal stakeholders,
Federal agencies, and private industry to develop a full set of
processes and templates. Having all IT projects follow the
eSDLC has increased the control of schedule, costs, and risks.
Question 14. In New Mexico, it is often the early stages of a
project that need the most help getting off the ground. An EDA planning
grant was recently awarded to InnovateABQ, a technology incubator
partnership between UNM and local governments to commercialize locally-
developed technology and attract private investment to New Mexico. Does
EDA have sufficient resources to continue supporting other core
activities, like incubators?
Answer. The President's budget proposal for FY 2016 provides
sufficient resources to support core commercialization activities. The
largest portion of the budget proposal ($85 million) remains dedicated
to the Economics and Development Administration's (EDA) Public Works
program, which thousands of communities across the country have
accessed to construct business development projects, like incubators.
This program has supported key infrastructure improvements like those
at the Sandia Science and Technology Park (SSTP) where EDA invested
$1.8 million in high-speed fiber optic lines that help local businesses
leverage advances in technology that have been generated by nearby
universities and Federal labs.
The President's budget proposal also provides EDA with the
flexibility it needs to address the unique needs of every community as
they build an innovation-driven economy. The proposal increases EDA's
Economic Adjustment Assistance program which gives EDA the ability to
provide tailored assistance to help regions leverage the promise of
regional innovation clusters.
In addition, the budget proposal provides $25 million to support
the Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program. The RIS program is an
important complement to EDA's traditional programs: together they give
EDA a mechanism to provide targeted, strategic investments to
communities in the way that they most need the assistance. The RIS
program supports a variety of grant competitions that fund innovation
capacity-building activities, including the i6 Challenge, a cutting
edge Federal grant program that supports innovative initiatives to spur
commercialization, entrepreneurship and job creation at the local
level. For example, the New Mexico Technology Ventures Corporation, a
2010 i6 Challenge grantee, is developing an infrastructure for the
successful maturation of technologies developed under the Small
Business Innovation Research program into commercially viable
enterprises. Another New Mexico i6 grantee, the Arrowhead Center in Las
Cruces, is currently building upon New Mexico State University's
recently established proof of concept center, to develop the Arrowhead
Innovation Network.
EDA's FY 2016 budget reflects our priority of promoting best
practices for economic development while empowering regions to develop
their own plans that will transform their communities into globally
competitive regions and ultimately improve the quality of life for
their residents. Regional innovation strategies and targeted
infrastructure investments are the most effective framework to meet the
needs of and further advance regional economic ecosystems.
Question 15. Could you expand on your written testimony and
response to Sen. Peters' question about the importance of the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership?
Answer. The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a
public-private partnership that helps small and mid-sized manufacturers
compete, increasing employment and investment across the country and
generating a high return on public investment. MEP is built on a
nationwide system of centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Each center is a partnership between the Federal Government and a
variety of public or private entities, including state, university, and
nonprofit organizations. This diverse network, with more than 440
service locations, has over 1,200 field staff serving as trusted
business advisors and technical experts. And because MEP's foundation
is its partnerships, centers are a hub for manufacturers, connecting
them with government agencies, trade associations, universities and
research laboratories, state and Federal initiatives, and a host of
other resources to help them realize goals.
MEP leverages over $100 million of Federal investment into a nearly
$300 million program by partnering with state and local governments and
the private sector to provide a wealth of expertise and resources to
manufacturers. Each year, manufacturers work with their local MEP
Center to solve problems, increase productivity, improve their economic
competitiveness, and enhance their technological capabilities. As a
result, MEP clients increase their sales, save time and money, invest
in physical and human capital, and create and retain thousands of jobs.
Every dollar of Federal investment in the MEP translates into $19
dollars of new sales for small manufacturers, or almost $2.5 billion
annually across the 30,000 small manufacturers that MEP serves. Since
it was founded in 1988, MEP has worked with nearly 80,000
manufacturers, leading to $88 billion in sales and $14 billion in cost
savings, and helping small manufacturers create more than 729,000 new
jobs.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. John Thune to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Oversight & Investigation
Question 1. The President's budget requests an additional 59
employees at offices within the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA). In 2011, the Department of Transportation
Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that a comprehensive workforce
assessment would enable the agency to determine the number of staff and
specialized skills needed to complete its mission and ensure
manufacturers recall vehicles in a timely manner. At the time of the
OIG's report, NHTSA agreed to conduct this assessment by April 2103;
however, to date, it has not been completed. How did the agency
determine its specific request for additional employees without
completing the ongoing workforce assessment, as the OIG first
recommended in 2011?
Answer. NHTSA's workforce assessment is almost complete. The
information gathered during the drafting process allowed the agency to
identify the Office of Defects Investigation's most immediate needs.
These urgent needs are reflected in the request for 57 new positions
and the creation of the new Trend Analysis and the Field Investigation
and Testing divisions. The full workforce assessment will address these
and additional needs.
Question 2. When will the recommended workforce assessment be
completed?
Answer. The draft assessment is currently undergoing review, and we
expect to deliver it to the OIG soon.
Question 3. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, you reported to the
President two material weaknesses in the Department's financial
management, including weaknesses in its information security program
and inappropriate access with respect to the Federal Transit
Administration's grant management systems. What specific actions have
you taken to ensure that the Department addresses these material
weaknesses properly and swiftly?
Answer. The specific major finding of the financial auditors was
that FTA's grants system (TEAM) does not provide for controlled access
rights by the handful of DOT employees and contractors who serve as
system administrators. Under certain circumstances system
administrators could, in theory, access broader functions in the
system. Because TEAM is built on an older technology, the system cannot
distinguish between certain functions allowed for certain system
administrators. This issue only applies to trusted system
administrators with extensive background checks and no level of access
to TEAM can result in improper payments because it is not FTA's payment
system. In response to the audit finding, FTA has developed a tracking
system to monitor and log all system administrator activities in real
time. Additionally, because it is at the end of its life-cycle, FTA has
been developing a complete replacement of the TEAM system. The new
system, TrAMS, is built on modern technologies using a state of the art
IT architecture, and will not have this problem. FTA plans to
officially convert to the new system in FY 2016.
Question 4. The OIG has identified longstanding cyber security
weaknesses and challenges with integrating and coordinating shared
security controls. Will you commit to working with the OIG and this
Committee to address these outstanding deficiencies?
Answer. DOT is committed to addressing the issue of shared security
controls across the Department. The Department will prioritize
weaknesses and build upon DOT investment oversight and security
responsibilities to identify and leverage opportunities for
consolidation and cost-effective delivery of shared services
Question 5. With such a large requested increase in the
Department's budget, what should give Congress confidence that the
Department will exercise the highest level of stewardship over
appropriated taxpayer funds?
Answer. The Department of Transportation (DOT) invests more than
$70 billion each year on programs to ensure the safe management and
economic viability of U.S. transportation systems. Transportation is a
critical engine of the Nation's economy. DOT investments in our
transportation network over the country's history have been
instrumental in developing our Nation into the world's largest economy
and most mobile society. Fixing our existing infrastructure must be a
top priority in order to keep America economically competitive. Recent
reports on the condition of key facilities--highways, bridges, transit
systems, passenger rail, and airport runways--reveal that many fall
short of a state of good repair and thus compromise the safety,
capacity, and efficiency of the U.S. transportation system. DOT
programs will continue to emphasize improving the condition of our
infrastructure to ensure that transportation facilities are safe and
reliable.
Over time, however, our level of investment as a percentage of the
gross domestic product has dropped significantly, as it fails to keep
pace with our growing economy and population. Increasingly, we are
seeing State and local officials abandon planning on the more ambitious
and expensive projects that will move our economy forward. A critical
part of DOT's efforts to ensure the safety and continued improvement of
transportation programs is effectively securing and channeling
investments to finance them. This will require the Department to work
with stakeholders to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund and strengthen
credit programs that can leverage private investment for transportation
projects. The President's $94.7 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Budget
Request for our transportation programs is critical for our Nation, our
economy and job creation. It is also critically important that we work
together to enact the priorities reflected in this budget that make
much-needed investments in our Nation's infrastructure, provide long-
term funding certainty to states and local governments, and implement
policies that modernize Federal programs to meet our current
challenges. With regard to the Department's stewardship over
appropriated taxpayer funds:
The Department of Transportation has a long-standing record
of providing excellent stewardship over taxpayer funds.
The Department's Inspector General's annual review of the
internal controls, financial procedures, and financial records
has resulted in 3 ``clean audit'' opinions for the last 14
years.
The President's FY 2016 budget request for the Department of
Transportation was developed through a comprehensive review of
its programs, requirements, and missions.
This request reflects the Administration's views on the
Nation's transportation infrastructure needs, the resources
needed to address emerging issues that affect the
transportation system, and the predictability and reliability
of funds to support transportation programs.
Question 6. How do you intend to prevent cost overruns and fix
management weaknesses in acquisition practices?
Answer. The Department views very seriously any area where cost
overruns may occur. We are actively managing processes across the
Department (including FAA) to prevent cost overruns and address
opportunities to strengthen acquisition practices.
The FAA has a set of structured processes and governance structures
to identify issues and risks to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of
cost overruns on programs. In 2011, the FAA established the Air Traffic
Organization (ATO) Program Management Organization (PMO) to improve the
consistency of program execution, institutionalization of acquisition
of best practices, review of lessons learned, and to capitalize on
efficiencies between programs. The PMO effectively manages the program
lifecycle creating a bridge between conceptual use and operational use
through the identification and management of risks associated with the
design, development, and deployment of systems. The FAA has a tiered
structure for managing and reporting program performance. Each program
is responsible for reporting cost, schedule and technical performance
on a monthly basis that is reviewed within each business unit on a
monthly basis. Additionally, the PMO sponsors a bi-weekly forum known
as the PMO Program Management Review (PMR) which focuses on a periodic
review of the programs and portfolios within the PMO, and on critical
programs from other FAA lines of business. The purpose of the PMO PMR
is to review the current program status, review and discuss risks and
challenges, as well as capitalize on opportunities to help ensure that
cost, schedule, and technical issues are mitigated and resolved before
they have the effect of a cost overrun on a baselined program. The
final level of review is by the Joint Resource Council (JRC), which is
the Investment Decision Authority for the FAA. Every 3 months the JRC
holds an Acquisition Quarterly Program Review (AQPR) where every
baselined investment program in the FAA is reviewed for cost, schedule,
and technical performance. Major issues and challenges that have not
been resolved or mitigated at other reviews are discussed for action at
the AQPR.
The FAA continues to make progress in resolving identified
weaknesses in the area of acquisition practices. Since 2005, the FAA
has taken steps to put a certification structure in place for those
critical acquisition positions in the FAA. Currently all Program
Managers (PMs) must be certified (at the required level for the size
and scope of the program) before taking on the responsibility of
managing a program. All Contracting Officers (COs) and Contracting
Officers Representatives (CORs) must be certified to perform those
activities consistent with current applicable law and the FAA
Acquisition Management System (AMS). Both the PM certification and the
CO and COR certifications are required to have periodic re-
certification and continuing education requirements.
Additionally there are required reviews of acquisitions through the
various boards that look at the specifics of each acquisition. The CFO
is responsible for ensuring that all acquisitions greater than $10M are
reviewed for completeness and necessity. The Acquisition Strategy
Review Board is responsible for ensuring that all contracting
activities greater than $5M are reviewed for potential redundancy with
other efforts, and that the approach for the acquisition is in the best
interest of the government. In 2007, the FAA established The
Acquisition Executive Board (AEB). The AEB is responsible for the
identification of improvements to the AMS through suggested Policy,
Guidance, and Governance to the JRC and the FAA Federal Acquisition
Executive. The FAA continually reassesses our acquisition practices for
areas of potential improvement.
The FAA also implemented the National Acquisition Evaluation
Program (NAEP) in 2007 to independently monitor the performance and
implementation of the AMS and associated processes. Through acquisition
metrics, and random and focused evaluations of program and contract
data and documentation, NAEP identifies best practices or pinpoints
potential weaknesses in requirement and policy implementation. Findings
are then used to improve existing programs and contracts were
practicable, and reengineer AMS and associated processes where feasible
to institutionalize better compliance and efficiency for future
requirements. NAEP also serves as the audit liaison to GAO and OIG for
acquisition-related audits to ensure findings are properly addressed
and integrated into agency processes where needed.
In addition to the program implemented by the FAA, the Department
has also created a number of structural and procedural protocols which
seek to reduce the likelihood of cost overruns across the Department.
Specifically, the Department established an Acquisition Strategy Review
Board to provide strengthened management oversight over certain
acquisition activities. The Acquisition Strategy Review Board is led by
the Department's Senior Procurement Executive, who serves with the
Deputy Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
The Acquisition Strategy Review Board reviews acquisition plans to
ensure the application of sound business strategies and the application
of appropriate Federal and Departmental information technology
standards and policies, and also seeks to identify and ensure both
technical and financial risks are appropriately identified and
mitigated early in the acquisition planning process. Working within the
DOT Integrated Program Planning & Management process, the ASRB reviews
the Department's high risk acquisition plans, including cost
reimbursable contracts over $10M and all other proposed contracts in
excess of $20M, to include management support service contracts.
Additionally, the Department has made significant process in
strengthening its acquisition workforce. To strengthen the consistency
and reliability of acquisition workforce data, the Department has fully
implemented the Federal Acquisition Certification and Training System
(FAITAS). The full deployment of this new capability has provided a
reliable and consistent methodology for tracking the Department's
acquisition workforce certification programs for compliance with
certification standards and future requirements for continuous
learning. The Department has completed a data validation effort to
identify training gaps and now tracks progress toward meeting
established metrics to ensure all members of the Department's
acquisition workforce are properly recorded in FAITAS. Additionally,
the Department continues to invest in its acquisition workforce, and
has provided targeted training to support improved focus on improving
communication with industry and market research strategies during
acquisition planning. The Department also continues to work with both
internal and external stakeholders to leverage training resources to
maximize learning opportunities across the entire acquisition
workforce.
Finally, the Department has initiated a systematic approach to
conducting procurement management reviews across the Department's
operating administrations. These reviews seek to evaluate individual
procuring activities to ensure compliance with both Federal and
Departmental requirements and the adoption of best practices, as they
relate to the entire acquisition life cycle. This structured approach
will allow for improved compliance and strengthened management
oversight, and more importantly will allow for the emergence of best
practices which can be shared across the entire organization. The
reviews will also serve to identify opportunities for improved
policies, practices, and procedures.
Question 7. What specific steps are you taking to identify and root
out contract and grant fraud, which represented 46 percent of the OIG's
investigative caseload in FY 2013?
Answer. The Department of Transportation is committed to carrying
out a robust suspension and debarment program that protects our
acquisition, grant-making, and comparable programs from fraudulent
behavior, favoritism, and other threats to effective stewardship of
taxpayer funds. The Department administers many grant-making programs,
such as the Federal-aid Highway Program, the Federal Transit Program,
and the Airport Improvement Program, and maintaining the integrity of
these programs, and of our acquisition actions, is one of our most
important responsibilities. In calendar year 2013, the Department
issued 64 suspensions and 53 debarments. Also, we continue to work with
the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to strengthen and improve our
suspension and debarment program. In response to a recent OIG report,
we updated the Department's Order on suspension and debarment actions
to better clarify Departmental and operating administration
expectations and succinctly describe roles and responsibilities in the
process. The Department will continue to work with the OIG by referring
any instances of suspected fraud to the OIG for investigation, promptly
taking appropriate action on matters the OIG refers to the Department
for suspension and debarment, and implementing all recommendations for
improving our suspension and debarment program.
Question 8. The President's budget requests $339 million for the
motor carrier safety grants program. What procedures does the
Department have in place to scrutinize these grants carefully in order
to prevent waste of taxpayer funds?
Answer. In 2013, the FMCSA created a Grants Management Office. In
strengthening the Agency's internal controls, the Grants Management
Office has: standardized policies and procedures that are consistent
with Federal law; implemented and integrated automated grant systems;
provided greater transparency in the discretionary grant program;
ensured that all agency grants include the proper documentation; and
developed comprehensive grants management training.
Based on the Agency's strategic goals and policies, the Agency
develops annual Notices of Grant Funding Availability for its
discretionary grant programs. The Grants Management Office reviews each
application to ensure that it includes all the necessary information.
The Agency convenes a technical evaluation panel to review every grant
application to ensure that it meets the agency's priorities and Federal
law. The Agency bases its funding recommendations on the technical
evaluation panel's review. The Office of Chief Counsel, Grants
Management Office and Program office review the funding
recommendations. Prior to its award, each grant is reviewed by the
Program Office, the Grants Management Office, the Office of Chief
Counsel, the Field, and the Budget Office.
Question 9. Amtrak has repeatedly shown a lack of accountability
with respect to the Federal taxpayer funds it receives via the
Department of Transportation. What are you doing to ensure greater
accountability and avoid waste and mismanagement of these funds?
Answer. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has substantially
enhanced its oversight of Amtrak grants in recent years, building a
monitoring program that aligns to the rigorous standards applied to
FRA's traditional grant portfolio, and provides a stronger assurance
that Amtrak is spending its taxpayer funds transparently and delivering
public benefits.
As part of this enhanced oversight strategy, FRA is requiring
frequent grant-level and project-by-project reporting, increasing the
agency's on-site monitoring of Amtrak capital projects, and conducting
comprehensive quarterly working group sessions with Amtrak staff. The
monitoring and oversight program instituted by FRA promotes better
awareness of Amtrak project activities; allows FRA to verify reporting
data by more frequently communicating with Amtrak project managers,
engineers, and other key personnel; assists FRA in tailoring targeted
technical assistance to Amtrak; and ultimately enables FRA and Amtrak
to proactively identify and address project development and delivery
risks.
In addition to improved grant program and capital project
monitoring, FRA is working with Amtrak leadership to collaboratively
assess corporate-level activities and study cross-cutting
organizational programs to gain understanding, improve communication,
and work towards improvements. Specific operational areas of focus
include information management and technology, capital planning and
Amtrak's budget development process, fleet management, and business
line performance. As an example of recent programmatic shifts in FRA's
oversight approach, FRA now dedicates specific staff to monitor the
performance of each of Amtrak's three primary business lines--the
Northeast Corridor (NEC), State-Supported routes, and Long-Distance
routes. Additionally, FRA is requiring Amtrak to develop five-year
planning documents for both its general capital and Americans with
Disabilities Act programs, which is intended to spur Amtrak to consider
a longer horizon and more methodical approach to planning for its
investments.
Finally, many of the provisions the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation authored in the Passenger Rail Investment
and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) are helping to drive Amtrak
performance improvements, transparency, and accountability. Sections
209 and 212 of PRIIA are leading to standardized and transparent
methodologies for allocating costs among Amtrak and its state and
commuter partners on the state-supported and NEC business lines. Under
Section 210, Amtrak is working to implement performance improvements
for its Long-Distance routes. Additionally, Section 203 led Amtrak to
develop and implement an improved financial accounting and reporting
system.
Question 10. Since 2009, Congress has appropriated over $10 billion
for the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) high speed intercity
passenger rail (HSIPR) grant program. The OIG has previously reported
that the ``FRA's lack of an effective grants administration framework
may be putting Federal funds at risk.'' The President's FY 2016 budget
requests $2.3 billion to establish a Rail Service Improvement System,
building off HSIPR funding. What controls are in place to ensure
taxpayer funds are not at risk?
Answer. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has successfully
managed $10 billion in funding and approximately 150 projects through
the HSIPR Program. Forty percent of these projects are complete or
substantially complete with significant public benefits already
realized.
Since 2009, FRA's HSIPR program has undergone five external
oversight reviews. The five external oversight reviews on HSIPR program
management/oversight processes is composed of three OIG reviews and two
GAO reviews. None of these reviews has identified any project-related
concerns or major oversight issues as FRA has implemented this program.
Most recently, the OIG issued a report on April 1, 2015 stating that
``FRA improved its guidance on high-speed rail grant agreements, but
policies and procedures for amending and monitoring grants remain
incomplete.'' The OIG report contained five recommendations, four of
which the OIG considered resolved and closed by the report's
publication date and the fifth was resolved pending completion of
planned actions. The four closed recommendations sought amendments or
clarifications to existing FRA policies and procedures.
FRA has established a dynamic and robust oversight program to
reduce implementation risk to the HSIPR Program. FRA's program
management model comprises three major components, including: grant
compliance reviews, project implementation oversight, and technical
assistance delivery.
Grant compliance: FRA grant agreements clearly outline each
award recipient's grant administration responsibilities, in
compliance with Federal grant oversight regulations and FRA
policies. FRA requires grantees to submit detailed and accurate
quarterly financial and project progress reports. FRA closely
reviews reports for accuracy and has developed a compliance
assessment tool to evaluate grantee adherence to administrative
requirements on a monthly basis. Further, grant compliance is a
component of FRA's monitoring program discussed below.
Project implementation: Before awarding funds, FRA requires
each grant recipient to submit a detailed, thorough, and
feasible statement of work (SOW), including a clear scope,
schedule, budget, and deliverables that grantees must submit
throughout the grant period of performance. FRA uses these
grantee-generated deliverables and other resources to assess
grantees' adherence to the SOW and general project quality.
FRA also manages an intensive grant and project monitoring program
that includes a combination of detailed reviews of grantee and
project documentation, as well as grantee and project site
visits. Utilizing these tools to evaluate grantee performance
and identify project delivery issues, the FRA grant oversight
team may require grantees to submit and implement corrective
action plans, if necessary.
Technical assistance: FRA's monitoring and oversight team is
in constant communication with grantees and is often able to
assist grantees in identifying project risk or addressing
realized challenges in technical areas such as engineering or
environmental compliance. FRA has provided an appropriate level
of support to grantees throughout the HSIPR Program to
safeguard Federal investments and maximize public benefits.
The GROW AMERICA Act and FY16 Budget request build on the framework
established under the HSIPR program and provide dedicated funding to
conduct necessary oversight, training and technical assistance, and
project evaluations and assessments for all financial assistance
provided under the new National High-Performance Rail System.
Question 11. Since 2003, when legislation initiated the Next
Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the OIG has reported on
``longstanding management challenges and barriers that have limited
FAA's progress in delivering NextGen capabilities, such as the Agency's
inability to set realistic plans, budgets, and expectations, and
clearly identify benefits for stakeholders.'' What steps are you taking
in order to get the NextGen implementation back on track, on time, and
on budget?
Answer. The FAA is implementing an executable plan for NextGen with
the leadership of the FAA's Deputy Administrator, who is also the Chief
NextGen Officer, and the Assistant Administrator of NextGen, who,
within the FAA, is responsible for the day-to-day implementation and
execution of NextGen activities. Since NextGen implementation relies on
the coordination of multiple stakeholders, both of these individuals
are constantly engaged in discussions with relevant parties in clearly
identifying benefits for stakeholders. The FAA, in collaboration with
the aviation industry through the NextGen Advisory Committee, has
developed the NextGen Priorities Joint Implementation Plan. This Joint
Implementation Plan, which was delivered to Congress on October 17,
2014, summarizes the high-level commitments the FAA will accomplish
over the next three years, the industry commitments necessary for those
activities to be successful, and a timeline of milestones and locations
to deliver the benefits for our stakeholders. The FAA is also working
with the stakeholders to resolve barriers and address potential
challenges to meet the mandate for equipping thousands of aircraft with
ADS-B Out avionics. Under the Equip 2020 initiatives, we have
established workgroups to coordinate and monitor equipage for part 121,
135 and General Aviation aircraft, and educated the community on ADS-B
Out and addressed issues with installation and approval.
Question 12. Is the Department open to looking at new models of
governance structure to improve the delivery of NextGen benefits?
Answer. There has been an on-going conversation regarding
alternative models for FAA governance among some aviation community
stakeholders and in Congress. The Secretary and the Administrator have
expressed openness to taking part in these conversations. However, any
alternative model should provide not only for the improved delivery of
NextGen benefits but also ensure that any governance changes solve the
challenges FAA faces. Any movement away from the present model needs to
ensure continued direct accountability to users of the National
Airspace System (NAS) and be mindful of the linkage and integration of
safety, NextGen, airport infrastructure, and other functions. Proposed
solutions will need to make certain that we make improvements in all
aspects of FAA's mission and that any change does not set us back in
the progress that we have made.
Federal Records Act
The Federal Records Act (FRA) requires Federal employees to
preserve all records, including e-mails, documenting official
government business. The National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) further clarified this requirement in 1995 by adopting
regulations specifically requiring the preservation of official e-mails
created on non-official accounts. The cornerstone of transparency, this
clear and unambiguous requirement ensures that complete and accurate
documentation of the business of Federal departments and agencies is
available for congressional inquiries, Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) requests, litigation, and historical research. Given reports
about deficiencies in FRA compliance at several departments and
agencies, please answer the following questions:
Question 13. Do you use an official government e-mail account for
official business?
Answer. Yes.
Question 14. Do you or any other senior Department officials use an
alternate, alias, or other official account (apart from your primary
official account) for official business?
Answer. Yes.
Question 15. If so, is the Department's Chief FOIA Officer aware of
this practice?
Answer. Select officials within the Department use e-mail accounts
that do not follow the standard e-mail naming convention of
[email protected], however all such accounts are maintained on
authorized DOT e-mail systems. For example, I have two official
accounts [email protected] and a separate e-mail account, also
maintained on the DOT e-mail servers. In addition, program offices may
also use a program specific e-mail address; the FOIA Office uses
[email protected]; the use of such addresses supports operational
effectiveness and efficiency. The Department searches all such
accounts, including a second DOT account for a select official or a
program office DOT account whenever they may include records responsive
to a FOIA request.
Question 16. Have you ever used a non-official e-mail account for
official business? If yes, please explain your purpose and
justification for this practice.
Answer. No.
Question 17. Are you aware of any other Department or
Administration officials who use or have used non-official e-mail
accounts for official business?
Answer. No.
Question 18. What steps have you taken to ensure the preservation
of all Federal records, including e-mails, at the Department in
accordance with the FRA?
Answer. In 2012, the Departmental Records Management Office (DRMO)
initiated a Department wide records management inventory, requiring all
Operating Administrations (OAs) to identify their Federal records and
associated records schedules. The OAs have completed their inventories
and the DRMO is working with OA records offices and NARA to schedule
permanent and temporary unscheduled records. The Department uses a mix
of technologies to assist in the management of permanent records.
Depending on the business needs and electronic information system(s)
supporting a given program, records are managed in place, stored in an
Electronic Records Management System (ERMS), or printed and filed.
DOT permanent electronic records are generally housed in their
individual electronic management systems and are maintained according
to their disposition schedule until transferred to NARA. The DRMO is
also in the process of creating a unified guided approach for all OAs
to meet the OMB Directive goal requiring all Federal agencies to manage
all permanent electronic records in an electronic format by December
31, 2019. Under the DRMO's leadership, a DOT-wide strategic approach
for managing implementation of the Directive has been established. This
approach allows each OA to make electronic records management plans
based on business needs, resource availability, and best practices.
Each OA is required to develop its strategic and tactical approaches in
accordance with the DRMO's established minimum specifications and
provide the plans to the DRMO for on-going oversight and compliance.
The DRMO will identify and work to resolve common issues through
evaluation and research of best practices and lessons learned through
participating in inter-agency collaboration groups including the
Federal Records Officers Network (FRON), the Bi-monthly Records and
Information Discussion Group (BRIDG), Capstone working group meetings,
and Senior Agency Official meetings.
Question 19. Has the Department adopted the Capstone approach to
managing e-mail, outlined in the September 14, 2014 memorandum to the
heads of Federal departments and agencies from the Office of Management
and Budget and NARA?
Answer. The Department has adopted in principle the Capstone
approach and is working to address the technical and operational
requirements necessary to support its implementation. The DRMO, with
the support of the Associate CIO for IT Shared Services, OA records
management staff, the OGC, and other stakeholders is working to
finalize the policy framework for the DOT's implementation of the NARA-
approved Capstone approach for persona-based e-mail retention that
meets the Department's business needs and records management
requirements. The DOT continues to evaluate cloud-based e-mail
solutions and fully anticipates that all DOT e-mail systems will meet
the Directive goal of managing both permanent and temporary e-mail
records in an accessible electronic format by December 31, 2016.
Question 20. Have any Department employees using non-official e-
mail accounts to conduct official business forwarded the e-mails to
their official accounts within 20 days as required by law?
Answer. The Department is not aware of any employee using non-
official e-mail accounts to conduct official business. The Department's
Records Management 101 (RM 101) training currently includes language
reminding employees to not use a personal e-mail account for work. In
FY 2015, the RM101 training will be updated to reflect the new changes
in the Federal Records Act requiring any individual who must, for
unforeseen circumstances, use a non-DOT e-mail for official purposes to
copy their official e-mail so that the record may be appropriately
preserved.
Question 21. What policies and procedures does the Department have
in place to ensure that all employees comply with their FRA
obligations?
Answer. The Departmental CIO has issued CIO Policy (CIOP) DOT Order
1351.28 Records Management which establishes the policy, and roles and
responsibilities for records management review within the Department.
The policy is currently under formal review and an updated version will
be issued by the end of the Fiscal Year. The designated Records Officer
for each OA has either been certified or granted a certification
exception based on records management experience by NARA. These OA
Records Officers are supported by a community of Records Liaisons who
work directly with records custodians to ensure that all FRA
obligations are addressed.
Question 22. When was the most recent FRA training session offered
to Department employees, including Senate-confirmed individuals?
Answer. Effective November 11, 2013, the SAO RM required that all
DOT employees complete the OCIO developed RM 101 course. The training
aims to educate all staff about records and their records management
responsibilities. All Federal staff were required to complete the
training within 90 days of the requirement being established and every
two years afterwards. Staff that had previously completed RM 101 were
not required to retake the training until two years after they last
completed RM 101. To date, 97 percent of non-FAA DOT employees and 94
percent of FAA employees have completed the RM101 course. As noted
above, the DRMO plans to evaluate and update RM 101 as appropriate
during FY15 as well as develop additional role based training for
specialized communities such as political appointees, records
custodians, and project managers.
Question 23. Is any senior Department employee aware of any
unlawful or accidental removal, alteration, or destruction of
electronic Federal records in the Department's custody or control,
including e-mails? If so, has the Department reported these incidents
to NARA? Please provide details of any such incidents, including the
dates, number and type of records, and custodians involved, as well as
any reports, including dates, made to NARA.
Answer. No.
Question 24. Are you or any Department official aware of any
Department employee's use of a private or independent e-mail server to
conduct official business?
Answer. No.
Question 25. If yes, who approved its use?
Answer. N/A
Question 26. What was the rationale or justification for its use?
Answer. N/A
Question 27. Has the Department received any inquiries from
employees about the permissibility of using a private or independent e-
mail server to conduct official business? If yes, who made the inquiry
and what was the response?
Answer. No.
Vehicle Safety
Question 28. Vehicle safety has been a long-standing priority of
mine and, as you know, alcohol impaired driving kills many thousands of
individuals on the road each year. While some success has been seen
with implementing the use of breath alcohol ignition interlock devices
(BAIID), there is some evidence that many of those individuals required
to install a BAIID in their vehicle do not install them. Do you believe
the compliance rates for installing BAIIDs have been well established?
Answer. Alcohol ignition interlock use has grown substantially over
the past nine years resulting in a significant increase from about
100,000 in 2006 to over 300,000 in 2014. However, it is difficult to
establish compliance rates, which vary widely among states. NHTSA is
working with states to improve tracking and recording of compliance
with installation orders by offenders. We believe that once State
ignition interlock programs mature the compliance rate for installing
BAIIDs can be established.
Question 29. In your view, are the compliance rates for installing
BAIIDs acceptable and indicative of success?
Answer. There is strong evidence that, while installed, interlocks
reduce recidivism among both first-time and repeat offenders 50 to 90
percent. Offender compliance with orders to install a BAIID is critical
to the success of State programs. Compliance rates for installing
BAIIDs are increasing in some states, and we expect other states to
increase compliance rates as their programs mature. Through increased
support for State ignition interlock programs at the State and Federal
level, it is expected that compliance rates for installing BAIIDs will
continue to increase.
Question 30. Relatedly, have the performance measures and
benchmarks for BAIID been met?
Answer. There are no performance measures and benchmarks for
BAIIDs.
Question 31. The 24/7 Sobriety Program is a drug and alcohol
monitoring program that was created in my home state of South Dakota
and has since been adopted in some form by North Dakota, Montana,
Idaho, Washington, Alaska, Wyoming, Florida, Nebraska, and Iowa. NHTSA-
funded studies based on the South Dakota 24/7 program data have
indicated that participants who have been on the 24/7 Sobriety Program
have substantially reduced recidivism rates for one, two, three, and
four years from arrest. Congress has made clear that 24/7 is a program
worthy of Federal support, and my state of South Dakota is pleased with
the results of our
24/7 program. What changes could be made to Federal statutes to further
encourage the use of this promising approach to addressing drunk
driving and alcohol abuse?
Answer. NHTSA is aware of evaluations of intensive supervision
programs, such as the 24/7 Sobriety Program, that show such programs to
be effective in reducing DWI recidivism. In the GROW AMERICA Act, the
Administration proposes to increase State flexibility with regard to
eligibility for an alcohol-ignition interlock law grant by allowing the
substitution of 24/7 intensive supervision programs for ignition
interlock use under certain circumstances. Under the proposal, a State
would be eligible for an ignition interlock grant even if its all-
offender interlock law contained an exemption for employer-owned
vehicles, provided that the state required such offenders to
participate in a 24/7 intensive supervision program. Similarly, a State
would also be eligible for an ignition interlock grant even if its all-
offender interlock law contained an exemption for rural residents,
provided that such offenders live more than one hundred miles from an
interlock service provider and they participate in a 24/7 intensive
supervision program. These changes would provide states with additional
tools to help combat drunk driving.
Question 32. Drugged driving is a growing problem in our country.
How is NHTSA working to understand this problem and should Federal
grants and penalties for drugged driving be treated similarly to those
for driving under the influence of alcohol?
Answer. NHTSA has conducted two important roadside surveys to
provide information on the presence of drugs in the driving population.
These surveys, which are anonymous and voluntary, are the only source
of statistically reliable information on the extent of drugged driving
in the United States. The 2007 National Roadside Survey (NRS) indicated
that 16.3 percent of weekend nighttime drivers had drugs in their
systems. The 2013-14 NRS indicated this figure has increased to 20
percent. These surveys provide important data about the presence of
drugs in the driving population, but do not measure impairment levels.
These roadside surveys are the only source of this critical safety
information. Unfortunately, NHTSA is currently prohibited from
conducting future roadside surveys under the ``Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015.''
NHTSA considers driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) as part
of the larger impaired driving threat facing this country. State data
on fatalities indicate that one third of total fatalities (10,076 in
2013) were the result of alcohol impairment. Less is known concerning
the level of involvement of drugs in impaired driving, and more
research is required to understand the issues and preventive
strategies. That is why the President's Fiscal Year 2016 budget
requests an additional $10 million to study the magnitude of drug
impaired driving.
States may currently use Section 402 and most of Section 405(d)
Impaired Driving grants for both alcohol and drug impaired driving
countermeasures. The Administration's GROW AMERICA Act would continue
to allow states this flexibility.
Surface Transportation & Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and
Security
Question 33. The freight map developed by the Department of
Transportation (DOT) has limited connectivity in rural states like
South Dakota. With just one mile of the ``DOT freight network,'' but
hundreds of miles of multimodal freight routes, I am concerned that
DOT's map fails to account for the realities of how goods move in rural
areas. Can you provide additional information about DOTs freight
planning, and how rural freight corridors should be addressed?
Answer. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-
21) directed the Secretary to establish a National Freight Network
(NFN) to assist states in strategically directing resources toward
improved system performance for efficient movement of freight on
highways. By statute, the NFN is comprised of three network components:
the primary freight network (PFN), the portions of the Interstate
System not designated as part of the PFN, and Critical Rural Freight
Corridors.
The freight map you describe is the initial draft designation of
the highway PFN portion of the NFN. Under MAP-21, this draft highway
PFN would eventually be supplemented by the Critical Rural Freight
Corridors designated by states, and cover important rural freight
routes. A final initial designation of the highway PFN will be released
this year. However, consistent with public comments, the Department
recognizes that MAP-21's mileage-constrained, highway-only PFN is an
incomplete representation of the system that is required to move
freight in the United States. The Department is supportive of a more
comprehensive approach to freight under the NFN.
The Department, as part of the GROW AMERICA surface transportation
authorization proposal, has proposed the establishment of a multimodal
national freight network. This network would not have a mileage cap and
could include connectors, corridors, and facilities in all freight
transportation modes as most critical to the current and future
movement of freight within the national freight system. The input of
local and State transportation planners will be necessary to fill in
data gaps and improve the accurate representation of goods movement in
the Nation.
Additionally, to support national and regional planning, the
Department will be releasing the National Freight Strategic Plan, and
continues to encourage states to develop freight plans. The Department
believes that freight planning is best accomplished at the local and
State level, including at a multistate regional level, in freight
advisory committees, with the active participation of the suppliers,
shippers, and receivers, as well as all stakeholders impacted by
freight movement. Rural and urban goods movement is best understood by
those parties and can inform State freight plans to prioritize
investment and help advance local, State, and national freight goals.
Question 34. On February 11, Senator Inhofe, the Chairman of the
Committee on Environment and Public Works, and I wrote a letter
requesting an update on the timeline for the Comprehensive Truck Size
and Weight Study that was mandated for delivery in November of 2014. We
have not yet received a response to our letter, and the report has not
yet been issued. Congress passed MAP-21, which required this study,
more than 32 months ago. I look forward to your response to our letter,
and the release of the report. Please provide an updated timeline for
the completion and release of the report for the record.
Answer. The Department is analyzing carefully the results and
making sure that the information contained in the study is factual and
clearly communicated. The Department recognizes the importance of this
study, and we are working diligently to complete our review. As soon as
our review is completed, we will prepare the draft technical reports
for release to the independent peer review panel and the public.
The Department is also making revisions to the study's desk scans,
as recommended by the initial report from the Transportation Research
Board Peer Review Panel. Once we release the technical reports, we will
launch the second phase of the Peer Review. At that time, we will also
schedule the final Public Input Session. When these steps are
completed, we will deliver to you the final Report to Congress.
Question 35. In late 2013 or early 2014, the DOT undertook testing
of braking distance of 5 and 6 axle trucks at various weights. I
understand that the testing has been finished for some time. Please
provide the Committee with the results of this testing, and indicate
whether the results will be included in the Comprehensive Truck Size
and Weight Study.
Answer. The testing on the 5-axle tractor-semitrailer combination
was performed in 2012. A final report for that testing has been
completed, ``Heavy and Overweight Vehicle Brake Testing: Combination
Five-Axle Tractor-Flatbed Final Report'' http://www-cta.ornl.gov/cta/
CMVRTC/past-research/HOVBT.html. A copy of the Final Report can also be
accessed via the link.
The testing on the 6-axle tractor-semitrailer combination was
performed in 2013 and 2014. The final report for that testing is
currently undergoing final review, but has not been published yet. My
hope is that we are able to get it done soon, but I don't have a more
specific timeline.
The Federal Highway Administration is the lead for the MAP-21
Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study. The brake testing results
will be provided in that study. The following link provides the Project
Milestones and schedule: http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/sw/
map21tswstudy/milestones_schedule.htm.
Question 36. I understand the Maritime Administration (MARAD)
commissioned a report last fall to study the use of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) as a fuel in the maritime sector, specifically looking at
existing LNG bunkering infrastructure, safety, regulations, and
training. The report also included recommendations to accelerate the
adoption of LNG fuel. Can you please provide a status update on the
agency's progress on implementing these recommendations?
Answer. The study referenced was performed by DNV GL, a
classification society that has many years of experience with design
and application of LNG vessels. The study was not designed to provide
MARAD with implementing recommendations but was developed to address
several issues related to the use of LNG as a propulsion fuel. The
report makes a number of recommendations geared towards industry that
wants to use LNG as a fuel and regulatory agencies considering the
development of standards. For example, the report details bunkering
methods and port facility locations, provides best management
practices, and identifies regulatory gaps. Since the report was
completed in September 2014, additional guidance has been issued by the
U.S. Coast Guard regarding safety and training for bunkering
operations.
MARAD continues to work with both industry and the regulatory
agencies to address continued challenges regarding LNG infrastructure
and financing. In late 2014, MARAD initiated follow-up research aimed
at identifying locations along the Great Lakes and Inland Waterway
System where LNG infrastructure could serve multi-modal and multi-use
operations in an effort to determine volume requirements and
infrastructure barriers.
Question 37. In October 2014, MARAD awarded a ship recycling sales
contract to one of its pre-qualified companies that bid $420,000 less
than another pre-qualified company. The winning company, however, is
reportedly shut down currently, with at least four MARAD ships in
various stages of dismantlement in its yard. What is the current status
of these vessels?
Answer. The company in question currently has two former MARAD
vessels under dismantlement. Unfortunately, this long-standing recycler
declared bankruptcy on March 7, 2015 and, for the present, has stopped
work. We are working with the Department of Justice and the U.S. Navy
to ensure the Federal Government's interests are protected during the
bankruptcy court proceedings and will continue monitoring the situation
to assess whether there will be any impact to the completion schedule
for these two vessels.
Question 38. Was MARAD aware that the company that was awarded the
contract was in financial distress at the time?
Answer. No. The buyer provided payment in full of more than $3.5
million for both vessels and provided a performance bond before the
title to the vessels was transferred to them. This company is one the
largest domestic recycling facilities dismantling Federal Government
vessels and has successfully recycled 69 obsolete MARAD vessels, the
most in the program's history. The company has also successfully
recycled numerous vessels for the U.S. Navy.
Question 39. Please explain how MARAD determines best value to the
Federal Government.
Answer. Current law, set forth in Section 3502 of P.L. 106-398,
requires MARAD to award vessel dismantlement and recycling contracts
based on a ``best value'' determination consistent with the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Best value as described in Section 3502
(b) includes consideration of the least cost to the Government, the
timeliness of performance, worker safety and the environment. The best
value process used by MARAD is in compliance with the FAR. In 2009, the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed and upheld MARAD's best
value process and confirmed, in a 2014 review, that MARAD's best value
process is consistent with the FAR. The February 2014 GAO report on the
Ship Disposal Program may be found at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/
660899.pdf
When determining best value, MARAD considers price and non-price
factors of performance schedule, facility capacity and past performance
in addition to price when awarding contracts. For example, the benefit
of removing and recycling a vessel in a timely manner may outweigh the
benefit of a higher sales offer, if the facility making the higher
offer cannot dispose of the vessel as quickly. An expedited disposal
lessens the risk of possible harm to the environment and the
corresponding costs of cleanup. To ensure transparency in the process,
MARAD revised its ship recycling solicitation in 2013 to better explain
the ``best value'' process and has held industry outreach sessions to
explain the solicitation, including the process of review. In addition,
MARAD posts all awarded contracts, which includes the awarded price and
schedule of performance, on its website. All offerors can compare their
offers to the awarded offer. MARAD also offers individual debriefings
to any offeror who requests it to discuss their offer and the best
value decision.
In order to ensure a level playing field, and transparent and open
competition, the best value process requires that every offer comply
with the published terms of the solicitation.
With respect to the sales contract in question for the ex-
YELLOWSTONE, MARAD could not consider the $420,000 higher sales offer.
The higher offer was eliminated from consideration because it was a
contingent offer and, therefore, not eligible for award. The
solicitation required the awardee to remove the vessel from the MARAD
fleet within 30 days and the higher offer was contingent on an
additional 90-day delay in removing the vessel. If MARAD had awarded a
contract based upon a contingent offer that did not comply with the
requirements of the solicitation, the integrity of the vessel sales
process would have been compromised. The 30-day removal provision is a
long-standing term of MARAD's solicitations. The ability to begin
performance in a timely manner is consistent with the published best
value award guidelines and consistent with statutory language directing
expeditious dismantling of vessels.
Question 40. When does MARAD anticipate completing the national
maritime strategy required by the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Act of 2014? Will it include ship recycling?
Answer. Following an extensive, deliberate and transparent public
engagement effort to gain input, we plan to have the national maritime
strategy open for public comment this summer. We look forward to
Congress' input and recommendations as we then begin work on an
implementation plan for the strategy. The strategy will focus on
actions needed to ensure our Nation's critical maritime industries
remain relevant and viable in meeting our economic and national
security requirements long into the future.
Question 41. As you know, DOT has issued a proposed rule calling
for a new tank car design and operational requirements for any train
carrying 20 or more cars of ethanol, crude oil, or other flammable
materials. DOT has estimated that the rule would cost as much as $5.2
billion, with nearly all of the costs incurred by industry in the first
five years.
DOT must take a thoughtful approach to improving the safety of
crude oil transportation by rail. DOT should promulgate the necessary
and appropriate standards to increase the puncture resistance and
thermal protection of legacy DOT-111 tank cars in crude oil service,
but it must avoid regulatory overreach that introduces unintended
consequences, network delays, and new safety risks. In that light,
please reply to the following:
Retrofit Deadline: In the proposed tank car rule, DOT did not
examine retrofit shop capacity; it only looked at new tank car
manufacturing capacity and did not account for existing new car orders
for flammable liquids and other commodities. The result was a deadline
for retrofits and replacements that appears unattainable. For the final
rule, what steps is DOT taking to examine tank car retrofit shop
capacity and to set a more attainable deadline that avoids disrupting
our rail network and creating congestion?
Answer. The Department received over 3,200 comments representing
over 182,000 signatories in response to the August 1, 2014 proposed
rule, ``Enhanced Tank Car Standards and Operational Controls for High-
Hazard Flammable Trains.'' We have carefully considered these comments
in the development of our final rulemaking action. On February 5, 2015,
PHMSA submitted the draft final rule to the Office of Management and
Budget for interagency review under EO 12866 and EO 13563, which is the
final stage of review before publication.
I can't comment on the specifics of the final rule, but the
Department received substantial feedback on the retrofit timeline in
response to the proposed rule, and I assure you we have taken that
feedback seriously in the development of the final rule.
Question 42. ECP brakes: Former PHMSA Administrator Quarterman said
that Electronically-controlled pneumatic, or ECP, brakes ``in the long
run . . . will more than pay for themselves,'' but most ECP brake pilot
programs have been shut down due to insufficient safety and business
benefits. The DOT proposed rule relies on an outdated study (from 2006)
to assess ECP brakes, and since that time industry has increasingly
used other technologies like dynamic braking and distributed power,
capturing additional safety and business benefits. To what extent does
the insufficient benefit seen in ECP brake pilot programs, and the
increased use of other braking technologies, affect the assessment
about whether ECP brakes pay for themselves?
Answer. The Department received a great deal of feedback on ECP
brakes following the proposed rule, including the claims made here
regarding increased use of dynamic braking. We are considering all
information in development of the final rule.
Question 43. Scope: DOT treated a carload of ethanol as having the
same risk as a carload of crude oil, despite the fact that other DOT
regulations classify ethanol as having a lower flammability and
volatility risk than most types of crude oil that travel by rail.
Ethanol and crude oil carloads also differ in route distance and clean-
up costs. In your view, to what extent does a typical carload of
ethanol have the same risk as a typical carload of crude oil?
Answer. Ethanol is a flammable liquid, and we have seen many
destructive derailments involving ethanol fires, such as at Dubuque,
Iowa, on February 4, 2015. Again, while I cannot speak to the
particular provisions of the final rule, I assure you the Department
takes very seriously the risks involved with rail transport of ethanol.
Exploring and monetizing these risks is a component of the deliberative
regulatory process.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Jerry Moran to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Federal I.T. Reform
Question 1. Describe the role of your Department of
Transportation's Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the development and
oversight of the IT budget for your department/agency. How is the CIO
involved in the decision to make an IT investment, determine its scope,
oversee its contract, and oversee continued operation and maintenance?
Answer. The DOT Office of the CIO currently participates on three
boards involving IT investments. First, the DOT CIO co-chairs the
Department's Investment Review Board (IRB) with the Deputy Secretary.
This board is responsible for the approval of the DOT $3.2 billion IT
Portfolio. The Deputy Chief Information Officer is also a voting member
of the Investment Working Group to support enterprise investment
management. In addition, the Deputy Chief Information Officer chairs
the Acquisition Strategy Review Board (ASRB) with the Senior
Procurement Executive and the Deputy Chief Financial Officer to ensure
Departmental review of significant procurements.
Over the past three months, the DOT CIO has been working closely
with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Departmental Budget
Officer to ready our Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform
Act (FITARA) implementation plan. The budget authority in FITARA will
strengthen the DOT budget process relating to IT.
Question 2. Describe the existing authorities, organizational
structure, and reporting relationship of the Chief Information Officer.
Note and explain any variance from that prescribed in the newly-enacted
Federal Information Technology and Acquisition Reform Act of 2014
(FITARA, PL 113-291) for the above.
Answer. The DOT CIO reports to the Secretary of Transportation and
is the principle advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to
IT. The DOT CIO sits on the Secretary's cabinet and is involved in all
business decisions. The DOT CIO coordinates Departmental IT through the
Investment Review Board (IRB) and the DOT CIO Council. The DOT CIO also
manages enterprise IT shared services via the Common Operating
Environment (COE).
With regards to FITARA, the DOT CIO will take a more operational
role in the execution of Operating Administration IT budgets and
acquisition through the implementation of these authorities. DOT will
implement CIO authorities throughout DOT, and in close coordination
with the Office of General Counsel, FITARA will be implemented at FAA
consistent with the restrictions and authorities contained in 49 U.S.C.
106, 40110, 40121.
Question 3. What formal or informal mechanisms exist in your
department to ensure coordination and alignment within the CXO
community (i.e., the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Acquisition
Officer, the Chief Finance Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer,
and so on)?
Answer. In addition to consistent informal coordination and
collaboration across the DOT CXO community, DOT has formed the
following formal bodies:
The DOT Investment Review Board (IRB) consists of the Deputy
Secretary of Transportation, DOT Chief Information Officer
(CIO), DOT Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Senior Procurement
Executive (SPE), Under Secretary for Policy, and Operating
Administrators as voting members. The board ensures data-
driven, enterprise-focused IT governance across the Department
by providing strategic direction and leadership for budget and
acquisition alignment.
The CIO Council ensures that the Department realizes optimal
value from its IT investments, by taking advantage of
enterprise IT systems and infrastructure opportunities and
delivering capabilities at an affordable cost and acceptable
level of risk. CIOs from across the Department participate on
this council.
The Investment Working Group provides overarching strategic
and tactical leadership and direction in support of the DOT
investment management and capital planning process. The DOT
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs, DOT Deputy
CIO, DOT SPE and the Director of the Departmental Office of HR
Management are voting members.
The Acquisition Strategy Review Board (ASRB) is chaired by
the DOT SPE, DOT Deputy CFO, and the Deputy CIO and ensures
coordination across the Department on strategic acquisition
decisions.
DOT believes, and it has been the experience to-date, that
implementing FITARA will to strengthen the already close relationship
between the CIO, CFO, CAO, and CHCO. This strengthening will greatly
benefit the Department as DOT moves through IT challenges and issues.
Question 4. According to the Office of Personnel Management, 46
percent of the more than 80,000 Federal IT workers are 50 years of age
or older, and more than 10 percent are 60 or older. Just four percent
of the Federal IT workforce is under 30 years of age. Does your
department have such demographic imbalances? How is it addressing them?
Answer. DOT's IT force is comparably imbalanced with a slightly
larger percentage, 55.5 percent, of IT employees over age 50.
To promote efficiency and effectiveness of the Information
Technology (IT) Workforce, the DOT Chief Information Officer (CIO) is
leading an effort to analyze and evaluate the current alignment of
resources supporting the Department's IT efforts. Based on this review,
the Office of the DOT CIO proposed a multi-year IT workforce initiative
to reduce reliance on contractors and concomitantly increase the number
of Federal positions. The realignment will provide two main benefits.
First, DOT will realize cost savings and efficiencies due to higher
contractor costs as compared to the full-cost of Federal employees.
Second, DOT will realign Federal and contractor roles to improve
efficiency, develop succession capability, and improve demographic
imbalances. Many IT functions currently performed by contractors should
be performed by government employees.
Question 5. How much of the department's budget goes to
Demonstration, Modernization, and Enhancement of IT systems as opposed
to supporting existing and ongoing programs and infrastructure? How has
this changed in the last five years?
Answer. In 2015, the Department's IT portfolio will total $3.3
billion. Of this amount, $1.61 billion is expected to be committed to
Development, Modernization and Enhancement efforts (DME), which equates
to approximately 50 percent of the DOT IT budget. Over the past five
years, the DME spend has shown a modest decline from approximately 56
percent to the current 50 percent of the DOT IT budget primarily due to
major investments, for example, ERAM and Delphi transitioning to the
operations and sustainment lifecycle phase.
Question 6. GAO recently reported that 65 percent of DOT's IT
investments are not taking an ``agile'' or incremental development
approach and delivering functionality within 12 months. Clearly this is
a best practice and required by OMB. What are the 10 highest priority
IT investment projects that are under development in your department?
Of these, which ones are being developed using an ``agile'' or
incremental approach, such as delivering working functionality in
smaller increments and completing initial deployment to end-users in
short, six-month time frames?
Answer. DOT recognizes the importance of moving to an agile
development methodology where it is appropriate. FAA investments
accounted for 87 percent of the DOT IT portfolio, and the requirements
for developing and maintaining 24/7 operational mission essential and
safety critical systems are very stringent and not necessarily
candidates for agile development. GAO 14-361 (3112890) GAO also
concurred on this assessment. Examples of these safety critical
investments, which require reliability, availability and
maintainability standards at or above 99.9999 percent, include:
i. En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM)
ii. Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI)
iii. Data Communications (DataComm)
iv. Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) phase 1
v. Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) phase 3
While these systems may not follow strict ``agile development''
guidelines, they do follow waterfall national deployment schedules that
are built around minimizing deployment risks.
As part of the GAO report analysis, DOT and other surveyed agencies
identified ``three types of investments for which it may not always be
practical or necessary to expect functionality to be delivered in 6-
month cycles: (1) investments in life-cycle phases other than
acquisition (2) investments intended to develop IT infrastructure; and
(3) research and development investments.'' \1\ As part of the final
report, GAO did acknowledge the merit of these concerns.
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\1\ http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662922.pdf
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When appropriate, DOT has leveraged the agile development
methodology with success:
vi. FHWA is leveraging incremental development where appropriate for
the FMIS 5 upgrade. FHWA has employed a modular approach for
development and delivery to the FHWA Division Offices and State
DOTs into the User Acceptance Testing environment, with the
first set of modules delivered in April 2014 and the last
modules being delivered through March 2015. FHWA determined
that it would be too cost prohibitive and time intensive to
roll out the FMIS 5 upgrade incrementally in the Production
environment due to impacts to the three FHWA systems that are
being modernized, as well as the external systems that FMIS 5
interfaces with, including DOT Delphi accounting system and the
State DOTs' systems. This approach was discussed with OMB
during a project review in July 2014.
vii. FRA supports the DOT safety mission through management of the
Railroad Safety Information System (RSIS) to provide government
agencies, railroad labor and management, and the general public
with information on railroad safety. The system captures data
on railroad accidents, injuries, highway-rail crossing
collisions, railroad operation data, FRA-conducted railroad
inspections, and maintenance of the highway-rail crossing site
inventory. FRA's current contract to manage RSIS is nearing
completion and is expected to be re-competed. System
requirements are in development and it is anticipated that
development work within that contract will be required to use
the agile methodology. Agile is one of the recommendations
expected out of FRA's current IT and Data Modernization
initiative.
viii. Web and mobile development across the Department has moved to
the agile methodology. For example, FRA used the agile
methodology to develop data visualization suite, Corporate
Express, which was transitioned to the Department in 2014. In
addition, the Departmental DOT.gov platform was deployed
utilizing agile development, as are improvements to the
platform.
ix. The NHTSA306 Crash Data Acquisition Network (CDAN) is a new
system that supports NHTSA's Data Modernization Program. Agile
stories are categorized, prioritized and packaged for sprint
releases. NHTSA has developed the ``PowerCenter'' tool to
support the agile methodology.
x. NHTSA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Management Suite
is an IT solution to support NHTSA's rulemaking and enforcement
for this program. CAFE is utilizing the agile methodology for
development and implementation. A sprint release has been
developed and is tracked for CAFE Public Information Center
deployment.
Implementing a DOT Digital Services Team will result in more
effective and reliable service through the development of forward
thinking agile applications.
Question 7. To ensure that steady state investments continue to
meet agency needs, OMB has a longstanding policy for agencies to
annually review, evaluate, and report on their legacy IT infrastructure
through Operational Assessments. What Operational Assessments have you
conducted and what were the results?
Answer. The Common Operating Environment (COE) provides shared
services for many DOT users, consisting of end user support,
telecommunication, network, server and cyber security operations. The
COE recently completed an Operational Assessment to examine, measure,
and track the current operational status against an established set of
cost, schedule, and performance parameters. The Operational Assessment
concluded that the COE is providing a valuable service to its
customers. As part of the FITARA implementation, the DOT CIO will work
with Operating Administrations to fold commodity IT that is currently
managed at the component level into the COE to reduce duplication and
gain efficiency through an expanded enterprise shared services model.
FAA also has an approved shared services model that leverages
access to centralized expertise and infrastructure and enables the
economies-of-scale within each IT function.
Question 8. What are the 10 oldest IT systems or infrastructures in
your department? How old are they? Would it be cost-effective to
replace them with newer IT investments?
Answer.
i. The National Transportation Atlas (NTA) is a web mapping
application that presents transportation networks, features and
statistics about our Nation's transportation system. The NTA
has not been widely advertised, because it is running on 10
year old hardware with an operating system and application that
is nearing end-of-support-life. The NTA is moving to a cloud
platform that will support expanded data storage and computing
capacity, and additional functionality including web feature
services, and scaling.
ii. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics established TranStats
in 2001 as an intermodal transportation database. This database
was created in response to a Congressional mandate. TranStats
comprises the collection, processing and dissemination of
airline data such as finances, performance and traffic for
transportation statistical analysis and reporting functions.
Initially TranStats focused on delivery of data from the
Airline Reporting Data Information System and but functionality
was extended in 2010 to include online data collection from all
airlines. The system is undergoing a thorough planning and
alternative analysis for modernization and consolidation of its
architecture. The modernization is expected to be complete by
the end of Fiscal Year 2017.
iii. As part of the Common Operating Environment (COE), the DOT
CIO's office currently provides a telecommunication system for
DOT employees. The existing system was purchased in FY 2007
when DOT relocated into the Navy Yard headquarters building.
The legacy system does not provide modern features and is not
scalable based on the changing telecommunications needs of the
DOT workforce. A COE Communications Workgroup, consisting of
representatives from across the Department, has been formed to
examine current requirements and conduct market research as
part of a recommended approach to modernize the legacy
telephone system.
iv. The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) is
decommissioning its 30-year-old in-house financial management
system as of 2014 and migrating to the Department of Interior's
Federal Shared Service Provider (FSSP) solution. It is expected
that the new system will be operational in late FY 2015.
v. While FHWA has operated systems for up to 25 years,
infrastructure is replaced and upgraded as needed. FHWA
regularly evaluates IT investments via the Application
Portfolio Rationalization (APR) process, with the most recent
report approved in February 2015.
vi. The Hazardous Materials Information System (HMIS) has been an
integral tool used PHMSA's Office of Hazmat Safety for daily
activities since the 1970s. Over the years, it has been
modified and updated as business needs and technologies have
evolved. Currently, the technology and processes used by HMIS
have become outdated and costly to maintain. PHMSA is in the
process of modernizing the functions performed by HMIS under
its IT modernization effort. The old system is expected to
sunset in 2018. These modernized functions will provide process
improvement efficiencies, as well as cost savings.
vii. The NHTSA Grants Tracking System (GTS) was initiated in 2000
and is slated to be replaced with the Grants Management
Solution (GMSS) in 2025. GMSS is a modernization initiative
that will automate the full grants management life cycle and
enhance financial tracking.
viii. The NHTSA Artemis system was in initiated in 2002 and consists
of complaints from vehicle owners, early warning reporting data
submitted by manufacturers, and recall and investigation
information. Modernization of this system is necessary to
adjust a high volume analysis of data. It is slated to end in
2024.
ix. The Transit Electronic Award Management System (TEAM) is FTA's
primary grants management tool. TEAM runs on an older
infrastructure that is at the end of its technical and
functional life. As a result, FTA is replacing TEAM using a
modern architectural solution which will modernize IT
capabilities across the component, with a focus on grant
management support. The modernization will leverage a Business
Process Management (BPM) software platform, delivered as a
commercial Cloud service. TEAM is expected to be decommissioned
in 2016.
x. The FAA operates over 20 investments that are 10 years or
older. All investments are monitored and assessed annually for
technology refresh or replacement. Legacy systems in the
process of replacement include the Automated Radar Terminal
System (ARTS) and the Instrument Landing System (ILS).
Creating a Digital Services Team will allow DOT to review existing
applications and solutions and begin a holistic modernization to ensure
systems are functioning properly. The Digital Services Team will
provide the experts needed to fundamentally shift the approach of IT in
the Department to forward looking and agile solutions.
Question 9. How does your department's IT governance process allow
for your department to terminate or ``off ramp'' IT investments that
are critically over budget, over schedule, or failing to meet
performance goals? Similarly, how does your department's IT governance
process allow for your department/agency to replace or ``on-ramp'' new
solutions after terminating a failing IT investment?
Answer. Under the DOT IT governance model, investments are tracked
by Operating Administrations (OA) as well as the DOT OCIO Investment
Analysis Team (IAT). The IAT works with the OA Capital Planning and
Investment Control (CPIC) coordinators and other OA representatives to
conduct analytical reviews of IT investments. The IAT uses cost and
schedule baseline data, as well as performance metrics and risk
assessments provided by the OAs, to generate investment analysis. As
our process grows more robust, preliminary findings will be shared with
applicable OAs via Issue Papers to help resolve or clarify perceived
discrepancies prior to submission to the Investment Review Board (IRB)
supporting boards. As the DOT IT governance process continues to
mature, any unresolved issues will be presented to the IRB and
applicable supporting boards. With the implementation of FITARA, the
DOT CIO will continue to strengthen these reviews and recommendations.
In FY 2013, FAA began a cost-beneficial migration from their legacy
Lotus Notes e-mail system to Microsoft 365 in the cloud. As part of the
procurement, DOT initially anticipated a move from the on premise
Microsoft Exchange environment managed by the Common Operating
Environment (COE) to the Microsoft 365 cloud. DOT worked closely with
the FAA team throughout the FAA migration, and subsequently completed
an analysis to understand the potential benefits of the move. This
project was discontinued by the DOT CIO when it became clear that the
cost benefit analysis did not support the migration for the other DOT
modes. This decision was unanimously supported by the DOT CIO Council.
In accordance with the FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS), the
Joint Resources Council (JRC) is the FAA's investment decision making
body charged with the responsibility of approving and overseeing the
management of investments regardless of the type of funding
appropriation, allocating resources and establishing program offices
chartered with the responsibility of managing approved investments. The
JRC manages investments by conducting Acquisition Quarterly Program
Reviews and reviewing the results of Post Implementation Reviews. Based
on the data presented to the JRC during the aforementioned reviews, the
JRC may require changes to the investment strategy or the approved
program baseline.
Question 10. What IT projects has your department decommissioned in
the last year? What are your department's plans to decommission IT
projects this year?
Answer. Operating Administrations at DOT have had success
decommissioning legacy infrastructure in adoption of the Common
Operating Environment (COE) shared services solution. For example, the
Railroad Safety Information System (RSIS) was migrated from aging
servers hosted at a commercial data center into the DOT COE in a
modern, virtualized environment beginning in October, 2013. The
previous commercial hosting environment was decommissioned in January,
2014. Additionally, FTA is planning to decommission two older systems
after their replacements are deployed to the modernized FTA IT
platform. Both the National Transit Database (NTD) and Transit
Electronic Award Management System (TEAM) are scheduled to be
decommissioned beginning in Q1 FY 2016.
DOT has also seen success in the migration from duplicative
platforms into enterprise solutions. For example, the creation of a
Departmental web platform resulted in the migration and decommissioning
of legacy hardware for several modal websites. Modes have also had
success leveraging the Departmental SharePoint collaboration
environment. DOT is in the process of finalizing the decommissioning of
the 2007 internal SharePoint site. The 2010 internal SharePoint site
has replaced the legacy 2007 environment.
The Department of Transportation's Departmental Procurement
Platform (DP2) modernization initiative consolidates eight (8)
disparate Performance and Registration Information Systems Management
(PRISM) procurement systems onto a common platform that is integrated
with the Department's financial system, Delphi. In November 2014, NHTSA
and FRA migrated from their legacy PRISM systems to the integrated DP2
solution as part of Phase 1. Consolidation of the remaining PRISM
instances will be completed in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the DP2 program.
PHMSA has also demonstrated success reviewing existing requirements to
determine what investments should be decommissioned. For example, prior
to FY 2013, PHMSA managed over 90 physical mission system servers and
had the third largest data center foot print in DOT. In FY 2013, PHMSA
reduced the physical server footprint by 62 percent. DOT believes the
increased investment review authority under FITARA will give the
Department greater visibility into all IT projects. Decommissioning
based on consolidation into enterprise shared services will be a major
focus in the review of IT spending.
Question 11. The newly-enacted Federal Information Technology and
Acquisition Reform Act of 2014 (FITARA, PL 113-291) directs CIOs to
conduct annual reviews of their department's IT portfolio. Please
describe your department's efforts to identify and reduce wasteful,
low-value or duplicative information technology (IT) investments as
part of these portfolio reviews.
Answer. In 2013, DOT fundamentally revamped and reinvigorated the
Departmental Investment Review Board (IRB) based on a portfolio review
process. The IRB is the DOT's senior executive body charged with
ensuring that the Department's IT investments align with DOT's
strategic priorities, objectives, and OA operational missions. The DOT
CIO recently implemented Interim Investment Guidance to further develop
the investment process. The guidance centers on a data-driven,
portfolio-based approach that will allow for an expansive and thorough
look across the enterprise of DOT IT portfolios. This will allow the
Department to make evidence-based decisions on pre-selection,
selection, control, and evaluation of new and ongoing IT investments.
It will also enable the elimination of legacy systems that are no
longer required, enhance interoperability, eradicate redundancy, and
leverage enterprise opportunities.
Question 12. In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
issued a ``Cloud First'' policy that required agency Chief Information
Officers to implement a cloud-based service whenever there was a
secure, reliable, and cost-effective option. How many of the
department's IT investments are cloud-based services (Infrastructure as
a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, etc.)? What
percentage of the department's overall IT investments are cloud-based
services? How has this changed since 2011?
Answer. OCIO is developing a Cloud Strategy for the Department that
will include an integrated framework to promote an iterative and
incremental approach for moving to the cloud, an integrated governance
structure for acquisition and risk management, and cloud-specific,
well-aligned information security practices. The FAA is also working to
finalize an enterprise-wide contract vehicle for a commercially
outsourced cloud solution. This solution will be available to all of
DOT.
DOT has successfully leveraged the cloud to manage enterprise
systems. For example, the Department's Enterprise Notification System
(ENS) provides an enterprise-wide capability for notification in
emergency situations for DOT at headquarters and in modal field sites.
It has the capability for mass notification to alert groups of
employees, or locales, simultaneously. The ENS has the capability to
send a message via e-mail, cell phone, and landline phone. The platform
also allows users to respond to questions or inquiries from the system
to account for personnel during emergencies.
In addition, DOT has deployed an enterprise Content Management
System in the cloud to support web development across the Department.
The DOT.gov website was completely redesigned during the migration to
the cloud service and was deployed as the first cabinet-level website
built in responsive design, a feature that supports mobile users. DOT
has successfully migrated several legacy modal websites to the
enterprise cloud service in an effort to reduce the duplication of web
platforms.
Question 13. Provide short summaries of three recent IT program
successes--projects that were delivered on time, within budget, and
delivered the promised functionality and benefits to the end user. How
does your department/agency define ``success'' in IT program
management? What ``best practices'' have emerged and been adopted from
these recent IT program successes? What have proven to be the most
significant barriers encountered to more common or frequent IT program
successes?
Answer.
i. The Department of Transportation's Departmental Procurement
Platform (DP2) modernization initiative supports the
Organizational Excellence strategic goal by standardizing and
integrating procurement and financial processes and systems to
better meet the dynamic mission of the Department. DP2 recently
achieved the first major deployment milestone on time and
within budget. In November 2014, NHTSA and FRA migrated from
their legacy PRISM systems to the integrated DP2 solution. The
DP2 deployment schedule is divided into three distinct waves to
reduce program risk and allow for analysis of lessons learned.
Lessons learned from first Wave were analyzed to benefit the
Wave 2 (FY16) and Wave 3 (FY17) deployments.
ii. The Electronic National Environmental Policy Act System (eNEPA)
tool expedites the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
development process by facilitating concurrent Agency reviews,
allowing for quick, clear, and transparent issue resolution,
and promoting trust and consensus among project partners. The
results are efficient environmental reviews, improved results,
and reduced project development time and cost. FHWA delivered
this project in March 2014, ahead of schedule and under budget.
iii. The FAA Shared Services model is aligned with OMB's Shared
Services Concept, mapping the initial FAA IT Portfolio of
Services and supporting IT functions to the AOA Strategic
Initiatives. In FY 2013, the FAA IT Shared Services Office
(ITSSO) achieved an aggressive $36 million cost reduction in IT
spending. The FAA Office of Information & Technology (AIT) is
on course to achieve significant improvements in the
effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery, cost savings,
and rapid deployment of new services.
Question 14. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has an
estimated IT budget of $3.3 billion for FY 2015. FAA makes up almost 70
percent of DOT or $2.3 billion of this amount. Unfortunately, DOT has
gaps in its policies and processes for managing its software licenses.
According to industry averages, agencies that do not proactively
implement software license management and optimization best practices
are likely overspending on software by as much as 25 percent. The GAO
offered six recommendations to improve effective management of software
licenses. Has the Department of Transportation adopted any of these
recommendations? Please describe what efforts the Department of
Treasury has made to improve the software license management practices.
Answer. DOT regularly tracks and maintains a comprehensive
inventory of software licenses. In response to the GAO audit on
software licenses, DOT committed to develop an Information Technology
Shared Services (ITSS) Software License Management Plan. This plan will
describe software related roles, responsibilities and methodologies for
managing software licenses within the DOT. In addition, DOT identified
existing capabilities for software license management, including
automated tools.
Question 15. Every two years, the GAO releases its High Risk List
to call attention to agencies and program areas that are high risk due
to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or
are most in need of transformation. In February, GAO released its
latest high risk report and added IT acquisitions as an area that needs
better tracking and oversight. In this year's report, GAO specifically
identified the Department of Transportation Next Generation Air
Transportation System (NextGen) as a high risk project. The GAO
recommended NextGen receive significant management attention given its
complexity, delays, and cost of $15-22 billion. To improve cost
estimates and schedules for NextGen and other major air traffic control
acquisition programs, GAO recommended that FAA, among other things,
require cost and schedule risk analysis, independent cost estimates,
and integrated master schedules, which the agency is working to
implement. What improvements are being made to address GAO's concerns?
Answer. (A) One lesson learned in the early deployment of our
enroute automation modernization program was that testing of such a
complex system cannot be done strictly in a lab. Workforce engagement
is critical to success of any complex IT system. A system designed to
enhance the capability of safety personnel must be scrutinized and
wrung out during actual operations under carefully controlled
conditions.
To ensure such lessons and other best acquisition practices are
followed on all major programs, the FAA established the program
management organization. Further, the PMO resides in the air traffic
organization to ensure operational management ownership of any problems
that arise. The PMO tracks the programmatic risks each program carries
and the mitigation tactics associated with each one. As a result, the
FAA has established a robust process to elevate risk to ensure problems
and concerns associated with any NextGen program get the highest levels
of visibility so they can be properly managed.
By engaging collaboratively with labor, and reorganizing program
management to emphasize the professional discipline of cost, schedule
and technical risk management, the FAA has been able to maintain cost
and schedule variances of its ERAM program within acceptable limits
since its rebaselining in 2011. We are applying this lesson learned to
our current and future programs. From 2004-2014, the FAA's baselined
programs have had a combined net cost growth of only 1.6 percent and
schedule delay of 4.0 percent. In 2014 there was no net schedule delay
for these programs, and only a 1.2 percent cost growth.
(B) The FAA develops cost estimates for its programs through a 3
stage process. First, preliminary costs are developed by the NextGen
sponsoring office during its concept and requirements definition
process. Second, for programs that successfully move beyond this stage,
the program office then provides refined cost estimates during initial
investment analysis. These estimates are independently reviewed by the
finance organization's investment planning and analysis function.
Finally, once approved by the Joint Resource Council, the program
office engages industry through its competitive acquisition management
process. This process calls for program office development of a
detailed government cost estimate, which is again independently
reviewed by the finance organization. This stage completes with
evaluation of competitive bids for cost realism and reasonableness
against the approved and vetted requirements of the program. The
selected winning vendor bid is then used to update the system cost
estimates that are then used to baseline the investment. So, while the
FAA does not build an entirely separate set of independent cost
estimates, a very expensive process due to need to maintain an entire
organization dedicated to cost estimating, it does provide multiple
reviews of its program office cost estimates prior to a final
investment decision by its JRC.
(C) The NextGen Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) is a tool designed
to capture and track the progress of key NextGen portfolio-level
activities and milestones, including NextGen dependencies on the six
transformational programs and the impacts to the overall NextGen
implementation timeline. The IMS is updated monthly for near-term
milestones and quarterly for milestones more than a year away. The IMS
captures program activities associated with NextGen implementation to
2020.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Bill Nelson to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Question 1. Mr. Secretary, as you know from your recent visit to
Jacksonville, one of the major challenges facing Jacksonville is
getting the port ready for the bigger cargo ships that will be coming
through the Panama Canal. How can you work across agencies, such as
with the Army Corps, to help our ports prepare for the Panama Canal's
expansion?
Answer. Through the Maritime Administration's StrongPorts Program,
we work with a wide range of state and local agencies in an effort to
improve infrastructure in ports throughout the United States and to
ensure they are capable of meeting our future freight transportation
needs. The StrongPorts' PortTalk Initiative facilitates meetings with
public and private stakeholders, and may include other Federal agencies
such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where appropriate. PortTalk
engages these partners at the regional level to encourage improved
collaboration and ensure port infrastructure is considered in the
development of local, regional and statewide plans and other planning
efforts. This initiative can increase communication and thereby support
port needs, by helping local officials better understand program
requirements, and by assisting them in the development of investment
quality \1\ plans that can support operational and capital financing
and project management. Additionally, the Federal agencies that have a
role in supporting marine transportation have been developing tools to
inform port infrastructure decisions, including research into better
performance measures; improving maritime transportation data
coordination; creating tools and guidance for infrastructure
investment; and mechanisms for improving navigation safety in the
ports.
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\1\ In order for a project to be investment quality, it must be
supported by existing or projected market demand, be the most cost-
effective option to meet capacity/modernization needs, and have minimal
external risk factors that impose uncertainty such as pending dredging,
in-progress environmental reviews or permitting, required intermodal
connectors, etc.
Question 2. How would the GROW AMERICA Act help ports like
Jacksonville make investments needed to accommodate bigger ships?
Answer. The GROW AMERICA Act will help improve the movement of
freight through our transportation system by making critical
investments that will accommodate future growth by providing $18
billion over six years to establish a new multimodal freight grant
program. This program will fund innovative rail, highway, and port
projects that will improve the efficient movement of goods across the
country.
The GROW AMERICA Act proposal will provide $7.5 billion over six
years--an increase of more than 100 percent over current levels--for
the highly successfully Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program, which can fund landside
port investments. The bill also has a $6 billion competitive grant
program called Fixing and Accelerating Surface Transportation (or
``FAST''). FAST will provide grants to states, Tribes, and Municipal
Planning Organizations (MPOs) that adopt bold, innovative strategies
and best practices in transportation that have a positive long-term
impact.
Question 3. SunRail, Orlando's new commuter rail began operating
this past spring, and has provided many benefits to the region. The
President's FY 2015 budget recommended funding to expand SunRail, but
an agreement for funding the project has not yet been reached. Mr.
Secretary, your Department has already helped SunRail a great deal, but
we must do more to capitalize on our investment. Will you commit to
helping ensure this funding is released soon?
Answer. The Department has been working closely with the Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) on SunRail for more than ten years.
That work has come to partial completion with the initial segment of
the system rounding out its first year of operation. We have been
supportive of the Phase 2 South extension, as demonstrated by its
inclusion in the President's Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal. Since
that time, two things have occurred that impact how soon funding can be
provided to the extension. First, Congress appropriated less funding in
FY 2015 than was requested for the category of projects in which the
SunRail extension was included, and directed us to give priority for
the funding to projects seeking a less than 40 percent share of funds
from the New Starts program. The SunRail Phase 2 South extension is
seeking a 50 percent share. This impacts the speed with which we can
distribute the funds. Second, FDOT made changes to the capital and
operating cost projections for the SunRail Phase 2 South extension, and
the law requires us to re-evaluate the new details of the project to
ensure it meets all statutory requirements before we can distribute the
funds. DOT is committed to analyzing the project fairly and thoroughly
in accordance with the law, and we continue to meet regularly and work
with the project sponsors and the Florida Delegation to achieve the
best result for Florida's citizens and the American taxpayer.
Question 4. China is quickly outpacing the United States and the
rest of the world, when it comes to the development of high-speed rail.
It is my understanding that China went from zero miles of high-speed
rail in 2000 to roughly 11,000 miles today, with plans to reach about
16,000 miles by 2020. What happens if we continue to fall further and
further behind our global competitors in modern, efficient rail
systems?
Answer. The importance of transportation infrastructure to global
economic competitiveness is indisputable. The World Economic Forum
(WEF) notes, ``Extensive and efficient infrastructure is critical for
ensuring the effective functioning of the economy. . . Well-developed
infrastructure reduces the effect of distance between regions,
integrating the national market and connecting it at low cost to
markets in other countries and regions.''
It is imperative that the United States continue to invest in the
infrastructure that will enable the country to maintain and strengthen
its position as a global economic leader in the 21st century and
beyond. The WEF currently ranks the U.S. 16th in quality of overall
infrastructure, down from 7th in 1999 and below several western
European, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. In the transportation
sector, infrastructure investment has not kept pace with passenger and
freight usage and needs, which has left our transportation
infrastructure in an increasingly deteriorated state.
With the U.S. population expected to grow by 70 million people in
the next 30 years, rail will play an important role complementing our
highway, transit, and aviation networks in meeting the passenger and
freight mobility needs of this growing population. Rail continues to
demonstrate strong public benefits, both domestically and abroad, and
continued investment is critical to balance the Nation's transportation
network and close the infrastructure deficit.
Question 5. Two weeks ago, the FAA released its proposed rule for
small unmanned aircraft systems, just days after the latest reported
incident of an unmanned aircraft nearly colliding with an airplane.
This particular incident was near Los Angeles International Airport,
and the unmanned aircraft was seen at 4,000ft, well above the allowed
altitude. This is just the latest incident of an unmanned aircraft
flying dangerously and recklessly close to an aircraft with passengers
onboard. Between now and the time the small unmanned aircraft rule is
finalized, what is the department doing to protect the public, both in
the air and on the ground, from irresponsible operators of unmanned
aircraft?
Answer. The FAA's approach for addressing unauthorized or unsafe
hobby or recreational UAS operations is twofold: (1) to focus on public
education and encourage operators to follow safety guidelines and (2)
when warranted, to take enforcement action against anyone who operates
carelessly or recklessly. The FAA has partnered with several industry
associations to promote Know Before You Fly (KBYF), an outreach
campaign designed to educate the public about using unmanned aircraft
safely and responsibly. In addition, we produced two YouTube videos
which reinforce our safety messaging and have been widely viewed,
including one that reminded UAS/model aircraft operators that flights
over the Super Bowl were prohibited, and that the Super Bowl stadium
was a ``No Drone Zone.''
While education is our preferred approach in light of evolving UAS
regulatory structure and technological developments, the FAA retains
the authority to and will take enforcement action against anyone who
either (1) carelessly or recklessly operates hobby or recreational UAS
or (2) commercially operates UAS in violation of currently applicable
regulations. We are working with local law enforcement agencies to
equip them to respond appropriately to such occurrences. Guidance from
the FAA has been distributed directly to law enforcement partners and
is publicly available on the FAA website.
Question 6. Does the department, through the FAA, have the
authority to develop stronger protections around recreational operation
of unmanned aircraft?
Answer. Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012
restricts the FAA Administrator from promulgating any new rules or
regulations for model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a
model aircraft.
Question 7. Are you considering any technology to promote safer
operation, whether through geo-fencing to keep unmanned aircraft within
permitted airspace and away from areas where they might do harm, such
as airports, or other technology to remotely identify reckless unmanned
aircraft operators?
Answer. On February 15, 2015, the FAA announced the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Operation and Certification of Small
Unmanned Aircraft Systems and it has been available for comment as of
February 23, 2015. We expect that public comments on the NPRM will
include suggestions for technological solutions such as ``geo-fencing''
and identification requirements that address risk and safety. After the
incident at the White House, one model UAS manufacturer began the
process of voluntarily updating its flight software to include ``geo-
fencing'' restrictions; however, we cannot require manufacturers to
include these technical enhancements outside the rulemaking process. We
will evaluate the viability and applicability of any technological
solutions that address risk and safety suggested via the NPRM comment
period for possible inclusion in the final rule.
Question 8. This Committee has held hearings on GM's faulty
ignition switches and on Takata's exploding airbags. A consistent theme
from these hearings has been that NHTSA is in dire need of more
resources, particularly the agency's Office of Defects Investigations.
While NHTSA and its dedicated employees do a very good job with limited
resources, we are often asking NHTSA to find needles in haystacks. The
Office of Defects Investigations currently only has 12 employees to
sift through, digest, and analyze overwhelming amounts of consumer
complaints and data. And it has fewer than 20 defect investigators. The
American driving public would be better served if NHTSA had more
resources to quickly identify and investigate defects, implement
remedies, and raise public awareness of safety issues.
Secretary Foxx, the President's budget calls for a 9 percent
increase in NHTSA's budget, including more than doubling the staff at
the Office of Defects Investigations. I applaud this proposal. It's
long overdue. Can you explain to the Committee why this proposed
infusion of resources is so important to the safety of the American
driving public?
Answer. The President is requesting $908 million for NHTSA to
invest in initiatives that save lives on America's roads. These funds
will be used to reduce traffic crashes and the more than 30,000 deaths
that result each year. The President's Budget request proposes this
increased level to address emerging traffic and vehicle safety issues,
promote new technologies, and address safety defects that present a
risk to the driving public. The budget reflects a particular emphasis
on strengthening the resources available to the Office of Defects
Investigation (ODI).
The President's Budget would approximately triple defects
investigation program funding, from $10 million in FY 2015 enacted to
$31 million in FY 2016. Currently ODI is staffed with 51 people,
including 16 investigators to examine every potential safety defect in
nearly 270 million vehicles registered in 2013. The President's request
provides for an additional 57 positions which more than doubles the
personnel available to attend to this important work.
The request includes two new offices:
The Trend Analysis Division will focus on efforts to review
safety data and identify near term and potential future risks
associated with emerging technologies--4 new positions.
The Field Investigation and Testing Division will provide
NHTSA with staff to conduct investigations of specific vehicles
involved in a fire, crash or other situation involving an
alleged defect--8 new positions.
The requested resources will enable ODI to improve its
effectiveness and meet growing challenges to identify safety defects
quickly, and ensure remedies are implemented promptly, and the public
is informed of critical information in an effective manner.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Question 1. Secretary Foxx, I know you view the rewrite of the Part
23 rules for small airplanes as vital to safety and innovation. Can you
assure this committee that the notice of proposed rulemaking to
implement the bill I worked on with Senator Murkowski, the Small
Airplane Revitalization Act, will be published in the Federal Register
this summer?
Answer. The Department of Transportation intends to submit the
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) this summer and anticipates publication of the NPRM in the
Federal Register in December 2015. The Department of Transportation is
committed to fulfilling the statutory obligations under the Small
Airplane Revitalization Act (SARA), while also complying with our
rulemaking obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act and
applicable Executive Orders. The part 23 rewrite is working to
incorporate the Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee
recommendations and to accomplish the intent of SARA. The new rule will
touch many different aspects of aviation, including the operational
flight rules, and we must ensure all aspects of the rule can be applied
and enforced, and do not have an adverse effect on aviation safety or
aircraft airworthiness.
Question 2. Secretary Foxx, I hear concerns from local governments
about the amount of time it takes to get Federal permitting approval
for simple highway and bridge projects. What is the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) doing to ensure simple projects, those under $5
million, can be delivered as quickly as possible without unnecessary
delays?
Answer. On January 13, 2014, the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) issued a final rule on MAP-21 Section 1317, which established a
new categorical exclusion (CE) for federally-funded projects that
receive less than $5,000,000 of Federal funds. This new CE simplifies
the review and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval of
projects that do not exceed this funding threshold, and may be applied
to local government-sponsored projects.
The Department also is finding other ways to deliver projects more
quickly. For example, the FHWA's Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative is a
State-based model to identify and rapidly deploy proven but
underutilized innovations to shorten the project delivery process and
enhance roadway safety. One example of an EDC innovation is the
expanded use of programmatic agreements to articulate the roles,
responsibilities, and actions for handling routine environmental
requirements for commonly encountered projects. With more than 500
programmatic agreements in place across the country, transportation
departments and partner agencies have experienced a wide-range of
benefits including cost savings and accelerated project delivery.
The Department has also proposed additional ways to streamline
project delivery, while protecting environmental and historic resources
in the GROW AMERICA Act.
Question 3. Would DOT support a pilot program that would allow a
small group of locally-administered projects across the country
receiving $5 million or less in Federal funds to demonstrate whether
waiving or reducing certain Federal permitting requirements for those
projects could reduce costs and expedite project delivery?
Answer. The Department actively promotes new ways to reduce project
costs and expedite project delivery while enhancing safety and
protecting the environment. From our experience in developing the new
CE for actions that use less than $5 million of Federal funds, we know
that these actions may have environmental impacts, but those impacts
rarely rise to the level of significance. Environmental permitting is
triggered by project impacts; therefore, waiving permitting
requirements would not provide an opportunity for the appropriate
consideration or analysis of those impacts. There are, however, current
best practices and programmatic approaches available to local
governments that serve to make permitting requirements more efficient,
thereby reducing delay and costs.
FHWA's ``Federal-aid Essentials'' training developed by, and
available from, the FHWA Resource Center, is a valuable transportation
resource designed to help local agency professionals navigate the
Federal-aid Highway Program. Federal-aid Essentials provides locals
with easy-to-understand, just-in-time guidance on how to move a
Federal-aid project through the process in a timely manner.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Question 1. The DOT and FAA have made progress in recent months
toward integrating unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, into our National
Airspace System by releasing the small UAS proposed rule. However, this
proposal was delayed by over a year, and we remain far behind other
countries like the UK, Canada, and Japan. One industry group estimates
that the U.S. is losing $27 million each day that integration is
delayed. How will the Department allocate its resources to ensure the
expedited release of the final rule?
Answer. We recognize the very high priority the rule has with the
entire aviation community. The FAA has and will continue to devote the
necessary resources to ensure it can complete a final rule that
provides an effective regulatory framework for this new aviation
sector. The Office of the Secretary is equally committed to completing
review of this project.
Question 2. In the absence of the final rule, companies can only
operate commercially if they receive permission through a long
exemption process. Companies can't even conduct R&D on their own
property without permission. What are the DOT and FAA doing to expedite
this process so that companies like Amazon, which requested permission
to test in Washington state back in August but still has not received
an exemption, are not forced to move vital R&D work abroad?
Answer. The FAA granted Amazon's Experimental Certificate on March
19, 2015. The entire process took approximately four months to
complete. Our previous experience with exemption requests involved
commercial operations with a fixed aircraft configuration. Amazon's
request for regulatory relief to perform research and development in
support of their Amazon Prime Air program is the first of its kind and
involves experimental aircraft with frequent prototype modifications to
conduct research, which required additional assessment.
The FAA typically issues experimental certificates to manufacturers
and technology developers to operate a UAS that does not have a type
certificate. Experimental certificates generally provide these
companies with the best means and flexibility for conducting research
and development with prototype aircraft.
The FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for small UAS
operations on March 23, 2015. Until a final rule is issued, commercial
operations are authorized by a combination of an airworthiness
exemption issued under the provisions of Sec 333 of the FAA
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, and a Certificate of
Authorization or Waiver (COA), which designates the approved airspace
and operator parameters for a specific UAS operation.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
Question 3. Secretary Foxx, two weeks ago, the FAA released its
proposed rule for small unmanned aircraft systems, just days after the
latest reported incident of an unmanned aircraft nearly colliding with
an airplane. This particular incident was near Los Angeles
International Airport, and the unmanned aircraft was seen at 4,000ft,
well above the allowed altitude. This is just the latest incident of an
unmanned aircraft flying dangerously and recklessly close to an
aircraft with passengers onboard.
Between now and the time the small unmanned aircraft rule is
finalized, what is the department doing to protect the public, both in
the air and on the ground, from irresponsible operators of unmanned
aircraft?
Answer. The FAA's approach for addressing unauthorized or unsafe
hobby or recreational UAS operations is twofold: (1) to focus on public
education and to encourage operators to follow safety guidelines and
(2) when warranted, to take enforcement action against anyone who
operates carelessly or recklessly. The FAA has partnered with several
industry associations to promote Know Before You Fly (KBYF), an
outreach campaign designed to educate the public about using unmanned
aircraft safely and responsibly. In addition, we produced two YouTube
videos which reinforce our safety messaging and have been widely
viewed, including one that reminded UAS/model aircraft operators that
flights over the Super Bowl were prohibited and that the Super Bowl
stadium was a ``No Drone Zone.'' While education is our preferred
approach in light of evolving UAS regulatory structure and
technological developments, the FAA retains the authority to and will
take enforcement action against anyone who either (1) carelessly or
recklessly operates hobby or recreational UAS or (2) commercially
operates UAS in violation of currently applicable regulations. We are
working with local law enforcement agencies to equip them to respond
appropriately to such occurrences. Guidance from the FAA has been
distributed directly to law enforcement partners and is publicly
available on the FAA website.
Question 4. Does the department, through the FAA, have the
authority to develop stronger protections around recreational operation
of unmanned aircraft? And are you considering any technology to promote
safer operation, whether through geo-fencing to keep unmanned aircraft
within permitted airspace and away from areas where they might do harm,
such as airports, or other technology to remotely identify reckless
unmanned aircraft operators?
Answer. On February 15, 2015, the FAA announced the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Operation and Certification of Small
Unmanned Aircraft. We expect that public comments on the NPRM will
include suggestions for technological solutions such as ``geo-fencing''
and identification requirements that address risk and safety. After the
incident at the White House, one model UAS manufacturer began the
process of voluntarily updating their flight software to include ``geo-
fencing'' restrictions; however we cannot require manufacturers to
include these technical enhancements outside the rulemaking process. We
will evaluate the viability and applicability of any technological
solutions that address risk and safety suggested via the NPRM comment
period for possible inclusion in the final rule.
Haneda/Open Skies
Question 5. Secretary Foxx, U.S. carriers currently have only four
flights each day into Tokyo's Haneda airport, despite significant
demand for that market. According to a recent study by the Japanese
government, additional slot capacity is available at that airport. What
is the department of transportation doing to help open up this market
and enable our carriers to take better advantage of our open skies
agreement with Japan?
Answer. The United States continues to be interested in meaningful
access to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. During consultations in September
2014, the Japanese delegation indicated that, despite the findings of
the report, the Government of Japan did not have the flexibility to
offer such expanded access to Haneda in the near term. Our governments
continue to engage on this matter.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Cory Booker to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Funding for Passenger Rail/Gateway
Question 1. Mr. Secretary, Passenger rail is absolutely critical to
my state, and in New Jersey and throughout the entire Northeast
Corridor region, we face a staggering need to rebuild rail
infrastructure that hundreds of thousands of passengers rely on every
single day. In New Jersey, we know the harsh consequences of aging
infrastructure. During Super Storm Sandy, corrosive salt water filled
the ancient 100-year old tunnels that New Jersey Transit and Amtrak use
to access Penn Station. Because of that corrosion, these tunnels will
need to be shut down sometime in the not too distant future, which
means we need to get serious about building their replacements. How
challenging will it be to try to tackle a project like this without the
sort of robust and reliable funding stream you've proposed for
passenger rail?
Answer. Congress has for decades funded highway, transit, and
aviation programs through multi-year authorizations that provide
predictable, dedicated sources of funding. Rail is unique in that it
lacks a long-term, committed source of Federal revenue. As a result,
passenger rail capital investments have generally failed to keep up
with the needs of existing fleet and infrastructure, leading to a
backlog of state of good repair and other basic infrastructure needs.
The aging Hudson River rail tunnels are a prime example of critical
infrastructure in need of rebuilding, modernization, and redundancy.
These tunnels provide for the sole means of rail access into New York
Penn Station for thousands of daily commuters from New Jersey and rail
passengers from throughout the southern portion of the Northeast
Corridor (NEC). A sudden loss of the tunnels would cripple NEC
operations throughout the entire Washington, D.C. to Boston corridor,
with potential economic damage to the Nation estimated at nearly $100
million per day in transportation-related impacts and productivity
losses.
Addressing major, multi-year infrastructure investments such the
Hudson River tunnels and other NEC assets is extremely challenging
without predictable, dedicated funding. Funding certainty enables
states, local governments, railroads, and other stakeholders to better
plan for and to make large-scale infrastructure investments. Across the
transportation industry, we are increasingly seeing state and local
officials abandon planning on more ambitious projects due to the
uncertainty affecting the Highway Trust Fund. This uncertainty is only
amplified in the intercity passenger rail sector, where there is no
dedicated source of funding to begin with. Further complicating
matters, project costs and potential delays increase as projects
languish to be initiated--environmental reviews and engineering designs
typically have to be reevaluated if not acted upon in a timely manner.
The Department urges Congress to enact a comprehensive, long-term
funding bill to provide funding certainty to our surface transportation
programs, including rail.
Infrastructure Investment
Question 2. I am concerned that much of the conversation within
Congress seems to focus on filling the gap in the Highway Trust Fund.
If all we do is fill the gap, we essentially freeze investment at
current levels. As you know, those levels are totally inadequate to
respond to the challenges we face. Do you agree with me that we will
have failed as a Congress if all we do is fill the gap in the Highway
Trust Fund?
Answer. I agree that we need to more than just fill the gap in the
Highway Trust Fund. The country's infrastructure deficit is such that
additional investment is needed just to maintain the current system,
not to mention addressing growing volumes of passenger and freight
movement. Congress has always found a way to respond to the need to
fund infrastructure. As you may recall, Congress originally established
the Highway Trust Fund in 1956 to eliminate the uncertainty of annual
appropriations which funded road construction from the General Fund. I
am confident that this Congress will act to support transportation in a
long-term and sustainable manner.
Question 3. Even more frustrating than our lack of investment is
that we continue to use general funds to bolster the highway trust
fund--we've transferred more than $65 billion since 2008. This is
basically robbing Peter to pay Paul, because this is money that could
have been used to support important passenger rail, transit, and
freight projects. Assuming that we once again have to take more general
funds to bail out the highway trust fund, don't you think a portion of
those funds should be more flexible so states can invest in other
projects like rail and freight?
Answer. I agree that the need for infrastructure investment extends
beyond our roads. Much like the Highway Trust Fund today, which
contains separate accounts for highways and transit, the Transportation
Trust Fund proposed in the GROW AMERICA Act would have accounts that
provide funding for highways, transit, and rail, as well as a new
multimodal account for freight projects. State and local governments
have made it clear that the budgetary certainty provided by long-term
trust fund authorization is an absolutely critical element to being
able to plan and make the transformational investments necessary to
grow our economy. We plan to take an active role in helping Congress
commit to a longer term agreement on surface transportation funding on
a bipartisan basis.
Truck Length
Question 4. In response to a May 2013 incident in which a truck
carrying an oversize load crashed into an interstate bridge in
Washington state, Congress required GAO to review the role of Federal
and state agencies in overseeing oversize vehicles. GAO recently
released a report entitled, ``Transportation Safety: Federal Highway
Administration Should Conduct Research to Determine Best Practices in
Permitting Oversize Vehicles.'' While GAO collected information from
all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the report does not provide
specific information on which states currently allow double 33 foot
trailers to operate. Would you please provide the Committee with a list
of states that currently allow or prohibit double 33 foot tractor
trailers on their roads? For these states please also include
information about any special permitting that is required to allow the
trucks on any roads.
Answer. With the exception of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) longer combination vehicle (LCV) freeze,
Federal truck length limits are permissive (e.g., Federal laws
prescribe the minimum dimensions states must allow on the National
Network). This means that states have the authority to allow twin 33
foot trailers on parts of the highway system that are not the
Interstate System or National Network. Whether a State requires the
issuance of a permit for twin 33 foot trailers to operate is governed
by State laws and regulations.
ISTEA imposed two separate freezes: (1) on the maximum weight of
LCVs, which consist of any combination of a truck tractor and two or
more trailers or semitrailers which operate on the Interstate System at
a gross weight over 80,000 pounds; and (2) on the overall length of the
cargo carrying units of combination vehicles with two or more such
units where one or both exceed 28.5 feet in length on the National
Network. The maximum weight of longer combination vehicles and the
maximum length of the cargo carrying units of combination vehicles is
the weight or length in actual and legal operation in a State on June
1, 1991, as documented in Appendix C to 23 CFR 658. Also frozen were
the routes and conditions in effect on June 1, 1991, for vehicle
combinations subject to the freeze, as shown in Appendix C to 23 CFR
658.
The Department is not aware of the operation of twin 33-foot
tractor trailers in the U.S. other than a recent effort by a carrier in
Florida to try this configuration on a limited basis. Based on the LCV
freeze information contained in Appendix C to 23 CFR 658, the following
table lists the states that could allow a tractor and two trailing
units at a cargo-carrying length that exceeds 66 feet (e.g., two 33
foot trailers). States not included in the table below would follow the
Federal standard of allowing the length established under the Surface
Transportation Act of 1982 (known as the ``STAA double''--28-foot or
28.5-foot trailers) on the National Network. Laws affecting State
routes not subject to Federal law are not tracked by the Department,
and therefore, are not noted in this table. The table also indicates
whether a permit is required. It should be noted that, in many cases,
LCVs are limited to specific routes on the National Network or
Interstate System.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum
Length of
State Two Permit Notes for Selected States
Trailing Required
Units (ft.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AK 95 No
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AR 95 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CO 111 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FL 106 Yes Tandem-trailer units may operate on
the turnpike system under a Tandem
Trailer Permit issued by the
Florida Turnpike Authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ID 95 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN 106 Yes Permits for loads which exceed
90,000 pounds
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IA 100 No
------------------------------------------------------------------------
KS 109 Varies Permits are not required for
operation on the Kansas Turnpike
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MA 104 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MO 110 Yes Annual blanket over-dimension
permits are issued to allow a truck
tractor and two trailing units
legally operating in Kansas,
Nebraska, or Oklahoma to move to
and from terminals in Missouri
which are located within a 20-mile
band of the State Line for these
three states.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MT 103 No Special permit required for double
trailer combinations if either
trailer exceeds 28.5 feet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NV 95 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY 102 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ND 103 No
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OH 102 Yes Tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer
combinations require a permit if
over 75 feet in length, excluding
an allowed 3-foot front overhang
and a 4-foot rear overhang.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK 110 Yes Doubles with at least one trailer or
semitrailer over 29 feet in length
are limited to the Interstate and
other multi-lane divided highways
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OR 68 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SD 100 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UT 95 Yes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WA 68 Yes Combinations with a cargo-carrying
length over 60 feet in length but
not exceeding 68 feet must obtain
an annual overlength permit to
operate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WY 81 No
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portal Bridge
Question 5. Despite our interest in a long-term transportation
funding solution, it's a distinct possibility that we may have to pass
another short-term solution this summer to keep our highway and transit
programs going. It that's the case, and assuming it will require
another infusion of general funds, as it has in the past, do you
support dedicating a portion of this funding to advance critical
passenger rail projects that are ready to go, like Portal Bridge?
In the absence of a dedicated funding for rail in a new
transportation trust fund, would you support providing states and
localities the flexibility to use Highway Trust Fund dollars for
intercity passenger rail projects? Given the amount of general funds
used to create Highway Trust Fund dollars, what rationale can there be
for denying states the discretion to use these dollars to invest in
passenger rail projects like Portal Bridge than can help enhance
mobility, spur economic development and relieve highway congestion?
Answer. DOT supports funding for the Portal Bridge replacement
project. Portal Bridge is a major asset located in the heart of the
busiest section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), carrying thousands of
daily passengers on approximately 450 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit
trains. A replacement of today's 105-year-old, two-track moveable
bridge with a new, fixed span is necessary to achieve increased
reliability and quality of service on the NEC and to advance the
corridor toward a state of good repair.
Recognizing the critical importance of a Portal Bridge replacement,
DOT has collaborated with both Amtrak and the State of New Jersey to
complete environmental reviews and final design of the new fixed span,
including a $38.5 million-dollar Federal grant from the Federal
Railroad Administration's (FRA) High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail
(HSIPR) Program. Portal Bridge is ready to enter into construction.
Failure to provide further funding to Portal Bridge and other similar
shovel-ready projects means additional delays and added costs, as
planning, environmental and design work often must be revised to
reflect future conditions if construction does not begin soon.
It's clear that current funding levels are inadequate and the time
is right for further investment in projects such as Portal Bridge.
While DOT believes that current programs such as the Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, TIGER Program,
and FTA formula funds are among the funding options available, DOT also
urges Congress to consider the predictable, dedicated funding for the
high-performance rail system identified in the GROW AMERICA Act as
essential to the solution. The President's FY16 Budget requests $550
million help bring NEC infrastructure into a state of good repair and
focuses Amtrak's profits from the NEC back into infrastructure needs
along the corridor. These additional funds would allow critical
projects such as Portal Bridge to advance and help to reduce the
infrastructure deficit facing our Nation.
The urgency to invest in these projects means we wait to advance
critical rail infrastructure needs. Thus, DOT would support Congress
dedicating a portion of Trust Fund dollars to advance shovel-ready
passenger rail projects, such as Portal Bridge. DOT also supports
providing flexibility to states and local governments to use a portion
of Trust Fund dollars to advance those projects of greatest need in
their communities, which may include intercity passenger rail projects.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Issue: The need for a rule governing transportation of crude by rail
Question 1. The transportation of crude oil by rail has raised many
serious concerns over the past few years as the amount of crude being
shipped by rail has increased dramatically. The dangers have been
evidenced recently with horrific crude rail accidents in West Virginia
and Illinois. These come after other horrendous accidents, most notably
the 2013 disaster in Canada in which 47 people were killed.
The FRA introduced a proposed rule on some aspects of crude
transportation in July 2014. The proposed rule would require stronger
tank car standards as well as improvements in operations, such as speed
restrictions and enhanced braking technology. Congress called on DOT to
finalize a rule on this issue two months ago. I understand the rule is
now before the Office of Management and Budget, and the earliest time
for release is May 2015.
I sought to address this issue in my rail safety bill as well, and
will keep pushing until we can rest assured these mile-long traveling
pipelines no longer pose a threat to the communities through which they
travel. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board has put
improved tank car standards on its top priorities list.
How concerned should we be that the administration has still not
issued the new rule, and that we're now waiting several months more--
meanwhile these trains, like mile-long missiles of crude, continue to
roll through our communities?
Answer. As you note, the Department has drafted a final rule that
addresses tank car standards and operational improvements that is
currently under interagency review at OMB. We are very concerned about
the recent accidents and have taken a number of steps, including
several emergency orders and a Call-to-Action that resulted in many
important safety actions taken voluntarily by the rail carrier and oil
industries. A summary of the more than two dozen actions that the
Department has taken is available on PHMSA's website (http://
www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/osd/chronology).
Issue: The need for a valid, credible study of truck size and weights
Question 2. In the latest surface transportation bill, MAP-21,
Congress required DOT to study the implications of increasing the
permissible size and weight of commercial trucks on our roads and
highways. The study will contemplate increasing the weight limit to
97,000 pounds, whereas the average weight of most cars is only about
3,000 to 4,000 pounds.
Congress mandated that DOT conduct a comprehensive evaluation of
the effects on safety, our infrastructure's condition, our environment
and our freight network of allowing larger, heavier trucks than those
permitted today. The last time DOT conducted a comprehensive study was
fifteen years ago, so a new, updated analysis of this issue is critical
to helping Congress craft long-term policies ensuring the safety and
sufficiency of our country's transportation network. The study,
however, appears to include conflicts of interest, flawed data and poor
methodology.
The study must be credible so that we can have a thorough, accurate
assessment of the impact to roads and bridges of bigger trucks. I have
heard from many officials from across Connecticut and elsewhere and
they are in overwhelming consensus that larger trucks would pose a
grave danger to the traveling public, our infrastructure, our
environment and economy. What is the status of the study?
Answer. The Department is currently analyzing the results and
making sure that the information contained in the study is factual and
clearly communicated. The Department recognizes the importance of this
study, and we are working diligently to complete our review. As soon as
our review is completed, we will prepare the draft technical reports
for release to the independent peer review panel and the public.
The Department is also making revisions to the study's desk scans,
as recommended by the initial report from the Transportation Research
Board Peer Review Panel. Once we release the technical reports, we will
launch the second phase of the Peer Review. At that time, we will also
schedule the final Public Input Session. When these steps are
completed, we will deliver to you the final Report to Congress.
Question 3. What efforts have you taken to address the flaws that
many safety experts, labor leaders, law enforcement officials and
others have raised?
Answer. The Department has focused on producing a study that is
transparent, accurate, objective, and data-driven. The Department
implemented numerous actions to insulate the study results and final
report from any potential conflicts of interest. The researchers who
worked on the study were vetted for conflicts, potential bias, and
bound by an agreement to do no other related work during the study
period. Subject matter experts at the Department are writing the final
written materials, including the technical reports, summary report, and
eventual Report to Congress.
The data and methodologies were analyzed by an independent third-
party panel of research experts. The Department contracted with the
gold standard of Federal peer review, the National Academies of Science
(NAS Committee), to obtain an external review on our process in both
the desk scan and research phases of the study. The concerns outlined
in the initial report of the Peer Review Panel were directed at the
weaknesses of all of the available methods and the impediments to
predict with accuracy the outcome of potential changes in truck size
and weight laws. These flaws are not unique to this study or the
Department's management of the study work; they are weaknesses inherent
in the data sets and methodologies available to anyone wishing to
conduct this analysis. The lack of data availability, data quality, and
models limits the level of analysis in some areas of study. Even with
robust data, actual market responses, safety impacts, and costs are
difficult to predict, and the limitations in existing data sets and
models will impact the ability of the study to support national-level
conclusions.
The Peer Review Panel did recommend a consistent organization of
elements within each of five desk scans, a clear linkage between
material in each desk scan and its corresponding project plan, and a
synthesis of methods and results from prior studies to the results of
this study. The Department agrees with these recommendations, and we
are incorporating these changes in the final desk scans and related
documents. The Department will provide a full accounting of the
assumptions and limitations for each study area in the final report.
Finally, I have met with and listened to the issues and concerns
expressed by groups on all sides of the truck size and weight issue,
including those groups you noted. The concerns and viewpoints we have
heard have been fully considered in the preparation of the study.
Question 4. As a former mayor of a major city, would you be
concerned with even heavier trucks rolling through your community?
Answer. Elected officials face ongoing challenges to advance the
economic prosperity of their communities while protecting the health
and safety of the people and the integrity of the infrastructure. In
making decisions on the size and weight of vehicles allowed on the
Nation's Interstate System, Congress must carefully weight a variety of
factors. The work performed and the findings produced in this study
will help inform Congress' decisions on these matters, but will not
suggest any particular course of action.
Issue: NHTSA Penalty Authority
Question 5. In testimony before the Consumer Protection
Subcommittee last September, NHTSA's Acting Administrator David
Friedman testified in response to a question about General Motor's
conduct, that NHTSA, ``found very clearly that General Motors had
information that they failed to share with us that hindered our
investigation.'' He further responded that, ``to hold [GM] accountable,
we got them to pay the maximum possible fine of $35 million.'' Does the
Department of Transportation believe $35 million in penalties is a
severe enough fine to serve as an effective deterrent to the automobile
industry?
Answer. No, we believe the current maximum is too low, particularly
for large companies, which is why our GROW AMERICA Act contains a
provision to raise the maximum penalty to $300 million.
Question 6. Should the law cap NHTSA's civil penalty authority at
all?
Answer. We are interested in any tool which will help NHTSA be
effective. Our GROW AMERICA Act provision sets the maximum penalty at
$300 million.
Question 7. Has the Department found any evidence of automakers
factoring in penalty amounts when deciding how much to invest in the
safety of new models?
Answer. No, the Department has not found such evidence.
Question 8. Does the Department have a position on whether Congress
should consider criminal penalties for knowing and willing violations
of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act?
Answer. The Motor Vehicle Safety Act already includes a provision
for criminal penalties. Section 30170 creates criminal liability for
companies that falsify or withhold information from NHTSA with respect
to defects that have caused death or serious bodily injury. The
Department supports all efforts to help protect consumers from motor
vehicle safety defects.
Issue: NHTSA Child Car Seat Rulemaking
Question 9. In January 2014 NHTSA announced it was proposing a new
rule that requires child car seats to withstand side-impact collisions
of up to 30 miles an hour. The test is designed to determine how well a
particular car seat protects a child from a vehicle's door crushing, as
well as the overall impact of the crash. Congress gave DOT a deadline
of October 2014 to finalize this rule, but it hasn't been completed.
Can you please provide the Committee with a written update on that
proceeding?
Answer. Under the January 2014 notice, child restraints would be
tested with a newly-developed dummy representing a 3-year-old child,
called the ``Q3s'' dummy, and with a well-established 12-month-old
child test dummy. In June, NHTSA extended the public comment period for
the proposal after confirming the Q3s dummy was generally unavailable
from the dummy manufacturer. NHTSA continues to work with the dummy
manufacturer to ensure adequate availability of the dummy for testing
and evaluation. At the same time, we are allowing sufficient time for
the public to obtain and test with the dummy and comment on the
proposal, and for NHTSA to address those comments in developing a final
rule. In accordance with MAP-21 Section 31505, the Department notified
the chairs and ranking members of the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce and of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation on March 12, 2015 that we expect to publish the final
rule improving the protection of children in child restraint systems
during side impact crashes by August 2016.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Question 1. Describe the role of your department's Chief
Information Officer (CIO) in the development and oversight of the IT
budget for your department. How is the CIO involved in the decision to
make an IT investment, determine its scope, oversee its contract, and
oversee continued operation and maintenance?
Answer. The DOT Office of the CIO currently participates on three
boards involving IT investments. First, the DOT CIO co-chairs the
Department's Investment Review Board (IRB) with the Deputy Secretary.
This board is responsible for the approval of the DOT $3.2 billion IT
Portfolio. The Deputy Chief Information Officer is also a voting member
of the Investment Working Group to support enterprise investment
management. In addition, the Deputy Chief Information Officer chairs
with Acquisition Strategy Review Board (ASRB) with the Senior
Procurement Executive and the Deputy Chief Financial Officer to ensure
Departmental review of significant procurements.
Over the past three months, the DOT CIO has been working closely
with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Departmental Budget
Officer to ready our Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform
Act (FITARA) implementation plan. The budget authority in FITARA will
strengthen the DOT budget process relating to IT.
Question 2. Describe the existing authorities, organizational
structure, and reporting relationship of the Chief Information Officer.
Note and explain any variance from that prescribed in the newly-enacted
Federal Information Technology and Acquisition Reform Act of 2014
(FITARA, PL 113-291) for the above.
Answer. The DOT CIO reports to the Secretary of Transportation and
is the principle advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to
IT. The DOT CIO sits on the Secretary's cabinet and is involved in all
business decisions. The DOT CIO coordinates Departmental IT through the
Investment Review Board (IRB) and the DOT CIO Council. The DOT CIO also
manages enterprise IT shared services via the Common Operating
Environment (COE).
With regards to FITARA, the DOT CIO will take a more operational
role in the execution of Operating Administration IT budgets and
acquisition through the implementation of these authorities. DOT will
implement CIO authorities throughout DOT, and in close coordination
with the Office of General Counsel, FITARA will be implemented at FAA
consistent with the restrictions and authorities contained in 49 U.S.C.
106, 40110, 40121.
Question 3. What formal or informal mechanisms exist in your
department to ensure coordination and alignment within the CXO
community (i.e., the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Acquisition
Officer, the Chief Finance Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer,
and so on)?
Answer. In addition to consistent informal coordination and
collaboration across the DOT CXO community, DOT has formed the
following formal bodies:
The DOT Investment Review Board (IRB) consists of the Deputy
Secretary of Transportation, DOT Chief Information Officer
(CIO), DOT Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Senior Procurement
Executive (SPE), Under Secretary for Policy, and Operating
Administrators as voting members. The board ensures data-
driven, enterprise-focused IT governance across the Department
by providing strategic direction and leadership for budget and
acquisition alignment.
The CIO Council ensures that the Department realizes optimal
value from its IT investments, by taking advantage of
enterprise IT systems and infrastructure opportunities and
delivering capabilities at an affordable cost and acceptable
level of risk. CIOs from across the Department participate on
this council.
The Investment Working Group provides overarching strategic
and tactical leadership and direction in support of the DOT
investment management and capital planning process. The DOT
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs, DOT Deputy
CIO, DOT SPE and the Director of the Departmental Office of HR
Management are voting members.
The Acquisition Strategy Review Board (ASRB) is chaired by
the DOT SPE, DOT Deputy CFO, and the Deputy CIO and ensures
coordination across the Department on strategic acquisition
decisions.
DOT believes, and it has been the experience to-date, that
implementing FITARA will strengthen the already close relationship
between the CIO, CFO, CAO, and CHCO. This strengthening will greatly
benefit the Department as DOT moves through IT challenges and issues.
Question 4. According to the Office of Personnel Management, 46
percent of the more than 80,000 Federal IT workers are 50 years of age
or older, and more than 10 percent are 60 or older. Just four percent
of the Federal IT workforce is under 30 years of age. Does your
department have such demographic imbalances? How is it addressing them?
Answer. DOT's IT force is comparably imbalanced with a slightly
larger percentage, 55.5 percent, of IT employees over age 50.
To promote efficiency and effectiveness of the Information
Technology (IT) Workforce, the DOT Chief Information Officer (CIO) is
leading an effort to analyze and evaluate the current alignment of
resources supporting the Department's IT efforts. Based on this review,
the Office of the DOT CIO proposed a multi-year IT workforce initiative
to reduce reliance on contractors and concomitantly increase the number
of Federal positions. The realignment will provide two main benefits.
First, DOT will realize cost savings and efficiencies due to higher
contractor costs as compared to the full-cost of Federal employees.
Second, DOT will realign Federal and contractor roles to improve
efficiency, develop succession capability, and improve demographic
imbalances. Many IT functions currently performed by contractors should
be performed by government employees.
Question 5. How much of the department's budget goes to
Demonstration, Modernization, and Enhancement of IT systems as opposed
to supporting existing and ongoing programs and infrastructure? How has
this changed in the last five years?
Answer. In 2015, the Department's IT portfolio will total $3.3
billion. Of this amount, $1.61 billion is expected to be committed to
Development, Modernization and Enhancement efforts (DME), which equates
to approximately 50 percent of the DOT IT budget. Over the past five
years, the DME spend has shown a modest decline from approximately 56
percent to the current 50 percent of the DOT IT budget.
Question 6. What are the 10 highest priority IT investment projects
that are under development in your department? Of these, which ones are
being developed using an ``agile'' or incremental approach, such as
delivering working functionality in smaller increments and completing
initial deployment to end-users in short, six-month time frames?
Answer. DOT recognizes the importance of moving to an agile
development methodology where it is appropriate. FAA investments
accounted for 87 percent of the DOT IT portfolio, and the requirements
for developing and maintaining 24/7 operational mission essential and
safety critical systems are very stringent and not necessarily
candidates for agile development. GAO also concurred on this
assessment. GAO 14-361 (3112890) As noted in the GAO Report, there are
high priority DOT investments that do not lend themselves to agile
development. Examples of safety critical investments, which require
reliability, availability and maintainability standards at or above
99.9999 percent, these high priority investments include:
i. En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM)
ii. Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI)
iii. Data Communications (DataComm)
iv. Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) phase 1
v. Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement (TAMR) phase 3
While these systems may not follow strict ``agile development''
guidelines, they do follow waterfall national deployment schedules that
are built around minimizing deployment risks.
As part of the GAO report analysis, DOT and other surveyed agencies
identified ``three types of investments for which it may not always be
practical or necessary to expect functionality to be delivered in 6-
month cycles: (1) investments in life-cycle phases other than
acquisition (2) investments intended to develop IT infrastructure; and
(3) research and development investments.'' As part of the final
report, GAO did acknowledge the merit of these concerns.
When appropriate, DOT has leveraged the agile development
methodology with success:
vi. FHWA is leveraging incremental development where appropriate
for the FMIS 5 upgrade. FHWA has employed a modular approach
for development and delivery to the FHWA Division Offices and
State DOTs into the User Acceptance Testing environment, with
the first set of modules delivered in April 2014 and the last
modules being delivered through March 2015. FHWA determined
that it would be too cost prohibitive and time intensive to
roll out the FMIS 5 upgrade incrementally in the Production
environment due to impacts to the three FHWA systems that are
being modernized, as well as the external systems that FMIS 5
interfaces with, including DOT Delphi accounting system and the
State DOTs' systems. This approach was discussed with OMB
during a project review in July 2014.
vii. FRA supports the DOT safety mission through management of the
Railroad Safety Information System (RSIS) to provide government
agencies, railroad labor and management, and the general public
with information on railroad safety. The system captures data
on railroad accidents, injuries, highway-rail crossing
collisions, railroad operation data, FRA-conducted railroad
inspections, and maintenance of the highway-rail crossing site
inventory. FRA's current contract to manage RSIS is nearing
completion and is expected to be re-competed. System
requirements are in development and it is anticipated that
development work within that contract will be required to use
the agile methodology. Agile is one of the recommendations
expected out of FRA's current IT and
viii. Web and mobile development across the Department has moved to
the agile methodology. For example, FRA used the agile
methodology to develop data visualization suite, Corporate
Express, which was transitioned to the Department in 2014. In
addition, the Departmental DOT.gov platform was deployed
utilizing agile development, as are improvements to the
platform.
ix. The NHTSA306 Crash Data Acquisition Network (CDAN) is a new
system that supports NHTSA's Data Modernization Program. Agile
stories are categorized, prioritized and packaged for sprint
releases. NHTSA has developed the ``PowerCenter'' tool to
support the agile methodology.
x. NHTSA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Management Suite is
an IT solution to support NHTSA's rulemaking and enforcement
for this program. CAFE is utilizing the agile methodology for
development and implementation. A sprint release has been
developed and is tracked for CAFE Public Information Center
deployment.
Question 7. To ensure that steady state investments continue to
meet agency needs, OMB has a longstanding policy for agencies to
annually review, evaluate, and report on their legacy IT infrastructure
through Operational Assessments. What Operational Assessments have you
conducted and what were the results?
Answer. The Common Operating Environment (COE) provides shared
services for many DOT users, consisting of end user support,
telecommunication, network, server and cyber security operations. The
COE recently completed an Operational Assessment to examine, measure,
and track the current operational status against an established set of
cost, schedule, and performance parameters. The Operational Assessment
concluded that the COE is providing a valuable service to its
customers. As part of the FITARA implementation, the DOT CIO will work
with Operating Administrations to fold commodity IT that is currently
managed at the component level into the COE to reduce duplication and
gain efficiency through an expanded enterprise shared services model.
FAA also has an approved shared services model that leverages access to
centralized expertise and infrastructure and enables the economies-of-
scale within each IT function.
Question 8. What are the 10 oldest IT systems or infrastructures in
your department? How old are they? Would it be cost-effective to
replace them with newer IT investments?
Answer.
i. The National Transportation Atlas (NTA) is a web mapping
application that presents transportation networks, features and
statistics about our Nation's transportation system. The NTA
has not been widely advertised, because it is running on 10
year old hardware with an operating system and application that
is nearing end-of-support-life. The NTA is moving to a cloud
platform that will support expanded data storage and computing
capacity, and additional functionality including web feature
services, and scaling.
ii. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics established TranStats in
2001 as an intermodal transportation database. This database
was created in response to a Congressional mandate. TranStats
comprises the collection, processing and dissemination of
airline data such as finances, performance and traffic for
transportation statistical analysis and reporting functions.
Initially TranStats focused on delivery of data from the
Airline Reporting Data Information System and but functionality
was extended in 2010 to include online data collection from all
airlines. The system is undergoing a thorough planning and
alternative analysis for modernization and consolidation of its
architecture. The modernization is expected to be complete by
the end of Fiscal Year 2017.
iii. As part of the Common Operating Environment (COE), the DOT
CIO's office currently provides a telecommunication system for
DOT employees. The existing system was purchased in FY 2007
when DOT relocated into the Navy Yard headquarters building.
The legacy system does not provide modern features and is not
scalable based on the changing telecommunications needs of the
DOT workforce. A COE Communications Workgroup, consisting of
representatives from across the Department, has been formed to
examine current requirements and conduct market research as
part of a recommended approach to modernize the legacy
telephone system.
iv. The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) is
decommissioning its 30-year-old in-house financial management
system as of 2014 and migrating to the Department of Interior's
Federal Shared Service Provider (FSSP) solution. It is expected
that the new system will be operational in late FY 2015.
v. While FHWA has operated systems for up to 25 years,
infrastructure is replaced and upgraded as needed. FHWA
regularly evaluates IT investments via the Application
Portfolio Rationalization (APR) process, with the most recent
report approved in February 2015.
vi. The Hazardous Materials Information System (HMIS) has been an
integral tool used PHMSA's Office of Hazmat Safety for daily
activities since the 1970s. Over the years, it has been
modified and updated as business needs and technologies have
evolved. Currently, the technology and processes used by HMIS
have become outdated and costly to maintain. PHMSA is in the
process of modernizing the functions performed by HMIS under
its IT modernization effort. The old system is expected to
sunset in 2018. These modernized functions will provide process
improvement efficiencies, as well as cost savings.
vii. The NHTSA Grants Tracking System (GTS) was initiated in 2000
and is slated to be replaced with the Grants Management
Solution (GMSS) in 2025. GMSS is a modernization initiative
that will automate the full grants management life cycle and
enhance financial tracking.
viii. The NHTSA Artemis system was in initiated in 2002 and consists
of complaints from vehicle owners, early warning reporting data
submitted by manufacturers, and recall and investigation
information. Modernization of this system is necessary to
adjust a high volume analysis of data. It is slated to end in
2024.
ix. The Transit Electronic Award Management System (TEAM) is FTA's
primary grants management tool. TEAM runs on an older
infrastructure that is at the end of its technical and
functional life. As a result, FTA is replacing TEAM using a
modern architectural solution which will modernize IT
capabilities across the component, with a focus on grant
management support. The modernization will leverage a Business
Process Management (BPM) software platform, delivered as a
commercial Cloud service. TEAM is expected to be decommissioned
in 2016.
x. The FAA operates over 20 investments that are 10 years or older.
All investments are monitored and assessed annually for
technology refresh or replacement. Legacy systems in the
process of replacement include the Automated Radar Terminal
System (ARTS) and the Instrument Landing System (ILS).
Question 9. How does your department's IT governance process allow
for your department to terminate or ``off ramp'' IT investments that
are critically over budget, over schedule, or failing to meet
performance goals? Similarly, how does your department's IT governance
process allow for your department to replace or ``on-ramp'' new
solutions after terminating a failing IT investment?
Answer. Under the DOT IT governance model, investments are tracked
by Operating Administrations (OA) as well as the DOT OCIO Investment
Analysis Team (IAT). The IAT works with the OA Capital Planning and
Investment Control (CPIC) coordinators and other OA representatives to
conduct analytical reviews of IT investments. The IAT uses cost and
schedule baseline data, as well as performance metrics and risk
assessments provided by the OAs, to generate investment analysis. As
our process grows more robust, preliminary findings will be shared with
applicable OAs via Issue Papers to help resolve or clarify perceived
discrepancies prior to submission to the Investment Review Board (IRB)
supporting boards. As the DOT IT governance process continues to
mature, any unresolved issues will be presented to the IRB and
applicable supporting boards. With the implementation of FITARA, the
DOT CIO will continue to strengthen these reviews and recommendations.
In FY 2013, FAA began a migration from their legacy Lotus Notes e-
mail system to Microsoft 365 in the cloud. As part of the procurement,
DOT initially anticipated a move from the on premise Microsoft Exchange
environment managed by the Common Operating Environment (COE) to the
Microsoft 365 cloud. DOT worked closely with the FAA team throughout
the FAA migration, and subsequently completed an analysis to understand
the potential benefits of the move. This project was discontinued by
the DOT CIO when it became clear that the cost benefit analysis did not
support the migration.
This decision was unanimously supported by the DOT CIO Council. In
accordance with the FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS), the Joint
Resources Council (JRC) is the FAA's investment decision making body
charged with the responsibility of approving and overseeing the
management of investments regardless of the type of funding
appropriation, allocating resources and establishing program offices
chartered with the responsibility of managing approved investments. The
JRC manages investments by conducting Acquisition Quarterly Program
Reviews and reviewing the results of Post Implementation Reviews. Based
on the data presented to the JRC during the aforementioned reviews, the
JRC may require changes to the investment strategy or the approved
program baseline.
Question 10. What IT projects has your department decommissioned in
the last year? What are your department's plans to decommission IT
projects this year?
Answer. Operating Administrations at DOT have had success
decommissioning legacy infrastructure in adoption of the Common
Operating Environment (COE) shared services solution. For example, the
Railroad Safety Information System (RSIS) was migrated from aging
servers hosted at a commercial data center into the DOT COE in a
modern, virtualized environment beginning in October, 2013. The
previous commercial hosting environment was decommissioned in January,
2014. Additionally, FTA is planning to decommission two older systems
after their replacements are deployed to the modernized FTA IT
platform. Both the National Transit Database (NTD) and Transit
Electronic Award Management System (TEAM) are scheduled to be
decommissioned beginning in Q1 FY 2016.
DOT has also seen success in the migration from duplicative
platforms into enterprise solutions. For example, the creation of a
Departmental web platform resulted in the migration and decommissioning
of legacy hardware for several modal websites. Modes have also had
success leveraging the Departmental SharePoint collaboration
environment. DOT is in the process of finalizing the decommissioning of
the 2007 internal SharePoint site. The 2010 internal SharePoint site
has replaced the legacy 2007 environment.
The Department of Transportation's Departmental Procurement
Platform (DP2) modernization initiative consolidates eight (8)
disparate Performance and Registration Information Systems Management
(PRISM) procurement systems onto a common platform that is integrated
with the Department's financial system, Delphi. In November 2014, NHTSA
and FRA migrated from their legacy PRISM systems to the integrated DP2
solution as part of Phase 1. Consolidation of the remaining PRISM
instances will be completed in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the DP2 program.
PHMSA has also demonstrated success reviewing existing requirements
to determine what investments should be decommissioned. For example,
prior to FY 2013, PHMSA managed over 90 physical mission system servers
and had the third largest data center foot print in DOT. In FY 2013,
PHMSA reduced the physical server footprint by 62 percent.DOT believes
the increased investment review authority under FITARA will give the
Department greater visibility into all IT projects. Decommissioning
based on consolidation into enterprise shared services will be a major
focus in the review of IT spending.
Question 11. The newly-enacted Federal Information Technology and
Acquisition Reform Act of 2014 (FITARA, PL 113-291) directs CIOs to
conduct annual reviews of their agency/department's IT portfolio.
Please describe your department's efforts to identify and reduce
wasteful, low-value or duplicative information technology (IT)
investments as part of these portfolio reviews.
Answer. In 2013, DOT fundamentally revamped and reinvigorated the
Departmental Investment Review Board (IRB) based on a portfolio review
process. The IRB is the DOT's senior executive body charged with
ensuring that the Department's IT investments align with DOT's
strategic priorities, objectives, and OA operational missions. The DOT
CIO recently implemented Interim Investment Guidance to further develop
the investment process. The guidance centers on a data-driven,
portfolio-based approach that will allow for an expansive and thorough
look across the enterprise of DOT IT portfolios. This will allow the
Department to make evidence-based decisions on pre-selection,
selection, control, and evaluation of new and ongoing IT investments.
It will also enable the elimination of legacy systems that are no
longer required, enhance interoperability, eradicate redundancy, and
leverage enterprise opportunities.
Question 12. In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
issued a ``Cloud First'' policy that required agency Chief Information
Officers to implement a cloud-based service whenever there was a
secure, reliable, and cost-effective option. How many of the
department's IT investments are cloud-based services (Infrastructure as
a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, etc.)? What
percentage of the department's overall IT investments are cloud-based
services? How has this changed since 2011?
Answer. OCIO is developing a Cloud Strategy for the Department that
will include an integrated framework to promote an iterative and
incremental approach for moving to the cloud, an integrated governance
structure for acquisition and risk management, and cloud-specific,
well-aligned information security practices. The FAA is also working to
finalize an enterprise-wide contract vehicle for a commercially
outsourced cloud solution. This solution will be available to all of
DOT.
DOT has successfully leveraged the cloud to manage enterprise
systems. For example, the Department's Enterprise Notification System
(ENS) provides an enterprise-wide capability for notification in
emergency situations for DOT at headquarters and in modal field sites.
It has the capability for mass notification to alert groups of
employees, or locales, simultaneously. The ENS has the capability to
send a message via e-mail, cell phone, and landline phone. The platform
also allows users to respond to questions or inquiries from the system
to account for personnel during emergencies.
In addition, DOT has deployed an enterprise Content Management
System in the cloud to support web development across the Department.
The DOT.gov website was completely redesigned during the migration to
the cloud service and was deployed as the first cabinet-level website
built in responsive design, a feature that supports mobile users. DOT
has successfully migrated several legacy modal websites to the
enterprise cloud service in an effort to reduce the duplication of web
platforms.
Question 13. Provide short summaries of three recent IT program
successes--projects that were delivered on time, within budget, and
delivered the promised functionality and benefits to the end user. How
does your department define ``success'' in IT program management? What
``best practices'' have emerged and been adopted from these recent IT
program successes? What have proven to be the most significant barriers
encountered to more common or frequent IT program successes?
Answer.
i. The Department of Transportation's Departmental Procurement
Platform (DP2) modernization initiative supports the
Organizational Excellence strategic goal by standardizing and
integrating procurement and financial processes and systems to
better meet the dynamic mission of the Department. DP2 recently
achieved the first major deployment milestone on time and
within budget. In November 2014, NHTSA and FRA migrated from
their legacy PRISM systems to the integrated DP2 solution. The
DP2 deployment schedule is divided into three distinct waves to
reduce program risk and allow for analysis of lessons learned.
Lessons learned from first Wave were analyzed to benefit the
Wave 2 (FY16) and Wave 3 (FY17) deployments.
ii. The Electronic National Environmental Policy Act System (eNEPA)
tool expedites the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
development process by facilitating concurrent Agency reviews,
allowing for quick, clear, and transparent issue resolution,
and promoting trust and consensus among project partners. The
results are efficient environmental reviews, improved results,
and reduced project development time and cost. FHWA delivered
this project in March 2014, ahead of schedule and under budget.
iii. The FAA Shared Services model is aligned with OMB's Shared
Services Concept, mapping the initial FAA IT Portfolio of
Services and supporting IT functions to the AOA Strategic
Initiatives. In FY 2013, the FAA IT Shared Services Office
(ITSSO) achieved an aggressive $36 million cost reduction in IT
spending. The FAA Office of Information & Technology (AIT) is
on course to achieve significant improvements in the
effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery, cost savings,
and rapid deployment of new services.
Question 14. Drunk driving is an issue I have fought to end since I
was New Mexico's Attorney General. I want to thank the department for
its ongoing support of the DADSS study. As you know, FY16 is the last
year for which the program is authorized under the ROADS SAFE act. This
public-private partnership has developed some great technology. But we
still have more work left to do to get this project to the finish line.
So I hope I can count on your support. Of course, DADSS is only one
part of the safety issues that surround drunk driving prevention
efforts. I am pleased to see the President's ongoing commitment to
high-visibility enforcement programs, such as the annual Drive Sober or
Get Pulled Over initiative. Do you foresee changes to NHTSA's research
operations, in particular to its DADSS work or drunk driving data
collection?
Answer. Given the more than 10,000 highway deaths involving alcohol
impairment that occur each year, NHTSA remains committed to research
operations to reduce drunk driving and the resulting deaths. NHTSA
expects to continue the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety
(DADSS) cooperative research program to develop technology that could
passively detect a driver's blood alcohol content and prevent impaired
driving through at least 2017. The current DADSS research program,
which built upon previous cooperative research, started in 2013. It is
a 5-year Cooperative Agreement between NHTSA and the Automotive
Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which includes 17 automakers.
Funding for the DADSS program has been authorized and appropriated to
the program for the first 3 years of the new Cooperative Agreement, and
if funding is authorized and appropriated for the remaining two years
of the agreement, the research program is expected to continue making
significant progress toward integrating and testing the technology in
real vehicles by 2016.
Question 15. Do you believe NHTSA has sufficient resources to
continue providing at least the same level of support to drunk driving
prevention efforts with the growth of distracted driver prevention
efforts?
Answer. NHTSA has had a comprehensive program to combat impaired
driving for many decades, including research, demonstration projects,
public information, grants to states, and technical assistance. We
began our focus on distracted driving more recently, and our efforts,
with those of our safety partners, have been instrumental in the
enactment of State distracted driving laws. We believe we have the
appropriate balance between the two program areas, given the relative
magnitude of the problems. These safety problems have persisted, so the
GROW AMERICA Act requests additional funding and flexibility for states
to address both impaired and distracted driving. GROW AMERICA would
provide additional pathways for states to be eligible for both grant
programs, while at the same time continuing to incentivize them to
adopt and implement effective laws. The Administration has also
requested additional funding for both grant programs. These changes
would provide the Agency with additional resources and tools necessary
to provide adequate support for both our drunk and distracted driving
programs and activities.
Question 16. How is the agency managing the need to address both of
these critical issues?
Answer. NHTSA has been applying its existing resources as provided
by Congress to address these issues. These are both critical safety
areas, with impaired driving responsible for more than ten thousand
deaths annually. Through our approach in relying on data-based problem
identification, implementation and evaluation, NHTSA is committed to
addressing impaired driving from whatever sources available. NHTSA will
also continue the Agency's successful strategy in partnering with
states and key national organizations to leverage resources and
maximize safety impacts.
Question 17. While there are many provisions in the GROW America
proposal that I think are helpful and support, I have concerns about
the proposed changes to the 4(f) historic preservation protections. I
recently wrote you on the subject and am still awaiting a reply. In my
letter, I outline the potential problems that these changes would make,
including further complicating the project review process by adding an
additional layer of bureaucracy and new regulatory requirements. Has
the department considered the concerns raised by state and tribal
historic preservation officers to the proposed changes?
Answer. Yes, the Department considered many concerns and comments
in the development of the GROW AMERICA bill. The process envisioned by
Section 1005 is intended to be applied in a limited number of cases
where the parties are in agreement that no alternative exists to avoid
the protected historic resource, and the agreement prepared under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act satisfies the
conditions to minimize harm to the resource. The intent is to reduce
the need for unnecessary avoidance analysis in those limited cases in
which there is clearly no alternative to the preferred solution, such
as improving an existing historic rail alignment. Further, we believe
it will improve the Section 106 review process if we have ensured that
necessary protections and mitigation are agreed upon before signing the
Memorandum of Understanding.
Question 18. If so, where would the resources to provide the
necessary additional support to these professionals come from in the
budget?
Answer. We already have the ability to participate with the State
DOTs in funding liaison positions at State Historic Preservation
Offices (SHPO) in order to expedite our projects through the review
process. About half of the states at any given time have DOT liaisons
in their SHPO. Other parties in the process could also benefit from the
online interactive training in Section 4(f) currently available. We a
re committed to working with State and tribal historic preservation
officers who are engaged in the Section 106 process to ensure that they
are provided an opportunity for comment, without adding substantial
burden.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Gary Peters to
Hon. Anthony R. Foxx
Question 1. The Michigan Department of Transportation and the
University of Michigan, in partnership with industry, are working to
develop an entire system of connected and automated transportation on
the streets of southeastern Michigan through 2021. They are also
looking to expand the successful V2V Safety Pilot in Ann Arbor for an
additional three years, with a greater emphasis on V2I. If we continue
to focus on advancing intelligent transportation systems in vehicles
and in smarter infrastructure--we can spur innovation, create jobs,
discover new business models and opportunities not previously possible,
and we can save thousands of lives.
Secretary Foxx--How does the DOT, as part of the GROW AMERICA Act,
plan to advance intelligent transportation systems?
Answer. In his FY 2016 Budget Request, reflected in the revised
GROW AMERICA Act proposal, the President recognized the value of
connected vehicles and infrastructure, saving lives while improving
mobility and reducing environmental impacts. President Obama's visit to
the Federal Highway Administration's research center last July
celebrated the advances we are making through research in this exciting
field.
The President's budget request for FY16 proposes $158M for ITS
research--that is a $64 million increase over the FY15 enacted budget
of $94 million; an increase of 68 percent. This is a huge vote of
confidence in what the ITS Program is accomplishing, and in the promise
for the future of surface transportation, as we move ITS research along
the continuum from connected cars to more fully automated vehicles.
Research that ties connected vehicles to connected infrastructure will
advance safety and mobility goals even further.
The significant budget increase proposed by the President enables
us not only to more swiftly realize the safety and other benefits of
vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, but
also to accelerate testing and research on the safe introduction of
automated vehicles in America's transportation systems. GROW AMERICA
would add an automated vehicle emphasis to the ITS Program goals and
authorities, in support of Departmental goals of enabling and
accelerating the development and deployment of automated vehicles,
evaluating the transformational potential of automated vehicles in a
real-world environment while reducing deployment risks for industry and
society.
More recently, the Department just closed the competition
announcement for our first round of Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilots
Deployment Projects. We've been partnering with industry and academia
for over a decade in connected vehicle research to leverage the
potentially transformative capabilities of Dedicated Short Range
Communications (DSRC) and other wireless technology to make surface
transportation safer, smarter, and greener. Following on to our
successful Safety Pilot in Ann Arbor, MI, the CV Pilots Deployment
Project seeks to spur initial implementations of connected vehicle
technology deployments in real world settings to deliver near-term
safety, mobility, and environmental benefits to the public. Pilot
deployments offer an opportunity for stakeholders and multiple partners
to develop operational ITS systems that exist well beyond the life of
the program.
Question 2. How can the Administration's action help accelerate the
development and deployment of this technology by academia and industry?
Answer. The Department has completed and will continue to pursue
several actions to help accelerate the development and deployment of
Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications and applications. As previously
mentioned, the Department expects to announce awards for the CV Pilots
Deployment Project in the Fall of 2015. In addition, USDOT has been
successfully working with a broad range of stakeholders including
vehicle manufacturers, academia, industry associations, public
agencies, and equipment suppliers, to develop, test, and evaluate the
Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) communications technology
for safety. This work led to a decision by USDOT to require the DSRC
technology in all new vehicles in a future year. This positive decision
was followed up by an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in
August 2014. Currently, USDOT is completing additional research and
analysis needed to support the development of a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking planned for 2016.
Specifically, the Connected Vehicle research program:
Developed and demonstrated key safety applications, such as
those related to intersection crash safety.
Provides technical resources and services that facilitate
the adoption of current ITS technologies while supporting early
adopters of evolving and new technologies including test beds
and certification configurations.
Helps industry develop open architecture and common
standards to accelerate commercialization of ITS research,
including the demonstrated compatibility of radio systems from
multiple vendors, verified interoperability among different
vehicle types from different vehicle manufacturers (cars,
trucks, buses), and developed and demonstrated aftermarket and
retrofit devices that can bring the technology to the existing
vehicle fleet faster.
Developed a secure communications approach utilizing
existing public key infrastructure (PKI) technology, adapting
PKI for a mobile environment and successfully demonstrated
fundamental operations of secure and trusted communications via
PKI in a real-world setting.
Showcased the feasibility of the technology in a variety of
real world environments via performance testing in multiple
urban and rural settings, including a 3,000 vehicle model
deployment Safety Pilot in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Has solicited applications for the Connected Vehicle (CV)
Pilots Deployment Project, which seeks operational applications
that capture and utilize new forms of connected vehicle and
mobile device data to improve system performance and enable
stronger performance-based systems management. [The proposal
due date for the CV Pilots Broad Agency Announcement was March
27, 2015.]
Integrates outreach and professional capacity building into
the technology, testing, and evaluation lifecycle to involve
users in the early resolution of problems to speed market
adoption.
Question 3. Besides the incredible life-saving safety benefits of
these technologies--what do you see as some of the other benefits of
V2V and V2I?
Answer. Safety is USDOT's top priority, and connected vehicle
technologies could address over 80 percent of crashes involving
unimpaired drivers. After focusing USDOT's research and deployment
efforts on safety applications, a wide range of downstream applications
such as improved mobility and environmental sustainability are coming
into focus. Wireless connectivity in our vehicles and infrastructure
will help generate new data about how, when, and where vehicles
travel--information which transportation managers can analyze to help
make roads less congested, and build in safeguards to protect privacy.
In addition, connected vehicle technologies will generate real-time
data that drivers and transportation managers can use to make more
efficient ``green'' transportation choices. Indeed, a variety of ITS
applications have been deployed that provide mobility and environmental
benefits, including advanced traffic signal systems, ramp meters, smart
parking applications, transit signal priority, dynamic routing
applications for fleet operators, and active traffic demand management
(ATDM) strategies.
Also, following on the heels of the successful Safety Pilot Model
Deployment in Ann Arbor, the USDOT is seeking to expand field testing
beyond safety applications and has solicited applications for the
Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilots Deployment Project, which seeks
operational applications that capture and utilize new forms of
connected vehicle and mobile device data to improve system performance
and enable stronger performance-based systems management.
Question 4. The focus on intelligent transportation systems has
been on keeping drivers and passengers safe--but I'm curious about how
the DOT plans to account for the protection of pedestrians,
motorcyclists, and bicyclists as part of the connected and automated
vehicles ecosystem?
Answer. With fatalities involving pedestrians, motorcyclists, and
bicycles representing approximately 30 percent of all traffic related
deaths, USDOT understands the special safety needs and challenges
associated with these vulnerable groups. The protection of pedestrians,
motorcyclists, and bicyclists, are all part of the Department's ongoing
efforts in the areas of connected and automated vehicle research.
The USDOT is already engaged in a study to identify vehicle to
pedestrian applications that would warn the driver, pedestrian or both
of an impending collision using DSRC technology, and we are estimating
the potential benefits of such warnings. In FY14, USDOT reviewed and
assessed operational and prototype pedestrian detection and warning
systems, held two focus group meetings on technology acceptance/
usability, and began analyzing the role of DSRC and other
communications methods. In FY15-16, the Department plans to test
vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) technologies at the Turner Fairbank Highway
Research Center (TFHRC) intersection test bed for market readiness and
real world implementation. Both intersection and non-intersection
(i.e., mid-block) crashes will be tested.
In terms of automated technologies, the department has been
researching systems that can automatically brake a vehicle to avoid
striking a pedestrian, referred to as pedestrian crash avoidance and
mitigation (PCAM) systems. The goal of this research is to complete
performance requirements, test procedures which can be used by the
Department, and specifically, the National Highway Traffic safety
Administration (NHTSA) to make key next steps decisions. NHTSA
estimates that these systems could potentially address up to 46 percent
of pedestrian crashes.
Motorcycles equipped with Vehicle Awareness Devices (VADs) were
already part of the Safety Pilot Model Deployment conducted in
Michigan, and with our industry research partners (CAMP) have completed
a preliminary assessment of the performance requirements for applying
DSRC technology to motorcycles. USDOT is currently developing plans for
the next phase of research related to applying connected vehicle
technology to address pedestrian and motorcycle crashes, and we
anticipate projects involving laboratory, simulations, and
demonstration testing to be initiated in the coming year.
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