[Senate Hearing 116-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
  TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                  APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021

                              ----------        
                              


                        WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020

                                        U.S. Senate
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met at 10:02 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Susan Collins (chairman) 
presiding.
    Present: Senators Collins, Alexander, Boozman, Capito, 
Hoeven, Daines, Reed, Murray, Feinstein, Coons, Murphy, and 
Manchin.

                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

STATEMENT OF THE HON. ELAINE L. CHAO, SECRETARY

             OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS

    Senator Collins. The subcommittee will come to order.
    Good morning, everyone. We are beginning in the absence of 
our ranking minority member because he has given us permission 
to do so. He is on his way. And, given the challenges of the 
schedule this morning, which includes a 10:30 vote, we are 
going to begin the hearing.
    I am going to shorten my opening statement, which I know 
will come as a huge disappointment to everyone here, and ask 
unanimous consent that the full statement be submitted for the 
record as if read.
    I am pleased this morning to welcome the Secretary of 
Transportation, Elaine Chao. She will be testifying on the 
President's fiscal year 2021 budget request. I also know that I 
will be joined by my friend and our ranking member, Senator 
Jack Reed. We have worked very successfully together over the 
years, and I am sure we will this year, as well.
    The Administration's budget request of $89 billion includes 
$17.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA 
has rightly been focused on the Boeing 737 MAX over the past 
year and is now also part of the Federal response to fighting 
the Coronavirus.
    Last July, our subcommittee held an important oversight 
hearing with senior career officials from the FAA to examine 
the certification of the MAX aircraft, and we are particularly 
attune to this issue as we approach the 1-year anniversary of 
the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
    The resulting investigations from the NTSB, the Joint 
Authorities Technical Review, and the Special Committee on 
Aircraft Certification have led to numerous recommendations to 
improve aviation safety, and we included the funding and 
directives necessary to implement these recommendations in last 
year's bill. For example, we provided increased funding to hire 
new staff with specialization in human factors and system 
safety and for technical outreach to other nations' civil 
aviation authorities and foreign air carriers.
    Building on our work, the Administration's budget calls for 
additional aviation safety experts, creates a new Organization 
Designation Authorization (ODA) office, improves the FAA's 
whistleblower hotline, and makes several other critical safety 
initiatives.
    While the FAA continues its work on the MAX aircraft, it 
also needs to keep in sight numerous other safety challenges:
    The IG has found problems with the FAA's oversight of 
aircraft maintenance.
    The Office of Special Counsel, thanks to whistleblowers, 
found inconsistent training requirements for safety inspectors.
    And, recent crashes in California and Hawaii have once 
again highlighted the need for a focus on helicopter safety.
    FAA must respond to these concerns in order to maintain the 
public's confidence on our Nation's aviation system. I know 
that this has been a focus of the Secretary and FAA 
Administrator Dickson over the past year.
    Turning to our Nation's infrastructure, I am pleased to see 
the inclusion of the popular BUILD Grant Program in the 
Administration's budget request and long-term surface 
transportation proposal. I have championed the BUILD Program 
since 2009, as well as INFRA grants, which are focused on 
freight corridors. Members have seen the benefits of these 
competitive grant programs in their home States.
    These programs have been particularly helpful for Maine's 
rural communities and for rural communities across America. Let 
me give you an example. The community of Lubec, which is a 
fishing community, will be able to build a safe harbor for 
local fishermen. Over the years, there have been many fishermen 
who have lost their lives due to the lack of a breakwater and a 
safe mooring place.
    The BUILD Act has also enabled the replacement, or will 
enable the replacement, of an important bridge in Aroostook 
County and Madawaska that connects Canada with the United 
States. It will allow the largest employer in the region to 
continue transporting raw materials and finished goods without 
having to detour 52 miles.
    While these competitive grant programs are important, it is 
also crucial that we maintain our commitment to funding our 
Nation's infrastructure by enacting a new Surface 
Reauthorization Bill and restoring the solvency of the Highway 
Trust Fund. Without a long-term solution to the solvency of the 
Trust Fund, State and local governments could face the 
potential of not being reimbursed for work they have already 
completed.
    While I applaud the Administration's comprehensive 10-year, 
$810 billion surface transportation proposal, I remain 
concerned that no specific funding sources have been 
identified. I know the Administration is working very closely 
with the authorizing committees in this regard.
    I am grateful to the Secretary for her focus on America's 
rural communities, which have the highest rates of roadway 
fatalities and the greatest mobility challenges. I was 
disappointed, however, to see that the Administration's budget 
request once again proposes to cut funding for the Essential 
Air Service Program and for Amtrak's long-distance network. I 
am concerned that cutting long-distance service would not only 
hurt rural communities, but would also increase shared costs 
for Amtrak's State-supported services, such as Maine's 
Downeaster Route.
    Another area of concern are the proposed cuts to the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA. 
Recent data on highway fatalities remain concerning, 
particularly the substantial increase in pedestrian fatalities. 
I am concerned that the proposed budget cuts to NHTSA's 5-Star 
Safety Ratings Program and the Office of Defects Investigation 
could be a step backward for highway safety.
    Finally, I want to commend the Secretary for including $300 
million for the fourth State Maritime Academy training ship 
this year for the State of Texas. The National Security Multi-
Mission Vessels are critical for training cadets at Maine 
Maritime Academy, as well as the other five State academies. I 
look forward to hearing from the Secretary on the status of 
construction of these ships.
    Madam Secretary, I look forward to hearing your statement. 
And I would now normally turn to our ranking member. I am going 
to turn to you instead for your opening statement, and then we 
will hear from Senator Reed. Thank you.

                SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. ELAINE L. CHAO

    Secretary Chao. Thank you, Chairman Collins, Ranking Member 
Reed, even though he is not here, and members of the 
subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 
President's fiscal year 2021 budget request for the Department 
of Transportation.
    The President is requesting a total of $89 billion to 
support transportation programs, an overall 2 percent increase 
above funds enacted in fiscal year 2020 Appropriations Act. 
This represents the largest request for the U.S. Department of 
Transportation in our Nation's history. This funding will 
enable the Department to continue our work in providing 
Americans with safe and dependable transportation, help deliver 
infrastructure more efficiently, and prepare for the future in 
an era of rapid technological change.
    The President is requesting $1 trillion to rebuild, 
restore, and renew our Nation's infrastructure, and this 
request includes two parts. First, the President's budget 
envisions a 10-year surface transportation proposal that would 
provide a historic $810 billion for surface transportation, 
building upon the FAST Act. The proposal also includes an 
additional $190 billion in investments across a range of 
infrastructure sectors, including bridges, and also great 
bottlenecks.
    The Department's Discretionary Grant Program addresses a 
wide variety of infrastructure needs, benefitting both urban 
and rural areas. Towards this end, the President's 
discretionary budget includes $1 billion for the INFRA Grant 
Program and an additional $1 billion for the BUILD Grant 
Program.
    With respect to transit, the President's budget includes 
nearly $1.9 billion for the Federal Transit Administration, the 
CIG Capital Investment Program. This request funds the current 
portfolio of transit projects that have signed full-funding 
grant agreements, and it provides an additional $925 million 
for new projects that may become eligible for funding during 
fiscal year 2021.
    Turning to aviation, the President's budget recommends 
$17.5 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA. 
This includes $1.5 billion for aviation safety. It also 
includes an increase of $37 million to establish a centralized 
Organization Designation Authorization office, ODA. It will 
also coordinate FAA's work with industry manufacturers to 
certify aircraft safety, a recommendation consistent with the 
ongoing Boeing 737 MAX reviews. As we approach the March 10th 
anniversary of the crash of Ethiopian Air 302, we remember 
those who were lost, and the family and loved ones, as well.
    The President's budget once again includes $300 million for 
the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel Replacement Program 
to replace the aging School Ship Fleet that provides training 
among the students attending the State Maritime Academies.
    Turning to rail infrastructure, I want to also highlight 
some key actions that the Department is taking to advance the 
restoration of assets on the Northeast Corridor.
    First, I want to give credit to the State of New Jersey. 
Due to their hard work, New Jersey Transit in particular, we 
recently announced that the Portal Bridge Project has, for the 
first time, achieved an eligible rating of medium-high in the 
Capital Investment Grant, CIG Program. The Federal Transit 
Administration is now working closely with the project sponsors 
to resolve project details and advancement into engineering.
    Second, later today, the FRA, Federal Railroad 
Administration, will release an environmental assessment, an 
EA, for the replacement of the Sawtooth Bridge. This bridge, 
also a component of the so-called Gateway Program--there are 
basically nine projects in the New York/New Jersey area--
experiences about 350 train crossings every day on the 
Northeast Corridor. Replacement will double the corridor 
capacity in this area from two to four tracks, and increase 
train speeds by as much as 50 percent.
    And finally, I am pleased to report that the U.S. 
Department of Transportation is working closely with Amtrak to 
advance rehabilitation work on the Hudson Tunnel, also known as 
the North River Tunnel. Ensuring the safety and reliability of 
the North River Tunnel is a near-term priority the Department 
shares with many stakeholders in the region.
    Plans originally called for rehabilitation work to come 
after construction of a new tunnel, the Hudson Tunnel, which 
would take 7 to 10 years. In the meantime, in the interest of 
addressing safety concerns expressed by multitudes of 
stakeholders, the Department is now working with Amtrak to 
design and validate a rehabilitation program that can begin as 
much as 10 years ahead of schedule. This collaboration 
highlights our mutual commitment to ensure continued safety and 
reliability in the existing tunnel as the first order of 
business.
    Let me be clear. This is separate from the issue of 
expanding capacity into Penn Station and the importance of both 
a new tunnel and a Penn Station expansion necessary to 
accomplish that. Addressing immediate safety concerns by 
beginning rehab work in the existing tunnel is the right move; 
not waiting 7 to 10 years for the construction of a new tunnel 
beforehand. Exploring new and innovative methods for repairing 
the North River Tunnel while still in operation could allow 
Amtrak to commence repairs as soon as possible.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman, Ranking Member, for the 
opportunity to appear before you and the rest of the committee 
regarding programs involved and included in the President's 
fiscal year 2020 budget request, and I will be happy to answer 
any questions that you may have.
    Thank you.
    [The statement follows.]
                Prepared Statement of Hon. Elaine L. Chao
                              introduction
    Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Reed, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President's 
fiscal year 2021 Budget request for the Department of Transportation. 
The President is requesting a total of $89 billion to support 
transportation programs--an overall 2 percent increase above funds 
provided in the fiscal year 2020 Appropriations Act. This funding will 
enable the Department to continue our important work in providing 
Americans with safe and dependable transportation, and will support our 
progress in improving transportation infrastructure throughout the 
Nation.
    The Department of Transportation's budget includes a hybrid of 
different kinds of Federal funds. Typically, about 75 percent of the 
Department's Budget comes from mandatory authorizations primarily 
derived from the Highway and Aviation Trust Funds, while the remaining 
25 percent is funded through discretionary appropriations, largely from 
the General Funds. Recently, I have seen comparisons of the 
Transportation budget that focus solely on the smaller discretionary 
portion. By selecting only the discretionary components the budget 
shows a reduction from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021. But this 
is only part of the story.
    When one looks at the whole picture, including Trust Fund programs, 
the President's fiscal year 2021 Budget request recommends the highest 
funding for transportation investment in our Nation's history.
                a new vision for surface transportation
    In a few short months, our current surface transportation 
authorization--the ``Fixing America's Surface Transportation'' or FAST 
Act--will expire. In anticipation of this deadline, I am especially 
pleased to share that the President's budget includes a total of $1 
trillion to rebuild, restore and renew our Nation's infrastructure. 
This request includes two parts. First, the budget envisions a historic 
10-year authorization for the Department of Transportation's surface 
transportation programs that will provide $810 billion of predictable 
funding. The President's request also includes an additional $190 
billion for addressing other infrastructure improvements including 
bridge and freight bottlenecks.
    Our plan builds on the foundation of the FAST Act and generally 
relies on the existing program structure for highways and highway 
safety programs, transit, and rail. After the first year, funding 
increases are built into the 10-year framework at about 4 percent each 
year. No major changes are envisioned to the current formula 
distributions for States and other recipients.
    Our proposal will lay out an authorization that provides more 
flexibility for States and other stakeholders. It includes program and 
policy changes that will enable us to build modern infrastructure more 
quickly while ensuring that both rural and urban areas receive the 
assistance they need. We are also recommending significant investments 
for rebuilding and repairing highways and bridges by using flexible 
grants and modern innovative finance tools that will help us get 
projects moving quickly. The proposal also includes legislative 
revisions that will reduce the regulatory and administrative burdens 
that often force communities to wait years for the infrastructure 
improvements they desperately need.
    The Administration's detailed legislative language is currently 
under review within the Administration. Once that process is complete 
and legislation is submitted, the Department will be free to discuss 
its contents in full detail. In the meantime, the President's budget 
provides a blueprint summary of the $810 billion reauthorization 
proposal.
            investing in competitive infrastructure programs
    The President's Budget demonstrates the Administration's strong 
support for States and other entities charged with improving or 
replacing our aging transportation infrastructure. Toward this end, the 
President's Budget for DOT requests significant resources for several 
competitive grant programs, including $1billion for the Infrastructure 
for Rebuilding America (or INFRA) grant program and an additional $1 
billion for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development 
(or BUILD) grant program. These programs provide Federal assistance for 
critical projects that will spur progress in both rural and urban 
communities across all modes of surface transportation infrastructure: 
highways, transit, rail, and ports.
    With respect to transit, the President's Budget includes this 
Administration's largest request ever for the Federal Transit 
Administration's Capital Investment Grant program: $1.9 billion. This 
request funds the current portfolio of transit projects that have 
signed Full Funding Grant Agreements. Another $925 million is reserved 
for new projects that may become eligible for Full Funding Grant 
Agreements during fiscal year 2021.
      targeted investments for the federal aviation administration
    The President's Budget recommends $17.5 billion for FAA and 
includes nearly $1 billion across its programs to support the on-going 
work of NextGen. The request is consistent with the fiscal year 2020 
Appropriations levels but does not propose repeating the new 
discretionary appropriation for Grants-in-Aid to Airports. Instead, the 
President's Budget includes the fully authorized level of $3.4 billion 
to support airport capital improvements.
    The Budget dedicates $1.5 billion for Aviation Safety--including an 
increase of $37 million to fund targeted investments to improve FAA's 
ability to respond to industry innovation, analyze safety trends, and 
improve accountability. Within this amount, funds will be used to 
establish a centralized Organization Designation Authorization office 
that will coordinate FAA's work with industry manufacturers to certify 
aircraft safety. This funding will also help to implement 
recommendations from the ongoing Boeing 737 MAX reviews.
    FAA continues to be at the forefront in planning for the 
integration of new and emerging technologies into the National Airspace 
System (NAS). Toward this end, the President's Budget requests $145 
million to further support the integration of unmanned aircraft systems 
(or drones) into the NAS; and, another $44 million to support 
Commercial Space activities. These programs demonstrate FAA's 
commitment to encouraging the use of new innovative technologies while 
at the same time ensuring the overall safety of the NAS.
        continuing the recapitalization of the school ship fleet
    Finally, the President's budget once again includes $300 million 
for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel replacement program. 
This program continues the Administration's efforts to replace the 
aging School Ship Fleet that provides hands-on-training for Midshipmen 
attending State Maritime Academies. These vessels serve a critical role 
in providing necessary at-sea training for those entering the maritime 
industry that cannot be duplicated in standard classroom settings.
    These are some of the key programs included in the President's 
fiscal year 2021 Budget request. Additional information is included in 
the Department's annual Budget Highlights document provided for your 
reference. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you 
today. I will be happy to answer your questions.

    Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Secretary Chao.
    Senator Reed, it is my pleasure to call on you for any 
opening remarks.
    Senator Reed. I will submit my statement for the record.
    Senator Collins. Okay. Thank you.
    Madam Secretary, clearly the FAA made the right decision in 
grounding the Boeing MAX aircraft last March after the tragic 
crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia. And, originally, the 
concerns that were raised had to do with the aircraft's MCAS 
system, but over the past few months, the FAA has found 
numerous other safety concerns with the aircraft, such as 
debris within the fuel tanks, gloves, tools, all sorts of 
things, and inadequate protection from lightning strikes.
    While I recognize that the FAA often finds minor safety 
concerns with aircraft that are already in service, I am 
troubled by the growing safety challenges with the MAX 
aircraft.
    So, I have two questions for you in this regard. One, given 
the numerous safety issues that have come to light regarding 
the MAX aircraft, do you have concerns about the FAA's original 
certification of the aircraft back in 2017?
    And second, could you give us an update and a timeline of 
the FAA's review of the MAX aircraft?
    Secretary Chao. Thank you for that question. The 
certification process is lengthy and it takes years. The 
certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 800 and 900 started in 2012 
and 2013. This is a process which has occurred over many years. 
But, obviously, with the crash of both Indonesian Air and 
Ethiopian Air 302, there is a renewed look at what has 
transpired, and what can be done to prevent such tragedies in 
the future.
    I have called for an Inspector General's review of the 
certification process. I have also established a Blue Ribbon 
Committee to review the process by which certification occurred 
over the 5 to 6 years from 2012 onward.
    The FAA itself has initiated a number of reviews and 
examinations, as well. Everyone is concerned as to what 
contributed to those crashes. So, when the plane, the MAX 800 
and 900, were initially grounded on March 13th of 2019, we had 
no timetable for un-grounding it. The FAA made that decision of 
grounding the aircraft based on specific information at that 
time. The FAA is a fact-based organization, and that is how it 
makes its decision. We are now coming upon a year since the 
grounding of the 737 MAX 800 and 900.
    I have told the FAA and made it very, very clear that we 
have no set timetable--and they agree. They believe this, as 
well. Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of this 
aircraft before it is ever ungrounded. Safety is the number one 
priority of this Department, and I have told the FAA, as well, 
that we will devote whatever resources they need to ensure that 
they are able to do their job.
    And, as mentioned in my opening statement, we have about 
$1.5 billion that is devoted to aviation safety, of which we 
have added another additional $37 million to take a look at the 
Boeing certification process, including the ODA process, as 
well.
    Senator Collins. The other issue regarding these crashes 
that has been raised to me from the families who lost loved 
ones is whether FAA, if appropriate, will take personnel action 
if it is found that certain employees did not do their job 
effectively.
    I know it would be premature until all of the studies, 
including the Inspector General's study, is reviewed, but 
should you find that there were mistakes that should not have 
been made or other more serious problems with personnel, are 
you and the FAA administrator prepared to take action?
    Secretary Chao. The short answer is yes. Let me also say 
that the FAA office that is in charge of the certification is 
devastated. They are professionals. They care deeply about 
their mission. To have something, such tragedies, occur during 
their watch has been devastating for the office, for their 
families, for the communities, including the company's 
personnel in the City of Seattle.
    But, I do believe that accountability is due, and if indeed 
there is evidence that there is fault, we will not hesitate to 
take action. Now, of course, we have to take such action in 
compliance with career civil service protection. But, I think 
with such a tragedy as this, if the evidence points this out, 
there should be accountability.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. And let me just make clear that 
I share your view that the vast majority of employees of the 
FAA do an extraordinary job and are very dedicated to their 
mission.
    Senator Reed.
    Senator Reed. Well, thank you, Madam Chairman. I look 
forward to working with you again this year. Thank you very 
much. And, Madam Secretary, thank you for joining us today and 
for your work.
    One initial point is, looking at the President's budget, 
there is I think inadequate commitment to surface 
transportation. In fact, the President is proposing to spend 
$2.2 billion less on surface transportation than what President 
Obama proposed in 2015, and the problem certainly has not 
gotten that much better. In fact, I think we recognize we have 
a significant challenge.
    In addition, with the Corona Virus situation causing 
economic havoc, with the Federal Reserve moving aggressively to 
cut rates, I think we ought to be looking at fiscal stimulation 
as a way to keep their economy moving, also. And no better form 
of fiscal stimulation, in my view, is the infrastructure 
expenditures. So, that initial point.
    But, let me turn to some specific issues with respect to 
the Corona Virus and its impact. The CDC is requiring airlines 
to provide more passenger information, contact information, 
with respect to determining the possible spread of the Corona 
Virus. There is no real established method the airlines are 
using, sort of paper-manifested at this point in their----
    Can you give us an idea what the Department is doing to 
help identify with the airlines what contact information can be 
provided quickly in the near term? And, then, moving forward, 
how can we better prepare to meet this public health crisis 
like this in the future?
    Secretary Chao. This is a Government-wide response, and so 
there is a Government-wide task force obviously, as you can 
imagine, and the Department is a member on the task force.
    The President spoke about this 2 days ago. The Vice 
President is now in charge of the task force. CDC and 
Department of Health and Human Services, are two key players in 
responding to this public crisis. The Department of 
Transportation's, equity relates to the airlines. We are not in 
charge of the airports. We are not in charge of the security 
clearance. That is all Department of Homeland Security.
    We have been working with the airlines, and there is a 
perplexing problem in that CDC believes that it is really 
important to be able to trace every single person who has been 
on an airplane that has had an illness.
    And, so, they want to be able to have the contact 
information of every single passenger. Unfortunately, airlines 
currently do not have that capability. Forty-five percent of 
the contact information that an airline would have are actually 
travel agents, intermediary third-party bookers, engagement 
managers.
    So, we are now discussing with the airlines about how to 
get this contact information that's closer to the source of the 
passenger than currently what they have. And the airlines are 
very willing to do this. It is just taking, I think, a bit--it 
is taking some effort to try to find out how to get that 
person, the traveler, the passenger's, direct personal 
information.
    Senator Reed. This raises a larger question of, you know, 
people have been talking about the outbreak of a pandemic for 
years and getting ready and being prepared. And, in fact, in 
2015, the GAO, as you probably realize, did an audit after the 
Ebola outbreak and recommended that the Department of 
Transportation take the lead in a preparedness plan that would 
involve airlines, airports, et cetera. DOT demurred; they did 
not do it. There was sort of a jump ball between different 
agencies. I understand that, but we are at the point now where 
I think this experience should convince us we need a 
comprehensive plan so that in a crisis like this, we are not 
sort of ad hoc trying to figure out can travel agents get the 
information, et cetera.
    So, what are you going to do with your partners to try to 
get this planning process going and an agency who--and the 
recommendation of GAO DOT take the lead and get it done?
    Secretary Chao. The GAO report was in 2015, and the 
previous administration actually said that they were not the 
proper entities to do so. Again, the DOT, the Department of 
Transportation, is a member of the larger task force. It is 
actually more ideal and safer for the public if there was a 
coordinated effort, Government-wide, rather than individual 
Government agencies unilaterally going ahead and implementing 
their plan.
    Obviously, your concerns are my concerns. We want to be 
responsive. We want to be quick. And, new things pop up. So, we 
are working with the Government-wide response plan and, you 
know, we hope to resolve that one. But there are other issues 
that come up.
    Senator Reed. No, this does emanate from 2015. I understand 
that. But, at this juncture, I think it is imperative that the 
Administration announce a lead agency to coordinate--I 
understand it is multiple agencies--to coordinate a plan and 
put in a timeline so that this plan will be finalized by a 
reasonable date, and I would hope you could carry that message 
back. And they might decide that DOT should do it, but somebody 
has got to do it.
    Secretary Chao. As mentioned, there is a Government-wide 
task force, and the President announced the Vice President is 
in charge.
    But, we all totally agree. We need to act promptly. We need 
to be responsive and address the issues.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
    Senator Collins. Senator Capito.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Madam Chair. And it is nice to 
see you, Secretary, and I appreciate all of your work not only 
in my State, which has been terrific, but across the Nation, 
and your service.
    Last year, we worked to get and we were successful in 
getting the $100 million in direct appropriations to our 
Appalachian Development Highway System. As you know, and you 
and I have talked about this, the Corridor H Project still 
remains unfinished and it is still quite costly, the last part, 
because the difficult miles are ahead.
    I am curious to know what your Department's priorities are 
in terms of the Appalachian Development Highway Systems. And, 
if you could explain what that $100 million infusion into that 
system has been used for.
    Secretary Chao. Well, the Department is certainly committed 
to Appalachian communities and the completion of the 
Appalachian Development Highway System.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. Currently, approximately 90 percent of the 
system is open to traffic.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. And within the fiscal year 2020 
Appropriations Act, I was very pleased to see it finally 
include the $100 million. So, the President and the 
Administration is now looking at the Surface Reauthorization 
Act.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. And we are actually working through 
legislative language through the clearance process within the 
Executive Branch. So, we hope that this priority will continue 
to be reflected in the reauthorization, as well.
    As for how the $100 million is spent, there is a whole plan 
there.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. I don't have that ready.
    Senator Capito. Yeah.
    Secretary Chao. So I will get that to you.
    Senator Capito. That is fine. Thank you, and I appreciate 
that.
    I think that what we found in looking at the different 
systems and the 10 percent that is yet to be completed, some 
States have sort of re-evaluated where they are moving forward. 
This one is still, as you know, and you and I have talked about 
this, a major priority for our State because of the--it would 
really open up the central part of our State to a lot of 
economic development.
    Speaking of the highway bill, I am EPW, as well, and was 
part of the development of the bill that we put together and 
passed out of that committee unanimously, and I am hoping that 
we can get to that sometime in the next several months here.
    One of the issues that I have been concerned about is 
bridges. West Virginia is number five in the number of 
deficient bridges, and in that bill, we were able to dedicate 
$6 billion to this challenge. And, I know that you, at the 
Department, have prioritized this in terms of bridges. What 
kind of progress have you made with that and what kind of 
emphasis do you have on that in this budget?
    Secretary Chao. Well, your point just reinforces the 
importance of paying attention to rural America.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. Because 90 percent of bridges that are 
deemed to have some deficiency are in rural America, and about 
90 percent of--85 percent of bridges with weight limits are 
actually in rural America.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. So, after a period of great neglect, we are 
finally beginning to address the needs of rural America.
    So, on the issue of bridges that you bring out in 
particular, obviously our number one concern is safety. And the 
President's budget this year, this request, includes a $35 
billion proposal to rebuild rural and large urban bridges 
across the Country. And, to maximize its effectiveness, the 
program would dedicate about $12 billion for what is called 
off-system bridges, allocated by a formula, and about $23 
billion will be provided for larger bridges by a competitive 
process.
    So, Congress, obviously your advocacy for your State and 
these issues has also been very important.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. I will brag just a little bit for you. Last 
year's fiscal year 2020 Department of Transportation 
Appropriations Act included $1.1 billion for the Formula Bridge 
Replacement Rehabilitation Program.
    Senator Capito. Yeah. That is absolutely critical, and I 
appreciate the emphasis on the rural areas because a State like 
ours that has a lot of mountains and a lot of streams, we have 
a lot of bridges and we do not have the necessary dollars it 
takes to not just replace, but to maintain.
    And, also, one of the things that we built into the highway 
bill that we are hoping to get to is a lot more sustainable 
building, a lot more innovative ways to construct, that will 
use the natural environment, but will also have a longer life, 
and I think that is something that is smart.
    I am going to ask you quickly because this is an issue I am 
very concerned about drunk driving. We have the DADSS Program 
that I have been working with them, which is a detection system 
within the car. There has been research and development on 
that. Where do you see the technology on this as the 
Department, and I am getting conflicting information. We are a 
year away from this. We could do it right now. And, so, I would 
like to hear the Department's or your perspectives on this.
    Secretary Chao. Well, we are certainly very focused on this 
new technology because it would certainly help. As for the 
timeline, unfortunately, that is part of the reality of new 
technology. We are just not quite sure. I think 1 year is a 
little bit optimistic, but we have current developments already 
included. For instance, we have field testing of operational 
prototypes.
    We have stakeholder teams for overall program direction.
    We are engaging in outreach efforts to encourage fleet 
operators to partner with us in deploying this technology 
because we need to test drive it with them.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Secretary Chao. Also, we are distributing updated 
guidelines to States' departments of transportation regarding 
how they might use their grant dollars for, you know, DADSS 
technology deployment.
    Senator Capito. I appreciate that.
    Secretary Chao. All of this is ongoing.
    Senator Capito. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned safety first, 
and obviously, the attribution of alcohol to many of accidents 
and deaths on our highways is way too high, so I am glad to be 
working with the Department, and thank you for your work in 
this area.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Collins. Senator Coons.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Chair Collins, Ranking Member 
Reed, and thank you Madam Secretary for joining us today. I 
have appreciated working with you. And I am grateful, Chairman 
Collins that this subcommittee has worked in a bipartisan 
manner to sustain investments in critically-needed 
infrastructure and transportation programs.
    I am sure you will be surprised that I am interested in 
talking about Amtrak. As someone who is a daily rider on 
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, I have a deep appreciation for it 
and concern about it. And, when Congress created Amtrak, our 
goal was to provide efficient and effective passenger rail 
service, and I am reminded daily of the challenges of our 
growing repair needs.
    If we invest in passenger rail, we can connect more 
industries to jobs, address highway congestion, speed up trade, 
and grow our economy. So, I was encouraged, Madam Secretary, to 
hear your updates about the Gateway Project in New Jersey and 
New York, and FRA.
    But, more broadly, my concern here is that this budget 
slashes Amtrak's funding and walks away from its mission by 
cutting funding more than 50 percent and zeroing out a Federal 
partnership for State of Good Repair investments when we have a 
$38 billion maintenance backlog.
    So, share with me for a moment, if you could, about how 
those fairly significant cuts in this otherwise very robust 
transportation package will impact Amtrak maintenance and 
operation of the current lines. And, how do you expect that 
Amtrak will make up these significant cuts?
    Secretary Chao. Well, I am a traveler, a passenger, on 
Amtrak, as well.
    Senator Coons. We invite you to stop through in Wilmington, 
Delaware anytime you would like. It is a great city.
    Secretary Chao. Been through it many times.
    Senator Coons. I know.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you.
    The President's budget actually requests nearly $1.5 
billion for Amtrak. It is $500 million less than the level last 
year, but it is also a reflection of the great job that the 
president of Amtrak, Richard Anderson, has done to increase the 
profitability of Amtrak.
    It was always the hope that Amtrak would be able to achieve 
and sustain overall profitability. And, for the first time 
ever, Amtrak is now nearing a positive number in terms of 
profits.
    The Northeast Corridor continues to be robust. It generated 
about $568 million in operating earnings last year, so Amtrak 
as a whole is on track to break even operationally. Amtrak 
currently carries a balance of $1 billion in cash and 
investments that can be used, that can be tapped, for its 
capital needs and for its other needs, as well.
    I think the greater discussion actually is the long-
distance route, and I am sure for some of your other Members 
who are involved, they would be more interested in that. I 
think that is a longer discussion.
    Senator Coons. Correct, and I would welcome a chance to 
have it. I agree that Amtrak has always been a balance between 
the Northeast Corridor and the long-distance routes, making 
sure that we are expanding access to a broader range of 
Americans, but the specific thing I was pointing to was the 
State of Good Repair backlog. I would welcome a chance for us 
to talk further about how we deal with this as there is a 
transition to a new CEO.
    Secretary Chao. Of course.
    Senator Coons. Wilmington, Delaware plays a central role in 
maintenance and in upkeep and repair.
    Secretary Chao. Yes.
    Senator Coons. We are home to a number of critical Amtrak 
facilities. And, as we move to a new generation of train sets, 
I am really optimistic that Amtrak will continue to recognize 
the great workforce and the centrality, the point that we are 
at on the Northeast Corridor, and the way that we can 
contribute in Delaware to the long-term health and viability of 
Amtrak.
    Let me turn to two other points, if I might. On the INFRA 
Grant Program that the chair spoke about is an important 
financing tool for railroads and bridges and highways, and her 
support on this has been critical. I just want to call your 
attention to the Delaware delegation support of the Delaware 
DOT's INFRA Grant application, which would improve safety and 
traffic operations on highways.
    I want to draw your attention to a tiny little program. In 
the President's budget, it is just $1.5 million, but it was 
intriguing to me and something I would love to work with you 
on. It is for a new FAA initiative around STEM, aviation, and 
space programs for K through 12 students. We have a huge 
shortage, current and emerging, of both maintenance technicians 
and airline pilots that will keep growing if we do not recruit 
the next generation of talent.
    In Delaware, we actually have a strong civil aviation 
community, both manufacturing companies, non-commercial 
airports, and outstanding post-secondary aviation programs. 
Delaware State University is the only HBCU in America with an 
aviation program. It has a dedicated airport, it has a 
dedicated fleet for training, and I think it could do a lot to 
produce America's next generation of trained professionals.
    So, I would love to talk with you about that. I would love 
to have you visit Delaware to look at some of our significant 
opportunities here. And, I would like to suggest back that I 
would be happy to work with you and the Administration on 
strengthening the appropriations, particularly if it goes 
beyond just K-12 and connects to the post-high school 
educational opportunities that are necessary to build the next 
generation of aviation leaders.
    Thank you, Madam Secretary.
    Secretary Chao. Being the former Secretary of Labor--I am 
very cognizant of the workforce needs, and I would be very 
pleased to work with you on that.
    Senator Coons. Yes. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
    Senator Reed [presiding]. Madam Secretary, the chairman has 
gone off to vote, and I will now begin the second round, and I 
will be asking lots of questions until my colleagues arrive, so 
thank you very much.
    We have touched on this before with respect to the FAA, and 
that is the Joint Authorities Technical Review Team found that 
the FAA was constrained by a lack of experienced engineers and 
recommended that obviously the workforce be enhanced and 
certified and enlarged, also.
    To that end, last year we provided an initial investment of 
$6.8 million for the hiring of additional safety staff while 
FAA finalized its workforce assessment. Your budget has a 
conservative estimate of a projected need of 236 positions, and 
yet only requests $10 million to hire an additional 50. I am 
concerned at this rate, we will be 5 years until we even hit 
your conservative hiring need. So, when will the FAA be able to 
finalize its workforce review so we can make a more informed 
decision on funding these critical positions?
    Secretary Chao. Well, it is an important issue, and I am 
glad you brought it up. Thank you.
    The FAA is actually assessing all of the recommendations, 
including the ones from a special committee that they had set 
up on the Boeing MAX issue, and they are developing an action 
plan and initiatives to respond to a number of these reviews.
    I have asked the FAA to provide me with their action plan 
by mid-April to address the recommendations of the special 
committee, and also enhance aviation safety, as well. The 
additional $50 million, that includes staffing within the FAA's 
Aviation Safety Organization, and it is supposed to 
operationalize the recommendations and ensure successful 
execution.
    I believe that they think it is sufficient, but I will ask 
because you have asked me as to whether they have taken a 
complete, comprehensive look as to whether additional resources 
and hirings are necessary.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.
    We received some news over the weekend, reports that pilots 
who received additional training proposed by Boeing as part of 
the 737 MAX recertification process, experienced difficulty 
with emergency procedures, the autopilot, and the emergency 
checklist during testing in December. In a total reversal of 
policy, Boeing announced in January that the company now 
supports simulated training for all pilots prior to resuming 
flying the aircraft.
    I am pleased to see that the FAA is likely to take a hard 
stand to ensure our pilots have the training they need for the 
737 MAX, which seemed to be clearly insufficient in the initial 
certification of the aircraft. When do you expect to have a 
final determination of the pilot training requirements for the 
737 MAX?
    Secretary Chao. That is a decision that FAA has to make. We 
have been in discussion about it. I know FAA has been talking 
about it. FAA Administrator, Steve Dickson, has actually taken 
a simulation run himself, he being a pilot. Currently, there 
are constraints, but we need to address all of those. For 
example, are there enough simulators? How many pilots do we 
have to be trained? How are the airlines going to manage this 
process? These are questions that are being addressed.
    But, clearly, FAA is working to increase and to return 
confidence to the traveling public regarding the Boeing MAX 800 
and 900.
    Senator Reed. Right.
    Secretary Chao. This is a step that may be very necessary 
to help restore trust.
    Senator Reed. That obviously makes a great deal of sense.
    And, you mentioned an issue that I think will be a 
significant one, and that is the capacity for simulator 
training. These are very expensive devices, and one gets the 
impression that there were cost considerations initially in not 
recommending the simulators. That is an impression. I don't 
have evidence.
    Secretary Chao. Clearly not on our part.
    Senator Reed. Not on your part. But, what I would stress is 
that the FAA and the Department of Transportation should, and I 
think you will, take the position that the training is 
critical. The cost of these systems is going to have to be 
borne. But, we cannot operate these aircraft without well-
trained pilots, so this issue raised of adequate simulators 
that should not be the constraint.
    Secretary Chao. It is not a cost constraint. It is more a 
capacity constraint.
    Senator Reed. Well, which becomes a cost constraint when 
you build more simulators.
    Secretary Chao. But safety is our number one concern.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam.
    Secretary Chao. And we have discussed this at length, and 
we are--I am not sure I can tell you what we have decided at 
this point, but we are very close to a decision, and I think we 
are not far apart at all.
    Senator Reed. I thank you, and I concur. I think for the 
public, confidence that the pilot, he or she, is the best 
trained possible is just as important as the technical 
specifications of the aircraft. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you very much. And thank you, Madam 
Secretary, for being over here and we appreciate all of your 
hard work and all of things that you are accomplishing in a 
variety of different ways.
    I just want to take a second. I know you are busy, and then 
also we have a vote, so we have to--that is the only thing we 
have to do around here.
    I just want to mention a couple things, though. The 
Contract Tower Program that is something that is a great 
public-private partnership, as you know, and it has been so, so 
very successful.
    Secretary Chao. Right.
    Senator Boozman. So, again, I just want to emphasize the 
importance of that, and if there is any way we can work with 
you in that regard to protect that and strengthen it.
    And, then, the other thing that is the Essential Air 
Service. I know that the President's budget has eliminated 
that, but that is something that really is important for our 
rural States, our rural communities. If you don't have air 
service, it is really difficult to go forward. So, if you would 
just look at that and see if we could work with you on that, 
that is something, again, that is really, really important. It 
is a great boost to our economies. We are blessed right now 
with healthy economies.
    So, again, thank you so much for all you are doing, and we 
would love to work with you on those two areas.
    Secretary Chao. Should I answer that?
    Senator Boozman. You can answer that.
    Secretary Chao. For fiscal year 2020, the President's 
budget actually requests $172 million for the Contract Tower 
Program. We are in support of the Contract Tower Program. FAA 
expects that this $172 million fully funds all towers 
participating in the program.
    And, the FAA has been actually looking at accepting new 
applications, and four have been submitted as of June 1st, 
2019. Cost-benefit analyses have been conducted. And, since 
then, the FAA has received six additional applications, all of 
which are being evaluated.
    Regarding EAS, the President's budget actually requests 
$141.7 million for Essential Air Service. We understand how 
important it is. But, the Administration would like to see some 
changes to this program.
    Senator Boozman. Right.
    Secretary Chao. For example, limiting EAS eligibility to 
communities currently receiving subsidized service; providing 
additional flexibility by increasing the subsidy cap from 200 
to 250 per passenger for communities located within 210 miles 
from a large hub; but then also eliminating the opportunity for 
waiver from this requirement, as well.
    So, there are things that we are concerned about, as well. 
But, overall, I think under my tenure, I have consistently 
fought for----
    Senator Boozman. Very much so, and I appreciate that. And I 
apologize for misspeaking since it----
    Secretary Chao. Not at all.
    Senator Boozman. A little reduction. But, like I say, we 
would be glad to work with you on that, and we do appreciate 
your support in that area. Thank you very much.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you.
    Senator Reed. On behalf of Chairman Collins, let me 
recognize Senator Hoeven for his first round.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Ranking Member Reed. And I want 
to thank Secretary Chao for being here. I appreciate you, 
appreciate your work, and all the things that you have done to 
help us, including coming out to Fargo and seeing some of the 
things that we are doing in unmanned aviation, and we 
absolutely need to get you back. I don't think we have had you 
at the Grand Sky Technology Park yet; have we?
    Secretary Chao. No.
    Senator Hoeven. We had you in Fargo for a UAS summit. But, 
we have some amazing companies in the technology park on the 
Grand Forks Air Force Base doing R and D and test flights for 
unmanned aviation. It is really fantastic. We would love to 
have you come back sometime. You were a huge hit in Fargo. I 
know you would be a huge hit in Grand Forks, as well.
    Along those lines, we appropriated $6 million in 2019 for 
UAS research, and then another $6 million in fiscal year 2020 
for UAS research. The idea is that we would do it on--put those 
funds out there on a matching basis to do R and D and develop 
programs in UAS.
    Secretary Chao. Right.
    Senator Hoeven. That money, you know, is going out, but, 
you know, it has not gone out, and I just kind of--fully, and I 
just kind of want to know, you know, where FAA is in terms of 
actually releasing those funds, getting them out for that 
research and development program.
    Secretary Chao. As you mentioned, FAA has awarded two 
contracts. They are not grants; they are contracts. They have 
different----
    Senator Hoeven. Right.
    Secretary Chao. They have to go through the procurement 
process, and there are different rules and regulations.
    On the $6 million, apparently we are going to be issuing a 
second call for proposals for the remainder of the $6 million, 
but I will check on that for you. I thought we made a lot more 
headway than you are seemingly indicating to me.
    Senator Hoeven. Well, and we increased the funding, too. I 
think you all had $3 million in your budget. We increased that 
to six; then we added another six in fiscal year 2020, which is 
more recently.
    Secretary Chao. Okay.
    Senator Hoeven. So, I mean, it is a really good thing. It 
is a match fund. It will create leverage. But, I know FAA is 
getting the programs up and running, so I would just encourage 
them to keep working on it.
    Secretary Chao. I will look into that.
    Senator Hoeven. You have been a real champion of UAS, and I 
appreciate that.
    Also, I need to thank you for help on the Theodore 
Roosevelt National Park road. I don't know if you have anything 
to add here, but the National Park Service's work with your DOT 
people.
    The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is scenic and 
beautiful, and we have what is called the Scenic Loop that goes 
around and bison come up, right up to the car, and you can see 
elk and, you know, all kind of mountain lions and wild horses. 
All kinds of stuff. It is pretty great. Almost as good as 
Montana and--I shouldn't say that. Like the great things you 
see in Montana. It is really fabulous.
    But, the road slumped and we needed it fixed. You all I 
think have expedited the fix, and it is very important we get 
that done because we cannot enjoy the beauty of that great 
park. They hope to have a temporary fix in place by the end of 
the year.
    And, so, just any thoughts you have on continuing to 
expedite and get that done with the season coming up. We want 
to make sure our people can--you know, the many, many visitors 
that come to the park can enjoy it, and that is necessary so 
that they can.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
    Senator Hoeven. And your help has been there. It is great. 
It is just, you know, again, keeping them moving to the best 
that we can.
    The State of Washington had passed a law recently not 
allowing us to move our Bakken crude through on rail, and the 
Sandia study that was done recently shows that the Bakken crude 
is no more volatile than--because we condition it now, as well, 
so our--although it is like sweet crude, the best crude 
anywhere, it should not be treated differently than any other 
crude oil that is being hauled through the State of Washington 
for export to, you know, the Pacific Rim and other places.
    Obviously, DOT, and with your regulatory authorities over 
surface transportation, that has been an important issue. I 
would ask for your thoughts on that.
    Secretary Chao. As you mentioned, PHMSA, which is part of 
the Department of Transportation, with the Department of 
Energy, jointly did this comprehensive study with Sandia 
National Lab on how vapor pressure apparently affects 
transportation risk. And, apparently, the study concluded that 
there is no direct link between vapor pressure and intensity of 
the potential hazards. So, they are working jointly on a report 
to Congress, and we hope to transmit it soon.
    Additionally, I know that we are working diligently to make 
a final decision on the Washington State preemption petition 
submitted by North Dakota and several other States, as well, so 
we hope to make a final decision on that pretty shortly.
    Senator Hoeven. We have been holding the Hours of Service 
and the Electronic Logging Data Recorders for livestock 
haulers. We have been holding that legislation in order to 
provide those livestock haulers flexibility, because they have 
live animals in their trucks, while we are working to get 
sufficient flexibility in the Hours of Service and the 
Electronic Logging Device laws and regulation that work for our 
livestock haulers. So, that is why in our Appropriation 
Committee, we have been holding that.
    But, I have bipartisan legislation with Senator Bennet of 
Colorado that would essentially direct you, the DOT, to work 
with USDA to come up with regulations that work for hauling 
livestock. And, so, I am trying to get that bill passed, and we 
just ask for your thoughts on that approach because, again, it 
really puts you and USDA in charge of figuring out how to do 
this commonsense wise.
    Secretary Chao. We actually have a notice of proposed 
rulemaking on hours of service overall. This is an issue which 
many rural members have brought to us, and so we are very 
cognizant of it. We want to be responsive, so, I will connect 
both our staffs to work and talk about all of that.
    Senator Hoeven. And I just beg the indulgence of the Chair. 
Last question. I know I am just over my time here.
    But, with Senator Wyden, I have another bipartisan bill, 
the Move America Act. And, as we work on the transportation 
bill, essentially this provides tax credits and tax exempt 
bonds to draw the private sector and private sector funding 
into the equation so we have more dollars for transportation.
    It has about an $8 billion cost, but if we made that part 
of the highway bill, that $8 billion leverages $226 billion in 
additional private investment we could bring in to invest 
alongside the public sector dollars. And, you know, the big 
challenge with getting that highway bill done is adequate 
funding, and this would be a way to help reallyleverage our 
funding. So again, I would ask for your thoughts and support 
for that legislation.
    Secretary Chao. I look forward to discussing it with you. 
Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Secretary.
    Senator Collins [presiding]. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Daines, Senator Murray has graciously agreed to 
have you go before her.
    Senator Daines. Thank you, Senator Murray, and thank you, 
Madam Chair.
    Secretary Chao, we appreciate the Administration recognizes 
the fact that transportation in rural areas like Montana 
functions as a lifeline for our farmers, for working families, 
for seniors, for veterans, individuals with disabilities, 
tribal members, and others, and we would love to have you come 
out to Montana. And, I will show you that Senator Hoeven is 
from a great State in North Dakota, and Montana is a great 
State, as well.
    First of all, I am a strong supporter of this Contract 
Tower Program. I still remain concerned about the very unique 
situation at the Bozeman Airport. In fact, it is the airport I 
fly out of virtually every week. It is my hometown since 1964. 
It is the fastest growing micropolitan in the United States. 
So, we have a lot of people moving to Bozeman. There is a 
vibrant economy. It has an amazing quality of life. We are 
close to Yellowstone National Park, great skiing, fly fishing, 
and so forth.
    In just the last 2 years, air traffic has increased 29 
percent, and the airport pays out of pocket for this additional 
tower staffing--the only one in the Country. I continue to 
believe that these costs should be reimbursed by the FAA.
    I know that you, Madam Secretary, and I, we have had 
several positive exchanges on this issue. My office, as you 
know, has hosted discussions with both parties, but there still 
seems to be a disconnect. In fact, for the last several years, 
both the FAA and Serco have been pointing fingers at each 
other, and the Bozeman Airport sits there just holding the bag 
in this finger-pointing fight.
    My request of you, Madam Secretary, would you commit to 
help resolve this before the contract is renewed at the end of 
June?
    Secretary Chao. I have been trying to resolve this and 
hoping that I would even have a solution today, or some 
indication, but it is a lot more complicated. So yes, of 
course, I would be very happy to speak with you.
    Senator Daines. Thank you.
    Secretary Chao. And also with the entities there on how we 
can resolve this.
    Senator Daines. Right. It would be helpful. And if you were 
to come to the Bozeman Airport, you would see there is a major 
expansion project going on. We have had a lot of expansion, yet 
another one in place, and so we would appreciate your help in 
getting this resolved.
    I want to switch gears to an issue of Helena, which is just 
north of us, our State capital. In the last several 
appropriation bills, as well as the 2018 FAA re-authorization, 
I secured language to ensure that the Helena Airport would 
receive an approach-control radar. Again, this is our State 
capital. To this point, there has been no movement. I wonder if 
you would be able to provide an update either here or soon as 
to the status of Helena receiving that equipment or some other 
similar technology.
    Secretary Chao. I would be glad to give you an update. 
Apparently the cost implications are large. Each radar can cost 
$30 million. But, on top of that, there would be annual 
recurring operational costs, as well. So, once again, I 
understand how important this issue is to you, so I would be 
pleased to discuss also how we can address this issue.
    Senator Daines. Thank you. And again, it is our State 
capital. There is a lot of important aircraft coming in and out 
of our State capital, and we would appreciate your help on 
that. It would be it would go a long ways.
    My last issue is electronic logging devices. I remember 
when we were standing together there in October in the White 
House with President Trump and I had one of my Montana ranchers 
from Miles City with me, Fred Wacker. He was there for that 
important Japan trade deal because of the important role it 
plays in helping our cow/calf producers in Montana, lowering 
tariffs on beef in one of our most important beef export 
markets in Japan, and we happen to spend some time, which I 
greatly appreciated, and Fred Wacker thanks me for your time. 
You were so gracious to talk to him about ELDs, in fact.
    As you know, this exemption, the ELD mandate, for livestock 
haulers was extended through September of 2020, and I 
appreciate you working with me on this issue. As I travel 
around Montana, as I see Montanans when they come to 
Washington, D.C., boy, this is a top issue for them right now, 
virtually from edge to edge in my State.
    Can you commit to continuing to work with our farmers, our 
ranchers, our ag stakeholders, others in the transportation 
business, to ensure that they have appropriate flexibility that 
is workable regarding the ELD mandate and this hours-of-service 
issue?
    Secretary Chao. Yes. The short answer is of course. The 
issue is that these two issues, the ELD compliance and hours of 
service are intertwined, and sometimes it gets a little 
confusing.
    Regarding ELD compliance, about 99 percent of inspected 
vehicles are in compliance, so this is actually not a big 
issue. But, I am hearing that it is with your constituents, so 
of course I will pay attention.
    The second thing, also the larger issue, is the hours of 
service, which we are addressing through a notice of proposed 
rulemaking.
    Senator Daines. Yeah. The issue we have with these is 
ranches out in extreme corners of rural Montana, and it is just 
a long ways to get from there to a packing operation in 
Nebraska, as an example. And when you have a truck full of cows 
and you have to stop, it is a real problem for us.
    So, anyway, thanks for your commitment. Thanks for the 
extension. We appreciate that, and we will keep working with 
you on this to find a solution here that will put our farmers 
and ranchers at ease because right now they are pretty anxious 
about this.
    Thank you, Secretary, Chao.
    Secretary Chao. Not at all. Glad to talk to them.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator, and thank you, Senator 
Murray for your courtesy.
    Senator Murray. Absolutely. And thank you, Chairman Collins 
and Ranking Member Reed. And, Secretary Chao, thank you for 
being here, as well, today.
    As I am sure you are aware, my office has been in contact 
with the Department regarding an issue with a significant BUILD 
Grant awardee to one of my constituent ports last year. And, 
first and foremost, I really want to thank you and your staff 
and the staff of MARAD for being very direct and transparent 
with my staff, and for showing flexibility in what appears to 
be an incredibly unique set of circumstances.
    In my experience, projects that are awarded under BUILD and 
its predecessor, TIGER, and similar large-scale infrastructure 
investment programs are really quite complicated. Consequently, 
it has been common practice for the Department to work with 
grant recipients to refine the grant scope so long as it 
remains in furtherance of the intended project.
    Now, Congress has provided the Office of the Secretary 
considerable discretion under the BUILD Program to make sure 
projects are afforded the flexibility necessary within the 
program guidelines to achieve project completion so long as the 
intent and the goals of the project remain intact.
    In an effort to remedy the issue at this port, the port in 
question has, at the Department's request, submitted a white 
paper this week, detailing the steps that they are going to 
take to preserve the larger intent and underlying goals of last 
year's grant award.
    I wanted to ask you, Secretary Chao, if you have personally 
reviewed, or will you review, the white paper that the port has 
now submitted to your Department?
    Secretary Chao. I am very much aware of this issue, and I 
had hoped that I would have a resolution or a good answer for 
you.
    But, clearly, the Department thought the project was 
noteworthy and meritorious, which is why it awarded the $15 
million. But then, after awarding the grant, the Department 
determined that there was no remaining eligible costs for the 
grant to fund. We went back to the Port of Everett and asked 
them to come back with what they think are eligible costs to be 
funded.
    So, the Department is working, I think, very responsively 
and cordially with the port to see how we can resolve this 
issue. We are trying to make it work.
    Senator Murray. I appreciate that. And I know there has 
been miscommunication and everyone is trying to work, and all 
of you are trying to work to resolve this. So, I hope you and 
your Department can continue to work with us on this issue that 
has a really serious impact.
    Secretary Chao. Of course.
    Senator Murray. So, I appreciate that very much. I will 
have some additional questions on that, but I hope that we can 
personally keep working on this.
    Secretary Chao. We just received the documentation, so we 
appreciate it.
    Senator Murray. Okay.
    Secretary Chao. We are evaluating it right now.
    Senator Murray. Great. I really appreciate that. Thank you, 
and to all the folks working on this.
    The second one, you will not be surprised. I want to ask 
about sexual assaults on airplanes, as I always do. But, I 
understand that the FAA Sexual Assault Task Force is finally 
finalizing its report and its findings, and I really do 
appreciate your continued engagement on this issue as it is a 
devastating and ongoing problem that I know your Department is 
taking seriously.
    I have been very focused, making sure that survivors are 
heard and listened to throughout this process, and I just 
wanted to ask you if you could tell us how some of the 
listening sessions--how some of the survivors were taken into 
that process during the listening sessions.
    Secretary Chao. Well, I think you deserve a lot of credit. 
You have singlehandedly brought focus on this issue and kept it 
in the forefront of everyone's attention.
    We have tracked the task force very carefully. They have 
held meetings in April, May, June, July, and September of 2019. 
And, you had wanted firsthand accounts, and we have actually 
made that happen. And I think it has actually enriched the 
process.
    The task force has heard firsthand accounts from those who 
have experienced incidents of sexual misconduct inflight, and 
we have also discussed training, data collection, passenger 
awareness campaigns and reporting protocols in light of the 
information shared by the survivors.
    Also, in October and November 2019, the task force had 
telephone conferences to discuss the contents of the report 
that it is preparing. The task force report will contain 
recommendations on best practices related to, again, training, 
reporting, and data collection regarding such incidences. The 
task force is currently working towards submitting a public 
report of its recommendation. And, of course, before that, I 
will get a report, as well.
    Senator Murray. Okay. I appreciate that. And my 
understanding is that final report will be to us by April 2nd?
    Secretary Chao. I was not given that date, but it is very 
shortly.
    Senator Murray. Okay.
    Secretary Chao. It may very well be April 2nd. I just was 
not given that date.
    Senator Murray. Okay. We have been told that. If it is that 
or something else, can you let us know?
    Secretary Chao. Of course.
    Senator Murray. And I would really appreciate it if your 
staffs would brief mine and anyone else who is interested in 
that and how the implementation of the plan, once it is 
recommended, is going to be done. And thank you for you and 
your Department for really focusing on this. I appreciate it.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you.
    Senator Murray. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Murphy.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you much, Madam Chair. Thank you for 
being here, Madam Secretary. I am going to spend my brief time 
talking about the same topic that you and I have had dialogue 
about in this committee in this setting before, and that is the 
Northeast Rail Corridor.
    I will just express my disappointment once again that the 
President's budget dramatically under-invests in the Corridor. 
It proposes some very significant reductions in funding; halves 
the allocation to the Northeast Corridor into the National 
network, and eliminates--proposes eliminating the State of Good 
Repair Grants. This would all be pretty devastating to our 
ability to keep the trains running on time in the busiest 
section of rail in the Country, vital to Connecticut's economy.
    But, I did want to have another conversation with you here 
today about a couple projects in particular that have to happen 
in order for us to unlock the economic potential of our region, 
and that is the Portal Bridge Project and the new tunnels under 
the Hudson River.
    First, some good news. The Portal Bridge Project is now 
rated highly enough that it is now eligible for capital 
investment grant funding. That was not the case, I think, last 
time that we spoke. Is that your understanding, as well?
    Secretary Chao. I actually paid a compliment to the State 
of New Jersey. They did a very nice job in working their plan.
    And, so, this evaluation, as you well know, is all done by 
career folks, and so the State of New Jersey has rightly earned 
the medium-high rating, which will allow it now to be 
considered to go into engineering. And FTA Administrator, Jane 
Williams, has been talking with them about the details, about 
the next steps forward.
    Senator Murphy. And then less good news with respect to the 
Gateway Project and the Hudson River tunnels, I watched your 
House testimony with interest, in which it seemed to be that 
you were suggesting the repair of the existing tunnels could be 
an adequate alternative to the building of new tunnels. No? 
Okay.
    Secretary Chao. Simultaneous.
    Senator Murphy. No, go ahead. I am glad to have you clarify 
that for me.
    Secretary Chao. I listen very carefully to Members of 
Congress. We want to be responsive, and clearly there has been 
concern about safety on the existing North River Tunnel. Hudson 
Tunnel is actually the name for the new tunnel.
    Senator Murphy. Right.
    Secretary Chao. And, so, the North River Tunnel, because of 
the damages sustained during Hurricane Sandy, needs to be 
looked at. And, certainly members who have traversed the 
theater car who have looked at the Amtrak tunnel have seen 
areas where repairs are necessary.
    But, the current plan is puzzling because it calls for 
construction of a second tunnel, the Hudson Tunnel, which will 
take 7 to 10 years to build. So, we are suggesting and 
recommending--we have been working with Amtrak--that we need to 
address this, the repair portion of the North River Tunnel, the 
existing tunnel. That is totally separate from expanding 
capacity through new future construction of a separate Hudson 
Tunnel.
    So, those are two concurrent projects. We are addressing 
the North River Tunnel from a safety point of view, which 
everyone has been telling us is so important. Which we also 
believe, as well, that we need to be addressing this safety 
aspect. How do we rehabilitate and repair the existing tunnel 
while expanding the capacity for the new Hudson Tunnel, which 
also is not a project unto its own. The ability of the Hudson 
Tunnel to be expanded will depend on Penn Station. You know, 
Penn Station has to be expanded, as well.
    Senator Murphy. Right. So, I think we viewed the projects 
together. We had hoped to be started on Gateway years ago. And 
because there will be serious service interruptions if you----
    Secretary Chao. Well, we hope not. That is what we are 
trying to find out. So, we are actually talking with Amtrak, 
and we are also--forgive me for interrupting.
    Senator Murphy. Yeah. I want to ask one more question, 
which is why we are going to have to work very closely together 
to make sure that there are not serious service interruptions.
    Secretary Chao. I would not want that either.
    Senator Murphy. There are 450 trains going through those 
tunnels every day.
    Secretary Chao. Absolutely.
    Senator Murphy. Lastly, one of the things that is necessary 
in order to get moving on the new construction is an EIS, and 
the EIS has been pretty significantly delayed. You gave 
testimony last June that there were--95 processing steps had 
been completed and that there was about 27 left to go. And, 
yet, from what I understand, we don't have any update on the 
timetable for when that EIS is going to be completed. And, as 
you know, many of us believe that there has been a number 
unjustifiable obstacles put in the way of the Gateway Project, 
and this is one of them. So, is there any update on when the 
EIS is going to be done? It just is taking an enormous amount 
of time.
    Secretary Chao. I think the focus on the EIS is misplaced 
because the larger issue is whether the Hudson Tunnel is 
available, eligible, for funding, for CIG funding. It is not. 
So, for us to talk about the EIS is putting the horse before 
the cart. The whole issue is whether this project is able to 
attain the rating, which New Jersey has been able to now attain 
for the Portal Bridge, which the Hudson Tunnel project has not 
been able to. It is still a medium-low.
    Senator Murphy. Does that mean you are holding back the 
approval of the EIS pending resolution of the other issue?
    Secretary Chao. No, because it is all connected.
    Senator Murphy. Why is it connected?
    Secretary Chao. Because the funding----
    Senator Murphy. Why not just do the EIS and complete it so 
that it is ready to go if we have a solution on the financing?
    Secretary Chao [continuing]. Because the funding and how it 
is done and the route and all of that impacts the EIS 
statement.
    Senator Murphy. So the EIS statement won't be approved 
until the financing question is settled?
    Secretary Chao. They are not two segregated activities. At 
least until the rating improves. The funding is different from 
the rating. Until the rating improves, we do not know what this 
project will look like. EISs are pretty detailed and very 
specific and it is subject to litigation risk all the time 
because it is so detailed.
    Senator Murphy. I don't know how it is--okay. I don't know 
how it is related to the financing of the project. The 
financing is different from the construction. I think that is 
news to people who are working on this, but I would be happy to 
follow up. I know I am over my time.
    Secretary Chao. And if I may just ask also, on the issue 
about the safety of the North River Tunnel, we are basically 
hoping not to disrupt the service.
    And, we are actually going to take a page from Governor 
Cuomo's playbook in asking the Columbia Engineering School and 
the Cornell Engineering School to look at how we can address 
rehabilitation and repair.
    He was able--the Governor was able to be very successful in 
tapping those two expert resources to take a look at the 
Canarsie Project. So, we want to copy his example and see 
whether we can tap those two skilled, expert resources--
Columbia and Cornell--to see how we can take a new look at 
repairing and rehabilitating the North River Tunnel. Because 
from a safety point of view, we are all concerned about that.
    Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Senator Alexander.
    Senator Alexander. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam 
Secretary, welcome. It is good to see you. I think I saw you 
across the room at the Garth Brooks event last night, which was 
a nice occasion.
    There is a lot of talk in the Senate this week and in 
Washington about conservation issues, National Parks Land and 
Water Conservation Fund. Senator Manchin is right in the middle 
of all of that. Senator Collins has been, as well.
    I would like to focus on one part of that. There are $12 
billion in deferred maintenance backlog in our 419 National 
Parks. These are the broken toilets and the roofs that are 
leaky and the campgrounds that are closed. It is the National 
Mall, for example, and a variety of other treasures in this 
Country, and we are working on ways to reduce some of that 
deferred maintenance backlog.
    But, what a lot of people do not know is that in your 
Department, there are three programs that has jurisdiction over 
transportation projects in our National Parks, and about one-
half of the deferred maintenance backlog in the 419 National 
Parks is roads. So, if we didn't have to deal with that, we 
would have half the problem we have today.
    But, I would like to just remind ourselves and you of the 
importance of those three programs--The Federal Lands 
Transportation Program, the Federal Lands Access Program, the 
Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Travel Projects Grant 
Program--and give you an example of how a relatively small 
amount of money--when compared with talking about bridges into 
New York City or Connecticut or other major transportation 
projects even in Memphis, a relatively small amount of money in 
these three programs can make a big difference in the National 
Parks.
    Let's take this example in the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park. Now, they have 11 million visitors every year, 
the Great Smokies. That is three times as many as Yellowstone. 
That is more than any National Park in the Country.
    But, one of the campgrounds that is near where I grew up at 
Look Rock has been closed for 7 years because of unsafe roads, 
broken picnic tables, uneven camping surfaces, leaky toilets. 
Secretary Zinke visited it 2 or 3 years ago. They said it would 
cost $3 million to open it. The Park Service came up with $2 
million, but then the Federal Lands Transportation Program that 
you administer came up with nearly $1 million to fix the 
potholes and repave the roads.
    As a result, the campground that has been closed for 7 
years, that 5,000 families used to enjoy every year, camping 
with a wonderful view of the Great Smoky Mountains--this is on 
the Chilhowee Mountain Range, which is at about 2,000 feet, and 
you can camp there and look at these largest mountains in the 
east that are 6,000 feet high. Because of the Federal Land 
Transportation Program and the $1 million you allocated, that 
campground will be open later this year.
    So, the whole purpose of my comment is to acknowledge the 
decision that you made to spend $1 million on road access to a 
closed National Park campground, and to remind you and some of 
us are involved in a--well, we are all involved in 
appropriations--that these relatively small programs, like the 
Federal Land Transportation Program, can be a very great help 
to our National Park System, which has $12 billion in deferred 
maintenance.
    Even if the bill that Senator Manchin and I and Collins all 
support passes, we will still have $6 billion in deferred 
maintenance, and half of it at least will be roads. So, I just 
want to underscore the importance of those three programs, and 
thank you for what you did to reopen the Look Rock campground.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you for, once again, reinforcing the 
importance of this project. Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Senator Alexander. 
Senator Feinstein?
    Senator Feinstein. Thanks very much, Madam Chairman.
    Madam Secretary, if I may, you, of course, and I guess all 
of us have heard about the helicopter that crashed and killed 
Kobe Bryant and eight others recently in California. The event 
was made worse when I learned that the National Transportation 
Safety Board had recommended to the FAA that helicopters 
similar to the one that crashed be equipped with a Terrain 
Awareness Warning System, but the recommendation had gone 
unheeded since 2006. I don't understand this, and I am really 
concerned that there are other NTSB recommendations that are 
not being heeded in a timely manner.
    So, here is the question. On what basis does the Department 
of Transportation accept these recommendations? Have you 
reviewed their latest wanted list, such as the recommendations 
on collision avoidance systems and occupant protection? What 
are we going to do to prevent this from ever happening again?
    Secretary Chao. I share your concern. Tragedies like this 
are indeed tragedies, and we should do everything we can to 
prevent them from happening. In fact, I went to the closing 
ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Kobe Bryant made our 
Country proud by leading the team that won that medal.
    We always strive to comply and to follow the 
recommendations of the NTSB. A lot of times--and this is no 
excuse--the ability of our organizations to respond in a timely 
fashion is outstripped by just sometimes the capacity of 
ability to respond. So, on the particular one, I will take 
another look at it. We do have a whole list. We do try our 
best.
    Senator Feinstein. Well.
    Secretary Chao. I will say to you that we are--go ahead.
    Senator Feinstein. Let me narrow it. It seems to me that a 
helicopter or any air asset in commercial service should have a 
collision avoidance system. That should be mandatory. If they 
are going to rent these out or take passengers on or charter 
them or whatever they do, wouldn't this be a reasonable thing 
that the Federal Government should require of an air vehicle in 
commercial service?
    Secretary Chao. One would--you would think so, and I don't 
know enough about this, so I will take a look.
    Senator Feinstein. Would you take a look?
    Secretary Chao. Yes, absolutely.
    Senator Feinstein. And if there is anything we can do, 
Madam Chairman, I think we should. It just doesn't make any 
sense to me that eight people rent a helicopter and there is no 
collision avoidance system on it. And I guess because of the 
stardom of Kobe Bryant and his loss, now it is on the front 
page. But, these vehicles are still flying without collision 
avoidance systems, and particularly in California where you 
have thick fog layers that are often quite deceptive. It is 
very difficult for me to understand why that isn't an automatic 
requirement.
    Secretary Chao. And I don't have an answer for you, and I 
will get an answer for you.
    Senator Feinstein. Would you look at it and let me know? 
Because I have a real interest in it, and I think we ought to 
do it. And if it takes legislation, we should do that, too. 
But, it is hard for me to understand that something in 
commercial service won't have that in a State that has the 
hills and mountains and valleys that we do. So, I would very 
much appreciate that.
    Secretary Chao. I will do so.
    Senator Feinstein. Secondly, I would like to thank you for 
your leadership regarding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 accidents in the 
last 18 months that killed 346 people in Ethiopia and 
Indonesia. It was made clear that it was appropriate to ground 
those Boeings as more reports have surfaced.
    My question to you is this. How should the FAA ensure that 
engineers are reporting in a chain of command where there is 
enough oversight by the agency over employees of Boeing to 
ensure public confidence in the FAA aircraft certification 
process? Right now I think that confidence is lost.
    Secretary Chao. We had just talked earlier about how 
devastating the recent tragedies have been, not only, of 
course, to the families and loved ones of those who were lost, 
but also on the FAA community and the City of Seattle, who have 
been personally struck, as well.
    So, the issue then is on the whole--number one, we always 
focus on safety. That is an organizational culture. It is a 
core value that must be emphasized again and again, and we want 
to make sure that the organization is open and encouraging of 
dissenting points of view, and that is part of the management 
of a large organization like this, as well.
    On the certification of the aircraft itself, it was 
following a process that had been decades in the making. 
Clearly, in the light of these two tragedies, I have appointed 
and initiated IG reports, reviews, as well as establishment of 
a special committee. FAA has also established two new 
committees. And, I think these committees and their findings 
are giving us a renewed look as to how we need to improve so 
that such tragedies don't occur.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, I thank you for that, and I 
certainly want to do anything that an individual senator can do 
to help. I am very concerned that there were two big accidents 
with 346 people being killed in these two planes, and it is 
clear that it was appropriate to ground the 737 MAX.
    Now, I understand that more reports have surfaced regarding 
the FAA certification process for the MAX. Is the Department 
looking at that?
    Secretary Chao. We are looking at everything, which is why 
these planes have not been ungrounded.
    Our budget requests $1.5 billion for aviation safety. We 
have asked for an additional $37 million to establish a new 
office of ODA certification process with specific attention to 
what happened with Boeing 737s.
    Senator Feinstein. Are there any findings so far that you 
can share with us?
    Secretary Chao. Well, I don't mean to trivialize--I say 
this very carefully.
    It is a very complicated system. There are lots of 
interlocking parts. So, it is like your computer. Very small 
example: You change one part of your computer and you think 
that you have fixed it, and then you come back and you log in 
again and you look at everything else, and then some other part 
has been impacted by the change that you have just made. And, 
so, this kind of diagnostic analysis needs to be done 
iteratively on a holistic basis, and it is complicated.
    But, the core instruction to the FAA--and they feel this as 
well--is that the Boeing 737 MAX 800 and 900 will not be 
ungrounded until the FAA is confident, feels totally assured 
that this plane is safe.
    Senator Feinstein. Good. I very much appreciate hearing 
that. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
    Secretary Chao. Absolutely.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Collins. Senator Manchin.
    Senator Manchin. If I could just respond from the flying, 
and that I do fly as much as I get the chance to. Most of all 
the planes do have a warning system that comes on automatically 
if you are below--if you have a flight plan. I am going to wait 
until the NTSB because I think once the National Transportation 
Safety Board comes back with their findings, I am pretty sure 
it is going to be pilot error. He was flying too low and too 
fast. And even if that warning comes on, when you see it, it 
comes on and they support, at 180 miles an hour, if he was that 
low, he didn't have a chance to react. We don't know yet, but I 
don't----was that Kobe's plane or was it a for-hire commercial 
helicopter?
    Senator Reed. It was for-hire.
    Secretary Chao. It was a commercial.
    Senator Manchin. It was for-hire? So he is commercial. He 
has to be Part 135, so he probably had to have commercial.
    Senator Feinstein. I was talking about commercial.
    Senator Manchin. Okay. If that is commercial, and he hired 
it commercially, they have to meet a Part 135, which is 
basically more stringent than just a normal pilot has to meet 
in their plane.
    Senator Feinstein. I understand it did not have a collision 
detection system.
    Senator Manchin. Okay. Well, that NTSB, yeah, they should 
have. They are not that expensive.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman. I appreciate it.
    Secretary, it is good to have you here. Probably Senator 
Capito went over some things I want to go over, but I wanted to 
reiterate how important it is. Corridor H, which I know you 
have heard about Corridor H, so you know a little bit about 
that, it was designated by President Johnson as part of the 
Appalachian Development Highway System. It came into being 
because of President Kennedy campaigned in West Virginia in 
1960 and saw how difficult the terrain was. And, if it wasn't 
for President Kennedy, we would have never had I-79 coming 
down.
    So, what they did, we have I-79 coming right down through 
the middle of the State. You have Interstate 81 over on the 
Virginia side coming down. The intention was always to connect 
that so we would have commerce flowing back and forth and we 
would all prosper from it.
    That was 55 years ago and we are still not finished. We 
have--when I was governor, we put more together at that time 
than ever before. You all have been kind enough, and we have 
$135 million in the last few years. There is $100 million have 
been designated for the Appalachian Development Highway System 
that you all are working on. We haven't seen a plan. We don't 
know. We have seven--what is it? How many--17 miles is left. 
That is all we have left in West Virginia. Then we have to get 
Virginia to hook up on their--into 81.
    But, we are closer now than we have ever been. So, if we 
could see a plan to see what you all are planning and how the 
Appalachian Development Highway System is recommending that 
money be spent so the State can match down, maybe we can get 
this done. It is that important for our State. It truly is 
because the amount of population you have in D.C./Baltimore 
metro, you have more in one corner of D.C. than we have in the 
entire State. It is the most beautiful drive in the world if 
you have not been across it. It is gorgeous.
    So, we are hoping that you will give us the consideration 
and attention on that, working with the ADHS. If you can put me 
in touch with them, we would love to see it.
    Secretary Chao. I am very familiar with this, and Senator 
Capito also mentioned it, so you two are working on this 
together.
    Senator Manchin. We do. And that is what is good about it. 
We do forget about the political parties. When we have a high-
priority value, we both come at it. It is really important for 
our State.
    Secretary Chao. Just the last 10 percent, and we have the 
$100 million, and I promised her that I would get her an update 
on what is going on, yeah.
    Senator Manchin. A plan, if you can share that with us.
    Secretary Chao. Because we also do this in conjunction with 
the State Department of Transportation, as well, obviously.
    Senator Manchin. Yeah.
    Secretary Chao. We will include them, as well.
    Senator Manchin. Because they will have to match down on 
how much they are going to get done with it. I think it is 
about $230 million. It is the most rugged terrain. It is 17 
miles, goes over a gorge and a cliff down to another part of 
the State to hook in, and that is the most expensive part of 
it.
    So, I appreciate very much your consideration and your 
commitment that we get a copy of what your plan may be or how 
much they are going to be putting towards that.
    The other thing, have you heard of the Hyperloop?
    Secretary Chao. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. The Hyperloop Project we are working on, 
our State is in the running for that, and we have been very 
much involved in it. The establishment of the Non-Traditional 
and Emerging Transportation Technology, or the NETT Council, I 
think it is something you should be proud of that you all put 
together. It is a forward-leaning idea in leadership from the 
Department to encourage innovation in our home. So, we are 
working on this.
    How is the newly-formed NETT Council focused on emerging 
ground transport that utilizes advanced technology? Have you 
all gotten that far with it yet?
    Secretary Chao. Well, we had to establish it because new 
technologies were transcending our modal administration/
organizational structure. You know, new technologies, they 
don't respect how you organize as a Department. Hyperloop, it 
includes FRA, FTA, FAA, Federal Highways, and so this NETT 
Council was to work together via a common portal to 
stakeholders and also innovators, for them to come in and share 
with us their thoughts and ideas rather than having to 
understand----
    Senator Manchin. How are you prioritizing funding research, 
what direction it goes? Is it going to be for ground? Air? 
Combination of everything? Or is it going to----
    Secretary Chao. We are not--I don't think we are that far 
yet. We just established the council. We want it to be again, 
an easy portal of appropriate access for that community. And, 
then, the various funding would come from the various modes.
    So, hopefully it is not a priority of Federal Highways over 
commercial space or anything. Each has their own pot of money, 
so to speak. But, this NETT Council is a mechanism, a vehicle, 
for integration, intermodalism, that will facilitate 
coordination among the departmental sub-units, the modal 
administrators.
    Senator Manchin. And the final thing real quickly is 
Essential Air Services. As you know, in rural States, it is 
vital for us to maintain any type of mobility for our people to 
be able to have air transportation, and I think you and your 
team have been working to resolve the problems that we have had 
with our rural areas. So, if we can work with you all any way 
possible, if you can tell us where there are concerns you may 
have, because without it, some of our most rural parts of our 
State will get no service whatsoever.
    Our capital city right now, so you know what Senator Capito 
and I are facing, we get one flight back home a day, and that 
is at 8:00 at night. Thirty, 40 percent of the time, it doesn't 
fly. Something is always wrong, okay, and it is not your fault. 
So, we are dealing with very, very limited access. And it 
leaves at 6:00 in the morning. There is no other in-betweens. 
It is just unbelievable in that.
    And, we are trying to attract more opportunities there, so 
it is essential. When it says essential, it truly is life-
essential that we are able to develop and expand out. We have 
Raleigh County. We have some nice airports. It is just we don't 
have the air services into them without Essential Air Service. 
So, we can make sure.
    The other thing I just needed to bring to your attention, 
when a runway is shut down for whatever, we have a situation in 
Raleigh County, they are trying to make them--I don't know if 
you all are familiar with it. They are making them pay back 
money they received for that, and the people were basically--
they had to pay. It wasn't like money that the airport kept. 
The airport was paying for Essential Air Service.
    It was not the carriers' fault. It was the airport. It was 
an act of God. They just could not--the maintenance on it, it 
was not safe to have them flying in there, but the carriers 
still had all the costs, and we are trying to get that 
corrected. It is just a heck of a mess we have right now. If we 
can get a little bit of attention towards that, just someone 
look at it sympathetically and see if we can resolve that 
because it is in a--it is at the Raleigh County Memorial 
Airport, and we still are in conflict with that.
    Secretary Chao. I just got a little note about Hyperloop. 
We are actually going to release additional guidance on 
Hyperloop very shortly in the coming weeks.
    Senator Manchin. Okay. If you can share that with us, we 
would really appreciate it if you could get it to our office.
    Secretary Chao. Absolutely.
    Senator Manchin. And on Essential Air Services, especially 
the demand of payment back from Raleigh County Memorial 
Airport, that would be greatly appreciated.
    Secretary Chao. We will take a look at that, as well.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you.
    Secretary Chao. I have always been in support of EAS.
    Senator Manchin. I know. It is just awful in there. It is 
awful when you are living in a little area that doesn't have 
any air support whatsoever, but I appreciate very much your 
attention to it. Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator Manchin.
    As you were talking, I couldn't help but think it probably 
goes out of 35X, also, the worst gate in America, and one that 
we hope will soon disappear.
    Secretary Chao. They are updating that.
    Senator Feinstein I know wanted to ask another question.
    Secretary Chao. Yes.
    Senator Collins. I have two more questions myself and will 
submit the rest for the record, and Senator Reed may have some, 
as well. But, Senator Feinstein, why don't you go ahead.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you. Thank you very much.
    Madam Secretary, I am going to go close to home in this 
question. The Administration is suing California, as we know, 
over its tailpipe emissions standards. California still has 
unique authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards 
under the Clean Air Act, and until recently, it is my 
understanding those standards mirrored Federal standards. Just 
this week, the EPA Scientific Advisory Panel submitted a report 
to Administrator Wheeler, which is critical of the underlying 
science behind the Administration's Safe Vehicles Rule, finding 
that the science used by the Administration in developing this 
rule has ``significant weaknesses that should be addressed.''
    In 2007, Olympia Snowe and I worked to pass the Ten-in-Ten 
Fuel Efficiency Act. This was really the largest increase in 
fuel efficiency targets in more than 2 decades. For a time, we 
were on target to reach an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 
2025. An analysis has found that proposed Safe Vehicle Rules 
will cost consumers more money over the lifetime of a vehicle, 
and significantly weaken fleet-wide fuel efficiency standards.
    So, I would very much like to know what is your position? 
The California Air Resources Board wants to achieve higher 
standards than those put forward in the Safe Vehicle Rule. And, 
so, what is the Administration going to do in terms of working 
with auto makers as Congress has directed?
    Secretary Chao. Well, first of all, there is one entity 
that is in charge of corporate average fuel economy with the 
Safe Vehicle rule, and that is the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration. It is not the EPA. The EPA can attempt 
to regulate this back door through the emissions. They have 
their responsibilities. They need to do what they need to do.
    But, in terms of guidelines for future fuel economy, any 
standard has to be realistic. And, it is not just increasing 
the standards, but it is having realistic standards. Because 
unrealistic standards are burdensome not only for the Country's 
auto manufacturing industry, but also increases the cost of new 
cars and trucks for working Americans.
    It is preferable to have a newer car as a newer car has 
more automated technology features, more safety features, so it 
is better for consumers, passengers to go into newer cars.
    And, I know that EPA and DOT are working supposedly 
together to complete the final rule. I don't know what EPA's 
report was to Administrator Wheeler, having not seen it, but we 
obviously had disagreements in the past as to their assessment 
as to the science. We are working to finalize this rule with 
OMB.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, is it correct California can move 
ahead on its own, working with the EPA and the California Air 
Resources Board, to achieve higher standards than those in the 
Safe Vehicle Rule?
    Secretary Chao. No, I don't believe that is so because 
NHTSA is the legislative authority that has the ability to set 
standards, and it is the only authority. So, this is the crux 
of the debate between the Federal Government and California. 
California does not have the right to do that, so maybe perhaps 
we should have a longer discussion about it.
    Senator Feinstein. Yes. I think so.
    Secretary Chao. Yeah.
    Senator Feinstein. How is a final judgment made whether 
California has the right or not? By a court or by the 
Department?
    Secretary Chao. I think it is pretty much set that 
legislatively, California does not. And, obviously, California 
does not agree with that, so they are trying to in fact take 
preemption and make it their responsibility, not only in this 
Administration, but in the previous administration, as well.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, my question of you then is can we 
settle this without having to go the whole court lengths?
    Secretary Chao. Well, we never want to litigate.
    Senator Feinstein. Because we are so big now. We produce so 
much that--I have to pat the State on the back for trying to do 
things that can improve the situation, and I think we ought to 
find ways to do that rather than to oppose when California does 
try to do something that is more----
    Secretary Chao. We are always open to discussion. And, I 
know that NHTSA and EPA have tried to discuss this with 
California. There are obviously differences of opinion. But, 
having said that, it is really important to have realistic 
standards, and just increasing standards is not enough. They 
have to be realistic standards.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, maybe I might pull together a 
meeting between the auto makers and your Department and NHTSA 
and try to see if we can't work this out because I am 
concerned.
    Secretary Chao. Of course.
    Senator Feinstein. We don't want to be at loggerheads, but 
I think the State is determined to move forward. So, I offer 
that if you want to proceed in that direction.
    Secretary Chao. We are always open to finding solutions.
    Senator Feinstein. Thank you.
    Secretary Chao. But the other party has to be cooperative, 
as well.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, we will work on that. Thank you.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Thank you.
    Madam Secretary, I want to commend you for the focus that 
you have placed on the disproportionately high rate of crash 
fatalities in rural America. Prior to your taking over the 
Department, there really wasn't the kind of focus and analysis 
on this problem.
    While only 19 percent of our Nation's population lives in 
rural areas, 46 percent of our Nation's highway fatalities 
occur on rural roads. Eighty percent of America's poor-
condition bridges are in rural areas.
    And, I looked at the data from the State of Maine between 
the years 2013 and 2017, and on average, there is one fatal 
crash every 57 hours. We are a large, rural State, and we have 
a lot of roads and bridges that you have been very helpful in 
helping us to repair or replace, but there is a lot of work to 
be done.
    Last year, under your leadership, the Department 
established the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for 
Economic Success, and it focuses on the disparities, called the 
ROUTES Program, focusing on the disparities in the rural 
transportation infrastructure.
    Will you comment a bit on how the new ROUTES Program, that 
initiative, could help States like Maine lower their highway 
fatalities?
    Secretary Chao. A lot of rural communities do not have the 
resources with which to seek and find out about sources of 
funding. So, ROUTES was a recognition of the safety statistics 
that you just mentioned; that rural America cannot be 
overlooked; that the majority of bridges in need of attention 
are in rural America; and that the highest fatality rates 
actually are on rural roads.
    And, that is also not to mention the fact that rural roads 
are not only used by rural residents. They are used by freight, 
by transshipment. They are used by urbanites, urban dwellers. 
So, we have a very compelling case for paying attention to 
rural roads.
    And, so, how do we address that? This ROUTES council was 
set up with a focus on how to outreach to rural America to let 
them know about the pots of money. We have 69 different funding 
programs at the Department of Transportation. It has increased 
quite a bit over the years, and they can be confusing. They can 
be not very well known. So, this ROUTES council will let rural 
America know about the funding opportunities, what are the 
requirements are, and how they can access such funding.
    Senator Collins. That really is terrific because, you know, 
smaller communities do not have grant writers. They do not have 
the resources. And, our offices try to help them by doing grant 
searches, but it still is a real challenge for smaller 
communities. So, I just want to commend you for that 
initiative.
    Let me end by bringing up a truly tragic event that 
occurred in Maine last September 16th. We had a terrible 
propane explosion in Farmington, Maine. It killed Fire Captain 
Michael Bell and severely injured six others. The building 
manager was so heroic in evacuating the building once he began 
to smell the propane gas, and as a result, he was severely 
burned and critically injured. He is still hospitalized this 
many months later in Boston. He has recently been transferred 
to a rehab hospital in Boston that specializes in burn injury.
    I visited this site. The explosion absolutely flattened a 
two-story building. It destroyed 11 homes in a nearby mobile 
home park, displacing 30 people. It was truly a devastating 
incident for this small town. And, as you can see by the fact 
that among those who were injured were the firefighters, they 
were heroic in trying to respond, as were all of the first 
responders.
    The Maine State Fire Marshal's investigation found that 
during construction of this building, a propane line was 
damaged, and that resulted in the explosion that leveled the 
building and injured so many people.
    According to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, 
nearly 60 percent of fire departments that respond to hazardous 
materials incidents do not have any kind of formal hazmat 
training, and in rural communities, that number is nearly 80 
percent. As such, the International Association of Fire Chiefs 
is advocating this year for emergency response grants to non-
profits to provide the necessary training to respond to this, 
exactly this kind of incident.
    Madam Secretary, would you consider supporting additional 
funding for this emergency response grant program? It would be 
under the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration.
    Secretary Chao. First are foremost, my thoughts and prayers 
are with the families of those affected by that September 2019 
explosion.
    PHMSA does take a very active role in institutionalizing 
training, engaging with key stakeholders, and also creating 
hopefully long-term sustainable solutions. There are many 
resources available from PHMSA already, the Pipeline Emergency 
Responder Initiative, the Hazardous Materials Emergency 
Preparedness Grant Program, PHMSA's Pipeline Technical 
Assistance Grants, Emergency Response Guide Books. Obviously, 
we still need to do more, so I am very happy to work with you 
on some of your ideas as to what more we can do.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. That would be very helpful. 
This was such a terrible tragedy, and I am impressed by the 
work that the fire department did. It was really heartwarming 
to see all the area fire departments come in and replace those 
who had been injured to ensure that the community of Farmington 
continued to have coverage while the firefighters were 
recovering.
    But, the reauthorization of the Emergency Response Grants 
Program I think is really important, but also our working with 
the fire chiefs, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, 
to see if we can do more to reach those rural areas.
    And, again, you have been so sensitive to the needs of 
rural areas, and they have greater challenges, far fewer 
resources. A lot of the fire departments are volunteer fire 
departments or have a mixture of professional firefighters 
supplemented by the volunteers. And, I hope we can work out 
something to give a little more assistance in that area. Thank 
you.
    Secretary Chao. Thank you.
    Senator Reed, I know that you did an initial round while I 
was voting, but if you have anything else, please go ahead.
    Senator Reed. I just want to thank the Secretary for her 
dedication and her diligence in so many different ways, and I 
appreciate very much your leadership, Madam Secretary.
    Secretary Chao. Madam Chair, may I just add one thing? I 
did look up right away for Senator Murray. The Sexual Assault 
Task Force report we are going to do even sooner than April 
2nd. It should be ready in the next couple of weeks.
    Senator Collins. That is great news, and I hope you will 
share that with Senator Reed and myself because that is of 
great concern to us, as well.
    And I want to thank you very much for your participation 
and responsiveness. We have enjoyed very much working with the 
Department under your leadership. And, as you can see by the 
number of Senators who came today, despite the fact that there 
were two other Appropriations hearings going on at the same 
time, there is huge interest in the programs on both sides of 
the aisle that your Department administers. So, we look forward 
to working with you.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    I do have some additional questions that I will submit for 
the record.
    The hearing record will remain open until next Friday, 
March 13th, 2020.
    Thank you, Madam Secretary.
            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
                  safety management systems rulemaking
    Question. The fiscal year 20 THUD appropriations bill requires the 
FAA to finalize its rulemaking on safety management systems, or SMS, 
which is a proven approach to reducing safety risk in many industries. 
Both the Joint Authorities Technical Review and the Special Review to 
Review FAA's Aircraft Certification recommended that FAA mandate SMS 
for aviation manufacturers. Even the General Aviation Manufacturers 
Association, an industry group that includes Boeing, has called for an 
SMS rulemaking because they know that SMS will provide a structured 
approach to report hazards, manage safety risks, and improve 
accountability and culture within an organization.
    What is the status of the SMS rulemaking?
    Answer. FAA strongly supports implementation of a scalable SMS 
across the entire aviation sector, and FAA appreciates the various 
recommendations from Congress, the National Transportation Safety 
Board, and other entities to require SMS in design and production 
organizations. SMS ensures safety by identifying potential risks in the 
aviation system and mitigating those risks.
    FAA is currently evaluating alternatives for the expansion of the 
SMS application, including modification of Title 14 Code of Federal 
Regulations part 5, Safety Management Systems. FAA is initiating 
rulemaking to mandate SMS for key aviation sectors, including design 
and manufacturing organizations. In addition, the FAA continues to work 
on a final rule that would require certain airport certificate holders 
to develop, implement, maintain, and adhere to an SMS for its aviation 
related activities.
                   surface reauthorization priorities
    Question. I am extremely pleased by the substantial Federal 
investment included in the Administration's surface reauthorization 
proposal. Funding for highways and bridges would grow by 8 percent in 
the first year, and continue to grow by 4 percent each year thereafter. 
The proposal provides similar high-level funding levels for transit and 
safety programs, but we have no specific details on how this funding 
would be used. For example, it is unclear whether the proposal would 
include a bridge program, a program for interstate maintenance, or a 
program for the national freight network.
    Without getting into the specifics that are currently under review 
at the White House, what are the priorities for the next surface 
reauthorization bill?
    Answer. The Administration will submit a comprehensive surface 
transportation reauthorization proposal to Congress for consideration. 
The proposal will build upon the gains of past reauthorizations from 
program consolidation, simplification, and flexibility, while re-
focusing the Federal role on activities that advance National goals. 
This investment will enable people to travel more safely and 
efficiently, and support continued economic growth. The proposal will 
focus on the following priorities:

  --Improving Transportation Safety

  --Building Infrastructure More Efficiently

  --Reducing Regulatory Burdens and Increasing Government Efficiency

  --Investing in Both Urban and Rural America

  --Taking Care of What We Have

  --Preparing for the Future

    Question. One area of concern I continue to hear from the Maine 
Department of Transportation is the substantial cost increase in 
construction bids. In some cases, they only received one bid for major 
construction work and the bid was significantly over the estimate.
    Is the Department seeing similar cost increases for transportation 
projects across the nation?
    Answer. State DOT experiences with construction and material cost 
increases vary on a regional or a State-by-State basis. The Federal 
Highway Administration (FHWA) maintains the National Highway 
Construction Cost Index (NHCCI) that provides a quarterly price index. 
This index reflects average variations in bid prices of highway 
construction over time. The data are based on State web-postings of bid 
prices for awarded highway construction contracts. Over the past 15 
years, the NHCCI has shown an approximate three to 4 percent annual 
increase in construction costs.
    FHWA and State DOT construction contracting policies ensure 
competition in the award of construction contracts. States are required 
to evaluate all bids for responsiveness and perform a comparison with 
the engineer's estimate to ensure competition. If there is an apparent 
lack of competition, States may reject bids and re-advertise the 
project.
                           pedestrian deaths
    Question. According to a recent Governors Highway Safety 
Association report, pedestrian fatalities on U.S. roads have increased 
by more than 50 percent over the last decade, and the leading causes of 
pedestrian fatalities include distracted driving, intoxicated drivers, 
and poorly designed roads.
    What actions are the Department taking to address this dramatic 
increase in pedestrian fatalities?
    Answer. The Department is exploring a broad range of 
countermeasures to reverse the increase in pedestrian fatalities, such 
as behavioral, vehicle safety, infrastructure and enforcement 
solutions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are working to hold a 
virtual U.S. DOT Summit on Pedestrian Safety through a series of 
webinars. The Summit will provide a virtual platform to discuss 
pedestrian issues and determine initiatives to improve safety.
    NHTSA uses a multi-pronged approach to address pedestrian safety-
related issues, including:

  --Initiating a Pedestrian Crash Investigation pilot study to look 
        closely at vehicle-related effects in pedestrian crashes;

  --Launching the use of community-based assessments;

  --Evaluating strategies to build public support for pedestrian 
        education and enforcement programs through state-based 
        demonstration projects;

  --Planning and developing traffic safety and injury prevention and 
        control projects that specifically address the safety of 
        pedestrians, among other issues;

  --Designating October 2020 as Pedestrian Safety Month and developing 
        activities and educational materials for Pedestrian Safety 
        Month;

  --Releasing a draft test procedure on Pedestrian Automatic Emergency 
        Braking late last year and evaluating ways to improve vehicle 
        designs that include energy-absorbing components to provide 
        pedestrian protection when crashes occur;

  --Providing grant funds to States to address the safety of 
        pedestrians and bicyclists.

    Safety countermeasures to address pedestrian fatalities must be 
based on sound data. To ensure data-driven countermeasures, NHTSA 
regularly examines its data collection protocols to ensure that 
pedestrian data is as timely and accurate as possible. Data collection 
manuals are reviewed and updated annually. The Model Minimum Uniform 
Crash Criteria (MMUCC) 5th edition implemented a separate pedestrian/
pedalcyclist supplement that streamlines data collection by separating 
and emphasizing pedestrian data elements when a non-motorist is 
involved in a crash. Also, NHTSA is collaborating with FHWA and the 
University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center to update 
the Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT), a crash typing 
tool that informs the agency's pedestrian and pedalcyclist data 
collection methodologies. NHTSA also routinely develops ad-hoc analyses 
of the agency's pedestrian data, including analyses of pedestrian crash 
typing. These analyses inform the agency's development, deployment, and 
evaluation of pedestrian safety countermeasures.
                       automated vehicles--tesla
    Question. Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board 
issued a preliminary report on the March 23rd, 2018, crash of a Tesla 
``Model X'' vehicle in which the driver was playing a video game on his 
phone while using Tesla's advanced driver assistance features. The 
vehicle's speed increased from 62 to 70.8 miles per hour just prior to 
impact, and there was no braking or evasive action taken by the driver. 
As a result, the NTSB is recommending the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, or NHTSA investigate Tesla's autopilot system 
and develop standards for driver monitoring systems. The NTSB appears 
to be particularly concerned with driver disengagement in vehicles as a 
result of automated features, which can lead to complacency and appears 
to cause misuse of automation.
    How will the Department respond to the NTSB recommendations?
    Answer. The Department will fully consider the NTSB's 
recommendations. NHTSA plans to respond to NTSB's recommendation in the 
near future.
    The NTSB also recommended that NHTSA expand its five-star safety 
ratings system to include frontal and side impact crash tests, as well 
as rollover resistance tests. NHTSA currently tests these features, but 
does not rate their effectiveness. However, the budget request for 
fiscal year 21 includes a $4 million reduction in funding for the five-
star rating program.
    Question. How will NHTSA be able to address the NTSB's 
recommendations if program funding has been cut?
    Answer. To clarify, NHTSA's 5-star safety ratings system under the 
New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) already includes test results from 
the frontal impact, side impact barrier, and side impact pole tests, as 
well as two rollover resistance tests. NCAP also evaluates system 
performance of four advanced driver assistance technologies, but they 
are not part of the 5-star ratings system. NTSB has recommended that 
NHTSA ``expand the New Car Assessment Program 5-star rating system to 
include a scale that rates the performance of forward collision 
avoidance systems,'' and include such ratings on vehicle Monroney 
labels, and to ``incorporate pedestrian safety systems, including 
pedestrian collision avoidance systems and other more-passive safety 
systems, into the New Car Assessment Program.'' (NTSB recommendations 
H-15-06, H-15-07, H-18-43.) All of these recommendations are classified 
by NTSB as ``Open Acceptable Responses.''
    NHTSA is developing a Federal Register notice to seek public 
comment on planned changes to NCAP, potentially including a new rating 
system for the assessment of these advanced driver assistance 
technologies. NHTSA's budget request reflects a reduction to this 
program because the agency received fiscal year 2020 appropriations 
above the fiscal year 2020 request. Additional funding in the past 
three appropriations has allowed NHTSA to support development efforts 
for the agency's planned upgrade to NCAP. NHTSA's budget request for 
fiscal year 2021 is sufficient to support the agency's planned changes 
to NCAP. In fiscal year 2021, NHTSA will continue to provide consumers 
5-star safety rating information on approximately 85 percent of new 
vehicles sold in the United States.
                 state maritime academy training vessel
    Question. Over the last 3 years, this Committee has provided $900 
million for construction of three National Security Multi-Mission 
Vessels, or N.M.S.V., for the critical training provided at the state 
maritime academies. The current training vessels are reaching the end 
of their useful life, and it is important that the Department deliver 
these vessels on time and under budget. That is why I was surprised to 
learn that the Department has yet to begin construction on the training 
vessels, and has not even selected a shipyard for construction.
    I applaud the Secretary for continuing funding for this program in 
the budget request, but could you tell us why we have yet to begin 
construction on the NSMV 2 years after the funds were first 
appropriated?
    Answer. The Department is pleased to provide an update on this 
important program. The contracted Vessel Construction Manager (VCM), 
Tote Services, Inc., has contracted with the Philadelphia Shipyard and 
is moving forward towards the on-time delivery of the first two 
National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV). The Department has very 
methodically advanced the design and procurement process in an effort 
to ensure successful program outcomes, while limiting cost and risk. 
Shortly after funds were appropriated, the first Industry Day 
engagement was held, which helped to refine the acquisition strategy 
and align it with commercial practices. Within 6 months, and after 
approval of the acquisition strategy, a second Industry Day engagement 
was held to better establish the VCM requirements and develop the 
solicitation, which went out in November 2018. A competitive selection 
was made and the VCM contract was awarded in May 2019. The VCM 
requested shipyard bid proposals in June and reviewed them during 
August and September. The VCM and shipyard negotiated contract details 
and design work from October through March 2020. The Department 
reviewed the VCM shipyard selection documents in March and accepted the 
selection, enabling the VCM to award the shipyard contract on April 8, 
2020. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to 
providing you additional updates on our progress.
    Question. Given the substantial investment the Federal government 
is making in these vessels, could you elaborate on what risk-mitigation 
and cost control efforts you have taken to ensure the vessels are 
delivered under budget and on time?
    Answer. In an environment of fiscal limitations, it is imperative 
that dollars are used effectively and efficiently, and that problems 
are solved through innovation for the benefit of the States and the 
Nation. The Department worked extensively with the State Maritime 
Academies and other Federal agencies to develop the NSMV design 
requirements, and then throughout the design process to refine the 
requirements. The detailed concept design work over the past 5 years 
endeavored to achieve cost effective trade-offs while meeting core, 
mission essential tasks. This work has significantly reduced the 
technical risk. The negotiated average cost per vessel is within the 
range of MARAD's original cost estimates and are a firm fixed price, 
with fixed delivery schedule, in keeping with commercial practices. 
This best value cost also includes the maximum use of U.S. 
manufacturers components and 100 percent U.S.-flag shipping for any 
foreign sourced items. The Department has not agreed to any deviations 
from the refined vessel requirements and has worked closely with the 
VCM to ensure it fully understands the basis for the established 
requirements and capabilities. Additionally, the firm fixed price 
contract is based on the well-established design, and is expected to be 
delivered on time without changes.
              positive train control (ptc) implementation
    Question. The law requires most railroads to implement Positive 
Train Control, or PTC by December 31st, 2020. According to the Federal 
Railroad Administration's most recent report, eight railroads are 
currently at risk of not meeting this deadline. While the Department 
has been able to provide $2.6 billion in grants and loans for PTC 
implementation, largely thanks to the work of this Committee, clearly 
more needs to be done to help railroads meet this deadline.
    Can you tell us what specific challenges these ``at-risk'' 
railroads face in meeting the PTC deadline?
    Answer. Thank you for your questions regarding one of the highest 
priorities of the Department of Transportation (Department) and the 
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)--railroads' full implementation 
of FRA-certified and interoperable positive train control (PTC) systems 
on all required main lines as soon as possible, and not later than the 
statutory deadline of December 31, 2020. The railroad industry has made 
significant progress toward implementing PTC systems, as PTC technology 
was governing operations on over 98 percent of the PTC-mandated main 
lines as of March 31, 2020. With approximately 8 months until the 
statutory deadline, FRA is committed to assisting railroads, to the 
greatest extent possible, as they continue to test and activate their 
PTC systems on the remaining mandated main lines as expeditiously and 
safely as possible.
    To evaluate a host railroad's risk of noncompliance with the 
statutory deadline, FRA is primarily considering the following factors, 
which are associated with the requirements for full implementation of a 
PTC system: (1) the percentage of PTC-mandated route miles currently 
governed by a PTC system, including revenue service demonstration 
(RSD); (2) any unresolved technical issues that could severely impact a 
railroad's ability to meet the deadline; (3) the percentage of a host 
railroad's tenant railroads that have achieved interoperability, as 
required; and (4) a host railroad's expected date to submit its PTC 
Safety Plan to FRA, as required to obtain PTC System Certification.
    Based on these factors and railroads' self-reported progress as of 
December 31, 2019,\1\ FRA announced in February 2020 \2\ that it 
considers the following eight host railroads at risk of not fully 
implementing an FRA-certified and interoperable PTC system on their 
required main lines by December 31, 2020: Alaska Railroad, The Belt 
Railway Company of Chicago, Florida East Coast Railway (including its 
tenant railroad, Brightline/Virgin Trains USA), Kansas City Terminal 
Railway, New Jersey Transit, New Mexico Rail Runner Express, Northeast 
Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (Metra), and TEXRail. 
In addition to FRA's standard, quarterly infographics depicting 
railroads' progress toward fully implementing PTC systems, FRA released 
a new infographic on its website (https://railroads.dot.gov/train-
control/ptc/positive-train-control-ptc) in February 2020, providing 
additional information about these at-risk railroads and outlining the 
remaining work each of these railroads must complete during 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Quarterly PTC Progress Reports for Quarter 4 of 2019 (Form FRA 
F 6180.165, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 2130-
0553).
    \2\ Press Release, Federal Railroad Administration Publishes 
Railroads' Fourth Quarter 2019 Positive Train Control Implementation 
Status Updates (Feb. 27, 2020), https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/
press-releases/Federal-railroad-administration-publishes-railroads-
fourth-quarter-2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to the technical assistance FRA generally provides to 
all railroads subject to the statutory mandate, FRA is currently 
focusing its resources on directly assisting any railroads at risk of 
not fully implementing a PTC system by December 31, 2020, by taking the 
following actions, for example:

  --Providing additional FRA regional support to any at-risk railroads 
        during all phases of PTC system field testing, RSD operations, 
        and interoperability testing, including the nighttime testing 
        that several railroads are regularly conducting;

  --Meeting at least monthly with any at-risk railroads to actively 
        monitor their progress and provide targeted assistance 
        throughout the year;

  --Offering technical assistance on an ongoing basis, as necessary, to 
        help railroads address and resolve any crucial, remaining 
        issues;

  --Sending letters from the FRA Administrator to the senior leadership 
        of each at-risk railroad to highlight the significant remaining 
        work that the railroad must complete in the next 8 months; 
        urging the railroad to take all necessary steps to expedite its 
        remaining testing and meet the statutory deadline; and offering 
        direct assistance; and

  --With respect to any at-risk railroad that is owned by or affiliated 
        with a state, sending letters from the FRA Administrator to the 
        State department of transportation and governor, encouraging 
        them to ensure these railroads have sufficient technical 
        resources and state-level support at this critical point.

    Question. What are the financial and safety costs to railroads and 
passengers if railroads fail to meet the PTC implementation deadline?
    Answer. In terms of enforcement, the three acts of legislation 
governing railroads' implementation of PTC systems specifically 
authorize the Secretary of Transportation, and FRA by delegation, to 
assess civil penalties for any violations of the statutory PTC 
mandate.\3\ Consistent with the enforcement provisions in the statute, 
FRA is holding railroads accountable for the timely implementation of 
PTC systems and will continue to enforce the statutory mandate, 
including interim requirements and the December 31, 2020, deadline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-432, 
Sec. 104(a), 122 Stat. 4848 (Oct. 16, 2008), as amended by the Positive 
Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015, Public Law 
No. 114-73, 129 Stat. 568, 576--82 (Oct. 29, 2015) and the Fixing 
America's Surface Transportation Act, Public Law No. 114-94, Sec.  
11315(d), 129 Stat. 1312, 1675 (Dec. 4, 2015) (codified as amended at 
49 U.S.C. Sec. 20157); see also 49 CFR Sec. 1.89.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Since 2018, the FRA Administrator has maintained that if any 
required railroad fails to fully implement an FRA-certified and 
interoperable PTC system on its mandated main lines by December 31, 
2020, he would recommend that FRA assess the ordinary statutory maximum 
civil penalty, which is currently $29,192 per day, until the railroad's 
PTC system is fully implemented. FRA also reserves the right to 
initiate any other type of enforcement action within its authority, if 
necessary to compel compliance, in addition to the assessment of civil 
penalties.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ FRA acknowledges, however, that the statutory mandate generally 
prohibits FRA from imposing or enforcing the operational restrictions 
(e.g., speed restrictions) under FRA's current regulations against any 
railroad until approximately January 1, 2022. See 49 U.S.C. Sec.  
20157(j).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Regarding your question about the potential financial implications, 
the statutory mandate requires railroads to submit Annual PTC Progress 
Reports \5\ to FRA, summarizing, for example, ``any remaining 
technical, programmatic, operational, or other challenges to the 
implementation of a [PTC] system,'' including any funding-related 
challenges.\6\ All railroads subject to the statutory mandate have 
confirmed, in writing, that they will fully implement a PTC system by 
December 31, 2020, and none have indicated to FRA that funding, or a 
shortage thereof, would prevent them from meeting the statutory 
deadline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Form FRA F 6180.166, OMB Control No. 2130-0553.
    \6\ 49 U.S.C. Sec.  20157(a)(2)(A)(iii)(VI), (c)(1)(D).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              rail grants
    Question. This Committee has been a strong advocate for the 
Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement, or CRISI, 
grant program. The Department recently awarded a $17 million grant to 
improve the Downeaster passenger rail service in Maine, as well as 
increase the efficiency of PanAm, the host railroad. I am glad to see 
that the budget request includes $330 million to continue funding for 
this program. This discretionary grant program is popular among members 
because it leverages private, state, and local investment to address 
critical passenger and freight rail needs across America.
    What role have CRISI grants played in improving the safety and 
efficiency of our nation's rail transportation network?
    Answer. With a broad array of eligible activities and applicants, 
the CRISI program provides a comprehensive solution to leverage 
private, state and local investments to support safety enhancements and 
general improvements to our nation's railroad infrastructure. As part 
of our 10-year reauthorization proposal, the President's Budget 
requests $330 million for the CRISI program in fiscal year 2021 for the 
Department of Transportation to invest in projects within the United 
States to improve railroad safety, efficiency, and reliability; 
mitigate congestion for both intercity passenger and freight rail; 
enhance multi-modal connections; and lead to new or substantially 
improved intercity passenger rail corridors.
    From fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, Congress 
appropriated and the Department has announced over $875 million in 
CRISI funding to states, communities, and railroads for approximately 
130 projects. These investments include 40 projects to assist railroads 
with deployment of Positive Train Control, over 60 projects to benefit 
resource-constrained short line railroads improve safety and 
operations, and projects to improve safety at over 700 grade crossings. 
A number of projects funded from fiscal year 2017 funds are currently 
either under construction or moving towards construction. On April 20, 
2020, the Department made the fiscal year 2020 appropriated funds of an 
additional $311 million in fiscal year 2020 CRISI funding available. 
Applications are due June 19, 2020.
                          coronavirus outbreak
    Question. As the coronavirus continues to spread across the world, 
it is important for the Administration to take strong actions to 
protect the health of Americans here at home. I know the FAA is an 
important component of the work underway at CDC and DHS.
    What challenges does the Department and the airlines face in 
obtaining the necessary information for CDC and DHS to stop the spread 
of the coronavirus?
    Answer. The President's top priority is the health and welfare of 
the American people. DOT has served on the White House Coronavirus Task 
Force since its inception to help promote the coordinated U.S. 
Government response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The 
Department has played an active role in supporting the lead agencies in 
the COVID-19 response. These lead agencies include the Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS), which has overall responsibility for 
communicable disease response, and the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS), which has the lead in preparedness planning for all sectors, 
including transportation.
    The Federal Government's emergency response work relies on data to 
inform its response activities and involves facilitating the delivery 
of critical information to others engaged in emergency response 
activities. To address the challenges associated with these needs, 
since early in the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Department, 
through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has facilitated an 
ongoing dialogue between passenger air carriers and relevant government 
agencies (HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); DHS, 
including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation 
Security Administration (TSA), and the Countering Weapons of Mass 
Destruction Office (CWMD); and others) to share information and 
guidance and discuss preparedness measures. These discussions involve a 
number of response activities, including airport and passenger 
screening, health protocols for flight crew, State and local quarantine 
restrictions, and efforts to obtain contact information for air 
passengers and crew arriving from foreign countries to effectuate 
contact tracing.
    DOT and FAA have facilitated discussions and the exchange of 
information between our governmental partners and the aviation industry 
to assist in the implementation of the CDC's interim final rule on 
contact tracing. Part of the challenges identified by the airlines 
include changes to their existing systems to collect new types of 
passenger and crew contact information. The U.S. Government is 
committed to obtaining necessary data in a timely manner to mitigate 
the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases in the future.
    The Department's work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as a 
participant in the interagency Task Force, as well as through direct 
dialogue and collaboration with the individual departments and agencies 
on specific response actions, remains significant and ongoing.

                                 ______
                                 

                Question Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
                    air traffic controller staffing
    Question. This Committee has been very concerned about the air 
traffic controller staffing levels--we've monitored the issue closely 
and have provided support to address obstacles to help the FAA achieve 
adequate staffing levels. So I was pleased to hear that, for the first 
time in over a decade, the staffing levels for Certified Professional 
Controllers (CPC) are trending upwards.
    However, I see in the President's fiscal year 2021 Budget 
submission assumes a decrease in the overall controller workforce of 
over 500 FTEs.
    Can you reconcile this inconsistency which seems to undermine the 
progress we have been making on reversing staff trends?
    Answer. As reflected in the 2020 Controller Workforce Plan, FAA 
expects reduced controller attrition over the next several years, 
primarily because the large retirement wave of the post-strike 
controller hires is behind us. With the need to replace fewer certified 
controllers, FAA will need fewer new hires and thus fewer developmental 
controllers in the coming years.
    New controllers are typically hired 2-3 years in advance of 
expected attrition in order to allow for sufficient training time and 
an expected training failure rate. While the total controller workforce 
number is expected to fall slightly, the number of fully certified 
controllers is expected to increase consistently. FAA hired 1,010 air 
traffic controllers in fiscal year 2019, surpassing the hiring goal of 
907, and is on track to meet the fiscal year 2020 goal of hiring 910 
air traffic controllers.

                                 ______
                                 

              Questions Submitted by Senator Patty Murray
                port infrastructure development program
    Question. It is my understanding that MARAD's role in the recently 
awarded Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) was to provide 
an initial evaluation of the applications responsiveness to the 
criteria but that award selection was handled by your office. Further, 
I am aware that more than 50 applications were deemed to be compliant 
by MARAD and sent to your office without a rank or score.
    Please provide me with the process utilized by your office in 
ranking and selecting the awardees.
    Answer. The Department received 54 eligible PIDP applications for 
fiscal year 2019.The evaluation process consisted of Intake, a 
Technical Review Phase, and a Senior Review phase. During the Technical 
Review Phase, Department staff analyzed applications and assigned 
ratings for the selection criteria consistent with the descriptions in 
the NOFO. The selection criteria were as follows:

  --Leveraging Federal Funds

  --Project Costs and Benefits

  --Project Outcomes

  --Demonstrated Project Readiness

  --Domestic Preference

    Based on this analysis, the Senior Review Team comprised of senior 
non-career officials assembled a list of projects for consideration for 
the Secretary. However, PIDP applications did not receive a single 
overall rating.
    The Secretary made the final selections based on the selection 
criteria described in the NOFO.
                          meal and rest breaks
    Question. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 
sided with the American Trucking Association (ATA) in determining that 
California state laws on meal and rest break requirements are preempted 
by Federal law, overruling a previous decision finding otherwise. The 
decision by FMCSA defies logic, particularly in light of the fact that 
arguments in support of preemption in this instance have been rejected 
previously by: the U.S. Department of Transportation (the Department), 
in response to a nearly identical request by the trucking industry in 
2008; the courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court (which declined to hear appeals in 
multiple cases); and Congress, despite multiple opportunities since 
2015, including periods with Republican majorities in both the U.S. 
House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
    Washington state is one of many states and territories that require 
motor carriers to provide minimum meal and rest breaks to all employees 
within its jurisdiction, including bus and truck drivers. 
Unfortunately, these laws are now jeopardized by FMCSA's ruling. This 
is a matter of critical importance, and it stands to have a dramatic 
impact on the rights of states like mine to protect the equal 
application and integrity of our workplace laws.
    Why has the Department chosen to abandon its own position, to 
disregard the will of Congress, and ignore court precedent in order to 
side with the ATA against the states' historic right to regulate the 
workplace?
    Answer. As FMCSA explained in its December 28, 2018, Federal 
Register notice (83 FR 67470), the California meal and rest break rules 
(MRB rules) were State laws or regulations ``on commercial motor 
vehicle safety,'' to the extent they applied to drivers of property-
carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMV) subject to FMCSA's hours-of-
service (HOS) rules. The MRB rules were additional to or more stringent 
than the HOS rules, they had no safety benefit beyond what the Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provided, they were incompatible with 
the HOS rules, and enforcement of the MRB rules caused an unreasonable 
burden on interstate commerce. Accordingly, the MRB rules were 
preempted pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Sec. 31141. Similarly, FMCSA's January 
21, 2020 Federal Register notice (85 FR 3469) explained that the same 
rationale applied to the Agency's decision to grant a petition filed by 
the American Bus Association (ABA) seeking preemption of California's 
MRB rules, as applied to drivers of passenger-carrying CMVs subject to 
the HOS rules.
    The December 2018 determination acknowledged, and the January 2020 
determination reiterated, that the decision represented a change in the 
Agency's prior position as articulated in the 2008 Decision and in the 
government's amicus brief in Dilts v. Penske Logistics, LLC, No. 12-
55705 (9th Cir.), that the MRB rules were not regulations ``on 
commercial motor vehicle safety.'' In its 2008 decision and in Dilts, 
the Agency reasoned that because the MRB rules applied to employers in 
other industries in addition to motor carriers, the provisions were not 
within the scope of the Secretary's preemption authority under section 
31141. It should be noted that in Dilts, the United States Court of 
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made no determination whether the MRB 
Rules were preempted pursuant to section 31141; rather, the court 
determined that they were not preempted under the Federal Aviation 
Administration Authorization Act of 1994, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 14501(c).
    In reaching its position that the MRB rules were regulations on CMV 
safety, FMCSA reexamined the text of section 31141, its structural 
relationship with other statutory provisions, and the legislative 
history of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984. The Agency concluded 
that Congress intended that there be as much uniformity as practicable 
whenever a Federal standard and a State requirement cover the same 
subject matter, such as the MRB rules and the HOS rules. See S. Rep. 
No. 98-424, at 14 (1984). The Agency's determinations were also 
supported by the regulatory history of the HOS rules. Additionally, the 
California Labor Commissioner's comments on the ATA's and ABA's 
petitions and in a preemption proceeding concerning California's MRB 
rules before the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration, 83 FR 
47961, demonstrated that the MRB rules were, in fact, laws on CMV 
safety.
    Having determined that the MRB rules were within the scope of the 
Secretary's preemption authority under section 31141, the Agency 
granted the petitions to ensure uniform and consistent rules in order 
to promote safety and economic growth and to protect drivers and 
consumers. Safety is FMCSA's top priority, and the Agency believed that 
making uniform rules for interstate property- and passenger-carriers, 
where possible, was a key component to increasing safety on the roads. 
In addition, different rules in different states added needless burdens 
on drivers--many of whom were small businesses fighting to make ends 
meet in a competitive market. Here, the Agency found that California's 
MRB rules reduced productivity, increased administrative and 
operational burden, and were a drag on the economy. During the public 
comment period, FMCSA heard directly from drivers, business owners, and 
industry stakeholders that California's MRB rules not only posed a 
safety risk, but also led to a loss in productivity and ultimately hurt 
American consumers.
    FMCSA believes that its decisions preempting California's MRB rules 
were an important step toward creating a more reliable and consistent 
regulatory environment for truck and bus drivers. A consistent set of 
rules directly benefits drivers, consumers, small businesses, and the 
American economy.
    Opponents of the preemption determinations have filed petitions for 
review in the Ninth Circuit challenging each decision. Both matters 
remain pending before the court.
    On April 8, 2019, the Washington Trucking Associations petitioned 
the Agency to preempt Washington State's meal and rest break rules for 
CMV drivers. The petition is under review and FMCSA expects to issue a 
decision shortly.

                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Coons
                         airport infrastructure
    Question. According to the Airports Council International, airports 
require more than $128 billion in infrastructure upgrades by 2023. A 
recently released study commissioned by Congress and conducted by the 
nonpartisan RAND Corporation recommended that Congress increase the cap 
on passenger facility charges and index the cap to inflation.
    Can you comment on the findings in this report?
    Answer. The RAND Corporation is an independent, nonprofit policy 
institute (similar to the MITRE Corporation) that conducted the study 
in strict compliance with the requirements of Section 122 of the FAA 
Reauthorization Act of 2018, including direct engagement with the full 
range of industry stakeholders required in the statute. Virtually all 
of the recommendations would require statutory changes. The 
Administration is carefully reviewing the recommendation in the RAND 
report. It should be noted that the report included some projections 
for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, whose revenues have now been 
significantly diminished through calendar year 2020 by the effects of 
the Coronavirus on air transportation, and by the Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
    Question. How would you recommend airports pay for needed airport 
improvements?
    Answer. There is no single answer to this question. There are more 
than 19,000 airports in the United States, of which approximately 5,100 
are available for public use and of which more than 3,200 are included 
in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). More than 
520 airports hold the necessary certification to accommodate scheduled 
airline service, and 380 are ``Primary'' airports (meaning they have 
scheduled airline service and at least 10,000 annual enplaned 
passengers).
    The capital infrastructure investment needs vary widely among all 
of these airports, as do the communities they serve. Most commercial 
service airports rely on a combination of airport revenue, bond 
proceeds or other forms of long-term debt, Airport Improvement Program 
(AIP) grants, Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) revenues, state grants, 
and other capital funding sources. Increasing numbers of airports with 
strong and reliable revenue streams have looked to private equity 
investors and public-private partnerships. Each type of funding source 
carries different requirements, benefits, and costs. Additionally, 
different types of projects are often more ideally suited to one type 
of funding than another.
                         amtrak reauthorization
    Question. I appreciate the Administration's attention to 
reauthorizing surface transportation programs in the fiscal year 2021 
budget and that Amtrak's reauthorization is also considered.
    What are the Department's priorities in Amtrak reauthorization?
    Answer. The Administration's Surface Transportation Reauthorization 
proposal reauthorizes grants to Amtrak. The Department is continuing to 
look at the appropriate approach for the Federal government to provide 
assistance on both the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and the National 
Network. The Administration's reauthorization proposal will encourage 
greater Federal, State, and local collaboration regarding passenger 
rail services to meet the changing needs of the traveling public. 
Amtrak's existing National Network routes serve the same markets today 
as they did when Congress created the Corporation 50 years ago, and as 
such, Amtrak is challenged to provide customers with the services they 
need or demand. The proposal will provide for the future of intercity 
passenger rail service, which should focus on high-performing regional 
corridor services connecting markets between 100 and 500 miles apart. 
Enabling States to play a larger role in shaping the delivery of 
intercity passenger rail services will improve financial performance 
and increase accountability for on-time performance. The Department 
will soon release details of its legislative proposal and looks forward 
to working with the Congress to provide reforms to Amtrak to bring 
passenger rail into the future, make better use of Federal resources 
and provide a better transportation service to its passengers.
    Question. How will the Department address the $38 billion backlog 
of repairs on the Northeast Corridor?
    Answer. Underinvestment in transportation has led to a backlog of 
needs across the transportation system, including on the NEC. As part 
of Surface Transportation Reauthorization, the Department believes 
investments should ``take care of what you have'' and focus Federal 
infrastructure funding on state of good repair needs. For fiscal year 
2021, the President's Budget proposes to fund Amtrak grants through the 
Amtrak account structure authorized by the FAST Act for the NEC, and 
with regard to Surface Transportation Reauthorization, the Department 
is continuing to look at the appropriate approach for the Federal 
government to partner with Amtrak and the NEC states to maintain and 
improve this critical rail corridor.
                          interagency efforts
    Question. Under the Obama Administration, an interagency 
partnership was formed between DOT, HUD, and EPA called the Partnership 
for Sustainable Communities. The goal of the partnership was to ensure 
that agencies' policies, programs, and funding consider affordable 
housing, transportation, and environmental projection together.
    Is the Partnership for Sustainable Communities currently operating? 
If not, why?
    Answer. No, the Partnership for Sustainable Communities was an 
initiative of the previous Administration, and as such, it ended in 
January 2017.
    Question. If so, what is DOT's role and what recommendations has 
the Department made to better coordinate its transportation policies 
and programs with HUD and EPA?
    Answer. The Partnership for Sustainable Communities ended in 
January 2017.

                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin
                               hyperloop
    Question. I want to applaud you for the establishment of the Non-
Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council. This 
thoughtful, forward-leaning idea is exactly the sort of leadership we 
need from the Department to encourage innovation at home. For example, 
we know that hyperloop technology is making significant strides in the 
U.S. Hyperloop represents a giant leap forward into the future of 
transportation, and I am excited about the role it will play across the 
country, including in West Virginia.
    How is the newly formed NETT Council focusing on emerging ground 
transportation that utilizes advanced technologies?
    Answer. The Department has formed working groups to examine the 
technical specifications of the latest iteration of advanced 
technologies, such as hyperloop, to determine the Federal role, if any, 
and offer subject matter expertise for innovators to consider as these 
technologies are developed. Any innovator can, and many have, 
approached the NETT Council with their/its ideas but should expect 
varying levels of NETT Council engagement depending on the readiness 
level of their project.
    Question. How is the Department focusing on funding research and 
development for advanced technologies that will improve regional 
mobility and focus on economic development and job creation, especially 
in rural areas like West Virginia?
    Answer. The NETT Council focuses on a broad set of multi-modal non-
traditional and emerging transportation technologies, including 
automated vehicles. Focusing on emerging technologies for all 
communities, including rural, is a priority for the Department. The 
Department has funded R&D of advanced transportation technologies, like 
automated driving systems (ADS), to focus on rural area concerns. For 
example, the Department funded over $22 million on ADS demonstration 
projects that had research focus on rural communities. These specific 
projects were, University of Iowa--ADS for Rural America (funded amount 
$7,026,769); Ohio Department of Transportation--D.A.T.A. in Ohio: 
Deploying Automated Technology Anywhere (funded amount $7,500,000); and 
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation--Safe Integration of 
Automated Vehicles into Work Zones (funded amount $8,409,444). A full 
list of all the recent ADS demonstrations projects can be seen at this 
link: https://www.transportation.gov/av/grants.
                               corridor h
    Question. Corridor H was first designated by President Johnson as 
part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) in 1965 to 
connect I-81 in Virginia to I-79 in West Virginia, and 55 years later, 
we're still working on it. There's a reason we still care. Connecting 
the population base of the DC metro area to the interior of West 
Virginia would be a game changer, and we've already seen huge economic 
benefits along the sections that have already been completed. When I 
was Governor, I was proud to open up more than half of Corridor H. I 
have been proud to work through Appropriations with Senator Capito and 
with you and your team to secure more than $135 million in Federal 
funding for Corridor H in the past 2 years. That funding has helped 
bring the project at least 15 years closer to completion. 87 percent of 
the project has been funded or completed. That leaves just 17 miles 
left in West Virginia. That's it. And the longer we wait to do this, 
the more expensive it's going to be. Madam Secretary, you've been a 
wonderful advocate for rural states and for West Virginia in 
particular.
    Will you commit to working with us to finish this once and for all?
    Answer. The Department of Transportation is committed to 
Appalachian communities and stands ready to assist States, if they 
choose to prioritize their Federal-aid Highway dollars towards 
completion of Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) corridors.
    Currently, approximately 90 percent of the ADHS is open to traffic. 
The Department has worked closely with Appalachian States and the 
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) on completion efforts, including 
supporting the development of the ARC's Strategic Plan to Complete the 
ADHS.
    Question. Last year, we were able to include the first dedicated 
funding for ADHS since 2012. Would you support additional funding to 
finish long overdue sections of ADHS in states like Alabama and West 
Virginia?
    Answer. As you note, Congress included $100 million for the 
Appalachian Development Highway System in the fiscal year 2020 
Appropriations Act. In addition to this dedicated funding, ADHS 
projects are eligible for other funding through existing programs. For 
example, States may elect to fund ADHS construction projects under the 
Surface Transportation Block Grant.
    The President's fiscal year 2021 Budget would provide $1 trillion 
in direct Federal investment in our infrastructure, demonstrating the 
Administration's continuing commitment to meeting our critical 
infrastructure needs.
    I look forward to working with Congress and the President to 
achieve the funding priorities laid out in the fiscal year 2021 Budget, 
and to pass a strong surface transportation reauthorization bill that 
improves our transportation infrastructure.
                            beckley airport
    Question. Rural communities depend on the Essential Air Service 
(EAS) program to maintain connections with major airports and 
metropolitan areas. All travelers--leisure, tourism, and business--
depend on this accessibility. Without this important program, 
communities like those in West Virginia would lose air service, 
reducing economic opportunities for communities already struggling to 
stay connected to the national economy. That's why I have been very 
concerned with recent developments at one of my participating airports 
in Beckley. Last year, the Raleigh County Memorial Airport closed for a 
few weeks to complete a routine runway project. Since that time, there 
has been disagreement over whether to reimburse the airport during the 
time it was closed for repairs. I still don't understand why this case 
is different than those in the past, when the Department has 
traditionally reimbursed carriers during runway closures and other 
adverse events that have taken place through no fault of their own. But 
I am hopeful that we can work together to resolve this situation in a 
way that's fair and just, and I want to thank you and your staff for 
continuing to work with me on this issue. Specifically, Under Secretary 
Joel Szabat--who I know has been working hard on the coronavirus 
response--and Kevin Schlemmer and the EAS office.
    Can I have your assurance that you and your team will continue to 
work with me to resolve this? I would welcome working with the 
Department during this year's Appropriations process to clarify the 
rules and prevent this from happening in the future. Would that be 
helpful?
    Answer. Yes, the Department is committed to resolving this in an 
appropriate manner. As you discussed with Assistant Secretary Joel 
Szabat, the Department is looking forward to meeting with you and the 
community, as well as the community's air service provider, to discuss 
reimbursements under the community's grant agreement.
                      amtrak long distance routes
    Question. Amtrak operates intercity passenger rail services in 46 
States and the District of Columbia. Amtrak also provides diversified 
transportation options that are important to the growth of the Nation's 
economy, especially in rural areas where options are limited. That's 
why I was concerned to see that the President has proposed 
restructuring Amtrak's Long Distance network, phasing decisionmaking 
and cost responsibilities to states, and effectively calling for the 
elimination of long distance routes. These include the Cardinal, which 
runs through the southern portion of my state, and the Capital Limited, 
which passes through the eastern portion of West Virginia. This out of 
touch and detrimental proposal comes on the heels of several other 
short-sighted and devastating policy changes from Amtrak that have had 
a direct negative impact on my state. As a voice from rural America, I 
implore you to consider the important contribution that reliable and 
safe rail service provides to local economies.
    Given that you have been such a strong advocate for rural America 
during your time as Secretary, what is the Department's position on 
Amtrak's proposals to eliminate the National Network and long-distance 
routes that serve rural areas like West Virginia?
    Answer. The Department of Transportation and Amtrak are aligned in 
the belief that the future of intercity passenger rail service should 
focus on high-performing, regional corridor services connecting markets 
between 100 and 500 miles apart. In order to evaluate if train service 
is the best form of transportation to meet our nation's rural mobility 
needs, the Administration has proposed the creation of an independent 
National Network Improvement Commission to issue a report with 
recommendations to both improve and create more efficient intercity 
passenger rail service on the National Network.
    The fundamental problem with Amtrak's Long Distance network is its 
inability to meet customer expectations and demand. The existing routes 
currently serve many promising city pairs and only 12 percent of Long 
Distance passengers are riding endpoint to endpoint, with most 
passengers traveling to and from intermediate markets, typically less 
than 500 miles apart. The issue with serving these markets via the 
current Long Distance structure is infrequent service at inconvenient 
times that is often significantly delayed. The fiscal year 2021 
President's Budget proposes a number of measures to transform the 
National passenger rail network to provide better transportation 
options to rural and urban areas and empower states to play a larger 
role in shaping the intercity passenger rail services that operate in 
their communities.

                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
                          buy america waivers
    Question. For the last few years, Congress has included as part of 
the Transportation Appropriations Bill, language directing FHWA to act 
on Buy America waiver requests within 60 days. While the merits of Buy 
America are clear, there are times when projects require materials for 
which there is no American-made alternative. Congress added this 
language to ensure that Federal funds will not be held in limbo while 
FHWA reviews waivers.
    On average, how long was the processing period for Buy America 
Waivers in fiscal year 2019?
    Answer. For fiscal year 2019, the FHWA did not approve or deny any 
Buy America waivers.
    Question. What was the longest period of time to approve or deny a 
waiver, and what was the reason for the wait time?
    Answer. For fiscal year 2019, the FHWA did not make a determination 
on any Buy America waivers. The Department strives to reach timely 
decisions, but also must ensure compliance with the law. This includes 
considering whether applicants have made efforts to maximize the use of 
goods, products, and materials produced in the United States consistent 
with Executive Order 13788. When evaluating waiver requests, the 
Department's focus is complying with the important requirements of the 
Buy America Act and Executive Order 13788. Once the Department is 
satisfied that applicants for waivers met that threshold, the 
Department will act on those requests.
    Question. How many waiver requests were received in fiscal year 
2019 and how many were granted?
    Answer. For fiscal year 2019, the FHWA did not approve or deny any 
Buy America waivers.
                              build grants
    Question. Congress has appropriated billions of dollars for the 
TIGER and BUILD programs in recent years. Many of the awards from the 
program have funded large infrastructure projects on interstate and 
Federal highways. Our local communities have significant infrastructure 
needs as well. The fiscal year 2020 Transportation Appropriations Bill 
included language to ensure that Department give equitable treatment to 
urban and rural communities. Following the fiscal year 2020 budget 
review hearing, I asked what steps the Department takes to ensure that 
local, municipal projects are funded in the BUILD Program. You 
responded that you believe that local governments best know the 
infrastructure needs of their Communities.
    How can the Department further ensure that more localized projects 
are strongly supported by BUILD grants?
    Answer. The Department continues to believe that local communities 
are best positioned to identify their own transportation needs, and 
that the BUILD program allows the Department to financially support 
surface transportation projects with a significant local impact. 
Through efforts like the Department's R.O.U.T.E.S. initiative, the 
Department conducts outreach to local communities and offers resources 
to help those communities effectively compete for Federal funding.
    Question. Are additional statutory authorities needed to ensure 
that local, municipal projects receive resources through the BUILD 
Program?
    Answer. Consistent with existing Congressional direction, the 
Department takes measures in awarding BUILD funds to ensure an 
equitable geographic distribution of funds, an appropriate balance in 
addressing the needs of urban and rural areas, and investment in a 
variety of transportation modes.
    Question. How has the Department set aside funding to support 
planning grant applications, how many such applications have been 
approved, and how much of the total amount of money available through 
the BUILD Program has been allocated to planning grants? How many 
applications for planning grants did the Department receive for the 
fiscal year 2019 round?
    Answer. As a discretionary, merit-based program for surface 
transportation infrastructure, the Department prioritized BUILD fiscal 
year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 projects that would proceed to 
construction within the period of obligation. The fiscal year 2019 
BUILD NOFO, for example, stated that applications for BUILD 
Transportation planning grants would be less competitive than capital 
grants. The Department received 52 planning grants in the fiscal year 
2019 BUILD round and made no planning awards. Based on the language of 
the fiscal year 2020 BUILD appropriation, the Department will award no 
less than $15 million in fiscal year 2020 BUILD funding for the 
planning, preparation or design of eligible projects.
                              mass timber
    Question. The Committee is interested in how mass timber can be 
utilized in constructing transportation infrastructure. For the past 
few fiscal years Congress has included language on this topic in the 
Transportation Appropriations Bill.
    What steps is the Department taking to initiate new activity around 
the utilization of mass timber in transportation infrastructure? Does 
the Department need additional resources or direction to undertake this 
work?
    Answer. Mass timber in infrastructure construction is eligible for 
funding through the National Highway Performance Program (23 U.S.C. 
119), the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (23 U.S.C. 133), 
and the Accelerated Innovation Deployment grant program.
    Technology for use of mass timber in transportation infrastructure 
is well-developed, with design guidance available in Chapter 8 of the 
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' 
Load and Resistance Factor Design Standards. Technical assistance on 
the application of these standards is available to stakeholders on 
request.
    FHWA remains committed to maintaining a competitive marketplace for 
infrastructure materials that leaves decisions concerning material 
selection to the State and local agencies who are in the best position 
to make such decisions based on safety, costs, and other factors.
                         workforce development
    Question. For years Congress has directed FHWA to direct resources 
to the Center for Transportation Workforce Development.
    What resources has FHWA used to support the Center? Please 
specifically describe the programs that these funds support.
    Answer. The FHWA Center for Transportation Workforce Development 
(CTWD) is not referred to in legislation and funds are not specifically 
authorized for the Center. The CTWD was created in May 2016 to deliver 
programs and initiatives that build transportation career awareness and 
improve workforce development, capability, and diversity of the 
Nation's transportation workforce. Several long-standing programs 
supported under sections 140 and 504 of title 23, United States Code 
(U.S.C.), were brought together under the CTWD.
    On-the-Job Training Supportive Services (OJT/SS), which is funded 
under 23 U.S.C. 140, assists State Departments of Transportation in 
meeting Federal regulatory requirements for Federal-aid contracts to 
establish apprenticeship and training programs focused on moving women, 
minorities, and disadvantaged persons into journey-level positions.
    The National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) Program, which 
is funded under 23 U.S.C. 140, creates awareness and stimulates 
interest among middle and high school student participants by 
highlighting career opportunities in the transportation industry; 
providing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-
based academic activities in transportation topics; and encouraging the 
pursuit of transportation-related course work at institutions of higher 
education.
    The Transportation Education Development Program, which is funded 
under 23 U.S.C. 504, currently provides grants to 5 regional 
transportation workforce centers to develop education programs and 
curricula for surface transportation at all levels of the 
transportation workforce. Examples of programs and products developed 
under these grants include a STEM academy; an apprenticeship guide; a 
program where university students work on real-world local and State 
transportation challenges; and transportation curricula for at-risk 
youth in kindergarten through grade 12.
    The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, 
which is funded under 23 U.S.C. 504, provides grants for direct support 
of student expenses related to pursuing transportation-related degrees 
at accredited institutions of higher education including minority 
serving institutions and community colleges.
    The Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education 
Program, which is funded under 23 U.S.C. 504, focuses on improving the 
preparation of students, particularly women and minorities, in STEM 
through curriculum development and other activities related to 
transportation.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Senator Collins. This hearing is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:47 a.m., Wednesday, March 4, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at a date and time 
subject to the call of the Chair.]