[Senate Hearing 116-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 116-3
HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF NICOLE R.
NASON TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JANUARY 29, 2019
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
35-944 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware,
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia Ranking Member
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
MIKE BRAUN, Indiana BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
JONI ERNST, Iowa TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
Richard M. Russell, Majority Staff Director
Mary Frances Repko, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
JANUARY 29, 2019
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 1
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 2
WITNESSES
Mineta Hon. Norman, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of
Transportation................................................. 5
Nason, Nicole R., Nominated to be Administrator of the Federal
Highway Administration......................................... 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Responses to additional questions from:
Senator Barrasso......................................... 11
Senator Carper........................................... 12
Senator Boozman.......................................... 18
Senator Cardin........................................... 19
Senator Duckworth........................................ 22
Senator Gillibrand....................................... 24
Senator Markey........................................... 26
Response to an additional question from Senator Rounds....... 27
Responses to additional questions from:
Senator Sanders.......................................... 27
Senator Van Hollen....................................... 28
Senator Whitehouse....................................... 29
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Letters of support for the nomination of Nicole R. Nason........144-172
HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF NICOLE R. NASON TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m. in
room 406, Dirksen Senate Building, Hon. John Barrasso (chairman
of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Capito, Braun, Rounds,
Sullivan, Boozman, Ernst, Carper, Cardin, Whitehouse,
Gillibrand, Booker, and Markey.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. I call this hearing to order.
Today, we will consider the nomination of Nicole R. Nason
to be the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Ms. Nason is well-qualified for this important post. She
brings impressive, meaningful experience in Federal
transportation policy to this critically important position. I
applaud President Trump's nomination of such an accomplished
and dedicated public servant.
The Federal Highway Administration plays a central role in
American mobility. The Administration is the lead Federal
partner to State and local transportation programs that
maintain and improve our Nation's roads, highways, and bridges.
America's transportation infrastructure faces a lot of
challenges. For far too long, the Federal Highway
Administration has been without Senate-confirmed leadership.
Moreover, the authorization of Federal highway programs will
expire in September of next year.
The Congressional Budget Office projects the Highway Trust
Fund will become insolvent sometime in 2021. That is why we
must work together in this committee to write and pass a
bipartisan highway bill that upgrades America's roads and
bridges in a fiscally responsible manner, and do it in this
Congress.
We successfully worked together to pass comprehensive,
bipartisan water infrastructure legislation. Now let us come
together to fix our highways, roads, and bridges. This
legislation must address the needs of rural America, and well
as urban America.
Rural roads are vital to bringing raw materials and
products from the heartland to urban centers. Federal highways
like I-80 run coast to coast, bringing goods and services
across America. This includes the stretch of I-80 in my home
State of Wyoming.
We must maintain and improve these highways in rural States
to keep these vital arteries of commerce open. In addition, I
strongly support the Federal highway program's current reliance
on distributing funds by formula to the States. This is the
best way to ensure that funding is transformed into projects
quickly.
The Federal Highway Administration will need a strong
Administrator to work with Congress on the deployment,
development, and implementation of highway infrastructure
legislation. Nicole Nason is the right person for the job.
During the Bush administration, Ms. Nason served as
Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, the Department of Transportation's top road
safety official. Prior to this role, she served as the
Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration
Administrator.
On behalf of MADD, I wholeheartedly endorse her for this
position.
The Associated General Contractors of America said that she
is a ``superb choice to fulfill FHWA's leadership role in
improving mobility on our Nation's highways.'' As such, the
Associated General Contractors of America urges the Senate to
quickly confirm her nomination.
The Governors Highway Safety Association said: ``Throughout
her career, Ms. Nason has demonstrated a clear commitment to
public service and, during her tenure as Administrator of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a dedication to
advancing highway safety.''
Confirming her to be Administrator of the Federal Highway
Administration will be an important step in supporting our
Nation's highways, roads, and bridges. I urge my colleagues to
work with me to get this done.
I would now like to turn to the Ranking Member for his
statement. Senator Carper.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is my intent to place a hold on the nomination of Ms.
Nason. Not really.
Who are those old people sitting next to you? Are those
your kids? Tell us your names.
Senator Carper. First on the right.
Ms. Abby Nason. I am Abby.
Senator Carper. Hi, Abby.
Ms. Alex Nason. I am Alex.
Mr. Brady Nason. I am Brady.
Senator Carper. Who is the big guy?
Mr. David Nason. I am David.
Senator Carper. I want to thank you guys for your
willingness to share this woman with the rest of us. The battle
ahead for her confirmation will be hard fought. I have a hunch
she will kind of squeak through. We will see. It depends on how
she does today.
Ms. Nason, we want to thank you.
It is great to see Norman. Many of us were pleased to
previously serve with Norm in the House of Representatives
years ago and as Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of
Transportation and God knows what else. He is warmly loved in
Delaware and on the Delmarva by the horseshoe crab population
of our region. There was a sanctuary created and he helped it
grow and did that to save the horseshoe crabs which have been
around hundreds of millions of years it turns out.
Ms. Nason, thank you for appearing before our committee
this morning. We welcome you and your family here today. We
welcome your nomination to lead the Federal Highway
Administration.
As my colleagues will recall, you are not the first person
nominated by this Administration for this job. A fellow from
Iowa DOT, the Director of Transportation, Director Paul
Trambino, withdrew his name as a nominee because of the illness
of his father. He wanted to spend the last weeks and months
with his dad. He passed on this job in order to be able to do
that. His family's misfortune opened this opportunity for you.
It is interesting that when I was talking with you
yesterday, you spoke about your own father and the impact his
life, his misfortune with a terrible motorcycle accident, which
sort of helped guide you in the end to safety advancements and
now brings you before us today.
It has now been more than 2 years since there has been an
Administrator, the longest gap in leadership for the agency in
more than 100 years, which was long before our Nation's
InterState Highway System even came into existence, back when
the Federal Highway Administration was known as the Bureau of
Public Roads.
I have long said that leadership is the key to the success
of any organization. We have heard many times over the last 2
years that the Trump Administration is eager to enact major
infrastructure legislation and make significant investments in
rebuilding our Country's roads, highways, bridges and transit
systems.
With that in mind, in my view, it is counterintuitive to
have left vacant for such a long period of time such an
important leadership role in the Federal Highway
Administration, an agency with a critical infrastructure
mission.
I hope that the President's nomination of you, Ms. Nason,
to be Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration is
both evidence that the Trump Administration is aware of these
organizational needs, and also a signal that the Administration
is ready to work with Congress on reauthorizing our Nation's
transportation programs.
The Federal Highway Administration is the lead Federal
agency that oversees more than 220,000 miles of our national
highway system and some 145,000 bridges. Today, far too many of
those roadways and bridges have been in use well beyond their
original design and as we know, are in poor condition.
Too many drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists put their
lives at risk when they use our roadways. In 2017, 2 years ago,
there were more than 37,000 fatalities on our Nation's
roadways. For context, that is approximately the same number as
the number of lives lost annually in our Country to gun
violence.
Too many Americans also lack access to reliable transit or
safe places to walk or bike, or to charging stations for an
electric vehicles or fueling stations for hydrogen. That means
the many people in our Country who would like to reduce their
carbon footprint may not have many real options to do so.
Next year, the FAST Act, which provided 5 years of funding
and policy certainty for our transportation sector, is set to
expire. Congress must work now on reauthorizing our Federal
surface transportation programs so that we can provide
continued certainty for States, tribal communities and cities,
while also addressing the opportunities and challenges facing
our transportation sector today and in the years to come.
We have a rapidly evolving transportation industry in which
new tools, data and technology are disrupting traditional
practices of planning, building, operating and using road
infrastructure.
As we know, our climate is changing. Our vehicles and
travel patterns accelerate and exacerbate that change, while at
the same time, increasingly extreme weather events and sea
level rise wear down our transportation networks.
In addition to these major policy concerns, we face another
big problem. Our Highway Trust Fund is going broke. Last year,
we spent almost $13 billion more from the Highway Trust Fund
than we collected in revenues.
I will say that again. Last year, we spent almost $13
billion more from the Highway Trust Fund than we collected in
revenues. Next year, that deficit will be even greater.
To pay for the FAST Act for surface transportation, we took
$70 billion from the General Fund and other programs at a time
when our Federal budget deficit last year reached $750 billion.
I believe we are on target to reach a Federal deficit for this
year of $850 billion and may be next year as much as $1
trillion.
For the next 5-year transportation bill, we will need to
find an additional $85 billion just to keep our programs at the
current funding level. Despite spending more than we collect,
we still are not even spending enough. The backlog of money
needed to rehabilitate and improve highways and bridges has
grown to $800 billion. Think about that, an $800 billion
backlog.
While we are thinking about that, let me conclude by saying
that I hope Ms. Nason will prove to be a true partner to those
of us here in Congress, one who will work with us from day one
to address these and other challenges I just mentioned and
other challenges in the months and years ahead.
These challenges are great, but so are the opportunities. I
am hopeful that Ms. Nason will prove to be the leader who is
needed right now to find opportunity in adversity so that we
can seize the day.
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Carper.
We now have a special privilege in this committee to hear
from one of the greats in American politics and history. Norm
Mineta is here, the former Secretary of Transportation, with 20
years in the House, Chairman of the Transportation Committee in
the House, then Secretary of Commerce for Bill Clinton, and
Secretary of Transportation for G.W. Bush.
However, if you Google him, you get Norman Mineta and it
says ``and Al Simpson.'' There is no way to avoid this linkage
that began over seven decades ago as Boy Scouts in Cody,
Wyoming written about recently in the Washington Post and CBS
News did a wonderful story about you, your legacy and the
friendship and our kinship with Wyoming.
We are so privileged to have you joining us today.
With this, I would like to ask you, Mr. Secretary, to
please proceed.
Senator Boozman. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Could I also just voice the fact that I am
so pleased to see you today and thank you for your service?
You were so helpful to me when I was in the House when you
were Secretary of Transportation, even before that. You gave me
great advice. I think you truly are a model for what this place
should be all about, working with both sides, trying to get
results.
The Secretary and one of my mentors, General Paul
Hammerschmidt, were great friends. Again, thank you for your
service. Thank you for helping so many of us in so many
different ways. We appreciate you.
Senator Barrasso. Mr. Secretary.
STATEMENT OF HON. NORMAN MINETA, FORMER
SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Mr. Mineta. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for the honor of
appearing before you this morning and permitting me to address
you.
It is a pleasure to see so many Senators and former
colleagues with whom I have had the pleasure to work over the
years.
Thank you for this honor and privilege to speak on behalf
of Nicole R. Nason, the nominee to be Federal Highway
Administrator.
I have known Nicole since 2003 when she came to the
Department of Transportation to serve as our Assistant
Secretary of Government Affairs. As Secretary of
Transportation, I met with Nicole nearly every day to discuss
legislative proposals and strategies.
However, her counsel went far beyond legislative issues.
She was a key member of my executive team and was one of the
department's liaison's with the White House and the Office of
Management and Budget.
After 3 years as the Assistant Secretary, I recommended to
President George W. Bush that she be nominated as DOT's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator. She was
unanimously confirmed by the Senate and served until 2008 as
NHTSA Administrator.
She successfully implemented numerous safety mandates and
reporting requirements by SAFETEA-LU. During Nicole's tenure as
NHTSA's Administrator, significant rulemakings were completed,
including electronic stability control, side impact priorities
protection and improvement in roof restraint, all because of
her leadership skills.
She also instituted a series of public meetings addressing
topics such as the New Car Assessment Program, school bus
safety, child safety seats, and use of ignition interlock
devices. Many of these proposals originated from these meetings
and were later enacted by the agency.
I also turned to Nicole to represent the department and me
internationally. She spoke at the United Nations in Geneva on
``International Harmonization and Safety Regulations.'' She
conducted an important bilateral with the Chinese government to
prevent the sale of fraudulently made automobile tires.
Nicole is an accomplished government executive, an
experienced transportation leader and an individual with a high
degree of personal integrity and character. Frankly, though,
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, there are several
people that Nicole could have had appear before you to attest
to her record and the proven attributes of her character.
I responded very quickly to Nicole to appear on her behalf
because I believe Nicole's nomination is an important
opportunity for this Senate and this Nation. Because of the
convergence of certain factors, Nicole's nomination transcends
the usual confirmation of one more subcabinet executive.
As this committee so well knows, I served in Congress for
over 20 years. As recited by the Chairman, I was the Secretary
of Commerce for a Democratic President and the Secretary of
Transportation for a Republican President.
In all three of these positions, the key to any success
that I had was persistent advocacy in seeking bipartisan
collaboration whenever and wherever I could find it. This
committee has done remarkable work with those tools and
succeeded where others could not. Last year, your outstanding
bipartisan work regarding our Nation's water infrastructure was
a true public policy achievement benefiting every American.
As you know, our Nation's transportation infrastructure
faces similar challenges at a time when bipartisanship can be a
scarce commodity. I believe this committee has the opportunity
once again to revive this essential practice of governance.
As many experts and pundits have indicated, infrastructure
legislation is one of the best opportunities where this can
occur. Having Nicole R. Nason as Federal Highway Administrator
will assist the committee and this Congress in achieving this
national need. She will strive to find common ground on a
bipartisan basis on which to achieve needed solutions.
She will be relentless in seeking opportunities and in the
critical work the Federal Highway Administration will perform
in working with you. She is the right person at the right time
for this position. I know she will not let you down.
Mr. Chairman, because of that, I am grateful to Nicole for
allowing me to appear before you and this committee to speak in
support of her candidacy as Federal Highway Administrator.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be very pleased to answer
any questions the Senators may have with respect to her
nomination.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you so very much, Mr. Secretary. As
you said, others could have appeared here to introduce her but
certainly in the opinion of the Chair and the entire committee,
none more distinguished and none more welcome than you. We are
delighted to have you. You are welcome to stay for the rest of
the hearing.
Neither the Chair nor the committee has any questions for
you but wish to wish you very well and you are always welcome
to join us in this committee.
Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary.
Senator Carper. Mr. Secretary, before you leave, I leaned
over while you were speaking and said to the Chairman, this
Administration might contract you to come and speak. It might
have more success than anything else I can think of.
It is great to see you, my friend. God bless you.
Senator Barrasso. Now we would like to welcome to the
committee our nominee, Nicole Nason, the nominee to be the
Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. We are
delighted to have you and congratulations on your nomination.
I want to remind you that your full written testimony will
be made a part of the record. We all look forward to hearing
your testimony today.
I know you have members of the family here if you would
like to introduce them and additional introductions. When you
are finished, please proceed with your testimony.
STATEMENT OF NICOLE R. NASON, NOMINATED TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF
THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
Ms. Nason. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Carper, members of
the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you today to be considered for the position of Administrator of
the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA, at the Department of
Transportation.
If confirmed, I look forward to working with you to enable
and empower the strengthening of a world-class highway system.
I would like to thank President Trump and Secretary Chao
for their confidence in my ability to serve in this critical
role. I would also like to express my gratitude to Secretary
Norman Mineta, not just for his appearance and his remarks
today, but for his years of extraordinary service to our
Country. His life story is incredible and he remains one of my
personal heroes.
I am pleased to have with me today my husband, David. You
briefly met my son, Brady, aged 10; my daughter, Abby, aged 14;
and my daughter, Alex, aged 17. I am grateful for their love
and support always. Although I recognize that they get to miss
school today for this, I would like to think they would come
even on a Saturday.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Carper, as you are aware, I am
currently serving as the Assistant Secretary for Administration
at the State Department. My 1,900-plus employees and
contractors at the A Bureau manage everything from logistics
and shipping to building repairs to all departmental
procurement.
I love my position but my heart is in transportation
policy. That is why I was so excited and privileged when
President Trump and Secretary Chao invited me to return to my
roots at the Department of Transportation as the Federal
Highway Administrator.
If confirmed, my first priority will be Secretary Chao's
first priority, the safety of our transportation system. This
focus unites the department across the modes and will remain
top of mind for me always.
Having served as Administrator of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration and having spent several years on
the National Board of Directors of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, I know the grim statistics all too well.
In 2017, as the Senator noted, there were 37,133 people
killed in motor vehicle crashes. This is an appalling number
and I believe the only acceptable number is zero.
If confirmed, I hope to focus particularly on pedestrian
safety. I would like to work with State and local leaders and
members of this body to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety
by focusing on improved road design and targeting our most
dangerous intersections.
Second, if confirmed, I intend to work closely with my
fellow administrators and colleagues at the DOT. I believe if
we are to effectively respond to our serious transportation
challenges, we need to work seamlessly.
I intend to collaborate with my Federal colleagues in
Washington, DC. and all of our State, local and tribal
government partners to eliminate barriers to project delivery
and timely success.
For example, many new technologies cut across several modes
and I will work with all of our partners on the development and
safe integration of these technologies.
Third, if I am confirmed, I intend to visit our teams in
the field. I would like to go out and meet with State, local
and tribal partners to personally see their concerns and hear
their ideas.
I learned while serving as NHTSA Administrator that it is
important to get out of D.C. and understand the challenges
firsthand.
Finally, I am aware of the role FHWA will play in the
reauthorization of surface transportation legislation as the
Fixing America Surface Transportation Act will expire at the
end of Fiscal Year 2020.
I was proud part to play a part in helping shape SAFETEA-LU
when I previously served at the department. I look forward to
the prospect of working together on any legislative efforts. As
this committee knows well, there is not a one size fits all
solution.
Mr. Chairman, as the daughter of a New York County
motorcycle highway patrol officer, I grew up hearing about
highway and vehicle safety. I clearly remember Dad's gruesome
motorcycle crash while on the job and his extended recovery at
home. His helmet with the crack in the back where his head
smacked the pavement and knocked him unconscious was his gift
to me when I was confirmed as NHTSA Administrator.
If confirmed as FHWA Administrator, I will proudly display
the helmet in that office as well. The helmet was his reminder
that there is a person and a family behind all the statistics,
a reminder that we can and should always strive to do more.
Again, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Carper, thank you
for allowing me to appear before you today. If confirmed, I
commit to you that I will perform the role of FHWA
Administrator with accountability to all stakeholders,
especially the American public.
I would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Nason follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Barrasso. Thank you for the incredible story of
your father's commitment and service to the people of New York,
the people of this Country, and you continuing his legacy and
concern. We are grateful you are willing to take on this
responsibility.
There are a couple of questions that you will get from
members here. We ask that you answer those. They will also
maybe have some written questions afterward. I hope you would
respond to the questions throughout the hearing and respond to
the questions afterwards for the record.
There are a couple of questions I have to ask as I do of
all nominees on behalf of the committee.
Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this committee
or designated members of this committee and other appropriate
committees of the Congress and to provide information subject
to appropriate and necessary security protections with respect
to your responsibilities?
Ms. Nason. Yes, sir.
Senator Barrasso. Do you agree to ensure that testimony,
briefings, documents in electronic and other forms of
information are provided to this committee and its staff and
other appropriate committees in a timely manner?
Ms. Nason. Yes, sir.
Senator Barrasso. Do you know of any matters which you may
or may not have disclosed that might place you in a conflict of
interest if you are confirmed?
Ms. Nason. No, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Let me start with questions.
As we mentioned, you previously served as the Administrator
of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and were
confirmed by the Senate. During your tenure as Administrator,
what did you learn regarding the need for Federal policymakers
to account for differences in priorities and circumstances
among rural versus urban States? Obviously being from a rural
area, how do you deal with that?
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
At NHTSA during my tenure, we were very clear that there
are unique needs of rural States and even rural communities.
With my own State of New York, we always like to say not all of
New York is Manhattan.
There are unique needs where I grew up. Infrastructure
failings, aging roads, egress concerns which compare to the
challenges of New York City, congestion and other quality of
life issues, so we tend to focus on messaging, on a rural
versus urban center because they have different transportation
concerns, different safety concerns. Tribal governments have
different safety concerns.
There is one thing we learned at NHTSA. We had a very
specific example of advertisements we were running. We learned
that you cannot take the same commercial, no matter how much
time and money you may have spent in producing and packaging it
and expect it to have the same impact around the Country. It
will not.
You have to know the specific challenges of those
communities. That is something I think I can bring to FHWA if I
am confirmed.
Senator Barrasso. If confirmed, can we be assured that you
will work diligently to make sure the Federal Highway
Administration is sensitive to the concerns of rural States
like Wyoming?
Ms. Nason. Yes, of course.
Senator Barrasso. Many States and others have appeared
before this committee strongly supporting the distribution of
highway funds by the formula we have set up. They have told us
that adequate formula funding is important because it provides
the flexibility needed to plan effectively and that it enables
States to put funds to work faster, a key issue for the States.
Do you agree that the existing formula programs do enable
States to address their priorities more effectively and more
expeditiously than trying to create new programs that are less
well understood and would take time to establish?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
I think, from what I have heard and speaking with our
partners from my experience at the State Department in the
construction of embassies and consulates, what is most critical
is the certainty in the funding stream.
I think that is something that if I am confirmed, I would
be happy to work with you and the members of the committee to
make sure that States can plan, which I think is most
essential.
Senator Barrasso. You would also likely agree that there is
unanimous consensus that transportation projects often take too
long to complete and that we need to work together to find ways
to further streamline the process while still protecting the
environment.
We have heard testimony before this committee that suggests
one of the reasons that projects are significantly slowed down
is too many agencies are required to take action to approve a
single project.
Instead of being done concurrently, they are being done
consecutively. You have to wait for one and then another and
another. How important is streamlining to timely project
delivery and how can we best achieve it?
Ms. Nason. I think streamlining, as you noted, is essential
for helping resolve and making improvements more quickly.
Having served as the NHTSA Administrator at a time when we were
raising CAFE standards for the first time in many, many years,
I can tell you it is a challenge even internally to bring
everyone to the table and resolve interagency concerns.
I think that is a role where FHWA can be quite helpful. If
I am confirmed as FHWA Administrator, that is a leadership
responsibility that I would like to take on.
Senator Barrasso. We tend to be amazed at the power of
innovation, vehicles coming onto the market right now that keep
drivers from leaving their lanes, even hit the brakes in an
emergency.
Within the next decade, I think we are likely to see even
greater advances in connected and autonomous vehicles. The
innovations have the potential to provide significant safety
and efficiency benefits, I think, to the traveling public.
We had a discussion last night where people said, will I
ever actually want to buy another car or will I just use a
ride-sharing service for people living in major cities. What
role should the Federal Highway Administration play in
preparing our roadways and communities, both rural and urban,
for the arrival of these new technologies?
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As I noted in my opening statement, I think it is going to
be very important for modal administrators, all modal
administrators at the Department of Transportation to work
together and to share research and best data because many of
these technologies cut across the modes in impact, NHTSA, but
also Federal Motor Carrier and Federal Highways.
If I am confirmed as Federal Highway Administration
Administrator, I will work closely with my colleagues to make
sure we are providing the best data and information to all of
our partners.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you and congratulations again.
Ms. Nason. Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Carper.
Senator Carper. I would like to follow-up on the Chairman's
question with respect to environmental streamlining. I would
like to look a little bit at the Federal-State partnership as a
recovering Governor. I would like to dwell a bit on safety.
I want to start with climate change. My neighbor to my
left, my Delmarva buddy, Senator Cardin, and we have another
Maryland Senator here, Chris Van Hollen, who will join us later
I suspect but we live in an area where the land is sinking and
the seas are rising. In fact, Delaware is the lowest lying
State in America. It is of great concern to us.
I have a son in California. North of where he lives, they
had these incredible wildfires in Oregon, Washington and
Montana, much bigger than Delaware, if you can believe that. In
Ellicott City, which Senator Cardin and Senator Van Hollen
represent, as I recall they had two 500-year floods, two 1,000-
year floods within 20 months of each other.
Some people think climate change is not real, it is
esoteric. It is real. We see it every day. Our transportation
system is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact,
the greatest source of carbon is from our vehicles as it turns
out today.
Our transportation system is highly vulnerable to impact
from extreme weather according to the National Climate
Assessment report released by 13 Federal agencies across the
Trump Administration. This is a quote of what they said:
``Expected increases in the severity and frequency of heavy
precipitation events will affect inland infrastructure in every
region, including access to roads, the viability of bridges,
and the safety of pipelines.''
For my whole life, we have measured rainfall by inches.
Now, we measure rainfall, in some instances, by the foot.
As the Federal Highway Administrator, you are going to have
an opportunity to influence highway roadway design,
availability of vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure,
and space for safe walking and bicycling.
How will you use your leadership to address how our vehicle
and travel patterns accelerate and exacerbate climate change?
How would you propose to ensure that infrastructure is
resilient to extreme weather?
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Senator Carper.
I wrote down what you said, ``Our roads are vulnerable to
extreme weather.'' Having grown up on the very east end of Long
Island, we lived through hurricanes regularly and our roads
would flood. Then there is no egress and often there is no
second egress because there was a ferry. That is not an option
either.
I spent my life watching my father, as a first responder,
go out in extreme weather and help respond to these challenges,
particularly on our roads when peoples' instinct is to get in a
car and try to drive away and then they are trapped.
I am very interested in seeing what the Federal Highway
Administration can do to improve resiliency in our
transportation system as a whole. I think there is a lot of
good research and data that FHWA can provide to State and local
governments and the leadership role that FHWA can play.
If confirmed, I would be happy to work with you on those
issues.
Senator Carper. Let us talk a bit more about environmental
streamlining. The Chairman touched on it.
This Administration finally filled a number of key
positions within the Administration that deal with
streamlining. For the first I would say almost year and a half
of this Administration, people responsible for dealing with
streamlining and working to facilitate building of roads,
highways, bridges, those positions were not filled. I am told
by my staff that as of the beginning of this year, most of them
have been filled.
One of the greatest holdups in moving projects has been the
lack of people in the right positions. I think that has been
dealt with and that is good.
This committee has provided numerous streamlining measures
in both MAP-21 in 2012 and the FAST Act, two major
transportation reauthorization bills, the latter was in 2015.
Many of these new authorities were only just finalized in
Federal Highway Administration regulations just a couple months
ago, as you may know.
If you are confirmed, will you commit to providing our
committee with updates on how these streamlining measures are
having an impact on project timelines and performance of how
the FHWA is ensuring that environmental outcomes are being
protected and improved?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator Carper. I know there were many new,
interesting proposals in MAP-21 and FAST for environmental
streamlining that FHWA is working to administer. If I am
confirmed, I will provide you with an update.
Senator Carper. I will just say this and close.
It sounds like we have the right people in place within
this Administration to do a better job on environmental
streamlining. We have spent a lot of time, energy and effort in
this committee in the last half a dozen years or more writing
legislation focused on environmental streamlining.
We need to find out what is working. We are going to count
on you to tell us what is working and maybe what is not.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Nason. Yes, sir. Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Capito.
Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Secretary Mineta. It is nice to see you again.
I want to thank you for your willingness to serve the
public, for your career at NHTSA and also at the State
Department. That demonstrates that you are unquestionably
qualified for the position.
I would like to thank your daughter, Alex, for her great
studied decision to be attending my alma mater, Duke University
next year. Obviously you are going in the right direction.
In our meeting, thank you for coming to our office, we
discussed that the position you are up for is so important to
all of us because it helps us interact with all of our
constituents. We get a lot of constituent issues around
transportation issues, small ones and large ones.
As you know, in West Virginia, we have Corridor H which is
the last section of the Appalachian Development Highway System
that needs to be completed. Because of the way we have treated
the Appalachian Development Highway System, it is now funded
out of the Highway Trust Fund.
I just wanted a commitment from you, we talked about it,
that you would move forward with me to try to find the easiest
and best way, most efficient way, to complete that Corridor H
part of that system.
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator. Of course I know how passionate
you are about that. I would be pleased to work with you.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
By the way, Secretary Chao is fantastic, as you know. You
will have a great leader at that department.
The one question I get a lot is can you do an
infrastructure package outside of the highway bill, a
bipartisan infrastructure package. I think all of us would like
to do it but there are a whole lot of deep questions.
One of the questions was the funding issue when it came
forward over the last Congress. One of the things that the
Administration asked for was to get in the game, what private
moneys can be acquired or what kind of State dollars?
I would just like to tout my own State of West Virginia
which passed a $1.5 billion bond called the campaign, not by
the Governor but by others, FTDR, Fix the----Roads, because
people are very passionate about the safety aspects and are on
the roads in rural areas all the time.
As we are thinking about this, it was obvious that we were
going to be able to use that new State share as part of our
match. I want to put that in your hat as you move forward that
any proposal, I think, has to look at what the States are
willing to do, what kind of skin in the game States are going
to have and hopefully, we can elongate that timeline a little
bit to go back to the past to scoop up some of these projects
like our State that move forward with that.
I would like to ask you if we could work together on that
as we are developing hopefully the infrastructure package, but
also the highway bill as well?
Ms. Nason. Yes, of course, Senator, I would be pleased to
work with you.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
Both Senators talked about streamlining in the permitting
process. One of the things that as we see particularly rural
States falling behind in the deployment of rural broadband, one
of the ways I think we are able to kind of make it more
affordable is the dig once proposition, working with the
Department of Transportation.
We were on a bill last year, Senator Hatch had a bill, the
Highway Right of Way Permitting Efficiency Act. We can work
with the Department of Transportation, with the FCC, with the
States, broadband councils and others to be able, while you are
digging and while you are improving a highway, either new or
maintaining, you can also use that as a way to run the high
efficiency broadband into these rural areas that if left to
their own devices, it is extremely expensive.
I do not know if this is something you have actually
thought about. I know it is probably premature but do you have
any thoughts on that?
Ms. Nason. Senator, I appreciate the question because we do
spend time at the State Department talking about IG. As you
know, it is not just 3G plus 2. It is a game changer so I think
there may be interesting opportunities to save time and money
for States.
I would be happy to work with you on this if I am
confirmed.
Senator Capito. Yes, it just seems as though we get it our
own way on something like this that is really not
controversial. It is not controversial. Actually, I ran into a
Federal Highway project that actually did provide the channel
for the high speed Internet, although there is the cabling and
everything but there was nothing in there. It was prepared for
it so when and if, it is already ready and it saves a lot of
money.
In terms of the safety issues, you mentioned pedestrian and
cyclist safety. You mentioned congestion at intersections. I
have read several stories here in D.C. with some very tragic
outcomes of pedestrian safety.
Do you have any thoughts? Is it educating the American
public; is it making signaling better? Is it the driver or is
it all the above? What perspectives might you have on that?
Ms. Nason. Senator Capito, thank you.
I think it is all of the above so we always talk about the
ease. We need to educate, we need to enforce, but we also need
to engineer better. That is a piece where I think Federal
Highway could provide some very valuable information and data.
It would be something I could work on with my colleagues at
NHTSA and in the department to see what improvements we could
make.
Senator Capito. I would really encourage you there because
that to me is just so preventable and the results of tragedies.
Thank you. Good luck. I plan on supporting you.
Ms. Nason. Thank you.
Senator Capito. Good luck at Duke.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Capito.
Senator Cardin.
Senator Cardin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Nason, thank you. Thank you for your willingness to
serve and we thank your family because this is a family
sacrifice. Thank you all very much for sharing your loved one
with the government. We appreciate it.
To Norm Mineta, it is great to see you. I had the
opportunity to serve with Congressman Mineta and see his talent
as chairman of our committee. I know his reputation as Mayor of
San Jose and really a mentor to many of us that are serving
today. Norm, thank you for your extraordinary leadership.
You have a really good person introducing you. That was a
smart decision you made.
Ms. Nason. My secret weapon.
Senator Cardin. Yes. It was the right thing to do.
I really want to underscore what the Chairman said about
this committee being able to work in a bipartisan manner to
produce a strong bill. We did that with water and we want to do
that with the reauthorization of surface transportation and
perhaps other infrastructure bills.
However, we are going to need your help because, as you
said, you want predictable funding for transportation. I think
this committee would like to make sure that we have long term
predictability, so the longer term the reauthorization, the
better it is for local governments that depend upon projects
that go for multiple years to have the Federal partnership
understood.
It has to be adequate funding. That is going to be the real
challenge. There are Democrats and Republicans who want to work
together, who want to come up with a bipartisan plan but it is
going to take your work with us in order to give us a path
forward so we can accomplish those goals. Are you ready for
that?
Ms. Nason. I am ready for those, interesting conversations.
Senator Cardin. I thank you.
I want to follow-up on Senator Capito's point and your
point on bicycle and pedestrian safety because we do have a
program under the FAST Act that helps the TAP Program, the
Transportation Alternative Program, which are funds that go to
the local governments, the county governments so that they can
plan in their community to try to protect pedestrians and the
bicyclists by using a small amount of money for paths, trails
and those types of issues. This is a bipartisan commitment to
establish that program.
As we work toward the reauthorization, will you work with
us to see whether we can perhaps strengthen that program so
that we can reduce the growing number of fatalities with
bicyclists and pedestrians, so we can work to try to deal with
that using the existing tool of the Transportation Alternative
Programs, perhaps enhancing that?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator Cardin. If I am confirmed as
Federal Highway Administrator, I would very much like to work
with you and your staff to see what enhancements we can make to
already existing programs.
Senator Cardin. I appreciate that. I think this is a
program that does work. The challenge, of course, is it is a
little bit unusual because first of all, the money goes
directly to the local government and bypasses the States which
they do not always like.
Second, of course, it is for local enhancements which, at
times, get lost as we look at the challenges we have.
I want to underscore the point that Senator Carper made in
regard to climate change and resiliency. It is a major
challenge we have, a major challenge in maintaining our
existing transportation infrastructure as we look for new but
it also recognizes we have to do things in a smarter way in
order for public investments to have its maximum advantage.
Are you prepared to work with us based upon what science is
telling us so that our infrastructure investments are done in
the best way, recognizing that these extreme weather conditions
are becoming more frequent?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator. I think Federal Highway could be a
center of excellence for collection of good data and research.
I would be pleased to work with you if I am confirmed.
Senator Cardin. I want to talk about the multimodal
concepts. It took me a shade under 2 hours to get here today
from Baltimore. That is a good time. It usually takes me longer
than that. A commute that should be 45 minutes usually takes me
about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I think it was the weather
forecast that kept some people off the roads today so I made it
a little bit faster.
We live in the worst congested area in the Country. We
really need to invest in multimodal. We have to get people out
of cars into transit. We need to deal with the issues of the
commuter rails. We have to deal with all of the above.
Are you prepared to use your leadership, if confirmed, so
that we have a sensible, multimodal transportation commitment
to be as friendly as we can to reduce congestion in the most
environmentally friendly way?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator. Peoples' transportation needs are
diverse. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing how
you get from one place to another from time to cost. I would be
happy to work with you on those issues if I am confirmed.
Senator Cardin. I appreciate that and I look forward to
working with you.
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Cardin.
Senator Braun.
Senator Braun. Thank you.
It was a pleasure meeting you the other day.
I am from Indiana and we have a lot to address in
infrastructure needs. You have to look forward. It is a very
capital intensive thing. Our current budget and the condition
it is in, where interest is dominating a big portion of it but
mostly when it comes to the fact that we seem to be the least
capable of taking on a big project like infrastructure across
the Country just like we were in Indiana, to keep maintenance
in line and actually do new stuff.
Do you think it is realistic to maintain and 80-20
traditional funding role to really accomplish what the Nation's
needs would be?
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Senator.
As you and I discussed, Indiana has made some strong
choices regarding investment. The question of match and how we
are going to finance the next legislative proposal, whatever
this committee chooses to do, is one that I do not think FHWA
should dictate but be a part of the conversations because, as
you know, what works in Indiana does not work in New York.
I would be happy to work with you as we move forward on
legislation to see whether we have the right balance.
Senator Braun. Thank you.
My personal opinion is we are going to have to come up with
something new.
In Indiana, we were creative. We did what was called a
Community Crossings Program which was to challenge counties and
cities to actually put skin in the game. Of course they
universally complained about it in its formulation. They
indicated that was the State's responsibility. All I can tell
you is it has been an overwhelming success.
Do you think that States that put more of their own skin in
the game should receive some type of priority when it comes to
Federal funds that are going to be increasingly scarce?
Ms. Nason. I do think States which have demonstrated
leadership are States that we can work closely with and learn
from, how they were able to message and what their success was,
certainly a State like Indiana.
I would be happy to work with you on whatever changes this
committee decides to make in the next legislation.
Senator Braun. I would like to ask you to give some thought
to how you think a similar dynamic might work because it is my
opinion that if we are going to address infrastructure needs,
it is going to take something different from what we have had
leading up to this point.
In general, on infrastructure, it is not only the condition
of maintenance but there are so many new things that need to be
done. In your opinion, when it comes to maintenance of roads
and bridges, where do you think it really is on the Federal
landscape?
I can tell you when we looked at it in Indiana, probably
back in 2015, almost half a percent of our roads and bridges
were headed in the wrong direction. Until we basically doubled
our stream of funding, we were going to let that trajectory
continue.
How are you sizing up the Federal picture? Is it similar to
what we saw in Indiana or do you think maintenance is less of
an issue and new construction might be the bigger challenge?
Ms. Nason. I do think they are both important but I think
maintenance is particularly critical. It is a place where
Federal Highways can be very supportive and provide good
information. They do condition and performance reports, for
example, annually on the State of our bridges across the
Country, not just State by State but how we are looking
nationwide, where and how we need to invest. I think, if
confirmed, Federal Highways has a lot of good information we
can share with the Senators.
Senator Braun. Very good.
In summary of everything we talked about, please give
thought and focus on how we get enterprising, responsible
States to maybe have some preference when it comes to engaging
and if they are willing to put more skin in the game that maybe
they should get more of the scarce Federal dollars.
Ms. Nason. Thank you.
Senator Braun. Thank you. I yield.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Braun.
Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Chairman.
Welcome, Assistant Secretary Nason. We are glad to have you
here.
Secretary Chao appeared before this committee in May 2017.
When she did, I asked her how sea level rise is affecting our
coastal infrastructure. As you and I discussed in my office,
Rhode Island has 400 miles of coast, and the measured sea level
rise is a very serious and significant issue for us.
The Secretary agreed to look into the issue, and I followed
up with a letter to her that I would ask to be made a part of
the record of the hearing.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
[The referenced information follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Whitehouse. Before receiving the Secretary's formal
response, we managed to get our hands on the draft response,
the letter that the career staff sent up to the Secretary's
office for her final approval. Then shortly after that, we got
the letter from the Secretary's office.
When you compare the two letters, you see some pretty
significant, notable differences, which I have redlined here.
One is that the phrase ``sea level rise'' here is struck out of
the career letter and the word ``rise'' is replaced with
``variations.'' The term ``variations'' implies wrongly that
the sea level rise that we're seeing now in Rhode Island is
consistent with natural changes over geologic time, when in
fact, the current rise in sea levels is a direct consequence of
human activity, of carbon pollution, and it is occurring at
rates that humankind hasn't seen in thousands and thousands of
years. And we actually measure this stuff at Naval Station
Newport.
So there is that change. Then down here, the political
staff presumably of the Secretary's office, struck out
``environmental conditions such as extreme weather events and
climate change.'' Well, we live in Rhode Island, in a world of
extreme weather events and climate change. I think we all do.
So what worries me about this is that it looks like we are
seeing political censoring for ideological purposes. And I
think that the climate denial and the censoring and the
nonsense has got to stop. We may have disagreements about what
to do about climate change; we ought to be having a bipartisan
discussion about solutions. But this business of just striking
it out of letters so that it doesn't even come up, and we are
not even allowed to talk about it, is ridiculous.
So it forces me to ask you your assurance that you will not
censor and ignore the facts and the science in the manner in
which you go about your duties as a Federal Highway
Administrator.
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Senator Whitehouse. I am unfamiliar
with this issue, and I haven't seen the letter.
Senator Whitehouse. And I don't expect you to defend the
letter or any of this. My point is that this is a continuing
problem, dealing with this Administration. For those of us that
have coastal infrastructure and that are coastal States, to
have a Federal Highway Administrator who will pay attention to
real facts and real science is a matter of importance.
Ms. Nason. At NHTSA we always said, good data is king.
Senator Whitehouse. Good.
Ms. Nason. And I am a firm believer in good data, so I can
commit to you that we will give you the best possible
information. I also wrote down the words political retaliation.
That is not something that I have ever accepted, either at the
State Department or at NHTSA. I have never seen any indications
of that, but I can assure you I would not support having staff
feel intimidated for any reason.
Senator Whitehouse. Good. One of the reasons that this is
important is this Providence Journal headline from just a few
days ago, Climate Change: Washed Away, Home Values Lost to
Rising Sea Levels. What the study that formed the basis for
this front page above-thefold article in my home State
newspaper shows is that Rhode Island has lost nearly $45
million in home appreciation values between 2005 and 2017.
It is the Rhode Island part of a study that began in
Florida and went up the coast through New Jersey. It hit
Massachusetts, so when it hit Rhode Island, so Senator Markey
had the same study now. If you lokao t all the different States
that have been reviewed in this what was originally a peer-
reviewed study in Florida, and has moved, the same methodology,
to cover other States, there is a total of $15 billion lost in
coastal home values.
That is a big deal for these families and businesses. And
it can't be ignored. They are not alone. If you go on to look
at their report, pull up the other one, here is what one of the
authors of the report said: ``Each time we analyze a new State,
we see the same phenomenon. Increased tidal flooding leads to a
loss in home value appreciation. As sea level rise accelerates,
we expect a corresponding loss in relative home value to
accelerate as well.''
I can't ignore that. And I can't allow Administration
agencies to ignore that, either.
Go on to Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac is not an environmental
organization, it is not a green organization, it is not a
Democrat organization. It is a housing organization. And what
Freddie Mac has warned is that rising sea levels and spreading
flood plains appear likely to destroy billions of dollars in
property and to displace millions of people. The economic
losses and social disruption may happen gradually, but they are
likely to be greater in total than those experienced in the
housing crisis and great recession.
I just want to make those points, because it shows how
important it is to us to be getting fair and factual and
properly based scientific determinations out of our Federal
agencies. Because this stuff is serious and it is big and it is
coming at us.
Thank you to the Chairman for letting me go over my time.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Nason, welcome. Thank you for your service.
I was looking at your bio. You might not know this, but are
you the first potential Administrator of the Federal Highway
Administration who is a black belt in karate?
Ms. Nason. You know, I don't know if they keep that
statistic. I might be.
[Laughter.]
Senator Sullivan. I just through that was interesting.
Senator Barrasso. I would point out she is the first one
that actually has a TED Talk online of talking about her and
showing in action her black belt abilities.
Senator Sullivan. So if you ever have any issues with
Senator Whitehouse.
[Laughter.]
Senator Whitehouse. I yield without the necessity of any
application of force.
[Laughter.]
Senator Sullivan. Just thought I might warn him. You have
to be careful with her.
Anyway, listen, I wanted to talk briefly about another area
where States lose money, and I think it is really important.
That relates to permitting time lines. Particularly
infrastructure time lines.
My State, the great State of Alaska, is kind of ground zero
on groups that like to delay and slow and shut down any kind of
infrastructure. We are very resource-rich State, but
infrastructure-poor State, almost 10,000 miles of roads, which
probably is not much more than a lot smaller States in our
Country.
So what we have experienced, let me just give you a couple
of examples. The King Cove Road, that is a road on the Aleutian
Island chain, the Trump Administration finally approved that.
That took about maybe 30 years, 12 miles. A twelve-mile road,
dirt road. Took almost 20 years to permit a gold mine in
Alaska, because of litigation. By the way, it is the Kensington
Mine, it employs almost 400 people at an average wage of
$100,000. But 20 years of fighting and ridiculous delays on
that.
Took 7 years to permit an exploration well in Alaska, and
$7 billion. Shell tried to do that and the last Administration
made sure that it almost took a decade. It takes on average in
America 7 years to permit a bridge. Took over 8 years, almost a
decade, to permit the Keystone Pipeline.
This is just ridiculous, and it hurts States, it hurts
average citizens. It hurts the Country. I guarantee it doesn't
take 19 years on average to go from permitting a highway, your
job, to completion. Nine to 19 years. I don't think China
permits roads in a two-decade time period.
So can I get your commitment to work with this
Administration? I do think it is a bipartisan issue, by the
way. I don't think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
think 20 years to permit a highway is a good idea. Can I get
your commitment to work with this committee on permitting
reform in a way that makes sense for the average American? This
is not a partisan issue. Seven years to permit a bridge is
madness.
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator, I would be happy to work with you
and members of the committee.
Senator Sullivan. I have a bill called the Rebuild America
Now Act. It looks at common-sense permitting reforms,
particularly for infrastructure and highways, to do what most
Americans want, which is not cut corners on the environment,
but not take a decade to permit a piece of infrastructure. Can
I get your commitment to work with me and this committee on
those issues?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator, I would be pleased to review that
legislation and work with you.
Senator Sullivan. Let me ask, I also want to get your
commitment to come to Alaska. Like I said, we have a lot of
unique challenges in my State, some of which relate to
permitting. There are certain groups that usually don't live in
my State that want to make sure you can't build a road in
Alaska, even though most States and communities can build
roads. They seem to want to make sure we can't build roads.
But one of the things, the FHWA recently put out a guidance
memo that I would like to sit down with you and discuss a
little bit more. It significantly shortens the time line on
when the construction projects and seasons close. As you might
know, in Alaska, we have a really short construction season
relative to any other State because of our long winters. So can
I get a commitment from you to work with me just on some of the
elements of that memo? Just because I don't think it looks at
unique aspects of different States, particularly different
construction time lines.
Ms. Nason. Senator, first of all, I haven't' been to Alaska
in many years. I would be pleased to go, with you and your
staff.
Senator Sullivan. Good. Great. We would love to host you
there.
Ms. Nason. Always a beautiful trip.
Senator Sullivan. Good. And then finally, just if you
haven't, and I am running out of time here, but your vision, I
know you laid it out in your opening statement, but can you
list very quickly your top three priorities on what you want to
get done as the Administrator?
Ms. Nason. Sure. Thank you, Senator.
I would like to focus, of course, on safety. But I am
particularly interested in pedestrian and cyclist safety, which
was an issue I didn't get to spend that much time on at NHTSA.
We had so many congressional mandates that we were trying to
implement. So that is something I would like to go back to, and
I think Federal Highways can be very important there.
I also think there is a lot of interesting new technologies
that are very cross-cutting across the modes. So I would like
to work with my fellow modal administrators to see what the
advantages and disadvantages of these new technologies are and
how can we implement them safely.
Third, I would like to travel. I would like to go and meet
people where they are. That was very important at NHTSA, to go
and visit communities locally, instead of bringing everyone to
Washington, to hear first-hand about the challenges they are
facing. So that would be something I would like to work on.
Senator Sullivan. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Sullivan. Senator
Markey.
Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.
Cape Cod, economic pillar, Massachusetts, recreational
oasis. But only accessible by, on land, by two bridges build in
the 1930's by the Army Corps of Engineers. They are
deteriorating and we are going to need some help in order to
make sure that we have, in the 21st century, as good a system
as we had in the 20th century. The Army Corps owns the bridges.
It is currently conducting a study to evaluate options for
replacing the bridge, which could cost up to $600 million. The
Army Corps' entire budget is only $6 billion a year that they
have to use to support every one of their programs.
So we are going to be in a process of talking to the Army
Corps, which we are already about this. And as we talk about a
surface transportation bill, which the Chairman is talking
about bringing through this committee, I am going to be
fighting to make sure the Federal Highway Administration has
the resources and the authorities it needs to help replace
these bridges.
Would you commit to work with me on this very complex
project?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator Markey. As you know, I am in
Connecticut. I have friends who leave for Cape Cod at 2 in the
morning so they can avoid the traffic, so I would be happy to
work with you on that.
Senator Markey. Excellent. So you are an expert on this.
Ms. Nason. I have never been stuck on the bridge.
Senator Markey. Yes. Mark Twain used to say an expert is
anyone who lives more than 200 miles away from the problem. So
people now have to anticipate getting up at 2, knowing that
there is a problem they are going to have to deal with when
they hit those bridges at Cape Cod.
Senator Whitehouse has already talked about the impacts of
climate change on our highway system. What I would ask from you
is that you would work with us to encourage transportation
planning organizations to reduce vehicle miles traveled, curb
greenhouse gas emissions when using Federal funding for highway
projects. Can you make that commitment to us?
Ms. Nason. Yes.
Senator Markey. Thank you. Next, we have an increasing
problem, again related to climate change, because it clearly is
having an impact on the ability for people even to escape. We
have seen that in Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Maria, western
wildfires, flooding in the Midwest, to name a few. The Federal
Highway Administration has found that many of the Nation's
critical mass evacuation routes face a series of impediments,
including evacuation planning equipment acquisition, resiliency
and capacity. Would you support providing more resources to
State and local governments to improve the ability of people to
get out of harm's way?
Ms. Nason. Again, Senator, having grown up on the very east
end of Long Island and been stuck, and being the daughter of a
first responder, I understand how frightening it is for people
when they are trapped during any kind of catastrophic weather
event. So I would be pleased to work with you, if I am
confirmed, to make sure that are building greater resiliency
into our system.
Senator Markey. I am going to re-introduce my ESCAPE Act,
Enhancing the Strength and Capacity of America's Primary
Evacuation Routes, as legislation. I would love to work with
you on that as we are moving with the Surface Transportation
Bill, which the committee is going to be considering.
Then finally, it is on cybersecurity, it is on the issue of
the connected car era that is about to dramatically expand. We
already have it, but it is going to be on steroids. Every
vehicle will be a computer on wheels, and gathering massive
amounts of data about each and every person, each and every
family, each and every child in those vehicles. Everything that
they are doing is going to be inside of a data base.
But it will also be gathered because there will be a
digitization of the roads, bridges, other transportation
infrastructure. So I want to work with you on the issue of
cybersecurity as we are now planning in the next generation,
the 21st generation of all of this infrastructure. Because this
information, historically, has just been within the family.
Now, the government will have access to it as well. Could you
talk about that a little bit?
Ms. Nason. Senator Markey, we spend, as the Assistant
Secretary for Administration at the State Department, as you
know, State spends a great deal of time talking about
cybersecurity, more in closed briefings than open. But it is an
issue that as the chief procurement officer, the whole
procurement team is spending more and more time on thinking
about, where is our tech coming from, who are the providers who
are supporting it, what data is it collecting, where is it
being stored. So I would be pleased to work with you on that.
Senator Markey. Great. So on the one hand we don't want
FHWA to be compromising the privacy, but we also don't want our
own Federal Government to be compromising the information of
people as they innocently are driving the roads and bridges of
our Country. It should be their business, not the business of
the Federal highway Administration. So I want to work with you
on that as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Markey. Senator
Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
this hearing, thank you for your testimony.
Ms. Nason, the construction of the highway system remains
one of the most transformative achievements in our Nation's
history. While these highways connected cities and towns from
coast to coast and to the global market, the construction of
this system too often destroyed communities, particularly
minority communities.
I have seen first hand in my State where Robert Moses
steamrolled historic neighborhoods in order to build highways
that served commuters, often at the expense of those who lived
there. InterState 81 cut through neighborhoods in Syracuse,
severing residents from the broader community and limiting
their economic opportunity.
The I-81 viaduct through downtown Syracuse is now past its
useful life and the State is studying options for replacement.
After conversations with community stakeholders in Syracuse, I
have voiced my support for the construction of a street-level
community grid to replace the elevated portion of I-81 as a way
to revitalize all of Syracuse's downtown and connect all of the
community to opportunity. Communities across our Country face
similar decisions as our infrastructure continues to age.
This creates real opportunity to learn from the mistakes of
the past and reimagine how we build a transportation
infrastructure to be more equitable. What role should the
Federal Government play in addressing the past Federal Highway
projects that marginalize some communities, especially minority
communities?
Ms. Nason. Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. As a New Yorker,
I certainly know who Robert Moses was. I have been stuck on
that parkway.
I agree that the system was transformative. I think Federal
Highways is in a place where, not to dictate to State and local
governments, but to make sure that we are working with MPOs and
State and locals that are planning for connectivity of all
communities, and to help provide good information and the best
data possible, so that States and local and tribal governments
can make better decisions about making sure that all
communities are connected and benefited.
Senator Gillibrand. That sounds good. What do you think the
Nation can do to prioritize economic and environmental justice
in our transportation planning?
Ms. Nason. I don't want to overState Federal Highways'
role. But I do think there are many ways that we can work with
our partners, associations, MPOs and others, to make sure that
we are thinking through and we are asking some of these tough
questions of State and local governments, and to make sure that
they are thinking through all of the challenges.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Different topic. Truck
underrides are a major cause of death and injury on our
Nation's Federal highways. Last year, the National Sheriff's
Association was the first law enforcement organization to
endorse the Stop Underrides Act, a bipartisan bill. They
endorsed this bill because day in and day out, the witness the
aftermath of underride crashes and have experienced the loss of
their fellow law enforcement officers in these accidents.
First responders know that their own safety and the safety
of the public that they serve continues to be put needlessly at
risk every day because we don't have effective and
comprehensive truck underride protection. Drawing on your
experience from NHTSA, do you believe it is necessary to update
the 1998 USDOT rulemaking to require stronger performance
standards for rear underride guards?
Ms. Nason. Senator, I know there was a horrific crash in
upState New York. And putting on my NHTSA hat for a minute, I
can say that we are always interested in knowing if there is
better data.
Senator Gillibrand. Right.
Ms. Nason. And reviewing and updating standards, I believe
IHS has some new information that they might be able to share
and provide additional information that Federal Highways, again
as I noted in my opening statement, I hope to work very closely
with the NHTSA Administrator, with Federal Motor Carriers.
Senator Gillibrand. I would like to work with you to make
sure we get better data collection, and we can do a more
comprehensive solution to this urgent crisis.
Ms. Nason. Sure.
Senator Gillibrand. Similarly, last October, 20 people died
in a horrific limousine crash in Scoharie, New York, making it
the deadliest transportation accident in the United States in 9
years. Since the accident, many concerns have been raised about
the safety of stretch limousines, and the loopholes in our
Federal safety laws that result in lower occupant safety
standards for these vehicles, relative to other vehicles on the
road.
Additionally, this accident occurred at a notoriously
dangerous intersection on New York State Route 30. If
confirmed, will you work with States and local officials to
ensure that dangerous intersections are a top priority? As
well, will you work to ensure that FHWA is doing everything
possible to respond to local concerns about safety of potential
dangerous intersections, and to make sure communities can
mitigate those dangers that exist?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator, that was a horrific crash. I would
be pleased, if confirmed, to have FHWA work with State and
local governments regarding dangerous intersections.
Senator Gillibrand. And I will submit my last two questions
for the record. One is about using local work force to do large
infrastructure projects, and the second is to talk about
extreme weather and climate-related events having a huge impact
on our transportation infrastructure. I will submit those for
the record. Will you submit answers for those?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. Senator
Carper.
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to submit for the
record the January 2018 GAO report entitled Highway and Transit
Projects into the record, as it relates to environmental
reviews. GAO notes, and had previously reported, that 99
percent of projects are not being held up by complex NEPA
reviews. Federal Highway Administration officials expressed
that categorical exclusions still constitute the vast majority
of NEPA reviews for highway projects. I ask unanimous consent.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
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Senator Carper. Thank you, sir.
A couple of short questions, and I would invite a short
answer OK?
Ms. Nason. Yes.
Senator Carper. Do you believe that a Federal-State
partnership is a critical cornerstone of the Federal Aid
Highway Program, and can you commit to continuing and even
strengthening that cooperation between FHWA and its State,
local and tribal partners?
Ms. Nason. I agree it is a critical partnership.
Senator Carper. Thank you. Here is another hard one. In
2017, the most recent year for which data are available, nearly
7,000 non-motorized users were killed. What will you do as FHWA
to begin dramatically lowering these unacceptable numbers?
Ms. Nason. Yes, Senator. I think I may not be as quick, but
I do think there are plenty of places where FHWA----
Senator Carper. It was a couple of weeks.
Ms. Nason. From when we talked about pedestrian and cyclist
safety. But most important in my testimony, having served at
the department, I know how important it is for modal
administrators to work together and to share information and
data. I think FHWA, when focusing on safety, needs to work hand
in glove with NHTSA, with Federal Motor Carriers, with even
rail partners, to make sure that we are addressing the problems
and we are providing good information for solutions for our
State and local and tribal government partners.
Senator Carper. A related question. A highway network is a
crucial means of travel, as we know. However, it is also just
one component of a much larger, more complex transportation
system. What are your plans, what would be your plans to
modernize our highway system in a way that seamlessly
integrates into modes such as transit, such as rail, aviation,
water and active transportation?
Ms. Nason. I think having that multi-modal conversation is
going to be essential. I trust that this is something this
committee will be talking about as we move forward on
legislation.
One thing we have found at the State Department that is
quite effective is traveling together. So rather than having a
visit from diplomatic security and then a visit from the
Administration and then a visit from Budget, we go together and
we talk about problems together. We break off into different
rooms, maybe, but then we come back together to have a more
comprehensive conversation with all of our partners. That may
be something that we could explore, I think, at DOT.
Senator Carper. There is an African proverb that goes
something like this, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you
want to go far, travel together.
Will you support new technologies that can help to improve
multi-modal connectivity?
Ms. Nason. Yes.
Senator Carper. And here is not an easy question. This is a
hard one. It is a hard one for all of us.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room on Surface Transportation
has been and remains how we are going to pay for this stuff.
And I am not going to put you on the spot and say, how would
you pay for it. But I would like to ask you to, just to give us
a couple of ideas of things that you are aware of, I will just
give you an example, vehicle miles traveled. We have a number
of States that are involved in a pilot program that stretches
from ocean to ocean. And we hope to learn a lot from that and
to maybe be able to move in that direction later in the next
decade.
But give us a couple of ideas that you think we should
consider as we try to figure out how to address this large and
growing shortfall in funding surface transportation.
Ms. Nason. I think most importantly, Senator, as Secretary
Chao has said, all options are on the table right now for the
Administration. I know some States are participating in the VMT
pilot program and that might turn out to be very effective and
provide very good data. Other States are looking at P3s, some
States have raised the gas tax. We have registration fees.
I think there are a variety of options, and one thing we
have been, I know the Secretary has been----
Senator Carper. Let me just ask you a question. Why do you
think it is so hard for us to deal with this issue? Why do you
think it is so hard? States have, you just mentioned, States
have, Wyoming is among them, a number of States, 30 or so
States have addressed these issues, about user fees. They have
found remarkably, the legislators that vote for them, the
Governors that support them, get re-elected. It is kind of
amazing.
But we can't find some, we can't summon the wherewithal to
do that.
Ms. Nason. I think part of the challenge is because the
needs are so diverse. I spend my weekends in Vermont. It is an
entirely different community than my days in D.C. And the drive
from D.C. to Connecticut to Vermont changes dramatically as we
go. In one place I have EZ Pass and there is no problem, and in
another place, I am on a very narrow two-lane road, and I am
hoping it has been plowed, because they have different weather
challenges than we have in D.C.
So I think because the needs are so different, that is why
the solutions need to be different.
Senator Carper. All right. Thanks. Thanks for that.
I just want to say to Brady and Abby and Alex, I want to
thank you for showing up today. I know it is hard to miss
school, but you are good to have done it. I have been watching
their faces, how they just seem to be reveling in the moment.
[Laughter.]
Senator Carper. But I just want to say that your husband
has kept them in tow. I don't know if my wife and I, when our
boys were your age, if they would have done this.
But we are glad you did, and we are glad you didn't make
any faces or roll your eyes at inappropriate times when your
mom was talking. Thank you for joining us today.
Ms. Nason. Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Carper.
We have a number of letters of support for your nomination.
The committee has received numerous letters, including letters
from former Federal Transportation officials, representatives
of State transportation departments, infrastructure industry
stakeholders. I am asking unanimous consent to enter this large
packet of letters into the record.
And without objection, we will do so.
There are no more questions from the panel, but members may
be able to submit written and follow-up questions. I think
Senator Gillibrand said she had a couple that she was going to
submit. They can do that by 5 p.m. today. We would ask that you
try to respond by noon on Friday, February 1st, so we can move
ahead with your nomination.
I want to thank you for your time, your testimony. Thanks
to Secretary Mineta, you stuck through the whole thing. Don't
you think she did a marvelous job?
Mr. Mineta. Absolutely.
Senator Barrasso. And on that, this hearing is adjourned.
Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows.]
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