[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                   INVESTING IN OUR NATION'S TRANSPORTATION 
                 INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKERS: WHY IT MATTERS

=======================================================================

                                (117-60)

                         REMOTELY ATTENDED HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                   TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

                               __________

                       Printed for the use of the
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
             
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]             


     Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
     transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
                             transportation
                             
                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
51-382 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                              

             COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

  PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon, Chair
SAM GRAVES, Missouri                 ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON,
ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD, Arkansas    District of Columbia
BOB GIBBS, Ohio                      EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida              RICK LARSEN, Washington
THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky              GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania            STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois               ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOHN KATKO, New York                 JOHN GARAMENDI, California
BRIAN BABIN, Texas                   HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr., 
GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana             Georgia
DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina         ANDRE CARSON, Indiana
MIKE BOST, Illinois                  DINA TITUS, Nevada
RANDY K. WEBER, Sr., Texas           SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York
DOUG LaMALFA, California             JARED HUFFMAN, California
BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas            JULIA BROWNLEY, California
BRIAN J. MAST, Florida               FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin            DONALD M. PAYNE, Jr., New Jersey
BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania   ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON,            MARK DeSAULNIER, California
  Puerto Rico                        STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
TROY BALDERSON, Ohio                 SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota              ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee              TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey
DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota          GREG STANTON, Arizona
JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey       COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas
MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi           SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas, Vice Chair
TROY E. NEHLS, Texas                 JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois
NANCY MACE, South Carolina           CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire
NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York         CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas                SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts
CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida           JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, Massachusetts
MICHELLE STEEL, California           CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia
Vacancy                              KAIALI`I KAHELE, Hawaii
                                     MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington
                                     NIKEMA WILLIAMS, Georgia
                                     MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois
                                     TROY A. CARTER, Louisiana
                                     SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK, 
                                     Florida

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

Summary of Subject Matter........................................     v

                 STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in Congress from the 
  State of Oregon, and Chair, Committee on Transportation and 
  Infrastructure, opening statement..............................     1
    Prepared statement...........................................     3
Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of 
  Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and 
  Infrastructure, opening statement..............................     5
    Prepared statement...........................................     6
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Representative in Congress from the 
  State of Texas, prepared statement.............................   107

                               WITNESSES

Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight 
  Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO, oral statement.......................     7
    Prepared statement...........................................    10
Gregory R. Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, 
  AFL-CIO, oral statement........................................    16
    Prepared statement...........................................    18
Stephen Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, National Railroad 
  Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), oral statement.................    22
    Prepared statement...........................................    24
Samuel Desue, Jr., General Manager, TriMet, oral statement.......    31
    Prepared statement...........................................    33
David Ditch, Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation, oral 
  statement......................................................    37
    Prepared statement...........................................    38
Adam S. Hersh, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic Policy 
  Institute, oral statement......................................    43
    Prepared statement...........................................    45

                       SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

``Examples of INFRA Projects Creating Workforce Training Programs 
  and Good-Paying Jobs With the Free and Fair Choice To Join a 
  Union,'' Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
  Submitted for the Record by Gregory R. Regan, President, 
  Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO......................    17
Submissions for the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio:
    Letter of September 29, 2022, to Airlines for America, 
      Regional Airlines Association, and National Air Carrier 
      Association, from 70 Members of Congress...................    54
    Letter of October 12, 2022, to Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, Chair, 
      and Hon. Sam Graves, Ranking Member, Committee on 
      Transportation and Infrastructure, from Catherine Chase, 
      President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety...........   107
    Statement of the American Society of Civil Engineers.........   108
    Statement of Cole Scandaglia, Senior Legislative 
      Representative and Policy Advisor, International 
      Brotherhood of Teamsters...................................   110
    ``Invest in Transit Equity, Invest in Transit Workers,'' 
      Report, National Campaign for Transit Justice, February 
      2022.......................................................   111
    Statement of Adell Louise Amos, J.D., Clayton R. Hess 
      Professor of Law, Executive Director, Environment 
      Initiative, Office of the Provost, University of Oregon....   111
Letter of September 29, 2022, to Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, Chair, 
  and Hon. Sam Graves, Ranking Member, Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, from Judith Potter, 
  President, The Transportation Alliance, Submitted for the 
  Record by Hon. Eric A. ``Rick'' Crawford.......................    58
Submissions for the Record by Hon. Thomas Massie:
    ``Updates on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness During Omicron,'' 
      PowerPoint presentation, Centers for Disease Control and 
      Prevention, June 28, 2022..................................    80
    ``The Third Airline Bailout Is No Better Than the First Two 
      Bailouts,'' by Veronique de Rugy, National Review, March 
      12, 2021...................................................    80

                                APPENDIX

Questions to Sara Nelson, International President, Association of 
  Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO, from:
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson...................................   115
    Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick....................................   115
    Hon. Dina Titus..............................................   116
    Hon. Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia................................   116
Questions to Gregory R. Regan, President, Transportation Trades 
  Department, AFL-CIO, from:
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson...................................   117
    Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick....................................   117
    Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr...........................   118
    Hon. Dina Titus..............................................   118
    Hon. Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia................................   120
Questions to Stephen Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, National 
  Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), from:
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson...................................   121
    Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick....................................   121
    Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr...........................   122
Questions to Samuel Desue, Jr., General Manager, TriMet, from:
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson...................................   123
    Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr...........................   123
    Hon. Dina Titus..............................................   124
Questions to Adam S. Hersh, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic 
  Policy Institute, from:
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson...................................   125
    Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr...........................   127

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                           September 26, 2022

    SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER

    TO:      LMembers, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure
    FROM:  LStaff, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure
    RE:      LFull Committee Hearing on ``Investing in our 
Nation's Transportation Infrastructure and Workers: Why it 
Matters''
_______________________________________________________________________


                                PURPOSE

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will 
meet on Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. EDT in 2167 
Rayburn House Office Building and virtually via Zoom for a 
hearing titled ``Investing in our Nation's Transportation 
Infrastructure and Workers: Why it Matters.'' The hearing will 
provide an opportunity for Members of the committee to hear 
from stakeholders about the impacts of the American Rescue Plan 
Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and 
the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on American families, 
workers, and communities.\1\ The focus will be on the 
transportation-related provisions of these laws. The committee 
will hear testimony from the Association of Flight Attendants--
Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO; Transportation 
Trades Department, AFL-CIO; Amtrak; TriMet; the Heritage 
Foundation; and the Economic Policy Institute.
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    \1\ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L.117-2), available at 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319; 
Infrastructure and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), available at https://
www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684; Inflation 
Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169), available at https://
www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376/text.
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                               BACKGROUND

    During the 117th Congress, America faced unprecedented 
challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread through 
the nation's communities--closing downtowns, impacting workers, 
and placing unprecedented stress on supply chains as demand for 
goods surged. At the same time, Congress faced the expiration 
of authorization for surface transportation programs and 
policies.\2\ In response, Congress passed three laws: the 
American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021, and the Inflation 
Reduction Act in August 2022. Each law includes investments in 
America's transportation infrastructure and workers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ See the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act, 
P.L. 114-94), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-
congress/house-bill/22.
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MARCH 11, 2021: AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT

    On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American 
Rescue Plan Act into law, about a year into the COVID-19 
pandemic.\3\ Building on the work of the previous Congress, 
which passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 
Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136, enacted on March 27, 2020) and 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021(P.L. 116-260, 
enacted on December 27, 2020), the law's goal was to address 
the country's immediate needs, change the course of the 
pandemic, and deliver relief for American workers, including 
transportation workers. Overall, the law included $1.9 trillion 
in relief, including investments in programs under the 
committee's jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Public Law No. 117-2, available at https://www.congress.gov/
117/plaws/publ2/PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
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RAIL

    The American Rescue Plan Act provided $1.7 billion for 
Amtrak, including $970.3 million for Amtrak's Northeast 
Corridor and $729.6 million for the National Network, which 
allowed Amtrak to recall and pay employees furloughed due to 
the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of fiscal year 2021 and 
restore daily long-distance service within 90 days after 
enactment.\4\ This amount included set-asides of $174.8 million 
to states to cover lost revenue in state-supported routes and 
avoid large increases in state payments to Amtrak and $109.8 
million for states and commuter rail agencies to cover their 
Northeast Corridor commuter rail payments to Amtrak.\5\
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    \4\ See Sec. 7101 https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/PLAW-
117publ2.pdf.
    \5\ Id.
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    The law also provided or enhanced and extended unemployment 
benefits for freight and passenger railroad workers, ensuring 
that unemployed rail workers continued to receive parity with 
other enhanced unemployment benefits authorized in the law. 
This specifically included an additional $300 per week to 
unemployed railroad workers on top of their standard benefit, 
access to additional weeks of unemployment benefits, and a 
waiver of the one-week delay in benefits for newly unemployed 
or sick workers.\6\
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    \6\ See Sec. 2901, 2902 and 2903 https://www.congress.gov/117/
plaws/publ2/PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
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TRANSIT

    Further, the law provided a total of $30.5 billion in 
transit funding, which included: $26.1 billion for operating 
assistance formula grants for transit agencies located in 
urbanized areas; $2.2 billion in emergency relief funding for 
transit agencies demonstrating additional pandemic-associated 
needs; $1.7 billion in funds for ongoing New Start, Core 
Capacity, and Small Start capital investment projects; $317.2 
million in operating assistance formula grants for states to 
support transit agencies in rural areas, of which $35 million 
is for grants on Tribal lands; $50.0 million for transit 
providers in communities of all sizes to provide transportation 
for seniors and persons with disabilities; $100 million for 
intercity bus service that provides essential connections to 
rural transit; and $25 million in planning grants to help 
agencies increase ridership and reduce travel times or make 
service adjustments to increase the quality or frequency of 
service provided to low-income riders or disadvantaged 
neighborhoods or communities.\7\
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    \7\ See Sec. 3401 https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/PLAW-
117publ2.pdf.
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AIRPORTS AND AVIATION

    The American Rescue Plan Act provided $8 billion in 
emergency aid for sponsors of airports to prevent, prepare for, 
and respond to coronavirus.\8\ Of that, $6.4 billion was made 
available to primary airports for debt service payments, 
personnel and other operating expenses; $600 million was 
provided to airports to cover the federal cost share for any 
Airport Improvement Program grant awarded in fiscal year 2021; 
$100 million was set aside for general aviation and commercial 
service airports for costs related to the pandemic; and $800 
million was made available to concessionaires located at 
primary airports, of which 80 percent was targeted toward small 
businesses and minority-owned firms.\9\ The Act required 
primary airports receiving assistance funds to continue to 
retain at least 90 percent of their workforce as of March 27, 
2020, through the end of fiscal year 2021.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ See Section 7102(a). https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/
PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
    \9\ See Section 7102(b)). https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/
PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
    \10\ See Section 7102(c)(2)(A). https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/
publ2/PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The American Rescue Plan Act also allocated $15 billion to 
extend the Payroll Support Program (PSP) to fund payroll 
support for airline workers and related contract workers.\11\ 
As with the original PSP authorization and its first extension, 
this second extension prohibited air carriers and contractors 
from involuntarily furloughing or reducing pay rates or 
benefits of their workers until September 30, 2021.\12\ The 
extension included similar restrictions on executive 
compensation and capital distributions, such as dividend 
payments, and taxpayer protections, as provided in the original 
program.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ See Section 7301. https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/
PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
    \12\ Id. The original Payroll Support Program, which was included 
in the CARES Act, was a $32 billion program to preserve the jobs of 
employees of U.S. airlines and certain airline contractors through 
September 30, 2020. The assistance provided was conditioned on 
companies not involuntarily furloughing or reducing the pay rates or 
benefits of workers, refraining from stock buybacks, limiting executive 
compensation, and other conditions. Every major airline signed an 
agreement with the U.S. Treasury to receive PSP grants. See Payroll 
Support Program Payments, U.S. Treas., available at https://
home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares/preserving-jobs-for-american-
industry/payroll-support-program-payments.
    \13\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The law also established a $3 billion temporary payroll 
support program for the domestic aerospace manufacturing 
industry administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT).\14\ The program provided a 50 percent federal share to 
eligible U.S. aerospace manufacturing companies that met 
certain criteria to help cover the wages, salaries, and 
benefits of manufacturing employees most at risk of being 
furloughed and to facilitate the recall or rehire of such 
employees furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic.\15\ The law 
prohibits program recipients from conducting involuntary 
furloughs or reducing the pay rates and benefits of its 
eligible employee groups.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ See Section 7202. https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/
PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
    \15\ https://www.transportation.gov/AMJP.
    \16\ See Section 7202(b). https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/
PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA)

    The law provided FEMA $50 billion for reimbursement to 
state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments dealing with 
presidentially-declared disasters, available through fiscal 
year 2025.\17\
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    \17\ https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION (EDA)

    The law provided $3 billion in economic adjustment 
assistance for fiscal year 2021 for the purpose of preventing, 
preparing for, and responding to economic injury caused by the 
COVID-19 pandemic.\18\
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    \18\ https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/PLAW-117publ2.pdf.
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NOVEMBER 15, 2021: INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT

    On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the bipartisan 
infrastructure framework, passed as the Senate Amendment to 
H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 
into law.\19\ This legislation provided billions of dollars for 
our highway, transit, rail, airport, port, and wastewater 
infrastructure. These investments are intended to help 
construct, repair, and replace airports, roads, bridges, 
transit systems, railroads, and pipelines; improve safety; 
reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector; reduce 
congestion at ports; and improve air and water quality.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\ Public Law No. 117-58, available at https://www.congress.gov/
bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684.
    \20\ As described in Views and Estimates of the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure for Fiscal Year 2023, p 1. https://
transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/FY23
%20Views%20and%20Estimates_Final.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The IIJA provides approximately $660 billion over five 
years to be distributed by DOT through formula programs and 
competitive grants to states, local governments, metropolitan 
planning organizations, transit agencies, Tribes, passenger and 
freight railroad carriers, ports, airports, and other eligible 
recipients.\21\ This amount includes the following topline 
amounts by mode:
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    \21\ https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-01/
DOT_Infrastructure_
Investment_and_Jobs_Act_Authorization_Table_%28IIJA%29.pdf.
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     L$365 billion for highway programs administered by 
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); \22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\ More information on highway programs available at https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$108 billion for transit programs administered by 
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); \23\
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    \23\ More information on transit programs available at https://
www.transit.dot.gov/BIL.
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     L$102 billion for rail programs administered by 
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); \24\
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    \24\ More information on rail programs available at https://
railroads.dot.gov/BIL.
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     L$43 billion for multimodal project, safety, and 
innovation grant programs administered by the Office of the 
Secretary of Transportation (OST); \25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\ More information on OST programs available at https://
www.transportation.gov/mission/budget/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-
dashboard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$25 billion for aviation programs administered by 
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); \26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \26\ More information on aviation programs available at https://
www.faa.gov/bil.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$8 billion for safety programs administered by 
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); 
\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\ More information on NHTSA programs available at https://
www.nhtsa.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$5 billion for motor carrier safety programs 
administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
(FMCSA); \28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\ More information on FMCSA grant programs available at https://
www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Bipartisan-Infrastructure-Law-Grants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$2.3 billion for port and waterway programs 
administered by the Maritime Administration (MARAD); \29\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\ More information on MARAD programs available at https://
www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-maritime-
administration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     L$1 billion for modernization of natural gas 
distribution pipelines administered by the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\ More information on pipeline grants available at https://
www.phmsa.dot.gov/news/usdot-begins-accepting-applications-president-
bidens-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-program.

    The guaranteed funding provided by the IIJA flows to 
funding recipients through more than 100 grant programs 
authorized by the legislation and administered by DOT and 
includes both formula and competitive grants.\31\ A 
comprehensive list of these programs across modal agencies and 
total funding available for each program can be found on DOT's 
website.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \31\ https://www.transportation.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/
bipartisan-infrastructure-law-grant-programs.
    \32\ Id.
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    The law also authorizes $35 billion in existing programs 
and creates new programs to support drinking water and 
wastewater infrastructure projects.\33\ A large share of this 
funding is given to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and 
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684.
    \34\ Id.
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AUGUST 16, 2022: INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022

    On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation 
Reduction Act of 2022 into law.\35\ The law authorizes $369 
billion in spending on climate and clean energy provisions, 
including transportation-related programs.\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \35\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376.
    \36\ https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/22/what-the-climate-bill-does-
for-the-nuclear-industry.html.
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HIGHWAYS

    The law invests $3.16 billion in a new Neighborhood Access 
and Equity Grant Program to provide funds to reconnect 
communities divided by transportation infrastructure, including 
$50 million for local technical assistance grants.\37\ The law 
also provides $100 million to FHWA for grants and 
administrative activities to facilitate the completion of 
environmental reviews for surface transportation projects.\38\ 
Finally, it gives $2 billion to FHWA to reimburse the cost 
difference between low-embodied carbon construction materials 
and traditional materials in highway construction projects.\39\
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    \37\ See Section 60501. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-
congress/house-bill/5376/text.
    \38\ See section 60505 https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-
congress/house-bill/5376/text.
    \39\ See section 60506. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-
congress/house-bill/5376/text.
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AVIATION

    The law dedicates $297 million for the Alternative Fuel and 
Low-Emission Aviation Technology Program, which includes $244.5 
million for sustainable aviation fuel infrastructure projects, 
$46.5 million for low emission aviation technologies, and $5.9 
million to administer the program.\40\
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    \40\ See section 40007. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-
congress/house-bill/5376/text.
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

    The law provided $250 million to convert facilities of the 
Administrator of General Services to high-performance green 
buildings and $2.15 billion to acquire and install low-embodied 
carbon materials and products for use in the construction or 
alteration of buildings under the jurisdiction, custody, and 
control of the General Services Administration.

                              WITNESS LIST

     LSara Nelson, International President, Association 
of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO
     LGreg Regan, President, Transportation Trades 
Department, AFL-CIO
     LStephen Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, Amtrak
     LSamuel Desue, Jr., General Manager, TriMet 
(Portland, OR)
     LDavid Ditch, Policy Analyst, The Heritage 
Foundation
     LAdam Hersh, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic 
Policy Institute

 
 INVESTING IN OUR NATION'S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKERS: 
                             WHY IT MATTERS

                              ----------                              


                      THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

                  House of Representatives,
    Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
                                            Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m. in room 
2167 Rayburn House Office Building and via Zoom, Hon. Peter A. 
DeFazio (Chair of the committee) presiding.
    Members present in person: Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Larsen of 
Washington, Mr. Cohen, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Lynch, Mr. 
Malinowski, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Auchincloss, 
Mr. Kahele, Mr. Graves of Missouri, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Gibbs, 
Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Massie, Mr. Perry, Dr. Babin, Mr. 
Rouzer, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Miss Gonzalez-Colon, Mr. 
Balderson, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Guest, Mr. Nehls, and 
Ms. Van Duyne.
    Members present remotely: Ms. Norton, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. 
Payne, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Allred, 
Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Bourdeaux, Ms. 
Strickland, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Newman, Mr. Carter of 
Louisiana, Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Johnson of South 
Dakota, and Ms. Mace.
    Mr. DeFazio. The Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee will come to order.
    I ask unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to 
declare a recess at any time during today's hearing.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    As a reminder, please keep your microphone muted, unless 
speaking. If you make background noise, I will shout at you.
    To insert a document into the record, please email it to 
[email protected].
    With that, I recognize myself for my opening statement.
    Today's hearing gives us the chance to hear from 
stakeholders about the impacts of transportation legislation 
passed in the 117th Congress.
    Thirty-six years I have been here working these issues, and 
the forces of inertia and not getting things done in Washington 
are quite strong. And I am proud of the work of this committee 
and this Congress, as a whole, for these last 2 years to break 
through that inertia and deliver for the American people.
    We delivered on the challenges to the transportation sector 
from COVID-19. When faced with crumbling transportation 
infrastructure that had been neglected for years, we delivered. 
And when faced with a climate crisis and a desperate need for 
Government leadership in order to decarbonize, again, we 
delivered with separate legislation.
    This Congress passed three bills that will grow the 
economy, strengthen global competitiveness, create good-paying 
union jobs, can't be sent overseas, and make our communities 
more resilient: the American Rescue Plan Act; the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, so-called IIJA; and the 
Inflation Reduction Act.
    Almost 4 years ago, the committee held a hearing to kick 
off the 116th Congress, and we called it ``The Cost of Doing 
Nothing.'' We looked at what would happen to the U.S. if we 
continued to kick the can down the road on the major 
investments needed for infrastructure. I started an attempt to 
get a major increase in surface transportation back under 
President Obama. He killed it, because he was afraid of us 
raising the gas tax. Donald Trump came in and promised us $2 
trillion, delivered nothing.
    And then finally, under this President, we passed, twice, 
legislation out of the House through a real legislative 
process, many hundreds of amendments, many hours in committee, 
many hours on the floor. And then, unfortunately, because of 
the dysfunction of the Senate, the President had to resort to a 
negotiated deal. It basically matched the funding we had put 
forward and incorporated some of the work we did. It did not 
incorporate other parts, but that is where it is when you are 
dealing with one body that is totally dysfunctional and 
incapable of legislating. So, we got it done, the biggest 
investment in transportation infrastructure since the 
Eisenhower era--actually larger than that, and very long 
overdue.
    The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the 
deterioration to have a pricetag of over $2 trillion just to 
bring it up to a state of good repair and to begin to address 
future needs, begin to build in more resilience for severe 
weather events, sea level rise, and other things. So, that is 
something of which the committee and the Congress can be proud: 
the money is rolling out.
    Then, of course, there was the COVID-19 pandemic, and we 
had amazing problems with transit, aviation, and others. And 
again, Congress stepped up, first passed the CARES Act, then 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and then the 
American Rescue Plan Act. We managed to keep the trains, buses, 
and subways running. We saved the aviation industry by keeping 
the employees paid and in status, not directing money as a 
bailout to the airlines themselves, as was done in 2001 and 
2008. We prohibited the airlines from stock buybacks, 
furloughs, and executive compensation, and the corporate 
stockholders would not directly benefit from the Federal funds.
    Obviously, we had people actually continue to work in 
transit, and some actually contracted COVID and died providing 
critical services. We had people in aviation contract COVID and 
die, but we maintained those vital industries through a very, 
very dark time.
    I look forward to hearing from Sara Nelson with the 
Association of Flight Attendants and Greg Regan of the 
Transportation Trades Department about how they came through 
and their members came through the pandemic.
    I already referenced the surface transportation bill. We 
have a $100 billion deficit to bring transit up to a state of 
good repair, let alone providing new transit options to people 
to help them get out of congestion, get out of their single 
occupancy vehicles, and get to work in a timely fashion.
    We have 42,966 bridges on the National Highway System in 
need of substantial repair or replacement, and there is $40 
billion dedicated in the IIJA. It is not going to take care of 
all of them, but we are finally going to begin to address that, 
and not see the number growing, but see the number of bridges 
going down.
    So, we will hear today from Dr. Adam Hersh, who estimates 
that the IIJA's additional infrastructure spending will 
support--pretty precise here--772,400 jobs, not 772,000. Not 
one more or less, I am not sure. But anyway, that is a lot of 
jobs, and there is a multiplier effect to the economic benefits 
for the communities where projects take place and these good-
paying jobs--it trickles down through the whole economy, 
particularly small businesses, Main Street businesses, and 
others.
    And then climate and the transportation sector--and this is 
a point of some difference--we do a lot of things bipartisan on 
this committee, but I believe we must address the issues 
regarding climate through transportation issues. Surface 
transportation is the largest single contributor of greenhouse 
gases in the United States, and we need to begin to 
meaningfully address those. We had provisions in the bill 
passed out of the House that would have been more effective, 
but there is still significant investment being made through 
the IIJA with what will be done, and also through the 
investment IRA bill in terms of tax credits for EVs, charging 
stations, more money for transit, more money for rail, and then 
actually looking for alternate fuels, working with the industry 
for alternate fuels for aviation and other sectors.
    So, I think it has been one heck of a ride for the last 
couple of years here, or make that starting 3 years ago with 
the pandemic, and I think we can be very proud of what we have 
accomplished, and in good part, generated by this committee.
    [Ms. DeFazio's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
   Prepared Statement of Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in 
      Congress from the State of Oregon, and Chair, Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure
    Today's hearing gives us the chance to hear from stakeholders about 
the impacts of transportation legislation passed by the 117th Congress. 
After 36 years in Congress, I have fought enough uphill battles to know 
that the forces of apathy and inertia are strong. But I am proud of the 
work of this committee, and this Congress as a whole, these last two 
years--to defeat that sense of inertia and deliver for the American 
people.
    When faced with the unprecedented challenges to the transportation 
industry from the COVID-19 pandemic--we delivered. When faced with 
crumbling transportation infrastructure that had been neglected for 
years--we delivered. When faced with a climate crisis and a desperate 
need for government leadership in order to decarbonize--we delivered.
    This Congress, we passed three bills that will grow the economy, 
strengthen our global competitiveness, create good-paying union jobs 
that can't be sent overseas, and make our communities more resilient--
the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs 
Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
    Almost four years ago in February 2019, the committee held a 
hearing to kick off the 116th Congress and we called it ``The Cost of 
Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation's Infrastructure Cannot 
Wait.'' Over the course of nearly seven hours, we heard from 
stakeholders about the urgent need to invest in transportation 
infrastructure projects across the country and across transportation 
modes.
    At that time, transportation demand was booming, and our existing 
infrastructure was not able to keep up with user demand. In fact, the 
American Society of Civil Engineers estimated an investment gap of $2 
trillion over 10 years to fix existing infrastructure, meet future 
needs, and restore global competitiveness.
    Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Of course, the pandemic had 
massive impacts on transportation--it disrupted business and leisure 
travel, and upended many Americans' daily work routines and commutes. 
But for essential and frontline workers, the need for safe and reliable 
transit options was greater than ever. In the face of this challenge, 
we passed COVID relief: first the CARES Act, and then the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2021, and then the American Rescue Plan Act.
    Among other benefits to the country, these bills managed to keep 
the nation's trains, buses, and subways running. We rescued the 
aviation industry and Amtrak, but we kept workers at the center of the 
recovery effort--refusing to allow entities taking these funds to 
impose involuntary furloughs and stock buy-backs--focusing benefits 
towards American workers, not corporate shareholders.
    And this nation's transportation workers quickly became the heroes 
of the pandemic, as flight attendants bravely faced hostility from 
passengers in the midst of a stressful flying environment, transit 
workers kept buses and subways running so that other essential workers 
could get to their jobs, and freight workers and truck drivers 
delivered food and other essentials to communities at a time of great 
turmoil. These essential workers delivered for our nation.
    We appreciate and thank them, and I look forward to hearing from 
Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants and Greg Regan of 
the Transportation Trades Department about how their members overcame 
obstacles to keep our transportation systems running.
    The 117th Congress also passed a surface transportation 
authorization bill that included truly transformative investments: the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in November 2021. The 
long-overdue investments included in this legislation will grow the 
economy, strengthen our global competitiveness, create good-paying 
union jobs that can't be sent overseas, and make our communities more 
resilient, livable, and equitable. In particular, this bipartisan 
infrastructure law makes badly-needed improvements to our rail systems, 
bridges and highways, transit, water, and broadband infrastructure, as 
well as our ports and airports--investments I have championed for 
years, both in the minority and majority, and under Republican and 
Democratic administrations.
    To give just one example, the bill will tackle the over $100 
billion transit state of good repair backlog through a 30 percent 
increase in transit formula grants in year one alone, a new railcar 
replacement program, and an unprecedented investment in new, cleaner 
buses and bus facilities.
    Right now, 42,966 of the nation's bridges are in poor condition. 
That's why the IIJA provided more than $40 billion in dedicated funding 
for bridge repair, rehabilitation, and replacement. The law tackles 
every aspect of the problem by authorizing a flexible formula bridge 
program, providing dedicated funding for small, rural bridge repairs, 
and establishing a new grant program to reconstruct the largest and 
most complex bridges that will stand for a century to come. This money 
is already being put to work across the country. According to the 
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), more than 
300 projects are already underway using funds from the new FHWA Bridge 
Formula Program alone.
    All of these infrastructure investments support good-paying jobs, 
too--today's witness Dr. Adam Hersh estimates that IIJA's additional 
infrastructure spending will support 772,400 jobs annually. And there's 
a multiplier effect to the economic benefits for the communities where 
projects take place--ARTBA has estimated that IIJA funds would have a 
three-fold multiplier effect.
    But the IIJA doesn't just build for the sake of building. It puts 
us on a path towards addressing our greatest challenges--strengthening 
America's position on the world stage; building a transportation system 
that is equitable and provides access for all; and addressing the 
existential threat of climate change.
    Humans are causing climate change in a number of ways--most notably 
through burning coal, gasoline and other fossil fuels.
    The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse 
gas emissions in the United States. Over the last three decades, those 
emissions have risen 24 percent, more than any other sector. Passenger 
and freight vehicles account for 82 percent of transportation sector 
emissions--yet Congress did little to address it. A lot of the climate 
change policy action has been in the courts and in the private sector, 
as businesses look to manage their climate risks and comply with laws 
in the European Union, Canada, and other countries that have actually 
passed legislation to do something. Until now.
    Now, with the Inflation Reduction Act, we are finally seeing 
Congress take action on climate change. For transportation, this means 
supporting greener materials in highway construction and the adoption 
of sustainable aviation fuels. The law also includes substantial tax 
incentives for electric vehicles. And the IIJA's support for passenger 
rail, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure will make a 
difference in providing climate-friendly transportation options that 
will reduce congestion for everyone. As I've said many times, climate 
change is an existential threat to our nation and the world, and I'm 
glad we're finally taking action.
    Looking back over my 36 years in Congress and on this committee, 
there is a lot to be proud of. But, serving as Chair of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for the last four years has 
been an honor of a lifetime. We've accomplished so much together, and 
I'm glad we have this last full committee hearing to focus on the 
incredible accomplishments of the 117th Congress.
    Thank you to each of our witnesses for being here today. I know 
your time is valuable, and this committee is grateful for your 
participation.

    Mr. DeFazio. With that, I would be happy to recognize the 
ranking member.
    Mr. Graves of Missouri. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
you to our witnesses for being here today.
    Today's hearing is going to focus on the three pieces of 
legislation that were signed into law by President Biden over 
the course of this Congress.
    First, let's be clear where we are today. The economy and 
the American people are not better off since the President took 
office. Rather, the current 8.3 percent inflation is nearly 400 
percent higher than when the President first took office, and 
Americans are struggling with the heightened cost of everyday 
items. Inflation, and many of the other crises we are facing 
today, are a result of the cumulative impact of overspending, 
overregulating, and overall failed leadership.
    The first of the three bills we are here to talk about 
today passed in early 2021, costing a whopping $2 trillion. The 
American Rescue Plan, or ARP, as it was called, was forced 
through Congress using the partisan budget reconciliation 
process under the guise of helping the Nation combat and 
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was passed when 
the economy was already well into recovery, and only 9 percent 
of the bill's funds went to COVID-related assistance, not to 
mention it was the only COVID package developed and passed in a 
completely partisan way since the onset of the public health 
crisis.
    The second bill, which is of pivotal interest to this 
committee, is the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act, or IIJA. The chair and I both were critical of the 
fact that this bill was written and negotiated in the Senate 
along with the administration while the House was completely 
shut out of the process. In November 2021, when the bill came 
over to the House, Members were left with the choice of this 
flawed piece of legislation or nothing, which frustrated all 
sides.
    The third bill, recently passed, is the $750 billion 
Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. Despite its clever name, it 
actually makes inflation worse.
    All together, these massive spending bills total nearly $4 
trillion, most of which was paid for through deficit spending.
    I look forward to discussing the very serious effects and 
consequences that are plaguing Americans in no small part due 
to the totality of all the massive spending over the last 2 
years.
    Problem number one isn't hard to identify: the injection of 
nearly $4 trillion into the economy in only 17 months 
contributed to the highest inflation in four decades. In fact, 
economists estimate that inflation is costing the average 
American family nearly $8,000 more this year for everyday 
necessities. Inflation is also causing States and local 
governments to scrap, or at least push off, some very important 
transportation projects. And we have heard that in this 
committee.
    If inflation continues, it could entirely wipe out the 
funding increases in the IIJA. But let's remember that 
Democratic economist Larry Summers warned us, and the majority 
time and time again dismissed the warnings.
    Aside from focusing on the damage these bills did to our 
economy, another concern of mine is how the administration is 
implementing laws that have passed, including the IIJA. This 
administration is not following the letter of the law. Instead, 
they are using rules and guidance materials to impose partisan 
policies throughout the process.
    Looking forward, my focus is going to be on oversight of 
IIJA, as well as the transportation-related provisions in the 
ARP and the IRA to ensure that taxpayer funding is spent wisely 
and according to the letter of the law, or the way the law was 
passed.
    [Mr. Graves of Missouri's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
  Prepared Statement of Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress 
     from the State of Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure
    Thank you, Chair DeFazio, and thank you to our witnesses for being 
here today.
    Today's hearing will focus on three pieces of legislation signed 
into law by President Biden over the course of this Congress.
    But first let's be clear with where we are today--the economy and 
the American people are not better off since the President took office. 
Rather, the current 8.3 percent inflation is nearly 400 percent higher 
than when President Biden first took office and Americans are 
struggling with the heightened cost of everyday items.
    Inflation, and many of the other crises we are facing today, are a 
result of the cumulative impact of the overspending, overregulating, 
and overall failed leadership of the President.
    The first of the three bills we are here to talk about today passed 
in early 2021, costing a whopping $2 trillion. The American Rescue Plan 
(ARP), as it was called, was forced through Congress using the partisan 
budget reconciliation process under the guise of helping the Nation 
combat and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
    However, it was passed when the economy was already well into 
recovery, and only nine percent of the bill's funds went to COVID-
related assistance. Not to mention, it was the only COVID package 
developed and passed in a completely partisan way since the onset of 
the public health crisis.
    The second bill, which is of pivotal interest to this Committee, is 
the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
    The Chair and I both were critical of the fact that this bill was 
written and negotiated in the Senate along with the Administration 
while the House was completely shut out of the process. In November 
2021 when the bill came over to the House, Members were left with the 
choice of this flawed bill or nothing, which frustrated all sides.
    The third bill, recently passed, is the $750 billion Inflation 
Reduction Act (IRA) that, despite its clever name, actually makes 
inflation worse.
    All together, these massive spending bills total nearly $4 
trillion, most of which was paid for with deficit spending.
    I look forward to discussing the very serious effects and 
consequences that are plaguing Americans in no small part due to the 
totality of all the massive spending over the last two years.
    Problem number one isn't hard to identify--the injection of nearly 
$4 trillion dollars into the economy in only 17 months contributed to 
the highest inflation in four decades. In fact, economists estimate 
that inflation is costing the average American family nearly $8,000 
more this year for everyday necessities. Inflation also is causing 
states and local governments to scrap or push off important 
transportation projects.
    If inflation continues, it could entirely wipe out the funding 
increases in IIJA. But let's remember that Democrat Economist Larry 
Summers warned us--and the Majority, time and again, dismissed these 
warnings.
    Aside from focusing on the damage these bills did to our economy, 
another concern of mine is how the Administration is implementing laws 
Congress has passed, including IIJA. This Administration is not 
following the letter of the law and is instead using rules and guidance 
materials to impose partisan policies throughout the process.
    Looking forward, my focus will be on oversight of IIJA as well as 
the transportation-related provisions in the ARP and the IRA to ensure 
taxpayer funding is spent wisely and according to the letter of the 
law.

    Mr. Graves of Missouri. Again, I look forward to hearing 
from the witnesses today, and I want to thank you, Mr. 
Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman for his statement. I 
would now like to welcome the witnesses on our panel: Sara 
Nelson, international president, the Association of Flight 
Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO; Greg Regan, president, the 
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO; Stephen Gardner, 
chief executive officer, Amtrak; Samuel Desue, general manager 
of TriMet; David Ditch, policy analyst, The Heritage 
Foundation; and Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic 
Policy Institute.
    Thanks for being here today. Thanks for some who traveled 
all the way across the country to do that, and I think this is 
the first hearing we have had where all the witnesses are 
actually here in person. I can't think of another one, right?
    Oh, we have one online. Well, close. All right. This is the 
closest we have come to having all of the witnesses here.
    Without objection, your full statements will be included in 
the record. And since that has been done, we ask you to limit 
yourself to 5 minutes, best in terms of summarizing the most 
cogent parts, or relevant parts, or even if you want to depart 
and comment on what someone else on the panel said, that is 
always more interesting.
    So, with that, I would recognize President Nelson of the 
AFA for 5 minutes.

TESTIMONY OF SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION 
     OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS--CWA, AFL-CIO; GREGORY R. REGAN, 
 PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO; STEPHEN 
 GARDNER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER 
   CORPORATION (AMTRAK); SAMUEL DESUE, Jr., GENERAL MANAGER, 
 TriMet; DAVID DITCH, POLICY ANALYST, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION; 
  AND ADAM S. HERSH, Ph.D., SENIOR ECONOMIST, ECONOMIC POLICY 
                           INSTITUTE

    Ms. Nelson. Thank you, Chair DeFazio. It is great to have 
two of you looking down on us at this hearing.
    And Ranking Member Graves and members of the committee, we 
really appreciate the opportunity to talk about the importance 
of investing in our Nation's transportation and infrastructure 
and its workers.
    I am a 26-year union flight attendant and the president of 
the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO. And we represent 
flight attendants at 19 airlines across the industry. We also 
coordinate closely with our partner union, CWA; our sister 
union, APFA; and all the transportation union affiliates of the 
Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. We are 
grateful for the opportunity to testify on the benefits of the 
American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 
and the Inflation Reduction Act.
    In past crises, we were the bailout. Aviation workers were 
the bailout. But thanks to Chair DeFazio and coordination 
between unions and industry and the bipartisan action of this 
committee, that was not the case this time. Enacting the PSP, 
the Payroll Support Program, in the CARES Act and extending it 
in the American Rescue Plan meant that we kept critical service 
in place to all of our communities and hundreds of thousands of 
aviation workers out of the unemployment line.
    We stayed connected to our healthcare and retirement 
contributions while continuing to pay taxes that supported our 
State and local budgets, maintained contributions to Social 
Security, Medicare, and other long-term programs, as well as 
supporting other jobs by paying the cable bill and rent, 
keeping the lights on, and staying warm in our homes and food 
on the table. PSP kept all systems in place, and didn't strain 
other public assistance programs that people needed during the 
crisis.
    The program that Chair DeFazio championed was the most 
effective and transparent jobs program in COVID relief. It is 
an example of problem-solving that industry and unions and 
bipartisan action can do together. It is recognized around the 
world as the gold standard for the critical aviation sector, 
and it is easy to recognize its success as headlines come from 
Europe about halting service and turning airlines and 
passengers away from airports.
    The program halted the greed of Wall Street by banning 
stock buybacks and dividends until September 30th of 2022, and 
reined in the worst of corporate behavior by capping executive 
compensation through March of 2023. It is the only industry 
where inequality did not grow during the crisis.
    This hearing is very timely because tomorrow the provision 
banning airlines from initiating stock buybacks does expire. 
And while airlines are just now starting to make a profit, the 
recovery is not complete, and the austerity of 20 years prior 
has not been corrected for airline jobs. We can't allow $1 to 
go to Wall Street before fixing operational issues and 
concluding contract negotiations.
    That is why we also appreciate Chair DeFazio's letter, 
along with 70 signatures, that went to airline trade 
associations this morning, asking them to take the pledge not 
to send any cash to Wall Street with stock buybacks on October 
1st, 2022.
    The Payroll Support Program worked, full stop. But now we 
have to fix the imperfect system that existed before this 
pandemic. And if we use what we did during the pandemic by 
working together, we can do that.
    The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $25 
billion in our Nation's air transportation system over 5 years. 
This helps with concessions of the airport, and grants to small 
businesses, as well. This is important to flight attendants 
because, when passengers cannot get food, it increases anxiety, 
increases conflict on board, and then people get on our planes 
and it creates bigger problems. Concessionaires have had hot 
coffee thrown in their face and been abused in other ways. We 
have to stop that from happening, and we have to support our 
airports as much as possible to do that.
    We also are happy that $15 billion was set aside for 
airport infrastructure for runways, gates, taxiways, safety and 
sustainability projects, airport transit connections, and 
roadway projects. And these are important. There was a Ryanair 
flight attendant who was hit by a private vehicle walking home 
late at night, because she did not have access to public 
transportation. This is inexcusable, and this is what we can 
avoid when we invest in our infrastructure in this way.
    The sum of $5 billion is provided to our air traffic 
control facilities that badly need this investment. And this 
also has key provisions championed by labor unions, including 
local hiring preferences, Buy America provisions, and 
prevailing wage requirements.
    The Inflation Reduction Act was another step forward, and I 
want to highlight the investments in addressing the climate 
crisis, both with the NOAA climate research and the Gulfstream 
G550 Hurricane Hunter. This will improve weather forecasts and 
have a profound impact on saving lives, jobs, businesses, and 
communities.
    Finding the sustainable aviation fuel is important. We 
appreciate United Airlines' investment to sustainable aviation 
fuels, but we hope that this will speed up the rest of the 
industry and make this a reality sooner than 2050, as they have 
promised.
    Now, finally, we applaud the efforts of this committee and 
its incredible staff for your action to invest both in our 
Nation's infrastructure and its workers. It is hard to imagine 
this committee without its inimitable chair, Peter DeFazio, who 
has transformed safety for our profession. From stopping flags 
of convenience in aviation, to fines and penalties for 
disruptive passengers and sexual assault, to evacuation 
standards and staffing requirements, to stopping the spraying 
of poisonous pesticides in the aircraft cabin, to certification 
oversight that ensures aircraft are safe and increasing flight 
attendant minimum rest to fight fatigue, he has been relentless 
in championing our jobs and the health and safety of the 
passengers and crew on board every single day.
    Chair DeFazio broke the mold, remembering where he came 
from, and using his commitment to everyday people to drive his 
relentless advocacy, policy wonk curiosity, and strategic 
smarts to get results. His legacy will live on in the countless 
positive changes he has made for our profession, his mentorship 
of all of us who have the privilege to work with him, our 
industry, and our country.
    We congratulate honorary AFA member Chair DeFazio on his 
retirement, but his work and leadership will endure with every 
flight, ship, port, truck, and train that moves with the power 
of the American worker. Thank you, and I look forward to your 
questions.
    [Ms. Nelson's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
Prepared Statement of Sara Nelson, International President, Association 
                   of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO
                              Introduction
    Thank you Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves and members of the 
House Transportation & Infrastructure for convening this hearing on the 
importance of investing in our nation's transportation infrastructure 
and its workers.
    I am a twenty-six year union Flight Attendant and president of the 
Association of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), representing 
Flight Attendants at 19 airlines across the industry. We also 
coordinate closely with our partner union the Communications Workers of 
America, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and all of 
the transportation union affiliates of the Transportation Trades 
Department, AFL-CIO.
    My testimony will cover various provisions included in the American 
Rescue Plan (P.L. 117-2), Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 
117-58), and the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) that 
demonstrate why investments in our transportation infrastructure are a 
force multiplier for creating a strong, safe, stable and equitable 
aviation industry now and in the future.
    Aviation is all about bringing people together all around the 
globe. Our job and our agenda is to continue to make that possible. 
That means a living wage, a secure home, respect and safety on the job, 
with time to enjoy life for all of the people who make it possible for 
our planes to fly. And it means doing our part to protect our earth 
with clean air, water and smooth jet streams. Transportation workers 
are united and organizing with urgency to ensure sustainable aviation 
with good union jobs is our collective future.
                 The American Rescue Plan (P.L. 117-2)
    A year after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, 
President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan 
(ARP) Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) to provide immediate relief to American 
workers. The rescue package put the needs of working families first and 
addressed the burdens placed on our transportation networks during the 
worst public health and economic crisis in living memory.
    All Americans need a living wage, access to healthcare, education, 
housing, and a secure retirement and thankfully, this time, due to the 
leadership and experience of Chair DeFazio and many on this committee, 
the transportation workers didn't pay for this crisis and the horrific 
deficits exposed by the pandemic. The ARP provided more than $49 
billion in federal funding to keep all of America's transportation 
systems operational.
    Especially important to Flight Attendants and aviation workers was 
$15 billion extended for the worker-first airline Payroll Support 
Program to finish what we started in the CARES Act. Without a doubt, we 
owe our jobs and a functioning airline industry to Peter DeFazio. He 
used years of experience in dealing with one crisis after another to 
keep workers at the center of any recovery.
          We Couldn't Allow a Repeat of the Fallout from 9/11
    ``Hold all other communications on pay cuts, base closures, and 
previously announced furloughs. United just called me. They're 
furloughing another 2,500 Flight Attendants. We need to deal with that 
first.''
    I'll never forget that call. It was 2003, and our union was six 
months into a 38-month bankruptcy at United Airlines that followed 
September 11th.
    Nearly one in three United employees--30,000 all told--lost our 
jobs during that bankruptcy. Our pension was gutted. And those who 
remained took two massive pay cuts. When United came out of bankruptcy, 
nearly 45% of the savings the corporation showed Wall Street came off 
the backs of workers.
    Wall Street was ecstatic. Workers were devastated.
    That time was the formative experience in my career. And that's why 
our union worked with urgency to craft a relief plan that ultimately 
became the Payroll Support Program.
    We refused to follow the old ``blank check for corporations'' 
bailout playbook, especially for airlines. Our union had spent recent 
years protesting stock buybacks that pay out Wall Street and top 
executives while our staffing levels were cut to minimums and we had to 
work more just to make ends meet. Twenty years after the events of 
September 11, 2001, we were still feeling the effects of austerity and 
cost cutting while Wall Street had become more emboldened to take cash 
from the profits made by our hard work and sacrifice. Prior to the 
pandemic inequality was felt in our paychecks, eroded retirement 
security, longer days with shorter nights, staffing cuts resulting in 
fewer of us with more passengers than ever, and the configuration of 
the seats and service on our planes. Consumers experienced these cuts 
too. Austerity also meant job loss and years of no hiring. Initiatives 
to promote diversity and inclusion suffered at the same rate that 
mature workers felt the sting of 25, 30, and 35 years on Reserve status 
and little ability to control our schedules even after decades on the 
job.
    I know from personal experience: the people who benefit if airlines 
go under are corporate executives, bankruptcy lawyers, and corporate 
management consultants who under corporate bankruptcy law get to walk 
away with hundreds of millions in bonuses.
    We knew it would be immediate devastation for two million aviation 
workers if we couldn't get relief, but there was no way we were going 
to agree to a bailout for airlines. That's why our program, made 
possible through the relentless leadership of Chair DeFazio and 
continued to finish the job under the Biden Administration with the 
ARP, demanded the requirements of no involuntary furloughs, no cuts to 
hourly rates of pay, continued service to all of our communities and a 
ban on stock buybacks and dividends along with caps on the executive 
compensation even after the relief period was complete.
                 A Historic Workers First Program: PSP
    Enacting the PSP in the Act CARES Act and extending it in the 
American Rescue Plan meant we kept critical service in place to all 
communities and hundreds of thousands of aviation workers out of the 
unemployment line. We stayed connected to our healthcare, retirement 
contributions, while continuing to pay taxes that supported our state 
and local budgets, maintained contributions to social security, 
medicare and other long term programs--as well as supporting other jobs 
by paying the cable bill, rent, keeping the lights on and staying warm 
in our homes with food on the table. The PSP program kept all systems 
in place and didn't strain other public assistance programs so many 
people needed during the crisis. This was a simple, but necessary 
solution that protected and shored up people on the frontlines of our 
economy, both during the crisis and for our future.
    The program that Chair DeFazio championed was the most effective 
and transparent jobs program in COVID relief. It is recognized around 
the world as the gold standard for the critical aviation sector, and 
it's easy to recognize its success as headlines come from Europe about 
halting service and turning airlines and passengers away from airports. 
The program halted the greed of Wall Street by banning stock buybacks 
and dividends until September 30, 2022 and reined in the worst of 
corporate behavior by capping executive compensation through March 
2023. This was purposely done so federal funding would be directed to 
frontline workers for our pay and benefits and to prevent growing 
inequality by stopping taxpayer money from going to airline 
shareholders and investors during this economic crisis.
    This hearing is very timely because tomorrow the provision banning 
airlines from initiating stock buybacks expires. While airlines are 
just now starting to make a profit, the recovery is not complete and 
the austerity of twenty years prior has not been corrected for airline 
jobs. We can't allow CEOs to send one dollar to Wall Street before 
fixing operational issues and concluding contract negotiations. We need 
investments in the operation, staffing, and pay and benefits to keep 
and attract people to aviation jobs.
    That is why our union, along with the Air Line Pilots Association, 
Int'l (ALPA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), 
the Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association 
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International 
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Transport Workers Union of America 
(TWU), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing 
hundreds of thousands of aviation workers, announced the launch of 
nostockbuybacks.org. The campaign demands pledges from the CEOs of U.S. 
airlines to extend the COVID relief ban on stock buybacks until:
    1.  operational meltdowns are not the norm and staffing and flight 
schedules are aligned to support public demand; and
    2.  labor contract negotiations are concluded.

    Emphasizing the concerns we're raising, Chair DeFazio and many 
members on this committee, are sending a letter to the trade 
associations who represent commercial airlines, urging their members to 
publicly pledge that they will not engage in stock buybacks on October 
1, 2022. Millions of frontline transportation workers have worked 
through the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and many put 
contract negotiations on hold during the crisis. Minimum staffing and 
high productivity put in place pre-pandemic exacerbate problems now 
until we can address these issues in bargaining and/or legislation. We 
appreciate this committee's efforts to solicit the concerns of airline 
workers who continue to bear the brunt of chronic understaffing and 
languishing labor contracts.
                   PSP: Freezing an Imperfect System
    While aviation workers came together through our unions, found 
common ground with airlines and worked with allies in Congress to pass 
and extend this critical aid, we froze an imperfect system for 16 
months with legislative constraints tied to COVID relief. However, the 
greed that ran rampant before COVID created an industry that was 
already stretched thin with minimum staffing and heavily reliant on 
high overtime hours in order to meet basic operational metrics.
    The economic fallout of September 11th in the airline industry 
meant bankruptcies and mergers where the courts abrogated our 
contracts, eliminated our pensions, and changed our jobs forever. 
Before September 11th, airlines regularly staffed flights with Flight 
Attendants above FAA minimums, two or more passenger service agents to 
board a flight and more throughout the airport to handle delays and 
cancellations.
    Now, flights are staffed with minimum Flight Attendants, so when 
something goes wrong there's no additional crew to pull from. Passenger 
service agents are left to board full planes by themselves creating 
communication issues during the boarding process. And when a flight 
gets delayed or canceled? That same agent or worse no one is left in 
the terminal to assist passengers--making an already difficult 
situation worse.
    Hiring is important but maintaining employees is also important. 
Delta Air Lines was touting the ``juniority'' benefit from the pandemic 
last year, but on a recent earrings call CEO Ed Bastian said Delta's 
operation was suffering from a training/inexperience gap.
    Some have questioned the use of the relief dollars in the wake of 
some operational meltdowns. Staffing is above pre-pandemic levels if 
compared to the number of flight hours airlines are flying, but this is 
a problem created pre-pandemic and exacerbated by the immediate return 
to an unpredictable destination demand and other pandemic effects. More 
than anything though, American worker productivity was higher than any 
developed country in the pre-pandemic world. This is also true in 
aviation, but it is not sustainable anywhere. Aviation workers are not 
able to pick up as many overtime hours due to COVID infections, 
difficulties with commuting to work, and fatigue exacerbated by high 
instances of combative passengers.
    It's important to note that earlier airline operational meltdowns 
were the result of:
    1.  The lapse in PSP funding from October 1, 2020-December 28, 
2020, as we warned would happen due to a backlog in retraining, 
certification, and security credentials.
    2.  Airlines planned operations based on pre-pandemic overtime 
hours, but workers were no longer willing to pick up overtime at the 
same rate because of the conditions at work.
    3.  COVID infections, although generally affecting the vaccinated 
population for shorter time periods, decrease the rate of workers who 
are able to work.
    4.  Operational support staff at airlines were also cut or jobs 
outsourced leaving crew on hold for assignments or release from duty 
for hours at a time.

    Unions have negotiated with management to put in place financial 
incentives to pick up time, and in some cases address issues with 
traveling to work. This helped, but it's not a long term fix like we'll 
experience with the conclusion of contract negotiations and 
encouragement for other investments in infrastructure rather than 
pressure to send cash to Wall Street.
    Put simply there is minimal give in our system. When something goes 
wrong, like a massive weather system moving up the east coast, the 
operations fall apart quickly leaving passengers and crews stranded. 
Airlines can't control weather, but management can build a system that 
has more to recover from operational challenges that arise.
    That's what we saw this summer--it was worse than pre-pandemic 2019 
when looking at delays and cancellations. But because of the critical 
work of this committee and the Payroll Support Program it was only 
worse by a couple percentage points. Our sisters and brothers across 
the Atlantic have suffered far worse because their governments failed 
to meet the moment of this crisis. Heathrow has made unprecedented 
moves telling airlines they had to cut or cap capacity for months. 
Amsterdam, Dublin and more airports in Europe suffered security queues 
for 4 plus hours. Thanks to our federalized TSA we did not suffer the 
same fate.
    The Payroll Support Program worked. Full stop. But now we have to 
fix the imperfect system that existed before this pandemic.
          Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58)
    The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is 
another critical investment in the quality and safety of our nation's 
infrastructure that will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs, 
increase equity in transportation and help fight climate change.
    In total, the Law provided $25 billion for the nation's air 
transportation system over five years.
    First, $5 billion is designated for airport terminals, including 
the concessions and multimodal terminal projects. Flight Attendants 
(and everyone on this committee) see first hand the terminals that need 
to be upgraded and more accessible for individuals with disabilities. 
The ease of getting from one terminal to another should be the norm in 
2022 and this bill will help make this a reality. Further, many 
airports sadly have few healthy dining options (without to-go 
alcohol!). This is a problem for crew having access to food as well. We 
are pleased the Airport Terminal Program allows concessions, who are 
often small business owners, to apply for these grants as well. When 
concessions are down or poorly staffed passengers cannot as easily get 
a meal before a flight. This increases anxiety, medical issues, and 
sometimes leads to violence. Concession workers have had hot coffee 
thrown back in their face and faced incredible abuse while trying 
desperately to meet demand. These conflicts are rarely caught and then 
passengers already behaving badly abuse a gate agent or board our 
airplanes increasing the potential for violence in the cabin when 
there's nowhere to go and no way to remove the threat from our 
workspace.
    Second, $15 billion was set aside for airport infrastructure, such 
as the runways, gates, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, 
airport transit connections, and roadway projects. A tragic example 
comes to mind of the importance of airport transit projects after 
learning about a Ryanair (UK and Ireland based airline) Flight 
Attendant, Cinzia Ceravolo \1\, who was hit by a car and died. She was 
trying to walk home in the dark from the airport after her shift 
because she could not afford a taxi and there was no public 
transportation option. Had public transit been available to get her 
safely off the airport road to connect her to a bus stop or to subway, 
she would still be alive today.
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    \1\ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-62700831
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    Finally, $5 billion is provided for air traffic control facilities 
to improve their physical condition. Sadly, the FAA has more than 100 
aging control towers \2\ at regional and municipal airports across the 
United States that will eventually need to be replaced. Many control 
towers built 20 years ago are incompatible with today's operational 
requirements. The average age of a tower is 27 years, and some are up 
to 40 years old \3\. The upgrades and repairs on air traffic control 
facilities around the country will create jobs for local suppliers, 
construction workers and communities. All of these jobs should be good 
union jobs to make sure they are done right and get the most out of 
lifting conditions for the people in all of our communities.
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    \2\ https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-launches-nationwide-
solicitation-design-air-traffic-control-towers-future
    \3\ https://www.volpe.dot.gov/NAS-infrastructure
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    The IIJA also includes many other key provisions championed by 
labor unions, including local hiring preferences, Buy America 
provisions, and prevailing wage requirements.
                 Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169)
    Most recently, Congress passed and the President signed into law 
the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an incredible step forward for every 
working family towards lowering energy and healthcare costs, requiring 
strong labor standards in order to claim clean energy tax credits, 
creating millions of construction and manufacturing jobs in America 
\4\, and fighting climate change that threatens our jobs and our safety 
at work and at home.
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    \4\ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/business/factory-jobs-
workers-rebound.html
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    Severe turbulence is happening more frequently and is more intense 
due in part to climate change. This summer, eight people were 
hospitalized after an American Airlines flight from Tampa, Florida, to 
Nashville, Tennessee, experienced severe, unexpected turbulence and was 
forced to land in Alabama \5\. This incident happened a few weeks 
following a flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City that caused minor 
injuries to three Southwest Airlines flight attendants and one 
passenger when their flight experienced moderate turbulence.
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    \5\ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-turbulence-and-why-
climate-change-could-be-making-it-more-common/
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    For Flight Attendants, these incidents pose a serious occupational 
risk. And as extreme weather events become more common, more and more 
flights never take off at all. When the polar vortex plunged most of 
the U.S. into a deep freeze in January 2019, airlines canceled 
thousands of flights \6\. Heatwaves, thunderstorms, and other effects 
of climate change similarly make it impossible for airplanes to fly. 
Simply put, grounded flights mean lost pay for flight attendants, who 
earn an hourly wage while we're in the air, and more and more it's hard 
to go to work when our homes are destroyed in the wake of more frequent 
natural disasters.
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    \6\ https://www.businessinsider.com/flight-cancellation-cold-
weather-storm-blizzard-closing-
airports-2019-
2#::text=When%20a%20nasty%20polar%20vortex,start%20dropping%2C
%20everything%20slows%20down.
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    We appreciate the leadership of Chair Maria Cantwell, Senate 
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, to author key 
provisions in the IRA such as increased funding for the National 
Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to fund climate research for 
atmospheric processes to examine the causes and impacts of extreme 
weather. These investments will support the development of more 
accurate/timely weather forecasts, and improved climate change 
predictions. In addition, NOAA also received funding to acquire a new 
Gulfstream G550 Hurricane Hunter to collect data when large storms 
appear, which is vital for knowing where storms will hit and how strong 
they will be. Improved weather forecasts can have a profound impact on 
saving lives, jobs, businesses and communities.
    Another key climate provision included in the IRA that is critical 
for reducing carbon emissions from air travel is funding for the new 
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Low-Emissions Aviation Technology 
Grant Program. We can't think that carbon offsets are a solution that 
makes any difference at all. Our union is proud of the commitment \7\ 
United Airlines made to be 100% green by 2050 by reducing greenhouse 
gas emissions by 100%, and we hope to work further with this committee 
to help speed this action up more. The IRA provided a huge step 
forward. United and other airlines will benefit from the SAF grant 
program, and so will we all.
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    \7\ https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/company/global-
citizenship/environment.html
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   Chairman DeFazio's Contributions to the Lives of Aviation Workers
    During the time Congressman DeFazio (D-OR) has been Chair of the 
House Transportation and Infrastructure during the 117th Congress, we 
have seen many important aviation health and safety bills introduced or 
passed by the full House under his leadership.
    First, the National Aviation Preparedness Act, H.R. 884, championed 
by House Aviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen and Congressman Don 
Beyer (D-VA), that directs federal agencies and aviation stakeholders 
to develop a national strategy on health and safety protections for 
future pandemics. From the beginning of the pandemic, our union was 
urging DOT and other agencies to come together to develop effective 
mitigations to ensure the health and safety of passengers and aviation 
employees during the pandemic, and a follow-on plan to put the industry 
on a path to recovery. We believe the health of our nation's aviation 
workforce is vital to maintaining our transportation network in times 
of crisis, as we've seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Second, the Fair and Open Skies, H.R. 3095 and a narrower version 
that was included this year as an amendment to the House Appropriations 
Bill, are already having an impact on new airline entrants, such as 
Norse Atlantic Airways, a Norwegian low-cost, long-haul airline 
headquartered in Arendal, Norway. Norse employs nearly 250 U.S.-based 
Flight Attendants with crew bases in JFK and FLL, and expects to 
continue to grow and increase Flight Attendant jobs in the U.S. Norse 
is playing by the rules that make Open Skies fair and this legislation 
would ensure other airlines do as well. AFA has been working with 
Chairman DeFazio, Chairman Larsen and many members of this committee 
since 2016 to prevent foreign airlines from using ``flags of 
convenience'' to avoid the regulations of their home countries or 
otherwise undermining labor standards.
    Third, the Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation 
Act, H.R. 5706 passed the full House in March 2022. It will help 
prevent sexual assaults and sexual harassment on airplanes, buses, 
passenger vessels, commuter and intercity passenger railroads, taxis 
and ridesharing vehicles. Chair DeFazio has always held this important 
value that when it comes to the transportation of people, safety must 
always come first, and that includes protecting people from sexual 
harassment and assault.
    Fourth, the Healthy Flights Act of 2021, H.R. 2770, which was 
introduced in 2021. The bill (1) sets forth requirements relating to 
the use of masks and other protective equipment for airline passengers 
and certain airline employees; (2) requires the FAA to provide certain 
employees, including any air traffic controller and airway 
transportation systems specialists, with masks and other protective 
equipment; and (3) mandates the development of a national aviation 
preparedness plan to ensure the aviation system is prepared to respond 
to epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases. Each of these 
provisions are things aviation workers have been calling for to feel 
safe at work. We are thankful for Chair DeFazio's leadership and 
recognition that we are essential frontline workers who come to work 
each day to keep our nation's safe and efficient air transportation 
system operational.
    Finally, we have greatly appreciated the unwavering support from 
Chair DeFazio and members of this committee to urge the U.S. DOT to 
finalize the congressionally mandated 10 hours of minimum irreducible 
rest for Flight Attendants passed in October 2018. Chair DeFazio has 
never stopped fighting on this. The Trump Administration put this law 
on a path to kill it. But thanks to Chair DeFazio's relentless efforts, 
the bipartisan support from this committee, and the commitment of the 
Biden Administration, we will see this rule finally implemented before 
the end of this year.
                               Conclusion
    We thank Congress, and especially the efforts of this Committee, 
for your leadership in enacting many of the provisions I covered in my 
testimony that invested both in our nation's infrastructure and its 
workers. These laws are having a positive impact on our economy and 
instead of another twenty years of austerity, workers have the ability 
to push forward to maintain and create good jobs in aviation and 
beyond.
    I also want to touch on how Chair DeFazio has transformed the 
safety of our profession. From fines and penalties for disruptive 
passengers and sexual assault, to evacuation standards and staffing 
requirements to stopping the spraying of poisonous pesticides in the 
cabin to fighting for child restraint seats for our youngest passengers 
to aircraft certification standards and oversight to ensure aircraft 
are safe and increasing Flight Attendant minimum rest to fight fatigue, 
he's been a champion for our jobs and the health and safety of 
passengers and crew onboard every day of his extraordinary career.
    Over the years, I've known Chair DeFazio as our greatest champion 
in Congress. He is an honorary member of our union, and I am proud to 
call him my friend. We can't imagine Congress without the 
representative who broke the mold remembering where he came from and 
using his commitment to everyday people to drive his relentless 
advocacy, policy wonk curiosity, and strategic smarts to get results. 
Chair DeFazio has never been afraid to speak the truth or take on a 
righteous fight for the people. His legacy will live on in the 
countless positive changes he's made for our profession, his mentorship 
of all of us who've had the privilege to work with him, our industry 
and our country. He may be retiring from an amazing career we all have 
benefited from, but Chair DeFazio's work and leadership will endure 
with every flight, ship, port, truck, and train that moves with the 
power of the American worker.
    Thank you and I look forward to answering your questions.

    Mr. DeFazio. The witness' time has expired. Thank you so 
much.
    We are going to get the flight attendant duty time over the 
line before I am retired. It has only been 5 years, after all.
    I now recognize Greg Regan, president of the Transportation 
Trades Department at AFL-CIO. Thank you.
    Mr. Regan. Good morning. I am Greg Regan, president of the 
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO. We are a federation 
of 37 unions whose members work in every corner of America's 
transportation network.
    I want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves 
for inviting me to testify today. And it is truly an honor to 
be asked to testify at Chairman DeFazio's final full committee 
hearing, and it feels appropriate that I get to do it with my 
friend, Sara, here, as well.
    Mr. Chairman, you have a proud and historic legacy of 
fighting for sound transportation policies and investments that 
create good union jobs by pairing these investments with the 
strongest possible worker protections.
    To those of you who supported working Americans with your 
votes this Congress, I want to thank you for your leadership 
and your support. Your votes will be an incredible legacy in 
your careers in public service, and I am proud to be here with 
you today celebrating these achievements that are changing 
lives and transforming our economy. I want to share with you 
some of your legacy's impact on the working people you 
represent back home in your districts.
    First, TTD has long advocated for a generational investment 
that would finally bring our transportation infrastructure into 
the 21st century, the kind of investment that leaves a legacy 
for future generations, the way that our parents and 
grandparents did for us. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or 
BIL, positions us to turn the page away from the lost 
generation that watched its infrastructure fall apart and fail 
the Nation.
    At $1.2 trillion in total funding, including $550 billion 
in new spending for transportation, the bill helps correct 
years of chronic underinvestment in our systems and our 
infrastructure. Importantly, it does so while creating and 
sustaining hundreds of thousands of good union jobs. And I 
cannot overstate the importance of this last point. The 
increased wages, job stability, and benefits that unions bring 
to workers means that expanding union membership and creating 
new, high-quality union jobs will deliver immediate results in 
lifting up working families in every single one of your 
districts.
    Union jobs are creating a more equitable economy and 
providing new opportunities to earn higher wages and better 
benefits. When paired with policies like local hire provisions, 
these new jobs are expanding pathways to trade careers that 
have been historically inaccessible for many communities, 
including women and people of color.
    Across industries and communities, we know that high union 
density not only benefits those union workers, but it also 
lifts the wages and benefits for others who are not in a union. 
It is truly the tide that lifts all boats. So, this legislation 
will have far-reaching effects, helping rebuild an American 
middle class that has seemed out of reach for far too many.
    Beyond historic levels of funding, we have championed an 
aggressive policy agenda to ensure the infrastructure law is 
improving workplace conditions in all modes of transportation. 
Just to name a few, the bill better protects public transit and 
passenger rail workers from the scourge of assaults they faced 
at work; it eliminates the ban on local hire preferences, 
ensuring that these investments create good union jobs in the 
communities in which they are being built; it strengthens 
Amtrak, improves quality of service for riders; and it also, on 
the freight side, helps shed light on some of the most 
dangerous practices in the freight rail industry today. And 
finally, it ensures that our public infrastructure investments 
put more Americans to work through inclusion of the Build 
America, Buy America Act.
    What's more, thanks to the leadership of President Biden 
and his administration, the bill is being implemented with a 
pro-union focus that is unprecedented in American history. 
Under the leadership of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, we 
have seen historically strong premiums placed on projects that 
have support from unions that enforce high labor standards, 
including the free and fair choice to join a union; that 
demonstrate they will advance equity and inclusion; and solicit 
participation for workers that live in the communities where 
these projects are being built. This is a prime example of how 
good transportation policy can alter the lives of millions of 
Americans. Already, we have seen project sponsors touting their 
project labor agreements, local hire agreements, 
apprenticeships, and other workforce development programs.
    I would like to submit for the record this DOT fact sheet 
from the most recent INFRA grant awards, which highlights the 
many grants with strong labor components.
    [The information follows:]

                                 
 ``Examples of INFRA Projects Creating Workforce Training Programs and 
Good-Paying Jobs With the Free and Fair Choice To Join a Union,'' Fact 
 Sheet, U.S. Department of Transportation, Submitted for the Record by 
 Gregory R. Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO
    The 10-page fact sheet is retained in committee files and is 
available online at https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/
2022-09/INFRA%202022%20
Workforce%20Labor%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf.

    Mr. Regan. I want to end on this thought. I know that the 
bill is not perfect, and certainly at times the process left 
much to be desired. And it did not have the same funding levels 
or lofty policy achievements that Chairman DeFazio envisioned 
in the INVEST in America Act. And while the bill is a 
significant step forward for the Nation and the workers we 
represent, it still left a number of our critical priorities on 
the cutting room floor. I assure you that our advocacy for 
those policies will not stop.
    But it should be noted that just about every single one of 
the worker-centered policies that we fought to keep in the 
final law originated right here in this committee. They were 
the results of the hard work that you put into the INVEST Act, 
and the contributions that you made to it through pro-worker 
amendments, many of which were bipartisan, by the way.
    You and your staff should know that you have changed 
people's lives. You have made the largest investment in public 
transportation and passenger rail in our Nation's history. You 
have made our airports and ports and our supply chain more 
competitive, and you did it while putting workers first. This 
achievement, in addition to the American Recovery Act and the 
recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, ensures that this 
Congress will have a lasting effect for millions of workers in 
this country. You should all be proud of these accomplishments.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
    [Mr. Regan's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
   Prepared Statement of Gregory R. Regan, President, Transportation 
                       Trades Department, AFL-CIO
    Good morning. Thank you, Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves 
for inviting me to testify before the committee today. It is truly an 
honor to be asked to testify at Chairman DeFazio's final full committee 
hearing. The Chairman has a proud and historic legacy of fighting for 
sound transportation policy, new investments in a modern transportation 
system and infrastructure that create good union jobs, and the 
strongest transportation and construction worker protections in our 
laws and regulations.
    I speak today on behalf of 37 unions who collectively represent 
millions of frontline workers across every mode and every sector of 
America's transportation network.
    I am one of no doubt hundreds of witnesses who have sat before this 
committee in the past and practically begged for the kinds of historic 
investments in our transportation infrastructure and services that have 
been made over the course of this Congress. And now that we are here, 
there's a surrealness to it. That surrealness stems in part from the 
deep unfairness that it took a global catastrophe and death on the 
scale of millions to help us get across the finish line. Among the dead 
are thousands of frontline transportation workers who never asked to be 
put in harm's way but who heroically showed up to work every day 
through the worst of the pandemic. They went to work every day while 
the majority of us sheltered at home waiting for our health system to 
deliver life-saving therapeutics.
    For those of you who supported the American Rescue Plan, the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act, I 
want to thank you for your leadership and support. Your votes are your 
legacy as we celebrate these legislative achievements that are changing 
lives and transforming our economy. Today I want to share with you some 
of the impacts of your legacy on the working people you represent.
                        The American Rescue Plan
    Last year, I testified before this committee on the federal 
government's COVID-19 relief and response efforts, and their impact on 
workers in this country. I made this point clear then, and I will make 
it again today: the three COVID federal relief packages, including the 
American Rescue Plan, saved the lives of the workers we fight for every 
day at TTD and saved our country from calamity. By authorizing critical 
federal support, you helped save vital industries during one of the 
worst economic and public health crises the world has ever known. And 
most importantly, by pairing federal support for transportation 
industries with an extraordinary focus on the welfare of the workforce, 
you kept millions of workers on the payroll and saved families from 
financial collapse.
    Looking back a year later, it is still remarkable to see the 
effects of that investment. For decades we saw too many so-called 
relief bills enacted in response to crises that failed to provide 
relief to the actual employees. You changed that model. While there are 
still significant workforce challenges stemming from the pandemic and 
from bad employer practices and behavior, there can be no doubt that 
the American Rescue Plan put us in the greatest possible position for 
economic success and for the implementation of the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Bill that would follow in its footsteps.
               The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
    TTD has long advocated for a generational investment that would 
finally bring our transportation infrastructure into the 21st century. 
The kind of investment that goes beyond just the status quo, and that 
finally addresses some of the most pressing needs facing our country. 
The kind that leaves a legacy for future generations, the way our 
parents and grandparents did for us. At $1.2 trillion in total funding, 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law positions us to turn the page away 
from the lost generation that watched its infrastructure fall apart and 
fail the nation.
    The BIL helps right years of chronic underinvestment in 
transportation infrastructure by providing historic funding levels 
across all modes of transportation infrastructure. Included in the law 
is new spending to the tune of $110 billion for highways and bridges; 
$66 billion for rail, including $22 billion in dedicated funding for 
Amtrak; $39.2 billion for public transportation; $16.6 billion for 
ports and waterways; $25 billion for airports; $7.5 billion for clean 
school buses & ferries; $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging.
    These investments will help expand much-needed highway and bridge 
capacity while bringing into a state of good repair existing highway 
assets that were quite literally crumbling away under our feet. They 
will help expand public transportation services, and at the same time, 
modernize our fleets with clean transit vehicles that will create 
healthier communities. They will improve capacity on existing passenger 
rail corridors while expanding transportation services to new 
communities. They will improve airport runways, gates, taxiways, 
airport terminals, concessions, and multimodal connections. And they 
will improve port infrastructure to support the efficient movement of 
commerce that our economy relies on.
    Because of the strong labor protections that are tied to federal 
investments in infrastructure, they will do all of this while creating 
and maintaining hundreds of thousands of good-paying union jobs. I 
cannot understate the importance of the jobs supported by the BIL being 
union jobs. From the direct benefit to workers of earning fair wages 
and benefits for their labor, and a union's power to overcome economic 
inequities, to the secondary benefits in communities of unionization on 
non-members' economic well-being, these jobs will help rebuild an 
American middle-class that for too long has seemed beyond our reach.
    Beyond just much-needed funding, we have championed an aggressive 
policy agenda to ensure the infrastructure law is creating and 
maintaining good union jobs across the board, and that it isn't used to 
undercut public sector jobs in the interest of profits. It is a policy 
agenda that protects workers from low-road, perverse business models, 
the risks of assault, being overworked, and from being exposed to 
unsafe workplace practices. That ensures we are preparing the current 
workforce for the jobs of the future, and that we have pipelines in 
place for the next generation of transportation workers.
    From the perspective of working people, the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law was not just another extension of MAP-21 or FAST 
surface transportation laws. Rather, this was arguably the most pro-
worker infrastructure law ever passed out of Congress. It contained 
priorities that we have been fighting for, in some cases, for decades. 
To name just a few:
      The BIL overturns the ban on local-hire preferences, 
ensuring that infrastructure projects will create good union jobs in 
the communities in which they are being built.
      The BIL provides unprecedented levels of funding for 
public transit workforce training, ensuring that the transition to 
zero-emission buses won't displace the current maintenance workforce or 
lead to low-road labor models like contracted-out repair work.
      The BIL includes transit worker protections that ensure 
frontline transit workers are given an equal voice in safety planning 
and will help put a stop to the scourge of assaults they have been 
facing in increasing numbers for decades.
      The BIL includes a number of Amtrak reforms that will 
strengthen the carrier and improve the quality of service for riders. 
These include: eliminating harmful language on food and beverage 
revenues that stunted growth of onboard options; requiring Amtrak to 
have station agent positions at many Amtrak stations; making employees 
who have been assaulted eligible for the attendant benefits of Critical 
Incident Stress Plans; and making it more difficult for Congress to 
threaten service and good jobs by eliminating long-distance routes.
      The BIL also took the first step toward reforming the 
Amtrak Board of Directors in order to ensure the Board represents all 
of its stakeholders. While the reforms, unfortunately, do not include a 
seat for a labor representative as TTD and rail labor unions requested, 
the reforms do represent a positive step in the right direction and TTD 
will continue to advocate for a labor representative on the Board.
      The BIL has several provisions to help shed light on some 
of the most dangerous practices in the freight rail industry today, 
including:
      +  A requirement for a National Academies study on the safety of 
trains longer than 7,500 feet, which present unique safety and training 
challenges, and disrupt communities when behemoth trains block grade 
crossings.
      +  A requirement that FRA accident reports include information on 
train length and number of cars, as well as the size of the crew on 
board;
      +  A requirement that DOT create a process that better involves 
stakeholders, including rail labor representatives, in freight rail 
accident and incident investigations.
      +  A requirement for quarterly reporting on failures and 
functions of Positive Train Control technology, including cutouts, 
malfunctions, and enforcements where an accident was actually 
prevented.
      +  Increased transparency for regulatory waiver requests, 
including suspensions of rules.
      The BIL includes an expansion of Buy America/Buy American 
rules that were supported for years by this committee, paving the way 
for the inclusion of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act in the 
BIL. BABA enhances existing Buy America requirements by applying 
domestic content preferences for iron, steel, manufactured products, 
and construction materials to all federal aid assistance infrastructure 
programs. Because of this bill, the era of flagrant misuse of waivers 
and egregious loopholes is over. We urge the committee and 
administration to ensure the durability of these landmark provisions 
are properly implemented.
      The BIL also improves good jobs in trucking by including 
provisions that will bring together stakeholders to develop pathways to 
recruit, retain, or advance women into the trucking industry; creating 
a new task force that will take on predatory truck leasing schemes that 
trap drivers in impossible economic conditions; creating a new process 
to ensures that unsafe operators are taken off the road expeditiously; 
and requiring a study on the impacts of various methods of driver 
compensation on safety and driver retention.

    Taken on their own, the BIL's investments, paired with these strong 
workforce protections, are significant accomplishments for the working 
people of this country. But I would be remiss if I didn't also 
highlight the work of this administration, under the leadership of 
President Biden and Vice President Harris, in its implementation.
    Even before the BIL was signed into law, the Biden-Harris 
administration showed historic leadership and a laser focus on tying 
federal investment to good jobs. Consider just the following actions 
taken before and after passage of the BIL:

        Executive Order on Worker Organizing and Empowerment
        On April 26, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order 
        establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing 
        and Empowerment. The task force was tasked with mobilizing the 
        federal government's policies, programs, and practices to 
        empower workers to organize and successfully bargain with their 
        employers. [Executive Order, 04/26/21]

        Worker Organizing and Empowerment Task Force Recommendations
        On February 07, 2022, the White House Task Force on Worker 
        Organizing and Empowerment issued its report, which called for 
        incorporating labor standards into transportation discretionary 
        grant programs, promoting apprenticeships, and making sure 
        taxpayer dollars that are spent on American-made goods will 
        lift up workers and strengthen our economy. [Task Force Report, 
        02/07/22]

        Executive Order on Implementation of the Infrastructure 
        Investment and Jobs Act
        On November 15, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order 
        on the Implementation of the BIL. In it, he directed agencies 
        to improve job opportunities by prioritizing high labor 
        standards and the free and fair choice to join a union, and to 
        invest public dollars equitably. With this Executive Order, the 
        president set a new standard for tying federal dollars to the 
        creation of good union jobs and lifting up the voice of workers 
        on the projects they are delivering, operating, and 
        maintaining. [Executive Order, 11/15/21]

        Executive Order on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal 
        Construction Projects
        On February 4, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order 
        requiring Project Labor Agreements on federal construction 
        projects that cost more than $35 million, a move that is 
        expected to affect $262 billion in federal construction 
        contracting and improve job quality for nearly 200,000 workers. 
        [Executive Order, 02/04/22]

        DOL-DOT MOU
        On February 7, 2022, Secretaries Buttigieg and Walsh signed a 
        DOT-DOL Memorandum of Understanding to promote cooperative 
        efforts between the DOT and DOL to create and support pathways 
        to millions of good-paying infrastructure and transportation 
        jobs with the free choice to form a union as increased funding 
        from the BIL ramp up. [MOU, 02/07/22]

    Those of us with cynical tendencies may see federal task forces or 
inter-departmental MOUs and assume they are nothing more than political 
window dressing. But that could not be further from the truth with this 
administration. Just a glance at the funding notices issued by this DOT 
under the leadership of Secretary Buttigieg shows a historically strong 
premium on projects that have support from unions; enforce high labor 
standards, including the free and fair choice to join a union; 
demonstrate they will advance equity and inclusion; and solicit 
participation from workers that live in the communities the projects 
seek to serve. This premium on workers is already resulting in grants 
with project labor agreements, local hire agreements, apprenticeship 
programs, and other workforce development programs.
    I thank President Biden and his administration for their vision and 
leadership in the implementation of the BIL. We look forward to our 
continued work with them over the life of this law.
    I also want to thank Chairman DeFazio in particular for his work in 
shaping this legislation. I know the BIL--and the process that led to 
its development--is not the one you would have picked. Between friends, 
it's not the one we would have picked either. I know it does not 
achieve everything you sought in the INVEST In America Act and leaves a 
significant amount of policy that you and your incredibly dedicated 
staff worked tirelessly to craft.
    But many, if not all, of the worker-centered policies that we 
fought to keep in the law that ultimately passed originated first in 
this committee. You and your staff should know that you have changed 
people's lives. You have better-protected transit workers from the 
threat of assault at work. You have made jobs on Amtrak safer and more 
secure. You have cast light on the dangerous practices of the freight 
rail industry that put workers in harm's way every day. You have made 
our ports more competitive. You should all be proud of that and I hope, 
if nothing else, you take that with you for the rest of your lives.
                      The Inflation Reduction Act
    Finally, while the Inflation Reduction Act had only narrow amounts 
of additional funding for transportation infrastructure, I would be 
remiss if I did not acknowledge this very important victory for working 
people. By improving healthcare affordability, including for seniors, 
boosting the domestic job market for clean energy, imposing tax 
fairness on corporations, and creating a more equitable economy, the 
lives of all working-class people and those of our future generations 
will be improved. We have every confidence that the Biden 
Administration will implement the IRA with the same rigorous pro-worker 
requirements that they have held as the standard for the BIL.
                     Where We Go From Here Matters
    While these are significant achievements, I would like to conclude 
with two thoughts:
    First, largely due to the unusual way the BIL was crafted outside 
of normal order, many of our priorities that were fought for by this 
committee were ultimately not included in the final bill. We are 
working with this administration to make forward steps where possible 
and will work with future congresses to continue improving the working 
lives of everyone in this country. There is no good reason to sideline 
the health, safety, and wellbeing of working people in this country, or 
to undermine the opportunity for good union jobs right here at home 
where they're needed the most, and we will always stand firm in 
fighting for those priorities.
    Second, when my brother and our leader, Larry Willis, testified 
before this committee four years ago, he said, ``we must not find 
ourselves back at this table in 10 or 30 years asking what went wrong. 
Why nobody rose to meet the challenge.'' This Congress has met part of 
that challenge. But what happens at the end of the BIL's life remains 
unknown. The same fiscal cliffs that existed before the BIL still exist 
today, and they will exist in four years. A return to old baselines 
means a return to old deferred maintenance, a return to old levels of 
service, a return to old infrastructure that is never replaced or 
modernized, and a return to old questions about how things got this 
way.
    We must not let that be the case. I challenge those of you 
continuing into the next Congress to look deep into the heart of this 
country and see all the greatness that becomes possible when you invest 
back into it, the way previous generations did for our benefit.
    I once again thank Chair DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for 
having me here today, and I look forward to answering any questions you 
may have.

    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman for his testimony. Now 
we would move to Stephen Gardner, the chief executive officer 
of Amtrak.
    You are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Gardner. Good morning, Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member 
Graves, Ranking Member Crawford, members of the committee. My 
name is Stephen Gardner, and I am Amtrak's CEO. Thank you for 
having me here today to describe the accomplishments of this 
Congress, and how the American Rescue Plan Act has helped 
Amtrak emerge from the pandemic, and how the IIJA will allow us 
to improve and expand Amtrak's service while creating thousands 
of skilled jobs.
    First, I would like to thank Chairman DeFazio for his 
incredible 36 years of service to the Nation, and in particular 
for his championship of Amtrak intercity and high-speed 
passenger rail.
    You have been a tireless advocate for improved 
infrastructure, innovation, and safety for American workers and 
for the traveling public, never afraid to speak your mind, 
always curious, with a well-earned reputation of being both 
tough and fair. You have pushed us all to do better for the 
American people. Amtrak and millions of our riders are better 
for it. So, on behalf of everyone here at Amtrak, thank you for 
your leadership. Congratulations on all of your 
accomplishments, and we wish you the best in your next phase.
    Let me now turn to two accomplishments that were vital to 
Amtrak. As you know, we began 2021 in a state of crisis, with 
our ridership and revenue in tatters, employees furloughed, and 
many trains suspended because we were running out of the 
initial COVID-19 funding to support operations. Fortunately, 
you and many of your colleagues stepped up and provided 
emergency assistance to Amtrak through ARPA, allowing us to 
stay afloat, recall workers, restore service, and begin the 
hiring and training that was so necessary for our future.
    Simply put, ARPA is why we are still here today. And 
through your support and the hard work of Amtrak employees, we 
are now experiencing strong recovery, with approximately 80 
percent of our pre-COVID ridership back, and many new customers 
choosing our trains.
    While ARPA enabled us to survive, the IIJA is now providing 
Amtrak and our partners with the chance to thrive. With $22 
billion in direct investment in Amtrak and another $36 billion 
in grants available to the FRA, the IIJA is a massive 
downpayment on the improvements and expansion of intercity 
passenger rail that Amtrak has argued for since our inception 
in 1971.
    Already, several of the largest capital projects that I 
have testified about at last December's Railroads, Pipelines, 
and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing that will use IIJA 
funding are now moving forward. These projects are creating 
jobs for Amtrak employees, construction firms, and suppliers 
around the Nation right now. To name just a few, we have broken 
ground on the Gateway Program's Portal North Bridge, and we 
have launched the procurement phase of the B&P Tunnel 
replacement project in Maryland.
    Over the past few months, Amtrak and its State partners 
have received several grants that position vital projects for 
upcoming IIJA funding, and we started to apply for the various 
IIJA-funded DOT competitive grant programs. For example, design 
concourse work in Chicago Union Station is being funded by the 
Federal-State Partnership program, while North Carolina just 
received a CRISI grant for the S-Line project. And we and our 
partners in Illinois have submitted a significant Mega 
application for the Chicago hub improvement program.
    Furthermore, IIJA funds will allow Amtrak to accelerate our 
plans to acquire new trains, funding the replacement of our 
conventional corridor fleet and a new generation of long-
distance trains serving the Nation to replace the hundreds of 
cars and locomotives that are at the end of their useful lives.
    IIJA funding will also ensure that we can bring the 
benefits of rail travel to more Americans by fully funding the 
$1.1 billion program we have to bring our stations into ADA 
compliance.
    While the primary beneficiaries of all this investment, of 
course, will be our customers, each of these efforts creates 
well-paying jobs and supports the broader economy. Between 
rebuilding our workforce to restore service and gearing up for 
these massive capital programs, Amtrak alone hired more than 
3,200 people in fiscal year 2022, and we plan to hire roughly 
4,000 employees in fiscal year 2023.
    Additionally, I am pleased to report that Amtrak in 
Delaware just received an $11 million grant to establish a 
Railroading 101 program that will provide needed training 
skills for railroad jobs.
    In addition to these infrastructure projects, IIJA has 
jumpstarted the expansion of our network, as we and our State 
partners can now confidently begin planning and advancing 
projects to bring more trains to more people across the Nation. 
Signifying this momentum, just over the past few months, we 
have added several new services with State partners in Vermont, 
Massachusetts, and Virginia. But this is a prelude to the huge 
opportunities ahead through the IIJA-created Corridor 
Development Program being led by the FRA, which will create a 
pipeline of projects to expand Amtrak service.
    Thanks to the IIJA, this is the most exciting time in 
Amtrak's history. Like all of our employees, I am thrilled to 
be a part of it and grateful for the opportunity you have given 
us.
    The additional jobs we have created and the projects we are 
now advancing just represent a tiny fraction of the benefits 
the IIJA will produce for Amtrak in the years ahead, and we 
will need continued support from this committee to ensure the 
authorizations that were enacted for annual funding are 
achieved, so we can continue to operate the company while we 
modernize our assets and operate the network.
    Thanks again for your support over these many years and for 
your time this morning. I look forward to your questions.
    [Mr. Gardner's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
    Prepared Statement of Stephen Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, 
            National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
    Good morning, Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and Members 
of this Committee. My name is Stephen Gardner, and I am the Chief 
Executive Officer of Amtrak. Thank you for inviting me to appear before 
you today to describe how Amtrak is emerging from the COVID-19 
pandemic, in no small part due to the funding provided in the American 
Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and how we are utilizing the unprecedented 
levels of funding the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 
provides for vital investments that will improve and expand our service 
throughout the United States while creating thousands of skilled, well-
paying jobs.
    I'd like to begin my testimony by expressing Amtrak's gratitude to 
each of you--and especially to Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, 
and Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Payne and Ranking Member Crawford--
for the interest in and support for Amtrak you have demonstrated during 
the soon to conclude 117th Congress, which produced two of the most 
important pieces of legislation in our 51-year history: ARPA and the 
IIJA. We are particularly grateful to Chairman DeFazio for his 
consistent dedication to improving intercity passenger rail service and 
Amtrak during the 36 years he has served in the House of 
Representatives, and we are pleased that he ends his time in Congress 
on such a high note.
       The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Pandemic Recovery
    ARPA, enacted in March of 2021, provided desperately needed 
emergency funding to Amtrak at a terrible time. Our ridership and 
ticket revenues were nearly 75% below pre-pandemic levels. No one knew 
then when, or to what extent, travel demand would return. We were 
dramatically reducing expenses but still burning through the previous 
emergency CARES Act funding and appropriations Congress had provided to 
keep us afloat, while struggling to provide service during a pandemic 
for those who needed to travel. ARPA funding allowed us to maintain the 
reduced levels of service we were operating on the Northeast Corridor 
(NEC) and state-supported routes, and to restore our long-distance 
trains to daily operation.
    Most importantly, ARPA funding enabled us to preserve our most 
important asset: our workforce. With the funding ARPA provided, we were 
able to recall all of the workers we had to furlough indefinitely in 
October of 2020 because we did not have enough money to pay them. 
Fortunately, the vast majority of them returned to Amtrak employment. 
Among train and engine crews, 96% of furloughed engineers and 91% of 
furloughed conductors returned: only five engineers and 32 conductors 
did not come back (we did not furlough any Mechanical or Engineering 
employees).
    Additionally, the ARPA funds allowed us to restart our hiring and 
training pipeline that we had suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 
pandemic because of the challenges of training new employees during a 
pandemic and uncertainty regarding federal funding. Once we received 
ARPA funding and recalled our employees, we were able to restart this 
work, which gave us a path to sufficient staffing when travel demand 
returned. Because it takes so long to train employees for our most-
skilled positions, the ability to resume hiring and training last year 
was absolutely critical to our recovery during FY 2022 and will be very 
instrumental in our plans for FY 2023. I shudder to think of where we 
would be today without the funding ARPA provided that enabled us to 
perform these vital activities.
    Thanks to ARPA and the hard work of our employees during the most 
challenging time in Amtrak's history, we are experiencing a strong 
recovery from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. During 
August, we carried more than 2.3 million passengers, nearly 80% of our 
August 2019 ridership, and our ticket revenues were almost 90% of 
August 2019 levels. What is particularly noteworthy is that our 
capacity is only 82% of what it was in August 2019, which means that 
we're actually filling about the same percentage of available seats 
that we did then. Ridership on our Virginia state-supported services 
reached an all-time high for the second consecutive month; our 
Northeast Regional service is approaching pre-pandemic ridership levels 
despite reduced capacity; and our long-distance trains are achieving 
near record revenues as domestic tourism and desire for private rooms 
have increased.
    These gains have come as a result of hard work by the great team at 
Amtrak and our state partners, who have had to rethink many of our 
business and commercial strategies in the face of very different travel 
needs and a constantly shifting landscape. We have utilized a variety 
of different marketing and pricing approaches during this period to 
support business recovery, many of which have been very successful. 
These strategies have helped us attract many customers who are new to 
Amtrak, and more leisure travelers on Acela trains to replace business 
travelers who are not traveling at pre-pandemic levels. That 
development is very timely because our new Acela trainsets, which will 
begin entering service next year, will increase our Acela capacity by 
about 75%. That will give us the opportunity to carry many more 
passengers on our Acela trains, which for many years have not had 
enough seats to meet demand.
               The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
    While the American Rescue Plan enabled Amtrak to survive, the IIJA 
is providing the funding that will allow us to thrive.
    The IIJA provides $58 billion in advance appropriations for 
investments in Amtrak and intercity passenger rail. It also 
appropriates or authorizes significant additional funding for Amtrak 
and for competitive grant programs for which Amtrak projects are 
eligible. The IIJA's funding represents the down payment on the 
expansion and improvement of service that Amtrak and its stakeholders 
have dreamed of since Amtrak's inception in 1971, but never had the 
funding to pursue.
    Amtrak passengers will not be the only beneficiaries of the IIJA. 
It will produce thousands of jobs, both within Amtrak and for the 
suppliers and contractors who will provide many billions of dollars in 
goods and services required for IIJA-funded projects. The IIJA will 
enhance communities small and large throughout the United States that 
will benefit from the new and expanded Amtrak service it will produce, 
and the station and other infrastructure projects it will fund that 
will spur local development. Furthermore, the IIJA will help address 
climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing more 
travelers to use rail, the sustainable transportation mode.
    Amtrak and its state and commuter partners were ready for the 
opportunities the IIJA has given us. Just prior to its enactment, 
Amtrak created a new Capital Delivery Department that will be 
responsible for carrying out IIJA-funded infrastructure and equipment 
projects. We are staffing it with Amtrak employees experienced in 
delivering railroad capital projects and rail and construction industry 
leaders from outside the company attracted by the once-in-a-generation 
opportunities the IIJA will create.
    Amtrak and our partners were also well prepared for participation 
in the NEC Project Pipeline and the Corridor Identification and 
Development Program the IIJA establishes, which create Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA)-led frameworks for prioritizing, advancing and 
funding capital projects that intercity passenger rail has lacked. 
Working with other stakeholders, we developed a long-term capital 
investment plan, the NEC Commission's 15-year CONNECT NEC 2035 plan 
released last year, which is currently being updated, that will inform 
our participation in the development of the NEC Project Pipeline. 
Amtrak and our partners also advanced pre-construction activities for 
key projects so they would be ready to go when funding for construction 
became available.
    Amtrak was also prepared for the expansion of our network that the 
IIJA contemplates. In April of 2021 we issued Amtrak Connects US, 
Amtrak's 15-year vision for corridor development that would bring 
service to 160 new communities, attract 20 million more passengers 
annually, and produce 26,000 permanent jobs. The response we received 
from states and communities throughout the United States far exceeded 
our expectations. Many of them have been working with us to advance 
proposed new or expanded Amtrak service.
           Advancing Infrastructure Investments with the IIJA
    When I testified before the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous 
Materials Subcommittee last December, I described our initial plans to 
use the funding the IIJA provides. I would like to take this 
opportunity to bring you up to date on what we have accomplished since 
then, and to briefly describe some of the things we will be focusing on 
in the months ahead.
    I am pleased to report that several of the major capital projects 
that will utilize IIJA funding provided by Amtrak or through 
competitive grants are moving forward. These projects are already 
creating jobs for both Amtrak employees and contractors and 
contributing to our nation's economic recovery from the COVID-19 
pandemic.
    In August, Amtrak participated in the groundbreaking for the 
construction of the Portal North Bridge. That New Jersey Transit-led 
project is the first of the major rail infrastructure projects between 
Newark and New York City included in the Gateway Program. Construction 
of the new bridge is projected to create approximately 15,000 jobs and 
add billions of dollars to the local economy.
    Thanks to the enactment of the IIJA, the Gateway Program, including 
the Hudson Tunnel Project that many have characterized as the most 
important infrastructure program in the United States, is going to 
happen. I'm pleased to report that the Gateway Development Commission, 
led by new CEO Kris Kolluri, recently assumed the role of Project 
Sponsor for the Hudson Tunnel Project. With the full engagement of the 
Governors of New York and New Jersey, the project partners are 
accelerating towards a full funding grant agreement that will finally 
allow construction to begin.
    Enactment of the IIJA has allowed Amtrak to launch the procurement 
phase of the B&P Tunnel Replacement Project. It will replace the B&P 
Tunnel in Baltimore--a nearly 150-year-old bottleneck through which 
Acelas crawl at 30 miles per hour--with the new Frederick Douglass 
Tunnel. Recent Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair (Fed-
State Partnership) grants to Amtrak and the Connecticut Department of 
Transportation will help fund the replacement of two ancient bridges 
along the NEC in Connecticut: the Connecticut River Bridge between Old 
Saybrook and Old Lyme, and the Walk Bridge in Norwalk. Amtrak expects 
to use funding provided by the IIJA to cover costs of these projects.
    We are also moving ahead with our Major Station Amtrak Development 
Programs for which we also expect to use IIJA funds. We recently 
commenced construction on the rehabilitation of Baltimore Penn Station, 
a project that will be transformative for both Amtrak and MARC 
passengers and the surrounding community. In New York City, the 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit 
have just selected a joint venture to design an equally transformative 
and much larger project: the reconstruction of New York Penn Station. 
That project, along with track and platform expansion under the Gateway 
Program, will transform Penn Station into a world-class facility with 
much needed capacity for more passengers and trains.
    We are continuing to advance Major Station Amtrak Development 
Programs at other stations. At William H. Gray III 30th Street Station 
in Philadelphia, construction for state of good repair and station 
retail projects is scheduled to begin early next year. At Washington 
Union Station, we have begun construction on several near-term state-
of-good-repair, safety, and platform capacity expansion projects, 
including restoration of an unused platform for revenue service, and 
will soon begin reconfiguration of Amtrak facilities located next to 
the tracks on the west side of the terminal.
    By providing assured, multi-year funding that Amtrak can commit to 
match local government, transit agency, and private sector investments, 
the IIJA will allow us to pursue opportunities for public-private 
partnerships for station development projects. Likewise, the knowledge 
that there will be federal funding available to match state investments 
in intercity passenger rail projects encourages states to expend 
resources to develop plans for rail projects, as they have long done 
for highway and mass transit projects.
    The IIJA will also create a multitude of new opportunities for 
Amtrak to contract with small businesses and Disadvantaged Business 
Enterprises (DBEs) to provide goods and services for IIJA-funded 
projects. In anticipation of this, we have increased staffing in our 
Supplier Diversity Office, are providing internal training on 
identifying and using diverse suppliers for Amtrak employees involved 
in procurements, and have hosted or participated in more than 30 
supplier outreach events throughout the country during the past year. 
We also recently opened a Small Business Resource Center in 
Philadelphia that provides networking, technical assistance and 
training opportunities for diverse suppliers and small businesses.
                    Pursuing IIJA Competitive Grants
    Over the past few months, FRA has awarded a number of grants, 
funded by FY 2021 appropriations, to Amtrak and its state partners 
under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements 
(CRISI) and Fed-State Partnership programs. These grants will fund pre-
construction activities such as preliminary engineering, design and 
environmental reviews, and initial construction work, for key 
infrastructure projects, preparing them for construction when funding 
is provided. Among the NEC projects receiving such grants are the 
replacement of the Sawtooth Bridge in New Jersey, a component of the 
Gateway Program; the Susquehanna River Bridge replacement in Maryland; 
and the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation project and the Pelham Bay 
Bridge Replacement project in New York City.
    Two very important National Network projects received Fed-State 
Partnership grants for pre-construction activities. One is for the 
design of concourse improvements at Chicago Union Station (CUS). The 
other, a $57.9 million grant that Amtrak and North Carolina are 
matching, will fund preliminary engineering and initial construction 
work on the North Carolina portion of the Petersburg, Virginia to 
Raleigh, North Carolina S-Line, furthering a project that will provide 
a direct connection along the federally designated Southeast High-Speed 
Rail Corridor between Virginia's and North Carolina's growing state-
supported services.
    The substantial, multi-year funding provided by the IIJA is what 
will transform each of these projects from construction drawings into 
reality. Over the next few years, they will be eligible for CRISI, the 
Fed-State Partnership program that the IIJA has expanded, and other 
competitive grants. The IIJA provides major increases in funding for 
these programs in FY 2022 through FY 2026, including $7.2 billion in 
each year for Fed-State Partnership grants and $1.5 billion annually 
for CRISI grants, and authorizes additional appropriations. The $22 
billion in advance appropriations to Amtrak and the $39 billion in new 
funding for public transit that the IIJA provides will also help Amtrak 
and its commuter partners provide funding for these and other 
transformative projects, the need for which has long been recognized, 
that are at last coming to fruition as a result of the IIJA.
    Amtrak is already pursuing IIJA-funded grants. Amtrak, the City of 
Chicago, Metra, and the Illinois and Michigan Departments of 
Transportation recently applied for an FY 2022 Mega grant for CUS, the 
hub of Amtrak's long-distance network and Midwest state-supported 
services. The grant would fund a portion of a $418 million project that 
would provide a faster and more direct access route to CUS for four 
Amtrak routes; convert an unused mail platform at CUS into the 
station's first high-level passenger platform to accommodate increased 
train operations and provide better accessibility; improve Amtrak and 
Metra passenger flows within the often-congested station; and add 16 
miles of second track along the Amtrak-owned Michigan Line served by 
Amtrak's state-supported Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac and Chicago-Port Huron 
trains. Amtrak and its state partners also intend to apply for multiple 
FY 2022 CRISI grants for which FRA recently issued a Notice of Funding 
Opportunity.
                        Acquiring New Equipment
    IIJA funding is allowing Amtrak to advance and accelerate plans to 
acquire new equipment to replace locomotives and cars, some of which 
are approaching 50 years old, that have reached the end of their useful 
lives.
      Following enactment of the IIJA, we exercised an option 
for 50 additional ALC-42 locomotives for long distance service.
      IIJA funding will be used for the new Intercity 
Trainsets, for which we awarded a contract last year, that will replace 
the Amfleet I cars operating on Northeast Regional and other Northeast 
Corridor and Eastern corridor services, and will also reequip Amtrak 
Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest.
      We recently commenced the refurbishment of the 450 bi-
level Superliner cars and single-level Viewliner I sleeping cars used 
on our long-distance trains.
      We are developing design specifications and customer 
requirements for new long-distance equipment in preparation for 
initiating a formal procurement process to replace the vintage 
equipment in our long-distance fleet.

    New equipment acquisitions will also create thousands of jobs 
throughout the United States. By way of illustration, the construction 
of our new Acela trainsets by Alstom in Hornell, New York has created 
400 direct jobs at Alstom and more than 1,300 new jobs at 170 suppliers 
across 29 states and 90 cities.
    As we acquire new equipment, we will also be using IIJA funds to 
construct, upgrade and expand equipment maintenance facilities to 
accommodate our expanded equipment fleet and facilitate adoption of 
best practices in equipment maintenance. The new and improved 
facilities will make our operations more efficient, and their 
construction will create additional jobs.
                        Enhancing Accessibility
    IIJA funding provided is also fueling our efforts to bring all of 
our stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 
(ADA), on which we plan to spend $1.1 billion over the next six years. 
We have completed ADA work at 173 stations and have over 250 more ADA 
projects in design or construction around the country.
    Within the last few months, we have completed ADA improvements at:
      The Westerly, Rhode Island station on the Northeast 
Corridor in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of 
Transportation;
      Ashland, Virginia, which is served by our state-supported 
Virginia services in partnership with the Virginia Passenger Rail 
Authority; Macomb, Illinois on the state-supported Illinois Zephyr/Carl 
Sandburg routes; and Effingham, Illinois on the state-supported Illini/
Saluki and City of New Orleans long-distance routes; and
      Five other stations on long-distance routes: Hutchinson 
and Dodge City, Kansas on our Southwest Chief route; Greenwood, 
Mississippi on the City of New Orleans route; Longview, Texas on the 
Texas Eagle route; and Crawfordsville, Indiana on the Cardinal route.

    In addition:
      We have begun construction of an additional accessible 
entrance at New York Penn Station that is being funded by a unique 
public-private partnership with the owner of the office building above 
the station; and
      Amtrak is contributing funding for new ADA-compliant 
stations at Windsor Locks Connecticut, Coatesville, Pennsylvania and 
Newark, Delaware that are being constructed by the Departments of 
Transportation of those states and will serve Amtrak and commuter rail 
passengers.

    While enhancing accessibility is what drives our ADA station 
projects, every one of them also produces many other significant public 
benefits. They create well-paid construction jobs, as well as jobs at 
companies that supply materials and components for station construction 
projects in both the local community where the station is located and 
throughout the country. The improvements in facilities these station 
projects include, such as new platforms, improved restrooms and waiting 
areas, and Passenger Information Display Systems (PIDS), enhance the 
station experience for all our customers.
                          Adding New Services
    Over the past few months, we have added several new, extended or 
expanded state-supported corridor services, and advanced plans for 
others, that will utilize the on-order IIJA-funded Intercity Trainsets 
when they are delivered and/or IIJA funding for infrastructure.
      In July, we initiated two new state-supported services: 
the extension of the existing New York City to Rutland Ethan Allen to 
Burlington, Vermont and a seasonal weekend service from New York City 
to Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
      In partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, we 
recently began operating additional trains from Washington to Norfolk 
and Roanoke. This service expansion, which created many additional 
engineer and conductor jobs, is the first of many service additions 
that will result from the groundbreaking agreement Amtrak and Virginia 
reached with CSX last year that will transform Virginia's passenger 
rail service. Amtrak and Virginia plan to pursue IIJA-funded grants for 
projects that agreement will make possible.
      We recently reached an agreement with host railroad 
Canadian Pacific for their support of the operation of new trains from 
Chicago to Milwaukee and St. Paul and on a new route from New Orleans 
to Baton Rouge.
      We are eagerly awaiting a decision by the Surface 
Transportation Board that would allow restoration of service along the 
Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile, which we have not served 
since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

    We look forward to working with FRA and our state partners to 
initiate the Corridor ID Program created by the IIJA. Already, states, 
regional transportation authorities, cities and other entities have 
submitted expressions of interest to FRA for inclusion of approximately 
50 corridors in the Corridor ID Program. What is particularly 
encouraging is that enactment of the IIJA has triggered strong interest 
in developing Amtrak service in states such as Georgia, Idaho, Kansas 
and Colorado, and in places like Western Massachusetts and Reading/
Berks County, Pennsylvania, where there is not a history of state 
funding support and Amtrak has little or no service today.
    The IIJA also directs FRA to undertake a two-year study, in 
consultation with Amtrak, states, host railroads and other 
stakeholders, of increasing service frequency on, restoring, and adding 
long distance routes. Here again, we have already seen a great deal of 
interest in restored or new Amtrak service from states and communities 
throughout the country, and we look forward to participating in the 
study.
              Building the Amtrak Workforce of the Future
    Since the enactment of the IIJA, we have accelerated the efforts we 
already had underway to recruit, hire and train the thousands of 
employees we will need to restore all services to pre-pandemic levels, 
manage and construct the capital projects the IIJA will fund, and 
operate the additional Amtrak trains throughout the country that the 
IIJA will make possible. That is a challenging task in the current 
labor market--but we are accomplishing it.
    We have hired 3,200 new employees at Amtrak since the beginning of 
FY 2022 in October of 2021. That is a record number for us, even though 
the fiscal year is not over.
    We are working aggressively to hire and train new engineers and 
conductors, and mechanical employees who maintain our equipment, so 
that we can restore service frequency on all of routes to pre-pandemic 
service frequency and provide additional passenger capacity to 
accommodate growth. During the first 11 months of FY 2022, we hired 88 
engineer trainees, 280 conductor trainees, and 312 mechanical employees 
(excluding coach cleaners). Additionally, we brought on almost 800 new 
maintenance-of-way employees, project managers, and professional 
engineers with the critical skills to support the huge increase in 
capital projects and state of good repair work called for under the 
CONNECT NEC 2035 program on Amtrak's portion of the NEC. While we are 
making great strides in filling open and newly created positions, 
enactment of Congressman Crawford's Retirees to Rail Act, which would 
allow railroad retirees to temporarily return to work during the labor 
shortage the railroad industry is currently experiencing without loss 
of Railroad Retirement benefits, would be very beneficial in helping us 
restore service over the next few months.
    We are pursuing innovative approaches to find the employees we need 
to fully restore service and utilize the funding the IIJA provides. 
Since June, we have held 11 hiring events at major Amtrak facilities 
and crew bases around the country. These events have been very 
successful: at the Los Angeles Career Fair we conducted 230 interviews 
and extended 132 offers that were accepted. We plan to hold 54 hiring 
events during FY 2023, during which our goal is to make approximately 
6,000 offers resulting in 4,000 additional hires.
    We are also pursuing new ways to attract members of the military 
community to work at Amtrak. In partnership with the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce's ``Hiring our Heroes'' program, we are hosting a group of 
cohorts, comprised of service members, military spouses, and veterans, 
as Department of Defense Skillbridge Interns. Individuals participating 
in this program work with Amtrak in a temporary position for 12 weeks, 
after which we hope to retain them as full-time employees. Amtrak's 
participation in this program also advances our goal of creating a more 
diverse workforce.
    We recognize that we are going to need new ways to train our 
workforce of the future. We are currently working on a template Project 
Labor Agreement in line with the Memorandum of Understanding we entered 
into last year with North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU), the 
labor organization representing more than three million skilled craft 
professionals. Once that agreement is in place, Amtrak and NABTU will 
work together to ensure a consistent construction workforce pipeline 
that will accelerate apprenticeship readiness programs, promote 
diversity, and ensure fair wages and benefits for the workers who will 
build the infrastructure that IIJA funding will allow Amtrak to 
construct.
    In March, we began a Mechanical Apprenticeship Program at our heavy 
maintenance facility in Beech Grove, Indiana. I am pleased to report 
that FRA, under the excellent leadership of Administrator Bose, 
recently awarded an $8 million CRISI grant to Amtrak that will allow us 
to expand that program to include multiple crafts at other maintenance 
facilities throughout the country. Twenty-six apprentices are 
participating in the first expansion of that program in Wilmington, 
Delaware, which began on September 12. We plan to create additional 
apprenticeship positions at Beech Grove, and to implement the program 
at our maintenance facilities in Washington, D.C., New York City, and 
Los Angeles. We are also seeking, along with the Delaware Department of 
Transportation, a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for an 
innovative program to teach railroading basics to individuals whose 
employment has been impacted by COVID-19 in order to make them 
competitive for railroad jobs.
    We are also working to engage with potential future Amtrak 
employees at a younger age. We recently began partnering with the New 
York City Department of Education to build talent pipelines with high 
school graduates throughout the city.
    The IIJA also led us to expand our internship program, which brings 
current college and graduate students to work at Amtrak, and our 
management training and management associate programs, which provide 
recent graduates with the opportunity to rotate among different Amtrak 
groups before transitioning into permanent positions. We currently have 
36 management trainees or management associates, and 144 interns. These 
programs serve as a pipeline for bringing in the people we need for our 
future workforce--I know that from personal experience, because I began 
my Amtrak career as an intern. Internships and training programs are 
particularly effective at attracting individuals entering the workforce 
who have the professional training we need in areas such as engineering 
and information technology, and who would not otherwise have considered 
a railroad career. These programs also connect us with the colleges and 
universities that participants attend.
    One of the challenges that Amtrak and the railroad industry face is 
that the number of U.S. colleges and universities that offer any 
railroad engineering or operations courses can literally be counted on 
the fingers of one hand. For that reason, we are pleased that FRA 
recently awarded a CRISI grant to the University of Delaware, one of 
the few U.S. educational institutions that offers railway engineering 
courses, to create a railway engineering program at Morgan State 
University, a historically black college and university. Like the 
University of Delaware, Morgan State is located along the Northeast 
Corridor, a short distance from Baltimore Penn Station. We look forward 
to providing future employment opportunities to students who enroll in 
its program.
    Looking ahead, we plan to apply for additional CRISI grants this 
fall that would allow further expansion of our Mechanical 
Apprenticeship Program, and to develop apprenticeship programs in other 
crafts. We will also continue to aggressively seek other opportunities 
to partner with labor organizations, states and communities, and 
educational institutions on programs to engage, recruit, hire and train 
new Amtrak employees. By doing that, we can hire the many new employees 
we need to carry out the objectives of the IIJA, while providing 
stronger pathways to employment for a diverse, 21st Century passenger 
rail workforce.
                      The IIJA and Sustainability
    In addition to enhancing mobility and creating jobs, the 
investments we are making with funding provided by the IIJA will 
advance sustainability and help us reach our goals of reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieving net-zero 
emissions by 2045.
      The new ALC-42 locomotives we are acquiring for our long-
distance trains emit 89% less nitrogen oxide and 95% less particulate 
matter than the 1990s era diesel locomotives they are replacing.
      The 17 diesel-hybrid Intercity Trainsets we are acquiring 
for our Empire Service trains will be the first Amtrak equipment 
designed to utilize battery power for propulsion.
      IIJA-funded investments we will be making to advance our 
Major Station Amtrak Development Programs will increase energy 
efficiency, reduce water consumption and improve station resiliency.
      The expansion and improvement of Amtrak service the IIJA 
makes possible will attract many new passengers to our trains, which 
will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On average, 
traveling by Amtrak is 46% more energy efficient than traveling by car 
and 34% more energy efficient than domestic air travel. On the 
electrified Northeast Corridor, taking Amtrak reduces greenhouse gas 
emissions by up to 83% compared to driving, and by up to 72% compared 
to flying.
                         Looking to the Future
    The enactment of the IIJA has been extraordinarily impactful for 
Amtrak. The additional jobs the IIJA has already created, and the many 
long needed projects it has allowed to advance, represent just a tiny 
fraction of the multitude of benefits it will produce in the years 
ahead. However, future action by Congress, particularly with respect to 
annual appropriations and long-term, dedicated funding, will play an 
important part in ensuring that the benefits of the IIJA are fully 
realized and amplified.
    The IIJA's advance appropriations were intended to supplement, not 
replace, Amtrak's annual appropriations, and can only be used for 
limited purposes. It is important that Amtrak continue to receive, in 
addition to IIJA advance appropriations, annual appropriations at 
levels that are sufficient to operate all of our existing routes at 
pre-pandemic service frequencies and maintain our assets and equipment, 
as contemplated in the IIJA's authorizations.
    It is also important that reauthorization of the STB reflect the 
vital role passenger rail plays in our national rail network, as the 
reauthorization bill recently introduced by Chairman DeFazio and Rail 
Subcommittee Chairman Payne does.
    What is most important, of course, is developing a sustainable, 
long-term approach to funding intercity passenger rail. While the 
funding provided by the IIJA has jumpstarted the expansion and 
improvement of Amtrak service, the five years of advance appropriations 
and authorizations it provides will not get us all the way down the 
tracks. Like other transportation modes, intercity passenger rail needs 
adequate, assured, long-term funding that will allow it to fully 
realize its potential. Because of the dedicated, multi-year funding 
provided through the IIJA, Amtrak is already hiring thousands of new 
employees to support the work that will occur over the next few years. 
For the first time in our history, we can properly plan and staff for 
our needs with certainty that we will have the financial resources to 
carry out projects. Amtrak looks forward to working with the members of 
the Committee and Committee staff to make this a permanent reality.
    Thanks to the IIJA, this is the most exciting time in the history 
of Amtrak. Like all of our employees, I am thrilled to be a part of it, 
and grateful for the opportunity you have given us. We look forward to 
working with our stakeholders and the Committee to turn the vision 
embodied in the IIJA into reality, and to providing those who live in 
every region of our country with the intercity passenger rail service 
they need and deserve.

            National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

                             Federal Awards
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman. We would now turn to 
the general manager of TriMet in Portland, Oregon: Samuel 
Desue.
    Mr. Desue, you have 5 minutes.
    Mr. Desue. Thank you and good morning, Chairman DeFazio, 
Ranking Member Graves, and members of the committee. I am Sam 
Desue, Jr., the general manager of TriMet, Oregon's largest 
transit agency, serving the beautiful Portland metro region.
    I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you today to 
discuss the critical importance of Federal investment in the 
mobility service provided by TriMet and our workforce, and 
thank you for ensuring we had the resources to maintain those 
services and continue to plan for future mobility in our 
region.
    Prior to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, TriMet launched 
about 1.9 million trips a week. During the height of the 
pandemic, that number plummeted. But the rides TriMet provided 
during the frightened and confusing early months of the 
pandemic were critical. We kept essential workers and people 
who needed to get to stores and services moving. As I sit here 
before you today, I can say with 100 percent certainty that we 
would not have been able to do that without you. The actions 
Congress took, your foresight of the valuable and vital role of 
transit in America's communities, saved us.
    Like other transit agencies, TriMet focused on bus and rail 
services to get nurses, doctors, and other frontline workers to 
hospitals and clinics, along with transporting those who need 
dialysis, chemotherapy, and other lifesaving services. Other 
frontline workers, like grocery store staff and the food 
industry, needed to get to work. They helped kept us all fed, 
and TriMet was there for them. Riders who were transit-
dependent, often getting by on low incomes, needed to reach 
those stores, and we were there to get them there. We were 
there for them because you were there for us.
    At TriMet, we used relief funds to maintain service safety 
for those who needed to ride to jobs. TriMet was able to avoid 
layoffs related to the pandemic only because of the support you 
provided us. Three thousand people stayed employed.
    Other operators, mechanics, and customer service staff who 
are proud members of the Amalgamated Transit Union 757, along 
with other mission-critical workers, had jobs to come to, and 
they bravely did. They, too, are essential workers. When the 
rest of the world stopped, they kept going and they kept going 
to keep life moving. And I mean that accurately. When 
volunteers had to stay home to protect themselves, TriMet 
customer service workers and operators filled the void, 
delivering for Meals on Wheels so our seniors and others did 
not go hungry.
    The pandemic brought a loss of normalcy, a loss of 
connection, and the fear of economic toil. Your support has not 
just been about keeping communities functioning in the moment. 
What Congress has done to avoid the economic meltdown is 
nothing short of a miracle. Your investments kept people 
employed and commerce operating.
    As businesses and venues fully open, our ridership is 
returning. We are averaging 6,000 new returning riders a week. 
As people's fears give way to the desires for normalcy and the 
responsibility to save our planet for generations, more people 
will turn to transit. We are ready for that, and building 
service for the future because Congress cared enough to do the 
right things.
    As I close today, as an Army veteran and a drill sergeant, 
I would like to acknowledge, in addition to those who served in 
the military, my heroes are TriMet workers and American transit 
workers that are here at this table. Never underestimate their 
contribution to the American economy and their contribution to 
our Nation.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for inviting me to speak for 
TriMet and our fellow transit agencies across the United 
States, of the critical importance of the COVID relief 
emergency funding, and historic investments in public 
transportation contained in the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act. These investments have been and will be critical to 
ensuring that we can meet challenges we face during this 
unprecedented COVID public health crisis, and will allow TriMet 
to position itself to make the operational and capital 
investments necessary to meet future mobility and accessibility 
needs in the Portland metro region. Thank you.
    [Mr. Desue's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
    Prepared Statement of Samuel Desue, Jr., General Manager, TriMet
    Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves and Members of the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure, my name is Sam Desue Jr., and I 
am General Manager of TriMet, the regional transit agency serving the 
beautiful Portland Metropolitan area in Oregon--a metropolitan area of 
about 2.5 million people.
    I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss the 
critical importance of Federal investment in the mobility service 
provided by TriMet and our workforce, and to thank you for ensuring we 
had the resources to maintain those services and continue to plan for 
the future of mobility in our region.
    TriMet's service district includes Multnomah, Washington, and 
Clackamas counties, encompassing an area of about 533 square miles that 
includes nearly 40 cities. We operate 5 light rail lines, 82 bus lines, 
1 commuter rail line and LIFT paratransit service. All our buses and 
railcars are American-made. TriMet employs over 3,000 people and over 
2,400 members of our workforce are union jobs directly supporting 
operations, maintenance and safety of our transit system. Without our 
workforce we could not provide these vital services to the Portland 
region.
    Our system provides essential transportation and mobility options 
that connect people with their community, while easing traffic 
congestion and reducing air pollution--facilitating economic growth, 
transit-oriented development and livability.
    Prior to the pandemic, TriMet provided an average of over 1.9 
million transit rides every week. Portland is the 25th largest U.S. 
metro area, and TriMet's service outpaces its population base by 
ranking 17th in transit ridership and 11th in ridership per capita.
    TriMet has been a leader in innovation for American transit. From 
our open-sourced data that led to Google Transit to our light rail 
design and construction. Over 100 transit agencies in America and 35 
cities from around the world have come to us to learn from our 
successes. Every major light rail line has been delivered on time and 
on budget--or earlier and under budget.
    We have bold goals for growing transit ridership, transitioning to 
a zero emissions fleet and supporting transit investments to build more 
livable communities.
    We are here today to primarily say thank you and to share some 
examples of the impact of recent federal investment for our transit 
agency. In particular, I want to thank you for COVID relief emergency 
funding and historic investment in public transportation contained in 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These investments 
have been, and will be, critical to ensuring that we can meet the 
challenges we faced during the unprecedented COVID public health 
crisis. They allow TriMet to position itself to meet future mobility 
and accessibility needs of the greater Portland region.
                                COVID-19
    Like all transit agencies, the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe 
impact on TriMet's operations and revenue. When ridership, and our 
projected revenues, fell dramatically in the spring of 2020, TriMet 
acted quickly to reallocate service and save resources until demand 
returned. We focused on minimizing cuts to service for our equity 
communities, transit-dependent riders and essential workers. We 
redirected resources in a variety of ways that I'd like to share with 
you today. None of this would have been possible without the ongoing 
support from the federal government.
    We are so appreciative for Congress providing this critical 
emergency relief funding to allow us to maintain operations and 
continue to provide vital and lifeline transportation services to our 
region. Emergency funding provided through CARES, CRRSA Act, ARP 
allowed us to avoid furloughs and layoffs so that we could keep our 
cities and counties moving and functioning. All CARES and CRRSA Act 
funds allocated to TriMet have been spent and all ARP funds have been 
spent or obligated.
    We are proud to say that not one TriMet employee was furloughed 
during the pandemic, and these funds allowed us to keep our highly-
skilled, trained workforce. As you are all aware, hiring, and re-
hiring, has been quite a challenge for many industries since early 
2021. The ability to retain our workforce was critical to our being 
able to provide transportation services to essential workers and access 
to vital services to transit dependent riders. Federal COVID emergency 
funding made this possible.
    These funds also ensured that riders and TriMet operators remained 
safe while using our system, by putting additional public health 
measures into place to prevent the spread of COVID. We were able to 
adjust our service to meet demand, ensuring essential workers could get 
to work and people who are transit-dependent continued to have access 
to jobs and services. We learned immediately that essential workers 
were critical to addressing the pandemic and recovering from it. We 
prioritized service to hospitals and other medical facilities. With 
physical distancing limiting capacity on transit, we added extra buses 
to we wouldn't have to leave anyone behind on lines that served our 
essential workers like nurses, technicians and doctors.
    We made sure that people who often rely exclusively on transit 
always had service. These are the people essential to keeping society 
working. People who stock our grocery stores supply us with essential 
products that communities need to function, and they need transit. 
While essential workers and those making lower wages may not always get 
recognition, the pandemic proved how vital they are in a time of 
crisis. We were here for them--and are here for them. Had transit not 
been there, the shortages and supply chain nightmares we have 
experienced would have been significantly worse. Transit kept people 
and commerce moving!
    Our team truly went above and beyond to ensure that TriMet service 
could support those who needed it most during the pandemic. Initially, 
we had to innovate to ensure we had the equipment and tools we needed 
to keep people safe on our system. We called it MacGyvering. We reached 
out to businesses, asked them to innovate. First, we needed masks. We 
searched the internet for mask designs. Marketplace innovation sprang 
into action, as fabric stores opened to get us materials. Small, women-
owned businesses started churning out masks in our district with scores 
of people producing masks at home with sewing machines. TriMet didn't 
have hand sanitizer. No one did early in the pandemic. We figured out 
how to produce it ourselves. We worked with breweries, which we have a 
lot of in Portland, as Chair DeFazio is familiar with, to generate 
alcohol for our own sanitizer. Pretty quickly, we were supplying others 
with sanitizer, when the supply wasn't meeting the demand.
    TriMet continued to innovate with our resources. We supported 
overloaded hospitals and developed a partnership between our LIFT 
paratransit team and Oregon Health & Science University when hospitals 
were approaching capacity. TriMet came in to help to transport patients 
who no longer needed hospital care to their home or to a care facility. 
We brought people to vaccine appointments. We delivered groceries to 
LIFT customers who were at high risk of contracting COVID and unable to 
leave their homes. TriMet redeployed our on-street customer service 
team to partner with Meals on Wheels. As volunteers stayed home, our 
staff helped meet the increased demand for food for children, families 
and seniors who would have otherwise gone hungry. We were truly 
providing a lifeline to so many of our region's residents.
    Pandemic relief allowed us to proceed with planned critical safety 
and maintenance projects that would have had to be cancelled or 
postponed when faced such a severe and unexpected funding shortfall. 
Like all transit agencies, TriMet has a significant deferred 
maintenance backlog. We have been and remain committed to addressing 
this backlog. The significant decline in revenues threatened these 
ongoing efforts to maintain and upgrade our existing assets to ensure 
and improve the safety and reliability of our system.
    The projects included replacing rail switches that were over 35 
years old and worn out. Signalization of the same era was replaced with 
new technologies and computerization that we didn't have when TriMet's 
first light rail line--the third in the nation--was built.
    TriMet was able to implement a critical rail safety project on the 
oldest section of our light rail system, in a high-speed curved area, 
replacing old wooden rail ties, doubling the useful life of the system. 
What otherwise would have been an incredibly disruptive project was 
able to be carried out efficiently to reduce project costs and long-
term maintenance costs.
    We advanced a project to make critical improvements on the Steel 
Bridge--every one of our light rail trains goes across this lift bridge 
(along with freight rail, passenger vehicles, buses, bikes and 
pedestrians). We were able to essentially replace and rebuild the light 
rail system across the bridge at a time of reduced ridership. The 
funding provided through COVID relief meant the project could be done 
more efficiently, and we were able to accomplish all the safety, 
reliability and system resiliency elements necessary, rather than 
scaling them back and stretching them out over time.
    The infusion of federal funds also put TriMet in a better position 
to meet our climate goals and implement a change in fuel sources. We 
had done a renewable/sustainability study but had to delay it due to 
the costs. But because we had those dollars available, we were able to 
implement our goals and transition our entire fleet to renewable 
diesel. By switching to renewable diesel, and to renewable electricity 
for our light rail system and all TriMet-owned facilities, we reduced 
our greenhouse gas emissions by about 70% in a year's time.
    These are just a few examples of just how critical the Emergency 
COVID relief funds provided by Congress were in allowing TriMet to 
retain its workforce, provide mobility to essential workers, 
accessibility to vital services for vulnerable communities and riders, 
and continue to invest in making our system safer and more prepared to 
provide reliable transit as ridership returns.
      Plans for the future--Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
    While the COVID relief funding was critical to allowing TriMet to 
continue to be a lifeline to many in our region throughout the public 
health emergency, the historic investments in public transportation 
infrastructure contained in the IIJA will be a game-changer that will 
help transform the Portland/Vancouver region's transportation network. 
The significant increase in investment levels contained in IIJA filled 
the gap in funding ongoing maintenance needs, as well as allowing us to 
continue to advance capital projects to upgrade our system to expand 
service and address our region's mobility, quality of life, and 
environmental challenges.
    IIJA will provide a total of $503.6 million for the Portland/
Vancouver region in FTA formula funding over the 5 years of the bill. 
This increased FTA formula funding is critical to allowing us to begin 
addressing our deferred and preventive maintenance needs, as well as to 
begin making investments for future growth. This unprecedented funding 
and the increases in federal discretionary grant opportunities under 
the IIJA give us a lot to look forward to. The opportunities provided 
by the IIJA are critical to our agency's goals to rebuild transit 
ridership and address the climate crisis. Investing in efforts to 
support ridership recovery is one of the agency's biggest priorities. 
We have some success stories to share on our progress.
    Like many agencies, TriMet's ridership has been steadily returning 
throughout 2022. We're seeing an average growth of nearly 6,000 riders 
per week. This is especially encouraging because, like many industries, 
we've been facing an operator shortage and have not been able to 
restore service to pre-pandemic levels because of that shortage. More 
people are riding again, and we're growing our workforce and planning 
for service and ridership growth in the future.
    As ridership returns, we are planning for how TriMet can best 
address the region's future mobility needs. Just yesterday, we released 
a new transit network concept to plan for service growth and address 
the changing travel patterns we've analyzed during the pandemic. 
Working with the community, we will further define this concept for how 
best to restore and grow transit while emphasizing building ridership 
and expanding transit options across our region. This effort is 
supported by an FTA Route Planning Restoration grant.
    A key step in our path towards ridership recovery was the September 
18th launch of the Division Transit Project, TriMet's new FXTM 
high-capacity bus service. Funded by an FTA Small Starts grant and 
local partners, this project improves travel along a 13-mile corridor 
that is one of TriMet's most popular bus lines, with more than 10,000 
daily rides between Downtown Portland and Gresham. Prior to the opening 
of this FX service, riders on this bus line crowded buses, full buses 
passing riders waiting at stops, and traffic congestion behind buses 
making frequent stops to pick up riders.
    The Division Transit Project will provide riders with easier, 
faster, and more reliable service. This project features all-door 
boarding, improved stations, and transit priority improvements to speed 
up transit trips, while addressing congestion along the Division Street 
Corridor.
    Our ridership recovery initiatives are also about more than service 
improvements and capital projects.
    TriMet would like to highlight the work we have done to reimagine 
safety and security on our transit system. TriMet began this process in 
June of 2020 after hearing calls for racial equity and social justice 
following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery 
and many others. TriMet responded by exploring community-based 
approaches to public safety. We engaged in comprehensive outreach with 
riders, community groups, local leaders, the public, and our frontline 
workers and security staff and have begun agency-wide implementation of 
those recommendations. We've launched safety response teams to provide 
information, first aid, mental health support and conflict resolution 
across our transit system.
    TriMet has expanded our fare discount programs to support more 
people who are struggling financially, seniors, veterans, youth, people 
with disabilities--the communities who need transit most, and who we've 
provided a lifeline to throughout the pandemic.
    We've also launched a program to rehabilitate, expand and improve 
operator and customer amenities at our busiest transit centers. These 
investments make a difference for everyday riders, who just need a safe 
and comfortable place to wait or transfer to help them get to where 
they are going reliably.
    We are also primed to take advantage of the growth in federal 
discretionary grant programs to support the expansion of our MAX 
network and to grow our bus rapid transit network with more (FX) 
Frequent Express service on our highest ridership bus lines.
    We are working towards pursuing federal funding for the 82nd Avenue 
Bus Rapid Transit project. The bus line serving 82nd Avenue has the 
highest ridership of any bus line in greater Portland. Though it 
carries more people than some of the region's light rail lines, it 
shares the road with commuters, freight, and local deliveries--and is 
often stuck in traffic significant increasing travel time and degrading 
reliability.
    We are currently partnering with Metro, the City of Portland and 
Clackamas County to undertake a transit alternatives analysis for 
potential bus rapid transit service along 82nd Avenue from Clackamas 
Town Center to Portland's Roseway and Sumner neighborhoods. BRT on this 
route would significantly improve travel time, reliability, and comfort 
by allowing the bus to separate from or bypass other vehicle traffic in 
key areas along the route and improving stations. This transit project 
will also be highly coordinated with a community-led Equitable 
Development Strategy to support business and community stabilization 
and enhancement. The transit analysis is being developed in 
coordination with the City of Portland's ``Building a Better 82nd'' 
program, which is investing $80 million in near-term safety 
improvements and another $105 million to enact a vision to improve the 
corridor.
    We are also excited about the many opportunities in the IIJA to 
support and advance TriMet's Zero Emission Bus transition plan to make 
the investments we need to meet the goals of our own Climate Action 
Plan and our state and region's goals to increase transit usage and 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier this year, TriMet made our 
first bulk purchase of 24 American-made, battery electric buses. TriMet 
is committed to being part of the solution to climate change, and the 
funds now available through the IIJA are a game changer to make an 
immediate impact in reducing TriMet's emissions and working with our 
state and local partners to address climate change.
    TriMet had 700 diesel buses in our fleet as of June 2021, and we 
were the largest purchaser of diesel fuel in Oregon. Working in 
partnership with the two electric providers in our region--Portland 
General Electric and Pacific Power--we are well on the way to changing 
that. We are committed to having a 100 percent zero-emission fleet by 
2040, and the funding provided through the IIJA will help us achieve 
this goal.
    The conversion to zero emission buses is the most significant 
technological change TriMet has ever faced. TriMet is prepared to make 
significant investments in transitioning our fleet and facilities, but 
a strong federal funding partnership is critical to the success of this 
program. TriMet has identified local and state funds to help cover the 
costs of transitioning to zero emission buses. We estimate a 
significant funding gap to upgrade the entire fleet and facilities to 
charge and maintain the zero emissions fleet by 2040. TriMet is working 
to concurrently invest in charging infrastructure and facilities 
improvements across our service area to prepare for this transition.
    We are working to develop a zero-emissions maintenance facility and 
charging infrastructure at Beaverton's Merlo Garage in order to expand 
TriMet's zero emissions fleet on Portland's westside. TriMet's new 
Columbia Bus Base will help as the lynchpin to accelerate the TriMet's 
transition to a fully zero emission bus fleet by 2040, and to meet 
state and regional climate goals. This site is well-situated in an 
industrial area within TriMet's service district, allowing buses to 
begin and end their routes close to their home base and minimize their 
time in traffic. Master planning and design efforts are in progress, 
focused on the Columbia site's pivotal role in TriMet's transition to 
zero-emission buses and planned service growth. Advancing TriMet's 
Columbia Bus Base project is the key to not only advance our Zero 
Emissions Fleet Transition but also to increase transit service to meet 
demand across the growing region.
    As you can see, we have big plans to help address the Portland 
region's mobility needs. This would not be possible without the actions 
this committee took to lead the effort to ensure public transit 
agencies had the resources to retain their workforce and continue to 
provide the vital services throughout the COVID-19 public health 
emergency. The transit services supported by federal investment are 
transformative to support mobility, reduce congestion, spur economic 
development and make an immediate impact in fighting the climate 
crisis.
    In closing, I want to say thank you to this Committee, to Congress, 
and to Federal agencies for stepping in quickly to keep services like 
transit afloat, both through Covid relief funds and through the IIJA. 
Had Congress not acted decisively we would be in a much different 
place. But you acted and averted a potential great depression.

    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you for your testimony. We would now 
turn to David Ditch, policy analyst with The Heritage 
Foundation.
    Mr. Ditch. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to 
testify. The views I express in this testimony are my own and 
should not be construed as representing any official position 
of The Heritage Foundation.
    We hear frequently from those who benefit from Federal 
spending. Unfortunately, little consideration is given to the 
costs to or value for taxpayers. There has been an exponential 
growth in the size and scope of the Federal Government over the 
last 100 years. In recent years, this growth has led to three 
troubling trends in Federal policy in general, and 
infrastructure policy specifically.
    The first trend is inflation. While many factors are 
causing the current inflation surge, two of the most important 
flow from Washington: massive deficit spending and loose 
monetary policy. The Federal spending spree that began in March 
2020, aided by the Federal Reserve absorbing trillions in 
Federal debt, has meant more dollars chasing the same supply of 
goods. That is a recipe for inflation.
    Unfortunately, Congress and the Biden administration 
continue to make choices that increase deficits, threatening to 
worsen and prolong the inflation crisis. Even the 
infrastructure sector has been struck by inflation, with prices 
for construction inputs skyrocketing over the last 2 years. 
Since spending increases in the Infrastructure Act are only 
starting to go out now, higher demand for inputs could cause 
sustained inflation in the sector.
    The second trend is false advertising. The American people 
have been misled about major pieces of legislation, both 
proposed and enacted, to an astonishing degree. The March 2021 
stimulus package was supposedly about responding to the 
pandemic and its related effects on the economy. However, it 
contained a relatively tiny amount of public health spending 
alongside massive handouts to heavily unionized political 
constituencies.
    Next, the Biden administration unveiled a proposal that 
sought to use infrastructure as a camouflage for a wide range 
of progressive priorities, even though only about 4 percent of 
the proposed funding was designated for roads and bridges. 
After that approach was finally abandoned, the Infrastructure 
Act was sold as a generational investment. However, many of the 
law's investments will yield minimal economic benefit. For 
Amtrak and urban transit, subsidized expansions will create 
long-term liabilities in the form of higher operations and 
maintenance costs for these relatively low-demand services.
    Most recently, nonpartisan analysis of the so-called 
Inflation Reduction Act shows that it will not, in fact, reduce 
inflation.
    The third trend is the Biden administration's aggressive 
use of executive actions to pursue its agenda, sometimes 
flouting the rule of law. Shortly after passage of the 
Infrastructure Act, the Department of Transportation attempted 
to make it harder for States to expand highways. This was not 
about implementing the law as passed, but an attempt to 
implement provisions that failed to pass. The administration 
backpedaled only after strenuous pushback from Governors and 
Members of Congress.
    On labor policy, the administration has gone out of its way 
to increase the cost of federally funded infrastructure 
projects. An Executive order on project labor agreements and a 
proposed rule to strengthen wage mandates will further decrease 
the public value of spending from the Infrastructure Act.
    Artificially paying more for labor is not investing in 
workers. Rather, it is yet another instance of maximizing 
benefits for a political constituency at the public's expense. 
Fortunately, Congress has options for addressing these 
problems.
    First, Congress should reform or eliminate rules and 
regulations that needlessly and excessively add to the cost of 
infrastructure projects.
    Second, Congress should reject the use of bloated spending 
packages that make public debate and legislative deliberation 
more difficult.
    Relatedly, Congress should reduce or eliminate spending on 
local and regional infrastructure, since this merely moves 
costs around and encourages overspending. This would also bring 
the Highway Trust Fund close to balance.
    Third, Congress should rein in executive overreach by using 
oversight and legal remedies to combat instances of extra-legal 
action, reducing the amount of discretion and authority 
delegated to executive agencies, and reforming or repealing 
outdated statutes.
    Reining in the relentless growth of Federal spending would 
reduce the intensity of political fights, move Government off 
the road to bankruptcy, and enhance America's prosperity. Thank 
you.
    [Mr. Ditch's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
    Prepared Statement of David Ditch, Policy Analyst, The Heritage 
                               Foundation
       Costly Federal Failures: Overspending, Overpromising, and 
                             Overregulating
    My name is David Ditch. I am a policy analyst at The Heritage 
Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own and should 
not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage 
Foundation.
    Each year, Americans pay trillions of dollars in taxes to fund 
government services. Despite this, federal elected officials have 
increased spending so far beyond these annual tax hauls that the gross 
national debt has grown by over $25 trillion since the year 2000.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ U.S. Department of the Treasury, ``Debt to the Penny,'' https:/
/fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny 
(accessed September 22, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020, the 
federal government has added $7.5 trillion in gross debt.\2\ For 
perspective, that is the amount of debt the nation accumulated from 
1789 through late 2004.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The scale of these numbers is nearly incomprehensible, yet it is 
vitally important for members of Congress and the American public to 
recognize that federal ``investments'' come with very real costs.
    Over the past 30 months, Congress has engaged in a seemingly 
endless spending spree.\3\ The purported rationales behind the 
individual laws tend to be uncontroversial: addressing public health, 
preventing a deep recession, enhancing the nation's infrastructure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ David Ditch, ``Congress' Wasteful Spending Spree Must End With 
Infrastructure Bill,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, November 12, 
2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/congress-
wasteful-spending-spree-must-end-infrastructure-bill, and David Ditch, 
``Despite Raging Inflation, Congress Bent on Continuing Spending 
Spree,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, April 21, 2022, https://
www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/despite-raging-
inflation-congress-bent-continuing-spending-spree.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    However, a combination of policy flaws and political opportunism 
has meant that the components of the spending spree have had much 
higher costs than were necessary, resulting in a variety of harmful 
consequences and trends. This is the case for both the spending spree 
as a whole and for infrastructure provisions in particular.
                              Overspending
    First, the spending spree is a substantial cause of the current 
inflation surge.
    An analysis published in March 2022 by the Federal Reserve of San 
Francisco found that excessive stimulus spending in the U.S. accounted 
for inflation that would not be explained by other factors.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Oscar Jorda et al., ``Why Is U.S. Inflation Higher than in 
Other Countries?'' Federal Reserve of San Francisco Economic Letter, 
March 28, 2022, https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/
economic-letter/2022/march/why-is-us-inflation-higher-than-in-other-
countries/ (accessed September 22, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) 
Act was passed in March 2020 at a time of surging unemployment and 
tremendous uncertainty, stimulus packages passed in December 2020 and 
March 2021 came when unemployment levels were already well below their 
peak.\5\ Worse, the bills were larded with handouts to narrow political 
constituencies.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Labor Force Statistics from the 
Current Population Survey,'' https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/
LNS14000000 (accessed September 22, 2022).
    \6\ Matt D. Dickerson and David Ditch, ``9 Things You Need to Know 
About the $1.4 Trillion Fiscal Year 2021 Omnibus and $900 Billion 
COVID-19 Package,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, December 22, 2020, 
https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/9-things-you-
need-know-about-the-14-trillion-fiscal-year-2021, and David Ditch et 
al., ``COVID-19 Proposals Should Focus on Disease, Not Wasteful 
Spending Increases,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3588, 
February 25, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/
covid-19-proposals-should-focus-disease-not-wasteful-spending-
increases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Trillions of dollars in wasteful and unnecessary deficit spending 
served as kindling fuel for today's inflationary fire by increasing 
demand without increasing supply, while also adding to the nation's 
mounting long-term fiscal liabilities.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ David Ditch, ``These 7 Charts Show Why Congress Must Get 
Spending Under Control Immediately,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, 
July 7, 2022, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/
these-7-charts-show-why-congress-must-get-spending-under-control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Inflation has also had dramatic effects on infrastructure 
development.
    According to the American Road and Transportation Builders 
Association, costs for highway and street construction inputs increased 
by 43 percent from May 2020 through August 2022--and this despite 
declines since a peak in June 2022. For comparison, there was less than 
3 percent inflation for the same inputs from May 2017 through May 
2020.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ American Road and Transportation Builders Association, 
``National Materials Dashboard,'' https://www.artba.org/economics/
materials-dashboard/ (accessed September 22, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The November 2021 infrastructure package stands to significantly 
increase federal spending on infrastructure.\9\ Accordingly, it will 
lead to an increase in demand for related construction inputs as the 
authorizations become outlays. This will put sustained upward pressure 
on prices, which would reduce the public value of the spending increase 
\10\ while also causing harmful spillover effects for private 
construction projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ David Ditch et al., ``9 Things to Know About Senate's $1.1 
Trillion Infrastructure Bill,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, August 
5, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/9-
things-know-about-senates-11-trillion-infrastructure-bill.
    \10\ Jeff Davis, ``How Much Could Inflation Erode IIJA Buying 
Power?'' Eno Center for Transportation, April 27, 2022, https://
www.enotrans.org/article/how-much-could-inflation-erode-iija-buying-
power/ (accessed September 23, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This is not the only way that federal infrastructure policy 
interacts with inflation. Congress has repeatedly bailed out the 
Highway Trust Fund rather than bring spending and revenue into 
alignment.\11\ To fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's 
(IIJA's) spending increases, Congress used a combination of budget 
gimmicks and inflationary deficit spending.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ Tax Policy Center, ``What Is the Highway Trust Fund, and How 
Is it Financed?'' Briefing Book, May 2020, https://
www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-highway-trust-fund-and-how-
it-financed (accessed September 23, 2022), and Jeff Davis, ``Treasury 
Deposits $118 Billion Bailout in Highway Trust Fund,'' Eno Center for 
Transportation, January 14, 2022, https://www.enotrans.org/article/
treasury-deposits-118-billion-bailout-in-highway-trust-fund/ (accessed 
September 23, 2022).
    \12\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Rather than worsening both general and infrastructure-specific 
inflation trends with yet another surge of deficit spending, 
legislators should have focused on reforms to improve the value (rather 
than the quantity) of infrastructure spending. Examples include 
removing mandates that increase costs for labor and supplies, 
eliminating wasteful slush funds, and reforming permitting rules that 
add both costs and delays to projects.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ David Ditch and Nicolas Loris, ``Improving Surface 
Transportation Through Federalism,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder 
No. 3450, November 12, 2019, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-
spending/report/improving-surface-transportation-through-federalism.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Overpromising
    The second harmful trend that has affected both federal spending 
measures in general and infrastructure policy in particular is the use 
of false advertising and political spin to obscure the contents of 
legislative packages.
    The March 2021 stimulus package was sold as a response to the 
ongoing pandemic and the associated economic downturn. While the bill 
did contain a token amount of public health funding, it gave more 
legislative attention to superfluous funding of state and local 
governments, handouts for heavily unionized sectors, such as public 
transit and public K-12 schools, and a bailout of private-sector union 
pensions.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ Ditch et al., ``COVID-19 Proposals Should Focus on Disease, 
Not Wasteful Spending Increases.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The handout to transit agencies was especially egregious, 
accounting for a considerable share of the bill's transportation-
related spending despite transit's relatively tiny share of travel.\15\ 
Between March 2020 and March 2021, legislators handed transit agencies 
a total of $67 billion, which amounts to over three years' worth of 
self-generated revenue for all transit systems in the country. This 
will allow agencies to temporarily avoid politically sensitive 
decisions relating to bloated labor costs.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\ David Ditch, ``Call Transportation Bailouts What They Are: 
More Welfare for Labor Unions,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, 
February 11, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/
commentary/call-transportation-bailouts-what-they-are-more-welfare-
labor-unions.
    \16\ David Ditch, ``Public Transit: Bloated Compensation Highlights 
Excessive Subsidization,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3639, 
July 22, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/transportation/report/public-
transit-bloated-compensation-highlights-excessive-subsidization.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Following passage of the so-called rescue plan, the Biden 
Administration released a so-called infrastructure plan. The initial 
proposal sought to leverage high public approval of infrastructure as 
camouflage for an expansive tax-and-spend agenda. In fact, only about 4 
percent of the plan's proposed spending would have gone toward roads 
and bridges.\17\ Fortunately, the attempt to expand the concept of 
infrastructure to include social benefits and components of the Green 
New Deal eventually foundered.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\ David Ditch, ``9 Things You Need to Know About Biden's 
`Infrastructure' Spending Plan,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, April 
8, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/9-
things-you-need-know-about-bidens-infrastructure-spending-plan.
    \18\ David Ditch, ``Even Some Democrats Sound Alarm on Radical $3.5 
Trillion Spending Bill,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, September 16, 
2021, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/commentary/even-
some-democrats-sound-alarm-radical-35-trillion-spending-bill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The IIJA was promoted as a generational investment that would 
bolster economic growth. However, the package heavily increased 
subsidies for low-demand transportation modes, such as transit and 
Amtrak, and other provisions involve the federal government funding 
infrastructure that is primarily the domain of local governments and 
the private sector.\19\ Maintenance costs for marginal infrastructure 
and dubious new programs will add to long-term liabilities, serving to 
slow rather than accelerate growth.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\ Ditch et al., ``9 Things to Know About Senate's $1.1 Trillion 
Infrastructure Bill.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The reconciliation package marketed as the ``Inflation Reduction 
Act'' \20\ is perhaps the most egregious example of false advertising.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\ The title of the legislation, as passed, is ``To provide for 
reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would 
increase deficit spending for fiscal years 2023 through 2026,\21\ even 
though deficit reduction is most needed in the short term. The 
independent Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimates that, ``The impact on 
inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.'' \22\ Thus, 
the ``Inflation Reduction Act'' fails to actually reduce inflation, in 
addition to a myriad of other policy flaws.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \21\ Congressional Budget Office,``Estimated Budgetary Effects of 
Public Law 117-169, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II 
of S. Con. Res. 14,'' Cost Estimate, September 7, 2022, https://
www.cbo.gov/publication/58455 (accessed September 23, 2022).
    \22\ Penn-Wharton Budget Model, ``Senate-passed Inflation Reduction 
Act: Estimates of Budgetary and Macroeconomic Effects,'' August 12, 
2022, https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/8/12/senate-
passed-inflation-reduction-act (accessed September 23, 2022).
    \23\ Daren Bakst et al., `` `Inflation Reduction Act' Is Euphemism 
for Big Government Socialism, Higher Prices,'' Heritage Foundation 
Commentary, August 2, 2022, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-
spending/commentary/7-ways-inflation-reduction-act-would-wallop-your-
wallet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Overregulating
    A third concerning policy trend is the increasing concentration of 
power in the federal executive branch. The Biden Administration's 
approach to infrastructure provides many examples of why this is a 
problem.
    In December, shortly after passage of the IIJA, the Federal Highway 
Administration issued a ``guidance'' memo to state governments that 
sought to prioritize certain types of infrastructure projects above 
others. Notably, the memo de-prioritized adding highway capacity.
    This guidance did not flow from IIJA statute. Instead, it was 
strongly similar to text from a bill produced by Representative Peter 
DeFazio (D-OR), even though DeFazio's bill did not become law.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\ David Ditch, ``Road to Nowhere: How Biden and Congress Detour 
Highway Funds,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3697, April 5, 
2022, https://www.heritage.org/transportation/report/road-nowhere-how-
biden-and-congress-detour-highway-funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While there is a legitimate ongoing debate about the wisdom of 
using federal funding to add highway capacity,\25\ Congress has chosen 
not to directly or indirectly oppose new capacity. As such, the 
Administration should not use ``guidance'' documents to pressure states 
to avoid highway capacity projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\ Ditch and Loris, ``Improving Surface Transportation Through 
Federalism.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Although the Administration eventually walked the memo back a bit, 
this was only done after sharp criticism from elected Republicans.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \26\ Ditch, ``Road to Nowhere: How Biden and Congress Detour 
Highway Funds.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Biden Administration has also sought to overextend its 
authority using Equity Action Plans (EAPs) throughout the federal 
government.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\ David Ditch, Mike Gonzalez, Hans von Spakovsky and Erin 
Dwinell, ``President Biden's `Equity Action Plans' Reveal Radical, 
Divisive Agenda,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3710, May 25, 
2022, https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/president-bidens-
equity-action-plans-reveal-radical-divisive-agenda.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For the Department of Transportation, this means potentially 
steering valuable infrastructure contracts based on innate 
characteristics of the contractors rather than selecting them based 
purely on merit, raising the specter of de facto identity-group quotas.
    The department's EAP also calls for micromanaging regional 
transportation plans based on ``equity'' concerns, which would mean 
putting the whims of diversity bureaucrats ahead of practical 
considerations, while also expanding opportunities for environmental 
activists to delay projects.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In areas where the Biden Administration has clearer legal 
discretion, it has consistently chosen to make infrastructure projects 
more expensive and less economically valuable.
    When it comes to labor policy, the Administration's mandates stand 
to increase costs by billions of dollars per year.
    An executive order on project-labor agreements imposes union-style 
work rules on projects that receive federal funding, undermining the 
ability of non-unionized contractors to compete.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\ Ditch, ``Road to Nowhere: How Biden and Congress Detour 
Highway Funds.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A proposed regulatory change to federal construction wages under 
the Davis-Bacon Act could increase costs further by lowering the 
threshold at which union-based compensation levels are considered 
``prevailing'' and thus required. This would further inflate 
construction costs, especially in right-to-work states, on top of 
already high inflation in the sector.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\ David Ditch, ``Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts 
Regulations [RIN 1235-AA40],'' comment on proposed rule to Jessica 
Looman, U.S. Department of Labor, May 17, 2022, http://
thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2022/Regulatory_Comments/DavidDitch_Comment_
5172022.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Proponents of these labor policy changes claim that they equate to 
``investing'' in workers. In reality, arbitrarily increasing 
compensation for a politically favored group at the expense of the 
public good is an exercise in cronyism.
    This is an example of the economic problem of concentrated benefits 
and dispersed costs. Few members of the public are aware of the 
distortions caused by the rules, whereas labor groups are highly 
motivated to lobby in support of them.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \31\ Ditch, ``Public Transit: Bloated Compensation Highlights 
Excessive Subsidization.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, where the Biden Administration has full discretion over 
project selection, it has prioritized infrastructure projects favored 
by left-wing activists over the types of projects that would provide 
the most economic benefit.
    The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and 
Equity (RAISE) grant program was known as Better Utilizing Investments 
to Leverage Development (BUILD) during the Trump Administration and as 
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) under 
the Obama Administration. Under the Biden Administration, the RAISE 
program largely avoids highway projects in favor of low-yield local 
projects, such as transit extensions, bike lanes, and ``road diets'' 
that actively reduce capacity.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\ Laura Bliss, ``Car-Free Transportation Gets Boost from U.S. 
Grant Program,'' Bloomberg CityLab, November 29, 2021, https://
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-29/bike-pedestrian-
infrastructure-favored-in-raise-grants (accessed September 26, 2022); 
Mischa Wanek-Libman, ``Transit Specific Projects Land More than $476 
Million in RAISE Grants,'' Mass Transit, August 12, 2022, https://
www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21277191/transit-specific-
projects-land-more-than-476-million-in-raise-grants (accessed September 
26, 2022); Department of Transportation, ``RAISE Grants Capital Awards 
FY 2021,'' November 2021, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/
files/2021-11/RaiseGrants_Capital%20Fact%20Sheets.pdf (accessed 
September 26, 2021); and Ditch, ``Road to Nowhere: How Biden and 
Congress Detour Highway Funds.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Not only will these ``investments'' yield minimal economic effect, 
they also mark an increasing federal involvement in purely local-level 
projects. The worsening dependence of state and local governments on 
Washington, DC, is corrosive to governance in a nation as large and 
diverse as the U.S.\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\ Diane Katz, ``Federalism in Crisis: Urgent Action Required to 
Preserve Self-Government,'' Heritage Foundation Special Report No. 248, 
November 30, 2021, https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/report/
federalism-crisis-urgent-action-required-preserve-self-government.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Recommendations
    Congress has many avenues for addressing the policy problems 
referenced in this testimony.
    With regards to infrastructure spending, Congress should recognize 
that the year is 2022, not 1956. States, localities, and the private 
sector have more than sufficient resources and capacity with which to 
manage and plan the nation's infrastructure needs.
    If cities want to build bike lanes, they should pay for the bike 
lanes directly. If a state wants to add highway segments in an attempt 
to boost economic development in a particular region, or to expand an 
airport, that state should bear the costs--and have more leeway on 
financing.\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \34\ David Ditch, Nicolas Loris, Adam Michel, and Kevin Dayaratna, 
``Paying for Surface Transportation Infrastructure: Four Wrong Routes, 
Four Good Paths,'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 3422, July 17, 
2019, https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/paying-
surface-transportation-infrastructure-four-wrong-routes-four-good.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reducing federal infrastructure spending and taxes would benefit 
the federal government's finances, improving both the long-term budget 
picture and the short-term need to combat inflation.\35\ This would 
also reduce bureaucratic and regulatory inefficiencies that add costs 
and delays to projects. Federal spending on local or regional projects, 
such as hiking paths and mass transit, should be eliminated 
entirely.\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \35\ Since federal taxes that fund infrastructure do not fully 
cover federal infrastructure spending, spending reductions would need 
to exceed the size of tax cuts.
    \36\ Ditch and Loris, ``Improving Surface Transportation Through 
Federalism.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For both infrastructure legislation and other spending bills, 
shifting away from omnibus-style packages would improve transparency, 
accountability, and deliberation.
    Regarding regulations, Congress should reform or eliminate the 
thicket of flawed and often archaic laws, such as the Davis-Bacon Act 
and the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, that needlessly increase 
the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure.\37\ The National 
Environmental Policy Act, which has become an anti-development 
nightmare, should either be substantially reformed or repealed 
entirely.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\ Ditch, ``Road to Nowhere: How Biden and Congress Detour 
Highway Funds.''
    \38\ Diane Katz, ``Time to Repeal the Obsolete National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),'' Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 
3293, March 14, 2018, https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/
report/time-repeal-the-obsolete-national-environmental-policy-act-nepa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Congress can fight back against the growth of executive power by 
narrowing executive agency discretion, using oversight and legal 
remedies to combat instances of overreach, and reforming or repealing 
statutes that are being used to justify power grabs outside their 
original intent.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \39\ For example, the Biden Administration's citation of the 2003 
Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES Act) 
when issuing its recent student loan write-off. See Lindsey M. Burke 
and Jack Fitzhenry, ``Biden's Student Loan Bailout Boondoggle Is on 
Shaky Legal Footing,'' Heritage Foundation Commentary, September 1, 
2022, https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/bidens-student-
loan-bailout-boondoggle-shaky-legal-footing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reining in the relentless growth of federal spending and control 
would reduce the intensity of political fights, move the government off 
the road to bankruptcy, and enhance our economic prosperity.
    Thank you.

    Mr. DeFazio. I now recognize Adam Hersh, senior economist 
of the Economic Policy Institute.
    Mr. Hersh, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Hersh. Thank you, Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, 
committee members. Thank you for inviting me to talk with you 
today.
    I apologize that I couldn't be there in person, although I 
started having COVID symptoms yesterday, so, it is probably all 
for the best for all of us.
    I am a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a 
nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC. 
Our mission is to make the economy work for working people.
    Today I want to talk about two things: number one, why 
infrastructure matters; and number two, what impacts we can see 
and expect from recent major legislation to expand 
infrastructure investment.
    First, I want to recognize that this Congress has passed 
three critical pieces of legislation for American 
transportation and infrastructure. And by doing so, you have 
steered us down a path to higher, or broadly shared, and more 
sustainable prosperity. These pieces of legislation are the 
American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
    Now, considering that the previous administration and the 
115th and 116th Congresses before you talked a big game and 
repeatedly held infrastructure weeks but failed to deliver any 
infrastructure agenda, I think these will be remembered as 
monumental legislative achievements that fundamentally 
transformed the U.S. economy and improved everybody's quality 
of life.
    When the plans are fulfilled, Americans will have upgraded 
and expanded access to safer roads, waste less fuel and time in 
traffic congestion, drink cleaner water, and breathe cleaner 
air, send their kids to safer, modernized schools, access low-
cost sustainable energy and high-speed internet, enjoy the 
lower cost of doing business, and keep more money in their 
pockets because of the productivity and economic opportunities 
that these laws create.
    That said, we still need to be doing much more to meet the 
needs of our current economy and to provide the foundation for 
America's future prosperity and security. You, Congress, need 
to be doing much more here. Our country faces a staggering 
infrastructure gap, an incipient climate crisis, and 
intensifying international competition, where partners take 
more seriously the significance of infrastructure for economic 
growth and inclusion, as well as the risks of breaching the 
ecological boundaries that we need to sustain life on this 
planet.
    America has a choice: we can rise to this challenge and 
continue the work this Congress has started, or we can relegate 
ourselves to a long-term decline.
    So, why does infrastructure matter? Policy debates tend to 
focus on infrastructure only when we face an economic downturn 
and are looking for ways to stimulate investment and sustain 
employment. Infrastructure investment does this.
    Every job created directly with infrastructure projects 
creates, on average, an additional 17.8 jobs in other sectors 
of the economy, and supports our domestic manufacturing base. 
But infrastructure is even more fundamental to overall economic 
prosperity. It constitutes the essential public goods at the 
heart of our economy that allow people, goods, and ideas to be 
more easily exchanged, as well as to address the cost of 
negative externalities in such a large, complex, social 
organization. This is the truck, barter, and trade that Adam 
Smith famously wrote about in ``The Wealth of Nations.''
    Infrastructure lowers the cost of moving people and goods 
around, as well as creating more opportunities to trade 
information and spark innovation. It creates opportunity and 
higher productivity that underpins economic growth, and will 
yield dividends for years to come.
    Consider something as basic as bridges. You may have 
crossed a dozen or more to get to this hearing today, and you 
probably cross even more every time you go home to your 
district for your work periods. You likely barely notice that 
they are there. But this and other infrastructure assets are 
essential to everyday life for American families and 
businesses.
    A DOT inventory of roughly 620,000 U.S. bridges found that 
3 in 5 were in less than ``good'' condition. This means that 
most American bridges have reached or are approaching 
structural deficiency or functional obsolescence. Table 1 in my 
testimony reports the details of these for each State.
    And bridges are just one type of critical infrastructure. 
In addition to surface transportation assets, we have drinking, 
wastewater, and irrigation water systems; energy generation and 
transmission; public transit; passenger rail and aviation 
systems; coastal and inland waterways and ports; and high-speed 
internet and telecommunications, just to name a few classes of 
infrastructure.
    Economic life without these systems, or with a decaying 
infrastructure system, is unimaginable until catastrophe 
strikes: a collapsing bridge in Pittsburgh, a failing water 
system in Jackson, flooding of major communities. We can look 
forward to more of these things unless we continue to increase 
our resources going to infrastructure.
    Research on the longer term return on investment from 
public infrastructure finds, on average, every $100 spent 
generates an additional $17 to $73 of benefits throughout the 
rest of the economy. The benefits may be larger still than 
these estimates suggest. Typical economic models, such as those 
used by CBO, can paint misleading pictures by accounting for 
costs but not the full range of real-world benefits, making 
unrealistic assumptions about how people and markets behave and 
assessing investment returns over too short a time horizon.
    New research also shows that the economic return on 
infrastructure investment is higher, and the extent to which we 
begin from a sub-optimal level of capital stock, which is 
certainly the case for the United States. The American Society 
of Civil Engineers projects the U.S. economy will need an 
additional $6 trillion in infrastructure investment sustained 
over 10 years to close our infrastructure gap. The loss of 
functionality from infrastructure depreciation and 
underinvestment will cost the United States $10 trillion in 
GDP, 3 million jobs, and $2.4 trillion in lost exports by 2039.
    Mr. DeFazio [interrupting]. Could you summarize at this 
point, quickly? Your time is expired.
    Mr. Hersh. Yes, excuse me.
    I think there is a lot more to get into in this discussion. 
Let me just conclude by stressing that achieving our economic 
goals will require not just Congress allocating more resources 
to these problems, but also embracing new approaches to how we 
fund and incentivize infrastructure and technological 
investments.
    Thank you. I look forward to the discussion.
    [Mr. Hersh's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
Prepared Statement of Adam S. Hersh, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic 
                            Policy Institute
    Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, committee members, thank 
you for inviting me to talk with you today. I am Adam Hersh, Ph.D., 
Senior Economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan, 
501(c)3 nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC.
    Today, I will talk about 2 things:
    1.  Why infrastructure matters, and
    2.  What impacts we can see and expect from recent major 
legislation to expand infrastructure investment.

    First, I want to recognize that this Congress, over the past 18 
months, passed 3 monumental pieces of legislation that are critical for 
American transportation and infrastructure and by so doing have started 
America on a path to higher, more broadly shared, and more sustainable 
prosperity. These are the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the Inflation 
Reduction Act (IRA).
    Considering that the previous administration along the 115th and 
116th Congresses failed to advance any new infrastructure agenda--
despite grandiose pledges and repeated ``Infrastructure Weeks''--these 
3 acts mark not just monumental political achievements, but also the 
promise to fundamentally transform the American economy and improve 
everyone's quality of life.\i\ When these spending plans are fulfilled, 
you will have touched the lives of every single person in America with 
upgraded and expanded access to safer roads, less time spent in traffic 
congestion, cleaner drinking water and sanitation, modernized schools, 
dependable and sustainable energy grids, cleaner air and better health, 
lower costs of doing business, a revitalized manufacturing sector, more 
money in their pockets because of the investments in America this 
Congress has made.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \i\ Emily Cochrane and Eileen Sullivan. 2020. ``The Many Times It's 
Been `Infrastructure Week' in Washington.'' New York Times. April 1. 
Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/us/
politics/coronavirus-infrastructure-week-timeline.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Still, all you have done is far from enough. We need to be doing 
much more to meet the needs of our current economy and provide the 
foundation for America's future prosperity and security. America faces 
a yawning infrastructure deficit and if we don't rise to meet this 
moment, we risk being left behind economically.
                     1. Why Infrastructure Matters
    Infrastructure constitutes the essential public goods at the heart 
of our economy that allow people, goods, and ideas to be more easily 
exchanged, as well as to address the costs of negative externalities 
arising in such complex social organization.\ii\ This is the ``truck, 
barter, and trade,'' that Adam Smith wrote about in his book, The 
Wealth of Nations; infrastructure lowers the cost of moving people and 
goods as well as creating more opportunities to trade information and 
spark innovation. Policy debates often focus on infrastructure's impact 
in terms of the jobs and investment that can be created today. Yes, 
every job created directly in infrastructure construction creates an 
additional 17.8 jobs in other sectors of the economy and fuel domestic 
manufacturing.\iii\ But infrastructure is even more essential to 
creating the opportunity and productivity that propels economic 
activity into the future, yielding economic dividends for years to come 
by connecting people, goods, and information together more efficiently.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \ii\ Technically, economists define a ``public good'' as non-rival 
and non-excludable, although in common usage public goods may also 
refer to rival, non-excludable goods.
    \iii\ Bivens, L. Josh. 2019. ``Updated employment multipliers for 
the U.S. economy.'' Economic Policy Institute. January 23.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Consider your own consumption of a very basic infrastructure good 
like bridges. You may have crossed a dozen or more to get to this 
hearing today. You probably cross dozens more on every trip home for 
your district work periods. You probably don't notice them passing by 
while you are busy on your mobile phone, but they are essential to 
everyday life in America and they are in trouble. A Department of 
Transportation survey of nearly 620,000 bridges nationally finds that 3 
in 5 in less than ``good'' condition, while 2 in 5 are more than 50 
years old.\iv\ Practically, this means most American bridges have 
reached or are approaching structural deficiency or functional 
obsolescence. Some states are significantly worse off than the average: 
in West Virginia 79% of bridges are in less than good condition, 74% in 
Kentucky, and 66% in Pennsylvania (see Table 1). Even in relatively 
well-situated states like Ohio and Florida, 39% and 38% of bridges, 
respectively, are still problematic--totaling more than 15,000 bridges.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \iv\ EPI analysis of Department of Transportation. 2022. National 
Bridge Inventory: Bridge Condition by County 2022. June 15. Accessed 
September 15, 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/no10/
county22.cfm; ASCE. 2021. Making the Grade: America's Infrastructure 
Report Card 2021: Bridges. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://
infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Bridges-
2021.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bridges are just one type of critical infrastructure. There are 
many more that are also essential in everyday life for American 
families and businesses. Until now, Congress has allowed America's 
infrastructure to go to rot, failed to supply it in adequate amounts, 
and--whether by design or malign neglect--too often forced select 
communities most in need of affordable transportation to bear the costs 
of infrastructure projects while excluding them from the benefits. 
These include:
      Roads and other surface transportation assets
      Drinking, waste, and irrigation water systems
      Energy generation and transmission
      Public transit, passenger rail, and airports and aviation 
systems
      Coastal and inland waterways and ports
      Access to high-speed internet
      Conservation and public recreation space

    America has been disinvesting in infrastructure assets for years, 
and our growing deficiencies impose staggering economic costs.\v\ The 
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates that the loss of 
functionality from America's depreciated infrastructure assets will 
cost the United States $10 trillion in GDP, 3 million jobs, and $2.4 
trillion in lost exports by 2039 due to increased costs of doing 
business, lost time and wasted fuel, health impacts, and other 
individual costs that add up to a big deal in the aggregate.\vi\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \v\ Ayres Steinberg, Sarah, and Adam Hersh. 2013. ``New Ryan Budget 
Cuts Investments in America's Future.'' Center for American Progress. 
March 13. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/new-ryan-budget-
cuts-investments-in-americas-future/; Bivens, L. Josh. 2017. ``The 
potential macroeconomic benefits from increasing infrastructure 
investment.'' Economic Policy Institute. July 18.
    \vi\ ASCE. 2021. Infrastructure Report Card. Accessed https://
infrastructurereportcard.org/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The ASCE projects that the U.S. economy will need $6 trillion in 
infrastructure investment, sustained over 10 years, may be too low. The 
aging infrastructure we have is ill-prepared to cope with increasingly 
frequent severe weather events, wildfires, and flooding we can expect 
moving forward as the climate warms--and certainly if we fail to limit 
that warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels--which 
will cause it to deteriorate faster. And the ASCE analysis did not 
factor in additional investments that will be needed to deploy 
decarbonization technologies at the ambitious pace and scale needed to 
meet emissions targets. The U.S. Global Change Research Program 
estimated that, if unabated, climate change will permanently reduce 
U.S. GDP by 10 percent.\vii\ Economic losses will result from harm to 
physical assets, reduced industrial and agricultural productivity, 
increased mortality and health impacts on labor force participation, 
and socio-political destabilization around the world. Other researchers 
estimate an additional $400-600 billion investment a year is needed to 
achieve carbon net neutrality.\viii\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \vii\ U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) 2018. Impacts, 
Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate 
Assessment, Volume II. https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/.
    \viii\ Pollin, Robert, Shouvik Chakraborty, and Jeanette Wicks-Lim. 
2021. ``Employment Impacts of Proposed U.S. Economic Stimulus Programs: 
Job Creation, Job Quality, and Demographic Distribution Measures.'' 
Political Economy Research Institute. https://peri.umass.edu/
publication/item/1397-employment-impacts-of-proposed-u-s-economic-
stimulus-programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The good news is that you have the power to change this in ways 
that will yield outsized effects on the U.S. economy and the lives of 
families across this country. Research on the longer-term return on 
investment from public infrastructure finds that, on average, every 
$100 spent on infrastructure generates an additional $17 benefit, 
though some research finds a return on investment as high as 73 
percent.\ix\ The broad economic benefits may be even larger than these 
estimates suggest. Typical economic models, such as those used by the 
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score legislation, can paint a 
misleading picture by accounting for costs but not the full range of 
real-world benefits, making unrealistic assumptions about how people 
and markets behave, and assessing investment returns over too short a 
time horizon.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \ix\ See Bivens, L. Josh. 2017. ``The potential macroeconomic 
benefits from increasing infrastructure investment.'' Economic Policy 
Institute. July 18. https://www.epi.org/publication/the-potential-
macroeconomic-benefits-from-increasing-infrastructure-investment/; 
Heintz, James. 2010. ``The Impact of Public Capital on the U.S. Private 
Economy: New Evidence and Analysis.'' International Review of Applied 
Economics. Vol. 24, no. 5, 619-32; Berechman, Joseph, Dilruba Ozmen, 
and Kaan Ozbay. 2006. ``Empirical analysis of transportation investment 
and economic development at state, county and municipality levels.'' 
Transportation. Vol. 33, pp. 537-551.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the real world, infrastructure investments deliver an immediate 
economic surge, but also simultaneously achieve other objectives, for 
example:
      Expanding broadband internet access to rural and other 
neglected communities will not only create immediate jobs installing 
communications equipment, but will help bring to every corner of the 
country employment, education, health care, and social opportunities 
afforded by connectivity.
      Overhauling public water systems to eliminate lead and 
other toxics not only will create a lot of jobs and lower utility 
prices for families and businesses, but also yield lifelong impacts on 
educational attainment, earnings, and productivity for those living in 
affected communities.
      Reinvesting in and expanding sustainable public 
transportation systems will create direct jobs, but also open new 
opportunities for labor force participation and higher wages and 
productivity--connecting people to jobs that were literally out of 
reach--reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality and 
therefore health and education outcomes.

    This Congress has taken significant steps in the right direction to 
do this with ARPA, IIJA, and IRA, allocating new resources to these 
long-neglected foundations of national economic prosperity. But it is 
also important to note that the foundations of a dynamic and efficient 
economy go deeper than hard physical infrastructure assets. The 
pandemic ``she-cession'' has laid bare how essential caregiving 
``soft'' infrastructure also is for the overall economy and that 
inadequate and unequal access to quality care has caused preventable 
harm to individuals, families, and on aggregate economic performance. 
America's lack of paid caregiving infrastructure represents a glaring 
obstacle to achieving the country's full economic potential that future 
Congresses must address.
       2. Benefits of ARPA, IIJA, and IRA Infrastructure Measures
    ARPA delivered critical resources to American state, local, tribal, 
and territorial governments in a time of acute crisis so that they 
could maintain continuity in essential public and private 
transportation and infrastructure services when revenue streams tanked; 
\x\ expanded and accelerated local infrastructure projects to offset 
demand losses in other sectors of the economy; and provided support for 
struggling small businesses and families to keep the lights on. Moody's 
analytics found that ARPA increased employment by more than 4 million 
jobs and nearly doubled the rate of GDP growth in 2021, and delivered 
sufficient aggregate demand to ensure that the Great Lockdown of 2020 
did not repeat in a double-dip recession.\xi\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \x\ In addition to supporting public health, public security, and 
education services, and providing aggregate demand support more 
generally--through the business and household sectors--with indirect 
economic benefits for transportation and infrastructure industries.
    \xi\ Moody's Analytics. 2022. ``Global Fiscal Policy in the 
Pandemic.'' Moody's Analytics. February 24. Accessed https://
www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2022/global-fiscal-policy-in-
the-pandemic.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act reauthorized funding for 
existing infrastructure and provided nearly $550 billion in new 
investments in surface transportation, public transit and rail, water, 
and broadband internet infrastructure, along with new investments in 
renewable energy and electric vehicles.\xii\ By my estimates, the 
additional infrastructure spending in IIJA supports 772,400 jobs 
annually.\xiii\ Table 2 details the number of jobs associated with each 
program under the IIJA, with most jobs coming from road and surface 
transportation projects, though all program areas provide significant 
job creation effects.\xiv\ Table 3 looks at the kinds of jobs that IIJA 
will create broadly across the economy. Of course, the construction 
industry comprises the largest share of employment, with nearly 176,000 
jobs annually. But the investments also stimulate 175,000 jobs annually 
in the manufacturing sector, nearly 100,000 jobs in transportation 
industries, and more broadly across other industries through induced 
demand. Critically, Buy America and prevailing wage provisions in this 
and other legislation help set a high standard for contractors to 
ensure that America's investments create good jobs with fair wages and 
contribute to the revitalization of our manufacturing base. Moody's 
Analytics estimates that, at the peak of the expenditures, U.S. GDP 
will be roughly 0.8 percentage points higher as a result of IIJA.\xv\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \xii\ Adam S. Hersh. 2021. ```Build Back Better' agenda will ensure 
strong, stable recovery in coming years.'' Economic Policy Institute. 
September 16. https://www.epi.org/publication/iija-budget-
reconciliation-jobs/.
    \xiii\ To be clear, these average annual number of jobs supported 
cannot be summed together over 10 years. If, for example, all of the 
spending ramped up in Year 1 and then persisted, then 772,400 jobs 
would be supported in the first year and then this number would persist 
but not grow. Over the 10-year window, one could cumulate these job 
numbers and classify them as ``job-years''--a measure of total hours of 
work supported by this spending over the next decade. For more on the 
estimation methodology, see Adam S. Hersh. 2021. `` `Build Back Better' 
agenda will ensure strong, stable recovery in coming years.'' Economic 
Policy Institute. September 16. https://www.epi.org/publication/iija-
budget-reconciliation-jobs/.
    \xiv\ These tables are reproduced from a report that also analyzed 
the potential effects of President Biden's broader Build Back Better 
agenda.
    \xv\ Moody's Analytics. 2021. ``Macroeconomic Consequences of the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act & Build Back Better Framework.'' 
Moody's Analytics. November 4. https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/
article/2021/macroeconomic-consequences-of-the-infrastructure-
investment-and-jobs-act-and-build-back-better-framework.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Ink is still drying on the Inflation Reduction Act, but it is clear 
this is the most ambitious action Congress has taken to confront the 
impending climate change crisis with more than 100 programs that will 
restore, expand, and modernize a broad range of infrastructure systems. 
These investments will bring the costs of transportation, electricity 
and other utilities, building heating and cooling for families and 
businesses in America. The spending will do so while supporting 
domestic manufacturing and development of new domestic industries where 
U.S. businesses will lead innovation and critical components of energy 
goods and systems will better insulated from disruption in global 
supply chains. University of Massachusetts economists estimate that IRA 
will generate 912,000 jobs per year, on average, for 10 years from the 
public and private investments that the policies incentivize.\xvi\ 
Rhodium Group economists estimate that IRA will reduce energy costs for 
the average household by $730 to $1135 annually.\xvii\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \xvi\ Robert Pollin, Chirag Lala, Shouvik Chakraborty. 2022. ``Job 
Creation Estimates Through Proposed Inflation Reduction Act.'' 
Political Economy Research Institute. August 4. Accessed https://
peri.umass.edu/publication/item/1633-job-creation-estimates-through-
proposed-inflation-reduction-act.
    \xvii\ John Larsen, Ben King, Hannah Kolus, Naveen Dasari, Galen 
Hiltbrand, and Whitney Herndon. 2022. ``A Turning Point for US Climate 
Progress: Assessing the Climate and Clean Energy Provisions in the 
Inflation Reduction Act.'' Rhodium Group. August 12. Accessed https://
rhg.com/research/climate-clean-energy-inflation-reduction-act/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Conclusion
    While this Congress has taken great strides to tackle pressing 
crises while reinvesting in the infrastructure at the foundation of 
America's long-term economic prosperity. Achieving our economic goals 
will require not just significantly more resources, but embracing new 
approaches to the public role in how we fund and incentivize 
infrastructure and technological investments. Thank you.

                                                     Table 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       State                           All      Good      Fair    Poor    Rank    % Fair + Poor
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AK................................................     1,626       739      761     126     18              55%
AL................................................    16,162     6,416    9,171     575     26              60%
AR................................................    12,955     6,136    6,145     674     16              53%
AZ................................................     8,497     5,334    3,056     107      2              37%
CA................................................    25,810    12,091   12,172   1,547     17              53%
CO................................................     8,917     3,056    5,409     452     33              66%
CT................................................     4,353     1,253    2,875     225     42              71%
DC................................................       248        78      166       4     39              69%
DE................................................       872       320      538      14     29              63%
FL................................................    12,740     7,871    4,414     455      3              38%
GA................................................    15,034    11,239    3,502     293      1              25%
HI................................................     1,177       284      819      74     49              76%
IA................................................    23,835     9,320    9,911   4,604     27              61%
ID................................................     4,579     1,315    3,030     234     43              71%
IL................................................    26,873    12,748   11,702   2,423     15              53%
IN................................................    19,367     7,916   10,411   1,040     25              59%
KS................................................    24,931    13,231   10,406   1,294      8              47%
KY................................................    14,482     3,915    9,554   1,013     46              73%
LA................................................    12,733     5,498    5,664   1,571     21              57%
MA................................................     5,252     1,330    3,478     444     48              75%
MD................................................     5,456     1,780    3,425     251     38              67%
ME................................................     2,505       678    1,472     355     45              73%
MI................................................    11,314     3,951    6,094   1,269     32              65%
MN................................................    13,497     7,806    5,089     602      5              42%
MO................................................    24,569     9,455   12,884   2,230     28              62%
MS................................................    16,782     9,660    6,025   1,097      6              42%
MT................................................     5,278     1,624    3,287     367     41              69%
NC................................................    18,822     7,791    9,728   1,303     24              59%
ND................................................     4,281     1,901    1,931     449     19              56%
NE................................................    15,336     7,952    6,164   1,220     11              48%
NH................................................     2,531     1,339    1,002     190      9              47%
NJ................................................     6,805     1,791    4,559     455     47              74%
NM................................................     4,033     1,441    2,393     199     31              64%
NV................................................     2,071     1,184      858      29      7              43%
NY................................................    17,557     6,350    9,596   1,611     30              64%
OH................................................    27,003    16,437    9,343   1,223      4              39%
OK................................................    23,197     9,824   11,166   2,207     22              58%
OR................................................     8,255     2,802    5,057     396     34              66%
PA................................................    23,202     7,798   12,292   3,112     35              66%
RI................................................       784       168      486     130     51              79%
SC................................................     9,427     4,095    4,855     477     20              57%
SD................................................     5,897     1,950    2,951     996     37              67%
TN................................................    20,377     8,621   10,875     881     23              58%
TX................................................    55,701    28,040   26,887     774     14              50%
UT................................................     3,080       858    2,158      64     44              72%
VA................................................    14,042     4,668    8,873     501     36              67%
VT................................................     2,846     1,493    1,282      71     10              48%
WA................................................     8,388     4,291    3,674     423     13              49%
WI................................................    14,336     7,356    6,058     922     12              49%
WV................................................     7,317     1,711    4,145   1,461     50              77%
WY................................................     3,121       967    1,949     205     40              69%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                 Table 2
   Jobs supported by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and budget
      reconciliation bill spending, average per year over 10 years
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Category                               Jobs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roads, bridges, major projects.............................      196,074
Safety.....................................................       19,607
Public transit.............................................       69,517
Rail.......................................................       72,933
Electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.......................       16,686
Reconnecting communities...................................        1,782
Airports...................................................       26,394
Ports and waterways........................................       23,138
Water infrastructure.......................................       79,964
Broadband infrastructure...................................       60,605
Environmental remediation..................................       35,412
Power infrastructure, including grid authority.............       81,206
Resilience.................................................       89,125
                                                            ------------
  Subtotal.................................................      772,444
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Budget reconciliation bill
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal pre-K............................................      197,659
Child care.................................................      341,711
Clean energy tax incentives................................      153,664
Electric vehicle (EV) rebates..............................       41,043
Agriculture/forestry.......................................       69,593
Clean energy accelerator/green bank/infrastructure bank....       12,531
Civilian Conservation Corps................................        6,951
Federal procurement of clean technology....................       21,016
Weatherization.............................................        9,060
Place-based clean energy economic development and                  8,072
 environment...............................................
Education (postsecondary)..................................      321,989
Long-term care.............................................      545,598
ACA Premiums...............................................      102,768
Dental, vision, hearing....................................      251,109
Public housing, preservation, supply, and affordability....      115,261
Lawful permanent residences for immigrants.................       80,288
Community college infrastructure...........................        7,633
Critical Supply Chain Resilience Fund......................       26,359
Manufacturing USA..........................................        2,279
National Institute for Science and Technology Laboratories.        3,038
Extension Partnerships.....................................        5,317
Regional Innovation Hubs...................................        7,596
Community Revitalization Fund..............................        6,717
Auto supply chain..........................................       17,308
Manufacturing financing....................................       12,800
Small Business Administration and minority business               18,433
 development...............................................
Rural Partnership Fund.....................................        2,636
Pandemic preparedness: HHS, DOE, DOD.......................       12,508
Research and development...................................      149,450
Workforce..................................................       82,177
Child nutrition............................................       56,559
Paid leave.................................................      143,371
CTC/EITC/CDCTC.............................................      414,182
                                                            ------------
  Subtotal.................................................    3,246,677
                                                            ------------
    Total..................................................    4,019,122
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: Research and development includes research programs for
  infrastructure, the National Science Foundation Technology
  Directorate, climate research, Department of Energy demonstrating
  funding, ARPA-Climate initiatives, historically Black colleges and
  universities, and STEM centers of excellence and education programs.
  Pandemic preparedness includes designated funding for the Departments
  of Health and Human Services, Energy, and Defense. CTC/EITC/CDCTC
  denotes Child Tax Credit/Earned Income Tax Credit/Child and Dependent
  Care Tax Credit.
Source: EPI analysis of White House 2021b, 2021c, and 2021d.


                                 Table 3
 Jobs supported annually by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
         Act (IIJA) and budget reconciliation bill, by industry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Jobs
                                  --------------------------------------
             Industry                            Budget
                                     IIJA    reconciliation     Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture, forestry, fishing        2,393          47,294       49,686
 and hunting.....................
Oil and gas extraction...........       652           1,354        2,006
Mining (excl. oil and gas).......     2,353           3,823        6,176
Utilities........................     3,018           5,704        8,722
Construction.....................   175,501         136,708      312,210
Manufacturing....................   174,628         381,628      556,256
  Food...........................       383          14,526       14,909
  Beverage and tobacco product...        73           2,288        2,361
  Textile mills and textile             827           3,806        4,633
   product mills.................
  Apparel, leather and allied           304           7,586        7,890
   products......................
  Wood products..................     5,119          23,262       28,381
  Paper products.................     1,499           5,114        6,613
  Printing and related support        1,296           5,876        7,172
   activities....................
  Petroleum and coal products....       793           1,129        1,922
  Chemical manufacturing.........     2,704          17,180       19,883
  Plastics and rubber products...     8,416          11,852       20,268
  Nonmetallic mineral product....     7,741           7,550       15,292
  Primary metal..................     7,166          13,458       20,624
  Architectural and structural        8,179          34,188       42,367
   products; boiler, tank, and
   shipping containers...........
  Other fabricated metal products    14,861          31,393       46,254
  Agricultural, construction,         1,356           9,481       10,837
   commercial and service, and
   metalworking machinery........
  Engine, turbine, and power            439           9,525        9,964
   transmission equipment........
  HVAC and misc. industrial           6,134          57,971       64,105
   machinery.....................
  Computer and peripheral               127           6,418        6,545
   equipment.....................
  Communications and audio and          254           1,700        1,954
   video equipment...............
  Navigational, measuring,            1,031           2,722        3,753
   electromedical, and control
   instruments...................
  Semiconductor and other             2,615          12,722       15,337
   electronic components;
   reproducing magnetic and
   optical media.................
  Household appliances...........       761          14,365       15,126
  Other electrical equipment,        46,144          45,732       91,876
   appliances, and components....
  Motor vehicle and motor vehicle    24,927          21,924       46,851
   parts.........................
  Aerospace products and parts...     4,127           1,120        5,248
  Railroad, ship, and other          11,060             792       11,852
   transportation equipment......
  Furniture and related products.     2,239           4,834        7,073
  Miscellaneous manufacturing....    14,053          13,112       27,165
Wholesale trade..................    24,133          63,158       87,291
Retail trade.....................    17,862         158,596      176,458
Transit and ground passenger         99,474           8,644      108,119
 transportation..................
Other transportation and             39,184          59,513       98,697
 warehousing.....................
Information......................    12,747          27,979       40,726
Finance and insurance............    11,766          33,538       45,304
Real estate, rental and leasing..     6,157          22,264       28,420
Professional, scientific, and        45,922         161,092      207,013
 technical services..............
Management of companies and          10,392          50,774       61,166
 enterprises.....................
Employment support services and      31,100          89,287      120,387
 building services...............
Waste management and remediation     33,339          52,536       85,875
 and other administrative and
 support services................
Educational services.............       998         225,870      226,868
Health care and social assistance       674       1,069,517    1,070,191
Arts, entertainment, and              5,876          31,323       37,199
 recreation......................
Accommodation and food services..     9,502         110,030      119,532
Other private services...........     5,555          55,880       61,435
Public administration............    59,221         450,164      509,384
                                  --------------------------------------
  Total..........................   772,445       3,246,675    4,019,119
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: EPI analysis of White House 2021b, 2021c, and 2021d and BLS
  2020.


    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you, thank you. My thanks to all the 
witnesses.
    Before we get into questions, I just want to take the 
opportunity to briefly discuss the Payroll Support Program, 
which was supported on a bipartisan basis by this committee and 
by the United States Congress.
    People say, well, it didn't work. Look at the interruptions 
to schedules this summer. Well, as Ms. Nelson mentioned, just 
look at Europe and what a mess they are. We would have had a 
fraction of the flights in the air this summer that we did 
have. Demand came back, roaring back. And yes, the airlines 
weren't quite ready for that, but they would have been totally 
unprepared without the PSP program.
    As Ms. Nelson pointed out, unlike 2001 and 2008, when 
airlines got money after the attack on the World Trade Center 
and after the economic collapse in 2008, many declared 
bankruptcy. We saw consolidation, and employees lost their 
pensions, and we said it is not going to be that way this time. 
You are going to pass the money through to your employees, you 
keep them qualified, and you will be ready when the pandemic 
abates.
    We, at that point, couldn't anticipate when we first passed 
that it was going to go on as long as it did with several 
surges. But I think it was extraordinarily successful.
    And so, I want to enter into the record a letter signed by 
70 of my colleagues that is directed to Airlines for America, 
National Air Carrier Association, and the Regional Airlines 
Association, urging that, with the expiration of the stock 
buyback on October 1st, that airlines refrain from stock 
buybacks.
    Stock buybacks used to be illegal until the Reagan 
administration. It is the ultimate in self-dealing. It doesn't 
benefit customers. It only benefits those whose salaries are 
tied to stock price and, of course, stockholders. And a large 
majority of Americans do not own any significant amount of 
stock in the airlines or the oil companies or others that have 
been profiting coming out of the problems with COVID.
    So, today we are sending this letter to ask them to refrain 
until such a time as they can meet current demands with proper 
staffing and customer service. And I am hopeful that they will 
receive this and will act accordingly.
    So, with that, I ask unanimous consent to enter this in 
record.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    [The information follows:]

                                 
    Letter of September 29, 2022, to Airlines for America, Regional 
  Airlines Association, and National Air Carrier Association, from 70 
 Members of Congress, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
                     Congress of the United States,
                                      Washington, DC 20515,
                                                September 29, 2022.
Mr. Nicholas Calio,
President and CEO,
Airlines for America, 1275 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1300, 
        Washington, DC 20004.
Ms. Faye Malarkey Black,
President and CEO,
Regional Airlines Association, 1201 15th St. NW, Suite 430, Washington, 
        DC 20005.
Mr. George Novak,
President,
National Air Carrier Association, 1735 N. Lynn, Suite 105, Arlington, 
        VA 22209.
    Dear Mr. Calio, Ms. Black, and Mr. Novak:
    When the pandemic struck in 2020, Congress came together in a 
bipartisan manner and quickly passed the Payroll Support Program (PSP), 
an aid program that unequivocally prevented the unmitigated disaster 
and potential collapse of our nation's aviation system. Unfortunately, 
other countries that were either too slow or too limited in their 
response are still struggling to recover and, in some cases, parts of 
their aviation system ceased operations altogether. The PSP, which 
provided approximately $50 billion in aid to the U.S. aviation sector, 
safeguarded the livelihoods of the 750,000 plus workers employed by 
U.S. airlines as well as those in manufacturing and maintenance. In 
doing so, it not only protected those jobs, but it ensured the 
airlines' ability to return to service by precluding a crippling 
attrition of talent during this temporary crisis.
    The PSP also included clear limitations on the use of funds. 
Specifically, it mandated a prohibition on involuntary furloughs, 
forbid cuts to hourly rates of pay, required continued service to all 
communities, banned stock buybacks and dividends through September 30, 
2022, and capped executive compensation through April 1, 2023. This was 
purposely done so federal funding would be directed to frontline 
workers for their pay and benefits and to prevent airline shareholders 
and investors from profiting off an economic crisis and taxpayer money. 
As a result, PSP saved thousands of aviation industry jobs and accrued 
tremendous benefits for workers, airlines, and consumers alike. Given 
the restrictions outlined above, those who characterize the PSP as a 
bailout for the airlines are entirely off the mark; it was solely a 
program to protect the integrity of the aviation system and its 
workers.
    Fortunately, the U.S. aviation system survived the pandemic. 
Unfortunately, it is now having trouble meeting the increasing and 
pleasantly unexpected public demand for air travel. In just the first 
half of 2022, U.S. airlines have canceled more flights than in all of 
2019, disrupting travel for millions of passengers. Meanwhile, despite 
PSP, flight attendants, pilots, and other aviation workers have had to 
endure increasingly stressful working conditions due to inadequate 
staffing and an unprecedented number of unruly passengers, which has 
led to a growing number of workers leaving the industry for better 
opportunities. This, combined with (1) changing travel patterns as the 
market adjusts to more leisure-oriented destinations, (2) 
infrastructure and system limitations, and (3) retraining and 
onboarding delays, has created a critically challenging post-crisis 
climate the aviation industry must navigate.
    Some carriers have done just that by adjusting and adapting their 
schedules to compensate for this new normal. Others, meanwhile, have 
been much slower to respond, resulting in a deluge of cancellations, 
delays, complaints, and headlines. Even the Department of 
Transportation has taken notice, launching a dashboard for travelers to 
compare airline cancellation policies. Simultaneously, communities with 
small airports have been increasingly frustrated that routes are either 
being reduced or cut altogether. Suffice to say, the industry has some 
more work to do before we say we've returned to normal operations.
    We stand united with the entire U.S. airline industry and applaud 
them for weathering the pandemic. And to be clear, not all of the 
operational challenges we're seeing around the country are the fault of 
the airlines. The FAA is also trying to tackle these issues, working to 
replenish their ranks and balance staffing to better serve the 
drastically different new post-COVID travel patterns. That said, given 
the cracks in the system which the pandemic exposed and the number of 
displaced passengers due to chaotic operations, we urge your member 
carriers to refrain from initiating stock buybacks when the prohibition 
ends on September 30, 2022, at least until air carriers are able to 
publish and fulfill schedules that meet demand; staff flights and key 
personnel positions appropriately; and return service to every 
community--big or small.
    We look forward to your response.
        Sincerely,
Peter A. DeFazio,
  Member of Congress.
Rick Larsen,
  Member of Congress.
Adam Smith,
  Member of Congress.
Adriano Espaillat,
  Member of Congress.
Alan Lowenthal,
  Member of Congress.
Albio Sires,
  Member of Congress.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
  Member of Congress.
Alma S. Adams, Ph.D.,
  Member of Congress.
Andre Carson,
  Member of Congress.
Andy Levin,
  Member of Congress.
Ayanna Pressley,
  Member of Congress.
Barbara Lee,
  Member of Congress.
Bonnie Watson Coleman,
  Member of Congress.
Carolyn B. Maloney,
  Member of Congress.
Carolyn Bourdeaux,
  Member of Congress.
Colin Allred,
  Member of Congress.
Conor Lamb,
  Member of Congress.
Cori Bush,
  Member of Congress.
Danny K. Davis,
  Member of Congress.
David N. Cicilline,
  Member of Congress.
Dean Phillips,
  Member of Congress.
Debbie Dingell,
  Member of Congress.
Donald M. Payne, Jr.,
  Member of Congress.
Donald Norcross,
  Member of Congress.
Donald S. Beyer, Jr.,
  Member of Congress.
Dwight Evans,
  Member of Congress.
Eleanor Holmes Norton,
  Member of Congress.
Emanuel Cleaver, II,
  Member of Congress.
Eric Swalwell,
  Member of Congress.
Frederica S. Wilson,
  Member of Congress.
  
Gerald E. Connolly,
  Member of Congress.
Grace F. Napolitano,
  Member of Congress.
Grace Meng,
  Member of Congress.
Haley Stevens,
  Member of Congress.
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr.,
  Member of Congress.
Jahana Hayes,
  Member of Congress.
Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D.,
  Member of Congress.
Jamie Raskin,
  Member of Congress.
Jan Schakowsky,
  Member of Congress.
Jared Huffman,
  Member of Congress.
Jerrold Nadler,
  Member of Congress.
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia,
  Member of Congress.
Joe Courtney,
  Member of Congress.
John Garamendi,
  Member of Congress.
Judy Chu,
  Member of Congress.
Katie Porter,
  Member of Congress.
Lloyd Doggett,
  Member of Congress.
Lucille Roybal-Allard,
  Member of Congress.
Marcy Kaptur,
  Member of Congress.
Marie Newman,
  Member of Congress.
Mark DeSaulnier,
  Member of Congress.
Mark Pocan,
  Member of Congress.
Mark Takano,
  Member of Congress.
Nanette Diaz Barragan,
  Member of Congress.
Nikema Williams,
  Member of Congress.
Nydia M. Velazquez,
  Member of Congress.
Pramila Jayapal,
  Member of Congress.
Rashida Tlaib,
  Member of Congress.
Raul M. Grijalva,
  Member of Congress.
Ro Khanna,
  Member of Congress.
  
Rosa L. DeLauro,
  Member of Congress.
Salud Carbajal,
  Member of Congress.
Sean Patrick Maloney,
  Member of Congress.
Seth Moulton,
  Member of Congress.
Sharice L. Davids,
  Member of Congress.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick,
  Member of Congress.
Stephen F. Lynch,
  Member of Congress.
Steve Cohen,
  Member of Congress.
Tom Malinowski,
  Member of Congress.
Troy A. Carter, Sr.,
  Member of Congress.

    Mr. DeFazio. All right, we will now go to formal questions, 
and I will first start with Ms. Nelson.
    Would you briefly--very briefly, because I want to ask 
questions to a number of people--summarize the difference 
between what happened in 2001, 2008, and with PSP?
    Ms. Nelson. Certainly. In 2001, the airlines were given $5 
billion to recover their time that the airplanes were actually 
on the ground. They were also given a grant program that many 
did not even get approval for, even though airline employees 
agreed to concessions.
    The result was bankruptcies across the industry. We lost 
our pensions. We took a 30- to 40-percent cut in pay. We 
increased productivity, so that airlines were working 
essentially with one worker for every two that they had pre-9/
11. That was a bad move going into the pandemic, actually, and 
part of what we saw as a result of staffing problems this 
summer.
    The bailout was really put on the backs of employees, while 
airline executives and bankruptcy lawyers enriched themselves. 
It grew inequality, and it was 20 years of austerity where we 
did not work on any infrastructure issues. We did not move 
forward on diversity and inclusion initiatives. We did not 
improve union contracts. We did not attract people to the 
airline industry.
    And that is also why we do not have people in the funnel 
right now for many of the jobs, like pilot jobs, mechanic jobs, 
flight attendant jobs, and otherwise.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK, thanks. And so, we could assume that, had 
we not engaged in this program, as you pointed out with Europe, 
that things would have been--despite the problems this summer, 
it would have been way, way worse.
    Ms. Nelson. First of all, this was a bigger crisis than 9/
11 by 100-fold. This was the biggest crisis in 100 years in the 
airline industry. And this committee saved the airline industry 
and made it possible for us to move forward now, and not have 
another 20 years of austerity and hurt for everyone, and 
probably just one airline serving all of America.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you. Now to Mr. Regan.
    Would you comment on what would have happened with transit, 
had you not received the funds to keep people on the job?
    Mr. Regan. Yes. I think basically every public transit 
system in the country would have gone bankrupt. I don't think 
we would have had service in most of the cities, whether it be 
large or small communities across the country.
    And frankly, the way that the aid was structured--again, 
driven towards workers--allowed them to not only keep the 
service going, which allowed people who needed that service 
during the pandemic--which included medical officials, people 
in food service, other critical workers that were keeping our 
country moving during the pandemic--could continue to use the 
service.
    But then we had the workforce in place. So, as we started 
to see demand rise again--and I have seen numbers of upwards of 
75 percent of where we were pre-pandemic--that we had the 
workforce and the infrastructure in place to actually be able 
to meet those demands.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you.
    Mr. Desue, I mean, some have said, well, we gave the 
transit agencies too much money, way more than they normally 
receive. We allowed them to use it for operating, which we 
usually don't. Is TriMet rolling in money there?
    What did you do with all that money?
    Mr. Desue. Actually, we used the money to save lives, 
actually to put services out on the street, to get people to 
destinations, to get people, frontline workers, to work to be 
able to assist us. And we used all of our money that was given 
to us to make sure that we connected people to opportunities, 
and we also connected people to essential services.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you.
    And Mr. Gardner, similar for Amtrak.
    You talked quite a bit about the future and what is coming 
out of IIJA, but going through the pandemic?
    Mr. Gardner. Mr. Chairman. Yes. Without the funding we 
received, Amtrak would not have survived. There is no question.
    We were facing dramatic losses of revenue and ridership, 
and strong interest in maintaining the network required 
additional investments. And because of the investments we 
received, we were able to recall workers and operate our 
services. And those have been incredibly important to 
preserving the network, and now give us a platform from which 
to improve.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK, thank you.
    Mr. Ditch, if I understood your testimony, it is kind of 
the same thing we saw during the Trump administration with the 
advisor on transportation, which is we should devolve the duty 
to all of the 50 States and the Territories to provide for the 
Nation's transportation network.
    Now, it didn't work in the 1950s. I didn't bring it today 
because I didn't expect anybody to go back to the stupid 
argument of the poster that I have, which was the cover of Life 
magazine, which was this brandnew, beautiful ribbon of 
concrete, the Kansas Turnpike. Oops, suddenly it ends in a 
farmer's field, and it ended in that farmer's field because 
Oklahoma didn't have the money. They said, ``Well, we will 
build it, but we don't have the money.'' And they didn't build 
it until the Eisenhower program.
    So, we are going to say to, like, say, L.A.-Long Beach, 
hey, it is up to you to get all of that freight out of 
California. And when it reaches the Arizona border, it is up to 
Arizona to move it, and it is up to the next State to move it? 
We are not going to have a coordinated Federal program, because 
you are talking about basically a 60-percent reduction from 
what is in the IIJA.
    Now, you really think that is going to rebuild those 42,000 
bridges, that is going to deal with a $100 billion backlog in 
transit, or we just shouldn't bother?
    Mr. Ditch. I believe----
    Mr. DeFazio [interrupting]. Briefly.
    Mr. Ditch [continuing]. That there has been quite a lot of 
bloviation about the concept of crumbling roads and bridges, 
even though, historically, if you look decade by decade, the 
quality of our infrastructure in America has, in fact, been 
improving. There are fewer structurally deficient bridges, 
there are fewer roads in poor condition.
    Mr. DeFazio. Right. Because we have a lack of investment.
    Mr. Ditch. I believe that States have the capacity in 
2022----
    Mr. DeFazio [interrupting]. Well, OK, thank you.
    Thirty-six States, including red States, have raised gas 
taxes, registration fees, and every other damn thing, and they 
need a partner. And if the Federal--we haven't adjusted the 
Federal gas tax--I was here when we did it, 1993. It was the 
last time. There has been a little bit of inflation since 1993. 
And you want to go back to, oh, we will live off the gas tax 
and proceeds that weren't adequate back then, now?
    So, I thank you very much for your misplaced testimony.
    With that I recognize the ranking member.
    Mr. Crawford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a letter here 
addressed to you and to the ranking member from The 
Transportation Alliance. I would ask unanimous consent to 
submit that for the record.
    Mr. DeFazio. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                                 
Letter of September 29, 2022, to Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, Chair, and Hon. 
      Sam Graves, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, from Judith Potter, President, The Transportation 
  Alliance, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Eric A. ``Rick'' Crawford
                                                September 29, 2022.
The Honorable Peter DeFazio,
Chairman,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of 
        Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
The Honorable Sam Graves,
Ranking Member,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of 
        Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
    Dear Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves:
    Thank you for holding today's hearing on Investing in our Nation's 
Transportation Infrastructure and Workers: Why It Matters. We hope the 
Committee will continue to hold hearings like this where more of the 
transportation sector can be included and their stories heard. Today's 
hearing focuses only on a small part of the overall transportation 
infrastructure and workers in this country. We would urge you to invite 
more of us to be witnesses at hearings like this.
    My name is Judith Potter and I serve as the President of The 
Transportation Alliance (TTA), which represents the interests of 
members in 250 cities, including airport shuttle, executive sedan, 
limousine, non-emergency medical transportation, paratransit, and 
taxicab fleets. The Transportation Alliance is the largest trade 
organization in the industry, with members operating over 100,000 
vehicles and serving 900 million passengers per year. In short, we are 
critical to the overall transportation infrastructure across the 
country. We are made up of small businesses, whose workforce is very 
diverse. Today, our industry employs a workforce that is over 80% 
persons of color in most urban areas. What other industry can make that 
claim?
    In addition to my role with the TTA, I am the CEO of Black & White 
Transportation Company located in Toledo, Ohio. When I first joined 
Black & White it was as their bookkeeper and we had a small fleet of 40 
taxicabs. Since I bought the company in 1997, we have increased our 
fleet to over 150 taxi vehicles and another 25 paratransit vans.
    I'm submitting this letter for the record so that the Committee 
will get a better picture of the real impacts COVID-19 has had on our 
industry. We appreciate the immediate action Congress took in March of 
2020 when the country shutdown. We appreciate the efforts to provide 
relief to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program 
(PPP), Economic Impact Disaster Loans (EIDL), and other relief 
programs, but those programs were short term and were not enough to 
help industries like ours, where most of our members lost 80 to 100% of 
their businesses. We are making a comeback, but it hasn't been easy, 
and we are not yet back at full strength. I am here asking Congress to 
do more to help industries like ours, that are so vital to every 
community, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and people who have 
no other timely transportation options available to them.
    As Congress has and continues to pass vital legislation focusing on 
critical infrastructure, we ask that it go beyond the big ``boys'' in 
this sector. We ask that Congress put the same focus on our industry 
(and others) that it has on the airlines, who received its own stimulus 
funds. Amtrak, which also received its own stimulus funds. The 
motorcoach industry which also received its own special funding. And 
public transit, which also received significant extra funding. The taxi 
(local for-hire transportation) industry plays as big of a role in our 
Nation's transportation infrastructure as the airlines, Amtrak, and the 
motorcoach industry, but we have not received special funding.
    Unlike most other transportation providers, much of our industry is 
open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We are available when there are 
no other transportation options open to the public. When other 
transportation services are available, we provide feeder services to or 
from them. When they are not open or not timely, we provide the full 
trip. We are specialists at providing demand response service for first 
mile, last mile or the full trip.
    This country needs our services. This country needs our workers. 
I'm submitting this letter in the hope Congress will bring us to the 
table and work with us to ensure that we continue to make it back so we 
can serve our communities who today are under served and who don't have 
access to various transportation options.
    To help us do that, we ask that Congress consider the following 
actions if it is serious about investing in our Nation's infrastructure 
and its workers:
    1)  Worker shortages: Like so many other industries, we face a 
shortage of workers to serve the communities who need us the most. To 
help us attract drivers, we are asking Congress to consider grants to 
companies like mine so that I can recruit the drivers I need to serve 
the citizens of Toledo. These grants aren't just to help attract 
drivers, but to help us train and keep mechanics, call center 
personnel, and the full workforce needed to serve the public. It's one 
thing to put a fleet of cars on the road, but if you can't keep them 
operational, then our citizens suffer, and our business will fail.
           Wages continue to rise beyond what we can offer today. We 
need access to grants to help us supplement the wages we offer our 
workers. I have heard over and over how people are working for non-
livable wages. We can fix that if we have a partner like the Federal 
government. We aren't asking for handouts, but a partnership. When we 
can recruit, train, and keep our workforce, it means we are healthier 
as a company. This means our community is healthier because they get 
the services they need and depend on. Local, state, and Federal 
governments are healthier because more tax revenue is being collected. 
This is a cycle and one that needs the support of Congress.
    2)  Small Business Centric Policy: When Congress turns to the issue 
of tax breaks, the attention immediately turns to big corporations. We 
want to ask that Congress instead turn its attention to small 
businesses. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) there 
are 32.5 million small businesses in the United States that account for 
64% of all new jobs created in this country. Small businesses create 
1.5 million jobs annually. According to the SBA, COVID-19 has rendered 
31% of all small businesses in the United States non-operational. This 
is a big loss to every community. Our industry has suffered its share 
of losses due to the pandemic. We need Congress to focus on tax policy 
that helps and supports small businesses. We need the same types of 
treatment our large corporate counterparts get. Cut our taxes and let 
us reinvest in our companies. Cut our tax rates and cost of doing 
business and watch us grow to big businesses, which ultimately means 
more tax revenue back to the Federal government.
    3)  Electric Vehicles: We have seen the push over the past couple 
years towards electric vehicles, yet little has been done to help 
really move businesses like ours in that direction. It's one thing to 
say we need to move away from gas powered vehicles and towards electric 
vehicles, but it's hard to fulfill that promise when the vehicles don't 
exist to get us there. In our industry for example, there are no good 
options for us when it comes to electric vehicles. The vehicles 
available do not have the battery life to justify the change. We cannot 
have our fleets charging half the day. We cannot keep our businesses 
operating or servicing the community when our vehicles are hooked up to 
charging stations every couple of hours versus on the road transporting 
passengers. Congress needs to work with our industry on addressing this 
issue before we can mandate changes.
           The second problem with pushing the electrification of 
vehicles is the lack of battery capacity. This country currently cannot 
make enough batteries to meet its push to move the country to electric 
vehicles. It's hard to meet the Buy America Act requirements when the 
most critical part of your vehicle isn't produced in the United States.
           The third issue is recent proposed legislation by Congress 
that would limit who can and can't receive the tax credit for buying 
electric vehicles. Under the proposal I've read, the tax credit would 
only apply to vehicles made with union labor. That will again limit 
industries like ours, who could and should be the pilot case for how 
and why the country can go electric.
           Due to the electric vehicle limitations noted above, our 
industry is not currently able to present the public with a favorable 
picture of how great electric vehicles can be. The other big obstacle 
standing in our way is the cost of these vehicles. A company like mine 
with 150 vehicles could not afford to buy new or used electric vehicles 
to meet this goal. Not only do we not have the financial resources to 
do so, we could not stay in business due to the cost outweighing any 
profits we could generate.
           If Congress and the Administration are serious about moving 
to electric vehicles, then work with us. Help us. Create a pilot 
program that offers our industry grants to purchase these vehicles, 
charging stations, and batteries. Supporting the taxi industry's 
efforts to green their fleets could set the tone for the country. The 
more people ride in our electric vehicles, the more we can educate the 
public on the need and savings to passengers, their communities, and 
the planet. Work with us. We are the solution.

    These solutions will go a long way toward meeting the goals of the 
hearing today. Invest in us and we can provide the green return on 
investment you're looking for. Invest in us and our communities become 
stronger, our workforce becomes stronger, and our Nation's 
infrastructure becomes stronger.
    Don't forget the little guy in these discussions and policy 
debates. We need your help. If we go away, what then? We have solutions 
that help you meet your goals. We just need a seat at the table and for 
Congress to work with us.
    Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments for the 
record and for your attention to these issues. We hope Congress will 
hear us and invite us to the policymaking table.
        Respectfully,
                                             Judith Potter,
                            President, The Transportation Alliance.

    Mr. Crawford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Gardner, I wanted to visit with you a little bit about 
Amtrak. As you know, in March of this year I introduced the 
RATES Act because of my concern with significant amounts of 
taxpayer dollars invested in Amtrak. When is the last time 
Amtrak was profitable?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, Congressman, thank you for the question. 
The company was never set out to be profitable. We----
    Mr. Crawford [interrupting]. OK, so, basically, the answer 
to that question is never.
    Mr. Gardner. That is right.
    Mr. Crawford. Correct. OK. So, are we at a point with 
Amtrak that we are not measuring profit and loss as a 
performance metric? Are we just looking at the service that is 
provided, or are we just looking at whether or not people are 
happy with their experience on Amtrak? What does success look 
like for Amtrak?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, I think the Congress actually just 
helped to reformulate that in the passage of the IIJA and the 
reauthorization. And really, the focus is to operate the 
company as a business in pursuit of a public mission, to take 
the funds that we receive from the public and try and drive as 
much value and operate as efficiently as possible.
    Mr. Crawford. So, no profitability required there?
    Mr. Gardner. Right.
    Mr. Crawford. In fact, 2019 was probably the closest year 
you came to profitability. And according to my records, last 
year you approached 90 percent of August 2019 levels, and that 
was the closest you had ever come in the history of Amtrak to 
actually making a profit.
    So, where does Amtrak expect to end this year in terms of 
profit and loss?
    Mr. Gardner. Our anticipated year-end results, which we are 
still tabulating, but our roughly $910 million operating loss, 
that reflects very significant increases in cost structure 
since 2019. Still lagging revenue, of course, compared to 2019, 
and lagging ridership, but the overall trends of the year have 
been very positive, and increasing ridership and revenue.
    Mr. Crawford. OK, let me pause there and interject this. 
This is a $910 million operating loss. This is after $3.7 
billion in extra money, in COVID money over the last 17 months, 
and you still have a $910 million operating loss?
    Mr. Gardner. The dollars that were provided by Congress 
helped to stabilize the employees and the operation of the 
network. They provided the dollars that normally come from 
revenue. But after losing 97 percent of our business in 1 
month, we did not have that revenue source. So, those dollars--
--
    Mr. Crawford [interrupting]. And what do you attribute that 
97 percent loss of business to?
    Mr. Gardner. Pardon me?
    Mr. Crawford. What do you attribute that 97 percent loss 
to?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, that occurred between March and April of 
2020. So, we had a massive shutdown of travel across the entire 
network. We suspended a huge amount of service, and we did 
provide those important necessary trips, but very few travelers 
in that period of time. And since we have been rebuilding 
ridership month over month, riding with the waves of COVID, of 
course, and seeing reductions as we have seen flare-ups. But we 
are----
    Mr. Crawford [interrupting]. So, we have actually observed 
a trend, where more people are working from home. That would 
mean that probably you are experiencing less ridership. So, 
what is your plan to address that?
    Because more and more people, even in post-COVID--in fact, 
President Biden came out not long ago--I think it was last 
week--and said the pandemic is over. So, that is great news. 
So, that means the workforce has made some adjustments, that, 
kind of, the new normal is a lot of people are working from 
home now. And so, do you anticipate continuing to see ridership 
decline?
    Mr. Gardner. No, Congressman. In fact, Amtrak's business is 
not really subject to the daily commute. In fact, for instance, 
on the Northeast Corridor, most of our trips are people who 
travel once a year.
    So, we see, in fact, some parts of our network with growing 
ridership of people have reshifted their locations around the 
region and need to travel into those central business districts 
once or twice a week. So, we are growing ridership over time. 
We have about 80 percent of our pre-COVID ridership in August.
    Mr. Crawford. So, the one area where you come the closest 
to actually turning a profit in the commuter space is the area 
that you are not focusing.
    You are saying that your ridership is increasing with the 
one time a year that people are taking long hauls. Is that what 
I am hearing from you?
    Mr. Gardner. No. In fact, in the Northeast Corridor we have 
folks who travel once a year. We have folks who travel once a 
month. The Northeast Corridor continues to be the real driver 
of growth in parts of the country. But our short-distance 
corridors, which make up half of our ridership, are also and 
have been historically our biggest source of ridership growth 
in the past decade or so.
    So, we see value in many of these services. We see a much 
greater return for our business than some of our transit 
colleagues, because people are finding ways to find rail useful 
in this new arrangement.
    Certainly, it is changing over time. We see this, as well, 
in our own workforce. But we think rail is well positioned in 
those short-distance corridors, both here in the Northeast 
Corridor and around the country, to provide value, particularly 
as folks have moved to different locations and need access to 
the central business district. And congestion, as we all see, 
still is back, is raging back in many cities, and people see 
trains--we see a huge portion of new riders coming to Amtrak 
because they are attracted by the offer of passenger rail.
    Mr. Crawford. So, yes or no, profitability in the future at 
any point?
    Mr. Gardner. We are working really hard to return the 
economics back to the train operating business here by driving 
revenue across our system.
    We also are returning more seats into the marketplace. We 
are still below what we had, but we will, in response to 
demand. And we will be looking to again, in the train operation 
portion of our business, get our recovery back up to the kind 
of levels we had in 2019. It is going to take several years to 
do so.
    The biggest issue for us is the loss of revenue associated 
with business travel, particularly here in the Northeast 
Corridor, where business travel has not yet returned. We have 
been able to find folks to fill those seats, but it is going to 
take a while to be able to regain the revenue that was 
associated with business travel. And I think that is something 
that folks are looking at in systems all over the country. But 
we are working hard to do that.
    Mr. Crawford. I yield back.
    Mr. DeFazio. I now recognize Representative Larsen.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Gardner, just following on on a few questions slightly 
unrelated to the previous questions. We just started the Amtrak 
Cascades on Monday, and one run a day north and one south. 
There was a thought we could start in March. That didn't 
happen. So, we started in September, second run later this 
winter.
    One of the challenges has been the availability of staff to 
operate. And this is going to be for a few of the panelists on 
this theme about the challenge to implement the IIJA and the 
availability of people to do it.
    And can you, from Amtrak's perspective, help me understand 
what you are doing to find the people to actually implement the 
IIJA as it applies to Amtrak?
    Mr. Gardner. Thank you very much, Congressman Larsen. We 
are working across every available strategy to build our 
workforce. As I mentioned, we have achieved 3,200 hires here, a 
little bit more in this fiscal year. We are aiming for 4,000 
next year.
    And as you rightfully mentioned, in various pockets of the 
country, we face different challenges for our workforce. In the 
Pacific Northwest, we have a challenge both with mechanical 
workforce and with our conductors. And some of our employees, 
they are highly skilled, trained employees, and to develop them 
into skilled professionals in their Territory can take 6 
months, 1 year, or 2 years for certain types of crafts. So, as 
we look to rebuild the workforce, there is a long lead time to 
do that.
    We were able to fully recall our furloughed employees, and 
most returned. The vast majority came back. But we still have 
to now make up for the hiring we didn't undertake to deal with 
the attrition across retirements. And so, that is underway.
    We are focused on bringing back all of the service and 
frequencies we can. We are investing in referral programs for 
our employees. We have an entirely new training capacity. We 
are building out partnerships with a whole host of technical 
colleges, community college trade schools, starting working in 
high school to build a pipeline of new employees into the 
business.
    So, it is really a new day at Amtrak, in terms of hiring 
and building up an entirely new skill set. And we are 
partnering with our labor colleagues. We have just received a 
grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, CRISI, to be 
able to start a new and expanded apprenticeship program based 
off an initial program that is going to train 600 new 
apprentices.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thanks.
    Mr. Regan, could you talk a little bit about challenges of 
the workforce availability, and what labor is doing to fill 
those gaps? We have got a lot of dollars of spending in roads, 
bridges, and highways, and a variety of other areas. But again, 
the workforce availability over time could be a challenge to 
successfully implementing the IIJA.
    Mr. Regan. Well, I think, if you look at the way we are 
going to see workforce growth because of the IIJA, it is going 
to come in a couple of phases.
    The first phase for a lot of this is going to be in 
construction. And I would have to point out that the 
apprenticeship programs run by the North America's Building 
Trades Unions is the second highest job training program in the 
country after the U.S. military. So, they are prepared, and 
they are ramping up to be able to meet the demand of 
construction.
    When it comes to the operations side, especially if you 
look at things like transit, a lot of these new programs are 
putting job training requirements at the front end. So, the 
low- and no-emission bus program, for example, required 
applicants to put 5 percent of their money towards workforce 
training. That includes making sure people are trained to 
operate electric buses and maintain electric buses, which is 
very different than diesel bus.
    Building in the workforce training on the front end means 
that, by the time you have built out the physical 
infrastructure or you have received the new equipment, that you 
have the workforce ready to go to meet the service demands that 
are going to be there when they are delivered.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes.
    President Nelson, could you talk about how this question 
might apply to flight attendants?
    Ms. Nelson. The issue here is that staffing was cut down to 
minimum levels prior to the pandemic. There is no give in the 
operation.
    The issues of combative passengers, and the fact that 
contract negotiations were essentially put on hold during the 
pandemic is making it difficult to maintain and attract people 
to the jobs. And so, contract negotiations have to be 
concluded. And I think that, as we move forward and look at the 
FAA reauthorization bill, we need to look at priorities around 
staffing.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes, thank you.
    Mr. Chair, I have got just a few moments. I just do think 
the challenges of workforce availability is a concern. We need 
to address it, and really be on top of it as we move forward 
over the next several years to implement the IIJA. Thank you, I 
yield back.
    Mr. DeFazio. I now turn to Representative Babin.
    Dr. Babin. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    As you all know, and some of you brought up in your 
testimonies--thank you for being here, all you witnesses--
Government investment is vital to transportation and 
infrastructure industry.
    However, we all know that simply just throwing money at 
this problem doesn't work. Throwing billions of taxpayer 
dollars at this industry without solving the supply chain 
crisis, pandemic recovery issues like fraud and abuse, major 
workforce shortages, burdensome bureaucratic redtape, and other 
underlying issues will not actually allow us to see long-term 
sustainable improvement and investment in our Nation's 
infrastructure.
    And additionally, carving out political handouts for niche 
green transportation and infrastructure projects and companies 
is not good for our industry. In fact, it causes delays, 
increases costs, and is anticompetitive.
    My question is for Mr. Ditch.
    Mr. Ditch, as noted in your testimony, a historic level of 
funding was injected into the transportation and infrastructure 
sector with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act, much with budget gimmicks and inflationary deficit 
spending. I am deeply concerned about the left's rampant 
spending and its effect on our economy.
    If there was one thing that you would like people listening 
in on this hearing to take home on the impact of this type of 
spending, what would it be? Very briefly, please.
    Mr. Ditch. My gosh, it is difficult to know where to start.
    But I believe that, unfortunately, as bad as things are 
right now with interest rates going up, with inflation at the 
highest levels we have seen since I was an infant, 
unfortunately, things could still get worse because we are 
facing a nearly $31 trillion national debt. That works out to 
about $238,000 in debt for every single household in the 
country.
    And as the interest rate on debt payments climbs, just 
keeping up with those payments is going to be very difficult. 
It is going to eat into our Federal and economic resources 
tremendously.
    Dr. Babin. Absolutely. Thank you so much. One more 
question, please.
    Another thing I am very deeply concerned about are 
President Biden's project labor agreements, or PLA mandates, 
threats from the left to ensure that infrastructure funds only 
pay for union labor. These comments are very concerning, 
especially for the 87.4 percent of nonunion workers in 
construction.
    I have received correspondence from more than 1,000 
construction companies, and another letter from nearly 20 
business groups that all oppose Biden's PLA mandate. They say 
that PLAs discriminated against firms and workers based on 
whether or not their workers are union.
    Mr. Ditch, would you please explain how Government-mandated 
PLAs hurt the transportation and infrastructure industry?
    Mr. Ditch. At a time where construction companies are 
desperate for workers, are struggling to find people to do the 
work, which is much more highly skilled than it was 100 years 
ago, it is, frankly, absurd that Congress and the Biden 
administration feels the need to impose more ``worker 
protections'' like project labor agreements, which are the 
equivalent of union work rules.
    It makes it nearly impossible, between that and the Davis-
Bacon Act, for nonunionized construction contractors to bid for 
these Federal projects, which means that not only are you 
freezing out a lot of people who could do good work at a more 
affordable rate, it also means that State and local governments 
are going to be bidding against each other for the relatively 
small number of unionized contractors for the next several 
years, while all this money is going out the door. And that is 
going to incentivize those smaller number of contractors to 
increase their prices, which means that we are going to get 
fewer roads, fewer bridges, fewer miles of tunnels built for 
this incredible $1.2 trillion in spending.
    Dr. Babin. At a higher cost, as well, I might add.
    OK, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Thank you very much, Mr. Ditch.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK, I thank the gentleman.
    Representative Napolitano?
    Mrs. Napolitano. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Regan, I thank you for working with me on provisions of 
the infrastructure law requiring transit agencies to salvage 
risk reduction programs and improve safety by installing 
equipment and implementing actions to reduce accidents, 
injuries, and assaults on transit workers. Is this important 
safety requirement being implemented effectively by FTA and 
transit agencies?
    What can we do to improve the implementation of the safety 
projects?
    Mr. Regan. Thank you for the question. We have been in 
constant communication with the Federal Transit Administration 
about implementing the safety protections in there. Obviously, 
they made some important steps recently in terms of changing 
the definition of ``assault,'' and will improve the accuracy of 
the data that we collect to make sure that we have an accurate 
description of how broad the scope of the problem is.
    I do think that what we need to do--I view the actions that 
were taken by this committee and by Congress to improve safety 
for operators, I view them as a first step. It is going to be a 
diagnostic tool to show how broad the problem is, and also 
making sure that we have workers as part of the safety planning 
committees to make sure that they can help identify where the 
biggest risks are in their workplace.
    So, I want to see, you know, another year, make sure we 
have the right data come in, make sure we have people part of 
the committees. And I think that what the Congress can do is to 
hold their own agencies accountable, make sure that they are 
following through with their promises to engage workers on the 
safety side and accurately reflect the data in terms of how bad 
the assault problem is in this country, which we know is just 
far too bad at this point.
    Mrs. Napolitano. Yes, but we need your input as to what 
needs to be done.
    And also, you mentioned in your testimony the Executive 
orders passed that empower the workers' right to organize, 
bargain, and feel safe. What practices have been implemented to 
protect the workers' rights since these orders?
    Mr. Regan. Well, the President started off on the strongest 
note, with the Worker Organizing and Empowerment Task Force, 
where they went through every agency in the Federal Government 
to identify ways that they can better empower workers and 
better make it easier for people to collectively bargain and 
join unions.
    I think the last discussion was about the project labor 
agreements and Davis-Bacon. And I would take the complete 
opposite view about the effects of those laws, and the fact 
that we are incorporating strong labor standards into all of 
these projects that are going out is a good thing. It means 
people are going to get paid more, put more money into their 
communities, make sure they have the benefits that they need in 
case they get ill or get injured on the job.
    So, I think the idea that somehow the union participation 
in these programs is a bad thing, I just find completely absurd 
on the face of it.
    Mrs. Napolitano. Well, I agree with you, because you also 
have to look at the safety standards in some buildings that 
have collapsed because they didn't go with organized labor to 
build them. I just wonder whether any more implementation of 
the safety programs is needed, and if you would send 
information to this committee on what your findings are so we 
can follow up on that.
    Mr. Regan. Yes, we will absolutely do that. We are going to 
work hand in hand with the Federal Transit Administration to 
make sure that this is done right.
    And what I would do to my colleagues that are running these 
transit agencies, I would encourage you to welcome in the 
unions with open arms, to make sure that we are addressing the 
safety problem. Our members are the ones that are on the 
ground. They know where they are vulnerable. They are the ones 
who can help craft policies that will protect them in the 
workplace.
    Mrs. Napolitano. Well, I know our workers are revered all 
through the other nations, and we should also thank them for 
the work they have done.
    I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank gentlelady. We would now move to 
Representative Gonzalez-Colon. I believe she is virtual. Are 
you there?
    [No response.]
    OK. We will move on to then Representative Balderson.
    [Pause.]
    Representative Balderson?
    [No response.]
    Nope? OK, Representative Johnson.
    [No response.]
    All right, let's try one more. Mr. Guest?
    [No response.]
    Is the video working, or did everybody just go away?
    OK. Representative Van Duyne, I believe, is actually here, 
so, I recognize her.
    Ms. Van Duyne. I am right here. I am right here, Chairman. 
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
    Mr. Ditch, I would like to actually have you have a moment 
to respond to the chairman's question, and give an answer--
without being cut off or belittled--about the State funds, and 
whether or not they actually are adequate, and why you believe 
that is true.
    Mr. Ditch. Thank you very much. I genuinely believe that 
State governments now have the capacity to maintain their own 
highways, especially if the Federal Government gives them more 
tools to work with.
    For example, the 1956 Highway Act prevented the tolling of 
roads that were built from that date forward, which essentially 
means most highways west of the Mississippi. The existing 
highways at the time are grandfathered in, which means that you 
see tolls all over the Northeast and parts of the Southeast.
    If States had full ability to raise funds on their own, 
whether it is gas tax, whether it is tolls, whether it is 
mileage fees, what have you, they could easily do the work that 
is necessary to maintain the highways. And especially when you 
get rid of all the redtape that is mandated by the Federal 
Government that increases costs.
    Ms. Van Duyne. Well, I appreciate you bringing up the 
redtape, because that was going to be my second question to 
you. When we talk about State funds, a lot of State funds have 
to have all of these different Federal regulatory costs on top 
of them. For example, the Biden administration wants to 
obligate every NEVI grant applicant, regardless of local or 
State regulations, to use Davis-Bacon wage requirements.
    The problems associated with the implementation of the 
Davis-Bacon Act are well documented. I worked at HUD. People 
who worked in the Davis-Bacon department hated it and wanted it 
to go away. We have seen it directly and indirectly. The 
compliance requirements are burdensome and costly.
    Can you talk about some of the Federal regulations that 
actually make the State budgets a lot less efficient because 
they are having to be wasted on unnecessary regulations? Can 
you go a little bit further into that?
    Mr. Ditch. Yes. The Davis-Bacon Act increases wages, or I 
should say it increases costs by billions of dollars every 
single year across the country.
    More to the point, though, the real value of the added cost 
is greater in right-to-work States. So, for example, if there 
is no Davis-Bacon Act, I suspect that Oregon would still be 
paying union wage rates--New York, Illinois, California.
    But for States like Texas, Florida, Tennessee, the Dakotas, 
it reduces their flexibility to make choices. You need to pay 
workers enough to show up to do the work. And with a lot of 
blue collar work, especially with construction work, right now 
that means employers already have incentives to pay very 
healthy wages, growing wages. There is no need for the 
additional burden of the Federal Government saying the market 
rate isn't enough, you need to pay a premium.
    Ms. Van Duyne. In your testimony you also stated that these 
so-called infrastructure bills did more to push Green New Deal 
policies than for traditional infrastructure that we have 
already identified as not getting enough resources. Can you 
explain how these bills masked Green New Deal ideas under the 
pretext of infrastructure, and what the likely impact will be 
on actual infrastructure?
    Mr. Ditch. One of the things I find striking is how much of 
the discussion of these green energy policies acts as though it 
is a free lunch, that we will be better off, that it will 
create all these wonderful green jobs. The fact of the matter 
is, if the green economy was this amazing investment 
opportunity, the private sector would be pouring in money hand 
over fist.
    The green sector only works through subsidies. So, that 
means you are getting these high-paying new unionized jobs in 
the green sector at the expense of an untold number of jobs 
elsewhere in the private sector. We see these green jobs and 
these construction projects. We fail to see all the jobs that 
could be created and will in many cases be destroyed through 
higher taxes if the Federal Government got out of the way.
    Ms. Van Duyne. Do you think that there would be more actual 
infrastructure, more building of roads, more building of 
bridges if we prioritized that, as opposed to things like bike 
lanes?
    Mr. Ditch. Again, absolutely. The amount of value we could 
get for the economy, for the average Americans who use roads 
and bridges every single day, and who might never ride transit 
in their entire life, we could derive far more economic benefit 
if we concentrated on the things that people actually use from 
coast to coast and border to border.
    Ms. Van Duyne. Do you have any examples of where you have 
seen highway spending not spent on highways since the rollout 
of these pieces of legislation?
    Mr. Ditch. I am sorry, could you repeat that?
    Ms. Van Duyne. Yes, do you have any examples of where 
highway spending was spent on things other than highways?
    Mr. Ditch. Oh, my gosh, yes. Each year about 30 percent of 
funds that go through the Highway Trust Fund are diverted into 
things like bike lanes, and walk paths, and even ferry boats. 
Its intent is to shoehorn every single conceivable aspect of 
surface transportation into the highway bill, and it muddies 
the waters. And people paying the gas tax end up paying for 
things they don't actually use.
    Ms. Van Duyne. Thank you very much.
    I yield back.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK, we would now turn to Representative Payne, 
who is virtual.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Chairman.
    Mr. Gardner, thank you for joining us today. The 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided over $22 
billion to Amtrak, with an additional $36 billion to modernize 
and develop intercity passenger rail. I am proud to work with 
Chairman DeFazio in making that critical funding available.
    I am a frequent rider of the Northeast Corridor. Can you 
please share when you think the NEC service will return to pre-
pandemic levels?
    Mr. Gardner. Thank you, Chairman Payne, and thank you for 
your strong support.
    We are working hard to return the NEC service by the end of 
fiscal year 2023. We will have much of the service back. In 
fact, on the regional side we will be, on some days, at higher 
levels. The Acela service will take a little bit longer to 
return in the section between Washington and New York to its 
full levels. But as we see the arrival of our new train sets 
next year, we will be able to increase service. So, we are 
working hard there.
    The long lead is on the equipment maintenance side, the 
mechanical crafts, which we are building and growing now, but 
are under intense competition across the Northeast Corridor for 
machinists, welders, et cetera.
    And, as I mentioned, we have seen a good return of demand 
and, in fact, we have higher demand for relatively less service 
today. So, we are very optimistic that the growth will 
continue, and we are working hard to return all of our 
capacity.
    Mr. Payne. Yes. I recently had an opportunity to see the 
new Acela equipment that is scheduled to enter service next 
year. I look forward to the improved ride quality.
    How would consistent funding help Amtrak get on a regular 
cycle of fleet replacement for all its services?
    Does consistent funding provide Amtrak's suppliers the 
confidence they need to invest in their U.S. manufacturing 
facilities and workers?
    Mr. Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The IIJA funds to 
Amtrak really change the entire game for Amtrak's capital 
program. As you know, we have always gone year to year on 
annual appropriations for capital investment, and that has 
significantly restrained our ability to make those longer term 
investments that help drive down operating costs and improve 
quality over time, because we were never aware if the funds 
next year would be there to pay the bills to invest in those 
bigger programs. So, the 5 years of advance appropriations is 
essential for us to be able to re-fleet the entire network.
    As you know, we have started with the Acela, and the IIJA 
funds provide the funding necessary to re-fleet the regional 
equipment, both in the Northeast and around State-supported 
corridors, and, really excitingly give us the funds now to 
start tackling the long-distance network. This equipment is the 
same age as I am. It has earned its retirement. I haven't yet, 
but it certainly is ready to be replaced with modern, reliable 
equipment to meet the demands of a new generation of riders 
and, in the process, creating enormous opportunity for the 
manufacturing sector.
    The new Acela trains are being manufactured in New York, 
creating 450 or so direct jobs in Hornell, another 1,700 jobs 
across 29 States at the various suppliers supporting the 
development of that new fleet, which is 95 percent made in the 
United States. So, really, a great opportunity as we invest in 
new equipment for the network to also stimulate the economy and 
job growth.
    Mr. Payne. Yes, I am really glad that the Federal 
Government has finally met its commitment to Amtrak over its 
life, finally.
    Thank you for your work on advancing the Gateway Program 
with New Jersey Transit. What help do you need from our 
committee going forward to keep this project moving?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, thank you. We are making good progress 
on the Gateway Program. It is an incredible partnership between 
the State of New York, New Jersey, Amtrak, and the Federal 
Government.
    The key things here will be our partnership with the 
Department of Transportation as it starts to award the grant 
funds, both in the FTA programs and FRA programs, to provide 
that funding necessary to deliver the program, and to also work 
to harmonize the different requirements associated with the 
relative grant programs, because there are different rules in 
each, and we are really in a new era of combining funding 
together.
    So, I think the committee's focus on ensuring that those 
funds can come together from different programs successfully so 
that program parties and sponsors can deliver these programs 
efficiently and at the lowest dollar cost with the best benefit 
is going to be really important.
    The other thing I would just say generally is Amtrak's 
operations, the daily operations, really rely on that annual 
appropriation amount. The Senate has $2.6 billion in their 
proposal for 2023, and that is really important so that we can 
keep operating the railroad while we are making these big 
investments on the capital side.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK, thank you.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. DeFazio. We would now turn to Representative Balderson.
    Mr. Balderson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you all for being here this morning. My first 
question is for Mr. Ditch.
    Mr. Ditch, last year the White House and the Federal 
Reserve referred to inflation as transitory, and even suggested 
it was a high-class problem. Currently, the Consumer Price 
Index is 8.3 over the past year, a 40-year high.
    According to the Congressional Budget Office, the so-called 
Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law last month, 
will actually increase inflation in 2023. Your colleague at The 
Heritage Foundation, Daren Bakst, recently said about the IRA, 
``The bill's push for electric vehicles is just one example of 
this extremism.''
    Despite decades of subsidies, electric vehicles make up 
just about 1 percent of registered vehicles. Mr. Ditch, do you 
believe the new tax credits for electric vehicles included in 
the IRA is a good use of taxpayer dollars?
    And do you believe they will reduce the record-high 
inflation in the short term?
    Mr. Ditch. I do not believe it is a good use of taxpayer 
dollars. And I think it is very clear at this point that the 
so-called Inflation Reduction Act has practically nothing to do 
with reducing inflation. You don't have to take The Heritage 
Foundation's word for it; you can look at the Penn Wharton 
model, you can look at the Congressional Budget Office, and you 
can also look at the math.
    The spending is front-loaded, and the ``deficit reduction'' 
is spread out, which means that you are actually increasing the 
deficit in the first 5 years when, for inflation reduction, we 
need deficit reduction today. We need the spending, if 
anything, to be back-loaded and the pay-fors to be front-
loaded. Not to mention the fact that, by reducing the 
incentives for business investment, you will be reducing 
overall productivity, and productivity, again, is what we need 
right now. We need more goods to lower prices.
    Mr. Balderson. Thank you. A followup to that, do you 
believe the environmental provisions from the IRA or the new 
tax on natural gas will reduce inflation?
    Mr. Ditch. I genuinely do not. The IRA is not going to 
lower energy costs. It is investing in types of electricity--in 
electricity generation, electric vehicles, what have you--that 
are not practical for broad swaths of the country.
    Now, I am originally from western New York. Solar power is 
not going to do a lot of work in western New York or States 
like West Virginia, but I see the Federal Government investing 
in projects in those locations. Those projects might feel good 
for Members who are very passionate about that issue, but they 
are not actually going to produce a sufficient amount of 
energy. They are not going to actually help the consumers who 
really need the price of gas and the price of home heating to 
come down.
    Mr. Balderson. Thank you for that response. And I know that 
Secretary Buttigieg on Twitter--that those EV tax credits will 
reduce inflation in the short term by helping Americans save 
money on gas. Unfortunately, I don't think this administration 
understands the vast majority of our constituents, my 
constituents, are focused on affording groceries and paying 
their bills, not saving for a new electric vehicle. So, thank 
you.
    My final question to you, Mr. Ditch. In your testimony you 
note that, to fund the infrastructure bill's spending 
increases, Congress used a combination of budget gimmicks and 
inflationary deficit spending. Can you expand on these budget 
gimmicks? And how do you think Congress should have structured 
the funding to ensure the bill wasn't inflationary?
    Mr. Ditch. There is a lot of what we might call turning 
over the couch cushions looking for money.
    Perhaps the largest gimmick involved supposedly derailing a 
rule put forward by the Trump administration that Congress 
clearly has no intention of allowing to take place, but it just 
happens to receive a favorable CBO score.
    The fact that this thing isn't going to happen, even though 
it has also never happened, doesn't actually offset the amount 
of spending that is going out the door. What matters is how 
much money is going out the door compared to how much money is 
being brought in. And the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
Act makes more money go out the door to the tune of hundreds of 
billions of dollars, and the deficits, once again, are very 
high in the early years, which is exactly the wrong time to 
have it. We need deficit reduction today, not 6 or 7 years from 
now.
    Mr. Balderson. Thank you.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman. I would make just one 
comment that there is a difference between investment and 
spending for consumption. And investment in infrastructure has 
an incredible economic multiplier effect, according to many 
private sources. Perhaps not The Heritage Foundation.
    Mr. Cohen is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Firstly, I would like to say that Mr. Gardner did a good 
job of praising our chairman, but it could have been better, 
because he is the Roger Federer of transportation. He is 
leaving everything on the court. He can leave knowing he has 
accomplished his job and served his mission well. And I thank 
the chairman for his work and Mr. Gardner for his kind remarks. 
I appreciate it.
    Mr. Gardner, let me ask you about Amtrak. Memphis proudly 
has a service to and from Chicago and New Orleans. I would like 
to have service to Nashville. Any opportunity for that to occur 
in the future?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, thank you, Congressman. So, there is 
opportunity for that through the FRA Corridor Development 
Program.
    So, just to be clear, the way that the IIJA structures--so, 
the dollars available on the opportunities--is really the 
growth, the network, and expansion opportunities will proceed 
through the Federal Railroad Administration's programs. And 
Amtrak has really focused on rebuilding and modernizing our 
current assets. So, the FRA has established this program, it is 
an opportunity for States, localities, and other partners and 
stakeholders to identify corridors for development, and then 
proceed through a pipeline of planning and investment so that 
new services can be developed.
    So, we are going to be working with the FRA, and we already 
are working with States all across----
    Mr. Cohen [interrupting]. I hope you will try to see that 
that happens. There are more songs written in Nashville about 
people leaving Nashville and going to Memphis than anything 
else.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Cohen. And it gets facilitated with a train.
    Let me ask you also, is Mr. Steven Anderson still at Amtrak 
in any way whatsoever?
    Mr. Gardner. Richard Anderson? No.
    Mr. Cohen. Richard Anderson. Good. Richard Anderson, at one 
of these committee meetings, when they were talking about the 
merger of Northwest and Delta, promised me that they would not 
close the hub in Memphis. He said, ``I love Arnold Perl. I love 
Phil Trenary. I love the Rendezvous. Memphis will not close.'' 
He lied. I am happy he is gone.
    Management makes a lot of money. They make a ton of money, 
and they come to us and they lie. Just like the Boeing aircraft 
president came to us and said, ``I am responsible.''
    And I asked him, ``If you are responsible, you should take 
a cut in pay or resign.'' He did neither. He was fired about 3 
weeks later.
    Ms. Nelson, do labor union employees who don't come before 
our committee and lie, who don't make tremendous salaries like 
the Boeing CEO and Mr. Anderson, do they contribute greatly to 
these opportunities for America to improve its transportation?
    Ms. Nelson. Absolutely. Aviation workers and other workers 
on the front lines are committed to their jobs.
    And when you go to a family party or a gathering, what do 
you ask people? You ask, ``What do you do?'' People take pride 
in what they do.
    We are typically here for the long run when CEOs come and 
go. I have seen eight CEOs in my time at United Airlines, for 
example, and it is the aviation workers who know on the front 
lines where we need to improve on safety, how we need to 
respond to consumers' needs, and why we need to keep things 
safe so that people can take that for granted, but then also 
have a safe, efficient flight, or a safe, efficient transport 
experience.
    And so, it is through our work on ensuring safety for the 
public and for ourselves--and the fact that we put our lives on 
the line when we go to work, so, it better be safe--so, you can 
count on us, and you can trust us to ensure that.
    And we want to make sure that we maintain that connectivity 
for the American public. It also matters to us for getting to 
work ourselves. We have to have transportation into those 
smaller communities because oftentimes we can't afford to live 
in the bases that are high-priced and very hard to get housing 
in.
    Mr. Cohen. Thank you for your work in representing the 
flight attendants. And the union is important there. I know 
that.
    Ms. Nelson. Thank you.
    Mr. Cohen. I want to thank Secretary Buttigieg, who is not 
here, for his work. He came before our committee. He came to 
Memphis, when the bridge over the Mississippi River, the 
Hernando de Soto Bridge, closed because of a failure of it to 
be monitored correctly, to see defects in the infrastructure, 
and also for the opportunity that he gave us to have Ms. 
Fernandez, the FTA Administrator, to come to Memphis when she 
announced grants to our transit system of close to $76 million, 
which was very important for our bus system. And we appreciate 
it.
    And we know bridges will be coming, lead pipes will be 
replaced, that internet will become more available to more 
people and cheaper, and that roads will be constructed. Memphis 
is a city that lives on transportation, and this infrastructure 
bill was good, could have been much greater if they had 
accepted the House bill.
    And I do want to mention the following names real quickly: 
Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Lisa 
Murkowski, Rob Portman, Jerry Moran, Todd Young, Thom Tillis, 
Mike Rounds, and Mitt Romney--Republicans who voted for this 
bill in the Senate. It is a good bill. It could have been 
greater.
    I yield back the balance of my time.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman. Representative Johnson, 
I believe, is now with us, virtually.
    You are recognized.
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My 
questions will be for Mr. Ditch.
    Obviously, the laws that Congress passes are important. 
But, Mr. Ditch, it seems to me that the laws of supply and 
demand are also pretty powerful, certainly more powerful than 
anything we do in DC.
    So, a recent survey by the Associated General Contractors, 
I think, found that 73 percent of respondents indicated that 
they wouldn't bid on a Federal project that had a project labor 
agreement as a requirement. So, I want you to tell me if I am 
thinking about this in the wrong way.
    I mean, I look at a workforce crisis out in this country. 
We have a lot of big things we want to get done. We don't have 
enough talented and hard-working people to get done what we 
want to get done. You have got a number of outstanding firms 
across our country, where the workers have chosen not to 
unionize. They have made that decision, and they are at risk. 
And a number of these Federal projects are being frozen out of 
helping to advance this infrastructure investment that our 
country needs to continue to make.
    Now, this is of particular importance in my State, South 
Dakota, where 4 percent of the workers are unionized. There are 
simply not enough unionized shops to be able to respond to the 
edict that the administration has put out, saying that some 
workers will be frozen out of this kind of work.
    Mr. Ditch, the laws of supply and demand. It seems to me 
that if we are shrinking the number of firms and workers 
available to bid on these projects, it will, by necessity, 
increase the price of those projects at a time when inflation 
is already destroying the purchasing power of these Federal 
dollars.
    Mr. Ditch, what am I getting wrong with my economic 
assumptions?
    Mr. Ditch. I don't believe you are getting any of that 
wrong.
    There are times where I am a bit confused as to what 
reality these moves are attempting to supposedly respond to. 
Again, if you go back a century, construction work was very low 
skill. You can go around and, potentially, employers would have 
more leverage than the employees, and they would underpay. And 
so, maybe in some scenarios it would have made sense to have 
protections like project labor agreements and the Davis-Bacon 
Act.
    But in 2022, construction work is not low skill. You need 
to know what you are doing. The productivity per worker is 
exponentially greater than it was a century ago. These workers 
are valuable, they know they are valuable, and employers know 
they are valuable. They are compensated fairly. That 
compensation keeps going up over time, both in absolute terms 
and, frankly, I believe, relative to the median wage.
    All that these rules do is layer on an additional amount of 
requirements, an additional amount of bureaucracy, and it makes 
it harder for State governments who are mostly doing the work 
to find the workers, to find the contractors that they need to 
get the work done.
    And what, supposedly, is the harm that is being addressed 
by these rules? I don't see it. It just seems like 
featherbedding.
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. Well, and I want to make clear 
I certainly wish no ill will to the hard-working men and women 
who have chosen to unionize. That is their right under Federal 
law.
    But for those who have made a different decision, and for 
those firms that are expert firms that are able to deliver 
great value for the American people, including on a number of 
projects that are expected to be built in South Dakota, the 
idea that we are going to freeze South Dakota firms out of that 
part of the economy, to me, is a terrible waste of talent.
    I do, with the minute I have left, I want to turn to Mr. 
Hersh. There is bipartisan agreement, sir. It seems to me that 
the siting process in this country takes too long. The same 
kind of project that would take 2 years to permit in France or 
Germany, it takes 7\1/2\ years in this country. Secretary 
Buttigieg and I had a great conversation about this the last 
two times he was before this committee.
    So, sir, if you were going to give a recommendation to this 
committee on the most important thing we could do to 
appropriately streamline these approval processes, what would 
your answer be?
    Mr. Hersh. Thank you for your question, Representative 
Johnson. I don't think I am the best person on this panel to 
actually answer this for you. I would suggest forwarding to Mr. 
Regan.
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. Sure, right. It is an all-
play. Who wants to take the bait?
    [Pause.]
    Mr. DeFazio. He is asking someone to answer his question. I 
forgot what the question was already, sorry.
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota. It was about--sir, and I am 
out of time.
    I would just note that I think we need, with the little 
time I don't have available, it is good and well to talk about 
this investment in infrastructure. But if we are going to take 
7\1/2\ years to permit these projects, we are going to have a 
tremendous amount of money wasted----
    Mr. DeFazio [interrupting]. OK, all right.
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota [continuing]. I think we need 
to be talking [inaudible] about what we can do to streamline 
that process.
    Thank you, sir, I yield back.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentleman. The gentleman might 
remember that Representative Davis, who I guess is not here, 
virtually or not, his One Federal Decision was adopted to 
streamline the process to a maximum of 2 years.
    And I would further observe, if the gentleman would--that 
93 percent of Federal transportation projects go forward under 
categorical exemption; 4 percent go forward with an 
environmental analysis, which is a relatively short process, it 
does involve a little bit of public involvement; and 3 percent, 
the largest projects, many of which impact millions and 
millions of people and cost billions of dollars, potentially, 
go through a full NEPA process, so the public can participate, 
the options are looked at, and we determine what the overall 
impact is of that particular project.
    For instance, we know we have to rebuild the tunnels under 
the Hudson River, but they were held up by the Environmental 
Impact Statement, sitting on Secretary Chao's desk for 3\1/2\ 
years collecting dust. And we couldn't get her to blow off the 
dust and put those forward, even though the work had been done.
    So, it is a very small number of projects that take 
anywhere near the amount of time the gentleman is talking 
about.
    With that, we are moving----
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota [interrupting]. The NEPA 
process [inaudible]----
    Mr. DeFazio [continuing]. We are now moving on to----
    Mr. Johnson of South Dakota [interrupting]. Even the Biden 
administration agrees.
    Mr. DeFazio. We are moving on to Representative Lynch. The 
gentleman is out of order.
    Mr. Stauber. Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair, I will yield----
    Mr. DeFazio. Representative Lynch.
    Mr. Stauber. Mr. Chair, Mr. Stauber. I will yield some time 
to my good friend, Mr. Johnson.
    Mr. DeFazio. Well, you are not recognized, so, you can't 
yield. When you are recognized you can yield.
    Mr. Lynch. Reclaiming my time.
    Mr. DeFazio. Representative Lynch is recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Lynch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Look, I know this is 
probably one of our last meetings, there is not much time left 
in this session. I just want to say thank you to you, Mr. 
Chairman, for your 36 years that you have served Oregon's 
Fourth Congressional District. I want to thank you.
    I know that, in the process here, the legislative process, 
the sausage-making process, sometimes we don't get everything 
we want. But I think everyone would agree that you have 
elevated the cause and the priority of infrastructure, 
transportation and otherwise, across this country during your 
36 years. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for making--look, 
I am from Massachusetts, and we have some of the oldest 
infrastructure in the country. And so, I am doubly grateful for 
your leadership.
    I am also a former president of the Iron Workers Union, and 
former legal counsel for the Carpenters Union, the Teamsters 
Union, and the Stagehands Union. And I just want to thank you 
for your willingness to champion the cause of workers, and 
especially those that go through an apprenticeship program and 
might get paid a little bit more as a union tradesperson under 
either Davis-Bacon or local prevailing wage laws. So, thank you 
for that.
    Mr. Regan, Quincy, Massachusetts, where I represent, is the 
city of Presidents. John Adams, Abigail Adams, and John Quincy 
Adams all grew up there, lived there.
    We have a brandnew electric bus facility. And it is really 
transformational, I think, not only for the skill set of the 
workers.
    But also, I wanted to talk to you about the Build America, 
Buy American provision of the Infrastructure Act. So, how will 
that--I mean, I know why, but I want you to explain to the 
public why that provision will help put more Americans to work, 
especially in an emerging industry that we really haven't 
captured well in the United States as of yet.
    Mr. Regan. Absolutely, and thank you for the question.
    First, if I may, I want to correct a couple of comments 
about Davis-Bacon and Buy America----
    Mr. Lynch [interposing]. Go right ahead, feel free.
    Mr. Regan [continuing]. Mentioned earlier.
    First of all, Davis-Bacon, what it does is it sets a wage 
floor, and it ensures that the workers are actually paid their 
wages in an industry where wage theft, unfortunately, is a very 
significant problem. What it does is ensure that people who are 
bidding to do the work are qualified to actually deliver, they 
are qualified to do the training, they are qualified to deliver 
the wages that are needed, and to deliver a quality work 
product. And it prevents people from actually just undercutting 
the marketplace and abusing their workforce.
    Second of all, PLAs ensure that projects are delivered on 
time and with the highest quality work available. I have spoken 
to Republican Members of Congress who support PLAs, and they 
were in the contracting industry. They said they paid a little 
bit more upfront, but they knew it was going to be the best 
quality work, and was going to be delivered on time.
    So, there is a reason why PLAs are adopted all throughout 
the country and why Davis-Bacon is the gold standard when it 
comes to construction.
    Mr. Lynch. So, Mr. Regan, what you might be saying is 
that--so, when the gentleman from South Dakota is concerned 
about people in South Dakota, Davis-Bacon actually requires 
that people and prevailing wage laws in South Dakota make sure 
that the workers in South Dakota can afford to live in South 
Dakota, is that right?
    Mr. Regan. That is 100 percent right.
    Mr. Lynch. OK.
    Mr. Regan. So, on Build America, Buy America, we look at--
unfortunately, for too long in our country, we have ceded our 
previous manufacturing areas to foreign companies. We have to 
import so many things. We saw that with the supply chain crisis 
of 1\1/2\ years ago, when one of the major problems and 
contributors to the failure to move goods was the lack of 
chassis. And we didn't make chassis here, so, we had no way to 
actually solve that problem on our own. We were relying on 
chassis made in China or in other countries.
    And if we look at an emerging industry like electric buses, 
this is an opportunity to gain back some of that market share, 
and become leaders in the manufacturing field once again, in an 
area where, frankly, we just can't sit here and rely, from our 
own economic competitiveness and our national security, on 
foreign nations to provide our critical goods that keep our 
economy and our people moving throughout this country.
    Mr. Lynch. Thank you. And you just raised another issue.
    So, we have a competition over EV batteries, so, electric 
vehicle batteries. There is one U.S. company that is competing. 
It is from my district, but we are manufacturing them in the 
suburbs of Austin, Texas. But that would bring those jobs into 
the United States. Even though I am putting workers from Texas 
to work, that is a good thing, as opposed to losing those jobs 
to countries overseas.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Again, I thank you for your 
service to your constituents and to the country. Thank you.
    Ms. Nelson. Mr. Chairman, if I may just add briefly, it is 
really important to correct the misstatement that 87 percent of 
the construction workers have rejected a union. That is not 
true. There is no vote for that. They only have access to these 
jobs when we make the commitment to make them project labor 
agreement jobs. So, it is on all of us, as policymakers, to 
make sure that that is possible for the American worker.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you for the clarification. We would now 
turn to Representative Massie.
    Mr. Massie. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Ditch, it looks like we have given over $50 billion of 
bailouts to the airline companies. And meanwhile, they are 
giving bonuses to management and their executives.
    If Congress hadn't given the billions and billions of 
dollars to the airline industries, would the airplanes have 
disappeared? Would the equipment on the tarmac that we see 
carrying the fuel and the luggage to the airplanes, would that 
have just vaporized? Would the computer systems that they own 
and use, would those have gone into the waste bin? What would 
have happened in a free market if we hadn't given the bailout 
to the airlines?
    Mr. Ditch. For one thing, it is a very complicated 
situation because what was going on during the pandemic was not 
a pure free market.
    Airlines, in many cases, were discouraged or actively, in 
some cases, prevented from normal operations because of the 
public health rules. So, to that extent, their reduction in 
business was not their fault. At the same time, there was a--
essentially, it was a jobs program. The $50 billion, you are 
right, it didn't go into airplanes and terminals, it went into 
ensuring that absolutely nobody got laid off. This was a 
special kind of protection.
    While we did have the Paycheck Protection Program, there 
were some sectors of the economy where that wasn't enough, and 
some people lost jobs. And then, when the economy rebounded, 
those jobs returned. We could have seen some layoffs----
    Mr. Massie [interrupting]. At least--it looks like about 
half of that money went to that. But isn't it really a bailout, 
not for the airplanes and the airlines and these routes, but a 
bailout for the investors in those companies, and a bailout for 
the creditors?
    Like, the airplanes wouldn't have disappeared. After 
capital rearrangement, I would assume they would go out and get 
more capital from new investors, and the old investors would 
get diluted. Didn't we really just protect--ultimately, after 
you do the paycheck protection, we were protecting the people 
on Wall Street that hold the stock in those companies.
    Mr. Ditch. Yes, there is--absolutely. And again, that is 
very true. And it is also the case for the Paycheck Protection 
Program that a tremendous amount of the money that was 
notionally being put forward to preserve jobs was instead 
captured by investors and owners, and they ended up in some 
cases not only not losing money, but getting a little bit back.
    Mr. Massie. Let me move on to my next question for Mr. 
Gardner.
    Mr. Gardner, can you describe to me the state of Amtrak's 
vaccine mandate program?
    Mr. Gardner. So, we have a general mandate for vaccine for 
new workers.
    Mr. Massie. And so, are you aware that the efficacy of the 
vaccine wears off after 6 months quite a bit?
    Mr. Gardner. So, I think, depending on which vaccine, and 
what time, and what period, certainly the vaccines have limited 
efficacy, but we require new employees, as they come to the----
    Mr. Massie [interrupting]. Let me ask you a question. If 
somebody got the first initial doses of the vaccine 20 months 
ago, would that comply with your vaccine mandate?
    Mr. Gardner. Yes, if they were vaccinated.
    Mr. Massie. Do you believe two doses 20 months ago has any 
effect on the currently circulating variants of the virus?
    Mr. Gardner. From what I understand from the public health, 
I do believe vaccines have a beneficial effect on public health 
and the individual----
    Mr. Massie [interrupting]. Do you believe a COVID vaccine 
that was taken 20 months ago that targeted a variant that is no 
longer circulating has an effect on preventing the spread of 
COVID now?
    Mr. Gardner. Well----
    Mr. Massie [interrupting]. Can you give me some scientific 
basis for that? Because I think it is based in mysticism, 
disproven myths, and superstition.
    And, in fact, I am glad you mentioned public health and 
what we know about public health. The CDC this summer said 
that, after 8 months, the effectiveness of three doses is 
somewhere between 20 and zero percent against the currently 
circulating variants. That is after 8 months.
    Your vaccine mandate is so ridiculous. You are saying if 
you got the jab 20 months ago, then you are good to go. And in 
the meantime, you do have an exemption, according to your 
website. Somebody can be tested every week, every week. Why 
would you test somebody who has not had the vaccine, but you 
wouldn't test somebody who had a vaccine that is no longer 
effective, according to the CDC? Do you have any scientific 
basis for doing that?
    Mr. Gardner. Yes. Again, we are following the guidance from 
the CDC. We are following the best public health guidance we 
can get.
    Our goal here is simple, which is to try and ensure the 
health of our employees and the health of the traveling public. 
We have done a good job throughout the pandemic to do that. Our 
ask here is simple, is that we are looking for employees, when 
they come new to the company, that they be vaccinated and 
boosted for COVID-19 so we can help to play our part in 
supporting----
    Mr. Massie [interrupting]. But you don't care--my time has 
expired. But you don't care if it works or not.
    And I would like to submit to the record--I know my time 
has expired, Mr. Chairman, and I will yield that back, but I 
would ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a CDC 
``Updates on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness During Omicron,'' 
published June 28, 2022, that shows just what I said.
    And also, for the record, an article in National Review 
titled ``The Third Airline Bailout Is No Better Than the First 
Two Bailouts.'' The author is Veronique de Rugy.
    Mr. DeFazio. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                                 
     ``Updates on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness During Omicron,'' 
 PowerPoint presentation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
     June 28, 2022, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Thomas Massie
    The 24-slide presentation is retained in committee files and is 
available online at https://www.fda.gov/media/159499/download.

                                 
``The Third Airline Bailout Is No Better Than the First Two Bailouts,'' 
 by Veronique de Rugy, National Review, March 12, 2021, Submitted for 
                    the Record by Hon. Thomas Massie
   The Third Airline Bailout Is No Better Than the First Two Bailouts
by Veronique de Rugy

National Review, March 12, 2021, 1:21 p.m.

    No one seems to care anymore but airlines will receive their third 
bailout in a year thanks to the new COVID-19 relief bill. That will 
make a total of $79 billion in airline bailout: $50 billion in the 
CARES Act ($25 billion in payroll support and $25 billion in subsidized 
loans), $15 billion in December 2020, and finally $14 billion for 
commercial airlines as part of the American Rescue Plan.
    I have written many times about why most of the money goes to 
bailing out shareholders and creditors rather than workers. In part, it 
is because the amount of each bailout covers more than the payroll 
costs of those workers who would have gotten furloughed. Oh, and by the 
way, airlines are receiving subsidies even when they have committed not 
to furlough anyone in 2021 even without a bailout, like Southwest has.
    Gary Leff of View from the Wing also notes that while the airlines 
are picking our pockets, ``Delta is even paying out large management 
bonuses'' and that ``American even figured out how to keep workers they 
let go from collecting on payroll support.''
    Leff also points out this morning that American was threatening to 
furlough employees while demanding more government subsidies and paying 
large bonuses to management:

          At the beginning of February American Airlines sent out 
        13,000 WARN Act notices letting employees know they might be 
        furloughed at the beginning of April. At the same time American 
        was preparing to provide widespread across-the-board raises to 
        management.
          View From The Wing has learned that American provided Level 5 
        (manager) employees and above with raises starting in February.
          This week President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan 
        which included $14 billion for a third airline payroll bailout. 
        The deal requires American to keep workers on payroll through 
        September 30, in exchange for approximately $3 billion. 
        (Employing the workers that would have been furloughed will 
        cost them less than $100 million per month for six months, 
        according to an explanation during its last earnings call.)
          But the airline was handing out raises at the same time their 
        hands were out to Congress.

    The first bailout was wrong, so was the second one, and this third 
one is no different. The fact that no one seems to be outraged anymore 
is simply adding insult to injury.

    Mr. Massie. Thank you.
    Mr. DeFazio. We will now turn to Representative Carbajal, 
virtually.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Ms. Nelson, thank you for your and your members' work 
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    When you came before this committee about 1\1/2\ years 
ago--February of last year, to be exact--we discussed the 
challenges transportation workers faced during this pandemic. 
And in response, Congress acted and passed the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan, which included 
$15 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program, PSP, which 
helped airline workers from losing their jobs during this 
unprecedented time.
    Right now, our Nation continues to confront another threat, 
the ongoing climate crisis. In your testimony you mentioned the 
impacts to the aviation industry and its workers. Can you 
elaborate more on this?
    Ms. Nelson. Yes. Thank you very much for that question.
    So, the climate crisis is continuing to disrupt our jobs. 
There are increased incidents of severe turbulence that has 
thrown aviation workers--flight attendants--around the cabin. 
We are the ones that are unbuckled, pushing 300-pound carts. 
And when these happen, it is typically flight attendants that 
are severely injured, hospitalized. And there are two incidents 
that I referenced in my written testimony specifically about 
this at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines over the past 
year. This frequency of events are becoming more and more 
serious, and a serious occupational risk.
    The other issue is that we have a disaster relief fund. We 
have more applicants for our disaster relief fund in the past 5 
years, by far, than we have had in the entire time since its 
inception at 9/11. Flight attendants' homes are destroyed. 
Their ability to get to work is destroyed. Airport 
infrastructure is destroyed. Airport tarmacs become too hot to 
land on or, with the polar vortex, it was too cold to take off.
    The climate crisis is creating a serious threat to our 
jobs, our income, and focusing on better prediction of these 
weather events so that we can work to avoid them and work to 
avoid the catastrophic effects of them, as well as stopping 
carbon emissions, slowing carbon emissions, and tackling the 
climate crisis is critically important for the continued jobs 
that flight attendants and other aviation workers do.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. Congress just passed the Inflation 
Reduction Act, which I am sure you are aware of, to not only 
reduce energy and healthcare costs, but also to fight climate 
change to address these challenges.
    Ms. Nelson. We thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Yes.
    Mr. Regan, it is nice to see you, and thank you also for 
your work during this COVID-19 pandemic. This committee, under 
the leadership of Chairman DeFazio, has been busy, as you are 
aware. We helped write the American Rescue Plan and the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Now, as we begin to see the $1.2 
trillion being used to bring our infrastructure into the 21st 
century through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, can you 
discuss the impacts of this historic investment for workers?
    Has it helped make sure we have good-paying jobs?
    Mr. Regan. Yes, and thank you for the question.
    I think we are going to see the worker impact of the 
infrastructure law go throughout the entire length of the law. 
As I have mentioned earlier, it will come in stages, I think, 
especially early on. We are going to see, really, an increase 
in construction worker jobs. And with some of those important 
protections like Davis-Bacon and PLAs, we are going to ensure 
that those are good-paying jobs, where people are paid a good 
wage, and the projects are going to be done the right way and 
on time.
    Beyond that, as we start seeing expansion of services, 
whether it be in transit systems, or at Amtrak, or in other 
parts of our economy, we are going to see more and more need 
for operating crafts, maintenance crafts, people who can be 
trained up to deliver these jobs, and actually, manage what are 
becoming very high-tech systems in some of our public transit 
systems.
    So, the job training aspect that is going to be done now 
will help lead us into the future, where we have a workforce 
ready and able to go, and to operate what will hopefully 
become--and which I believe will become--a modern, efficient, 
and effective transportation system, one that will be the envy 
of the world.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much. I was glad to support 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and our workers. This 
legislation was a jobs bill, and I am glad that it also had 
specific language promoting good Davis-Bacon union jobs. Thank 
you very much for your testimony.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Auchincloss [presiding]. The Chair now recognizes Mr. 
Gibbs for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Gibbs. Thank you.
    Just to clarify a little bit, Representative Johnson from 
South Dakota was talking about the delays and stuff. And, 
unfortunately, the infrastructure bill included no reforms to 
the outdated NEPA process, and we still have a 6-year-plus 
delay, even though we tried to do it in 2 years. But Secretary 
Buttigieg is still sitting on administrative inaction. So, I 
just wanted to make that clear.
    A lot of the testimony today is talking about all the great 
things all this taxpayer money spending has done. One thing I 
want to clear for the record is, prior to March of last year, 
when the American Rescue Plan was passed on a 100-percent 
partisan basis, we passed five COVID relief measures, a 
bipartisan legislation which I fully supported, because I think 
when the Government locks down the economy, tells people they 
can't come to work, tells people who is essential and who is 
not essential, that is kind of like eminent domain. And all of 
society should help pay for that cost, and we did. And I think 
that it protects us, and protects our economy and our standard 
of living.
    But unfortunately, when they passed the bill, nearly $2 
trillion last March, a year ago last March, it accelerated 
inflation. We had inflation under 2 percent prior to that, and 
then it jumped up to 4.2 percent, now at 8.3 percent, and maybe 
heading higher. Who knows? Only time will tell. It has added to 
costs now.
    Mr. Ditch, we talk about all this inflation, and everybody 
on the panel is talking about the infrastructure bill and all 
the spending, how it is going to pay for all this. How does 
inflation devalue all these additional trillions of dollars 
that Congress is spending for all these projects?
    Would we have been better off to not spend all these 
trillions of dollars, and maybe pass an infrastructure bill 
that actually went to infrastructure like roads and bridges? 
Because in the infrastructure bill, a lot of it didn't go for 
roads and bridges, it went for pet projects. Is that the way 
you see it?
    Mr. Ditch. And I profoundly disagree with Chairman 
DeFazio's statements a few minutes ago that, essentially, if it 
is an investment, then magically it can't be inflationary. 
Spending is spending. Economic activity is economic activity. 
Whether someone is buying a hamburger or whether someone is 
buying a concrete mixer, monetary policy doesn't distinguish 
between how the money is being used.
    So, yes, the added spending in the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act is inflationary, because it isn't paid 
for, because it is adding to deficits.
    And in terms of the economic value, while some of the 
projects could potentially provide a return on investment, just 
because we are spending on infrastructure, that doesn't mean 
there is a great multiplier effect. When you are spending on 
expanding transit in Amtrak that only a small percentage of the 
public actually uses, when you are spending on things like 
Complete Streets and Road Diets that might make a roadway look 
nicer, but isn't going to actually increase the economic 
productivity of that asset, that isn't going to be meaning we 
get economic gains to balance out the spending and balance out 
the inflation.
    I do believe we would be better off----
    Mr. Gibbs [interrupting]. Mr. Ditch, the Inflation 
Reduction Act has some tax increases in there targeting the 
supply side of the economy. And I would argue the reason we are 
in this fix is because we spent trillions of dollars, the Feds 
have put a bunch of money out, and now they are raising the 
interest rates and trying to bring their balance sheet back in 
order, but we have limited the supply, but increased demand 
because we put all these dollars out here in the economy, and 
we have cut supply, especially in the energy sector.
    I mean, I think most people see that. Is that correct? We 
have just increased this inflation, these two bills just put 
gas on the fire for inflation and limited supply. What could we 
do on the regulatory side to help this?
    Mr. Ditch. Yes, the One Federal Decision rule in the IIJA 
was a step in the right direction. It is only one of many steps 
that we need.
    We really need to overhaul NEPA, perhaps even scrapping it 
altogether and starting over. Many of the provisions in NEPA 
are outdated. They are cumbersome, they are really 
bureaucratic. Some of my colleagues at The Heritage Foundation 
have written extensively about this over the course of years.
    There is a lot we can do. And the extent to which this 
permitting process gets in the way of things, it gets in the 
way of projects that both sides like. It gets in the way of 
highways; it also gets in the way of solar plants and 
windmills.
    Mr. Gibbs. Yes. Just one last question, I have a little 
time here.
    The Heritage Foundation, do you have any recommendations on 
how we could shore up the Highway Trust Fund?
    Mr. Ditch. I am sorry, what?
    Mr. Gibbs. How can we shore up the Highway Trust Fund?
    Mr. Ditch. Yes, that is very important.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recommends that perhaps you do 
that in a written response.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK, yes.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recognizes Mr. Malinowski for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Malinowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to our 
witnesses. I just want to begin by saying--and I see the 
chairman came back--what an extraordinary privilege it has been 
for me, serving with him on this committee these last 4 years.
    I came to this committee for the subject matter. I stayed 
for the chairman. This is one committee where I would always 
try to come on time, not just to gavel in so that I could ask 
my questions, but because I always wanted to hear Pete 
DeFazio's opening statement, because I knew I would learn 
something from it.
    And Pete, I have to admit that, if not for you, I would not 
know nearly as much as I do about budgetary treatment expansion 
and adjustment of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund under 
section 9505 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    Did I get that right?
    Mr. DeFazio. Yes.
    Mr. Malinowski. Close enough, yes.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Malinowski. I came here with ambitious goals, of 
course. And I think we met a lot of those goals: the biggest 
investment in American infrastructure in our country's history; 
helping my State of New Jersey with the Gateway Project, doing 
it at a time when most of my constituents thought Washington 
was broken and incapable of doing big things. We proved them 
wrong. Doing it in a way that enables our country--America, and 
not China--to lead the world to clean energy. I can't 
understand why anyone would be against that.
    Now, we did spend a lot of money. I acknowledge that. I 
wish the infrastructure bill had been better paid for. The 
political reality is we would have done it in the House. There 
was no way to get a bill through the filibuster in the Senate 
that is fully paid for. That is the political reality.
    But I also think that we have to be a little bit honest 
when we are talking about the deficit. And I want to ask you, 
Mr. Ditch, you said at one point today, quite correctly, that, 
when it comes to the deficit, the only question is how much 
money is going out, how much money is coming in. So, I want to 
ask you whether you or The Heritage Foundation, for example, 
opposed the 2017 tax bill, which resulted--just yes or no--in 
about $2 trillion more going out than coming back in.
    Mr. Ditch. I was a congressional staffer at the time. 
Heritage was broadly supportive.
    Mr. Malinowski. Thank you. And can you think of any bill 
that was enacted by the U.S. Congress during that 2-year period 
when the Republican Party had control of the House and Senate 
and the White House, enacted and signed by the President, that 
substantially reduced the deficit, can you name one?
    Mr. Ditch. No.
    Mr. Malinowski. Thank you. And you would acknowledge that 
the IRA--although your critique of it, I understand it, is that 
it doesn't get to the deficit reduction fast enough; fair 
enough--that it does reduce the deficit by around $300 billion 
over the next few years.
    Mr. Ditch. It remains to be seen whether that will actually 
be the case.
    Mr. Malinowski. OK. That is the estimate of the nonpartisan 
analyst that looked at it.
    And as you acknowledge, Republicans had 2 years to do 
something about the deficit, and you acknowledge they did 
nothing. We just cut it by $300 billion.
    As to the airline bailout, you actually believe that, if we 
had done nothing at a time when not only the Government was 
telling businesses to shut down, but people were not flying 
because they didn't want to die, you actually believe that if 
we had done nothing to help the airlines, that 2 years later 
they just would have picked up where they started, all those 
workers would have just magically come back to their airline 
jobs, all the planes would have been ready to go, the airports 
would have been fine, and the airline industry would have been 
in good shape this summer to fly all those people around?
    Mr. Ditch. I didn't say that. I don't believe it. There 
absolutely would have been layoffs, and there could very well 
still be jobs that would not exist.
    Mr. Malinowski. Correct.
    Mr. Ditch. The question, to me, is----
    Mr. Malinowski [interrupting]. Probably massive disruptions 
far greater than anything that consumers faced this summer.
    What would the unemployment rate in America be, if not for 
the PPP program and the money that we spent, the deficit-
causing--I acknowledge that--money that we spent during the 
pandemic, what would our unemployment rate be in America today?
    Mr. Ditch. There is really no way of knowing.
    Mr. Malinowski. Would it be 3.5 percent or higher?
    Mr. Ditch. We very well could have higher unemployment 
today. The question is whether it was worth the incredible 
expense.
    Mr. Malinowski. OK. Well, I think most of the folks in my 
district who I represent, who have jobs today and would not 
have--I think we kind of agree some of them would not have jobs 
today--believe and would probably argue that it was worth it, 
because I don't think there is anything more important, 
especially at a time where we all acknowledge inflation is a 
problem, that people actually have jobs and incomes to begin to 
afford the day-to-day expenses of life in this country.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recognizes Miss Gonzalez-Colon 
for 5 minutes.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Gardner, I just tried to book a trip----
    [Audio malfunction.]
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon [continuing]. Using my Puerto Rican 
address on the website, on the Amtrak website----
    Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. Is the gentlelady's 
microphone on?
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Yes, it is. Can you hear me now?
    Mr. Auchincloss. Perhaps speak closer to it.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. I will try.
    Mr. Gardner, I tried to book a trip using my Puerto Rican 
address on the Amtrak website. And when I went to purchase a 
ticket, I discovered that Amtrak does not recognize Puerto Rico 
as part of the United States. I just hope that you can commit 
to me to rectify this issue.
    Mr. Gardner. Absolutely. We don't serve all of the United 
States, only 46 States. But----
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon [interrupting]. I know. But I was using 
the Amtrak here, in the States.
    Mr. Gardner. Yes.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. But I am using my address in Puerto 
Rico just to purchase the ticket.
    Mr. Gardner. I will look into that, for sure, absolutely.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you.
    Mr. Gardner. Yes.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Mr. Ditch, in your testimony there is 
an issue regarding the way the funds are being used. And one of 
those is specifically saying--and I will want to quote it 
here--that only 4 percent of the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act funding will go towards actual infrastructure 
projects, would produce actual benefits for State, local, and 
the whole country's economic well-being.
    Does The Heritage Foundation agree with the CBO dynamic 
scoring analysis, that the actual Federal infrastructure on the 
Federal budget can be positive, if funding is not borrowed but 
sustained in real investment?
    Mr. Ditch. Yes, it--I am sorry, could you repeat the 
question?
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. OK. My simple question is if you agree 
with the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, dynamic scoring 
analysis, that the actual effect of infrastructure on the 
Federal budget can be positive if the funding is not borrowed, 
but sustained in real investment.
    Mr. Ditch. The funding of--the way that the--I am sorry I 
am having such a hard time understanding anybody today, Miss 
Gonzalez-Colon. Please, just one more time. I am very sorry.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. That is OK. I am prepared to use my 
time on another question.
    You said that you are aware of the issues of the Highway 
Trust Fund. Are you?
    Mr. Ditch. Yes. The Highway Trust Fund is in a very 
perilous state. Unfortunately, for many years Congress decided 
to draw down a large existing balance by offloading money into 
places like transit and local government slush funds----
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon [interrupting]. What recommendations do 
you have to shore up the Highway Trust Fund?
    Mr. Ditch. I believe the number-one thing we need to do, 
rather than trying to increase taxes on hard-working Americans, 
Congress needs to live within its means, and that means getting 
rid of the diversions that are coming out of people who pay gas 
tax, and are going towards people who do not pay the gas tax, 
who ride on buses and trains, and who take ferry boats. None of 
those things have to do with the Interstate Highway System.
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Ditch.
    Dr. Hersh, as someone who voted for the House 
infrastructure bill that passed out of this committee--and I 
did so in support of critical and needed infrastructure 
development for Puerto Rico. However, due to the current 
inflation rates, projects are at risk of not being done because 
of cost overruns and skyrocketing prices.
    According to USAspending.gov, there is still $220 billion 
in COVID-19 funding that hasn't even been earmarked to be spent 
on specific projects. Just the Department of Transportation 
alone is sitting on $11.77 billion in unspent and unobligated 
money that could be used to help build infrastructure projects 
across the country.
    Would it make economic sense to utilize this unspent 
funding to address cost overruns for infrastructure projects?
    Mr. Hersh. Thank you for that question. Yes, it would make 
sense, and it is going to be a challenge to manage these----
    [Audio malfunction.]
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. What is needed to use that unspent 
money?
    [Pause.]
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. You are muted. You are muted, sir.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The gentleman is muted. Mr. Hersh?
    [Pause.]
    Miss Gonzalez-Colon. Mr. Hersh, you are muted.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The gentlelady's time has expired. Perhaps 
the gentlelady can request a written response to that question.
    [Pause.]
    Voice. I think you need to put your headphones back in. 
That thing goes to your mic.
    Ms. Nelson. Also, this is a moment to recognize aviation 
worker job security.
    [Pause.]
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recognizes himself for 5 
minutes, and my question is for Mr. Regan, and it is really 
about why our younger American men are dropping out of the 
workforce, and how unions affiliated with TTD can work to 
engage them.
    According to The New York Times, men in their prime working 
years, 25 to 54, have retreated from the workforce. The trend 
was occurring before the pandemic, really since the 1960s, but 
it has been exacerbated by COVID-19. Under the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, we had an unprecedented investment in the 
workforce that has a strong union foundation at a time when 
public approval for unions has never been higher. It is a great 
opportunity for us.
    And yet some of our domestic male-dominated blue collar 
industries have been growing rapidly, adding millions of new 
jobs, and we can't find workers. Men with no bachelor's degree 
have seen an almost 10 percentage point decline in their labor 
force participation over the last 30 years in the 25 to 34 age 
cohort. Some of this decline can be attributed to economic and 
structural change, and I know some of my Republican colleagues 
will place some of the blame on COVID-19 unemployment benefits, 
although there is no evidence for that.
    What we do know for sure is that men are not returning to 
work. And in 2021, almost twice as many women joined the 
workforce as men did. In 2022, 91 percent of prime age 
immigrant men re-entered the labor force, compared to only 84 
percent of U.S.-born men. So, again, I would push back on any 
claims from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that 
this has to do with immigrants taking jobs. That is not what is 
happening. What is happening here is that we have an issue with 
native-born American men 18 to 35 who are not entering the 
workforce at the level that we need them to.
    The not-in-the-labor-force men outnumber the formerly 
unemployed by more than four to one. So, we have this huge pool 
of untapped potential working-age labor force that we need to 
help build our roads and bridges, fix our water supplies, and 
yet they are on the sidelines of the United States economy.
    And my question to you is, how can Congress and unions work 
together to get this cohort of prime working-age men back into 
the workforce with skills that give them confidence, dignity in 
this economy, and contributing to overall economic growth?
    Mr. Regan. Thank you for the question. I think, at its 
core, when people talk about a labor shortage in a lot of these 
areas, it tends to rub me the wrong way because in a lot of 
situations--you actually saw during the Great Recession, for 
example, more people were hired than actually resigned during 
that period--it is that people didn't want to do bad jobs.
    So, in many of these cases, especially as you advance 
greater union density and more union participation, it actually 
raises wages across the board, even for nonunion employees. So, 
if we are providing better incentives for people to go to those 
jobs, which really--wages, benefits, working conditions, you 
hit all those three, you are going to be able to recruit more 
people into your workforce.
    And as we also put in more training at the front end for 
these jobs, and giving people the skills they need to advance 
not only in the job they are hired to do, but hopefully advance 
their careers down the line as well, you are giving people the 
tools to succeed in a specific trade, whether it be in the 
transit workforce, in the freight rail workforce, or in the 
aviation workforce. In every scenario, if we provide people 
with the wages, the benefits, the working conditions, and the 
training, then they are going to succeed, and they are going to 
tell their friends about, ``Hey, I got this great job right 
now. I didn't always think I would be a transit worker, but 
right now I was blown away. The pay is good, the benefits are 
good.''
    Mr. Auchincloss. And what are you doing for outreach on 
that? I mean, I hear your point: wages, benefit, working 
conditions. There has never been a time, at least in my 
lifetime, when the conditions have been better for that type of 
outreach, where we have got work that we want to do, we have 
got funding to do it, we have got a lot of people able to work. 
And the appeal of joining organized labor is higher than ever, 
and yet we still have one American looking for every two open 
jobs right now.
    There is this cohort of younger American men who need a 
different type of outreach.
    Mr. Regan. Well, part of it--and I want to commend Stephen 
for what they have done at Amtrak, in terms of partnering with 
unions to go to these job fairs, to advertise their jobs in 
high schools and in community colleges, to make sure that 
people understand what the realities of these jobs are.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Yes, these men are not going to job fairs, 
though, to be clear.
    Mr. Regan. That is fair.
    Mr. Auchincloss. We have done studies. They are not at 
job--they are not seeking employment.
    Mr. Regan. Well, I think it is going to require a lot more 
work. I mean, from a union perspective, certainly we can do 
more to advertise what our jobs bring, and the quality of life 
you can get with a job in any of the industries that I 
represent. So, I think there can be more done, from a union 
perspective.
    I also think that employers themselves, if they are 
embracing some of the principles that I support, and are 
talking about what people can earn and achieve in these 
workforces, and put them out, whether it be on online 
advertisements or even whatever is getting the greatest number 
of eyes on it, I think that should be an effective way to go.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Well, I am certainly eager to work with 
unions on this, because we need these young men building things 
and getting off the sidelines.
    Mr. Regan. Yes.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Thank you.
    I yield back. I recognize Mr. LaMalfa for 5 minutes.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we have seen with 
inflation and supply chain shortages and such, an estimated 43-
percent increase in the cost of highway and street construction 
just from May of 2020 until August of this year, according to 
the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. We 
have $7.5 trillion in additional U.S. debt since the beginning 
of March 2020, due mostly to the response to the COVID 
situation.
    The proposal in the IIJA had a total spending of $1.2 
trillion, but had nothing in there to really fix the underlying 
shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund issue, gas taxes, et 
cetera. So, I would like to toss a question to Mr. Ditch on 
that, which would be: What recommendations do you have to shore 
up the Highway Trust Fund?
    There are ideas of raising the gas tax. There are other 
measures. There is also one of a per-mile fee increase, or 
creating a per-mile tax, which I am very opposed to personally, 
for my rural district. But what would you say we do to shore up 
that Highway Trust Fund?
    Mr. Ditch. I believe the number-one solution to making the 
Highway Trust Fund sustainable is reducing Federal spending. 
That would involve eliminating transit subsidies to involve 
eliminating some of the slush funds, like the Climate 
Mitigation Program and the Transportation Alternatives Program. 
If you remove all of the diversions away from roads and 
bridges, that would reduce trust fund--and you--in the--at 
least in the pre-IIJA baseline, that would reduce spending 
about 30 percent get it close to balance.
    I also believe the Federal Government should reduce the 
amount that it spends on highways. I believe that State 
governments have the capability to do the work themselves 
faster and more affordably, and the need for the Federal 
Government to subsidize highways is, frankly, zero at this 
point in time.
    Mr. LaMalfa. OK. So, we have seen the price of all the 
materials that have gone up so much. How much do you think the 
role of inflation has played in these price spikes versus some 
other factors, say, a road project costs $10 million, it took 5 
years to permit and build. What do you think it would look like 
now, like, say, 20,000,008 years?
    And then I want to come to you on the permitting process 
after this question.
    Mr. Ditch. Yes, it is really unfortunate that Congress has 
decided to massively increase infrastructure spending at the 
exact time when infrastructure spending is going to cost so 
much more to actually do. These projects are going to be much 
more expensive. Some of that increase is due to energy prices. 
And while some of that, in turn, is potentially caused by the 
unfortunate war in Ukraine, some of it could also be addressed 
if our Federal energy policy was more interested in increasing 
domestic production of the things that we need, the things that 
we can rely on, rather than all these Green New Deal policies.
    It is unclear what is going to happen in terms of 
economywide inflation or sector-specific inflation, but it 
seems that right now is a very, very bad time to try to throw 
more money to turn the fire hose up even higher.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Indeed, it seems, I think, a widely held view 
that energy costs have driven everything up, and yet we have 
the capability in this country to overwhelm the market with the 
amount of energy we would need, whether it is natural gas or 
petroleum or our electricity generation, like we face in 
California.
    Miraculously, they decided to extend the life of a nuclear 
powerplant, which is 9 percent of our power in California, 
another 5 years. It should have been 25 years. But indeed, we 
are not shutting that down, amongst other things.
    So, let me shift gears to lastly mentioning the frustration 
with getting projects permitted. And so, in the last 
administration, there was a Federal decision that streamlined--
the NEPA process would set a 2-year limit for completing a NEPA 
review for permitting on major infrastructure projects, and 
required it to go through a single Federal agency. That was 
reversed by the Biden administration on day one. I am not sure 
how that helped its productivity, but it was tossed out.
    So, my home State of California, it has a very rigorous 
CEQA process, kind of equivalent to NEPA, only even more 
rigorous, more stringent. How productive do you think it would 
be to have a substitution policy authority that--if a State 
such as California and several others have already their own 
level of NEPA process that is equivalent to or even more 
aggressive than the Federal one, would that not be a productive 
way to have one-stop shopping for permitting and getting things 
done in parallel, instead of stacking permit processes?
    We actually had such a thing in the 2015 FAST Act, but it 
never got put into place. Please comment on how you think that 
could be, cost savings-wise and time saving-wise.
    Mr. Ditch. Frankly, you mentioned your home State of 
California. I think that, if you look at the trends for 
California, they are not very positive. And a lot of that has 
to do with the amount of bureaucracy, the attempt to control 
everything centrally.
    And then we can turn to what happened with the California 
high-speed rail debacle, some of which, unfortunately, received 
a few billion dollars of Federal funding. That project is 
estimated to cost several times what it initially did. It is 
years and years and years behind schedule.
    We don't want to follow the California model in the 
country, and we really don't want to impose that sort of one-
size-fits-all bureaucratic, centrally planned approach to 
infrastructure. And unfortunately, with each successive round 
of infrastructure spending, the Federal Government takes over 
more areas that used to be controlled by State and local 
governments. And we are going to take the country in the 
direction of California. And I think people are voting with 
their feet in terms of whether that is what they want.
    Mr. LaMalfa. Yes, indeed, had California been required to 
do the high-speed rail--I call it high-cost rail--project on 
its own without Federal help--it is going to look for more 
Federal help, too, because the original idea that was sold to 
the voters on the ballot was $33 billion. It quickly increased 
to $42 billion in a year. Two years later it was $98.5 billion, 
and now it is about $120 billion, and they only have a little 
bit going between an almond orchard on one end, and I think 
Merced on the other. So, it is a boondoggle. And we can't have 
the Federal investing in things that don't work.
    So, I appreciate it, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recognizes Mr. Garcia for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Garcia of Illinois. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And to all 
of our witnesses, thank you for being here today.
    I also want to echo the accolades of our chairman and, of 
course, his great legacy. And of course, next year, when we 
walk into that room, I vow to solemnly bow at his picture in 
the room. So, thank you, Chairman, for a great run leading our 
committee.
    I am going to ask our witnesses to be as concise as 
possible in their answers. I am trying to get four questions 
in. So, thank you so much for your indulgence.
    First, for Ms. Sara Nelson, in 2020 I led a letter to 
leadership expressing concern with airlines spending over 96 
percent of free cashflow on stock buybacks from unused funds 
under the CARES Act--the Payroll Support Program, rather. I 
even questioned former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg for reaping 
millions in stock buybacks.
    Are you concerned with the expiration of the stock buyback 
and how that will be tied to pay? One.
    And two, would you agree that these funds can be used to 
prioritize payroll payments, staff levels, benefit, and minimum 
wage assurances?
    Ms. Nelson. Yes, thank you for the question.
    So, first of all, I just want to make clear the Payroll 
Support Program put a cap on executive compensation that 
extends through March of 2023, and banned stock buybacks and 
dividends through September 30th, just tomorrow. And the result 
of that was that this was the only industry where inequality 
did not grow.
    And we are not done with the recovery yet, so, we are very 
concerned that the $39 billion that went out the door from 2014 
to 2019 in stock buybacks--and during a time when the airlines 
were making profits, they were still cutting back on staffing 
and the number of people that we had at work to handle the 
demand--we are suffering from the results of that now. People 
are not able to work at the rate that they were before.
    It has been too hard to work two and three jobs just to get 
by, with the 20 years of austerity that we have been working 
under. And this is no time for cash to be going out the door in 
stock buybacks, essentially a greed tool, to send money to Wall 
Street when we need to invest in the operation, invest in the 
American workforce, and put us in a position where we can say 
to the next generation, ``These are good jobs to come to. They 
are good union jobs with good pay benefits and a secure 
retirement.''
    And so, that is what we need to do, rather than investing 
in stock buybacks.
    Mr. Garcia of Illinois. And that is why I look forward to 
working with you on the Reward Work Act, my bill, and I thank 
the chair for serving as co-lead in its introduction.
    A question for Mr. Regan. Midway Airport in Chicago is near 
my current district, and will be in my new district next 
Congress.
    I am also the sponsor of the Good Jobs for Good Airports 
Act in the House, which would establish a minimum wage and 
benefit standard for airport workers across the country. I am 
pleased that several aviation unions have endorsed the Good 
Jobs for Good Airports Act.
    In light of the current picketing happening at O'Hare and 
Midway Airports in Chicago, how can we ensure that this money 
is used to improve wages and benefits that aviation workers 
receive, especially low-income workers who don't receive a 
living wage and good benefits like healthcare?
    And how will the $25 billion in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law for airports help rebuild our airports and 
aviation infrastructure?
    Again, as concise as you can be.
    Mr. Regan. Yes, thank you for that question. And obviously, 
we are in complete agreement when it comes to making sure that 
these workers are supported. In many cases, the contractors 
work for subcontractors. They are the lowest paid people in the 
entire aviation industry, and they deserve better support from 
the Federal Government as we start utilizing all this money.
    I think one thing that the Federal Government can do is 
really incentivize the increase in better jobs or wage raises, 
benefits, things like that at the front end, when airports are 
applying for greater funds. They are going to be looking to 
expand airports all across the country. And it is going to be a 
big amount of money that is going out. And if we are putting it 
at the beginning that we need to have labor peace agreements, 
if we have to have certain wage requirements as a condition of 
making sure this money is going out the door, I think that will 
go a long way towards ensuring that people actually start 
treating these workers with the dignity and respect that they 
deserve.
    Mr. Garcia of Illinois. Thank you so much. I am running out 
of time here. I want to ask one more question to Mr. Regan on 
rail safety.
    Chicago is the center of this country, of our rail network. 
The IIJA takes a number of important steps towards improving 
highway and trucking safety, with the goal of reducing tragic 
accidents and fatalities on our highways. And it is evident 
that these efforts are more needed now than ever, as NHTSA 
reported that traffic deaths reached a 16-year high in 2021.
    To be [inaudible]----
    Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. The gentleman's time----
    Mr. Garcia of Illinois [continuing]. And why are Amazon's 
operations so unsafe, and what threat do they pose to the 
promises of the IIJA?
    I think the chairman is telling me my time is up.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The gentleman's time has expired.
    Mr. Garcia of Illinois. [Inaudible] in writing, I would 
appreciate it.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The gentleman yields. Written responses 
would be appreciated.
    And the Chair recognizes Mr. Nehls for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Nehls. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank 
all the witnesses for being here today. My questions are really 
geared towards Mr. Gardner.
    And I am from Texas, Mr. Gardner, I represent the 22nd 
Congressional District in Houston, and I am getting a lot of 
questions. Like most individuals in the great State of Texas, 
we are seeing the crisis at our southern border, and many of my 
constituents are asking me what Congress is doing to secure our 
border. They ask me about these midnight flights, where illegal 
aliens are flown all over the country.
    And so, my question is, are illegal aliens being 
transported on Amtrak trains?
    Mr. Gardner. Thank you, Congressman. We, of course, offer 
trips through Texas on the Sunset Limited through your district 
there, and those tickets are available for purchase. We don't 
have any special programs or engagement regarding any immigrant 
groups, per se. It is really just a matter of people purchasing 
reservations. So, the tickets are available for sale, and folks 
board our trains, but we don't, as part of ticketing, of 
course, check immigration status.
    Mr. Nehls. OK. And so, that is a followup question I have, 
as it relates to purchasing tickets. And I brought this up in a 
previous hearing, about people that want to ride on an Amtrak 
train. Up here, in this corridor here, I have had staff and 
others that have told me that they can purchase a ticket on a 
train, right, and they are never asked for an ID. They can 
carry two bags, whatever they want, on the train. The bags are 
not scanned.
    I mean, there is no metal detectors. There is no--like, you 
get on an airplane today, you have to give them everything but 
a blood sample. I mean, you have got to take off your belt, 
your shoes, all of it. You have got to have your bag match 
your--all of it. But on a train, it appears that you can buy 
that ticket, and there is no real security apparatus in place 
to make sure you know who is on your train.
    So, how does Amtrak--what are your safety procedures to 
make sure that your passengers are safe on a train, if someone 
can buy a ticket like an illegal alien, possibly, or someone 
else, and give that ticket to somebody else because there is no 
ID required? How does Amtrak justify this?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, Congressman, the Amtrak system and 
transit systems around the country are open systems designed to 
make travel easy and facilitate mobility. And certainly, we 
have a dedicated Amtrak police force, one that we have been 
growing, a lot of efforts, in partnership with DHS and TSA, to 
provide security.
    We do random ID checks. You need to have an identification 
on board. And we do spot screening, and we have a large K-9 
force associated with our police team to screen passengers.
    Having said that, we would encourage and support further 
investment in rail security efforts. That is something Amtrak 
has long advocated for since the tragedy of 9/11 and so forth. 
So, there are opportunities to invest, and we are growing our 
police force, and we work very closely with police forces 
across the country to provide security both at our stations and 
on board our trains.
    But----
    Mr. Nehls [interrupting]. Would Amtrak support legislation 
to have your passengers travel through a metal detector like I 
have to do to get on the House floor to vote here?
    Mr. Gardner. That is a, I think, very impractical approach, 
given that the majority of our 500 stations are--many of them 
are unstaffed. Many of them are just platforms located in the--
--
    Mr. Nehls [interrupting]. All right, I have about a minute 
left. And you say it is impractical, but I will say this to 
you. Is that--when you look at the security apparatus that you 
have in place--and yes, I am an old sheriff, I did it for 30 
years, I understand about having dogs running around, maybe 
sniffing a bag here or there, and doing some random checks.
    But I will guarantee you--the first time, sir, that you 
have a mass casualty event on your train because somebody 
brings guns onto those trains, and these assault weapons, and 
all of a sudden--you think you are struggling now? You wait 
until you have a mass casualty event on the train, and then the 
American taxpayers are going to be on the hook because you are 
going to want more money. You are going to want more money 
because your ridership is going to say, ``We can't ride this 
train because we can't feel safe.''
    All I am trying to say to you is be a little bit more 
proactive. And the idea to say is, well, it is an open system 
doesn't sit well with me, because that is not--you got to be 
more proactive, and do everything that you can to provide a 
safe and secure environment for your passengers. And my 
understanding is that right now you have received billions of 
dollars from us, and you just haven't really improved the 
security apparatus. And it is something that I am going to be 
focusing on here in the next legislative year.
    Thank you for your time.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The gentleman yields. The Chair recognizes 
Mr. Lamb for 5 minutes.
    [Pause.]
    Mr. Lamb. I guess the button that says ``talk'' is the one 
you are supposed to press. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
you to all of our guests.
    Mr. Regan, to start--Regan or Reagan? I missed the intro.
    Mr. Regan. It is Regan.
    Mr. Lamb. Yes. In Pittsburgh, that would be Regan, so, I 
just wanted to make sure.
    I want to talk about the issue of Buy American steel 
provisions, particularly in the IIJA. The goal in that statute 
was to make these the most comprehensive and enforceable that 
we have ever had. I know that opinion in the steel industry is 
pretty positive about it, but there is always a risk of there 
being more loopholes or, sort of, specific steel products that 
are difficult to obtain in America.
    And then there is, kind of, a whole separate set of issues 
related to the tendency of steel companies to start moving away 
from union areas like western Pennsylvania to nonunion 
operations in the South.
    So, I was wondering if you could just comment, from the 
AFL-CIO's perspective, on how we are doing on Buy America, and 
what else might remain on that to-do list.
    Mr. Regan. Thank you for the question. I think that the 
policies that were adopted as part of the IIJA were among the 
most aggressive pro-Buy America policies that I have seen in my 
career.
    When you have those types of really aggressive, forward-
looking policies, it is going to take a little bit of time for 
the industries to catch up. I am trusting that the DOT, working 
together with the unions who care about these issues, that 
every decision they are making when it comes to implementing 
Buy America is geared towards that goal of getting to 100 
percent. That is, ultimately, what needs to be the goal, that 
we don't just set ourselves a ceiling or a floor at 70 percent, 
and then just try to scrap that together. It should be towards 
rebuilding our overall manufacturing capacity to actually meet 
our country's needs.
    And as I mentioned earlier, our supply chain crisis that 
happened earlier really laid bare where our lack of 
preparedness is when it comes to economic redundancy and making 
sure that we have the ability to provide the equipment and the 
raw materials that are needed in this country.
    So, as we start to implement this bill more, as we start 
identifying where there are gaps in our manufacturing capacity, 
the next step needs to be making sure that companies are aware 
of those opportunities, and that we can start growing that 
manufacturing base again in this country.
    Mr. Lamb. Yes. No, I couldn't agree more. It is obviously a 
complicated issue that involves energy prices and things that I 
think both sides have had input on here today. So, I appreciate 
that.
    Ms. Nelson, I missed the earlier parts of your testimony, 
but I know from your written submission one of the key 
observations is the way that, even before the pandemic, the 
situation was unstable for your workforce and the people you 
represent. And so, if there is anything you haven't gotten to 
say yet, or anything you would like to emphasize as it relates 
to basically helping your members thrive a little bit better in 
the years ahead, changes that we can make. Every time I am on a 
flight I am struck by how difficult that job is, and I know 
during the pandemic it got a whole lot harder. So, if you 
could, just point us to some concrete ways you think we can 
address whatever workforce issues are going on.
    Ms. Nelson. I appreciate that very much.
    And first, I would just like to say that it was historic 
that unions and the industry got together to work on this 
relief program that really put us in a place where we are not 
going backwards now. We essentially froze an imperfect system, 
that is true. There were issues prior to the pandemic, and 
thank you for recognizing that.
    But I really do want to recognize that the industry agreed 
to ban stock buybacks. We hope that they continue on that. We 
are asking them to do that now, so that they can invest in the 
workforce and the infrastructure. But they also agreed to a cap 
in executive compensation. They did not take bonuses during 
this time. That was said earlier in the hearing. So, I want to 
make that very clear. And when we do our best work is when we 
are working together.
    So, what we want to do is make sure that the system in 
place right now that promotes things like stock buybacks, where 
cash is being sent out to Wall Street, not reinvested in the 
business, not reinvested in good jobs, not reinvested in the 
infrastructure that is needed--I will give you an example. When 
the airlines started making money after all the bankruptcies, 
after the consolidation of the industry, the mergers, what we 
saw was staffing taken down to FAA minimum levels.
    Typically, at the mainline carriers, it was staffed 25 to 
50 percent over the minimum levels, depending upon the load 
factors on our planes. Today, every single flight is full, and 
every single flight is staffed at FAA minimum levels. There is 
no give in the system. That also then makes it much harder for 
the flight attendants on the front lines, who are dealing with 
aggressive passengers, conflicts.
    And I want to be very clear. We have been working very 
closely with TSA Administrator Pekoske, recognizing that the 
assaults against airline employees have not gone down. There 
was a lot of narrative around that was just about the mask 
policy. That is not true. There are other issues going on in 
the country that we need to deal with: serious depression 
issues, serious mental health issues. And we are usually on the 
tip of the sphere of anything happening socially or politically 
in the country. We see that on the front lines.
    In terms of what can help as we are coming up, we need to 
address the issue of staffing. We need to readdress what those 
staffing minimums are in relation to--it can't just be about 
evacuation standards anymore. There are a whole series of 
things that flight attendants are responsible for today: 
radiation exposure----
    Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. The gentleman's time has 
expired.
    Ms. Nelson [continuing]. [Inaudible] standards, a seat for 
every passenger on board----
    Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. The gentleman's time has 
expired.
    Ms. Nelson. Thank you so much for your----
    Mr. Lamb [interrupting]. Thank you for that. I do have to 
yield back.
    Mr. Auchincloss. The Chair recognizes Mr. Stauber for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Stauber. Thank you, Mr. Chair, what a great discussion.
    Ms. Nelson, I just want to--first off, thanks for your 
comments. I want to just share a couple of things with you, and 
I will share with others, as well. Thanks for what you and your 
union workers do to keep us safe, a tremendous amount of 
responsibility during COVID.
    I will just add that when you are talking about your 
profession, make sure it is under the wings, too, the mechanics 
and the people that push the bags, as far as union workers, 
both above and beyond the wings. I just want to make sure 
that--that is a whole group of people that allows us to fly 
across this Nation and enjoy the great things that your 
profession does to allow us to have good ridership and safe 
ridership. I just want to make sure that it is above and below 
the wings that we recognize it.
    Ms. Nelson. Absolutely.
    Mr. Stauber. Thank you.
    A couple of things, Mr. Chair. Chairman DeFazio--I wanted 
to talk more about the NEPA process, and I am not going to 
speak for the chair, but I think that, if he were here, he 
would probably say that this committee should have had some say 
in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
    Do you all know that not one of us had a hearing or input 
on it?
    Ms. Nelson. Yes.
    Mr. Stauber. And that is unacceptable. That is not good 
governance, and we know that.
    We talked about NEPA. My good friend from South Dakota 
talked about NEPA. That does need to change. We need to change 
it. I just want to give you an example.
    In the Iron Range in Minnesota there is the biggest copper 
nickel find in North America. It is called the Duluth Complex. 
It has 95 percent of our Nation's nickel reserves, 88 percent 
of the cobalt reserves, over one-third of our copper reserves, 
and other platinum group metals. This administration pulled the 
Federal leases on it, and it had a project labor agreement in 
it, and I supported it. Thousands and thousands of workers lost 
the right to mine, lost the right to go through the process. 
And there is a project labor agreement. I stood there with my 
union brothers and sisters.
    Help me help you on this. We talk about electric vehicles. 
Does anyone here ever want to purchase any critical minerals, 
including cobalt, with child foreign slave labor? If there is 
anybody here, raise your hand on the panel. Anybody?
    OK. I want you all to know on this committee I had an 
amendment that said the United States will not purchase one 
ounce of critical minerals using child slave labor from foreign 
nations. And it went down on a party-line vote.
    My workers in northeastern Minnesota are ready, able, and 
willing to help with the supply chain. The EV charging stations 
that Secretary Buttigieg just brought forward to the country 
yesterday, no requirement for American critical minerals. The 
workers in my district? Zero requirement.
    I just want to move on to Ms. Nelson.
    Do you require a 4-year degree?
    Ms. Nelson. To be a flight attendant?
    Mr. Stauber. Yes.
    Ms. Nelson. No.
    Mr. Stauber. Mr. Regan, do you require a 4-year degree?
    Mr. Regan. Not for most of the professions that I 
represent.
    Mr. Stauber. Mr. Gardner, Amtrak, do you require a 4-year 
degree?
    Mr. Gardner. For most crafts, no.
    Mr. Stauber. OK. One of the things that we must understand 
is there are many people that have gone through school, 
college, paid for it themselves, worked while going through 
school, and there are many others that haven't. You are an 
industry that doesn't require the 4-year degree in your jobs. 
And so, we just had a piece of legislation that allows your 
blue collar workers to have to pay for others that committed to 
pay their own loans.
    The last thing I want to talk about is, Ms. Nelson--I just 
want to share this with you all. My background is a police 
officer. For 23 years I wore the uniform in a local police 
department. I organized my union, I became my union's 
president.
    Ms. Nelson, you brought up something that is very near and 
dear to me. The depression and the suicide in our cops across 
this Nation because of the defund the police movement is 
atrocious. The training, retention, morale, and recruitment is 
down lower than ever. As you go across and talk to people, 
would you please make sure that you talk about our men and 
women in blue and brown that keep our community safe every 
single day? You have the voice to do that, and I am just 
imploring you to do that.
    And I yield back.
    Mr. Lamb [presiding]. The Chair recognizes Mr. Allred for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Allred. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will just say that 
the House spent months and had hundreds of amendments on a 
House infrastructure bill. The Senate, of course, incorporated 
some of that in the IIJA. I think it is a little bit 
disingenuous to say we had no input into it. I think that our 
bill was better than theirs, but I do think it was a huge 
advancement for us. In fact, the largest investment in 
infrastructure since the Eisenhower era. And as Chairman 
DeFazio likes to point out, even larger than the investments 
from the Eisenhower era.
    Mr. Regan, in your testimony you mentioned the February 
2022 MOU, memorandum of understanding, signed by Secretary 
Buttigieg, Secretary Walsh, and will support millions of good-
paying jobs. And I was wondering if you could speak to the 
significance of the MOU and the impact that it is going to have 
on job growth in the country, and certainly in your area.
    Mr. Regan. Thank you for the question. I think one of the 
things that I found most significant about this MOU is that 
there are areas of expertise within the Department of 
Transportation that the DOL does not have. And there are areas 
of expertise in the Department of Labor that the DOT does not 
have.
    And I think one of the key parts there deals with 
apprenticeship programs and job training requirements that DOL 
has dealt with extensively, and that DOT wants to adopt and 
bring in to make a key part of how they are rolling out this 
infrastructure spending money that comes in their jurisdiction.
    I think it is actually a really important step, and far 
more meaningful than I think it is given credit for that they 
have partnering, and brought the shared experience and shared 
expertise between those two agencies together to actually 
deliver on projects that are going to create the best quality 
jobs and the best pathways to success for individual workers 
across the country.
    Mr. Allred. That is great. I am glad to hear that. I am a 
big believer that unions strengthen our middle class. I myself 
am a former member of the NFL Players Association, which is an 
affiliate of the AFL-CIO, and I know how important my union was 
to me, as a player and now, even as my playing career is over.
    And so, Ms. Nelson, you and I have talked about this 
before, and you were starting to talk about it with my 
colleague, Mr. Lamb, about how we can better support your 
folks, the flight attendants who faced, as you said, some of 
the most challenging conditions of any field during the 
pandemic, and even post-pandemic.
    On my last flight coming here, the flight attendants were 
talking about the assault that occurred on--I forget which 
flight it was, where a flight attendant was hit in the back of 
the head. I am just wondering----
    Ms. Nelson [interrupting]. [Inaudible] to Los Angeles on 
American Airlines, yes.
    Mr. Allred. Yes, that is right. Obviously, on that flight 
there was, again, an issue around jurisdiction, that you and I 
have talked about before and when the plane landed, who was 
responsible for what?
    Can you just talk about how we can better support safer 
working conditions for flight attendants?
    Ms. Nelson. Thank you very much. What we would like to see 
is a banned passengers list and, as you noted, the better 
jurisdiction and clarification about who is going to take on 
these issues that happen on the plane, on the jetway, and in 
the gates themselves, because we have assaults against gate 
agents and assaults against concession workers and TSA workers, 
as well. We need to look at that banned passengers list.
    We also need to look at a major contributor to these 
events, and that is alcohol. And so, the signage in the 
airports and the policies and the training for people serving 
alcohol in the airports, and also making it more clear and 
giving better staffing and better eyes on the entire operation 
throughout the airport about where the problems are arising, 
and where people are inebriated, so that they are not getting 
on the plane--and we are not able to see that because we have 
little staffing and a lot of people to load on board--so that 
we can keep them off the planes before we start.
    I want to thank you so much for your support on that and 
the more that we can do to be coordinating. I appreciate very 
much the TSA and FAA working together on moving people out of 
the PreCheck program when they are being fined by the FAA for 
outbursts on the plane--they are no longer a trusted traveler 
and they shouldn't be there--and the coordination between FAA 
and DOJ to speed up prosecutions, and make sure that people are 
very clear that, when you are acting out on the plane, when you 
are violent on the plane, you are going to be ending up in 
jail. This is a Federal crime, and the more that we can enforce 
that, the better off we can be.
    Finally, I would just say that we really need leadership 
from all over to call on people to be helpers and to lift 
people up. Because our experience, as flight attendants, is 
that the vast majority of people come to our planes with 
kindness in their heart and a desire to have a safe, uneventful 
flight. We need to help people understand that flight 
attendants are there for your safety, that when they board the 
plane they are making that connection with people, and that 
they are sitting up, and we are calling out good behavior, as 
well. And we need that coming from all leadership ranks across 
the Government and across our airlines, as well.
    Mr. Allred. That is great. Thank you so much for your 
testimony.
    And Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Lamb. The Chair recognizes Ms. Mace.
    [No response.]
    Mr. Lamb. The Chair recognizes Mr. DeSaulnier.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is nice to see 
you up there.
    Well, I want to thank all of you for being here. This is 
really very exciting and important.
    I represent a district in northern California in the bay 
area that is transitioning. We have got five oil refineries. 
Chevron is headquartered there. We have 4 of the 10 
megacommutes in the United States, so, infrastructure is 
important.
    But also, Mr. Regan, I want to direct this question at you. 
You represent a diverse workforce. So, transitioning, it is 
this hard infrastructure over the next few generations of 
workers, but it is also transitioning the fuel. A major part of 
the bill that I was able to get in was a bill that I had on 
clean corridors. This is really extraordinary, not just the 
multiplier of this investment for multiple generations on 
improving our infrastructure and what that does to communities. 
The multiplier--correct me if I am wrong, but my memory is 
that, for every 1 construction job in a high-cost area, it is 
about 12 other jobs out in the larger economy.
    Maybe, if you could just talk a little bit about--and there 
has been some challenges. I know the steel workers who 
represent the workforce in those refineries in my district, 
they are good-paying jobs by State statute--I was an author of 
the bill--they are required to be graduates of the State 
apprenticeship program. It has led to much fewer workforce 
disruptions and air quality off-sites. But on the other hand, 
those are good-paying jobs. But we are going to transition 
those. We have got plenty of jobs in the new economy on solar, 
IBEW, and other alternative fuels.
    As exciting as this is, I think it is even more exciting, 
because we are looking at multiple generations, if we do it 
right, not just to improve those long commutes and quality of 
work, quality of life in two-income households in expensive 
places like DC and the bay area, but lead the world in 
transitioning to a cleaner, more efficient, and economically 
more robust energy source.
    For your memberships, there are challenges to that. People 
have to be retrained and respected. Maybe you could talk to 
that a little bit, about what you see, from a multigenerational 
standpoint, of the benefit of this investment.
    Mr. Regan. Well, I think the investment is critical to our 
country.
    I also think that it would be--it is too often dismissed 
that many of the new, green-energy jobs do not have the same 
pay or benefits or job training requirements that exist in some 
of the more traditional--whether it be in pipeline work, or 
whether it be even in mining or in fuel refining.
    I think we do need to have a real focus on making sure that 
it is--the word ``transition'' gets thrown around a lot, but I 
actually think it needs to be that we have a true, genuine 
transition where you are not asking people to take a step 
backwards. Because I don't know very many people in this 
country who would say, ``yes, you know what? I will gladly take 
a 75-percent cut and go do that,'' because that is just not 
realistic, especially for most people in this country, 
especially working-class people who are relying on this.
    I think there needs to be a focus on making sure that there 
are the same level of wages and benefits, but also to ensure 
that there is training up there at the front end, so that 
people are not just sort of cast out to sea and expected to 
figure it out.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. And I think that is sort of what I was 
getting at. Some of it is--in my perspective, and I have a very 
progressive San Francisco district. I have, I think, a 98 
percent League of Conservation lifetime score, but I have a 99 
percent AFL-CIO score. And I am a former Teamster. But I don't 
see these as mutually exclusive.
    But you don't tell somebody--a boilermaker or a welder--
that it is too bad we are going to make you coders. They are 
jobs that can take their current craft and apprenticeship, and 
we can move them to. We are doing a lot of work identifying 
with NOAA--I mean, as we look at what is happening in Florida 
right now, we know there is lots of work here. But it is 
connecting that work to actually make this country remarkably 
like--and the kind of growth we had in the fifties and sixties, 
where the middle class really regains its position.
    I wonder if either you or, Ms. Nelson, if you have 
something to say. I see you shaking your head.
    I think we have got such an opportunity with this to 
rebuild the middle class in so many ways for multiple 
generations.
    Mr. Regan. I think you are absolutely right. And I think 
there are examples of where this is being done well.
    I think a lot of the offshore wind energy, we are making 
sure that all that construction is being done under project 
labor agreements so that the job quality is up there with 
traditional energy jobs, but that also needs to extend to other 
parts of that supply chain, if you will, from energy.
    And in one example for--we do need to make sure that the 
mariner jobs, our Jones Act jobs, make sure that those----
    Mr. DeFazio [presiding] [interrupting]. OK, the gentleman's 
time has expired, but I will take 5 minutes, and you can 
continue. And then Ms. Nelson.
    Voice. No, Ms. Norton first.
    Mr. DeFazio. Oh, Norton, Norton. Oh, sorry. Where?
    Oh, oh, there you go.
    Eleanor, sorry, sorry, I didn't know you were on the 
screen. OK.
    Eleanor Holmes Norton is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question for Mr. 
Desue, the general manager of TriMet.
    One of my goals, as chair of the Highways and Transit 
Subcommittee, has been increasing the ability of Disadvantaged 
Business Enterprises--DBEs--to participate in the building of 
our infrastructure.
    Mr. Desue, I understand that your agency recently completed 
a new bus rapid transit project that had DBE participation at a 
rate of 84 percent. Now, that is a record for TriMet on a major 
capital project. Can you tell me what benefits TriMet saw from 
inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses, and what 
advice you have for other agencies looking to increase their 
DBE participation?
    Mr. Desue. Thank you, Congresswoman. We are very excited at 
TriMet with the 84-percent rate that we had.
    I would start off by saying partnerships are very key to 
the community, making sure that we engage Disadvantaged 
Business Enterprises to be part of the projects that we have. 
We start with really connecting and building those 
relationships with the partners in the community also on this 
project here, with the 84 percent, which is the largest in the 
State of Oregon, from a project standpoint, and we are really 
proud of that.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you.
    Mr. Gardner, in 2012 Amtrak announced a master plan for the 
development of Union Station here in the District of Columbia. 
The $10.7 billion Washington Union Station expansion project 
will renovate facilities and over 25 acres of tracks, 
[inaudible] compliance, address decades of maintenance 
backlogs, eliminate [inaudible] bottlenecks, and create an 
estimated 67,000 construction jobs.
    Mr. Gardner, when does Amtrak expect to start receiving 
funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or other 
sources for the Union Station expansion project?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, thank you, Congresswoman, and thank you 
for your interest and leadership on this project. I know it has 
been very important to you.
    As you know, we are still in the environmental process, 
which is led by the FRA, to finalize that Environmental Impact 
Statement for that future vision that we laid out quite some 
time ago. And we have been in great conversations with our 
partners at USRC in the District, and with the Federal 
Government, and FRA, in particular, about advancing this 
program.
    Our expectation is that that environmental work will be 
done towards the end of next year. We are very anxious for that 
to be complete, and that will then permit us to go into the 
design process and start advancing some of the core elements of 
that program. I am happy to say that work is underway in a 
variety of other important aspects that will support that work.
    We are nearing in on completion of the track 22 
rehabilitation, which puts back in a track that had been out of 
service in the new accessible platform. That is going to be 
completed in the summer of 2023.
    We, of course, are looking for further work on the sub-
basement elements here. This addresses both the historic 
basement of the headhouse and the track structure above it in 
the lower level platforms, and are working on the hangar to the 
south, as well, and modernizing the concourse.
    A lot of work is underway on the infrastructure and the 
elements of the terminal. But the big program is in the 
environmental process, and we are anxious to have that work 
completed by the department, and be able to move forward in 
partnership with the District, our other commuter rail 
partners, WMATA, and the Federal Government.
    Ms. Norton. Well, how soon after the release of the Federal 
Railroad Administration's final Environmental Impact Statement 
Review can we expect a groundbreaking?
    Mr. Gardner. Well, I think we are working right now, 
actually, with the District, who is making an investment and 
working with us and also the Federal City Council to develop a 
governance and funding and financing strategy. We have got to 
pull together all these different parties, who have different 
elements of this program.
    We will also partner, of course, with the developer, who 
has the air rights, to build a path to implementing this 
program. As soon as we get the environmental work done, we will 
really be able to commence the remainder of the design, and 
look for those early wins. We are hopeful we will be able to 
move forward quickly once we get the EIS complete.
    Ms. Norton. OK, thank you.
    Mr. DeFazio. I thank the gentlelady. We are waiting for Mr. 
Van Drew. He says he is on his way here. OK.
    He is not?
    Well, that is OK. I will take 5 minutes, and then, if he 
shows up, he can--OK.
    So, Ms. Nelson, I was a little concerned about some of what 
we have heard today about the PSP program. Would you just 
expand a little bit on that issue, especially from the--well, 
anyway, let's just say what we have heard. Go ahead.
    Ms. Nelson. I would be happy to. The Payroll Support 
Program was historic. We have never conducted a relief program 
in this way ever before in this country. And----
    Mr. DeFazio [interrupting]. You are talking a little soft 
now, Sara.
    Ms. Nelson. We have never--thank you. I have never had 
anybody say that to me.
    But we have never conducted a relief program in this 
country the way that we did with the Payroll Support Program. 
It covered, essentially, 50 percent of the payroll at the major 
airlines to keep everyone in their jobs, make sure there was no 
reduction in the rate of pay, and continue service to all of 
our communities. And it had executive controls, as well, and 
controls on ensuring there would not be growing inequality 
during this pandemic. And that was the ban on stock buybacks 
and dividends that expires tomorrow and the cap on executive 
compensation. And so, all of these things kept people in their 
jobs, paying taxes, continuing to contribute to the country. 
And it was a total investment in the workers.
    It was the first time also in the country that we told a 
corporation exactly what they could do with the money. We have 
not done that before. We have given it to them and said, ``You 
make the best decisions,'' and that ends in job cuts. That 
usually ends in concessions, sometimes that ends in 
bankruptcies, and it always ends in executive bonuses. And that 
did not happen with the Payroll Support Program.
    Anyone who calls it a bailout does not understand what this 
was. It was a total success. And everywhere I go around the 
world, talking with other aviation unions and other 
corporations, frankly, around the world, they absolutely herald 
the success of payroll support, wish they had done it, and look 
to the U.S. as a leader on what we did to preserve aviation and 
our ability to maintain our aviation system.
    The only other thing that I would say is that we are on 
the--we had demand come slamming back. This is not like another 
crisis, where demand slowly came back, either. And some of the 
problems that we see are an irregular set of demands for where 
people want to fly, and also the short staffing and the 
problems of 20 years of austerity prior to the pandemic.
    But the Payroll Support Program itself was a complete 
success, and I thank you for your absolute relentless efforts 
to get it done. If we had not had you in the chairperson 
position, I do not believe that we would have been able to 
achieve this. And I have to applaud unions and the industry 
working together to make this work.
    Mr. DeFazio. Well, thanks. And I just would note that the 
FAA also took a hit. I mean, because a lot of people retired, 
they couldn't run the academy, they couldn't bring in new 
controllers. And then we had, as you point out, displaced 
demand. Like, suddenly a lot of demand for Florida, not so much 
in other places.
    Ms. Nelson. Yes.
    Mr. DeFazio. And the FAA was a little slow to adjust to 
that, and it caused some disruptions. And now they are trying 
to staff up.
    Ms. Nelson. However, TSA and our air traffic controllers 
being in a federalized system, that is the other thing that I 
hear around the world. The privatized systems that you worked 
so hard in your career to fight against were a complete and 
total failure in other countries during this pandemic.
    Mr. DeFazio. Yes, I have talked to people who have been in 
line for 6 hours in Amsterdam because the private entities laid 
off all the security workers, and they didn't come back.
    And obviously, the same thing here. We maintained TSA, even 
though they weren't real busy. And we were ready when people 
came back. So, you are absolutely right. There would have been 
unbelievable disruptions, hadn't we done those things.
    And Mr. Regan, you were just finishing up on something, and 
I interrupted you. You will have 1 minute.
    Mr. Regan. Yes. Look, I was just going to add that there 
are success stories out there when it comes to green energy and 
doing it the right way.
    I know that there was some discussion in Congress about 
whether to make sure that the ships that are carrying goods to 
and from the construction sites for offshore wind are U.S. 
mariners with U.S. certifications, and that is something where 
I think we need to look at the totality of a project, to make 
sure that is being done the right way across the board.
    Mr. DeFazio. Yes. Actually, I have been engaged in working 
on trying to have the insertion vessels be Jones Act vessels, 
too. And the crews of the insertion vessels in the interim, 
which are foreign, operating in U.S. waters, should be U.S. 
workers, or at least paid adequately, which they aren't.
    Mr. Regan. Yes.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you.
    I guess Mr. Van Drew didn't get here, so, I think at this 
point we are going to conclude. That would conclude our 
hearing.
    I would like to thank all the witnesses for your testimony. 
Comments have been informative and helpful.
    I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing 
remain open for such time as our witnesses have provided 
answers to any questions that may be submitted to them in 
writing.
    I ask unanimous consent, without objection, that the record 
remain open for 15 days for any additional comments and 
information sent by today's Members or witnesses to be included 
in the record of today's hearing.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    The committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:19 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]


                       Submissions for the Record

                              ----------                              


 Prepared Statement of Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Representative in 
                    Congress from the State of Texas
    Thank you, Chairman DeFazio, and Ranking Member Graves, for holding 
today's hearing on our nation's transportation workers. I would also 
like to thank our witnesses for testifying today.
    I want to take a minute to say how much I've enjoyed working with 
Chairman DeFazio over the years. Your strong leadership and keen 
knowledge of every mode of transportation made for a more productive 
committee. The programs we're discussing today are a testament to your 
success as a chairman and your dedication to workers everywhere.
    Democrats in Congress and especially on this committee have worked 
extremely hard to provide new jobs and economic development as we 
address the problems created by the COVID pandemic. We've provided 
stabilizing funds that have allowed companies and agencies to keep 
their employees working and keep the economy moving.
    Democrats, with very little help from our Republican colleagues, 
passed the largest transportation and infrastructure bill in history, 
building better roads, rail lines, and transit systems creating 
millions of good paying jobs and new manufacturing opportunities.
    After years of chronically underfunding our transportation 
infrastructure needs, the $600 billion Democrats provided in the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is creating jobs in every mode 
of transportation and improving infrastructure in every state in 
America.
    I look forward to learning from our witnesses how the 
infrastructure and worker provisions provided through the American 
Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment 
and Jobs Act are being utilized to keep our economy growing and keep 
people working.

                                 
 Letter of October 12, 2022, to Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, Chair, and Hon. 
      Sam Graves, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, from Catherine Chase, President, Advocates for Highway 
   and Auto Safety, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
                                                  October 12, 2022.
The Honorable Peter A. DeFazio, Chair,
The Honorable Sam Graves, Ranking Member,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
    Dear Chair DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves:
    Thank you for holding the September 29 hearing, ``Investing in our 
Nation's Transportation Infrastructure and Workers: Why it Matters.'' 
We respectfully request this letter be included in the hearing record.
    With 20,175 people killed on our nation's roads during the first 
half of this year, according to recently released data from the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Congress and 
the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) can and must take swift 
action to end this tragic toll. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 
(Advocates) commends the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 
for advancing the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and 
Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act which included numerous 
lifesaving provisions directly targeted at preventing crashes, saving 
lives, reducing injuries, and containing costs. We thank the Committee 
leadership and members who championed safety improvements as part of 
that bill. The INVEST in America Act set a strong foundation for the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58) which, 
while not optimal, took key steps forward for safety.
    It is now incumbent upon the U.S. DOT to implement the lifesaving 
measures enacted in the IIJA taking the directives as a ``floor,'' not 
a ``ceiling,'' for what must be achieved, as they have the authority to 
do. We applaud this Committee for exercising your oversight role by 
holding the July 19 hearing ``Implementing the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act.'' We look forward to continuing to work with 
you to ensure the U.S. DOT delivers the needed advances on time and in 
a manner that maximizes safety outcomes and equity for all road users.
    Lastly, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Advocates, 
we thank and commend Chair DeFazio for your nearly four decades of 
service to the U.S. House of Representatives, your remarkable 
leadership of the Committee and your steadfast commitment to safety. 
Because of your vital work, countless lives have and will continue to 
be saved.
        Sincerely,
                                           Catherine Chase,
                  President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

cc:  Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure

                                 
Statement of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Submitted for the 
                    Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
                              Introduction
    The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) appreciates the 
opportunity to submit a statement to the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure ahead of the hearing on Investing in 
our Nation's Transportation Infrastructure and Workers: Why it Matters.
    ASCE has long advocated for investing in our transportation system 
and the workers who help it function. While infrastructure is often 
taken for granted, it forms the foundation of our national economy, 
global competitiveness, and quality of life. Infrastructure investment 
and economic strength are closely linked, as projects that aid the 
nation's highways, ports, waterways, railroads, and airports put people 
to work and help goods reach their destinations. The Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), enacted in November 2021, will be 
instrumental in generating economic growth and narrowing the 
infrastructure investment gap.
    The IIJA represents a historic bipartisan achievement and the 
largest investment in our nation's critical infrastructure systems in a 
generation. With this $1.2 trillion investment, the federal government 
can restore its critical partnership with cities and states to 
modernize our nation's roads, bridges, transit systems, drinking water 
systems, sewer collection pipes, school facilities, broadband, ports, 
airports, and more. To optimize the investment of over 100 new programs 
and many more existing programs across these sectors, the American 
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) understands the vital role 
transportation workers play in ensuring infrastructure serves 
communities safely and efficiently. Congress should build on recent 
legislative actions by continuing to encourage government agencies to 
include skilled workers in their long-term plans.
    ASCE thanks the committee for holding this important and timely 
hearing and looks forward to helping lawmakers as the IIJA is 
implemented.
          ASCE's 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure
    Every four years, ASCE publishes its Report Card for America's 
Infrastructure, which grades the nation's major infrastructure 
categories using an A to F school report card format. The most recent 
report card \1\, released in March 2021, evaluated 17 categories of 
infrastructure and reflected an overall C- grade. This grade marks an 
increase from the D+ recorded in 2017, indicating the country has made 
some progress in recent years, however 11 categories remained in the 
``D'' and those categories reflect some of the infrastructure that 
families and businesses interact with most closely on a daily basis 
like the roads and transit systems, or critical systems like our dams 
and levees. Often, it is these categories where we have failed to make 
investments needed to maintain the assets that were build 50 years ago 
or more. Fortunately, the IIJA makes progress to reverse decades of 
underinvestment in many of these lowest categories and make a 
significant down payment on the $2.5 trillion infrastructure investment 
gap that was identified in the 2021 Report Card.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://infrastructurereportcard.org/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Therefore, efficient implementation of the IIJA will play a major 
role to not only raise the grades for these infrastructure categories, 
but to make our nation's infrastructure fit for the future.
    Dedicating Resources to Growing the Pipeline of Skilled Workers
    To realize the potential of the five-year IIJA, it is critical that 
we have the civil engineering workforce in place to design, build, and 
maintain the nation's infrastructure. The American Council of 
Engineering Companies found that the industry will need to add 82,000 
full- and part-time engineers to implement the IIJA. Infrastructure 
owners, including state and local departments of transportation, as 
well as consulting engineers, cannot effectively utilize the influx of 
funding if they do not have the workforce in place.
    While Congress continues to recognize workforce needs with recent 
provisions dedicated to advancing science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics (STEM) education in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, 
Congress should continue to encourage state and local governments to 
include skilled workers in their long-term workforce development plans. 
Furthermore, the Department of Labor and the National Science 
Foundation should partner with the engineering community to develop 
programs that can assist state STEM education and workforce plans to 
solve this ongoing challenge in the industry.
    While some limited funds in the bill support workforce development 
activities and address gaps, as a nation we must continue to grow a 
diverse pipeline of skilled workers. Specifically, we must bring 
students into the industry and keep engineers in the U.S. Even more 
importantly, funds can and should be directed to include targeted 
outreach to disadvantaged and minority communities to address the 
ongoing gender, racial, and ethnic diversity gap that persists in the 
engineering field.
    ASCE has identified some steps that communities can take in order 
to grow the pipeline of future engineers. This includes:
      Provide all students, regardless of background or career 
intentions, with basic STEM literacy.
      Provide equitable access to STEM education for all 
student populations, particularly those populations that have been 
traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.
      Encourage students to pursue careers in engineering--and 
especially in civil engineering.
      Establish and maintain rigorous K-12 STEM education 
standards that are validated by the relevant professional communities.
      Introduce K-12 students to civil engineering through 
counseling, instruction, and engineering experiences, and in class 
practice to stimulate interest.
      Prepare K-12 students to study engineering at the college 
level through rigorous coursework in mathematics and the sciences.
      Support the development and implementation of Career and 
Technical Education in the STEM disciplines for students who are not 
college bound.

    Many of these steps will also address the fact that the engineering 
profession continues to lag behind in diverse representation, which is 
critical to serve communities across the country effectively. The lack 
of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the civil engineering profession 
limits capacity to effectively meet societal needs. Over the last 
several decades progress has been made to varying degrees through 
awareness, education, and action. However, more efforts are needed to 
fully realize inclusive and equitable practices in our profession, to 
assure representation of the rich diversity of our global communities, 
and to produce just societal outcomes from our work.
    Finally, the lack of professional grade status and associated 
compensation for qualified engineers employed in many government 
agencies has been a disincentive for attracting and retaining 
engineering professionals in the public sector. Many of these positions 
are now being filled by professional administrators and 
paraprofessionals having little or no formal engineering training. 
Ultimately, the quality of the public infrastructure and the successful 
prosecution of infrastructure projects which these agencies oversee 
could be adversely affected. This could undermine the public trust and 
respect for the affected government agencies. A government career path 
for engineers to reach professional grade will encourage engineers to 
enter government service and enhance retention of the valuable 
technical expertise and experience that is required to effectively 
implement the IIJA.
                               Conclusion
    ASCE remains a staunch supporter of investing in infrastructure and 
the workforce that maintains and operates transportation systems. A 
robust workforce is necessary for a safe and dependable network of 
roads, bridges, transit systems, rail lines, ports, waterways, and 
aviation facilities. The nation is on the precipice of a long-awaited 
infrastructure decade. However, if we fail to make smart investments or 
fail to fill the nation's workforce gaps, we will not realize the full 
impact of the historic investments made by the bipartisan 
infrastructure law.
    ASCE thanks the House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure for holding this hearing and stands ready to assist 
lawmakers with their work on this important subject.

                                 
  Statement of Cole Scandaglia, Senior Legislative Representative and 
 Policy Advisor, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Submitted for 
                  the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
    On behalf of the 1.2 million members of the International 
Brotherhood of Teamsters, I write today regarding the Committee's 
hearing entitled ``Investing in our Nation's Transportation 
Infrastructure and Workers: Why it Matters.'' The Teamsters are proud 
to represent members across the transportation industry who operate, 
maintain, and build our nation's transportation networks, and we 
appreciate the opportunity to provide our perspective on today's 
hearing.
    Over the last 18 months, Congress and this Committee have worked to 
pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Taken 
together, these bills represent one of, if not the most, critical and 
transformational legislative periods for transportation workers and the 
nation's infrastructure. We vigorously applaud the Committee's efforts 
and the members who supported these bills, and in particular thank 
Chairman DeFazio for his steadfast leadership and vision in securing 
these victories. From the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic to seizing 
the opportunity to make generational investments in the transportation 
industry, these bills have dramatically changed the trajectory of 
Teamster members' lives and livelihoods.
                          American Rescue Plan
    The sudden onset of COVID-19 and its sustained destruction as it 
reached pandemic status presented an existential threat to hundreds of 
thousands of Teamster members. Aviation boardings dropped 96%, Amtrak 
ridership dropped 97%, transit ridership cratered, and construction 
projects came to halt. At the beginning of 2021, it was evident that 
our economy was still in need of a lifeline. The Rescue Plan delivered 
that--providing essential support for Amtrak, the airline and transit 
industry, and other sectors as well extended unemployment benefits and 
secured pension benefits for millions. Without the passage of this 
legislation, the industries we represent were staring down the barrel 
of bankruptcies, closures, and dramatic service reductions. Instead, 
Congress wisely acted to pass the Rescue Plan, and both our members and 
the American economy continue to reap the benefits of that decision.
                 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
    Today's witnesses will assuredly discuss in detail both the 
historic investments the IIJA made in infrastructure and the 
transportation workforce, along with key policy victories on safety, 
working conditions, and labor protections. Simply put, the IIJA 
delivered on years of failed promises to ``do infrastructure''. We have 
already begun to see the impacts of the IIJA for our members and know 
that over the course of the bill it will create thousands of good 
Teamster jobs.
    We also know that the IIJA lacked a number of the bold, forward-
thinking policy objectives that the Teamsters fought for when 
infrastructure legislation was originally passed out of this committee. 
We remain committed to these principles and look forward to working 
with the Committee to pursue them in other avenues.
                        Inflation Reduction Act
    While many of the Inflation Reduction Act's greatest 
accomplishments are unrelated to transportation, we should not ignore 
the inclusion of important provisions that provide tax credits and 
incentives to support decarbonization of the economy and promote the 
manufacture and deployment of clean commercial vehicles. As the federal 
government and state regulators continue to pursue green initiatives 
and stricter emissions standards, it will be essential that compliant 
vehicles are available and accessible for the country's freight needs.
    Driven by necessity and emergency, this Congress has passed some of 
the most impactful and pro-worker legislation of our lifetimes. The 
Teamsters look forward to seeing these efforts continue to bear fruit, 
and we express our deep gratitude for those who have stood by us in 
these challenging times. We appreciate the Committee's consideration of 
our perspective on this hearing.

                                 
   ``Invest in Transit Equity, Invest in Transit Workers,'' Report, 
National Campaign for Transit Justice, February 2022, Submitted for the 
                    Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
    The 14-page report is retained in committee files and is available 
online at https://transitjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/
Transit-Workers_Report_v7.pdf.

                                 
Statement of Adell Louise Amos, J.D., Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law, 
  Executive Director, Environment Initiative, Office of the Provost, 
University of Oregon, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Peter A. DeFazio
    On behalf of the University of Oregon's Environment Initiative, I 
submit this written testimony for the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee's Hearing on the transformative impact of the legislation 
passed by the 117th Congress as it relates to the need to address 
climate change through the transportation sector. I submit these 
comments as the director of the University of Oregon Environment 
Initiative. Oregon's Environment Initiative is a campus-wide, 
transdisciplinary effort to focus our faculties' considerable expertise 
and energies on addressing the challenges of climate change. This 
effort reflects a critically important point that I've seen in my own 
career as the Deputy Solicitor for Land and Water Resources at the U.S. 
Department of the Interior (Obama Administration) and as a professor of 
law and researcher on pressing water issues related to climate, every 
single discipline can contribute. The UO is well-positioned to bring a 
broad range of expertise to this moment--from the humanities and social 
sciences to the natural sciences, law, journalism, business, design, 
and education.
    As Chair DeFazio recognized in his opening remarks, the work of the 
Congress in the last two years to focus on the role of the 
transportation sector in addressing the climate crisis has been 
historic. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 
represent an unprecedented and transformational investment in our 
shared vision for a just and livable future. Combined with passage of 
the CHIPS and Science Act, universities through our faculty, students 
and graduates are well-positioned to team-up with our own communities 
and the federal government to lead technological and civic change. We 
want to commend Chair DeFazio and the Committee for their leadership in 
putting climate change, transportation equity, and neighborhood access 
at the forefront of congressional action. This work promises 
transformational change that will benefit American families in the 
years to come.
    As the work of this Committee recognizes, we find ourselves, as a 
nation, amidst unprecedented and transformative environmental impacts 
brought about by global climate change, the impacts of structural 
racism, increased economic insecurity, and the public health outfall of 
a global pandemic. As a result, we face societal paradigm shifts in 
systems that govern our economy, our natural world, the built 
environment, democracy, and the fundamental relationships among people 
and our relationship to the ecological system around us. These shifts 
highlight social justice dynamics and environmental inequities that 
shape our world and they require action from all spheres of society.
    The University of Oregon is a comprehensive public research 
university with an integrated mission to explore new knowledge, 
generate innovative teaching approaches, and serve our community. We 
are known for our deep expertise in a wide range of disciplines related 
to the environment. This legacy of leadership results from decades of 
deep and substantive engagement with environmental issues. We have 
demonstrated our ability to deploy this expertise in ways that provide 
lasting policy-relevant work, including transportation research and its 
impact on communities.
    In the transportation area, the UO has had the pleasure of working 
with Chairman DeFazio for the last fifteen years since the 
establishment of a University Transportation Center that included 
University of Oregon faculty. We appreciate his longstanding focus on 
climate and resiliency in this sector. Reflecting the ``Oregon Way''--
the idea that solutions should benefit the common good--the Chairman 
has championed improving infrastructure and transportation for 
communities, understanding impacts, and the integration of 
transportation, livability and our built environment. At the University 
of Oregon, we also take an integrated approach in developing our 
expertise in understanding transportation impacts.
    University of Oregon faculty have demonstrated our ability to 
deploy this expertise in ways that serve our communities. For example, 
our street re-design guidebooks, Rethinking Streets, have been used by 
local officials and communities in every state to help build 
infrastructure that makes it easier, safer, and more comfortable to 
walk, bike, or take transit more often. Our award-winning university-
community partnership model, the Sustainable City Year Program, expands 
the transportation workforce while directly helping communities address 
climate change and equity through improved transportation, housing, and 
land-use systems. It has been adopted and adapted by other institutions 
of higher learning in all regions of the United States. Our innovative 
work focusing on the next generation of surface transportation modes, 
including autonomous vehicles, ridehailing, and micromobility, is 
helping proactively guide municipal decision making across the country 
so that regions can maximize the positive potential benefits of these 
modes and limit the negative externalities.
    Much of this forward-looking, practice-relevant, and transportation 
workforce expanding effort was catalyzed through the leadership of 
Congressman DeFazio fifteen years ago. We have enjoyed and appreciated 
our continuous engagement with him as the work continues to make our 
transportation systems and communities more climate-friendly, 
equitable, and livable. We are very encouraged that the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act included a Center of Excellence that will focus 
on the impacts of autonomous vehicles and new mobility on our systems 
and communities.
    Just as Congress has taken decisive and unprecedented action to 
address climate, here at the University of Oregon, as an institution of 
higher education with a public facing mission, we are committed to 
doing our part to contribute to climate solutions in even more 
meaningful and direct ways using the tools of education, research and 
community engagement. To accomplish this purpose, the University of 
Oregon launched the Environment Initiative, a campus-wide coordinated 
structure through which we can create and disseminate knowledge, 
integrate curriculum and reorient the work of the University using a 
transdisciplinary, problem-centered approach that responds to the needs 
of the community.
    Facing our collective future requires us to create infrastructures 
in higher education that envision our work differently. Just as so much 
of our public life will be transformed as we face the impacts of a 
changed climate, so must our education system be prepared to respond. 
Organizing our research, teaching, and external engagement around an 
issue allows us to design proactive problem-solving pathways, to engage 
with multiple constituencies and social groups, to participate in 
diverse ideas and forms of knowledge, and to exert the full measure of 
our creative energy. This problem-centered approach begins with a 
particular challenge--such as clean water, energy efficiency, 
decarbonization, or wildfire--and asks what each discipline can bring 
to bear upon the problem.
    Given our integrated mission to explore, teach, and serve, our 
engagement is critical to our authentic participation in the state, the 
ecoregion, the nation, and the world. We are marshaling our expertise 
to build upon and leverage our existing institutional strengths to 
structure higher education in a way that is responsive to the 
challenges and focused on climate solutions that reflect justice and 
equity. The work that this Committee has done to address the need to 
decarbonize the transportation sector through the historic passage of 
the American Rescue Plan, the IIJA and IRA reinforces and sets the 
course for the work we hope to partner in as a public research 
University as we build a resilient, decarbonized, and just future--in 
the transportation sector and beyond.
    By leveraging the support provided through the University of 
Oregon's recently launched Environment Initiative, we are eager to see 
the provisions Congress has put in place be fully funded and 
implemented including efforts such as TRACE Centers and ARPA-I. The 
University of Oregon's Environment Initiative intends to step up and 
participate in these new opportunities. Congress has provided historic 
resources in pursuit of historic goals. We believe the Environment 
Initiative can contribute in achieving these goals and look forward to 
the work ahead.
    Thank you for the opportunity to submit this written testimony. In 
particular, as a citizen of Oregon and member of this community, I want 
to recognize and thank Chair DeFazio for his longstanding and steadfast 
commitment to these issues and our state. The 117th Congress has acted 
in remarkable ways to create a policy framework that transitions the 
U.S. to a more sustainable and equitable future. We look forward to 
engaging in this work.

                                Appendix

                              ----------                              


Question from Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson to Sara Nelson, International 
       President, Association of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. Ms. Nelson, we've seen a disturbing trend in passengers 
attacking flight crew members. Is there more the airlines and DOT could 
be doing to help prevent this violence against airline employees?
    Answer. Congresswoman Johnson, thank you for asking and checking in 
on this issue affecting our workplace. AFA appreciated the letter you 
sent to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last year to encourage the 
agency to prioritize prosecution of unruly and disruptive passengers 
onboard aircraft, particularly toward crewmembers. We agree that 
expeditiously referring the most violent, physical assaults against 
crewmembers and passengers to the DOJ for public prosecution is 
critical to deter bad actors. While there must be swift and clear 
consequences for violent acts, there also must be leadership from 
airline management, federal agencies and Congress that asks, ``What is 
the right thing to do and demonstrate?'' Your willingness to stand up 
for us matters greatly and we value your leadership. It makes us safer. 
We encourage all your colleagues to join you.
    Still, more needs to be done. AFA has called for more airport 
signage, airport public service announcements (PSAs), and notifications 
from the airline--starting when passengers purchase the tickets all the 
way up until boarding--should all be enhanced communication measures to 
reinforce the `zero-tolerance' policy, the fines/jail time 
consequences, and the rules associated with alcohol consumption.
    Most of the passenger noncompliance with safety rules coincide with 
passenger alcohol consumption. We need more education throughout the 
airports on rules related to alcohol--advising passengers that federal 
regulations prohibit passengers serving themselves alcohol and from 
boarding aircraft when inebriated. Vendors selling alcohol should be 
required to provide staff with ``traffic light'' alcohol training and 
recognition of the server's important role in contributing to aviation 
security and safety of all travelers. We also continue to call on 
airports to ban the practice and promotion of ``to go'' alcohol.
    AFA has a list of recommendations for airlines and airports (and we 
encourage DOT/FAA guidance on these items):
    1.  Limit onboard alcohol sales.
    2.  Ban cocktails to-go and in-airport alcohol delivery.
    3.  Limit customers to purchasing one alcoholic beverage at a time.
    4.  The FAA must remind airports and vendors of their obligation 
not to serve inebriated passengers.
    5.  Airports must remind all airport employees of their shared 
responsibility to keep intoxicated passengers from boarding planes by 
notifying gate agents and crew members in advance.

    We believe consequences for violent behavior need to include loss 
of ability to fly on commercial airlines when the acts warrant and 
after due process. AFA supports Senator Reed and Representative 
Swalwell's bill, the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act, because it 
does not allow those abusive passengers to fly for a period and revokes 
certain privileges, such as TSA Precheck or Customs' Global Entry.
    AFA would like to work with you and all stakeholders to act 
together to keep us safe and flying friendly. Aviation is about 
bringing people together, not tearing us apart. Every person matters, 
and we can only have the freedom of flight when we recognize the 
reality that we are all in this together.

 Question from Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick to Sara Nelson, International 
       President, Association of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. Recent years have brought a wide variety of new 
challenges to maintaining the physical and mental wellbeing of 
essential workers, especially in the transportation sector, while on 
the job. As Congress continues to prioritize this issue moving forward, 
what impact has the safety funding already allocated by the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act had on flight attendants and 
other aviation employees?
    Answer. Thank you for the question, Congressman Fitzpatrick. The 
bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is another 
critical investment in the quality and safety of our nation's 
infrastructure. As you know, $5 billion is designated for airport 
terminals, which includes concession projects. When concessions are 
down, or poorly staffed passengers cannot as easily get a meal before a 
flight. This increases anxiety, medical issues, and sometimes leads to 
violence. While seemingly small, funding for concessions is actually 
very important for the safety and well-being of everyone at the 
airport.
    In addition, $15 billion was set aside for airport infrastructure, 
such as the runways, gates, taxiways, safety and sustainability 
projects, airport transit connections, and roadway projects. A tragic 
example comes to mind of the importance of airport transit projects 
after learning about a Ryanair (UK and Ireland based airline) Flight 
Attendant, Cinzia Ceravolo, who was hit by a car and died. She was 
trying to walk home in the dark from the airport after her shift 
because she could not afford a taxi and there was no public 
transportation option. Had public transit been available to get her 
safely off the airport road to connect her to a bus stop or to subway, 
she would still be alive today.
    I am confident the funding provided in the infrastructure bill will 
yield positive safety outcomes for Flight Attendants now and in the 
future. Thank you for your leadership on this and your vote to adopt 
this critical legislation.

Question from Hon. Dina Titus to Sara Nelson, International President, 
             Association of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides an historic 
$25 billion to help rebuild our airports and aviation infrastructure. 
How can this money be used to improve the wages and benefits that 
aviation workers receive, especially lower-income workers who don't 
receive good benefits like healthcare and pensions?
    Answer. Thank you for the question, Congresswoman Titus. The IIJA 
includes many key provisions championed by labor unions, including 
local hiring preferences, Buy America provisions, and prevailing wage 
requirements. Transportation unions came together to ensure that many 
of the requirements to receive infrastructure funding from the IIJA 
protected workers from cheap business models that underpay and overwork 
their employees, sometimes in unsafe workplace settings. This funding 
will be used to improve the wages and benefits that aviation workers 
receive because of these worker protections, in addition to creating 
more good union jobs in the communities in which the projects are being 
built. That provides job security and stability for Flight Attendants 
and other aviation workers on the job too.

      Question from Hon. Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia to Sara Nelson, 
International President, Association of Flight Attendants--CWA, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. In 2020 I led a letter to leadership expressing concern 
with airlines spending over 96% of free-cash-flow on stock buybacks 
from unused funds under the CARES Payroll Support Program. I even 
questioned former Boeing CEO Dennis Mulienburg for reaping millions in 
stock buybacks. Are you concerned with the expiration of the stock 
buyback and how that will be tied to pay? Would you agree that these 
funds can be used to prioritize payroll payments, staff levels, benefit 
and minimum wage assurances?
    Answer. Thank you for the question, Congressman Garcia. And thank 
you for your leadership on this issue. Stock buybacks are a greedy tool 
that has assisted in massive inequality and growing poverty. They were 
once illegal, and they should be made illegal again if we want a 
thriving economy where everyone can benefit from their hard work.
    The CARES Payroll Support Program (PSP) halted the greed of Wall 
Street by banning stock buybacks and dividends until September 30, 
2022, and it also capped executive compensation through March 2023. 
This was purposely done so federal funding would be directed to 
frontline workers for our pay and benefits and to prevent taxpayer 
money from going to airline shareholders and investors during this 
economic crisis. This plan first codified in the CARES Act, originating 
from House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, not 
only served as the most effective COVID relief plan in the world, it 
also stopped growing inequality as aviation was the only industry not 
to increase inequality between frontline workers and executives during 
the pandemic.
    The hearing was very timely because the provision banning airlines 
from initiating stock buybacks expired the next day. We know you are 
aware our union, along with the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l 
(ALPA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the 
Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association of 
Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Brotherhood 
of Teamsters (IBT), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), and 
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing hundreds of 
thousands of aviation workers, announced the launch of 
nostockbuybacks.org. The campaign demands pledges from the CEOs of U.S. 
airlines to extend the COVID relief ban on stock buybacks until:
    1.  Operational meltdowns are not the norm and staffing and flight 
schedules are aligned to support public demand; and
    2.  Labor contract negotiations are concluded.

    While airlines are just now starting to make a profit, the recovery 
is not complete and the austerity of the twenty years following 9/11 
has not been corrected for airline jobs. We can't allow CEOs to send 
one dollar to Wall Street before fixing operational issues and 
concluding contract negotiations currently underway for more than a 
million workers. We need investments in the operation, staffing, and 
pay and benefits to keep and attract people to aviation jobs.
    Airlines have yet to take the pledge, but so far, our public 
position has helped to stave off announcements of stock buybacks in 
aviation. This twitter thread includes a review of the public 
statements from airlines since we launched our campaign: https://
twitter.com/afa_cwa/status/1575867566953676801
    Emphasizing the concerns we're raising, thank you for signing the 
letter sent on September 29, 2022, to the trade associations who 
represent commercial airlines, urging their members to publicly pledge 
that they will not engage in stock buybacks on October 1, 2022. 
Millions of frontline transportation workers have worked through the 
devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many put contract 
negotiations on hold during the crisis. Minimum staffing and high 
productivity put in place pre-pandemic exacerbate problems now until we 
can address these issues in bargaining and/or legislation. We 
appreciate your efforts to solicit the concerns of airline workers who 
continue to bear the brunt of chronic understaffing and languishing 
labor contracts.

    Questions from Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson to Gregory R. Regan, 
          President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. Mr. Regan, every business in America is struggling to 
find workers. Your organization represents millions of employees. What 
suggestions do you have for bringing more people into the nation's 
workforce?
    Answer. First, it's important to note that we do not have a 
shortage of workers, but a problem with the supply of good jobs that 
attracts and retains workers. Employers must pay workers fair wages and 
ensure they are safe on the job and have good training opportunities 
and other benefits that help create opportunity and dignity in work. 
Second, we cannot meet our workforce needs without creating an 
equitable environment for all workers in this country. I encourage you 
to read our recent policy statements on the topics of good jobs and 
equity.

    Question 2. Mr. Regan, we averted an economic disaster with the 
financial support provided in the legislation we're discussing today. 
Without these bills, would the workers you represent have been able to 
pay their bills and feed their families?
    Answer. The simple answer is no. Without the financial support 
provided by Congress, entire industries and the jobs they provide would 
have disappeared almost overnight. The emergency investments that 
Congress made to stave off the worst economic effects of COVID 
preserved millions of jobs in this country and ensured that the 
affected industries would still exist as we emerged from the pandemic. 
Critically, these investments came with strong protections that ensured 
continuity of pay for workers, and not just their employers.

Question from Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick to Gregory R. Regan, President, 
               Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. Recent years have brought a wide variety of new 
challenges to maintaining the physical and mental wellbeing of 
essential workers, especially in the transportation sector, while on 
the job. As Congress continues to prioritize this issue moving forward, 
what impact has the safety funding already allocated by the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act had on the wide range of workers 
represented by the TTD?
    Answer. Unfortunately, we are still working to implement these 
provisions and in the meantime, workers continue to suffer the threat 
of violence in their workplaces. We have made our concerns with the 
pace of their implementation clear with the administration and would be 
eager to work with you, as a champion of these issues, to ensure that 
they are fully and expediently put into place.

Question from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. to Gregory R. Regan, 
          President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. One of the key priorities of the three legislative 
victories under President Biden was to provide a major win for workers, 
such as pathways to secure, good-paying jobs in the transportation 
sector and beyond. Democrats accomplished this goal by protecting 
against involuntary furloughs and expanding unemployment benefits.
    Mr. Regan, can you please speak to how the ARP, IIJA, and IRA have 
elevated workers from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, such as 
Black and Brown Americans, in their ability to secure quality jobs 
across the transportation industry?
    Answer. The three Covid relief packages, including the American 
Rescue Plan, delivered industry-saving investments that kept aviation 
workers well-trained and ready to work, maintained critical transit 
service so the communities who rely on public transportation to get to 
work (often communities of color) could continue to support their 
families, and extended federal unemployment and sickness benefits for 
many rail workers affected by the pandemic. These are just a few 
examples of how the ARP directly benefited workers at risk of losing 
their jobs during the pandemic. With high union density in the 
transportation sector, and with many workers of color more than 
proportionately represented in certain transportation trades, Black and 
Brown Americans were also able to benefit from the compounded 
advantages of a union job that was kept on the rolls because of these 
policies. We encourage you and the Committee to read more about the 
advantages of union jobs in transportation for Black and Brown 
Americans, and our unions' work to broaden access to those jobs, in our 
policy statement, Building a Strong and Equitable Transportation 
Workforce.
    The Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act 
made generational investments in our transportation infrastructure, 
boosted the domestic job market for clean energy, and helped to create 
a more equitable economy overall. The strong labor protections and 
domestic content requirements tied to these federal investments, and 
the overturning of the ban on local hire in federal infrastructure 
projects, will pave the way for Black and Brown Americans to build 
wealth for their families by securing high quality jobs in the 
industry. Moreover, the IIJA gave the Biden Administration a larger 
forum to bolster the creation of high-quality jobs and advance equity 
goals through several executive actions involving the implementation of 
IIJA, including: the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department 
of Transportation and the Department of Labor, which commits to 
harnessing transportation investments for the creation of pathways to 
high-quality jobs for all workers; the Executive Order on Use of 
Project Labor Agreements For Federal Construction Projects, which helps 
to standardize wages across gender, racial, and ethnic groups; the 
Executive Order on Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act, which directs agencies to invest public dollars equitably, 
and the creation of the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge, which 
partners with many of our affiliate unions in supporting equitable 
workforce development in construction and electrification jobs.
    The investments made in our infrastructure and in our economy this 
Congress have provided, and will continue to provide over the next 
decade, immeasurable value for transportation workers and those seeking 
a career in the transportation trades, especially for workers of color. 
We encourage you and the Committee to read more about the opportunity 
IIJA provides to advance racial, gender, and economic equity. and our 
unions' work to advance those goals, in our policy statement, Building 
a Strong and Equitable Transportation Workforce.

    Questions from Hon. Dina Titus to Gregory R. Regan, President, 
               Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. One of the provisions from the House-passed INVEST Act 
that unfortunately did not make it into the final Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law was the requirement for two-person crews on most 
freight and passenger trains. Could you please talk about the 
importance of this provision and why it is necessary for ensuring 
safety for workers and our communities through which hazardous 
materials are transported?
    Answer. Yes, a requirement for having two-person crews on most 
freight and passenger trains is a fundamental safety issue that still 
needs to be addressed. TTD and our rail labor unions were disappointed 
that this vital provision was not included in the final IIJA 
legislation, but we applaud the leadership of Congresswoman Titus, 
Chairman DeFazio, and others who continue to fight for this important 
provision.
    In the U.S., a freight train can weigh up to 15,000 tons, averages 
over a mile long and last year the industry transported 2.47 million 
carloads of hazardous materials.The Class I railroads are now operating 
trains up to five miles in length as a result of their implementation 
of so-called ``Precision Scheduled Railroading.'' It is absurd to argue 
that such a massive piece of equipment can be safely operated by one 
individual, especially given the many tasks for which at least two 
people are needed in order to operate a freight train and the myriad of 
FRA regulations and railroad operating rules that must be followed. No 
average American would feel comfortable with
    If a train operated by a single crewmember were to encounter an 
emergency situation like a highway crossing collision with an 
automobile, a release of hazardous materials or a mechanical problem, 
that crewmember could not leave the engine idling in order to 
investigate the issue. Those emergency response needs would have to 
wait until another crewmember could arrive from many miles away. Should 
a train breakdown and block a highway crossing, a second crewmember 
would be needed to quickly disconnect the train to unblock that 
crossing.
    Such a basic safety issue should not be open for negotiation and it 
should not be something for which unions have to give something else up 
in order to achieve. The safety of rail workers, the communities that 
freight trains pass through, and our rail system should not be bartered 
at a bargaining table.

    Question 2. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law pairs robust 
investments in workforce training with funding for transit agencies to 
transition to zero emission buses which will ensure workers do not get 
left behind as we move to a clean energy economy. This is already 
coming to fruition in Southern Nevada. I was proud to secure a $2 
million earmark in the IIJA for the Regional Transportation Commission 
of Southern Nevada to purchase zero emission buses. In August, the RTC 
was awarded another $6.7 million for additional zero-emission buses and 
workforce development initiatives.
    Can you talk more about how these initiatives are working in 
practice and how the pairing of workforce development and clean energy 
funding may serve as a model for other innovations in transportation?
    Answer. Pairing new investments in cleaner transit with dedicated 
funding for workforce training is already proving a success. The first 
round of funding for the revised Low/No program went out last year and 
ensured that nearly every procurement for Zero Emission Buses is tied 
to investing in the skills needed for the maintenance workforce to 
maintain those buses. We are working cooperatively with the National 
Frontline Workforce Training Center, created by Congress several years 
ago to create better procurement standards and training standards so 
that transit agencies and the frontline workforce can cooperatively 
build the tools they need to ensure those dollars are well spent and 
successful. We would be glad to update you on the progress of those 
investments as we continue to learn more about their successes on the 
ground.

    Question 3. One of the major victories for workers in the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was the removal of a regulatory barrier 
that prevented State and local governments from prioritizing folks in 
their communities for jobs supported by federal funds.
    How has your membership been able to take advantage of the 
workforce development programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law?
    Answer. The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 
affiliated unions have committed to capitalize on the investments made 
in our industry by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance equity 
goals. The removal of the ban on local hire was supported by TTD, and 
we applaud Congress for including it in BIL. We encourage you and the 
Committee to read more about advancing equity goals through federal 
investments, union jobs, and workforce development, and our affiliated 
unions' efforts to advance equitable access to those jobs through job 
training in our policy statement, Building a Strong and Equitable 
Transportation Workforce. This month, many of our affiliated unions 
also partnered with President Biden's Infrastructure Talent Pipeline 
Challenge to expand pathways into good jobs and build a diverse 
infrastructure workforce through the expansion of pre-apprenticeships, 
registered apprenticeships, and other high-quality training programs, 
with many specifically catered to underrepresented communities, 
including women and refugees.

   Questions from Hon. Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia to Gregory R. Regan, 
          President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

    Question 1. Midway Airport in Chicago is near my current district 
and will be in my new district next Congress. I am also the lead 
sponsor of the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act in the House, which 
would establish minimum wage and benefit standards for airport workers 
at airports across the country. I am pleased that several aviation 
unions have endorsed the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act.
    In light of the current picketing happening at O'Hare and Midway 
airport, how can we ensure that this money is used to improve the wages 
and benefits that aviation workers receive, especially lower-income 
workers who don't receive a living wage or good benefits like 
healthcare? And how will the $25 billion in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law for airports help rebuild our airports and aviation 
infrastructure?
    Answer. The Biden administration has made good jobs central to 
implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Most Department of 
Transportation's (DOT) discretionary grants follow the DOT's Grant 
Application Checklist criteria. Using the DOT's requirements ensures 
federal dollars will create good-paying jobs, a fair choice to join a 
union, and high-quality training and education programs for workers. 
The section criteria also ask applicants to implement policies during 
procurement and project implementation to promote the hiring and 
retention of underrepresented workers. In addition, the checklist 
encourages applicants to use Labor Peace agreements, Project Labor 
Agreements, and Collective Bargaining Agreements that help protect the 
federal government's investment in future projects by ensuring that 
workers establish fair wages, benefits, and scheduling, which have been 
successful in preventing labor disruptions.
    The BIL provides our aviation system with the long-overdue support 
it deserves by investing in outdated technology and other components of 
airport infrastructure needed to accommodate the industry's workforce 
and continued growth. These investments will increase efficiency, 
reduce waste, and allow for more significant job growth. We strongly 
encourage the Committee to review TTD's policy statement, ``TTD 
Supports Significant Investments In America's Infrastructure,'' and the 
press release, ``Transportation Labor Appleasuds Largest Investment in 
Transporation, Jobs in America's History.''

    Question 2. The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have 
applied for grants from USDOT's new MEGA program for the critical I-
290/CTA Blue Line rebuilding and the expansion of Chicago Union 
Station. How can the State of Illinois and municipalities in my 
district best partner with labor to ensure grant applications have 
strong labor components just like the latest round of INFRA grants?
    Answer. We encourage all members to review the USDOT Grant 
Application Checklist for a Strong Transportation Workforce and Labor 
Plan and to ensure that project sponsors and representatives of the 
labor workforce are working together in your districts to meet the 
standards outlined by this administration. Ensuring labor support for 
projects is a dramatic shift by this administration--and one that we 
are incredibly thankful for--and this tool will help both project 
sponsors and labor work more cooperatively towards our shared goals of 
creating good jobs and fixing America's infrastructure.

    Question 3. Chicago is the center of this country's rail network. 
The IIJA takes a number of important steps towards improving highway 
and trucking safety with the goal of reducing tragic accidents and 
fatalities on our roadways. It's evident that these efforts are more 
needed than ever, as NHTSA reported that traffic deaths reached a 16-
year high in 2021. With that in mind, I was very disturbed to read an 
article in the Wall Street Journal last week about the dismal safety 
records of the companies Amazon contracts out its services to, and its 
failure to correct these issues. I was particularly struck by finding 
that these contractors were cited for committing certain safety 
violations at a rate 70 times greater than represented UPS drivers. To 
be blunt--what's going on here? Why are Amazon's operations so unsafe, 
and what threat do they pose to the promises of the IIJA?
    Answer. There is no other way to say this: Amazon has placed a 
premium on profits over safety, fair employment, and other public 
goods. Reining in corporate greed that places more value on profit than 
the wellbeing of contract workers, the traveling public, and in many 
cases, their customers is the only solution to this problem.

  Questions from Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson to Stephen Gardner, Chief 
  Executive Officer, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

    Question 1. Mr. Gardner, thank you for meeting with me and the I-20 
Corridor Coalition earlier this year. I wanted to reiterate my strong 
support for Amtrak Service between Dallas-Ft. Worth and Atlanta and 
encourage you to include this corridor in any future long distance 
service plans developed by Amtrak or FRA. Could you update me on any 
progress being made on this project?
    Answer. Amtrak has provided data on our long-distance trains to the 
Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Long-Distance Service Study, 
which is intended to evaluate potential expansion of the long-distance 
network. We will continue to participate in the FRA's study and provide 
them with data to help them identify options to improve the long-
distance network, as well as the capital and operating costs associated 
with such changes to inform Congress on future funding decisions.
    Additionally, Amtrak has requested that the Surface Transportation 
Board (STB), as a condition of approving the merger between Canadian 
Pacific Railroad and Kansas City Southern Railroad, require that the 
two companies participate in a joint study with Amtrak and other 
affected railroads with the goal of introducing a daily round-trip 
train service between Meridian and Dallas, with potential for a second 
daily round trip. A copy of our letter to the STB, including that 
request, is attached with these responses.\\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \\ Editor's note: The documents referenced by Mr. Gardner 
are retained in committee files and are available online at https://
dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/DCMS_External_PROD/1643835362179/
303645.pdf.

    Question 2. Mr. Gardner, the Northeast Corridor has so much 
potential for increased speed and expanded service, especially with the 
new Acela trains coming online next year. You mentioned in your 
testimony that work has begun on addressing the bottlenecks on this 
line. Do you have any timelines on when these projects will be 
completed?
    Answer. Key to Northeast Corridor (NEC) increased speed and 
expanded service is to first address the backlog of state-of-good-
repair (SOGR) needs, including the replacement of 100+ year old bridges 
and tunnels. As part of the Acela program, Amtrak has already made a 
number of improvements to the NEC's infrastructure which will help us 
increase the maximum speed from 150mph to 160mph. Examples of this 
infrastructure work include a project to add two new platforms at 
Baltimore-Penn Station, and another platform expansion at the New 
Carrollton, Maryland stop--both of which will accommodate the increased 
capacity that comes with the new Acela trainsets.
    Additionally, we and our partners are advancing many major 
infrastructure projects including Portal North Bridge in New Jersey and 
the Frederick Douglass/Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel Replacement Project 
in Maryland that will simultaneously improve performance and increase 
reliability along the Corridor. As you may be aware, the FRA will soon 
publish a project inventory for the NEC, which will serve as the basis 
for future FRA grant funding through the Federal-State Partnership 
grant program. This grant program is a major anticipated source for the 
funding of all of these major projects and the IIJA's $24 billion for 
this program is an essential down payment in support of these SOGR 
improvements. While Amtrak is grateful for this funding, the NEC's SOGR 
backlog is vast and many needed projects over the coming decade will 
require additional federal and state support in order to advance. This 
is particularly true for ``pure'' speed and trip time projects which 
are not directly related to core SOGR needs. To address the important 
work of gaining higher speeds and further reductions in travel time--
which we believe is vital to increasing the competitiveness of 
intercity rail in the NEC and creating more capacity in the future--
additional investments beyond this initial IIJA funding are needed, and 
we stand ready to work with Congress to identify options and 
opportunities.

   Question from Hon. Brian K. Fitzpatrick to Stephen Gardner, Chief 
  Executive Officer, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

    Question 1. This August, Rep. Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Rep. Moulton 
(MA-06) led 28 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter expressing 
concern about the current trip times on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and 
hope that historic investments set aside for this line in the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be used to improve 
timetables. What progress has Amtrak made in prioritizing modernization 
projects that will directly decrease long trip times between Boston and 
Washington, D.C.?
    Answer. As part of the Acela program, Amtrak has already made a 
number of improvements to the NEC's infrastructure which will help us 
increase the maximum speed from 150mph to 160mph and begin improving 
trip times. Examples of this infrastructure work include a project to 
add two new platforms at Baltimore-Penn Station, and another platform 
expansion at the New Carrollton, Maryland stop--both of which will 
accommodate the increased capacity that comes with the new Acela 
trainsets and enhance reliability.
    In further support of reduced trip times on the Northeast Corridor, 
Amtrak is actively working to implement projects that address the 
backlog of state-of-good-repair (SOGR) needs, including the replacement 
of 100+ year old bridges and tunnels and replacement of rail and ties 
to allow increased operating speeds. Our Portal North Bridge Project in 
New Jersey and the Frederick Douglass/Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel 
Replacement Project in Maryland exemplify this twin aim of 
simultaneously improving performance and increasing reliability along 
the Corridor.
    This work is being closely coordinated with state partners across 
the corridor. As you may be aware, the FRA will soon publish a project 
inventory for the NEC, which will serve as the basis for future FRA 
grant funding through the Federal-State Partnership grant program. This 
grant program is a major anticipated source for the funding of all of 
Amtrak's major projects on the NEC and the IIJA's $24 billion for this 
program is an essential down payment in support of these SOGR 
investments. While Amtrak is grateful for this funding, the NEC's SOGR 
backlog is vast and many needed projects over the coming decade will 
require additional federal and state support in order to advance. This 
is particularly true for ``pure'' speed and trip time projects which 
are not directly related to core SOGR needs. To address the important 
work of gaining higher speeds and further reductions in travel time--
which we believe is vital to increasing the competitiveness of 
intercity rail in the NEC and creating more capacity in the future--
additional investments beyond this initial IIJA funding are needed, and 
we stand ready to work with Congress to identify options and 
opportunities.
    While much more work awaits, the record levels of increased 
infrastructure funding for the NEC provided by the Administration and 
Congress and the arrival of the new Acela fleet will combine to begin a 
new era of improved customer experience on the Corridor, and we look 
forward to working with you to extend and amplify these opportunities.

Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. to Stephen Gardner, 
   Chief Executive Officer, National Railroad Passenger Corporation 
                                (Amtrak)

    Question 1. Mr. Gardner, last year Amtrak presented an ambitious 
long-term vision that would connect Atlanta to Savannah, Nashville, and 
Montgomery vis-a-vis passenger rail. Earlier this year, the Georgia 
Department of Transportation received $8 million in federal funds to 
study the Atlanta-Savannah link.
    Question 1.a. Can you speak to the value of bringing this vision to 
life, including the impact on communities of color who have 
historically been denied access to quality passenger rail?
    Answer. Amtrak's Connects US vision (May 2021) outlined a vision 
for new service to 160 new communities, many of which are underserved 
by intercity passenger rail and also communities where many residents 
are people of color. New intercity passenger rail service not only 
creates additional transportation options, but also benefits the 
environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, benefits the economy 
by creating jobs and encouraging development around new and existing 
stations, and increases connectivity between communities by connecting 
new city pairs and smaller communities to large towns and cities. The 
FRA's Corridor Identification and Development Program will play an 
important role in determining how we bring new and expanded intercity 
passenger rail service to communities across the country, and we are 
hopeful that states and other eligible entities partner with us to 
pursue funding opportunities under this new FRA program.

    Question 1.b. The creation of the Atlanta-Savannah connection would 
lead to a plethora of jobs and opportunities for small businesses. What 
plans does Amtrak have in place to ensure that Black and Brown 
Americans, including historically disadvantaged, minority-owned small 
businesses, participate in project development and contribute to 
regional economic growth in a meaningful way?
    Answer. As we and our state partners look to improve and expand 
service, we have a great chance to engage diverse and local businesses 
in the business opportunities created by these new investments. Because 
our supplier diversity program is a national program, we are always 
working to be inclusive through our outreach across our network which 
helps Amtrak to meet and exceed its Corporate Diversity Goal (15%) year 
over year. Outreach includes virtual and in person for national expos/
conferences as well as our own Amtrak events which include pop-up 
events in stations, panel discussions that include various selections 
of small businesses, and 1:1 sessions. While national events assist our 
efforts for opportunities from a broader scope, we recognize that we 
also must be more intentional for specific projects that may require us 
to go where the suppliers are to engage and make them aware of the 
opportunities coming down the pipeline.
    Even before the pandemic, we have teamed up with the Minority 
Business Development Agencies (MBDA) and the Procurement Technical 
Assistance Centers (PTAC) as well as other agencies to reach 
prospective suppliers across the map. We also utilize our diversity 
spend reporting analysis to identify the areas in which we need to ramp 
up outreach to ensure that we focus on areas/groups where participation 
is not at an optimal level in contributing to regional economic growth. 
We remain transparent with the procurement opportunities as posted on 
the procurement portal (accessible at https://procurement.amtrak.com), 
and our Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) is always available to connect 
with businesses to assist them in learning how to do business with 
Amtrak.

Question from Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson to Samuel Desue, Jr., General 
                            Manager, TriMet

    Question 1. Mr. Desue, too often we hear from companies that it is 
too hard to comply with Made-In-America requirements, yet I see that 
all your buses and rail cars are built in America. Can you discuss your 
experience purchasing American-made equipment? And do you think there 
could be an opportunity to produce more American-made goods?
    Answer. We have not had problems buying American-made buses or 
light rail vehicles. As I mentioned in my testimony, TriMet recently 
made our first bulk purchase of 24 American-made, battery electric 
buses. This part of a multiyear effort to fully convert our fleet. With 
all of the Nation's transit agencies similarly committed to multiyear 
conversions to electric vehicles, there may be an initial supply issue, 
but the significant public investments from all levels of government to 
this conversion will lead to market responses that will expand domestic 
manufacturing compacity. So, we do not envision the supply of new 
American-made electric vehicles and charging infrastructure to be a 
long-term issue.
    The substantial investment in electric vehicles and charging 
infrastructure contained in the IIJA will also likely result in 
unforeseen innovations that will likely result in superior technologies 
and products. This always happens. It's a rarely recognized result of 
this kind of investment, and it will likely result in new American-made 
products that benefit everyone.

  Questions from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. to Samuel Desue, 
                      Jr., General Manager, TriMet

    Question 1. Democrats in Congress have invested heavily in climate-
combatting transportation options so that Americans can minimize their 
carbon footprint. Among the travel options available, transit is 
essential for getting around without damaging our planet. Last year, I 
introduced H.R. 3744, the Stronger Communities through Better Transit 
Act, which is designed to provide high-quality, low-cost and frequent 
transit to communities across America, which a specific emphasis on 
those in underserved neighborhoods.
    Question 1.a. Mr. Desue, how would further federal investments in 
public transit assist communities of color with mobility while also 
combatting pernicious climate effects?
    Answer. Communities across the nation are recognizing the long 
overdue need to address long-neglected communities of color. These 
equity communities tend to have a high percentage of transit-dependent 
riders and--as we found out during the pandemic--essential workers. 
Targeting investments to increase transit usage in these communities 
will ensure that residents have access to jobs and critical services 
and will begin to address the air quality challenges these communities 
often face.

    Question 1.b. What are some best practices you've witnessed in 
Oregon involving mass transit that you believe would translate well 
across the metro-Atlanta region and America?
    Answer. As TriMet converts to an electric bus fleet, we have 
prioritized placing these buses in service in equity communities first. 
In addition to the Greenhouse Gas emission reductions from the diesel 
engines, the health consequences of diesel buses must not be minimized, 
and communities of color have been historically saddled with air 
polluting industries and freeways. Removing the diesel buses is a 
start. One secondary issue that we feel is important is noise 
pollution. Diesel buses make a lot of it and health care officials say 
industrial noise is a stressful irritant on people. Reducing the noise 
impacts, we believe, will also have a significant effect in the quality 
of life for people served by electric buses. This commitment will 
ensure that those communities most impacted by environmental and public 
health impacts of transportation emissions receive the initial benefits 
of this transition to electric vehicles.

 Questions from Hon. Dina Titus to Samuel Desue, Jr., General Manager, 
                                 TriMet

    Question 1. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law pairs robust 
investments in workforce training with funding for transit agencies to 
transition to zero emission buses which will ensure workers do not get 
left behind as we move to a clean energy economy. This is already 
coming to fruition in Southern Nevada. I was proud to secure a $2 
million earmark in the IIJA for the Regional Transportation Commission 
of Southern Nevada to purchase zero emission buses. In August, the RTC 
was awarded another $6.7 million for additional zero-emission buses and 
workforce development initiatives.
    Can you talk more about how these initiatives are working in 
practice and how the pairing of workforce development and clean energy 
funding may serve as a model for other innovations in transportation?
    Answer. This is a great question, because all of America's transit 
districts are in the same situation as we convert to electric vehicles.
    Transit agencies have been using essentially the same technology 
for over a century--diesel powered buses. Like the Regional 
Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, TriMet has secured $2 
million grants for our initial purchase of electric vehicles. These 
kinds of federal grants have helped introduce us to this new 
technology.
    Switching technologies is not like flipping a switch. That means we 
need to learn its quirks and limits. For a century, our workforce knew 
every gear and valve of a diesel engine, but now they are dealing with 
vehicles that require a very different skill set to maintain and 
operate. Our maintenance staff will need to acquire a new range of 
skills to deal with the computer programming issues that are needed to 
keep electric buses maintained and in operation. That is a huge shift.
    We are part of several consortiums of transit agencies where we 
share our information so we can learn from others as all of America's 
transit agencies converts. We are also committed to working with our 
workforce to ensure they have the resources necessary to gain the 
knowledge and skills to further their careers as we transition to zero 
emission buses.

    Question 2. One of the major victories for workers in the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was the removal of a regulatory barrier 
that prevented State and local governments from prioritizing folks in 
their communities for jobs supported by federal funds.
    How will the removal of this barrier benefit local governments and 
agencies like TriMet, and how will this benefit workforce development 
efforts in underserved communities?
    Answer. Regarding the removal of barriers for prioritizing people 
in their communities for jobs supported by federal funds, we believe 
this will have long-term benefits. Currently, like most transit 
agencies, we need more employees. With a workforce of 2,800 employees, 
we are down 300 operators and over 50 mechanics. To attract more 
employees, we have offered a $7,500 signing bonus and a like bonus to 
retain workers. These are paid over three years and have proved to slow 
the tide of early retirements and to attract new applicants. TriMet is 
committed to ensure that residents in our service area have access to 
career opportunities and benefit from the investments we make and 
services we provide in our community.

    Question 3. As you know, the IIJA made historic investments in 
transit. Many transit agencies, however, around the country, including 
in my district, are facing a shortage of workers in just about every 
category. In order to maximize the potential of this funding, we need 
to ensure transit agencies are able to meet their staffing needs.
    Can you talk about some of the recruitment and retention efforts 
the transit industry has implemented to address this issue and what 
role Congress can play to provide assistance?
    Answer. I appreciate this question because while it seems like a 
lack of workforce a local issue--every transit agency is experiencing 
this in Oregon--and we understand it is happening nearly everywhere. 
TriMet provides good, middle-class jobs. The kind of jobs people can 
support a family, buy a house, and sustain a community. Keeping transit 
agencies staffed up will determine whether we can meet the mobility and 
accessibility challenges facing our region, as well as whether or not 
we can take the steps necessary to begin addressing the climate crisis. 
It will affect traffic and whether people who have no other means of 
travel can use something other than a car. Transit is critical to our 
nation's vitality, so having a robust workforce is important to the 
nation. If we are going to grow ridership, we cannot allow long-term 
worker shortages to negatively impact our transit services levels.
    As I mentioned in my previous responses, TriMet is committed to 
building and maintaining the workforce we need to continue to provide 
public transportation services for our region. There is no silver 
bullet to address the near-term worker shortage issues and our long-
term workforce needs. We have dramatically stepped-up hiring efforts by 
increasing pay, offering signing and retention bonuses, invested in 
workforce development and training development efforts ensuring our 
employees have the resources to receive and maintain the skills 
training necessary to provide the services required by TriMet as we 
implement innovative transit approaches and technology. We have also 
taken steps to improve the quality of our employees' jobs--like 
installing protective barriers for bus drivers. If a driver does not 
feel safe on the job, it is not likely they will remain on the job.
    TriMet is committed to providing the compensation packages and 
skills necessary to provide middle class, family sustaining career 
opportunities to our workforce. Our workforce is mission critical to 
TriMet, and we are taking the steps necessary to address short-term 
shortages while building the longer-term capacity to meet our future 
needs.

   Question from Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson to Adam S. Hersh, Ph.D., 
              Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute

    Question 1. Dr. Hersh, how can the Congressional Budget Office 
(CBO) improve their economic models to better assess the return on 
investment we see in transportation infrastructure spending?
    Answer. The most salient implications for shortcomings in CBO 
economic modeling are found in the macroeconomic model CBO uses to 
score legislation for its effect on federal budgets and providing 
economic projections for the national economy. Among the methodological 
limitations imposed by CBO's modeling choices, we can characterize them 
as (a) overstating the actual costs of infrastructure projects and 
other long-term return public goods investments, and (b) understating 
their benefits. This results from unempirical macroeconomic assumptions 
that form the core of CBO's model of the U.S. economy.
    Congress, monetary policy makers, and private sector investors the 
world over make critical economic decisions about the future based on 
CBO projections. But time after time, those projections have proven 
woefully inaccurate. Figure 1 compares successive CBO economic 
projections for the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield--a key variable 
determining the budgetary costs of fiscal spending programs--and the 
actual market-determined interest rate.\i\ CBO consistently 
overpredicted rising interest rates in its economic projections. The 
result of these forecast errors is to systematically overstate the 
borrowing costs of legislative initiatives--including for 
infrastructure investment and other public goods like scientific 
research and development, education, and public health measures--
providing misleading information about the potential economic impacts 
of their policies. It also pushes policymakers to undersupply 
countercyclical fiscal policy to manage recessions and other adverse 
macroeconomic shocks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \i\ Reproduced from Adam Hersh and Mark Paul. 2021. Room to Run: 
America has ample fiscal space and should use it to tackle pressing 
economic and climate challenges. Available at https://
groundworkcollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/
GroundworkCollab_RoomToRoom_
r4.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For example, in 2011, the oldest vintage forecast available online 
from CBO, modelers predicted interest rates on the 10-year Treasury 
note would rise to 5.25% by the fourth quarter of 2019 as employment 
recovered, creating upward inflationary pressure. We know now that the 
recovery imagined by CBO never materialized and, in reality, Treasury 
yields fell to 1.79% with the weakness of the recovery. Although 
subsequent projections pared down the interest rate outlook, CBO 
continued to severely overestimate the extent to which interest rates 
would rise. Here, CBO is significantly out of step with the rest of the 
economics, which has known for some time that equilibrium interest 
rates were much lower than CBO's models suggest.\ii\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \ii\ Holston, Kathryn, Thomas Laubach, and John C. Williams. 2017. 
``Measuring the Natural Rate of Interest: International Trends and 
Determinants.'' Journal of International Economics. Vol. 108, 
Supplement 1, pp. S39-S75; Laubach, Thomas, and John C. Williams. 2003. 
``Measuring the Natural Rate of Interest.'' Review of Economics and 
Statistics. Vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 1063-70.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Past policy choices have been guided by the Congressional Budget 
Office's (CBO) mistaken projections that consistently overstated the 
relationship between government spending and interest rates. This 
follows from a common--though empirically inaccurate--theoretical 
assumption known as ``Ricardian equivalence,'' that treats public 
investment as crowding out private investment by bidding up interest 
rates.\iii\ The assumption presumes both that capital markets are 
inherently efficient and that savers and investors exhibit rational 
expectations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \iii\ See, for example, Meissner, T. and Rostam-Afschar, D., 2017. 
``Learning Ricardian equivalence.'' Journal of Economic Dynamics and 
Control, 82, pp.273-288; Clausio Sardoni. ``The public debt and the 
Ricardian equivalence: Some critical remarks.'' Structural Change and 
Economic Dynamics. Volume 58, September 2021, Pages 153-160.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the real-world economy, though open international capital 
markets that allow savings from abroad to flow into U.S. assets mean 
that borrowing at the margin is unconstrained. And the financial sector 
is not efficient, but defined by market failures from asymmetric 
information and incomplete or unenforceable contracts that create 
adverse selection, moral hazard, and principle-agent problems; 
moreover, investors not only don't always exhibit rational behavior, 
but are often epistemologically unable to make optimizing decisions 
under conditions of fundamental uncertainty.\iv\ The repeated forecast 
errors resulting from CBO assumptions shown in Figure 1 indicate that 
policymakers take votes based on CBO models that exaggerate the true 
federal budgetary costs of spending programs and lead policymakers to 
withdraw countercyclical fiscal support too early in past recoveries, 
entrenching longstanding racial and gender inequities and deterring 
investments that would raise productivity and living standards over the 
long term.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \iv\ These problems are discussed in detail by Gary Shackle. 1991. 
Epistemics and Economics: A Critique of Economic Doctrines. Routledge; 
and Hyman Minsky. 2008. John Maynard Keynes. McGraw Hill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Another flawed component of CBO's model pertains to how it 
evaluates unemployment in relation to consumer price inflation and 
interest rates. The model is built on an assumption that when 
unemployment falls below an optimal ``natural'' rate, price inflation 
mechanically follows, prompting the Federal Reserve to raise interest 
rates. But what is natural? CBO assumes unemployment for different 
demographic groups (age, sex, education, and race) ``were approximately 
at their natural rates in 2005''.\v\ In other words, whatever the 
unemployment rate was for each demographic sub-group in 2005, that's 
what CBO assumes is the lowest unemployment should get before 
inflationary pressures are assumed to kick in.
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    \v\ Shackleton 2018
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    I illustrate this graphically in Figure 2, showing the 2005 
unemployment rate for white (4.4 %), Black (10%), Latino (6%), and 
Asian (4%) workers as a red dashed line superimposed on each groups' 
unemployment rate since that time in blue.\vi\ As Williams (2021) 
emphasizes, this assumption surreptitiously embeds racial disparities 
into policymaking decisions about how much employment is enough? 
Essentially, CBO says unemployment for Black workers should stay 
structurally double the rate for white workers, and 50% higher for 
Latino workers. For context, the CBO's assumptions would mean the Black 
jobless rate, which dropped to 5.2% in August 2020 with no inflationary 
consequences, would never be expected to fall beneath the peak overall 
unemployment rate during the Great Recession--10% in October of 2009. 
Yet, all groups sustained unemployment below CBO's natural rate for 
considerable time without causing inflation. In other words, the 
perversely racialized distribution of unemployment that CBO's model 
dictates affects all workers by embodying a bias toward excessive 
unemployment for particular groups of workers.
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    \vi\ Reproduced from Adam Hersh and Mark Paul. 2021. Room to Run: 
America has ample fiscal space and should use it to tackle pressing 
economic and climate challenges. Available at https://
groundworkcollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/
GroundworkCollab_RoomToRoom_
r4.pdf.
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    The above discussion considered the macroeconomic context in which 
CBO models assess the impact of macroeconomically significant 
investments in transportation and other infrastructure is the failure 
to use capital budgeting for investments in long-lived public 
infrastructure assets. Because fiscal adjustments in government 
consumption and government investment have differential effects--with 
cuts in investments having particularly large, negative economic 
effects, Congress's current budgeting practices skew most cost-benefit 
analyses in favor of costing too much.\vii\ CBO staff are aware of this 
shortcoming and have proposed to Congress alternative approaches to 
budgeting federal investment that separate investment spending into a 
capital budget that accumulates returns on investment over longer time 
horizons.\viii\ Additionally, to better understand the impacts of their 
policies, Congress could require CBO to also report measures of 
alternative economic welfare, such as those developed by the Commission 
on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.\ix\ 
These indicators encompass a range of social and economic development 
metrics, and reveal that although policies can be seen to increase GDP 
in the short-run, they don't necessarily enhance economic performance 
or social development over the long term.
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    \vii\ See Jovanovic (2017) and Blanchard and Leigh's (2013).
    \viii\ Congressional Budget Office. Budgeting for Federal 
Investment. April 15, 2021. Available at https://www.cbo.gov/system/
files/2021-04/56900-capital-budgeting.pdf.
    \ix\ https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/8131721/8131772/
Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi-Commission-report.pdf
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    CBO should reassess the biases inherent in the models it uses to 
project the Federal fiscal position and the U.S. macroeconomy. It will 
take time for CBO to adjust to potential new methodologies, and this 
process should be informed with robust transparency and public 
participation. In the meantime, and without altering their methodology, 
Congress should require that CBO also report a confidence interval 
around the point estimates produced by their models. This would tell us 
although CBO predicts an average tendency of X, the model says that we 
can expect an outcome between X  e, but we should really 
count on anything more specific than a dart thrown at this X 
 e interval. This will make more explicit to consumers of 
CBO analyses the extent of uncertainty surrounding their predictions 
for the future, and can be factored into fiscal policymaking as well as 
economic decisions made by businesses and households.

  Question from Hon. Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr. to Adam S. Hersh, 
           Ph.D., Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute

    Question 1. Mr. Hersh, under the IIJA's Airport Terminal Program, 
Atlanta Hartsfield international airport received a $40 million grant 
from the federal government. How will this economic investment allow 
the airport and the metro-Atlanta region to further develop its economy 
while also providing quality jobs to Georgians?
    Answer. The IIJA investments in Atlanta Hartsfield International 
Airport would provide quality jobs to Georgians and help support 
regional economic activity through several channels.
    First, through well understood Keynesian multiplier effects, the 
$40 million dollar Atlanta airport project would support employment 
directly in completing the project, indirectly in other industries 
related to the project, and via greater consumption from these workers' 
additional incomes across the rest of the economy (referred to as 
induced demand) for 425 job-years (a unit of measure equal to the labor 
required for one year's full time work).\x\ Additionally, the IIJA 
investments are expected to ``crowd-in'' a range of complementary 
private investments that will similarly increase economic activity and 
employment. Not all of the jobs created will be located in the Atlanta 
metropolitan area, though a significant share will--particularly in 
construction trades and in the additional regional economic activity 
supported by the income of those directly employed in the airport 
projects.
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    \x\ Based on estimates provided in Adam S. Hersh, `` `Build Back 
Better' agenda will ensure strong, stable recovery in coming years,'' 
Economic Policy Institute. September 16, 2021. Available at https://
www.epi.org/publication/iija-budget-reconciliation-jobs/.
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    Jobs supported by IIJA projects are covered by ``Davis-Bacon'' 
requirements that ensure contractors pay workers on construction 
projects a fair, prevailing wage rather than undercutting local labor 
markets with a race-to-the-bottom in wages. These requirements ensure 
that wages for millions of workers in infrastructure construction as 
well as those in millions of jobs across the regional economy enjoy 
stronger wages and working conditions, amplifying the project's local 
contributions.
    Second, a renewed and expanded airport will bring broader and 
longer-term economic benefits through higher productivity, lower costs 
of doing business, and increased opportunities for regional development 
centered on the economic hub of metro-Atlanta. The capacity to handle 
more flights and passengers enhances the attractiveness of Hart 
International and the Atlanta region as a destination for tourists and 
business travelers, a hub for air travel ensconcing Atlanta in regional 
and global aviation networks, and a more efficient platform for 
international airfreight serving regional exporting businesses.
    Third, the Airport is a major energy consumer. Decarbonizing and 
improving energy efficiency at ATL with IIJA support will significantly 
reduce energy demand on the regional grid, in turn contributing to more 
stable regional energy systems and improved air quality bringing long-
term health and economic development benefits.

                                Figure 1
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                                Figure 2
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