[Senate Hearing 117-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


 
  TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                  APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met at 2:32 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Brian Schatz (chairman) presiding.
    Present: Senators Schatz, Reed, Murray, Coons, Van Hollen, 
Collins, Boozman, Hoeven, Kennedy, and Braun.

                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

STATEMENT OF HON. PETE BUTTIGIEG, SECRETARY


               opening statement of senator brian schatz


    Senator Schatz. This hearing will come to order.
    Good afternoon and welcome. Secretary Buttigieg, I'm really 
pleased and honored to have you before this subcommittee to 
testify on the President's Budget Request for the Department of 
Transportation for fiscal year 2022.
    I look forward to discussing the President's vision and how 
this budget request, along with the American Jobs Plan, will 
help to improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation 
networks.
    It is a challenging time to plan ahead for DOT with a 
reauthorization bill on deck, an overall budget agreement 
outstanding, an American Jobs Plan under negotiations, the 
impact of COVID still wreaking havoc on transportation 
revenues, and Highway Trust Fund issues.
    Now that we have the President's budget proposal, it's time 
to get to work. It's not like the condition of our 
transportation infrastructure is a secret. We all know that the 
state of good repair needs in every single mode are in the 
billions of dollars.
    Highways and bridges have a $786 billion backlog, transit a 
$105 billion in deferred maintenance, and Amtrak needs $42 
billion for the Northeast Corridor alone, and that's just the 
cost to address our current infrastructure deficit. That does 
not protect our roads, rail, and airports from rising sea 
levels and increasing flood risks. We must admit that 
resilience is not a luxury. We cannot adapt to the effects of 
climate change by nickeling and diming it.
    I agree with the Secretary that it is time for bold action. 
While it may be hard to come up with the revenues, it is 
nowhere near the hardship that we will face if we don't invest 
now.
    I look forward to working with Ranking Member Collins to 
pull together a bipartisan bill this year. We share the same 
commitment to improving safety, rebuilding our transportation 
infrastructure, and providing opportunities for the 
transportation workforce.
    The President's $88 billion budget request for the 
Department of Transportation builds on many of these same 
objectives and themes. The budget prioritizes safety by 
increasing funding for FAA Safety Office and NHTSA's Vehicle 
Safety Programs, both important to address weaknesses in our 
certifications systems and the alarming rise in traffic 
fatalities.
    I'm glad to see that climate change initiatives are a focus 
across the department because resiliency needs to be a key part 
of any infrastructure program.
    I'm also glad to see that the budget continues to invest in 
our transportation workforce. It funds the Aviation Workforce 
Development Program. It provides resources to help transit 
systems adapt to electric vehicle fleets. It fully funds the 
Fifth Maritime Training Vessel to educate our maritime 
workforce.
    The focus on these priorities demonstrates the commitment 
to addressing the workforce challenges across the 
transportation industry that I fully support.
    I see a lot of good things in this budget request, but I'm 
concerned about the lack of funding for Amtrak and the 
potential impact to the workforce. The budget request will not 
have enough to prevent furloughs and sustain services if we 
don't have additional resources through a surface 
reauthorization or the American Jobs Plan.
    The same can be said with the elimination of popular 
programs for airports and bridges. The Jobs Plan and surface 
reauthorization have the potential to deliver historic 
investments in infrastructure in every state.
    It's important to know where things stand as we start to 
mark up the THUD appropriations bill. If these negotiations 
drag on, it will be incumbent on Congress to extend the FAST 
Act as it expires on September 30th, as well as to make sure 
the Highway Trust Fund remains solvent.
    Secretary Buttigieg, I look forward to hearing your 
testimony on the budget request. Your leadership at the 
department is just what we need to focus on the future and the 
challenges ahead.
    Most people take transportation for granted until something 
goes wrong. We saw this with the Colonial Pipeline incident. 
We've seen it when roads get flooded or a bridge has to be shut 
down and people don't have a way to get home. I really think 
the way that you're speaking and leading on these issues is a 
refreshing change.
    With that, I'd like to turn it over to Vice Chair Collins 
for her opening statement.


                   statement of hon. susan m. collins


    Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Secretary Buttigieg, I'm delighted to join the Chairman in 
welcoming you to your first hearing before our subcommittee.
    As part of the fiscal year 2021 Omnibus, we provided $87 
billion for the Department of Transportation, excluding 
emergency funding. This funding supports our nation's 
infrastructure through important programs, including highway 
funding, BUILD grants, now called RAISE grants, the Airport 
Improvement Program, Port Infrastructure Development Grants, 
and much more.
    As we begin our work on fiscal year 2022, it is important 
to note that unlike previous years, there is not yet a budget 
agreement in place. Top line funding levels remain to be 
determined.
    The Administration's fiscal year 2022 request for DOT is 88 
billion. Of this amount, the request includes 25.7 billion in 
discretionary resources, an increase of 411 million above 
current levels.
    The Administration's budget request is in addition to its 
infrastructure plan. As described in the budget, the American 
Jobs Plan proposes nearly 2.3 trillion in new investment, 
including 621 billion for transportation and resiliency 
programs.
    Under the plan, the department would oversee 540 billion in 
transportation-related investments and 7.5 billion for 
resiliency.
    This proposal, as well as the Administration's fiscal year 
2022 budget request, would be on top of the supplemental 
funding provided by the CARES Act, the December COVID bill, and 
the American Rescue Plan.
    I have long supported a robust infrastructure investment in 
this country and I worked hard with our former Ranking Member, 
Senator Jack Reed, to increase funding for many programs.
    The Administration's Infrastructure Plan, however, 
represents trillions in new spending and seems to be a vehicle 
for major unrelated policy changes rather than an effort to 
modernize and rebuild our physical and digital infrastructure.
    That's why I've been working hard with the bipartisan group 
of Senators to develop a proposal that does focus on the 
critical physical and digital infrastructure investments that 
our nation needs.
    Although I'm concerned about the overall level of spending 
being proposed by this Administration, I want to take a moment 
to discuss the areas of shared interest.
    I'm pleased to see the inclusion of the popular RAISE Grant 
Program, formerly called BUILD, before that was called TIGER, 
in the Administration's request. I've championed this program 
since 2009 as well as the INFRA Grants, which are focused on 
freight corridors.
    Our state departments of transportation rely on these two 
programs to fund much-needed improvements. These programs have 
been particularly helpful for Maine's rural communities, 
including in Litchfield, West Gardner, Stonington, Greenbush, 
Southport, Milo, and Bridgewater, where a BUILD grant is 
funding the replacement of five at-risk bridges in poor 
condition and the rehabilitation of a compromised bridge.
    Additionally, I'm pleased that through another BUILD grant, 
the communities of Waterville and Winslow will benefit from the 
replacement of a 111-year-old bridge with a modern bridge with 
wider lanes, shoulder, sidewalks, and bike lanes. It also will 
eliminate the possibility of an eight-mile detour and related 
congestion should the current bridge fail.
    Rural communities face unique challenges in funding 
transportation infrastructure and often rely on programs, like 
RAISE, for necessary projects and improvements. According to 
the department's own statistics, 68 percent of our nation's 
total lane miles are in rural areas, two-thirds of rail freight 
originates in rural areas, and nearly half of all truck vehicle 
miles travel occur on rural roads.
    It is therefore imperative that our rural communities 
remain competitive in DOT's discretionary grant programs.
    In addition, like the Chairman, I want to note the funding 
that was included for the National Security Multi-mission 
Vessel Program to replace California's Golden Bear Training 
Vessel. This investment delivers the fifth and final Maritime 
Academy Ship Replacement and fully funds the program that was 
initiated in 2018.
    These vessels are critical for training cadets at the Maine 
Maritime Academy and at the other Maritime Academies. I am 
concerned about the lag in getting them constructed and out to 
the academies.
    Finally, I'm pleased to see that the Administration 
includes funding for the Essential Air Service and investments 
to improve the safety and efficiency of our nation's air space. 
The Fiscal 2022 requests 3.4 billion for facilities and 
equipment, an increase of 395 million.
    Again, Mr. Secretary, I welcome you to today's hearing and 
I look forward to hearing your testimony.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you very much, Senator Collins.
    For the information of members, we have a three-vote series 
at 3:15. We will roll right through and Vice Chair Collins will 
take the gavel when I go down to vote.
    Mr. Secretary, please proceed with your testimony.


                summary statement of hon. pete buttigieg


    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you very much.
    Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Schatz. Thank you, 
Ranking Member Collins or Vice Chair, forgive me, and thank you 
to all of the members of the committee for the opportunity to 
join you and discuss the President's fiscal year 2022 Budget 
Request for the Department of Transportation.
    I also want to thank the members of this committee for your 
strong support for the Department and its programs which help 
to keep the American people safe and moving every day.
    The Department of Transportation plays a crucial role in 
maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure that powers our 
economy and keeps us moving. Yet as we've seen in recent 
months, such as with the I-40 bridge shut-down, much of our 
infrastructure in a state of disrepair.
    In some cases, we are relying on roads, bridges, railroads, 
ports, and waterway infrastructure built a century ago.
    In addition, our transportation infrastructure and systems 
are not sufficiently designed to mitigate or be resilient to 
the impacts of climate change.
    If we are to grow our economy, remain competitive, and 
address the climate crisis, we need to take swift and bold 
action. At this moment of challenge and opportunity, President 
Biden's first fiscal year 2022 Budget Request to Congress 
reflects that urgent need as well as our values and priorities.
    The request includes $88 billion to support transportation 
priorities throughout the nation. These resources will enable 
the Department to continue funding its current portfolio of 
programs while also revitalizing transit and rail and making 
necessary improvements to our aviation infrastructure.
    The President's proposal also includes a funding request 
for the American Jobs Plan, a once-in-a-generation investment 
in repairing and transforming our infrastructure, which will 
create millions of good-paying jobs and keep our economy moving 
forward for decades to come.
    It contains an additional $621 billion for long overdue 
repairs and improvements for our highways, transit systems, 
rail, ports, aviation, and more.
    The details of the President's budget request advance the 
vision of the American Jobs Plan and underscore our commitment 
to key priorities: improving safety, building economic 
strength, addressing the climate crisis, advancing equity, and 
supporting innovation.
    Let me share some of the highlights of this budget request 
when it comes to transportation.
    As always, promoting safety for the hundreds of millions of 
Americans who rely on our transportation systems is this 
Department's North Star and safety is embedded throughout the 
budget request.
    The President is requesting $18.5 billion for the Federal 
Aviation Administration, including $17.4 million to strengthen 
aviation safety oversight and begin addressing the requirements 
of the Aviation Certification Safety and Accountability Act.
    FAA will also receive a billion dollars to improve the 
facilities that house the workforce and technology at the heart 
of our air traffic control system. Many of these facilities 
were built in the 1960s and are in dire need of replacement or 
repair.
    This funding will reduce the current backlog and help 
ensure our air traffic controllers have an efficient, modern 
workplace to carry out their mission of keeping the skies safe.
    The budget also includes $246 million, over a $50 million 
increase, for the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration's Vehicle Safety Programs. These programs help 
advance safety innovations to keep pace with the rapid 
development of vehicle electronics and automated driving 
systems.
    This funding will also help to mitigate carbon pollution by 
enforcing the highest achievable fuel economy standards and 
ensuring that alternative fuel vehicles are safe.
    With respect to transit, the President's request includes 
$2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants, a $459 billion 
increase, to accelerate existing transit projects and support 
new ones. These increases will help us advance cleaner vehicles 
while creating jobs to benefit our economy.
    The President's budget includes $2.7 billion for Amtrak, a 
35 percent increase, to accelerate track renewal, renovate 
aging stations, refresh the existing capital fleet, and help 
address maintenance backlogs throughout the system.
    Along with a $625 million for a new competitive Passenger 
Rail Improvement Modernization and Expansion Program (or PRIME) 
Grants, these investments will be modernizing passenger rail 
service and growing existing rail corridors throughout the 
country.
    To encourage innovative transportation projects that are 
tailored to fit local needs, the President's request continues 
$1 billion in funding for the flexible and over-subscribed 
RAISE Grants. This popular competitive grant program provides 
much-needed Federal funding to help localities that are working 
on innovative modern infrastructure projects.
    Lastly, I want to mention the $110 million requested for a 
new Thriving Communities Program that will establish a new 
office to help communities eliminate transportation barriers 
and improve access to jobs, schools, and businesses to ensure 
all Americans have access to fair, equitable, affordable 
transportation options.
    These are just a few of the items in the budget request, 
which, together with the Jobs Plan, will help keep Americans 
safe and moving, make the necessary investments to tackle the 
climate crisis, and provide the foundation for economic 
prosperity.
    I thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you 
today and I look forward to responding to your questions.
    [The statement follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Hon. Peter Buttigieg
    Chairman Schatz, Ranking Member Collins, and members of the 
Subcommittee: thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President's 
fiscal year 2022 Budget request for the Department of Transportation. I 
also want to thank the members of this subcommittee for your strong 
support of our Department and its programs, which help keep the 
American people safe every day.
    The Department of Transportation plays a crucial role in 
maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure that powers our economy 
and keeps us moving. Yet, as we've seen in recent months, such as with 
the I-40 bridge shutdown, much of our infrastructure is in a state of 
disrepair. In some cases, we are relying on roads, bridges, railroads, 
ports, and waterway infrastructure built a century ago. In addition, 
our transportation infrastructure and systems are not sufficiently 
designed to mitigate or be resilient to the impacts of climate change. 
If we want to grow our economy, remain competitive, and address the 
climate crisis, we need to take swift and bold action.
    At this moment of challenge and opportunity, President Biden's 
first fiscal year 2022 budget request to Congress reflects that urgent 
need, as well as our values and priorities. The request includes $88 
billion to support transportation priorities throughout the nation. 
These resources will enable the Department to continue funding its 
current portfolio of programs, while also revitalizing transit and 
rail, and making necessary improvements to our aviation infrastructure.
    The President's proposal also includes a funding request for the 
American Jobs Plan: a once-in-a-generation investment in repairing and 
transforming our infrastructure, which will create millions of good-
paying jobs and keep our economy moving forward for decades to come.
    It contains an additional $621 billion for long-overdue repairs and 
improvements for our highways, transit systems, rail, ports, aviation, 
and more.
    The details of the President's budget request advance the vision of 
the American Jobs Plan, and underscore our commitment to key 
priorities: improving safety, building economic strength, addressing 
the climate crisis, advancing equity, and supporting innovation.
    Let me share some of the highlights of this budget request when it 
comes to transportation.
    As always, promoting safety for the hundreds of millions of 
Americans who rely on our transportation system is this Department's 
``North Star.'' And safety is embedded throughout this budget request.
    The President is requesting $18.5 billion for the Federal Aviation 
Administration, including $17.4 million to strengthen Aviation Safety 
Oversight and begin addressing the requirements of the Aircraft 
Certification Safety and Accountability Act.
    FAA will also receive $1 billion to improve the facilities that 
house the workforce and technology at the heart of our air traffic 
control system. Many of these facilities were built in the 1960s and 
are in dire need of replacement or repair. This funding will reduce the 
current backlog and help ensure our air traffic controllers have an 
efficient, modern workplace to carry out their mission of keeping the 
skies safe.
    The budget also includes $246 million--over a $50 million 
increase--for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 
Vehicle Safety Programs. These programs help advance safety innovations 
to keep pace with the rapid development of vehicle electronics and 
automated driving systems. This funding will also help to mitigate 
carbon pollution, by enforcing the highest achievable fuel-economy 
standards and ensuring that alternative fuel vehicles are safe.
    With respect to transit, the President's request includes $2.5 
billion for Capital Investment Grants--a $459 million increase--to 
accelerate existing transit projects and support new ones. These 
increases will help us advance cleaner vehicles, while creating jobs 
that benefit our economy.
    The President's budget includes $2.7 billion for Amtrak, 
representing a 35 percent increase. This support will accelerate track 
renewal, renovate aging stations, refresh the existing capital fleet, 
and help address maintenance backlogs throughout the system. Along with 
$625 million for a competitive new Passenger Rail Improvement, 
Modernization, and Expansion program--known as PRIME Grants--these 
investments will modernize passenger rail service and grow existing 
rail corridors throughout the country.
    To encourage innovative transportation projects that are tailored 
to fit local needs, the President's request continues $1 billion in 
funding for the flexible and oversubscribed RAISE grants. This popular, 
competitive grant program provides much-needed Federal funding to help 
localities that are working on innovative, modern infrastructure 
projects.
    Finally, I want to mention the $110 million requested for a new 
``Thriving Communities'' program that will establish a new office to 
help communities eliminate transportation barriers and improve access 
to jobs, schools, and businesses. This program aims to ensure that all 
Americans have access to fair, equitable, affordable transportation 
options.
    These are just a few of the items in the President's 2022 budget 
request, which, together with the American Jobs Plan, will help keep 
Americans safe and moving, make the necessary investments to tackle the 
climate crisis, and provide the foundation for economic prosperity.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I 
look forward to answering your questions.

    Senator Schatz. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas 
emissions, but we do not currently measure the impact of new 
transportation projects on emissions.
    Are you going to engage in a rulemaking to require DOTs and 
MPOs to set greenhouse gas emission performance measures?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes, you can't manage what you don't 
measure and, as you noted, we lack some of the measures that 
are needed for performance with regard to tailpipe emissions, 
and with transportation being the sector contributing the most 
to greenhouse gases, we need to act.
    The Federal Highway Administration plans to propose a rule 
establishing a method for states and metropolitan planning 
organizations (MPOs) to measure and report on tailpipe 
emissions. We are hopeful of publishing the proposed rule for 
comment in September 2021.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you. We had this extraordinary 
hearing a couple of weeks ago on resiliency, especially in the 
context of climate change, and there was a researcher from the 
University of Maine who had this extraordinary technology, some 
of it funded by your UTC Program.
    What we are starting to understand, though, is that UTC 
funds these innovative new ways to do things and that doesn't 
necessarily get deployed because, although there's a small 
grant program to kind of do the technology transfer to the 
various state departments of transportation, it's not enough of 
a financial incentive, and so I'm wondering, you know, there's 
a technocratic way to ask this question, which is how do we 
make sure that the sort of workflow goes all the way from UTC 
to innovation to deployment at the DOT level.
    But it occurs to me that this is about building back better 
but the execution is no small thing because it is entirely 
possible that what Professor Doger has developed will take 20 
or 30 years to be deployed if you don't fix our system in 
partnership with us.
    So what do we do about the problem of finding all this 
technology and then it lays on the shelf and our state DOTs 
either aren't aware of it or aren't incentivized to deploy it?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, I want to thank you for lifting 
up federally-funded research in Maine and so many other places 
where this extraordinary work happens, and I view our 
Department's role as not only directly supporting such research 
but cross-pollinating, making sure that when a good idea is 
being implemented, even if it's in a pilot phase or in a 
nascent form, that we can help that get carried over to other 
places.
    Sometimes that can be directly encoded in what we support, 
other times I think it's an informal role that the Department 
plays, helping to share knowledge and expertise, but it's a 
role that we look forward to embracing.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you. Let me talk to you about net 
zero emissions in aviation.
    Does the FAA have a realistic plan to work with the 
airlines to achieve their goal of zero carbon emissions by 
2050, and how much of hitting 2050 depends on sort of hopeful 
thinking as it relates to technological break-throughs or 
massive subsidies?
    Secretary Buttigieg. There is a lot of potential, 
especially around sustainable aviation fuels, but I think any 
of us intuitively can recognize the difference between, for 
example, the progress made in zero emission cars and what's 
going on with aircraft. A lot of the opportunity is less about 
having a form of propulsion that doesn't burn any fuel and more 
about making sure the life cycle emissions of the fuels are 
reduced or even net zero.
    That's a topic not only in the U.S. but in the global 
aviation community as we head next year towards the 
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)--convening. 
It's something where I think we can come together around some 
demanding standards and support airlines in seeking to meet 
them.
    Senator Schatz. Yeah. I just think there's a balance to 
strike here between sort of magical thinking, imagining that 
some technology will emerge in 2035 and solve all of our 
problems and it's sufficiently far into the future that we can 
just refer to it hopefully, and also declaring that this is not 
doable and then not even trying.
    So I'm hoping that you can strike the right balance, but 
also be clear-eyed about where we are, and if the airlines are 
essentially saying if you over-subsidize us, we'll do whatever 
you want. Well, that's not quite the solution set that I think 
we're going to want to land on.
    Final question. You have a $110 million for Thriving 
Communities. Everybody likes thriving communities, but what do 
you mean by that?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thanks for the opportunity to spell 
this out a little further.
    The idea of Thriving Communities is that Federal dollars 
can either help or hurt from the perspective of a community 
being connected and the community sometimes being divided by 
the very same pieces of infrastructure we're building.
    Thriving Communities recognizes that there are places 
around the country from south to north and east to west, 
examples from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Pittsburgh to New 
Orleans, where we've seen a piece of federally-funded highway 
infrastructure, for example, literally cut a community in half.
    We've got a chance to do something about that. Sometimes 
that means capping a highway and reclaiming the land that was 
torn up in order to produce it. Other times it means 
introducing bridges over or tunnels under or transit routes 
around these divisions, but the most important thing is to make 
sure that transportation really does connect. That's something 
that we're really eager to lean into as an important moral and 
economic responsibility of the Department.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you.
    Senator Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Secretary, in December Congress passed the Coronavirus 
Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act, known as the 
CERTS Act. It was part of a COVID relief package to provide $2 
billion to support our nation's bus, motor coach, and passenger 
vehicle industries, a sector that had really been overlooked in 
previous COVID packages.
    Senator Jack Reed and I authored this legislation and we 
were successful in getting it included in the December package.
    Virtually every major source of business and revenue for 
bus companies, including school--and sports-related travel, 
tourism, public events, weddings, you name it, has been 
severely restricted or eliminated over the past 14 months.
    Now I recognize that the Department of Treasury is 
responsible for the administration of the CERTS Program, but 
despite the fact that the program was enacted into law over 6 
months ago, not a single dollar has reached these entities that 
are struggling to survive.
    Given that DOT has provided technical expertise and 
guidance to Treasury on this program, would you be willing to 
reach out to Treasury to see if you could use the expertise 
with dealing with these transportation companies to expedite 
this relief?
    If they have to wait another 2 months to actually get the 
money, now that the portal has been set up, it's going to be a 
real problem. Many of them will not survive.
    Secretary Buttigieg. We absolutely stand ready to support 
Treasury in this. As you know, Treasury has the lead but we 
have a lot of relationships and data and expertise when it 
comes to the motor-coach industry and we want to deploy that in 
order to be helpful.
    We did consult with them, knowing how important this is to 
you, Senator Reed, and others on this committee. We're advised 
that the portal is set to go live and be ready to take 
applications this month and recognize, of course, that putting 
an application in is just one step.
    We'll also do everything we can to make sure that that aid 
is flowing as promptly and responsibly as possible.
    Senator Collins. My hope is that we're not going to see 
another two-month delay once the applications are received. 
That would be truly tragic for a lot of these buses that are 
used by lower income people, by schools. So I hope that you 
will help us on that.
    I raised in my opening statement my concern about rural 
communities being left behind and my concern is prompted in 
part by the fact that the department has changed some of its 
criteria for rating applications for the BUILD Grants or the 
RAISE Grants, as we call them now, and I'm very pleased to say 
that both Maine and I know Rhode Island, as well, were 
successful in all 11 rounds of BUILD grants from 2009 to 2020, 
and in the case of Maine, we've received 250 million since its 
inception.
    I want to make sure that rural states like Maine remain 
competitive and get a fair shake in RAISE going forward. So my 
concern is that if you're weighing factors that simply aren't 
relevant to rural communities, that don't exist in rural 
communities that rural communities are going to be at a 
disadvantage in applying for these grants.
    Given the changes that you've made, how can you ensure that 
rural communities will still be treated fairly and be 
competitive in getting funding?
    Secretary Buttigieg. It is certainly our intent to make 
sure that rural communities no less than urban benefit from the 
RAISE Program, and I thank this committee and you for your 
support of this program.
    I should also note that Congress makes very clear the 
expectation of 50/50 split with regard to the RAISE Program and 
other discretionary programs also have that, and, we will 
maintain fidelity to that Congressional intent.
    I would also add that the original NOFO requirements from 
the past are intact. We've added clarifications about other 
things we consider important but do not regard those as being 
systematically to the disadvantage of rural communities, 
whether we're talking about climate considerations, which 
affect every community in America, or equity considerations, 
which will certainly look different in different parts of the 
country, but in one way or another are meaningful everywhere.
    It certainly should not systematically be to the 
disadvantage of one part of the country or one scale of 
community or another.
    Senator Collins. Thank you.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Murray.
    Senator Murray. Thank you, Chairman Schatz and Ranking 
Member Collins.
    Secretary Buttigieg, good to see you. Thank you for being 
here today.
    I just want to say I was really pleased to see the proposed 
levels of investment for the Department of Transportation in 
the President's budget, especially with regard to transit 
funding and the TIGER-BUILD-RAISE Discretionary Grant Program 
and I certainly appreciate the renewed focus on climate change, 
sustainability, and equitability. So thank you for that.
    And with that in mind, I also want to thank you and the 
President for allocating money in the fiscal year 2022 budget 
for two Washington projects in the Capital Investment Grant 
Program. We've already talked about them before and the 
importance of the projects.
    It's the South King County BRT I Line and the Pacific 
Avenue Route 7 BRT Project. So I appreciate your work on that, 
but I do want to urge you and the FTA Administrator Fernandez 
to work with our transit agencies on the ground out there to 
get what we need for the grant agreement. I look forward to 
working with you on that.
    Secretary Buttigieg. We're certainly committed to working 
with you on that and delighted whenever we're able to deliver 
for a community through CIG.
    Senator Murray. Great. I also want to thank you and the 
department for the allocation of millions of dollars to support 
transit projects in Washington State funds from the American 
Rescue Plan. That money is so critical to keeping workers on 
the jobs and trains and buses moving on time and I just want to 
join everybody in urging you to get that money out as fast as 
possible.
    Investing in our transit systems and our agencies is really 
important as we talk about reauthorizing the nation's surface 
transportation programs and an infrastructure package. So I 
would like to ask you for your support of the Public Transit 
Capital Investment Relief Act.
    I introduced that earlier this year and it's a bill that 
will provide really needed relief to public transportation 
agencies through the Capital Investment Grant Program by 
increasing the Federal cost-share by an additional 30 percent 
of the total project cost and would really love to have your 
support on that.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you. I look forward to reviewing 
how we would be able to put that into practice and thank you 
for your support of transit. They've been hurting a lot with 
what happened to their fare box revenue and their operations.
    The Rescue Plan went a long way, but there's a lot more we 
can do to support our transit.
    Senator Murray. Great. I also want to bring up the issue of 
fish culverts which I know is something that nobody here has 
probably has talked to you about, but I know that Senator 
Cantwell and I have been talking with you a lot about and that 
is so important to Washington State, how it's important to 
restoring our salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest. It's 
important to our constituents and I won't dwell on the details 
or the background, but we know that one really crucial piece of 
salmon recovery is this culvert repair and replacement and 
other fish passage and habitat restoration plans.
    These projects create jobs. They drive economic 
development. They combat the effects of climate change and they 
help us meet tribal treaty obligations which is why I believe 
they belong in an infrastructure package and to that end, I 
recently co-sponsored the Bridge Investment Act which would 
make culvert projects eligible for two new major bridge 
programs.
    As you know, I'm working very closely with Senator Cantwell 
on this issue and I just for the committee want to highlight 
the great work she's done in the Commerce Committee, Surface 
Transportation title, which she's done a great job on, but it 
proposes to invest four billion in the repair and removal of 
fish culverts. That's really of critical importance to our 
state.
    By the way, it's also a bipartisan issue. So I hope that 
you and your team, Mr. Secretary, can take some time to review 
the Commerce Committee's proposal and work with us and our 
staffs to find a path forward on this important issue for us.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you. I know how important 
it is to your region and would welcome the chance to work with 
you on that.
    Senator Murray. Great. And, as always, thank you for all 
the work and time you put into all these critical projects. I 
look forward to continuing conversations and appreciate your 
coming here today.
    So thank you.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, 
Secretary, for being here today.
    First of all, I want to thank you for being so helpful in 
regard to the I-40 Bridge. That is a very serious situation. 
For those of you that don't know, the I-40 bridge connecting 
Arkansas to Tennessee is in the middle of a serious repair and 
it is a truly major hub, costing trucking about $2.4 million 
each day, along with just all those that travel that bridge. So 
you've done outstanding. Your staff has been very, very 
helpful. We would appreciate it if you would continue, and I 
know you will, but also as we look through the 2022 funding 
request, you know, seeing if there's anything that we can do, 
perhaps the Federal Government, to be of help as we go forward.
    Again, that certainly was not something that Arkansas and 
Tennessee planned for, but like I say, we really do appreciate 
your help very, very much.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you and appreciate the 
communication with your team and your recognition of our team 
working hard. Your sense of urgency and your invitation to come 
along with your Arkansas and Tennessee colleagues to see it for 
ourselves led to a trip that was--
    Senator Boozman. And you did. You came immediately and 
again so I do appreciate that.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman. That was, I think, a real boost and as you 
know, it's just a classic example of, you know, your leadership 
and then the state DOT's jumping in, Coast Guard was helpful, 
and there for a while we had the Mississippi River shut down. 
So, you know, you can imagine the impact of that with trade. So 
again thank you for really setting the bar in a very, very good 
way.
    Contract Tower Program is one of FAA's most successful 
government/industry partnerships and as you well know has very 
strong bipartisan/bicameral support in Congress. As validated 
numerous times by the Department of Transportation, DOT 
Inspector General, the program continues to provide high-
quality, cost-effective, and critical air traffic control 
services to over 250 smaller airports throughout our nation's 
air transportation system, including five in Arkansas.
    Given the critical importance of contract towers to Rural 
America's smaller airports, what steps are DOT and FAA taking 
to work collaboratively with industry to ensure the continued 
success of rural airports that depend on contract towers?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you for the question, Senator. 
We certainly recognize the important role that these towers 
play in our air traffic organization and our national air space 
overall, and we're committed to making sure, especially with 
regard to the modernization of the overall system, that every 
element of it is successful, whether we're talking about the 
biggest airports with the most directly-controlled Federal 
resources or rural airports that rely on the Contract Tower 
Program, EAS, and other forms of support.
    That is why you'll see in the President's request a very 
robust level of funding requested to support FAA and this 
continuing work. Obviously there's a lot going on with next 
generation air traffic control that will be a multiyear 
journey, but we certainly want to make sure that the contract 
towers are successful in every dimension of deploying that.
    Senator Boozman. Good. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    As you're well aware, we are seeing an uptick of drunk-
impaired driving in the U.S. with marijuana legalization, not 
to mention the opioid crisis.
    Would you agree your fiscal year 2022 drunk-driving 
initiatives from a safety perspective and talk for a moment 
about the need for more research on the issue?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you for raising that, Senator. 
Alarmingly, even though there was considerably less driving 
than normal in 2020, our traffic safety data is showing that 
shockingly there were more fatalities and crashes, and it 
indicates that we've really got our work cut out for us.
    In fact, we saw some of the worst numbers since 2007. Part 
of this relates to drunk or impaired driving, part of it 
relates to speeding, part of it relates to not wearing 
seatbelts, and, of course, any time more than one of those 
factors interact, it makes a crash that much more likely to be 
fatal. It's why the budget request includes resources for NHTSA 
to continue both on the research side making sure that we're 
really understanding and analyzing what the data tells us about 
the causes and also on the behavior side because we have 
resources to step up public communication about just how much 
of a life or death difference it can make to drive safely.
    We'll be happy to work with you to offer more detail if 
that's of interest.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Coons.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Chairman Schatz, and Vice Chair 
Collins, both for this hearing and for your leadership on this 
committee.
    Secretary Buttigieg, it is so wonderful to be with you at 
this important moment in the future of transportation. We have 
an opportunity and I hope it's one we'll seize on a bipartisan 
basis to provide robust funding for investment in America's 
infrastructure to make it both more competitive and more 
relevant to the context and the time we're in.
    Amtrak is, of course, my first question, and I appreciate 
the President's request to increase Amtrak baseline funding by 
35 percent from fiscal year 2021. We need steady annual funding 
to both maintain and improve our passenger rail network.
    I'm leading the annual Dear Colleague Letter in support of 
that requested funding for Amtrak for fiscal year 2022.
    The budget also requests a generation investment through 
the American Jobs Plan, that framework, for Amtrak needed to 
address the repair backlog which is about $42 billion in the 
Northeast Corridor.
    Can you talk about how the annual budget request would work 
in concert with the American Jobs Plan?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you. I often say that in this 
Administration, I can only ever aspire to be the second biggest 
Amtrak enthusiast, but I'm trying to make it a close second, 
and as you note, there is a repair backlog, a great deal of 
need, and a great deal of value to be unlocked by making sure 
that Americans can count on the highest standard of passenger 
rail service.
    We regard the $4.0 billion budget request, which represents 
a 35 percent increase, as a foundation. It's an example of what 
we need to do, frankly, in order to be able to continue to 
enjoy the service that we have, especially knowing what Amtrak 
went through with COVID, and I want to thank the Congress for 
the Rescue Plan being an important part of how we kept that 
from leading to the furloughs and route cuts that we might have 
seen.
    But as you know, we would have to go considerably further 
to really deliver the kind of passenger rail service that 
Americans deserve, and that's why you see such high levels of 
funding. $85 million is envisioned in the President's Jobs Plan 
for rail overall in this country.
    We view this as both making sure that we are doing the 
right thing through the annual process and making sure we have 
the generational investment.
    Senator Coons. And if I could just briefly, Mr. Secretary, 
if we go ahead and make that generational investment in dealing 
with the backlog for state of good repair, how would that 
impact our annual budget going forward in terms of Amtrak?
    Secretary Buttigieg. What we know is that repairs don't get 
any cheaper. I want to make sure I was clear. The $4.0 billion 
is for FRA and $2.7 billion of that is envisioned for Amtrak. 
We can either make the right repairs now and pay for them or we 
can pay more in the future.
    Unlike roads where we have a Highway Trust Fund or airports 
where there's also a trust fund, there isn't that kind of 
multiyear mechanism when it comes to rail, but we envision 
continuing to work with Congress to have that steady annual 
support and relieving some of these mounting costs of deferred 
maintenance that, candidly, was needed years ago, which is part 
of what the Jobs Plan can help address.
    Senator Coons. We first got to know each other through our 
shared experience in local government and we both witnessed the 
ways in which the threat of climate change for vulnerable 
communities needs a response. My home state, the lowest mean 
elevation state in America, faces some real threats from rising 
sea level as do a number of other states represented on this 
committee.
    I'm excited about funding for the climate research, the 
continuation of the Clean Program, something that I worked to 
extend in the 2018 FAA reauthorization.
    I'm interested in how some of the programs in this budget 
request, in particular the National Resilient Communities 
Challenge, will increase the capability and the capacity of 
local communities to build resilience in the face of climate 
change.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, as you know and as we both 
experienced in local government, it really is communities that 
are on the front line. Of course, there are national and even 
international steps that need to be taken to mitigate climate 
change, but ultimately it comes down to a particular bridge, a 
particular dam, a particular neighborhood impacted by climate. 
With things like the Resilient Communities Challenge incentives 
and ways to boost the innovation that's happening locally--
often communities are innovating out of absolute necessity but 
would benefit from having a Federal hand, both to help them 
pursue these innovations and to lift up and spread them to 
other communities that could benefit.
    This is an important part of how we can make sure that that 
resilience really is set up for the changes that are coming in 
the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, no matter 
how good we are at responding to the climate challenge.
    Senator Coons. Two more questions, if I might, Mr. 
Secretary.
    First, a bill, very broadly bipartisan bill, called Driving 
for Opportunity. We've talked about it before, but I commend 
the Administration's focus on equity. This is a bill that is 
literally supported by the FOP, the Chamber of Commerce, 
Americans for Prosperity, the ACLU, and Lawyers Committee for 
Civil Rights under Law, and dozens of others.
    It essentially incentivizes ending the practice of 
suspending drivers' licenses for those who cannot pay fees and 
fines not related to traffic safety just because they're poor.
    I'd be interested in your view on the issue of debt-based 
license suspension as a matter of economic and racial 
inequality in terms of access to the opportunity to drive and 
to be employed.
    Secretary Buttigieg. One of the poverty traps that exists 
is the inability to access a car which is needed in order to be 
able to get to work, in order to be able to get out of poverty, 
and often these kinds of obstacles are part of that.
    As you mentioned, safety is one thing and we have to make 
sure always that we're looking after safety, but when it's not 
related to safety, I do think that there's an opportunity to 
expand the ability to access good-paying jobs.
    I can tell you firsthand, so often when we were working 
with people ready to turn around what had been potentially 
violent lives and get on to a better pathway forward, or when 
we were looking at people who had no interaction with the 
criminal justice system but were in these cycles of poverty, in 
both cases it is very important to make sure that we tear down 
obstacles to being able to get to where people need, whether 
that's equitable access to transit or, as you say, reducing the 
kinds of suspensions that make it difficult to for people to 
drive themselves.
    Senator Coons. Last question, if I could. One of the 
reasons to pursue bipartisan legislation around transportation 
is to give the department authorizations, the ability to do 
things that can't be accomplished under current law.
    Could you just briefly mention any of the reforms, things 
like rebranding BUILD, creating PRIME, dealing with state of 
good repair, where the department hopes to accomplish something 
that cannot be accomplished under current law?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Just very briefly, I'll mention two. 
You spoke to PRIME, which is important, in addition to our 
funding request for Amtrak, because it can support not only 
Amtrak but other passenger rail services that are so important. 
The authorization to do that would allow us to do so much more.
    I would also return to the theme of Thriving Communities. 
The authorization to make sure that Federal dollars are helping 
where Federal dollars may in the past have been harming is a 
great way to meet the equity objectives of this Administration 
and lift up communities as a whole.
    Senator Coons. Terrific. Thank you very much, Mr. 
Secretary.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Kennedy.
    Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Last Congress we 
passed a bill, I think it was called The Pipes Act, which 
called for the creation, the establishment of an LNG Center of 
Excellence, and I think we asked the Department of 
Transportation to give us a report about the establishment of 
the center.
    It's obviously important to my state. We are the leading 
exporter of LNG, liquefied natural gas, and I suspect we will 
be for a while.
    Do you know when we can expect that report, Mr. Secretary? 
I know you have a lot on your plate but.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I'll make sure to look into that and 
get back to you. We're working to keep up with a number of the 
authorizations and expectations in the PIPES Act, and I'll 
check with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration (PHMSA) to see where they stand.
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah. How many times have you testified 
since you've been Secretary in Congress?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, I think this would be my third 
in the Senate and I've got something like three in the House.
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah. Congress whines a lot, doesn't it?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I doubt it would be my place to say 
that, Senator.
    Senator Kennedy. It's because we've given up all our 
authority to you guys.
    Speaking of whining, let me talk to you a little bit 
about--give me your thoughts about liquefied natural gas.
    Secretary Buttigieg. It certainly represents part of an 
``all of the above'' fuel strategy for the U.S. I don't want to 
venture outside my lane as the Transportation Secretary.
    Senator Kennedy. I know, but you've thought about it--
    Secretary Buttigieg. I think more about other energy but--
    Senator Kennedy [continuing]. and you're influential. Is it 
part of our energy future?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, it's certainly part of our 
energy present.
    Senator Kennedy. I'll agree with that. You think it's part 
of our energy future?
    Secretary Buttigieg. It's not part of a zero emissions 
means, for example, of fueling light duty vehicles, but there 
are a lot of applications where electrifying is certainly not 
in the near future. To the extent that LNG or any kind of 
natural gas offers fewer emissions than diesel or some of the 
more carbon-intensive forms of fossil fuels, then at the very 
least it can be attractive as a bridge.
    Senator Kennedy. Well, and in the last decade, the United 
States has reduced its CO2 emissions and in the last decade, 
China, for example, which emits more CO2 than any other country 
in the history of ever, has increased its CO2 emissions.
    Why have we been going down and China's been going up?
    Secretary Buttigieg. What I'll say is I certainly wouldn't 
want to emulate China in that regard. I hope that we can 
continue to drive the--
    Senator Kennedy. Well, I didn't suggest we should, but why 
has China been going up? Forget China for a second. Why have we 
been going down?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I'd like to think it's because of the 
U.S. tradition of leading the world in doing the right thing.
    Senator Kennedy. Natural gas is part of it, isn't it?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I would say that's more of a how than 
why, I guess, in my way of thinking, which is maybe why I 
missed your question, but certainly conversions from coal or 
diesel to gas have had climate benefits.
    Senator Kennedy. So if we liquefy natural gas and we sell 
it to a country at a reasonable price that, let's say, for 
example, uses coal, isn't the world better off in terms of the 
environment?
    Secretary Buttigieg. If those were the only two choices, 
then yes.
    Senator Kennedy. At what point do you think realistically 
in terms of available, affordable energy sources without 
taxpayers having to subsidize it we're going to have other 
options?
    Secretary Buttigieg. With regard to cars and light duty 
vehicles and increasingly things like pickup trucks, that day 
has come. For other applications, it may be further out.
    Senator Kennedy. But when?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, again, yesterday when it comes 
to vehicles. For other applications, I'd probably defer to the 
Secretary of Energy for more sophisticated insights, but, of 
course, it depends on the industry.
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah. What are your thoughts about 
petrochemical production?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Generally?
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, it's certainly part of our 
economy and part of how a lot of goods and materials are made.
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah. Do you think we ought to phase those 
plants out?
    Secretary Buttigieg. If there are ways to produce products 
that create less harm, then of course we'll want to develop 
toward those, as industry generally does when we find that 
there's a less emissions-intensive or less toxic way to do 
something.
    Senator Kennedy. Do you think we'll still be exporting 
liquefied natural gas and it will still be a major source of 
energy and contributing to a cleaner environment compared to 
coal, for example, in 10 years?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I would want to defer to the EIA for 
those kinds of forecasts.
    Senator Kennedy. Yeah. But what do you think? You read a 
lot. What do you think?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I think that the sooner the U.S. can 
get to zero emissions in any given industry, the better off the 
world and the U.S. are going to be.
    Senator Kennedy. Sure. I understand that, but how about in 
10 years?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I don't know, Senator.
    Senator Kennedy. How about 20?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Again, Senator, I don't know.
    Senator Kennedy. What would be your preference?
    Secretary Buttigieg. My preference would be that we're able 
to meet our energy needs by means that don't contribute to the 
climate problem.
    Senator Kennedy. Okay. And does that to you mean no fossil 
fuels?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, certainly in terms of burning 
them up, unless we're talking about things like sustainable 
aviation fuels that hold the promise, not yet fully realized, 
of lower life cycle emissions. But ultimately if we can power a 
given vehicle or widget or industry without setting anything on 
fire, that's a benefit to the climate and a benefit to the 
country.
    Senator Kennedy. Do you think it's possible--this will be 
my last one, Mr. Chairman. Do you think it's possible with 
carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization, it's possible 
to burn fossil fuels cleanly?
    Secretary Buttigieg. There's a lot of promise and a lot of 
benefit to CCUS. I hope we wouldn't lean on it as a crutch to 
get us out of our obligations to take more immediate steps that 
we ought to take.
    Senator Kennedy. Do you think we ought to try it?
    In other words, before we take our energy policy and we 
take our sources of energy and just throw them out the window 
and start over, don't you think for a fraction of the cost we 
ought to try to clean up what we have now?
    Secretary Buttigieg. It depends how we think about the 
cost, right? If we're factoring in the full cost of the 
toxicity and the emissions of a lot of the fuels we depend on 
now, then apples to apples, we're already there in terms of the 
benefits of more renewable sources of energy that exist right 
here in the United States coast-to-coast. The sooner we can be 
using those the better off we're going to be because we don't 
have a lot of time, Senator.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Secretary, great to see you again, and I want to start 
by commending you on a number of items in the budget. You 
mentioned Thriving Communities to address situations where 
Federal transportation projects have actually divided 
communities.
    You and I have talked previously about what we call the 
``highway to nowhere'' in West Baltimore, a highway that was 
started, never completed, but still divides a community in 
Baltimore, and I'm pleased there are also funds proposed as 
part of the American Jobs Plan there.
    I want to commend you on the Amtrak request and, as well, 
your Capital Investment Grants increase request.
    You've been a mayor of South Bend, Indiana. You may have 
experienced a situation where local governments have really 
important transit projects that they want to move forward, but 
the state that they're in is not supportive and therefore it 
becomes difficult to access the necessary funds to complete 
that project.
    We have that situation in Maryland. You visited Prince 
George's County. We were together when we were at the UPS Hub 
for the distribution of vaccines. Prince George's County has 
about 900,000 people. They want to establish a rapid transit 
connection with a county to their south, Charles County, which 
has over a 100,000 people. These two counties together have a 
population bigger than a couple states and yet it's been really 
difficult for them to get the State of Maryland to support 
their proposed transit project.
    Finally, the State Legislature passed something this year 
to do it. The Governor didn't sign it, but he didn't veto it. 
So that's the good news.
    As we look through the budget, and I really need your help 
not just today but going forward, these kind of projects, 
right, it's a kind of medium-sized project, it's a transit 
system between two counties becoming very congested, you look 
at the Federal transportation formulas and as you and I have 
discussed previously, states have an incentive when they have a 
fixed number of dollars to go for highways. They get a higher 
Federal match, much higher.
    The process is easier. The state just makes a decision to 
go and then they can draw down those funds, whereas for 
transit, you've got to go through a pretty cumbersome process 
to get the go-ahead and then, as I see it, we get about on 
average in the United States today about 54 percent Federal 
match.
    I'm looking at what's now called the RAISE Grant Program. 
It's a billion dollars. This committee has said, I think, $30 
million of that should be used for planning grants. I just want 
to be clear that that is a floor, not a ceiling.
    So for counties like Prince George's and Charles County 
where the state's not really stepped up in a significant way, 
it would be very helpful if we could work with you to--you 
know, RAISE Grants can be used for planning, but if we're 
really looking at 30 million, if we look it as a cap 
nationally, it's going to be impossible for lots of Prince 
George's County and Charles Counties to be able to access those 
funds.
    So I want to work with you to make sure that the 730 
million above the cap is also looked at by DOT for planning 
purposes and beyond that just your thoughts about how counties 
in this kind of situation that want to build a transit and are 
willing to put a good amount of money in but don't have the 
ability to write the entire check, how they would go about 
doing it.
    Is it the RAISE Grant? Is that the way they go these days? 
If that's the case, we need to do a lot better in terms of a 
national program.
    Secretary Buttigieg. First of all, the point's well taken 
about support for planning. That's especially important in 
order to get resources out equitably to communities that may 
not always have the same resources, counties that may not have 
the same resources.
    More generally with regard to supporting transit, we need 
to acknowledge that there is a national benefit, as well, to 
driving more successful transit uptake. There's certainly a 
climate benefit, a congestion benefit, and an efficiency 
benefit. We work with what Congress provides but are also eager 
to continue building that, and that's why the President's Job 
Plans calls for us to double Federal support for transit.
    Our Department stands ready to help facilitate that as well 
as through existing programs. You mentioned RAISE. I'd also 
point to the Capital Investment Grants Program, which has been 
successful and popular, and so many of these programs are 
getting more applications coming in than we're in a position to 
fund.
    Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that. [Off microphone] not 
easily, but it is a clear path toward having that happen and 
when you've got this kind of regional transit project.
    So I really look forward to working with you. This is a big 
priority of the State of Maryland.
    Thank you.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Thank you.
    First, let me say how wonderful it feels to be holding the 
gavel even for a very short time once again.
    Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. I hear you, Ranking Member Collins.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Hoeven. Mr. Secretary, thanks for being here. Good 
to see you again.
    Give me your thoughts. Right now there's an effort to put 
together a bipartisan package on infrastructure. I think the 
number right now is about 950 billion over five, would range up 
to maybe 1.1 to 1.2 over eight. A variety of pay fors that we 
talked about when I was at the White House and you were there, 
focuses on pretty much traditional infrastructure, although 
some of the things that, you know, people feel aren't 
infrastructure.
    So that's a work in progress, but undoubtedly you've been 
briefed on it and obviously have been part of the 
conversations. Give me your thoughts on whether that's close to 
something that you think could get support from the 
Administration and in fact pass.
    Secretary Buttigieg. We're certainly encouraged by the 
conversations that continue. I'd like to believe even if there 
isn't a consensus on exactly what to do and how to do it, 
there's a consensus that we've got to do something big and 
we've got to do something bold and we've got to do something 
right away, and I can feel that shared sense of urgency 
animating these talks.
    I am hopeful that something could emerge that will have the 
support needed in this chamber as well as be something that the 
President and the Administration can support and in the other 
chamber as well. I hope we work on the principle that we don't 
want to be doing all this work just so we can stay in 13th 
place but that if we come together and commit the real 
resources that are needed, it can make it possible for America 
to continue to be in a position to lead the world.
    Senator Hoeven. So short version would be you're kind of 
onboard with the work but remaining and kind of watching to see 
what the final package looks like or you're engaged in terms of 
modifying the package or kind of, you know, maybe just a little 
more detail on where you're at with it.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I haven't seen the latest paper on 
where you and some of your colleagues are converging and would 
want to have a better feel for the composition of it, but 
certainly in principle, if there can be bipartisan agreement.
    Senator Hoeven. So it'd be fair to say if Senator Collins 
thinks it's okay, you think it's okay?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, that might not be fair to 
Senator Collins, but that would certainly be encouraging. Every 
additional Senator who thinks it's okay means that it has a 
better shot of advancing.
    Senator Hoeven. Have you had a chance to look at the Move 
America aspect? Senator Wyden and I have introduced that, again 
would provide bonding authority to try to get, you know, the 
public/private partnerships and private dollars into the 
equation, as well, would generate about $226 billion, and 
either that or there's been a revolving loan concept, too, but 
some mechanism like that again to help, you know, fund it.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I think those mechanisms have a lot of 
promise, and they are built or they could build on the Build 
America Bureau, which is the resource we have within the 
Department of Transportation, including private activity bonds.
    I don't think it can wholly substitute for other robust 
sources of Federal support, but certainly if we can unlock more 
sources of capital to build our infrastructure, we should give 
it a really good look.
    Senator Hoeven. Right. A piece of the puzzle, yeah, and 
then this one I think you'll relate to in terms of livestock 
hauling. We've got to have more flexibility under the hours of 
service rules for our livestock haulers.
    The latest provisions that have gone through Commerce 
relate to the Hauls Act, the bill that I support, and again it 
in essence exempts because of loading and unloading, a 150-mile 
radius of where you start when you're hauling live animals and 
when you end up in terms of the hours of service rules, so that 
you have the flexibility you need both to make sure you can 
load and unload your animals and, of course, it relates to the 
comfort and the humane treatment for hauling livestock.
    If that passes, which I think it will, I would ask for your 
support in its implementation.
    Secretary Buttigieg. We'll do everything we can to properly 
implement what comes from Congress, as we always seek to do, 
and we recognize that hauling live cattle, for example, is not 
the same thing as a truckload of printer paper, and it's 
important to be able to tell the difference.
    Senator Hoeven. Very important, and I know you understand 
the difference coming from Indiana.
    Last question I have. Would you believe that one of the 25 
busiest airports in the United States is in my state of North 
Dakota?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I would now, Senator.
    Senator Hoeven. One of the 25 busiest. So it's the Grand 
Forks Airport and in large part it's because the University of 
North Dakota has a fleet of more than a hundred aircraft there 
and the largest pilot training university in the country. So, 
in addition to the regular commercial traffic, they're 
constantly landing and taking off all these students and they 
teach everything from fixed wing to rotary to jet to air 
traffic control, all these things. Like I said, a fleet of more 
than a hundred aircraft.
    We need a new control tower and so I would just ask for 
your support to work with FAA that we can--you know, and this 
expansion projects underway.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Okay.
    Senator Hoeven. I'm just asking and I'm apprising you of 
it, why it's important because we need pilots and asking for 
your help and support with it.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, I learned something new today 
and I'll make sure to follow up on that.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Appreciate it.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Ranking Member.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Reed, my partner on Transportation for so many 
years. Great to see you.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Ranking Member, Acting Chairman, 
very much.
    Welcome, Mr. Secretary. Thank you for your great service.
    We've all been, I think, shocked by the violence occurring 
on commercial airplanes. Scenes of flight attendants being 
literally attacked, 2,500 reports of unruly passengers 
recently, about 20 times the average number throughout the 
year, and the FAA's zero tolerance policy is in place but it 
ends in September.
    Will you work with the FAA to make it permanent?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I would want to learn more about the 
relevant authorities that will be needed, but I appreciate the 
opportunity to express our strong view that there is absolutely 
no excuse for unruly behavior, mistreatment, or abuse toward 
flight crews. They are there for passenger safety. They have a 
job to do, and we have no toleration for mistreatment of the 
people who keep our flying public safe.
    Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
    Last week we had the Attorney General before another 
subcommittee and I posed a similar question to him. He 
obviously agreed with you that this is extremely dangerous 
behavior, unacceptable, etcetera.
    Has the FAA, to your knowledge, referred any cases 
involving physical violence to the Department of Justice for 
prosecution, and, if not, will you commit to have a review 
process so that these serious incidences are in fact referred 
for serious prosecution?
    Secretary Buttigieg. I'll make sure to look into that.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much. I want to join my 
colleague, Senator Collins, in promoting the Search Program 
where, through her leadership, I was the wing guy on the 
operation, we were able to get it through for the trucking 
industry, the busing industry, etcetera, and as you have 
committed, you're going to help the Treasury Department get the 
money out the door. It's there. We've got to get it out, and I 
appreciate very much your commitment. Thank you.
    RAISE Grants, which have a long history of different names 
but the same basic idea, the last Administration, there was no 
priorities for transit, none in highway programs, etcetera.
    Will you commit to just think about and hopefully enact a 
notion to give transit, bike, and pedestrian projects equal 
consideration? My sense was they were dismissed, missicius, I 
think, is the Latin word, but they're important to many 
communities. Would you put them in a place where they could be 
fairly considered?
    Secretary Buttigieg. They absolutely ought to be and will 
be considered consistent with statute. I believe the statute 
calls for diversity of modes to be contemplated which makes it 
all the more important not only as a matter of Administration 
policy but our best effort at fidelity to Congressional intent, 
to make sure we do so.
    Senator Reed. And, indeed, you know, as a former mayor, you 
recognize that, you know, key transportation projects could be 
a bike path or could be something much different than just a 
highway.
    Secretary Buttigieg. That's right.
    Senator Reed. And that language was not, I think, honored 
in actual promotions or grants last year and before.
    Last year the committee was able to provide $2 billion in 
extra general funding for highway formal programs and including 
$1 billion Bridge Rehabilitation Program and this funding made 
a huge difference for my state of Rhode Island. We have the 
worst bridges in the country but thanks to Senator Collins and 
my colleagues in the committee, we've made some progress to fix 
them.
    The President's budget does not include additional general 
fund dollars for these investments, but I hope the committee 
will be able to do so that we can again fund the Rehabilitation 
Program and other valuable programs.
    In this case and looking at the President's budget, if we 
stick with that budget, how will we fix the bridges which you 
know in every state in the Union are, as you indicated, a 
hundred years old and in Rhode Island try 200, so?
    Secretary Buttigieg. This is one of the reasons why it's so 
important that the American Jobs Plan move forward. The budget, 
the surface reauthorization, all of these things can help 
create a foundation, but we're dealing with a backlog of 
repairs that are not going to get any cheaper, and we need a 
major generational investment to help address it.
    Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for 
your service. Thank you very much.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Likewise, thank you.
    Senator Schatz. Senator Braun.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Good to see you again, Mr. Secretary. Last Congress and 
this Congress we got a bill through committee unanimously, I 
think, to reauthorize and protect the Highway Trust Fund. That 
went through regular order. It's there bipartisan.
    Why not get that across the finish line because the 
insolvency will hit that fund next summer? I know we're 
wrestling with anything from 27, 23, 17, now maybe 900 billion 
to 12. This is clearly bipartisan. What's wrong with getting it 
across the finish line and then coming back and looking at the 
rest of it?
    Secretary Buttigieg. We would view the investments we're 
trying to make in the context of the Jobs Plan as addressing 
something a little bit different from what you're talking 
about.
    We have a backlog of needs, a readiness to take our 
infrastructure to the next level in this country, and a need to 
find means to fund that once-in-a-generation investment.
    But there's another parallel conversation, I agree, about 
the Highway Trust Fund and different views on how to address 
it--from the traditional model that we've relied on, which 
Congress for some years now has supplemented with General Fund 
transfers, to some other model that might make sense in the 
future.
    Respecting the pleasure of this committee and the rest of 
Congress in exactly how to do it, our Department will stand 
ready to deploy those funds as efficiently and promptly as 
possible however they ultimately are sent our way.
    Senator Braun. I think it'd be good to at least--I think 
that would symbolize the fact that we're getting something 
that's gone through some normal process and it's bipartisan and 
it wouldn't preclude doing the broader package that you're 
talking about.
    This past Monday before I came back to D.C., I spoke to a 
group of truckers in Indianapolis and they are concerned not 
only about what I just asked about, also about getting truck 
drivers to drive their units.
    Senator Young and I have got the Drive Safe Act, which 
would try to get through proper training once you're 18 years 
old on the pathway so you don't lose that window of having to 
wait 3 years before you can get someone trained to do that job 
professionally, technically put some at risk in states that 
have that broad geography anyway.
    Indiana, the Crossroads of America, you go a 150 miles east 
or west, you're triggered into needing that stipulation that 
you're 21 years old. Is that something we can get done?
    Secretary Buttigieg. It's something we can explore provided 
we satisfy any safety concerns that arise with it.
    Experienced drivers are the safest drivers, but you've got 
to begin getting experience at some point and we're also very 
attuned to the concerns about potential driver shortages. I had 
a similar experience speaking with trucking companies and 
hearing a lot about this and the President has asked me, along 
with Secretaries Vilsack, Raimondo, and others to participate 
in a supply chain task force addressing some of the supply 
chain issues we face. There's no question that making sure 
trucking is in good shape is a big part of that equation.
    Our commitment is to look for solutions that balance 
safety, economic need, and all of the other considerations that 
are affecting us because it is a real concern.
    Senator Braun. Would it make sense to maybe phase it in, 
try it, maybe not go full scale across the country, but owning 
a trucking company myself before I got here, it is the biggest 
issue we contend with along with the fact that that pathway in 
life, along with many other career and technical education-type 
jobs, high demand, high wage, you know, gets almost stigmatized 
against in terms of guidance that you get going through high 
school.
    So there's a lot working against that and no one's wanting 
to sacrifice safety shortcuts. We'd just like a little bit of 
agility in entrepreneurialism from this place when it comes to 
solving problems that have been around for that long.
    We've talked about this before, how to pay for things. Come 
from our great state. We believe in rainy day funds, balanced 
budgets, living within our means, thinking big but paying our 
bills. That's the exact opposite of your new employer here. I 
found that out when I got here two and a half years ago.
    Why don't we look there to be a little bit more 
adventuresome entrepreneurial? The private sector's got a 
balance sheet that is strong. The markets show that. The 
balance sheet here is terrible and getting worse by the year. 
It's gone from 20 trillion maybe to 30 trillion in terms of 
debt and we are not savers and investors anymore, we're 
spenders and consumers.
    So why don't we tap through public/private partnerships, 
the capital that's out there, and put that to work and allow 
states like Indiana and others that are savers to maybe have 
more access to Federal dollars if they put more skin in the 
game?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, as you note, in Indiana, things 
were a little different when I was mayor. We did our budget in 
cash.
    There are some different principles that apply to Federal 
budgeting. If we can unlock private capital in a responsible 
way without sacrificing public policy goals or goods, we ought 
to.
    On the other hand, it's the markets above all that remind 
us that Federal debt isn't like any other kind of debt, and I 
would make sure that we don't put ourselves in the position of 
a business that could have made a great investment but didn't 
because they didn't think it was permissible to do so.
    Senator Braun. The modern monetary theory I debated Senator 
Sanders for about 25 minutes a month ago on. If you're bored 
some evening, take a peek at that and see the difference of 
opinion on how we can keep running these deficits and then 
turning it into Federal debt when we don't have the willpower 
generally now that we had coming out of World War II, again 
where we were savers and investors, not spenders and consumers.
    I always enjoy the conversation.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Likewise, thank you.
    Senator Schatz. Love to see the Indiana friends spar.
    A couple of questions about safety after the two crashes of 
the 737 Max. The Aircraft Certification Safety and 
Accountability Act was included in the Omnibus and it reflected 
recommendations from numerous audits. Many of the critical 
provisions in that bill require funding, but the budget 
request, a $17 million increase for aviation safety well below 
the $75 million authorized.
    So I want you to speak to that discrepancy but also just 
this general sense that folks have regarding the FAA and the 
extent to which it views itself as a separate Cabinet agency 
from the agency that you run.
    I am all for the independence of expert agencies, but I 
still think they belong under your oversight and under our 
oversight and there is a sense, it may or may not be true, but 
there is a sense of almost impunity with which they operate, 
that they're not accountable certainly to the Congress or even 
the Office of the Secretary, and I'm wondering if you might be 
willing to address that as delicately as you want.
    Secretary Buttigieg. The Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) is a constituent modal agency of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. There's has been a lot of Congressional 
interest in the FAA and an expectation that the FAA will be 
responsive to Congress. I also expect that the FAA will be 
responsive to Congress and responsive to the Department 
whenever any oversight issues come up.
    With regard to the numbers, I would just note that, in 
addition to $17.5 million specifically for improving aviation 
safety oversight, there's also a $57 million increase envision 
for the aviation safety organization as a whole. Of course, 
funding is only part of the equation when it comes to making 
sure those safety imperatives are met, and that's where 
oversight comes in.
    Senator Schatz. Yeah. I just think we need more regulatory 
staff. If you're going to enforce the law, you need people to 
do so, and you need to be able to deploy them to various places 
across the country.
    The budget request of $51 million for Vehicle Safety 
Programs, you spoke a little bit with Senator Boozman, I think, 
about the increase in traffic fatalities.
    I'm a little worried that we're focusing on vehicle safety 
when it seems like we've got a problem of driver behavior, 
right, and I'm wondering if you could speak to that particular 
discrepancy but also just generally.
    I know you don't want to get in front of any analysis from 
your experts, but something is going on with traffic fatalities 
skyrocketing as they are. It's absolutely counterintuitive. It 
doesn't at least on its face necessarily appear to be just 
people on their phones which would have been my instinct.
    So I just don't know what's going on, and I don't want to 
wait 3 years to find out what it is if you have an inkling of 
what you think is going on and how we can get in front of it.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I hesitate to share an inkling in a 
Senate committee, but we know that speed is often a factor. It 
may be that the reduced traffic as a consequence of COVID-19 
led to increased opportunities for speeding, and one of the 
things we're hoping to assess is whether the data bears out 
that hypothesis.
    We know that impaired driving, speeding, and failure to 
wear a seatbelt all seem to be among the main behaviors that 
drove the increase and as you say, it's alarming. The fatality 
rate for 2020 was 1.37 per hundred million vehicle miles 
traveled which is up from 1.11 just the year before.
    As you mentioned, vehicle safety is one thing. Then there's 
driver safety and then there's system safety. How are the roads 
designed and are they inclined to make it more or less likely 
that there will be a fatal crash?
    We need to invest in all of those. The American Jobs Plan 
envisions $19 billion for safety that would help improve not 
only the safety of those who are in the vehicle but those who 
are anywhere near a vehicle, like pedestrians or bicyclists.
    Senator Schatz. This wasn't in my prepared questions, but 
as a television watcher and also an Internet user, I wonder 
what--you know, you see these Federal DOT-funded wear your 
seatbelt and don't drunk driver television commercials.
    Are you in other channels now because it seems to me that 
anyone who's in the communications business needs to worry 
about the extent to which plenty of people don't going to watch 
TV anymore?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yeah. I don't know whether it happened 
on its own or whether the algorithms figured out what I do for 
a living, but I have noticed a little more on things like Hulu 
that messages coming out of NHTSA are popping up.
    I'll look into how we are getting into other media because 
you're absolutely right that, especially given that age is an 
important factor in the data for risk, we can't assume that the 
targeted audience is watching television on the television.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you very much.
    Senator Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Secretary, as I'm sure you know, the FAA has a next 
generation air traffic system called NextGEN. It is intended to 
modernize our nation's air traffic control system, to provide 
safer, more efficient, less polluting routes, and to use 
arrival and departure paths that will improve air space 
utilization.
    So every year that I've been on this committee, this 
subcommittee, we have appropriated another billion dollars, it 
seems, for FAA to implement NextGEN. So since 2007, Congress 
has appropriated $13 billion.
    So you can understand my dismay when I read a March 30th of 
this year report by the Office of the Inspector General that 
indicates that the system has not lived up to its promise.
    Now part of it is that there have been COVID impacts. There 
has been more traffic, but nevertheless the bottom line is not 
an encouraging one, and the Inspector General says, ``We were 
not able to identify any clear improvement to operations 
overall. Instead, overall operations appear to have become less 
efficient with average taxi time, departure delays, and arrival 
delays all increasing over this period.''
    If NextGEN worked as intended, we should see all of those 
trends going in the other direction and by using performance-
based navigation, we could also assist in combating climate 
change by promoting greater fuel savings and reduced emissions.
    So what's going on with NextGEN that we poured $13 billion 
and this is the result?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Overhauling the entirety of the air 
traffic system for any country, but certainly for this country 
is a massive undertaking. Congress has high expectations, I 
know, of NextGEN implementation, as do I. That implementation 
is an ongoing process and not something that is simply from the 
``before'' state to the ``after'' state change can be said now 
we're there.
    There are a lot of pieces coming into place and the funding 
request in the President's budget advances that. This is very 
important for the efficiency reasons that you mentioned, 
including that climate benefit of reduced air time. I've seen 
estimates suggesting about 15 percent fuel savings just from 
more efficient routing, and we would hope to realize that as 
well as some of the other efficiency gains that you were 
mentioning from a fully-implemented NextGEN reality.
    I will continue to consider this a priority for our 
expectations of the FAA and do everything we can to keep 
Congress updated on progress being made.
    Senator Collins. That would be helpful. As you can imagine, 
a billion dollars is a lot of money year after year after year, 
though it doesn't seem so in this environment anymore, but it 
used to be a lot of money, and to have push for this money year 
after year after year and then see such poor results is very 
disturbing. So I hope you will look into that.
    I want to go to the issue next that Senator Jack Reed 
raised. When I was flying back from Bangor, Maine, this 
weekend, the two flight attendants sat down and talked to me 
about the mask mandate and one of them, frankly, was frightened 
about what would happen if she tries to enforce the mask 
mandate and the violence we have seen is horrendous and 
unthinkable and I join Senator Reed in saying that I hope 
people will be prosecuted for the violence that we've seen on 
videos.
    However, both of the flight attendants raised with me the 
issue of why is there still a mask mandate for airlines. The 
CDC recently released recommendations significantly curtailing 
mask requirements in both indoor and outdoor settings, and as 
one passenger said to me, I can go sit at a bar and drink for 
hours at a crowded bar now without wearing a mask and yet I 
can't take a short flight from Bangor to Washington without 
wearing my mask, despite the fact that the airplane has a far 
better ventilation system than that crowded bar.
    And I thought it was a very good question. I understand 
that these decisions require an interagency process that 
includes the CDC, DHS, and DOT, but could you discuss the 
process for potentially lifting the mask mandate for air travel 
provided that certain--I guess I'd like to know what are the 
benchmarks or metrics that you're going to use given that the 
CDC has lifted it in other places.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you for your expression of 
support for flight attendants. I cannot emphasize enough how 
seriously we take unruly behavior, and with the zero tolerance 
policy, those who disrupt flight operations or cause harm or 
are disrespecting and violating laws and regulations face fines 
of up to $35,000. We want to make sure that it is not it's left 
to the flight attendants alone to enforce mask mandates or any 
other FAA regulation.
    As to the mask mandates on planes, like many of the 
traveling public, especially as I'm traveling more and more, I 
share the impatience to be able to return to where they're not 
required.
    As you mentioned, this is an interagency process. It's 
really driven by public health experts and we do everything we 
can to run with that. They point to some differences and 
uniqueness in the context of travel related to the number of 
people from different places passing through the same small 
space; a couple things would be different from the bar example.
    One would be the presence of children onboard, knowing that 
there's not yet a vaccine approved for children. Another is 
that if I'm not too sure about the person sitting next to me in 
the bar, I can get up and leave, but it's not the same in a 
moving aircraft.
    That being said, I do think this is something that we need 
to continue to revisit. While I haven't seen a specific rubric 
that says if we hit this benchmark, then we can say goodbye to 
the masks, which I think we're all eager to do.
    The sooner we get as many people as possible vaccinated, 
the sooner we can get there and that's one of the reasons we're 
continuing to push on that.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. I have another mask-related 
question which I'm going to submit for the record, but just to 
give you the outlines of it, I'm hearing from commercial vessel 
operators, like barges and tugs, from Portland Harbor that they 
find the guidance on masks to be very inconsistent and 
confusing and apparently the Coast Guard has a lot of 
enforcement discretion and these operators of the tugs and 
barges really don't want that kind of situation because they 
don't know what rules they're supposed to follow if the Coast 
Guard has discretion on enforcement.
    So I will provide you with further information but would 
appreciate your getting back to me.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Okay.
    Senator Collins. For the record on that, and, finally, I 
just want to echo what the Chairman said about the university 
transportation centers.
    I'm very proud of the work that's being done under Hoby 
Doger's leadership at the University of Maine. It's truly 
absolutely extraordinary and some of this is the use of 
sustainable advanced manufacturing structures, construction 
methods, and it's resulted in real-world applications that 
extend the life of bridges, in particular reduce the carbon 
footprint of our transportation infrastructure projects.
    Just recently, I went to the dedication of a bridge in 
Herman, Maine, a short bridge that used all of these advanced 
materials. Instead of steel girders, it had composite girders 
and the asphalt is such that it won't have to be jack hammered 
off when it needs to be replaced. Believe it or not, it's sort 
of screwed on and so this is so innovative and so exciting and 
this bridge is supposed to last for like a hundred years 
because of the new materials.
    But I share the Chairman's concern that although the 
university's done a great job of trying to commercialize and 
get this material out into the marketplace that it's hard to 
make that transition from the laboratory to the real-life 
application. I think the University of Maine's done a great job 
at it but that's something that I think we really should look 
at expanding the funding for the commercialization of those 
materials.
    So I just wanted to second what the Chairman said and 
encourage you to take a look at that.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I enthusiastically share your interest 
in that and would welcome chances to work together on it.
    Senator Collins. Great. Well, we'll have you up to the 
University of Maine at some point.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I'd love it.
    Senator Collins. Because it truly is extraordinary, the 
work that is being done there.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Schatz. Either right after or right before the 
University of Hawaii.
    Senator Collins. Actually a Maine to Hawaii trip, you know.
    Secretary Buttigieg. That's very nice.
    Senator Schatz. Pick the right month. Secretary Buttigieg, 
I want to thank you for coming today to discuss the fiscal year 
2022 Budget Request.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    The hearing record will remain open until Friday, June 
25th, to allow members to submit additional questions for the 
record.
            Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
    Question. A more substantial and expedient transition towards 
electric and zero-emission transportation is critical to address the 
worsening impacts of climate change. As costs of electric vehicle (EV) 
technology continue to incrementally decrease, it has become easier and 
easier for Americans to purchase EVs. However, in parts of the country 
where colder temperatures reduce battery range, many buyers are 
apprehensive about purchasing an EV as their primary mode of 
transportation. Particularly in largely rural and car-dependent 
communities, like those in Vermont, reduced battery range during the 
winter poses a significant obstacle for many drivers.
    An effective remedy for this challenge is a more comprehensive EV 
charging station infrastructure. The Department of Transportation's FY 
2022 budget request includes a request for $15 billion over five years 
to be spent on EV charging infrastructure. The Federal Highway 
Administration's (FHWA) Alternative Fuel Corridor designation has the 
potential to support and incentivize the construction of new EV 
charging infrastructure on some of the most-trafficked highways.
    How will the Department ensure that EV charging infrastructure 
funding is appropriately disbursed geographically to allow the most 
car-dependent communities--specifically in colder and rural areas--to 
transition to zero emission transportation?
    Answer. Equitably distributing EV infrastructure to communities 
that rely most on cars is very important. FHWA's Alternative Fuel 
Corridors for EV infrastructure include existing and pending corridors 
through rural areas and colder climates. DOT is focused on ensuring 
that the pending corridors that do not yet have sufficient EV chargers 
are completed. Additionally, DOT will capitalize on our partnership 
with the Department of Energy and other Tribal, State, and local 
governments to identify the most beneficial locations for EV 
infrastructure. DOT is also developing a rural EV toolkit which will 
help guide rural communities that are interested in installing EV 
charging infrastructure. This builds on the Department's Rural 
Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) 
initiative to provide technical assistance to rural communities 
interested in DOT programs.
    Question. Specifically, how will the Department use this new 
funding to better utilize the alternative fuel corridor program to 
facilitate the adoption of EVs across a broader range of communities 
and to connect more distant and rural areas to surrounding urban hubs?
    Answer. DOT is focused on ensuring that corridors are completed in 
order to provide for viable highway EV travel nationwide. DOT plans to 
collaborate with partners and stakeholders to identify the best 
locations for the installation of new EV infrastructure that will best 
serve EV users across the country and provide connections between rural 
and urban communities.

                                 ______
                                 

            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
    Question. Commercial vessels (both passenger and non-passenger) 
find the CDC guidance on mask mandates for indoor and outdoor areas to 
be very inconsistent and confusing. From a regulatory perspective, the 
guidance gives U.S. Coast Guard Sector Commanders broad enforcement 
discretion that has the potential for creating a patchwork of 
conflicting interpretations. The U.S. Coast Guard's issuance is merely 
guidance, however, and the CDC mask order remains in place for 
commercial vessels. What is DOT's role in mask mandates for commercial 
vessels?
    Answer. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the U.S. 
Coast Guard, has the statutory authority for the safety of commercial 
vessels. DOT therefore does not have a regulatory role in determining 
or enforcing the CDC mask requirements for vessels. Through DOT's 
Maritime Administration, DOT does manage the readiness of Federal 
sealift assets such as Ready Reserve Force ships. DOT applies all 
applicable mask requirements mandated by the CDC.
    Question. What more can DOT be doing to help lift the mask mandate 
for commercial vessels and create more certainty for commercial vessel 
operators?
    Answer. DOT is working very closely with the transportation 
industry and Federal partners to keep transportation networks safe and 
operational while the Nation combats COVID-19. This includes working 
with DHS, which has statutory authority for the safety of commercial 
vessels to apply all applicable mandates to the Federal sealift assets 
within the DOT purview and, through continued engagement with 
interagency partners and the maritime industry on Federal COVID-19 
response, provide timely information and assistance to stakeholders.

                                 ______
                                 

               Questions Submitted by Senator Mike Braun
    Question. Sec. 24405 of the FAST Act of 2015 created a streamlined 
regulatory structure to enable small volume motor vehicle manufacturers 
to produce brand-new classically styled replica cars that meet current 
emissions standards.
    American companies will be able to manufacture everything from 
1930s hot rods to 1960s cobras to DeLoreans of the 1980s. EPA and the 
California Air Resources Board have completed their guidance and 
regulations, but companies can't start building vehicles and hiring 
workers until NHTSA's Jan. 15th final rule has been approved and 
published in the Federal Register.
    NHTSA did its due diligence on this rulemaking, completing a robust 
public comment process. The Biden Administration's Spring Regulatory 
Agenda states that the rule will be finalized in January 2022.
    Can you provide an update as to when you estimate the rule will be 
finalized?
    Answer. NHTSA is working to finalize this rulemaking by early this 
year.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Senator Schatz. This hearing is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 4:02 p.m., Wednesday, June 16, the 
subcommitteee was recessed, to reconvene at a time subject to 
the call of the Chair.]