[Senate Hearing 117-489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                        S. Hrg. 117-489

 THE AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: INFRASTRUCTURE, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND INVESTING 
                         IN OUR NATION'S FUTURE

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

            COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                            SPECIAL HEARING

                     APRIL 20, 2021--WASHINGTON, DC

                               __________

         Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations




                [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]




        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov






                               __________

                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

49-553 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2022














                      COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

                    PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman

PATTY MURRAY, Washington             RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama, Vice 
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California             Chairman
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
JACK REED, Rhode Island              SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
JON TESTER, Montana                  LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       JERRY MORAN, Kansas
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut      SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia          Virginia
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico          CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
                                     MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
                                     BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
                                     MARCO RUBIO, Florida

                   Charles E. Kieffer, Staff Director
               Shannon H. Hines, Minority Staff Director







                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Opening Statement of Chairman Patrick Leahy......................     1

Statement of Senator Richard C. Shelby...........................     3

Statement of Senator Jack Reed...................................     5

Statement of Hon. Pete Buttigieg, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
  Transportation.................................................     5
    Prepared Statement...........................................     7

Statement of Hon. Michael S. Regan, Administrator, U.S. 
  Environmental Protection Agency................................     8
    Prepared Statement...........................................    10

Statement of Hon. Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
  Commerce.......................................................    11
    Prepared Statement...........................................    13

Statement of Hon. Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
  Housing and Urban Development..................................    15
    Prepared Statement...........................................    16

Water Infrastructure.............................................    27
PFAS.............................................................    29
Scale Act........................................................    36
Enhancements to 45Q..............................................    39
Cafe Standards...................................................    41
Green New Deal Climate Change....................................    41
Forest Infrastructure............................................    44
Warm Springs Tribe...............................................    45
Public-Private Partnerships......................................    46
Buy America......................................................    47
Methane..........................................................    55
Additional Committee Questions...................................    57

Questions Submitted to Secretary Pete Buttigieg..................    57
    Questions Submitted by:
        Chairman Patrick Leahy...................................    57
            Rural Villages and Towns.............................    57
            Bus & Bus Facilities.................................    57
            Rural EV Charging Stations...........................    58
            Rail.................................................    58
            Timber Bridges.......................................    59
            Electric Aircrafts...................................    59
            Federal Cost Shares & Rural Set-Asides...............    60
            Cross-Border Infrastructure..........................    61
            Rural School Construction............................    61
            Forest Products......................................    61
            Northern Border Regional Commission..................    62
        Senator Jeff Merkley.....................................    62
        Senator Tammy Baldwin....................................    64
        Senator Joe Manchin, III.................................    65
            Electric Vehicles & Hydrogen.........................    65
        Senator Susan M. Collins.................................    66
            Navy Public Shipyard Infrastructure..................    66
        Senator Roy Blunt........................................    66
        Senator John Hoeven......................................    67
        Senator Shelley Moore Capito.............................    68
Questions Submitted to Administrator Michael S. Regan............    69
    Questions Submitted by:
        Chairman Patrick Leahy...................................    69
            Natural Infrastructure...............................    69
            Rural Water Infrastructure...........................    69
            Woodstoves...........................................    70
            Rural Villages and Towns.............................    70
            Clean School Bus Rebate Program......................    71
        Senator Jeff Merkley.....................................    71
            Wildfires............................................    71
            Water Infrastructure Damage From 2020 Wildfires......    72
            Agency Planning--Wildfire Smoke......................    72
        Senator Tammy Baldwin....................................    73
            American Jobs Plan...................................    73
        Senator Joe Manchin, III.................................    74
            Coordination of Existing Infrastructure Funds........    74
            Minden, WV...........................................    75
        Senator John Hoeven......................................    76
            Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).......    76
            Coal-Fired Generation................................    76
        Senator Marco Rubio......................................    77
            Clean Water State Revolving Fund.....................    77

Questions Submitted to Secretary Gina M. Raimondo................    77
    Questions Submitted by:
        Chairman Patrick Leahy...................................    77
            Broadband............................................    77
            Homework Gap.........................................    79
            Semiconductor Industry...............................    79
            Rural Villages and Towns.............................    80
            Northern Border Regional Commission..................    80
        Senator Jeff Merkley.....................................    81
        Senator Tammy Baldwin....................................    83
        Senator Christopher Murphy...............................    85
        Senator Joe Manchin, III.................................    86
            Coordination of Existing Infrastructure Funds........    86
        Senator Susan M. Collins.................................    87
            Large-Scale Advanced Manufacturing...................    87
            Semiconductor Industrial Base........................    88
        Senator Roy Blunt........................................    88
        Senator John Hoeven......................................    89
        Senator Shelley Moore Capito.............................    89
        Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.................................    89
        Senator Marco Rubio......................................    90

Questions Submitted to Secretary Marcia L. Fudge.................    92
    Questions Submitted by:
        Chairman Patrick Leahy...................................    92
            Neighborhood Homes Investment Act....................    92
            Shared Equity and Homeownership......................    93
            Manufactured Homes...................................    94
            Rural Villages and Towns.............................    94
            Weatherization.......................................    95
            Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)...........    95
        Senator Jeff Merkley.....................................    95
            Natural Disasters, Wildfires.........................    95
            National Housing Trust Fund..........................    98
            Radon Testing and Mitigation.........................    99
        Senator Tammy Baldwin....................................   101
            Resilient Infrastructure.............................   101
        Senator Susan M. Collins.................................   101
            Large-Scale Advanced Manufacturing, Research & 
              Development........................................   101
        Senator John Hoeven......................................   102
            Tribal Communities...................................   102

Conclusion of Hearing............................................   103







 
 THE AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: INFRASTRUCTURE, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND INVESTING 
                         IN OUR NATION'S FUTURE

                              ----------                              


                        TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
                               Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met at 10:02 a.m. in room SD-106, Dirksen 
Office Building, Hon. Patrick Leahy (chairman) presiding.
    Present: Senators Leahy, Feinstein, Reed, Tester, Shaheen, 
Merkley, Coons, Schatz, Baldwin, Murphy, Manchin, Van Hollen, 
Heinrich, Shelby, Collins, Murkowski, Blunt, Hoeven, Kennedy, 
Hyde-Smith, and Braun.


              opening statement of chairman patrick leahy


    Chairman Leahy. I should turn my microphone on. It works 
better, I am told.
    Some of us will be coming in and out. Some members, myself 
included, also serve on the Judiciary Committee, which is 
having a significant hearing on Voting Rights Act. I was just 
there and spoke.
    I thank everybody for coming here to what's the first 
hearing of the Full Senate Appropriations Committee for the 
117th Congress. I think it's very appropriate we're having the 
hearing on infrastructure.
    I also thank all of the members, both Republicans and 
Democrats, who are here because these are issues that affect 
all of us. There is no other committee within the Senate whose 
jurisdiction touches every aspect of our government and 
American lives. The same can be said of our infrastructure. 
That's why Senator Shelby and I have worked so closely together 
over the years.
    Now there were days when we'd say infrastructure meant only 
bridges or highways, roads and rail. But to narrow our view of 
infrastructure to just this is not only prosaic, it reflects a 
woeful ignorance of the real needs facing our communities, our 
cities, our Nation at large.
    The American Jobs Plan is a sweeping proposal. It's going 
to inject sorely needed resources into our transit systems, 
build affordable housing long needed in communities across 
every part of our country. It's going to address the disparity 
in reliable broadband access that currently only further 
divides rural and urban America. As one who lives in rural 
America and knows what that's like, I sympathize.
    It will invest our people in research and development. It 
will help the development, implementation in climate-friendly 
technologies. It will begin to chip away at the long-ignored 
climate issues, some of the greatest universal challenges of 
our time. You can no longer ignore the reality of climate 
change. Now we have an opportunity to take a step to mitigate 
our carbon footprint and to make our infrastructure more 
resilient to the challenges ahead.
    It's not a question of whether or not we should take this 
opportunity. It's necessary to our future that we do.
    In rural America--and everybody here represents rural areas 
also in their States, I certainly do in the State of Vermont--
97 percent of the Nation geographically is in rural America, 
but it's only 23 percent of the population. Rural America has 
been left behind for too long.
    In Vermont, 20 percent of homes lack adequate access to 
quality high-speed broadband. The race for 5G services across 
the country ignores the fact that in my State of Vermont, 
plenty cannot even get access to 4G services. I suspect that is 
the same in rural areas of every State represented here.
    But in the pandemic, it has meant the difference between 
access to education for students or not. I think of the 
families shivering in their cars parked somewhere near where 
they could get broadband for their children to get their 
education.
    It has meant the difference between receiving potentially 
life-changing telehealth services or not, facing unnecessary 
deaths. It has meant the differences between simple connections 
with family and friends or not.
    Building a broadband access is not just simply laying fiber 
and walking away. With it, schools, hospitals, office 
buildings, homes must have the necessary framework in place to 
use those services. It is all connected, not just by roads and 
bridges.
    I have heard the naysayers. Those who say we spent too much 
too quickly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who say 
these investments are for States to make, not the Federal 
Government, those who say now is just not the time. To those 
people I say if this is not the time, when is? When is? And if 
not us, then who?
    The climate crisis is here. We have to step up. Our economy 
was necessarily curbed over the last year to stop the spread of 
the deadly pandemic. There is a need for not just cash 
infusions to Americans, but of jobs, good-paying jobs to help 
rebuild America. Not to where we were, but to where we have to 
be in this next generation if we want to compete on the 
international stage.
    There is no more pivotal time than now. America can't be 
left behind. The world is in an economic race. We are losing to 
China. Beijing is investing heavily in new roads, railways, 
water infrastructure. They are investing in the economy, the 
transportation of tomorrow, but so should we. Our country only 
invests about 2.3 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) on 
our infrastructure. That is a 60-year low from where those 
investments peaked in the '50s.
    Other industrialized countries, like our European allies, 
more than doubled the United States' investment in this sphere. 
We cannot continue our position as a leader of the global stage 
by thinking small.
    Now this is the Senate Appropriations Committee. I know all 
of you. You are all friends and I think the world of you. We 
work annually every single year to enact meaningful 
appropriations bills that address the needs of our time, but 
today the need outweighs the resources our annual process can 
provide.
    We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity, a once-in-a-
generation opportunity to not just put a patch on the problem 
but to make an aggressive and substantial investment demanded 
by the moment.
    This is a popular initiative, and why shouldn't it be? The 
American Jobs Plan stands to significantly improve the quality 
of life here in America in urban and rural areas alike. We are 
sent here to advocate for our constituents. The American Jobs 
Plan entrusts many of those needs. It is long overdue.
    Let us set aside partisan rancor. Let us work together, as 
this committee has so many times over our history, and agree it 
is a bold step we need at this time in history.
    I yield to my friend, the Vice Chairman, Senator Shelby.


                 statement of senator richard c. shelby


    Senator Shelby. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I want to first welcome our witnesses to the committee 
today and since this is our first full committee hearing under 
the new Democratic Majority, Mr. Chairman, I want to recognize 
and congratulate you on your new role as chairman of the 
committee and hope that we can continue to work together in a 
bipartisan fashion because that's the only way we're going to 
really move things for the American people.
    I also want to commend you for calling today's hearing. I 
believe it's an important step toward reasserting the 
Appropriations Committee's jurisdiction over Federal spending.
    President Biden's Emergency COVID Relief Bill contained 
nearly half a trillion dollars in appropriations for 
discretionary accounts. Despite this, the Appropriations 
Committee was sidelined by the process used to pass that 
legislation.
    I hope we don't go down that road again, especially with 
something as important as infrastructure.
    Doing this work at the Appropriations Committee's level is 
not just about protecting the committee's jurisdiction here, 
it's about protecting also the American taxpayers.
    The Appropriations Committee has expertise other committees 
lack when it comes to oversight of funding. This is especially 
important given the scale and the scope of the package the 
President has proposed.
    Mr. Chairman, you and I have shown that when given a 
chance, appropriators can strike deals that enjoy broad 
bipartisan support, and as a general matter, I believe there is 
broad bipartisan agreement on the need for investment in our 
Nation's crumbling infrastructure. But the breadth of that 
support, I think, depends on how broadly the term 
``infrastructure'' is defined.
    For me, that is a central question for today's hearing. 
What kind of investments can we agree fall under the category 
of infrastructure? I believe most people associate the term 
with roads, with bridges, airports, transportation systems, 
water systems, sewage systems, and the like.
    The Administration's proposal, on the other hand, is so 
broad and ambiguous in the areas that it seems there is little, 
if anything, that they do not consider or call infrastructure.
    The American Jobs Plan proposes to be all things to all 
people I guess for all time. It's largely, I think, an effort 
to check items off the longstanding liberal wish under the 
guise of infrastructure. Non-germane items aside, I also have 
concerns about the overall approach in the President's plan for 
more traditional types of infrastructure. The plan appears to 
be focused on making new investments in unproven programs 
rather than expanding investments in proven infrastructure 
programs.
    It all suggests, I think, an approach that will grow 
government for the long term instead of harnessing the power of 
the private sector partnerships that I believe are good for 
American business, taxpayers, and for infrastructure in this 
country.
    Not to mention, it also proposes paying for everything with 
a massive tax increase. Yes, a massive tax increase. In light 
of this proposed tax hike, it's puzzling that the 
Administration in its press release announcing the proposal 
claimed it will ``position the United States to out-compete 
China.'' Wow! That's all the more curious considering the 
Administration's recently proposed slashing the defense budget 
of all things, as well.
    Self-inflicted wounds in the American economy and military 
readiness are not an effective recipe for out-competing China, 
in my judgment.
    I hope our witnesses today can provide the committee more 
details than the Administration's press release included. It's 
time, I believe, to move past slogans, platitudes, to the 
particulars, and this is why this hearing is important today.
    I hope they will tell us today, our witnesses, that is, 
about their ability to execute the projects of this scale in 
addition to their regular responsibilities. I'm interested in 
hearing about the expansion of the Federal bureaucracy that 
will be required to execute such huge sums and the long-term 
funding that will be necessary to sustain it.
    I'm also interested, Mr. Chairman, in learning about any 
alternatives to the proposed tax increases to finance those 
projects in a more efficient manner.
    Finally, I believe we must have an understanding of the 
accountability mechanisms that are planned to ensure taxpayers' 
hard-earned dollars are not wasted. This is a very important 
discussion that you've put together today, and I want to thank 
you again for ensuring that the Appropriations Committee has a 
voice in this debate.
    I think it's a golden opportunity to achieve the unity the 
President has promised to deliver. I hope we can come together 
to make the types of investments that we can agree on are 
necessary to improving our Nation's infrastructure and boost 
the American economy for years to come.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Well, thank you. Before I introduce the 
witnesses, I will mention, while I have the members' attention 
for a moment, this hearing is a hybrid hearing, meaning we have 
some members attending virtually, some in person. I thank the 
witnesses for being here in person.
    When we get to the question portion of the hearing, we will 
have 5-minute question rounds. I know there are a number of 
committee meetings going on. Members will be called on in the 
order of their seniority in the full committee. If Senators are 
unavailable at the time they are called on, I will move on to 
the next person and then if they missed their turn, when they 
come back, we will just go back in order. I ask the Senators to 
mute themselves when not speaking. Those joining virtually, I 
would ask you to not log out of the meeting before asking your 
questions. Just turn off your cameras if you need to step away.
    We are going to have witnesses speak, each for 5 minutes. 
The Secretary of the Department of Transportation Pete 
Buttigieg, then Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency Michael Regan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge.
    I see the distinguished Senator from Rhode Island here and 
when you have someone from your State you know well, let me 
yield to you, Senator Reed, for her introduction.


                     statement of senator jack reed


    Senator Reed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I am delighted to be able to introduce Secretary Gina 
Raimondo. We're fortunate to have her. I've been privileged to 
know Secretary Raimondo since she was 2 months old. We were 
neighbors together, our families, in Rhode Island, and, indeed, 
many years apart, Secretary Raimondo and I went to the same 
high school, LaSalle Academy in Providence, but there our paths 
departed.
    Secretary Raimondo was accepted in every school I was 
rejected from, Harvard College, Oxford University as Rhodes 
Scholar, and Yale Law School. That might account for her 
success as Governor. She was an extraordinary leader when the 
COVID crisis erupted. She led the State with great 
decisiveness, and then she's been a great asset to our economic 
activities in the State, dramatically enhancing our economy 
through innovation, wise investment, and a dynamic partnership 
with business. We're indeed lucky to have her. Welcome, Madam 
Secretary.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    And let us start with Secretary Buttigieg. Mr. Secretary, 
please go ahead.
    I apologize for the distance in here. Usually even in a 
committee this size, we are a little bit closer together. This 
is a sign of the times and I am hoping before too long that 
will change.
    Please go ahead, Mr. Secretary.
STATEMENT OF HON. PETE BUTTIGIEG, SECRETARY, U.S. 
            DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.
    Chairman Leahy. Is your microphone on?
    Secretary Buttigieg. How about now? All right. Sorry about 
that, Chairman.
    Thank you. Thank you to Vice Chairman Shelby. Thanks to all 
of the members of the committee for inviting us to testify 
today.
    We're gathering in a moment in which our infrastructure 
situation calls both for urgent action and for long-term 
strategic vision. As we speak, a climate crisis is already 
hurting Americans, and it will continue to get far worse if we 
don't act.
    And in this moment, we need to add back millions of jobs to 
fully recover from the pandemic, even as we build a stronger 
foundation for the economic future.
    It's in this context that we see the American Jobs Plan as 
a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet this consequential 
moment and to win the future for the country that we all serve.
    This plan would improve more than 20,000 miles of roads and 
10,000 bridges. It will strengthen aviation, ports, and 
waterways. It will address critical backlogs in rail and expand 
world-class passenger rail services, including high-speed rail.
    It has dedicated funds for projects that will have 
significant benefit to the regional and national economy but 
are too large or complex for existing funding programs.
    The American Jobs Plan will fix and modernize our 
transportation system so that our economy and our country can 
thrive. That means finally addressing the inequities of past 
transportation choices and it means increasing access and 
equity in projects going forward and that means also tackling 
the climate crisis.
    In the United States, the transportation sector is the 
economy's single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, which 
means it can and must be a big part of the solution to climate 
change.
    The American Jobs Plan will move us away from our over-
reliance on fossil fuels and toward net zero carbon emissions 
by 2050. It will spark an electric vehicle revolution, building 
a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers across the 
country in urban and rural areas, and provide rebates to make 
electric vehicles affordable for more Americans.
    The plan will double Federal funding for public transit, 
making it a more reliable and accessible option to more people, 
and by investing billions to make travel safer for all 
Americans, whether they move by car, public transit, foot, 
bike, wheelchair, or any other means, it will reduce congestion 
on the road and pollution in the air.
    We draw inspiration from the New Deal's infrastructure 
projects and President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System, 
but we cannot afford to rely on the original version of the 
roads, bridges, and airports they built all those years ago.
    The need for new investment is impossible to ignore. We see 
it in the sections of California's Highway 1 that fell into the 
ocean, in the Gulf Coast flooding that halted rail service 
after Hurricane Harvey, and in the loss of subway service for 
millions of New Yorkers after Hurricane Sandy.
    We see it in the storms on our coasts, the floods in the 
Midwest, the wildfires in California, and the deadly snowstorm 
in Texas. We must adapt.
    Our proposed resilience investments would support projects 
across America that reinforce, upgrade, or realign existing 
transportation infrastructure to better withstand extreme 
weather events and other effects of climate change.
    I heard it said that the American Jobs Plan should be about 
roads and bridges but should not address climate change. I 
would compare that to drawing up plans for a new restaurant 
with no consideration for health, safety, or cleanliness.
    The truth is that every infrastructure decision is already 
inevitably a climate decision, as well. Our choices on roads, 
bridges, and other infrastructure must recognize and reduce the 
very real threat that climate change poses to American lives 
and livelihoods.
    This is also our opportunity to deliver equity where it has 
been denied in the past, which is why at least 40 percent of 
the benefits of the plan's climate investments will flow to 
overburdened and underserved communities who often bear a 
disproportionate burden of transportation pollution, and, yes, 
this is fundamentally an investment in our economy.
    The time has come to break the old false framework of 
climate versus jobs. After all, American workers are going to 
do the work, rebuilding roads, laying new cables and pipes, 
retrofitting buildings, installing electric vehicle chargers, 
and manufacturing the vehicles that will use those electric 
chargers.
    This is America's biggest jobs investment since World War 
II, supporting millions of new prevailing wage jobs, the 
majority of which will be available to people without a college 
degree.
    I look forward to working with members of the committee to 
make that possible.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to appear and will be 
happy to answer your questions.
    [The statement follows:]

               Prepared Statement of Hon. Pete Buttigieg
    Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, and Members of the Committee, 
thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
    We are gathering at a moment in which our infrastructure situation 
calls both for urgent action and a long-term, strategic vision. As we 
speak, a climate crisis is already hurting Americans, and it will 
continue to get far worse if we don't act. And in this moment, we need 
to add back millions of jobs to fully recover from the pandemic, even 
as we build a stronger foundation for the economic future.
    It is in this context that we see the American Jobs Plan as a once-
in-a-generation opportunity to meet this consequential moment and win 
the future for the country we all serve.
    The plan will improve more than 20,000 miles of roads and 10,000 
bridges. It will strengthen aviation, ports, and waterways. It will 
address critical backlogs in rail and expand world-class passenger rail 
services, including high-speed rail. It has dedicated funds for 
projects that will have significant benefits to the regional or 
national economy but are too large or complex for existing funding 
programs.
    The American Jobs Plan will fix and modernize our transportation 
system so that our economy-and our country-can thrive. That means 
finally addressing the inequities of our past transportation, and by 
increasing access and equity in projects going forward. And that means 
tackling the climate crisis.
    In the United States, the transportation sector is the economy's 
single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases--which means it can and 
must be a big part of the solution to climate change. The American Jobs 
Plan will move us away from our over-reliance on fossil fuels and 
towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It will spark an electric 
vehicle revolution, building a network of 500,000 electric vehicle 
chargers across the country-in urban and rural areas-and providing 
rebates to make electric vehicles affordable for more Americans.
    The plan will double federal funding for public transit, making it 
a more reliable and accessible option to more people. And by investing 
billions to make travel safer for all Americans, whether they move by 
car, public transit, foot, bike, wheelchair, or any other means, it 
will reduce congestion on the road and pollution in the air.
    We draw inspiration from the New Deal's infrastructure projects and 
President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System, but we cannot afford 
to rely on the original version of the roads, bridges, and airports 
they built all those years ago. The need for new investment is 
impossible to ignore. We see it in the sections of California's Highway 
1 that fell into the ocean; in the Gulf Coast flooding that halted rail 
service after Hurricane Harvey; and in the loss of subway service for 
millions of New Yorkers after Hurricane Sandy. We see it in the storms 
on our coasts, the floods in the Midwest, the wildfires in California 
and the deadly snowstorm in Texas. We must adapt. Our proposed 
resilience investments would support projects across America that 
reinforce, upgrade or realign existing transportation infrastructure to 
better withstand extreme weather events and other effects of climate 
change.
    I have heard it said that the American Jobs Plan should be about 
roads and bridges but should not address climate change. I would 
compare that to drawing up plans for a new restaurant with no 
consideration for health, safety, or cleanliness. The truth is that 
every infrastructure decision is already, inevitably a climate decision 
as well. Our choices on roads, bridges, and other infrastructure must 
recognize and reduce the very real threat that climate change poses to 
American lives and livelihoods.
    This is also our opportunity to deliver equity where it has been 
denied in the past, which is why at least 40% of the benefits of the 
plan's climate investments will flow to overburdened and underserved 
communities, who often bear a disproportionate burden of transportation 
pollution.
    And yes, this is fundamentally an investment in our economy. The 
time has come to break the old, false framework of ``climate versus 
jobs.''
    After all, American workers are going to do the work rebuilding 
roads, laying new cables and pipes, retrofitting buildings, installing 
electric vehicle chargers, and manufacturing the vehicles that will use 
those electric chargers.
    In fact, this is the biggest American jobs investment since World 
War II. It will support millions of new, prevailing wage jobs, the 
majority of which will be available to people without a college degree.
    The American Jobs Plan is a chance to empower America's workers, 
secure our climate, and restore America's leadership position in an 
increasingly competitive world. It's our chance to build a future where 
transportation inspires dreams and not dread, a source of opportunity 
rather than a constraint on the budgets and livelihoods of American 
workers and families.
    American livelihoods rise or fall based on infrastructure choices 
that reverberate for decades. This plan is how the generations now in 
charge can make good on our responsibility to keep the American dream 
alive for the generation now coming of age and those to follow.
    I look forward to working with members of the Committee to make 
that possible. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear today. I 
will be happy to answer your questions.

    Chairman Leahy. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
    And next we will hear from the Administrator for the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan.
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL S. REGAN, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. 
            ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    Mr. Regan. Thank you, Chairman Leahy, and Vice Chairman 
Shelby, and members of the committee.
    I'm grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today 
to discuss the American Jobs Plan. This plan recognizes that 
now is the time for a bold, much-needed investment in America, 
to put millions of people back to work, and lay the foundation 
for economic growth by investing in infrastructure that could 
benefit all communities, leaving no one behind.
    Infrastructure in the 21st Century extends far beyond roads 
and bridges. It means investing in our electrical grid, in 
building a more resilient transmission. It means revitalizing 
digital infrastructure to expand access to reliable high-speed 
broadband Internet in every pocket of this country, and it also 
means investing in our drinking water and wastewater 
infrastructure, cleaning up our restored land, and investing in 
programs that reduce pollution for our children.
    Ensuring access to clean and safe water for all Americans 
impacts our Nation's climate resilience and is integral to 
advancing environmental justice and equity.
    At EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), we've seen that 
investing in water infrastructure is a win-win for public 
health and for economic development. For example, EPA's Water 
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Loan Program has 
helped finance over $19 billion in water infrastructure, 
creating over 47,000 jobs nationwide.
    The American Jobs Plan would build on these successes by 
proposing $111 billion to invest in state-of-the-art water 
infrastructure that's more resilient to cyber attacks as well 
as climate change impacts and to remove 100 percent of the 
Nation's lead pipes in service lines and strengthen our water 
workforce, our pipefitters, our contractors, electricians, who 
are critical to safeguarding the health of our communities and 
getting clean water to every tap in America.
    The plan would invest $56 billion in grants and low-cost 
flexible loans to States, to Tribes, to territories and 
disadvantaged communities all across this country to upgrade 
and modernize America's drinking water, wastewater, and 
stormwater systems, tackle new emerging contaminants, and 
support clean water infrastructure across rural America.
    The American Jobs Plan also provides $10 billion in funding 
to monitor and remediate PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl 
substances) in drinking water and to invest in rural small 
water systems and household well and wastewater systems, 
including drainage fields. In total, these investments will 
create millions of good-paying jobs, including union jobs.
    When I was a child growing up in rural eastern North 
Carolina, I had to use an inhaler, an experience too familiar 
to too many children in this country. The American Jobs Plan 
proposes to electrify at least 20 percent of our yellow school 
bus fleet through a new Clean Buses for Kids Program at EPA to 
protect kids on their way to and from school.
    We know this type of investment works. Since 2008, Congress 
has provided funding through EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction 
Act for more than 28,000 school bus upgrades, including more 
than 4,000 school bus replacements. The Clean Buses for Kids 
Program would build on the lessons learned from the DERA 
Program and leave an existing impact.
    These investments will also boost market demand to create 
jobs, build on our infrastructure, and support U.S. 
manufacturing. In the 40 years since CERCLA (Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) was 
signed into law, we have made significant progress in cleaning 
up our restored lands, but the work is far from over.
    The American Jobs Plan proposes a $5 billion investment in 
the remediation and redevelopment of Brownfields and Super Fund 
sites as well as related economic and workforce development 
programs.
    Cleaning up contaminated sites and returning them back to 
productive use can be an engine for economic development across 
this country. Since Congress started the Brownfields Program, 
Federal investments have leveraged $34.6 billion supporting 
more than 176,000 jobs and cleaned up or made thousands of 
properties ready for reuse.
    Chairman and members of this committee, thank you for 
inviting me to discuss the American Jobs Plan with you. 
Together, we will help ensure that EPA can meet the inter-
connected health and environmental crisis we face, lift up 
communities who have long been left behind, and demonstrate 
responsibly that environmental protection and economic 
prosperity are not mutually exclusive but actually go hand in 
hand.
    Thank you, and I look forward to answering your questions.
    [The statement follows:]

              Prepared Statement of Hon. Michael S. Regan
    Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby and members of the Committee, 
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the 
bold vision laid out in the American Jobs Plan. This plan is a 
transformational investment that puts working people first and will 
help ensure we reduce pollution and help create good quality jobs.
                         the american jobs plan
    In March, President Biden released the American Jobs Plan. This 
plan recognizes that now is the time for a bold, once-in-a-generation 
investment in America to put millions of people to work and lay the 
foundation for economic growth for decades to come by investing in 
infrastructure.
    Infrastructure in the 21st century extends far beyond just roads 
and bridges. It means investing in our electrical grid and building 
more resilient transmission. It means revitalizing digital 
infrastructure to expand access to reliable, high-speed broadband 
internet in every pocket of the country, especially rural areas and 
underserved communities. And it also means investing in our drinking 
water and wastewater infrastructure, cleaning up and restoring our 
land, and investing in programs to reduce air pollution for our kids.
Guaranteeing clean water for all
    The American Jobs Plan proposes a $111 billion investment in water 
infrastructure, including a $45 billion investment to replace 100% of 
lead service lines and pipes through the Environmental Protection 
Agency's (EPA) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Water 
Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act grants. Replacing 
lead service lines is vital for public health and yet EPA estimates 
that six to 10 million homes in the United States and up to 400,000 
schools and daycare centers have lead service lines. The impact of lead 
exposure, including through drinking water, is a serious public health 
issue and its adverse effects on children are all too well known. In 
children, lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects, 
including decreasing IQ, focus, and academic achievement.
    The plan also would invest $56 billion in grants and low-cost 
flexible loans to states, Tribes, territories, and disadvantaged 
communities across the country to upgrade and modernize America's 
drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, tackle new 
contaminants, and support clean water infrastructure across rural 
America. The American Jobs Plan also provides $10 billion in funding to 
monitor and remediate PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in 
drinking water and to invest in rural small water systems, and 
household well and wastewater systems, including drainage fields.
    In total, these investments will create millions of good paying 
jobs, including union jobs.
    We know from experience that water infrastructure investments not 
only improve public health-they also create good-paying jobs. Through 
our State Revolving Funds, EPA has already provided more than $189 
billion in financial assistance to nearly 43,000 water quality 
infrastructure projects and 16,500 drinking water projects. This has 
created over 300,000 jobs in the last two years alone. Through the 
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program, 
EPA has provided $9 billion in credit assistance to help finance more 
than $19 billion for water infrastructure while creating nearly 47,000 
jobs and saving ratepayers $4 billion.
Investing in clean buses for kids
    When I was a kid growing up in Eastern North Carolina I had to use 
an inhaler, an experience familiar for far too many kids. That is why 
the American Jobs Plan proposes to electrify at least 20 percent of our 
yellow school bus fleet through a new Clean Buses for Kids Program at 
EPA. We know this type of investment works and that it is important to 
protect kids on their way to and from school. Since 2008, Congress has 
provided funding through EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) 
for more than 28,000 school bus upgrades, including more than 4,000 
school bus replacements. The Clean Buses for Kids Program is a new 
program, which would build on the lessons learned from DERA while 
leaving the existing program intact.
    Reducing emissions from school buses has demonstrated positive 
health benefits for the children who ride them, the drivers, people 
around school bus loading areas, and the communities in which they 
operate. These investments will also boost market demand to create 
jobs, build out infrastructure and support U.S. manufacturing.
Cleaning up and restoring our land
    In the 40 years since the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was signed into law, we have 
significant progress on cleaning up and restoring our land, but the 
work is far from over. Under my leadership, EPA will do everything in 
its power to hold bad actors accountable for environmental degradation 
and return land to safe and productive use for communities. Communities 
located within one mile of Superfund sites are disproportionately 
communities of color and low-income. Remediation of these sites will 
strengthen climate resilience, improve public health, and expand job 
opportunities both in these communities, and the nation at large.
    The American Jobs Plan proposes a $5 billion investment in the 
remediation and redevelopment of Brownfield and Superfund sites, as 
well as related economic and workforce development programs. Cleaning 
up contaminated sites so they can be returned to productive use can be 
an engine for economic development across the country. Since Congress 
started the Brownfields program, federal investments have leveraged 
$34.6 billion, supported over 176,000 jobs, and thousands of properties 
have been cleaned up or made ready for reuse.
                               conclusion
    In closing, I want to reiterate how crucial the American Jobs Plan 
is to achieve our shared goal of reducing pollution and putting people 
to work. With these investments we can tackle the climate crisis with 
the urgency it requires and ensure the benefits of a cleaner 
environment are enjoyed by all Americans.
    Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I look forward to 
our continued partnership to achieve these ambitious yet necessary 
goals and welcome any questions you may have.

    Chairman Leahy. Well, Administrator, I appreciate you being 
here.
    And, Secretary Raimondo, you have been well introduced by 
Senator Reed. I am glad to see someone from one of the southern 
States in New England. Please go ahead.
STATEMENT OF HON. GINA M. RAIMONDO, SECRETARY, U.S. 
            DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, 
Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby. Thank you to members of 
the committee.
    It's an honor for us to come before you to talk about the 
President's American Jobs Plan and to have the opportunity to 
hear your concerns and to answer your questions, and special 
thanks to Senator Reed for an overly generous introduction.
    The American Jobs Plan puts forward historic public 
investments, investments that are necessary to make sure that 
every American has the opportunity to get a decent well-paying 
job and to position America to out-compete on the global stage.
    The plan calls for strategic investments in a number of 
areas that will ensure we can strengthen our workforce and our 
companies, rebuild our infrastructure, and secure America's 
global leadership.
    As the Secretary of Commerce, I'd like to highlight the 
importance of these investments as they relate to a few 
specific areas.
    Number one, expanding access to broadband. I think we can 
all agree that every American deserves to have access to high-
quality affordable broadband.
    Number two, strengthening our supply chains and domestic 
manufacturing for critical industries, such as semi-conductors.
    And, number three, training and upskilling our workforce. 
Every American ought to have a chance to get a decent well-
paying job and that means they ought to have the skills 
necessary in order to get a job and succeed.
    Additionally, the Jobs Plan calls for significant 
investments in upgrading childcare facilities and school 
construction, which I know are very important to this 
committee, and I will say I've been very proud of the work that 
I have done with Senator Reed during my time as Governor.
    I can tell you from my own experience and Senator Reed's 
experience in Rhode Island and our investments in schools and 
in childcare facilities that they work. When I began my 
experience as Governor, Rhode Island, unfortunately, had the 
highest unemployment rate in the country, not a distinction 
that we were proud of, and so during my administration and with 
the support of the Federal Government, we made infrastructure 
investments a priority, including in schools and libraries, in 
childcare facilities, and also in job training and in 
apprenticeships, and I'm very proud to say that prior to COVID, 
we had the lowest unemployment rate in a generation and more 
jobs ever than ever in our state's history.
    So we know investments in infrastructure pay off and create 
jobs.
    My job as Commerce Secretary is to do everything that I can 
to enable America businesses of all sizes to compete and in my 
first weeks as Secretary, I've spent a great deal of time 
talking with business leaders across all industries and 
everyone agrees we have to invest in broadband, supply chains, 
manufacturing, research and development, and our workforce.
    We need transformational investments in broadband to ensure 
that all Americans finally have access to high-quality, 
reliable, affordable broadband. 35 percent of Americans who 
live in rural communities don't have this. It's unacceptable, 
and as the Chairman said, we saw during the pandemic that that 
meant children couldn't go to school, people couldn't go to 
work, and people couldn't see the doctors.
    We also need to strengthen our supply chains so that we can 
make critical goods in America and put Americans to work rather 
than outsourcing to countries, such as China. A particular 
industry that deserves our attention is the semiconductor 
industry. Semiconductors are the building blocks of our future 
economy, yet today we are in the middle of a global chip 
shortage that is hurting businesses in every sector of our 
economy.
    Our Nation is falling behind its biggest competitors with 
regard to investments in R&D, manufacturing, and training, and 
it's time to catch up.
    I'd also like to take a minute to address a portion of the 
Jobs Program that is, I think, fundamental to our 
competitiveness, which is investments in the care economy.
    Too often those that provide care, mostly women and women 
of color, are working full time, living in poverty. The 
American Jobs Plan prioritizes long-term necessary investments 
in childcare and home care systems to address these critical 
issues and they are vital to ensuring that women can stay in 
the workforce and be productive.
    It's time to make these bold investments, to make it easier 
for our workers and companies to compete, to create tens of 
millions of jobs, and to position the United States to 
outcompete China and our foreign competitors.
    I look forward to taking your questions.
    [The statement follows:]

              Prepared Statement of Hon. Gina M. Raimondo
    Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, and members of the 
committee--it is an honor to come before you today to discuss the 
American Jobs Plan.
    The American Jobs Plan puts forward historic public investments 
necessary to ensure every American has the opportunity to get a decent, 
well-paying job. Investments that are critical to ensure that we build 
back better and more equally for everyone. At its core, the American 
Jobs Plan is about investing in American competitiveness, strengthening 
our workforce, rebuilding infrastructure, and leveling the playing 
field for American workers. In the plan, the President proposes 
strategic investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, workforce 
development, the care economy and combatting the effects of climate 
change at the scale necessary to reach every single community in 
America. Additionally, the President's plan calls for significant 
investments in school construction, which I know is important to this 
Committee, and something I was very proud to work on with Senator Reed 
during my time as Governor.
    I can tell you from experience that investments like this work. 
When I became Governor of Rhode Island we had the highest unemployment 
rate in the country. During my administration, we made infrastructure 
and workforce investments like those this package calls for, and before 
the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhode Island had the lowest unemployment rate in 
a generation.
    As Commerce Secretary, my job is to do everything I can to help 
American businesses create well-paying jobs for American workers, 
enable American businesses of all sizes to compete, and empower a more 
equitable economy. In my first weeks as Secretary, I have spent a lot 
of time talking with business leaders about what we need to do to be 
more competitive worldwide--and business leaders agree that we must 
invest in broadband, supply chains, manufacturing, research and 
development, and our workforce.
    We need transformational investments in broadband to ensure that 
all Americans finally have access to affordable, reliable, high-speed 
Internet service. During the pandemic we have seen that high-speed 
broadband service is not a luxury, but a necessity for jobs, education, 
and healthcare. Yet, by one definition, more than 30 million Americans 
live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure that provides 
minimally acceptable speeds. Due to systemic marginalization, millions 
of Americans who are disproportionally people of color, low-income, 
older, disabled, or residents of rural communities lack access to high-
speed broadband service.
    And, in part because the United States has some of the highest 
broadband prices among OECD countries, millions of Americans can't use 
broadband internet even if the infrastructure exists where they live. 
The American Jobs Plan proposes a historic investment of $100 billion 
to bring broadband service to every American. This investment would 
allow those people to more fully participate in the modern economy and 
access job opportunities and training.
    We also need to strengthen our supply chains so that we can make 
more critical goods in America and put more people to work rather than 
outsourcing. The American Jobs Plan calls for $50 billion to support 
production of critical goods and to create a new office at the 
Department of Commerce that will monitor domestic industrial capacity. 
This office will incentivize manufacturers to maintain a robust 
domestic supply chain; and support manufacturers in vulnerable supply 
chains, such those for the automotive, machinery, energy, and aerospace 
industries.
    One critical industry that demands our immediate attention is the 
semiconductor industry. Semiconductors are the building blocks of our 
future economy; yet today, we are experiencing a global chip shortage 
that is hurting businesses in every sector of our economy, including 
the auto industry. The American Jobs Plan supports the $50 billion 
investment in semiconductor manufacturing and research, as called for 
by Congress in the bipartisan CHIPS Act. This funding will strengthen 
and secure our domestic semiconductor supply chain and create tens of 
thousands of middle-class jobs.
    Our nation is also falling behind its biggest competitors with 
regard to basic investments in research and development, manufacturing, 
and training. The American Jobs Plan would provide the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, $14 billion to bring 
together industry, academia, and government to advance these areas. 
Under the American Jobs Plan, NIST will quadruple funding for the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership, also known as MEP, and expand 
Manufacturing USA. These investments in proven programs that make U.S. 
industry more competitive will further incorporate minority-owned and 
rurally located small- and medium-sized enterprises in technological 
advancement. With additional resources, NIST will also expand 
capabilities in emerging technologies such as advanced communication, 
quantum information science, engineering biology, and artificial 
intelligence.
    In addition to this NIST funding, the American Jobs Plan also calls 
on Congress to provide additional funding for research and development 
that spurs innovation and job creation, including in rural areas. The 
American Jobs Plan will invest $40 billion in upgrading research 
infrastructure in laboratories across the country, including brick-and-
mortar facilities and computing capabilities and networks. These funds 
would be allocated across the federal research and development 
agencies.
    The changes in the American economy, many of which have been 
accelerated by the pandemic, are challenging for millions of Americans 
who recognize that they need additional training to more fully 
participate in our economy. We cannot improve our competitiveness 
without investing in our people. The American Jobs Plan calls for bold 
investments in our workforce. It will spur targeted, sustainable, 
economic development in places like the Appalachian region that have 
been affected by changes in energy production, and communities in the 
Midwest that have been impacted by manufacturing declines. Furthermore, 
it will expand job training opportunities across the nation. The 
American Jobs Plan makes the investments necessary to ensure that we 
will be there to provide high-quality, demand-driven, affordable job 
training to any American seeking opportunities to increase the 
knowledge and training they bring to a job.
    Finally, the American Jobs Plan will help us maximize the 
resilience of land and water resources to protect communities and the 
environment. President Biden's plan will protect and, where necessary, 
restore nature-based infrastructure--our lands, forests, wetlands, 
watersheds, and coastal and ocean resources. Families and businesses 
throughout the United States rely on this infrastructure for their 
lives and livelihoods.
    The American Jobs Plan puts forth bold, necessary investments in 
America. It's time for us to make bold investments to make it easier 
for our companies to be more competitive globally, to create tens of 
millions of jobs, and to position the United States to outcompete China 
and other foreign competitors. It's time for us to make bold 
investments so it is easier for the average American to get a decent 
job and get the training necessary to more fully participate in our 
economy. It's time to make bold investments in America.
    I look forward to working with all of you on the American Jobs 
Plan. I am happy to take your questions.

    Chairman Leahy. Well, thank you. Thank you very much, Madam 
Secretary.
    And it is good to see Secretary Fudge here, a friend of a 
long time, and I am glad to have you here. Please, Madam 
Secretary, go ahead.
STATEMENT OF HON. MARCIA L. FUDGE, SECRETARY, U.S. 
            DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
    Secretary Fudge. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, and Distinguished 
Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, thank you so 
much for this opportunity to appear before you today.
    Mr. Chairman, before I begin my testimony, I would very 
much like to take a moment to express my condolences at the 
passing of former Vice President Walter Mondale, a former 
member of this body, who, along with Senator Ed Brook, 
championed the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
    HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) will 
honor his legacy by redoubling our efforts to use housing as a 
platform that advances equality and opportunity for the 
American people, efforts which include the plan we are here to 
discuss, the American Jobs Plan.
    The plan lays the foundation for decades of economic growth 
and reflects what I believe are fundamental truths, that the 
definition of infrastructure has evolved and that indeed 
housing is infrastructure.
    As a member of Congress for nearly 13 years, I have the 
highest regard for this institution. I am committed, as I know 
this Administration is committed, to working with Congress to 
create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country's 
infrastructure, and help America become more competitive on the 
global stage.
    To do so, we must first take care of home in the most 
literal sense. The American Jobs Plan would achieve this goal 
by prioritizing efforts to address our Nation's severe shortage 
of affordable housing.
    Even before COVID-19, almost 11 million Americans were 
paying more than half of their income on rent. Since then, the 
pandemic has put low-income households and communities of color 
at disproportionate risk of losing their homes.
    The American Jobs Plan confronts the affordable housing 
crisis head on. It invests $213 billion to produce, preserve, 
and retrofit more than two million affordable and sustainable 
places to live. This includes more than one million resilient, 
accessible, and energy-efficient rental homes.
    In addition, the plan includes a new Federal tax credit as 
proposed in the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act that could 
lead to the construction and renovation of approximately 
500,000 single-family homes over the next decade.
    At the same time, the American Jobs Plan recognizes 
investments alone won't solve the affordable housing crisis. In 
addition, we must eliminate barriers to producing affordable 
housing and expanding house choices for people with low or 
moderate incomes.
    To solve this problem, the American Jobs Plan calls for an 
approach that awards flexible funding to local jurisdictions 
that take steps to eliminate regulations, like minimum lot size 
or mandatory parking requirements. These types of regulations 
drive up the cost of producing affordable housing and can lock 
people out of neighborhoods with greater opportunity.
    Furthermore, the American Jobs Plan addresses longstanding 
public housing capital needs. Nearly two million people live in 
public housing, including families, seniors, and people with 
disabilities.
    Housing quality plays a key role in the health of our 
families and communities, yet nearly half of our public housing 
inventory is more than 50 years old. This means buildings may 
have hazards, like mold or lead paint that can be expensive to 
remediate.
    The American Jobs Plan calls for investment of $40 billion 
to improve our public housing infrastructure. This is not just 
a safety issue but a racial justice issue, as well, as more 
than one million people of color live in public housing.
    Furthermore, investments in public housing that help reduce 
energy use, increase resilience, or fortify against extreme 
weather can mitigate the impacts of climate change.
    Finally, I would like to mention two other major 
investments in the American Jobs Plan. They are a $111 billion 
investment to replace 100 percent of the Nation's lead pipes 
and service lines and a historic $100 billion investment to 
bring affordable, reliable high-speed broadband to every 
American.
    These investments are critical to building safer, stronger, 
and more connected communities.
    The American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-century investment in 
America's infrastructure that will advance how we live for 
generations to come. It recognizes that to build our economy 
and our country back better than before, we need to invest not 
just in roads and bridges but in housing, in clean drinking 
water, and in a modernized electrical grid that can withstand 
the impacts of climate change.
    To put it simply, the American Jobs Plan advances physical 
infrastructure that lays the foundation for human 
infrastructure. Our country cannot afford to look backward at 
what we once viewed as a definition of infrastructure. The 
future of our great Nation rests on the decisions we make 
today.
    [The statement follows:]

               Prepared Statement of Hon. Marcia L. Fudge
    Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, and members of the Senate 
Appropriations Committee: thank you for this opportunity to discuss 
President Biden's American Jobs Plan.
    It is a privilege to appear before you today, and a particular 
honor for me because this is my first opportunity to testify since 
being sworn in as Secretary.
    The President's American Jobs Plan lays the foundations for decades 
of economic growth and reflects what I believe are fundamental truths: 
that the definition of infrastructure has evolved-- and that, indeed, 
housing is infrastructure.
    I look forward to discussing with you how the President's plan will 
meet the critical housing needs of our nation and build an inclusive 
economy that works for everyone.
    Let me say this: As a member of Congress for nearly 13 years, I 
have the highest regard for this institution. I am committed-as I know 
this Administration is committed-to working with Congress to create 
millions of good jobs, rebuild our country's infrastructure, and help 
America become more competitive on the global stage.
    To do so, we must first take care of home--in the most literal 
sense. The American Jobs Plan would achieve this goal by prioritizing 
efforts to address our nation's severe shortage of affordable housing.
    Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 11 million renters were 
paying more than 50 percent of their income on rent. There is no state 
in the country where an adult earning the minimum wage can afford a 
two-bedroom apartment. Housing affordability has put homeownership out 
of reach for many potential first-time homebuyers.
    The pandemic has shined a light on the problem we all knew existed 
prior to COVID-19--and it has disproportionately put low-income 
households and communities of color at greater risk of losing their 
housing. It is especially troubling to me that the growing shortage of 
affordable housing is a contributing factor in the increasing rates of 
homelessness.
    The American Jobs Plan confronts the affordable housing crisis head 
on.
    The plan invests $213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit 
more than two million affordable and sustainable places to live.
    Through targeted tax credits, formula funding, grants, and project-
based rental assistance, the American Jobs Plan would produce, 
preserve, and retrofit more than a million affordable, resilient, 
accessible, and energy efficient rental housing units.
    In addition, the plan includes a new federal tax credit, as 
proposed in the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, that could lead to 
the construction and renovation of approximately 500,000 single-family 
homes over the next decade-creating a pathway to homeownership for more 
families and allowing them to build wealth. Furthermore, it reinvests 
in communities to improve aging housing stock and maintain value for 
existing homeowners.
    At the same time, the American Jobs Plan recognizes that 
investments alone won't solve our nation's affordable housing crisis. 
We must also eliminate barriers to producing affordable housing and 
expanding housing choices for people with low or moderate incomes.
    To solve this problem, the American Jobs Plan calls for an 
incentive approach that awards flexible funding to local jurisdictions 
that take concrete steps to eliminate local regulations like minimum 
lot size or mandatory parking requirements. These types of local 
regulations drive up the cost of producing affordable housing and can 
lock people out of neighborhoods that may have more opportunities for 
them and their children.
    The American Jobs Plan will address longstanding public housing 
capital needs. Nearly 2 million people across the country live in 
public housing--including families, seniors, and people with 
disabilities.
    Like many of the infrastructure investments in the American Jobs 
Plan, housing quality plays a key role in the health of families and 
communities. Yet nearly half of the public housing inventory is more 
than 50 years old. This means these buildings may have issues like lead 
paint, mold, and other health hazards that can be expensive to 
remediate.
    The American Jobs Plan calls for an investment of $40 billion to 
improve our public housing infrastructure and to address these critical 
safety concerns for residents. This is not just a safety issue but a 
racial justice issue, as more than one million people of color live in 
public housing. Furthermore, public housing is often located in 
severely under-resourced communities and is vulnerable to the dire 
effects of climate change. Investments that help reduce energy use, 
increase resilience, or fortify against extreme weather events can help 
mitigate climate risk.
    Additionally, I would like to briefly mention a few of the other 
noteworthy provisions in the American Jobs Plan--specifically, a $111 
billion investment to replace 100 percent of the nation's lead pipes 
and service lines, and a historic $100 billion investment to bring 
affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband to every American.
    These investments are critical to building safer, stronger, and 
more connected communities that are better positioned to thrive as we 
face the future.
    In closing, The American Jobs Plan is a once in a century 
investment in America's infrastructure that will advance how we live 
for generations to come.
    It recognizes that to build our country and our economy back 
better, we need to invest not just in future-proofed roads and 
bridges--but in housing, in clean drinking water, and in a modernized 
electrical grid capable of withstanding the impacts of climate change.
    The American Jobs Plan is physical infrastructure that lays the 
foundation for human infrastructure. Our country cannot afford to look 
backward at what we once viewed as the definition of infrastructure. 
The future of our great nation rests on the decisions we make today.
    On behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I am 
happy to answer any questions you may have.

    Chairman Leahy. Well, thank you very much, all of you. I 
appreciate also, Madam Secretary, what you just said about 
infrastructure.
    I have heard many say that the President's proposal has 
little to do with infrastructure, and I think that is because 
they define the term too narrowly. As I said earlier, we can no 
longer view infrastructure as just roads and bridges and rail 
and highways. It is about our capacity to grow in a global 
economy and actually be able to compete and not fall way behind 
the rest of the world.
    It is about America competing on the world stage and that 
is why we call it the American Jobs Act.
    Secretary Buttigieg, what is your response to the criticism 
of some that this package has little to do with infrastructure?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, of course--sorry. I will learn 
how to use this microphone.
    As the Secretary of Transportation, I'm especially 
enthusiastic about what it means for roads, bridges, ports, 
waterways, airports, rail, and transit, but I think it would be 
a terrible mistake for us to suppose that that's all there is 
to infrastructure.
    Much has been said about the term ``traditional'' 
infrastructure, but America's greatest tradition of visionary 
infrastructure investments has always included decisions that 
expand the horizon. The Interstate Highway System might not 
have been considered traditional infrastructure at one time.
    Railroads were not traditional infrastructure until we 
built them, and so at a moment like this when we know that an 
Internet connection is as important as an interstate connection 
in order to succeed in today's economy, we think it's 
absolutely time to have a wider concept of the idea of 
infrastructure because all of these things go into that 
foundation for American competitiveness and for a good life 
available to all Americans.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you. See, I am learning it, too.
    Approximately 60,000 addresses in Vermont lack access to 
quality high-speed broadband. That is roughly 20 percent of 
Vermont households. That includes the Leahy's household. I pay 
full price for it. Some days it works, some days it does not. 
Most days it does not.
    Vermont's downtown village centers, schools and libraries 
largely have good connectivity. The gaps in the network are in 
the most rural areas of the State. Private companies have 
decided it is not profitable to build out that last mile.
    So, Secretary Raimondo, Vermont wants to make serious 
inroads in connecting every corner of the State. How does the 
Administration's broadband infrastructure plan ensure not only 
that that can happen quickly, but that it reaches the places 
where it is needed the most?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you. The President's Jobs Plan 
calls for all Americans to have access to high-quality 
affordable broadband and there's an emphasis on speed and 
there's no compromise with respect to the fact that all means 
all. That includes Tribal lands, rural lands, mountainous 
lands, and et cetera.
    I've had the opportunity to talk to many of you about this. 
At the moment, Commerce is in the process of implementing the 
$1.5 billion from the last package for Tribal broadband and the 
emphasis is on speed and quality and that's a downpayment on 
the $100 billion proposed in the Jobs Plan which we believe is 
enough to ensure that every American has access to high-quality 
broadband, and we will be working in conjunction with the FCC 
(Federal Communications Commission) and the Department of 
Agriculture to ensure that this becomes a reality.
    Chairman Leahy. Well, you know, I look at previous funding 
rounds. We had the FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. We gave 
auction winners 7 years to construct their networks, but it 
included no penalties if they failed on their commitments.
    Do you have any concern that if you have an auction or a 
bidding model, it could well subsidize corporations or 
satellite technology?
    Secretary Raimondo. So we have studied--I have looked at 
prior programs, including the BTOP (Broadband Technology 
Opportunities Program) Program, and we are learning from them, 
and we won't make the same mistakes again.
    The Jobs package is clear that we will provide--we will 
work with the entities that are in the best position to provide 
broadband and if that is a nonprofit or a co-op or a municipal 
operation, then that's, you know, how we will operate.
    We will also consider alternatives to fiber in the cases 
where that is the best, most effective way to deliver 
broadband.
    Chairman Leahy. Well, thank you, and my office will work 
with you.
    My time is up. So I am going to just give Administrator 
Regan a question for the record because we know that 
infrastructure is no longer just our bridges and roads. Our 
natural infrastructure--farmland, watersheds, and so on--are 
important.
    So I am going to ask how EPA can coordinate with other 
agencies in making sure we protect our wetlands, our 
watersheds, and so forth. My staff will give you that question, 
and I would appreciate the answer.
    Senator Shelby.
    Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    In the area that we've been talking about, outcompeting 
China, the American Jobs Plan promises to position the U.S. to 
outcompete China by providing massive subsidies to grow 
domestic manufacturing capabilities in certain segments of the 
economy.
    Secretary Raimondo, I would like to ask you about the 
sustainability of this approach, which I view as having the 
U.S. emulate China rather than defeat it. If we go down this 
road, will the American taxpayers ever be off the hook, and in 
a capitalistic economy like ours, why is this approach so an 
effective way to defeat China, Ms. Secretary?
    Secretary Raimondo. Yes. Thank you for that question, an 
incredibly important question.
    It is not an exaggeration to say at the moment that we have 
a crisis in our supply chain. Not that long ago, America led 
the world in making leading edge semiconductor chips. Today, we 
produce zero percent of those chips in America, zero percent. 
That's a national security risk and an economic security risk.
    The Department of Defense has been warning us for years 
that the decline in our small- and medium-sized manufacturers 
and critical supply chains is a national security risk.
    So I hear you. I hear the concern that this might look like 
a subsidy to profitable companies and again I understand that. 
That is not what this is. This is an investment in research and 
development to ensure that we can protect ourselves. We are 
totally reliant on Taiwan and China for critical supply.
    The last thing I'll say is we will implement this program 
in a way that requires these companies to have skin in the 
game. It's not a give-away. They will have to make investments 
two, three, four times as much private capital, as you said, 
public-private partnerships, to fully leverage what I believe, 
the President believes are necessary public investments to 
maintain our national and economic security.
    Senator Shelby. Secretary Buttigieg, the American Jobs Plan 
also promises transformative investments that will turn 
``shovel-worthy items into shovel-ready ones.''
    We all remember well the shovel-ready projects that were 
promised as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 
Those projects, for the most part, and the jobs that were 
supposed to come with them never materialized.
    How will this time be different from what we've had before, 
Mr. Secretary?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you for the question, Mr. Vice 
Chairman.
    I would say that certainly in my part of the country, we 
were glad for the resources that came our way by way of the 
2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but I think it's very 
important to make clear that this bill is not about short-term 
economic stimulus. It's about long-term economic 
competitiveness.
    There is certainly a backlog of what might be called 
shovel-ready projects. We estimate something on the order of a 
trillion dollars just in terms of the maintenance need of 
America's transportation infrastructure.
    But we're also interested in supporting planning, 
supporting development, supporting the steps that will make 
sure that projects that might go into the ground at a later 
date are ready to go.
    Again, I would not view this as something that's just about 
getting through this season, which I know is part of why we 
needed the American Rescue Plan so urgently, but really about 
making sure that by the time I retire, I can look back on the 
choices we made now and know that they set America on a healthy 
path for the longer term.
    Senator Shelby. I mentioned in my opening statement 
specifically, and I want to get into it a little, for years a 
lot of us have been frustrated by the fixation on building new 
things over responsibly investing in existing infrastructure.
    I think we need to do both always. We've got to look to the 
future but we've got to see where we are today. We have a lot 
of crumbling infrastructure in this country. Look at the 
interstate highways, look at bridges that are unsafe, and all 
this, and look at airports that need to be modernized. We can 
go on and on and on.
    But shouldn't we spend a lot of money on what we're doing 
to bring everything up to par and also look to the future, a 
combination, rather than just have a theory?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes, very much so. The phrase we use 
around our department is ``fix it first,'' the idea that we've 
got to make sure we take care of what we've got. But to that, 
we might add ``fix it right,'' especially in the context of 
resilience.
    If a road that was built a certain way 50 years ago is 
washing out on an annual basis, it might not make sense to 
rebuild it on an annual basis, right, and the way it was in the 
wake of increased frequent and severe weather.
    So we certainly agree with you that it needs to be both, 
look into the future but looking after what we've got.
    Senator Shelby. Mr. Secretary, you've been in the private 
sector and you understand that there's so much more money in 
the private sector looking for good investment, as you well 
know, than it is with us trying to tax the people and spend on 
worthy projects and so forth.
    How do we address that shortfall? In other words, we should 
be embracing some type of partnership of some kind using some 
taxpayers' money to access a lot of private capital that's in 
it to make a profit. As you know, they have to do that. But 
there's so much money out there. How do we do that?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, to the extent that there is 
private capital that can be responsibly mobilized toward our 
U.S.----
    Senator Shelby. Do you agree with me that there's a lot 
more private capital looking for good investment?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Certainly.
    Senator Shelby. Mm-hmm. So how do we do it?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, we can build on some authorities 
and programs that we have. I would point to the private 
activity bond authority, PABA, that we use in the department, 
but certainly recognize there are other areas we could also 
explore to mobilize that private side capital.
    Senator Shelby. To Secretary Raimondo, the American Jobs 
Plan proposes an expenditure of $50 billion, $50 billion for a 
new office at the Department of Commerce dedicated to 
monitoring domestic industrial capacity, I don't know what that 
means, and funding investments to support production of 
critical goods. We mentioned this earlier.
    You know, we have the Defense Production Act. We got DARPA. 
We got a lot of things going out there.
    What will this new office do specifically that's not being 
done today and how will the funding be used and what supply 
chain benefits would this new office provide that isn't 
possible under existing authorities, such as the Defense 
Production Act?
    You know, we've been on the cutting edge of technology as 
far as national security that's helped America stay free, but 
what will this office do? Will it be another bureaucracy, 
another layer, or what do you envision?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you. Thank you for the question.
    Over the past 30 years, we have seen an unbelievable 
decline in manufacturing in a number of critical areas, metals, 
critical minerals, semiconductors, lithography, medicine, 
pharmaceuticals.
    I will tell you it was just about a year ago as the 
Governor and your governor was probably doing the same thing, 
we were up all night long calling all around the world to try 
to get our hands on ventilators and PPE (Personal Protective 
Equipment) and they weren't being made here. They were in China 
and Vietnam and that was a scary place to be.
    So what the Department of Commerce needs to do now, in 
partnership with DOD (Department of Defense), is to do a really 
extensive detailed technical look at where our vulnerabilities 
are and then build again so we make these critical elements in 
America. That could be, you know, loans to small- and medium-
sized companies. That could be research and development. That 
could be partnerships with universities.
    We have to build it up again not just to create jobs but, 
frankly, to protect our national security when we need to have 
these critical items produced on our shores.
    Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Feinstein.
    Senator Feinstein. Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman.
    I am here representing a State that is 12 percent of the 
Nation's population. We're bigger than 21 small States and the 
District of Columbia put together. Our GDP is bigger than the 
25 smallest States combined. We've got over 1,500 bridges, 
14,000 miles of highway in need of repair. Our drinking water 
requirements require $51 billion in additional funding, and 
White House figures say that 3,127,000 Californians are rent-
burdened.
    We are going to have real future problems due to our size. 
I think this is a very good bill. I'm really proud of the 
Administration for putting it forward. Of course, I'm a former 
Mayor and infrastructure is extraordinarily important, but my 
question is how are you going to make sure that the money this 
Congress provides in this bill is going to go where it's really 
needed?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Senator, if I may take that up from a 
transportation perspective and then I'll defer to my colleagues 
for other examples, but it's very important to us to make sure 
that funding is equitably distributed and done with a view 
toward the public policy goals that the communities in every 
State, including yours, are put forward.
    We have a focus on sustainability and equity and we know 
that communities in every part of the country can put forward a 
compelling case for funding and look forward to being better 
able to meet that need should the American Jobs Plan give us 
the tools to do it.
    Senator Feinstein. Okay. I know it's a hard question for 
you to answer, but it's also a critical one. It's my 
understanding that the infrastructure plan would include $213 
billion to address the shortage of affordable housing.
    Does the Administration's infrastructure proposal include 
resources for emergency shelters and transitional housing in 
order to meet the needs of families' currently experiencing 
homelessness?
    Secretary Fudge. Senator, thank you so much for your 
question.
    Yes, in fact, in the Rescue Plan, there was $5 billion set 
aside for those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless 
as well as another $5 billion to address how we deal with 
emergency housing vouchers. So those things were actually in 
the Rescue Plan and we are looking forward to getting the kind 
of data and oversight that is needed to make sure that it is 
being used in the way that it has been appropriated and will be 
working on it through this plan, as well.
    Senator Feinstein. I think that's very important and I 
thank you for it.
    Do you include resources for emergency shelters and 
transitional housing in order to meet the needs of individuals 
and families who are currently homeless?
    Secretary Fudge. Yes, Senator, in the Rescue Plan.
    Senator Feinstein. Could you explain that a little bit, 
please?
    Secretary Fudge. Yes. In the Rescue Plan, we have emergency 
vouchers that can be used for temporary housing and, of course, 
our goal is stable long-term housing, but it is emergency 
housing, as well as one of the things I can say about 
California that is going so very well, in places like Los 
Angeles, they have actually gone about purchasing hotels and 
motels and using them, even the ones they haven't purchased, to 
take people off the streets and to get them into at least 
temporary but in some instances permanent housing.
    We know that on any given night, 580,000 people are 
homeless in this country, and so I appreciate the fact that you 
asked the question and we really are making every effort 
possible to be sure that we can eradicate at least in the short 
term get people off the streets.
    Senator Feinstein. Well, let me just make this comment. I 
thank you for that statement. I hope the Administration follows 
through. I am really concerned because if you take a State like 
mine, which is big and on its surface looks to be one thing, 
the better you know it, the more you see it's many other 
things, and they are needy and they need help and the help is 
necessary because it also fuels a huge economy.
    So I thank you very much for the response, and thank you, 
Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you very much.
    The Senator from Maine, Senator Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    First, let me welcome all of our witnesses today. Secretary 
Buttigieg, I'm going to start with you. I have long advocated 
for a robust infrastructure package and I agree with the phrase 
you used today that ``fix it first'' should guide our approach.
    However, when I look at President Biden's proposal, it does 
not seem to embody that philosophy. For example, the 
Administration's proposal, as you know, would spend $174 
billion on electric vehicle subsidies, charging stations, and 
other provisions compared to spending $157 billion on roads, 
bridges, ports, airports, and waterways combined.
    Now it's certainly appropriate to look ahead and to 
accommodate future cleaner modes of transportation, but what 
the Administration is doing is spending billions more on 
subsidies related to electric vehicles than on the roads and 
bridges on which they will travel. Could you explain that?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Sure. And thank you for the question.
    The roads and bridges and highways of this country have, of 
course, a multilayered set of resources to support them. When 
it comes to electric vehicles, we are much earlier in America's 
story and what we see now is that the story is beginning to 
show America falling behind.
    We believe robust public investment is needed in order to 
make sure that America leads the future when it comes to 
electric vehicles, especially from the perspective of making 
sure that the electric vehicles of the world are made on 
American soil by American workers, and we think that in order 
for that to happen in a way that might be reminiscent perhaps 
of how the U.S. aviation sector might not have blossomed the 
way it did if not for New Deal era investments in airports 
across the country.
    But this does require good public policy in order to 
support the flourishing of a market that we think will put so 
many Americans to work as well as help meet our climate goals.
    Senator Collins. Secretary Fudge, I wanted to turn to you 
for my next question and welcome you, as well, to the 
committee.
    Secretary Fudge. Thank you.
    Senator Collins. Safe, affordable housing has long been a 
goal of Senator Jack Reed and me as we chaired or acted as 
Ranking Member of the THUD (Department of Transportation and 
Housing and Urban Development) Subcommittee. I also led the 
Floor fight to preserve the Fair Housing regulations during 
President Obama's Administration.
    I am concerned, however, that the Administration is taking 
a very heavy-handed approach to achieving the goal of 
affordable housing and let me give you the specifics.
    The Administration's proposal includes $5 billion for a new 
grant program to be awarded to jurisdictions that make changes 
in local zoning laws, and I am troubled by having the 
Administration, the Federal Government dictate local zoning 
laws.
    I would also note that that $5 billion is larger than the 
entire funding for the Community Development Block Grant 
Program which is arguably the Nation's most popular and 
certainly has been its largest community development program.
    Will the Administration tie access to other Federal funding 
to changes in local zoning laws and land use policies in your 
department?
    Secretary Fudge. First off, thank you so much for the 
question and thank you for the conversations we've had about 
fair housing, Senator.
    Let me first say that the $5 billion, it's not a mandate. 
It's not a dictate. What the plan is, is to have a discussion 
with communities about how we can make zoning less exclusionary 
and more inclusionary.
    I'm a former Mayor. I would never be in support of 
demanding or dictating that communities have to change their 
zoning to do a certain thing, but I think it is important as we 
are talking about building and/or retrofitting or 
rehabilitating, whatever term you'd like to use, housing, we 
know that the cost of those are significantly higher when the 
zoning is more restrictive.
    So this is more an incentive, more a conversation, but I'd 
love to have this conversation with you going forward because I 
think it's important.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. I believe Senator Reed is going to be 
joining us virtually, is that correct?
    Then Senator Tester, who is here not only virtually but 
definitely actually.
    Senator Tester. That's exactly right, Mr. Chairman. I'm 
here in all my good looks.
    Thank you, and thank Senator Shelby for having this 
hearing, and I want to thank everybody who's testifying, and I 
appreciate all your good work.
    I'm going to start with Secretary Raimondo. Secretary, 20 
years ago, I'm not that broadband would be part of any 
infrastructure bill but things have changed and, quite frankly, 
the fact that this pandemic has pointed out that whether you 
want to do business or you want to do telehealth or you want to 
do distance learning, broadband's pretty damn important, and I 
am pleased that President Biden proposes a substantial 
investment in high-speed Internet in this plan.
    But I'm going to tell you that connecting folks, especially 
in rural America, is going to take more than money. It's going 
to take good maps. It's going to take a workforce to put in the 
infrastructure. It's going to take identifying carriers with 
the best solutions and a commitment to building out the 
hardest-to-reach areas, and the bottom line is that any new 
broadband investment has to be targeted to rural areas that 
don't have service or are underserved and it has to be done in 
a way that's going to get results.
    So, Secretary Raimondo, would you agree that securing high-
speed Internet for all America isn't going to just be about 
money, it's going to be about a lot more than that, and how are 
you going to address those challenges?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you for the question--we've 
talked about this a few times.
    It's absolutely about more than money, although we need the 
money, as well. It's going to require great consultation with 
the communities. For example, we in Commerce have had extensive 
conversations in the past month with Tribal communities.
    I know from my experience as Governor, people in the 
community know best what the needs are and so it'll require 
that. It will require better maps and we've already started 
working with the FCC to have better and more granular maps. 
NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration) is working on that. We have better data than we 
did, for instance, during the BTOP Program.
    It's going to require flexibility, working with whatever 
carriers, whether that be the big carriers or smaller or co-ops 
or nonprofits, who are the best positioned to provide access, 
and I think it will require an openness to embracing different 
technologies.
    Senator Tester. Okay. So there is money in this bill for 
workforce, generally speaking. The question becomes if we pass 
this bill, the workforce is going to take a minute or two, 
actually several months, probably a year, maybe not that much, 
but certainly some time to get out so they're available. How do 
you address that problem?
    Secretary Raimondo. So what we are contemplating is to use 
some of the money to include workforce, workforce training and 
putting people to work in the process of providing the 
broadband.
    Senator Tester. Okay. Secretary Fudge, housing is a huge 
issue in this country. I don't care if you're talking about 
Ohio or Montana, big city, small city. In Montana, it is truly 
an anchor on our economy, and I think it could be said that way 
throughout the country.
    Entrepreneurs can't start up businesses because they got no 
place for their employees to potentially live. Existing 
businesses can't expand because they got no place for their 
additional employees to live.
    It's a big problem. Affordability is huge, and, by the way, 
I didn't get into affordability with you, Secretary Raimondo, 
but that's equally as important as putting fiber in the ground.
    Same thing in housing. We can put money in. We can 
potentially do tax credits. We can potentially develop public-
private partners. Some want to do entirely public. I don't care 
how you go about it.
    The point is, is how do you ensure that people can afford 
to buy the final product?
    Secretary Fudge. Thank you so much, Senator.
    We know that the cost of housing today has far outpaced 
wages. We know that housing affordability is one of the major 
problems in this country. The things that we are trying to do 
to assist with making sure that the housing is affordable are a 
number of them.
    One is, of course, we have RAD, which we know has been 
helpful. We know that if we can use the low-income housing tax 
credits as well as the new tax credits that the President has 
proposed, we can make the cost affordable.
    In addition, there are options most people don't talk 
about. There's manufactured housing. There are multi-family 
units that we can put on a long-term basis to make sure that 
the rents are moderated and provide the kind of oversight we 
need.
    But the thing that we have to do first is to fix what we've 
got. We have housing that is more than 50 years old where 
almost two million people live. So we have to get those 
properties up to code in most instances and make sure that they 
remain affordable.
    Senator Tester. So you can answer this in writing 
afterwards, but you tell me how we're going to do that on 
existing housing, whether it's going to be direct grants, 
whether it's going to be buy down of loans, what it's going to 
be through this bill, if you can.
    I agree with you. I just think the devil is somewhat in the 
detail. If we could do that, that would be great.
    Secretary Fudge. Well, there's home money in this bill that 
is more than flexible for doing things like building new houses 
or renovating houses. There is more money in CDBG (Community 
Development Block Grant), which, of course, we know is 
flexible, and there are also resources solely set aside to 
build affordable housing.
    So I'd love to talk with you afterwards, but there are 
resources in the Jobs bill.
    Senator Tester. I appreciate that. Here's my concern. Both 
the broadband and housing and that is that we put the money in, 
the financial institutions, they need to make money, but they 
don't need to make it all. Same thing with the developers, same 
thing with the builders. We just got to make sure this is 
affordable in the end. It's critically important, I might add, 
but we got to make sure it's affordable.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you, Senator Tester.
    Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you 
to each of you for being here this morning and for your 
service.
    I think I've had an opportunity to speak with almost all of 
you about some of the considerations in Alaska, the unique 
aspects. I hear the comment that the definition of 
infrastructure has evolved.
    Well, in certain parts of my State, there's nothing to fix. 
There's no crumbling infrastructure because we haven't built it 
yet. There's no lead in the water pipes because we don't have 
the water pipes. So for me, basic infrastructure is really just 
that, but as we recognize, as my friend from Montana has said, 
broadband is one of those tools that if we don't have it, we're 
not a participant in the broader market out there.
    But again when I think about a transportation 
infrastructure, we don't have a transportation grid, so to 
speak, in Alaska. We don't have an energy grid, so to speak. We 
have micro grids. When I think about the roads, rails, and 
bridges, I also recognize that I come from a State where 80 
percent of our communities are not connected by road, and I'm 
not looking to connect them by road, but we have access to 
water that we would like to be able to utilize more readily to 
connect these communities.
    So, Secretary Buttigieg, we've talked. We are looking to 
develop a more fulsome proposal for our Alaska marine highway 
system, recognizing that ferries are like your bus in your 
community, just a little bit longer distance and the path is on 
a different surface. So know that I'm seeking to look to work 
with you on that.
    Secretary Raimondo, when we're talking about broadband, we 
are again in a little bit different situation. There's about 40 
percent of Alaskans that have been identified as not having 
access as we are defining access to broadband, but to Senator 
Tester's point, it's not just about access, it's then 
affordability.
    We're seeing families in certain parts of the State where 
they're paying an additional $800 per month for their Internet 
because they've got to be online for business purposes, the 
kids have to be online for schooling purposes. That's not 
accessibility to broadband. So the affordability piece is 
absolutely key.
    It is building out in all ways. When you have a State 
that's one-fifth the size of the United States in America, 
we're not going to be able to connect everything by fiber. It's 
just not possible. So what are we doing to connect utilizing 
our satellites? We need the cell towers. We need kind of all of 
the above. We need an all of the above energy approach, but we 
need an all of the above broadband approach, if you will, as 
well. So I'd ask that you work with us on the Alaska plan.

                          WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

    I'm going to direct my comments or my questions, I guess, 
to Administrator Regan, and I appreciate your role in all of 
this as we talk about water and wastewater.
    I've been with the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee for 
some years now and spent a lot of time looking at the water and 
our water resources. Within the President's proposal, it's $111 
billion for water infrastructure and other water-related 
efforts. This is a remarkable amount for a one-time investment.
    You noted in your testimony the State revolving funds in 
their history have provided approximately a $189 billion in 
financial assistance. If we look to the fiscal year 2021 
budget, the EPA was funded at $9.3 billion in total.
    So this is a massive amount of investment. We know that we 
have to maintain proper oversight to guard against waste and 
fraud. How do you execute this and how do you do so in a way 
that again provides for that level of oversight that is 
important but also recognizes that you've got a great degree of 
discrepancy and disparity between, say, for instance, the 
Flint, Michigan, that is replacing all of their infrastructure 
and small native, very remote and very expensive communities 
that have absolutely nothing other than the honey bucket that 
they currently use?
    Mr. Regan. Well, thank you for that question, Senator, and 
the good news is we have experience doing this.
    To the point you made, we've been operating with water 
infrastructure grants and loan programs for quite some time, 
over $19 billion worth of grants given out over a number of 
years, and we've created hundreds of thousands of jobs.
    The reality is, is in many Alaska native villages, as you 
know, they don't have any drinking water and wastewater 
capabilities right now. I believe in Alaska, you all have over 
$1 billion in water infrastructure needs. In my home State of 
North Carolina, there's somewhere between $17 and $20 billion 
worth of infrastructure needs.
    The Affordable Jobs Plan does look at $111 billion of water 
infrastructure needs while the country needs/requires 743. So 
this is an excellent start to invest in our water 
infrastructure, but we have a long way to go.
    The good news is EPA has experience in administering these 
programs, partnering with local governments to look at where 
the needs are the most, and ensure that we have the proper 
oversight to get those precious resources where they're needed 
the most.
    It is a ramp-up but it's a ramp-up that's required to keep 
this country competitive.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you, Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Shaheen.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to 
each of our witnesses for your testimony today and for your 
great work.
    I want to start with you, Secretary Buttigieg, because for 
years New Hampshire has had the lowest apportionments in the 
country from Federal formula grant programs administered by the 
Federal Transit Administration and the Highway Administration 
and just to give you some examples, in 2021, we received 
roughly $181 million in Federal Highway funding.
    Now that's the lowest in the country and far less than our 
neighboring State of Vermont which received roughly $222 
million. Now I would never suggest that the State of Vermont, 
home to my neighboring Senators and, of course, the Chairman of 
this committee, doesn't deserve that $222 million.
    I just want to know how New Hampshire can get parity with 
what's happening with the rest of the country, and I know that 
Congress and the department have been reluctant to open up 
formula issues in the past, but at this point, we need to do 
something about the lack of parity.
    So can you talk about how you see maybe approaching that 
issue and what measures and formula factors might help address 
those inequities?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you for the question and 
certainly it would be so important not only in the context of 
the Jobs Plan but our ongoing work to make sure that there's a 
sense of equitable distribution of these funds and I'd be eager 
to spend a little more time understanding some of the dynamics 
that have led to this disparity that you're discussing in New 
Hampshire.
    What I would say is that we think we should always be 
looking both at the way we do things and at the discretionary 
programs that are opening up, especially as we're working to 
make sure that the terms of the discretionary programs reflect 
public policy priorities that I know are important in New 
Hampshire around economic security as well as things like 
climate readiness and equity and so would welcome a chance to 
discuss this further and look at what we can do so that no one 
living in any State of the U.S. would wonder whether their home 
area is getting a fair share.
    Senator Shaheen. Thank you. You will hear from us.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Understood.

                                  PFAS

    Senator Shaheen. Administrator Regan, I'm very pleased that 
the American Jobs Plan calls for $10 billion for drinking water 
specifically to address PFAS pollution, which has turned up in 
a number of communities in New Hampshire and caused significant 
problems, and as you know, it's becoming a bigger issue around 
the country.
    Can you talk about more specifics around how that $10 
billion is going to be used and give us some assurances that 
it's going to be available to some of those households who 
depend on private wells that have been contaminated through 
PFAS?
    Mr. Regan. Well, thank you for that question, and, 
unfortunately, too many of us have firsthand experience with 
the devastation of PFAS in our drinking water and what it means 
for public health and also what it means for economic impact to 
many of our local communities.
    That money specifically will focus on monitoring and 
remediating these pervasive problems that we're seeing all 
across the country. EPA has prioritized the PFAS topic from day 
one. We're looking forward to moving aggressively to setting a 
drinking water standard.
    We're also looking at partnering with many communities all 
across the country to think about how we can do a better job 
monitoring these pervasive chemicals and also remediating in 
the areas that are in most need.
    Senator Shaheen. And so will there be help available to 
private well owners who have been affected by PFAS in some 
form?
    Mr. Regan. Small water systems, households, I believe we 
may be considering private wells. I have to take a look at 
that, but we do know that this problem has been particularly 
impactful in our rural communities which will have a tremendous 
amount of private well owners, as well.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. I hope that that will be 
something that you'll look at as part of providing help.
    You talked about the standards that EPA is still trying to 
determine. That's created a real challenge for us in New 
Hampshire. Our first identification of PFAS pollution was at 
the former Pease Air Force Base and the Air Force has been very 
accommodating in coming in and trying to help address 
remediation there, but one of the challenges has been the 
difference between the EPA's standard, which is, I think, 70 
parts per trillion, and the standard that's been set by New 
Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services, which is much 
lower than that.
    So can you talk about how you're looking at that standard 
and when you expect to have something that might be more in 
keeping with what's happening across the rest of the country?
    Mr. Regan. Absolutely. I think that the Federal Government 
is playing catch-up to where many of the States have had to 
step in. So we've ramped up the machinery. We're moving as 
aggressively as we can, taking a look at what progressive 
States have done, like my home State of North Carolina and 
others, to address this, look at where the science is also 
leading us so that we can set a level playing field across all 
of our States.
    In addition to that, in addition to looking at the science, 
looking at what the other States are doing and preparing for 
setting of standards, we're in conversations with the 
Department of Defense, as well, to better understand all of the 
players and what we need to do to address these pervasive 
contaminants as quickly as possible.
    Senator Shaheen. Well, thank you. I look forward to seeing 
what the EPA comes up with and, as you point out, it's a huge 
issue.
    Chairman Leahy. I believe next in line is Senator Blunt.
    Senator Blunt. Thank you, Chairman, and again welcome to 
all of you today. Thanks for being willing to serve in these 
jobs that have so much impact on the lives of every American 
every day.
    Let me focus a little bit on the road and bridge, the 
traditional infrastructure elements of this package. Missouri's 
right in the middle of the country and we can make the case 
that the rivers come together, the roads come together, the 
railroads come together where we live. So it's critically 
important to us that we get this right.
    Secretary Buttigieg, I'm a little unclear in the 
President's proposal how the current Highway Trust Fund fits 
in. Do you see that as a revenue source or do you see your 
proposal for roads and bridges above what would have happened 
in the current spending of the Highway Trust Fund?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you for the question and the 
chance to explain this.
    We would regard it as the latter. In other words, part of 
why the American Jobs Plan contemplates a means to fully pay 
for everything laid out in the President's priorities is so 
that it could be fitted alongside what would take place in 
terms of the regular process of surface authorization 
appropriations and other things that do draw on the Highway 
Trust Fund.
    So the funding structure that you see but also just the 
level at which we propose investing is designed based on the 
expectation that there would be in parallel the work that needs 
to take place in the sort of regular pattern of looking after 
those needs.
    Senator Blunt. Well, let's go ahead and talk about the 
Trust Fund for a minute. You mentioned, and I think in response 
to a question about vehicles on the highway that don't fill up 
at the gas pump, don't pay the gas tax, increasing number of 
vehicles that will mostly be electric, but I'm not sure exactly 
how propane vehicles are affected in the future or battery or 
other kinds of power, besides electric power, that might be out 
there.
    What are we thinking? We've got a Highway Trust Fund that 
produces about $300 billion over 8 years and spends about $500 
billion if we stay on the current formula. Is that gap 
acceptable for the future or do we need to be looking at 
electric vehicles? Do we need to be looking at whatever extra 
costs the system has to bear because of driverless vehicles? 
How do we continue to make this system as much as possible 
sustained by the people who actually use the system as opposed 
to people who don't?
    Secretary Buttigieg. So as you say, there is a gap between 
the traditional revenue sources coming into the Highway Trust 
Fund and the needs that the Trust Fund looks after.
    Up until now, that gap has been met by General Fund 
transfers. Whether that is to become a policy, I suppose, is 
something we would need to continue discussing with Congress, 
but again I would stress that in the context of the Jobs Plan. 
We have a proposal that fully funds these once-in-a-lifetime 
capital investments on its own terms and, of course, it's very 
important to the President to keep his promise not to propose a 
plan that would raise taxes on Americans making less than 
$400,000 a year.
    Senator Blunt. So is there a way to deal with that ongoing 
maintenance issue for people who make more than $400,000 a year 
or companies that use the highways, the roads, the bridges, as 
well?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, certainly that's an example of 
an area that's separate from the individuals making less than 
$400,000 and we've heard from a lot of companies, a lot of 
businesses expressing interest in being willing to contribute 
to greater revenue because, of course, that benefit is felt on 
their bottom line as well as by ordinary Americans, and I 
welcome the idea that this is a season for exploring the long-
term future of how we can fund these priorities, aside from the 
once-in-a-generation opportunity we see in terms of the Jobs 
Plan.
    Senator Blunt. Thank you, Secretary.
    Secretary Raimondo, I do want to associate myself with 
Senator Tester's view that on broadband, we need to have access 
and that's been our focus up till now, but as I think we talked 
about in your confirmation hearing, we also need to be thinking 
of affordability and this, you know, from telehealth to going 
to school to going to work, having access to a system just 
because it runs by your house doesn't mean you necessarily have 
the ability to use it.
    So I'm interested in that, but on this discussion today, 
I'm also interested in being sure that we have a system where 
we're really trying to create that access model to where we're 
not over-building where people already have a broadband system 
that they could become part of or we're not looking at maps 
that aren't accurate and so we assume people have access to a 
system that's just not there.
    Talk to me about those two issues a little bit.
    Secretary Raimondo. The priority is the unserved and the 
underserved. That is the clear priority and that is where we 
will focus. The maps today are better and more granular and 
NTIA is already working with and has been working with the FCC 
on the mapping to make sure--the answer is what you're pointing 
out. It has to be decisions based upon the best data that we 
have.
    As to affordability, I hear you and I appreciate your 
bringing it up. I'll say I come from a very urban State where 
access isn't so much the issue. It's all affordability. So 
intuitively, I very much understand where you're coming from. 
We can talk at length. I know we're out of time. I think that's 
why we're calling for more competition, more transparency, and 
subsidies in the short run where necessary.
    Senator Blunt. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you very much, and I understand that 
we will have Senator Reed.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. I hear him.
    Senator Reed. Well, you've got the best of both worlds. You 
can hear me but you can't see me.
    Chairman Leahy. Now we have you on the screen. Thank you.
    Senator Reed. Thank you.
    Let me direct a question to Secretary Raimondo and 
Secretary Buttigieg. I've been long a proponent of including 
schools in the American infrastructure plan and, in addition to 
that, libraries because they play a critical role and as a 
former Governor, Madam Secretary, could you comment on the 
importance of rehabilitating and rebuilding our schools and 
libraries as part of our infrastructure plan?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you for the question.
    It's absolutely vital that we include schools and libraries 
in the rebuilding and I would like to comment on Senator Reed's 
longstanding advocacy for investments in libraries.
    I know firsthand in Rhode Island it's made a great 
difference to our communities. Schools matter. You and I, 
Senator Reed, worked together in Rhode Island to bring about a 
historic school building bond. It not only created jobs in the 
process of rebuilding schools but it has given children what 
they deserve, which is the opportunity for a first-class free 
public education in the state-of-the-art building.
    As it relates to libraries, I often talk about how my 
grandfather, when he was an immigrant to this country, taught 
himself English in the library. Today, libraries are so much 
more than just a place to get a book. It's a place to find a 
job, to have access to broadband as we've been talking about. 
It's in the community. It is a free public resource and I think 
the short answer to your question is it's absolutely vital.
    Senator Reed. Secretary Buttigieg, as a former Mayor, could 
you comment, please, too?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Certainly. We regard libraries as a 
very important part of our ability to serve the community and 
contrary to expectations, as Secretary Raimondo is saying, in 
many regards their importance has actually grown and not 
diminished in the Digital Age.
    The same, of course, with regard to schools and to take the 
slice of it most adjacent to our work in the Department of 
Transportation, I'm especially enthusiastic about the school 
transportation part contemplated in the vision that 
Administrator Regan mentioned of making sure we support at 
least 20 percent of our yellow bus fleet being able to 
electrify.
    You know, you talk to so many school superintendents and 
usually their number one or number two headache that they raise 
has to do with transportation and we think many of the benefits 
in terms of cost of operation and, of course, climate that come 
with electrifying that yellow bus fleet will be to the benefit 
of education more broadly.
    Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
    Secretary Raimondo, climate change is an issue we have to 
deal with and in fact we have waited too long. NOAA (National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), which is in your 
Department, is one of the critical agencies in the United 
States Government to deal with climate, among other things, and 
it has a $1.6 billion backlog in infrastructure, including 
ships and dockage facilities. Could you comment on the needs 
you see to recapitalize NOAA?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you. The needs are extensive. In 
fact, I've spoken with many of the Senators about vessels or 
aircraft or ports or NOAA labs in their States and many of them 
are in poor repair. Of course, Senator Reed has been a strong 
advocate for the funding of the two NOAA vessels in Rhode 
Island and the lab associated with University of Rhode Island.
    The backlog is real. NOAA is at the front line of all of 
the research and data collection and ocean mapping that is 
absolutely vital to our fight against climate change and the 
backlog is extensive. With the additional funding that 
President Biden is calling for, it will enable us to address 
the backlog and maintain and build the necessary infrastructure 
that NOAA needs in order to continue the fight against climate 
change.
    I will also say as any Senator knows, having these vessels 
or aircraft or labs in your community also contributes to the 
economy and that is another benefit of appropriating money to 
improve the infrastructure and deal with the backlog.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. Thank 
you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    I believe we are going to be joined remotely by Senator 
Moran, is that correct? Senator Moran. If he is not, then we 
would go to Senator Hoeven. Is Senator Hoeven here? If not, 
Senator Hyde-Smith, who is here in actuality, not remotely. Go 
ahead, Senator.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, 
Vice Chairman, for convening this hearing today, and to all of 
you, I certainly applaud your efforts and your willingness to 
serve this country.
    My question is going to be to Administrator Regan. I 
certainly appreciate you appearing before this committee and 
congratulate you on your recent confirmation to head EPA, very 
important agency in my State.
    But while I have a number of concerns regarding the 
American Jobs Plan, I am very pleased that the package proposes 
measures to advance racial equity and environmental justice.
    Today, I would like to discuss one of the most egregious 
environmental injustices that I have ever observed in my 
lifetime and I certainly hope EPA under your leadership will be 
part of our solution.
    I'm referring to the Yazoo Backwater Project, a U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers flood control project authorized by Congress 
in 1941. Yes, I said 1941, before you and I were even born.
    The project features levies, drainage channels, flood 
gates, and pumping stations which were designed to provide 
flood protection to a 926,000-acre area across six Mississippi 
counties. These counties are among the most rural and 
underserved in the entire Nation. All of the flood control 
features have been completed, except for the pumping stations, 
and with an incomplete project, the Federal Government has 
spent hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars over decades to 
create what is ultimately a giant bath tub where the water has 
nowhere to go.
    The existing system prevents rainfall from leaving the area 
protected with the levies. A pumping station is necessary to 
take that water out and if you see water on both sides of the 
levies, something is wrong.
    In 2007, the Corps was prepared to carry out the pumps, but 
under the EPA in 2008 exercised its rarely-used authority under 
the Clean Water Act to veto the Corps then proposal.
    Where are we today? The area has experienced catastrophic 
flooding nine out of the last 10 years. I was Commissioner of 
Agriculture seven of those years. I was your Steve Troxler in 
North Carolina.
    The flooding has cost lives, homes, businesses, jobs, and 
billions to the economy and the American taxpayer. We could 
have paid for these pumps over and over again for what it has 
cost.
    It has also done substantial harm to the environment and 
sadly to the wildlife. Regarding environmental justice, as I 
stated previously, injustice, nearly 65 percent of the 
population is minority, 33 percent of the population lives in 
poverty, far above the national average, and the median 
household income is $31,393, far below the national average.
    Since 2010, the area population has declined by more than 
10,000 and this is a beautiful area of our State, and I have 
worked on this for many years. People are losing their homes 
each year because they cannot afford flood insurance or they 
lose their jobs because they literally cannot get to work 
because they have to boat into their houses while fighting 
moccasins, I might add, and boat out.
    Businesses aren't interested in locating there because for 
obvious reasons. It is under water for months on end. 
Fortunately, the Corps and EPA--this is good news--have worked 
very well over the past 2 years to address this issue. The 
Corps signed a record of decision on a new proposed plan in 
January.
    The EPA determined the new plan strikes an appropriate 
balance between flood control and the environment and, more 
importantly, it is not subject to the 2008 404(c) veto. The 
environmental justice appendix, according to the Corps' final 
environmental document, concluded the proposed plan as designed 
would benefit low-income and minority populations in the Yazoo 
study area.
    It is my understanding that the EPA took action last month 
to review decisions it made in January under the previous 
Administration when EPA determined that the Corps' new proposal 
was in the best interest of flood control and the environment 
and not subject to the 2008 veto.
    So we're very, very pleased at this. We've come a long way. 
Half a million acres of farmland was under water where the 
farmers could not even plant last year. So 9 out of the 10 
years we have a significant problem here.
    I'm very committed to working with you on trying to solve 
this, and, you know, I do feel like that you're very committed 
to environmental justice and that you're willing to help on an 
impartial review of that, and so I'm just asking you if you 
could find time to come to Mississippi and look at this. I 
would greatly appreciate that.
    So I know I'm running out of time, but I so appreciate the 
opportunity to visit with you and to explain to you in this 
hearing what's going on for a very long time. So that is all I 
have to say.
    Thank you very much.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    I see Senator Coons has returned from Judiciary. So Senator 
Coons will be next.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman 
Shelby, and thank you to the four members of the President's 
Cabinet for joining us today. It's been a joy to meet with and 
talk to each of you in recent months.
    I'm excited to work with you on President Biden's agenda to 
build back better our Nation and to address the need for 
infrastructure investment and for the creation of jobs. It 
remains my hope that infrastructure investment can and should 
be a bipartisan priority, but we need to do what we can and be 
urgent about the important work of making our country more 
competitive and more resilient.
    If I might, one of the areas of the very broad proposal in 
the American Jobs Plan I'm excited about is the Civilian 
Climate Corps, something that I'm supporting with a bipartisan 
authorizing bill, the Civilian Climate Corps Act, and I hope 
each of you, as we've discussed, will have some role for your 
respective agencies.
    Secretary Buttigieg, as you know, climate resiliency of 
rail infrastructure is of particular urgency to me and concern 
to me, given that I commute via Amtrak on some of the oldest 
bridges and tunnels in America.
    The capital maintenance backlog in the Northeast Corridor 
is at least $38 billion. So I was pleased to see the American 
Jobs Plan include $80 billion, of which about half of that may 
well be dedicated to bringing that up to a state of good 
repair.
    How do you think the department and Amtrak will be prepared 
to deploy this historic amount of capital in a timely and 
effective way?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you for the question and 
for the attention to the urgency of work on the Northeast 
Corridor and in many parts of our national rail system.
    What we know is that many of these projects are well 
defined and thoroughly designed. Others may still be in various 
stages of the pipeline but we believe would be ready to go by 
the time funding reached them.
    As you point out, the Northeast Corridor, it's in one place 
specifically, but we would feel it all the way to Indiana and 
beyond if there were to be a single point of failure catching 
up to us and so I would point not only to the $80 billion 
contemplated in the Jobs Plan but also in our discretionary 
funding request. Resources for Amtrak and for passenger rail 
writ large that we believe can and will be deployed efficiently 
and effectively.

                               SCALE ACT

    Senator Coons. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
    Administrator Regan, I've just introduced the bipartisan 
and bicameral Scale Act which provides financing and 
authorization programmatic support for large-scale carbon 
dioxide transport and storage infrastructure that's critical to 
scaling up CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage). I'm 
grateful that it's specifically included in the American Jobs 
Plan.
    Could you tell me how you're prioritizing actions that will 
move us towards our climate goals while also supporting job 
recovery from COVID-19 through the American Jobs Plan?
    Mr. Regan. Absolutely. I think it's critical that we look 
at all the tools in the toolbox and look at every bit of 
technology and research and development that we can.
    This has been a priority conversation between myself and 
Secretary Granholm in terms of how do we support the research 
and development required for carbon storage while we look at 
all of the available technologies that are already commercially 
available to reduce and mitigate against climate change.
    You know, when we look at research and development and the 
advancement of these technologies, these are opportunities to 
demonstrate climate level discipline domestically while 
developing emerging technologies by home-grown American jobs 
and talent that we can export internationally.
    We know that if we're first movers on the mitigation of 
climate change while managing our climate footprint, that we 
have colleagues across the world that will not be a first mover 
and as quick as we are. So we'd love to develop the 
technologies and export those technologies using the ingenuity 
of the American job force.
    Senator Coons. Well, thank you.
    Mr. Administrator, I also think the point of the Scale Act 
is to take existing technologies from demonstration scale to 
nationwide utility scale and to build the infrastructure 
necessary to move carbon dioxide and sequester it. I look 
forward to working with you on that.
    Secretary Raimondo, there's so many things in your 
Department I'm excited to talk about. I don't have time for all 
of it. I'm just going to pick two. The quadrupling of the 
manufacturing extension partnership, something in States large 
and small we've seen really have a tremendous impact, and $14 
billion for NIST (National Institute of Standards and 
Technology), an under-appreciated jewel of the Department of 
Commerce, to work through Manufacturing USA, that network, to 
bring together industry, academia, and government to advance 
cutting edge technologies.
    What role do you see NIST playing in overseeing 
Manufacturing USA, and how will that help revitalize our 
economy and get us on the cutting edge?
    Secretary Raimondo. I expect NIST to play a very active 
role. You know, as we've discussed, since 1997, we've lost 
about a quarter of our small- and medium-sized manufacturers, 
and the MEP Program is absolutely vital.
    In fact, I saw it work. I know it works incredibly well in 
Delaware. It's about providing job training, collaboration 
between research and development institutions and small 
manufacturers, small business loans.
    Manufacturing of today isn't my dad's manufacturing. It's 
more advanced. It's more technical. It's more science-based. If 
we're going to compete, then we need to make these investments. 
So I'm excited for it and not only will it create jobs, but it 
will shore up our industrial base which unfortunately has 
eroded substantially.
    Senator Coons. Thank you, Madam Secretary. I think 
Manufacturing USA is a smart demonstrated strategy and we 
should build on it.
    My last question, if I might, Secretary Fudge. Housing 
provides the platform on which everything else good happens in 
families and communities. Without housing, you can't build a 
community. I'm grateful for the investments the President's 
proposing in housing as infrastructure for communities.
    I'm a co-sponsor of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, 
a new Federal tax credit to cover the cost of building or 
renovating a home in a distressed area.
    What gap do you think the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act 
will fill in the larger Federal effort to make homes more 
affordable?
    And thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Chairman.
    Secretary Fudge. First off, thank you for sponsoring it.
    One of the things that I'm excited about is that it is 
going to allow small businesses to get into this business and 
to work in communities where many of them already live. So it 
empowers the community. It creates jobs. It keeps the costs 
down. So I think it's an outstanding program and I am hopeful 
that we can get it passed.
    Senator Coons. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Secretary Buttigieg, I appreciate the opportunity to meet 
with President Biden and yourself yesterday at the White House 
and thought we had a very good discussion. So thank you for 
that.
    One of the things that we talked about is putting together 
a bill, a proposal, obviously the Administration has its 
proposal, but another proposal maybe, and I suggested from the 
EPW (Environment and Public Works) Committee using the bill 
that they put forward on transportation and using that as a 
base to build the proposal and more focused on user fees rather 
than a tax increase and targeted at infrastructure.
    And so I think myself and others are interested in working 
on that in a bipartisan way. I like the idea that it's a bill 
that has passed through the EPW Committee, so it has bipartisan 
support already.
    We had some discussion on that, but I wanted to follow up 
with you and get your thoughts, you know, here at the hearing, 
as well, in regard to that approach and how you view it 
relative to, of course, the Administration's proposal from the 
standpoint of trying to get to a bipartisan solution.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you for that and thank you 
for your engagement on the bipartisan dialogue.
    As you know, it's a goal of the Administration and the 
President to get bipartisan support here, and as you pointed 
out, the EPW Committee did something I think very noteworthy in 
terms of being able to report out their bill unanimously in the 
last year.
    While I think certainly the scale and in some ways the 
scope of this plan is different, I think many of the principles 
that were present in that legislation are very much aligned 
with what we're talking about here and while there are any 
number of mechanics that could get us from here to where we 
need to go, I'd certainly welcome a chance to continue speaking 
in that spirit.
    I do want to just quickly delineate between a regular 
surface transportation bill and what we're seeking to do here 
in the Jobs Plan in terms of once-in-a-lifetime investment and, 
of course, those might be contemplated together or separately 
but just want to stress that what we're envisioning here is 
over and above what we know needs to happen on a more regular 
timeline in the American infrastructure spending.
    Senator Hoeven. Right. And there's been a number of 
Senators on both sides of the aisle that have talked about 
maybe more than one bill and having something at least in the 
infrastructure package that's more targeted towards traditional 
infrastructure, although that could include other things, like 
broadband, for example, which hasn't traditionally been 
considered infrastructure, but is and is very important, and I 
think there'd be a bipartisan support for including that, and 
other things, as well.
    So again it's about, you know, engaging in a process to see 
if that's a doable proposition. Sounds like something you'd be 
open to.
    Secretary Buttigieg. We'd certainly want to talk about how 
we can gain the most bipartisan support.
    Senator Hoeven. And, you know, we talked about a number of 
different pay-fors. One of the things I brought up is the Move 
America Program which is legislation that I've co-sponsored 
with Senator Wyden. Essentially, that would provide $226 
billion in tax-exempt bonds or a tax credit to the States that 
they could utilize and we talked about public-private 
partnerships and leverage.
    We talked about other things, as well. For example, the 
traditional highway fund but also electric vehicles paying in, 
those kind of things.
    Give me your thoughts on something like Move America where 
we talk about actually leveraging the Federal investment with 
not only the States but the private sector through things like 
Move America, which could help us pay for this infrastructure 
package.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, the American Jobs Plan, as you 
know, is a comprehensive vision that is fully paid for through 
adjustments to our corporate tax structure. But with regard to 
how transportation infrastructure is funded generally or in 
regular order, there's certainly a lot of interest in making 
sure that we have sustainable funding patterns, and I think 
that the Private Activity Bonds Program that we have in the 
department is an example of how those private dollars can and 
have been mobilized to benefit public policy purposes and 
certainly be interested in talking about other ways, provided, 
of course, it's consistent with our public policy goals. I 
think we can put those private dollars to work.

                          ENHANCEMENTS TO 45Q

    Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
    Administrator Regan, one of the things we're working on, 
and I know is of great interest to you, is cracking the code on 
carbon capture and underground storage. In our State of North 
Dakota, we're very aggressive on that. We've got so many things 
in place.
    One, I want to ask you to come out and see what we're 
doing, but specifically the question I want to put in front of 
you is 45Q, the tax credit that we put in place, can really 
help get that done and commercialize this process, particularly 
if we enhance it as we're working to do and actually there's 
support from the Administration to do that and some of its 
legislation.
    I just wanted to ask you about your support for 
enhancements to 45Q in order to commercialize and really do 
CCUS, like I say, on a commercial scale.
    Mr. Regan. Thank you for that, Senator, and there's no 
question you all are first movers and leading the pack.
    I think that what is proposed in the American Jobs Plan and 
what you guys are already doing and demonstrating, we're all 
going in the same direction. I see a great complement there and 
look forward to continuing to support that directionally.
    Senator Hoeven. And you'd be willing to come see what we're 
doing?
    Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Schatz.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the 
great Cabinet Secretaries here for your excellent 
presentations.
    Let me start with infrastructure resiliency. I was really 
pleased to see the proposal for $50 billion into resiliency 
activities and I'll be following up with hearings in my 
subcommittee next month, and I realize the proposal includes 
multiagency responses from DOT (Department of Transportation), 
HUD, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and other 
agencies.
    So starting with Secretary Fudge and then going over to 
Secretary Buttigieg, what are you going to do with the money 
and how are you going to coordinate across agencies? Secretary 
Fudge.
    Secretary Fudge. First, let me just say thank you, but, of 
course, the Department of Transportation and HUD work together 
on many issues. This will be another one of those issues.
    Resiliency is so very important. We have spent so many--
tens of billions of dollars addressing some of the occurrences 
over the past 10 years. I know it's been more than $80 billion 
we've spent.
    So we need to be prepared to present resilient communities 
so that we are prepared going forward and we're going to be 
working together. The good thing about this team is it is a 
team and we're all going to be working together to make sure 
that we get a product that we know is going to be acceptable to 
you and to the other members of the Senate.
    Senator Schatz. Secretary Buttigieg.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, first of all, I welcome your 
call to think about housing and transportation side by side and 
Secretary Fudge has indicated that's already how we're working.
    A mayor does not deal with transportation one day and then 
housing the next and a family doesn't pay the rent 1 month and 
then their commuting costs the next. All of these things are 
tightly integrated and we're going to make sure, whether it's 
regard to affordability, resiliency, climate readiness or other 
considerations that we're working hand in hand.
    Senator Schatz. So we'll help you to flesh all of this out 
and to clarify the interagency coordination piece.
    I'll just add that for those of us who are concerned about 
the total price tag, $50 billion, the City of Houston alone has 
requested $60 billion to just the Subcommittee on 
Transportation and the City of Honolulu has about $19 billion 
worth of needs. So $50 billion sounds like a lot until you 
start talking to Louisiana and Texas and Honolulu and 
California and all of the other places across our country that 
need these investments in resiliency.
    Secretary Fudge, just very quickly, we've talked about how 
exclusionary zoning limits affordable housing and the 
President's proposal is really pretty aggressive and pretty 
innovative.
    Can you just tell me more about that?
    Secretary Fudge. Certainly, Senator. We have discussed the 
fact that we cannot build our way out of this problem. We don't 
have the resources to do it. We need help. We need for 
communities to assist us in providing the kind of access to 
opportunity neighborhoods and to land use. We need to have a 
conversation about how we can get away from not in my backyard 
because until we do, we're never going to be able to provide 
the kind of housing and the location of housing that we should.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you very much.
    Secretary Buttigieg, I'm glad to see the $20 billion that's 
allocated for road safety and safe streets for all. You're 
probably aware that a lot of State Departments of 
Transportation say a lot of good things about safe streets for 
all and complete streets, but where literally the rubber hits 
the road, they spend all their money on highways anyway and so 
I'm wondering whether we can work together to ensure that to 
the extent that we're going to appropriate this money towards 
this specific public policy that either there are strings 
attached at State DOT levels or that we just give the money to 
the local governments who frankly have a sort of better 
connection to the question of streets and sidewalks and bike 
lanes.
    So your comments, Mayor?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, I certainly agree that often 
it's the local communities that have the most clear definition 
of what safety looks like to them, and what we're finding is 
that different State departments have been taking different 
approaches, but we want to encourage an approach that really 
recognizes the many functions of roads in our lives.
    I think there is that old mentality that the only reason a 
road exists is to blast vehicles through as quickly as possible 
and nothing else matters and what we found is that, you know, 
roads are for vehicles, they're for pedestrians, they're for 
bicycles and wheelchairs, and they're for businesses, too, and 
making sure that that happens safely has to be a top policy 
priority.

                             CAFE STANDARDS

    Senator Schatz. Final question for both you and for 
Administrator Regan. Where are you with rulemaking on CAFE 
(Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards?
    Secretary Buttigieg. So the President's Executive Order 
called on us to review both the so-called SAFE One and SAFE Two 
Rule, working through SAFE One now, expecting a notice to be 
put out later on in the spring, and then SAFE Two afterwards.
    Senator Schatz. Administrator.
    Mr. Regan. And we are, based on the President's direction, 
looking at regulating tailpipe emissions proposal, Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking this July, with a more aggressive and more 
comprehensive proposal to follow.
    Senator Schatz. Thank you.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Kennedy.

                     GREEN NEW DEAL CLIMATE CHANGE

    Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Administrator, good morning.
    Mr. Regan. Good morning.
    Senator Kennedy. With respect to the Green New Deal Climate 
Change portion of the President's infrastructure bill, how much 
is it going to lower world temperatures?
    Mr. Regan. Well, I think there's a focus on the American 
Jobs Plan and the President's Climate Goals.
    Senator Kennedy. Yes, sir, but how much is it going to 
lower world temperatures? That's the purpose of it.
    Mr. Regan. I think when we look at the Climate Summit and 
the target that the President will announce along with the rest 
of the world, we'll see comprehensively what collectively----
    Senator Kennedy. Have you done any modeling? I'm just 
trying to understand. You're asking us to appropriate $2.3 
trillion and to tax corporations $1.7 trillion, at least 50 
percent of which will fall on the backs of workers because when 
you tax something, you get less of it, and a big purpose of the 
infrastructure bill is to lower world temperatures. I mean, 
that's what global warming climate change is.
    So my question is simple. What does your modeling show? How 
much will this lower world temperatures?
    Mr. Regan. I think the science shows that we collectively 
have to pursue a target to lower----
    Senator Kennedy. I understand the target, but what I'm 
trying to--I'm sorry to interrupt, but----
    Mr. Regan. Sure.
    Senator Kennedy [continuing]. I understand the target. The 
target is one degree Centigrade. I get that part. How much will 
this bill lower world temperatures?
    Mr. Regan. I think the answer to that is dependent upon in 
concert with how much this bill plus other actions outside of 
the bill look at in concert with reducing those targets while 
creating jobs.
    Senator Kennedy. Have you done any modeling?
    Mr. Regan. Yes, we've done----
    Senator Kennedy. What do your models show in terms of how 
much this bill will lower world temperatures or slow the 
progression of CO2 emissions?
    Mr. Regan. I don't think the modeling speaks specifically 
to what this bill in isolation will do. I think the modeling 
shows the targets that we have to look forward to and so in 
addition to this bill, for instance, there are statutory 
authorities----
    Senator Kennedy. Well,----
    Mr. Regan [continuing]. And other powers----
    Senator Kennedy [continuing]. Why are we doing this if we 
don't understand, haven't done modeling to show how much it's 
going to lower world temperature or lower the progression of 
CO2 emissions and methane?
    Mr. Regan. I think, Senator, we're doing this because the 
Jobs Plan proves that we're doing more than just focusing on 
climate, that we're positioning ourselves to be global leaders 
on technology and----
    Senator Kennedy. I get all that, Mr. Administrator. I'm not 
trying to just pick on you.
    Mr. Regan. Sure.
    Senator Kennedy. But this is what Deputy Foreign Minister 
Le Yucheng said last week of China on April 16: ``Some 
countries are asking China to do more on climate change. I'm 
afraid this is not realistic.''
    So China produces about a third of the world--really about 
28 percent, to be fair--of the world's CO2. Okay? 
They're not going to participate and we're going to spend $2.3 
trillion. A lot of it is climate change. Surely you can give us 
an estimate of how much it's going to slow the progression of 
CO2 and how much it's going to lower world 
temperature.
    Mr. Regan. Well, I'm not quite sure I take the statement at 
face value from the Chinese representative.
    Senator Kennedy. Well, maybe he's a liar, but let's put 
that aside.
    Mr. Regan. China's investing a lot of money in renewable 
energy and battery storage and being globally competitive in 
the very areas that this Jobs bill is highlighting.
    Senator Kennedy. I understand. You don't have a figure, do 
you, Mr. Administrator?
    Mr. Regan. A figure of?
    Senator Kennedy. How much this is going to lower world 
temperature or reduce the progression of CO2 in the 
United States.
    Mr. Regan. I don't have a figure in front of me that----
    Senator Kennedy. You don't have it, do you?
    Mr. Regan [continuing]. Provides how much in isolation this 
bill lowers the world temperature based on just U.S. 
participation.
    Senator Kennedy. Right. So we're just going to spend $2.3 
trillion and find out on a wing and a prayer?
    Mr. Regan. I think the American Jobs Plan looks at more 
than just a prayer and a whim. I think it looks at some really 
good metrics that shows that----
    Senator Kennedy. Right.
    Mr. Regan [continuing]. We can create----
    Senator Kennedy. Excuse me for interrupting but I'm about 
to run out of time.
    Let me ask my former colleague, the State treasurer, our 
new Commerce Secretary. To build credibility with the Congress, 
the taxpayers, and his own credibility, as a first step to 
paying for this $2.3 trillion bill, why wouldn't President 
Biden turn to the Congress and say I want you to take a look at 
the discretionary spending in your budget and scrub it?
    Secretary Raimondo. I don't think it's an either or. The 
President is calling for a historic investment in 
infrastructure, as you say $2 trillion. He believes that that's 
what's necessary and----
    Senator Kennedy. What budget reductions is he recommending?
    Secretary Raimondo. We're all going through our budgets 
every day and looking for ways that we can be more efficient, 
but the truth of it is we need an investment.
    Senator Kennedy. How much money do you think you're going 
to reduce the budget?
    Secretary Raimondo. Say it again.
    Senator Kennedy. How much money do you think you're going 
to reduce your budget?
    Secretary Raimondo. I don't have a great answer to that at 
the moment, but I can promise you it's not enough. We're not 
going to save our way out of decades of under-investment in R&D 
and in infrastructure. Yes, we need to run an efficient, 
effective government and the President's clear with us about 
that.
    We also need to invest to grow and to compete and to regain 
our competitive advantage.
    Senator Kennedy. Right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. I have had a number of Senators go way over 
their time, including the last one. These are important enough 
questions. I want to make sure that both Republicans and 
Democrats are heard, but I am told and I know there are a 
number of Senators in both parties who want to get to caucuses. 
So we are going to be a little bit tougher on the timing and--
--
    Senator Kennedy. I'm glad you didn't start before me, Mr. 
Chairman. I appreciate that.
    Chairman Leahy [continuing]. I understand Senator Merkley 
is next. Oh, you are right here.
    Senator Merkley. Right here.

                         FOREST INFRASTRUCTURE

    Chairman Leahy. I am sorry, Jeff. I apologize.
    Senator Merkley. No. All good, Mr. Chairman, and I'm just 
sorry you made that announcement now instead of a few minutes 
later. So I'll try to cover ground very quickly.
    I want to first talk about our forest infrastructure, which 
you may not immediately think has anything to do with 
Environment or Commerce, but I want to convince you it does and 
I want to convince you to work with the Interior Secretary and 
Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service because the 
fires we're having out West produce a huge amount of carbon 
dioxide into the air as well as a major impact on commerce in 
the State, including not just the fires themselves but also the 
smoke. I had the experience last September of driving 600 miles 
and never being out of the smoke and it's an extraordinary 
sense of how widespread and fierce those fires were burning 
small communities to the ground, incinerating them.
    It was something to behold and unless we rework our second 
growth forests, unless we manage them differently and do 
thinning and prescribed burns and mowing, they will continue to 
burn in this fashion.
    So let me start with you, Administrator Regan. Do you 
recognize the challenge that forest fires represent in terms of 
carbon dioxide, global warming, and can you help work with 
Interior to make it an issue that we address?
    Mr. Regan. Absolutely. We recognize the impact to not only 
climate but we also recognize the impact to air quality and 
public health.
    Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
    And Secretary Raimondo, the impact on our wine industry and 
our venues, so much else, it affects commerce, significant 
issue. Can I get your commitment to work with Interior on this 
issue?
    Secretary Raimondo. Absolutely, yes.
    Senator Merkley. Thank you so much.
    I want to turn to the housing issue, Secretary Fudge, and I 
have a deep interest in this going back to the days that I was 
Director of Portland Habitat for Humanity and then developed 
affordable housing, and there are three priorities that many of 
us are advocating for.
    One is choice vouchers be available to everyone who 
qualifies, that we have a $70 billion investment in repairs to 
public housing, and, third, $45 billion a year to the Housing 
Trust Fund. I want to focus on this third part because the 
Housing Trust Fund addresses the needs of the most vulnerable 
in our society because 75 percent of the funds would have to go 
towards support for families that are at or below 30 percent of 
very mean income and all of the funds would have to go to 
families that are at 50 percent or less of very mean income, 
whereas when I was developing affordable housing, it was 80 
percent of median income, if you will.
    We just see the homeless epidemic just--you can come visit 
Portland and I invite you all to do so and other cities in my 
State and it's a graphic display of the challenge we face.
    So in terms, Madam Secretary, of the Housing Trust Fund, is 
supporting a regular annual investment in the Housing Trust 
Fund on the order of $45 billion a possibility?
    Secretary Fudge. I'm so happy to say that two out of the 
three are already in this Jobs Plan and the third one is $40 
billion as opposed to 70, but I think that we are very much on 
track and the President and his team have put together what I 
think is an outstanding proposal, and it is $45 billion.

                           WARM SPRINGS TRIBE

    Senator Merkley. That's just terrific, and I know we need 
to fight to maintain that as we go through the process.
    Finally, with my last minute, I want to turn to water 
infrastructure. I'm glad to see the addressing lead pipes and 
the PFAS and WIFIA, a program I worked to create here in the 
Senate, Water Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act, but I want 
to address now what I hear from my small towns in Oregon and 
from my Tribes, including the Warm Springs Tribe, which is that 
their communities are too small to support the investments in 
clean water and wastewater treatment required for commerce and 
expansion required to repair old systems, required to meet new 
standards, and they are just perplexed on how they can get 
there.
    And so what I want to know on their behalf, can the Warm 
Springs Tribe, can our small towns and cities count on 
significant grant funds to be able to basically rebuild their 
decrepit clean water supply and wastewater treatment and so I'm 
turning to Administrator Regan in this regard.
    Mr. Regan. Yes, they can anticipate grant funding and loans 
as well as more technical support from the agency to help them 
put the best applications forward so that we can deploy those 
assets.
    Senator Merkley. Great. That technical support is important 
and I have a provision that is, I think, included in the 
general work we're doing right now which is a circuit rider 
plan to provide really experts to assist these small towns 
because they look at the complexity of these systems. So that's 
great. But they keep telling me the loans are too much. They 
won't be able to repay them. They can't sell them politically. 
They need grant help to help build these systems when you're 
talking towns of under 10,000. It's just a huge per person 
almost an impossible burden.
    Mr. Regan. Yes, some will qualify for loans, some will 
qualify for grants, some can qualify for both, and we'll take a 
look. I'd love to spend some time----
    Senator Merkley. I'm going to be advocating for a whole 
list of communities that I have with me now, but I'll be 
following up with you.
    Thank you very much.
    Mr. Regan. Sounds good.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    I see Senator Braun is here. Go ahead, Senator.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Infrastructure. I can't think of anything that should have 
more bipartisan support. Coming from the State of Indiana where 
we actually had the political will in 2017 to not only talk 
about infrastructure, got, I think, 47 to 48 out of 50 
stakeholders. One of them, myself, at the time as an owner of a 
trucking and distribution company that thought it made sense if 
we were going to spend money and that we could keep it devoted 
to infrastructure, as most of us understand, roads and bridges, 
maybe waterways, air, rail, then it makes sense to do so.
    I think a question came up earlier and I was just off a 
conversation a moment ago with concrete folks across the 
country. They're obviously interested in infrastructure and 
they were more concerned actually what we're going to do on an 
annual ongoing basis with the transportation bill.
    I think earlier the question was asked is that going to be 
addressed in this larger bill, and, Secretary Buttigieg, I 
think the answer was probably not. I just want to know the 
reason why we're not tackling that for that dependability and 
reliability that most are looking for not only with one big 
flurry of spending.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you, Senator, for the 
chance to explain. So we view both of these things moving in 
parallel.
    What I'm trying to convey is that the American Jobs Plan, 
which is conceived as a once-in-a-generation, perhaps once-in-
a-lifetime investment in the things that we need both in terms 
of things like transportation infrastructure, care 
infrastructure, and housing infrastructure to succeed and 
compete in the future need to be done on a one-time basis.
    But, of course, we also have the ongoing needs for 
transportation that are contemplated in the surface bills and 
so the Jobs Plan was crafted in such a way that these 
investments make sense in a world where the highway or surface 
bills, as we know them, whether they're reauthorized as we hope 
or extended or something else, that those could fit together.

                      PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

    Senator Braun. Thank you. Also vividly remember in 2017 how 
70 percent of Hoosiers wanted better roads and bridges. In an 
enterprising State like ours, 70 percent didn't want their 
taxes to go up. So we tackled that, as well, and did sell it 
mostly to the business community, which is less regressive when 
diesel taxes go up. We haven't touched fuel taxes since 1993. 
To me, that's a lack of political will.
    Most stakeholders are willing to pay more, especially to 
where it wouldn't be as regressive on the diesel side of it, 
but what about public-private partnerships? What about 
something we did uniquely of giving more Federal dollars to 
States that are willing to pay more?
    I'd like any witness to jump in on those two. The private 
sector, we've got clean balance sheets. There's a lot of 
potential there. Government doesn't have to do all of it itself 
through the Federal level.
    So talk about your comfort zone with public-private 
partnerships and other creative ways of paying for it, given 
the kind of ugly-looking balance sheet we've got currently.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I'll defer to my colleagues for their 
views. I'd simply reiterate that we certainly see that as part 
of the bigger picture on transportation.
    Mr. Regan. We definitely see that as part of the solution 
with $111 billion in the American Jobs Plan for water 
infrastructure. We recognize that the government can't do it 
alone. There are $743 billion worth of needs in this country. 
So it will take some creativity, entrepreneurship and public-
private partnerships to close that gap.
    Secretary Raimondo. I agree, and earlier we spoke about the 
semiconductor fund which I think is vital. There's no way $50 
billion is enough. We hope to turn the $50 billion into three 
or four times that, leveraging public-private partnerships and 
public-private investment.
    Secretary Fudge. We're actually already doing it with the 
rental assistance demonstration project. So it's something that 
we're familiar with.
    Senator Braun. Okay. And a trickier subject, would you be 
willing to reward enterprising States that got the capital 
capacity to get more Federal dollars if they put a higher 
percentage of their own skin in the game? Go ahead, anyone.
    Secretary Raimondo. I'll go first. I think, look, the 
President's been very clear. Let's get bipartisan support and 
let's look for areas of compromise. I will say, as a former 
Governor until about a month ago, I think that's very 
interesting. Here at Commerce, we'll be investing the EDA funds 
and we are thinking of doing, as has been done in the past, a 
competition.
    We certainly want States to put skin in the game. So I 
think it's something worth discussion.
    Senator Braun. Thank you.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you. I think the Senator raises a 
very interesting question. If we are going to treat the 
different States differently, we are going to have to have 
legislation, in all likelihood, to do that. But that is 
something we should consider. I mean, the Senate ought to be 
spending some time legislating.
    Now we have Senator Baldwin, who is joining us remotely.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
    Chairman Leahy. There she is.

                              BUY AMERICA

    Senator Baldwin. Thank you to our witnesses.
    I am really pleased that the American Jobs Plan intends to 
create good jobs by requiring that materials used in the 
construction of infrastructure are made in America. I recently 
introduced bipartisan legislation with my Republican colleague, 
who was just speaking, the Made in American Act, to require 
that all Federal programs that fund or finance infrastructure 
projects use materials manufactured in the U.S.
    The bill touches programs that each one of you is charged 
with enforcing, but I'd like to ask each witness if you would 
support applying these Buy America provisions to programs 
administered by your agencies.
    Please answer yes or no if you can. Secretary Fudge, would 
you support adding Buy America provisions to the materials used 
in construction funded or financed by the Public Housing 
Capital Fund and the Community Development Block Grant?
    Secretary Fudge. Yes.
    Senator Baldwin. Administrator Regan, would you support 
adding Buy America provisions to materials used in construction 
funded or financed by the Water Infrastructure Financing 
Innovation Act, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and 
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund?
    Mr. Regan. Yes.
    Senator Baldwin. Secretary Buttigieg, would you support 
adding Buy America provisions to the materials used in 
construction funded or financed by the Federal Highway 
Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal 
Railroad Administration, and the Transportation Infrastructure 
Finance and Innovation Act?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes.
    Senator Baldwin. And, lastly, Secretary Raimondo, my 
legislation requires the Commerce Secretary to set uniform 
standards that maximize the jobs created in the U.S. by this 
requirement.
    Do you agree that more manufacturing processes occurring in 
the U.S. translates into more American jobs?
    Secretary Raimondo. Yes, absolutely.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you, all.
    Secretaries Buttigieg and Raimondo, I am pleased that the 
American Jobs Plan will make our infrastructure more resilient 
to extreme weather and the effects of climate change by 
investing $50 billion to improve infrastructure resilience and 
ensure that we build back better.
    After years of touring flood damage across the State of 
Wisconsin, this is a high priority for me. This week, I will be 
reintroducing my bipartisan Rebuilding Stronger Infrastructure 
Act to update the Emergency Relief Program at the Department of 
Transportation.
    I'm also reintroducing my bipartisan Built to Last Act to 
ensure that the Department of Commerce is supporting building 
codes that make the best use of our climate data and our best 
climate data.
    I'd like to ask each of you to talk about why this is so 
critical to place resiliency at the center of this once-in-a-
generation infrastructure investment, and I'll start with 
Secretary Buttigieg.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, thank you. We view it as 
extremely important to make sure as we're making especially 
these potentially once-in-a-lifetime or once-in-a-generation 
investments that they be done with resilience in mind.
    Of course, we're already incorporating that into our 
discretionary work as much as the existing statute can allow 
for but believe it needs to be even more central on the road 
ahead and it's why we're talking not only about fix it first 
but fix it right.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you. Secretary Raimondo.
    Secretary Raimondo. Yes, thank you. Thank you for the 
question.
    As we have discussed, resiliency is vital and Commerce can 
play a very important role with NIST and NOAA and collecting 
the technical data necessary to define resilience and ensure 
that that is incorporated into all the work that we do.
    So it will be exciting to work with you on the legislation 
and to implement it.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you, and, Mr. Chairman, I yield 
back.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you. Thank you very much, Senator.
    And next we have Senator Chris Murphy.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Vice 
Chairman. Thank you all for enduring a long hearing but an 
important one.
    Secretary Buttigieg, the distance between Beijing and 
Shanghai is about twice as long as the distance between Boston 
and Washington and so suffice it to say it would be 
embarrassing if the amount of time it took to travel between 
our Nation's Capital and the city of Boston was the same as it 
takes to travel between those two major Asian capitals.
    In fact, it's worse than that. It takes about four and a 
half hours to get from Beijing to Shanghai via train. It takes 
about 7 hours today to get from Boston to Washington.
    To make these even worse, we're not getting faster, we're 
getting slower. This morning, I checked a time table from 
Bridgeport to New York City. Right now, it's about 89 minutes 
on average. You can get a train a couple minutes faster if it 
doesn't make as many stops.
    In 1963, it was 74 minutes. We're getting slower, not 
faster, and so I'm grateful for the focus in this plan on 
Amtrak generally and Northeast Rail. I know Senator Coons asked 
some questions about this, as well.
    But we've got this tremendous backlog of state of good 
repair projects. I want to just make sure that our goal here is 
not just to fix what's broken but to actually improve 
performance, improve experience. Is that the underlying goal of 
our project here with Amtrak funding, transit funding, and 
specifically Northeast Rail funding?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes, we're not going to all this 
trouble just in hopes of remaining 13th in infrastructure 
globally. This is about looking after what we have and making 
sure we get better.
    Senator Murphy. And so then let me ask you this question. 
How do we make sure that in a rail system that has a fairly 
complicated existing financing structure, you've got commuter 
rail systems, you've got State-financed portions of the rail, 
Amtrak's putting in money and the Federal Government's putting 
in money, how do we make sure that this Federal investment 
doesn't become an excuse for States or for commuter rail to not 
put in their own skin? How do we make sure that we leverage a 
substantial investment in rail, in particular Northeast Rail, 
in a way that provokes States to do more, not do less?
    Secretary Buttigieg. Thank you. It's a welcome reminder of 
the challenge of making sure that every player is doing their 
part and to that regard, I would point not only to the funds in 
the American Jobs Plan but also in our discretionary budget 
request this year calling for a PRIME. I can't remember what it 
stands for, other than that the P and the R are for Passenger 
Rail, but to reward and encourage those local and other bodies 
that are stepping up.
    Senator Murphy. Mr. Chairman, I would just recommend to 
this committee and to others that are working on this, you 
know, that we take some time to make sure that we are offering 
a proposal here that prompts other entities to put increased 
resources into the pool, as well, because even if you take the 
$80 billion for Amtrak and assume that, you know, half of it 
goes to the Northeast Rail Corridor, that just covers state of 
good repair. That literally just fixes the parts that are 
broke. That repairs the bridge in Connecticut that was built 
during the Grover Cleveland Administration, but it doesn't 
necessarily get you even back to 1963 travel time. So I think 
that's a really worthy project for us to undertake.
    Secretary Raimondo, staying on this topic, you've got 
obviously unique expertise to leverage here because you were 
Governor of a State on the Northeast Rail Corridor.
    So two questions for you. One, what ideas, if any, do you 
have about how to leverage States to put skin in the game here 
and to not just replace their spending with Federal spending, 
and, two, you know, from a Commerce standpoint, how important 
is it as we're marketing America to be able to say that we are 
attacking this issue of travel times between major Eastern 
Seaboard capitals that are again expanding rather than 
decreasing?
    Secretary Raimondo. Thank you for your question. Nice to 
see you, neighbor from Connecticut.
    Senator Murphy. Good to see you.
    Secretary Raimondo. It's vitally important. I spent an 
awful lot of time as Governor trying to convince companies to 
locate in or expand in Rhode Island and inevitably the number 
one question was how's the airport and tell me about the 
infrastructure. Trains are a key part of that.
    So in any event, I would just say it is absolutely vitally 
important. Businesses want to be and people want to live in 
places with first-class infrastructure and that's broadly 
defined as broadband, water, bike paths, rail, roads, airports, 
and et cetera.
    I will say that in the rescue package, which was fantastic 
and thank you for taking action, States do have money available 
on account of that and I think we need to be innovative in how 
we encourage them to make some of that money and other money 
available to put against Federal investments. Again, if we 
could take a dollar and turn it into two or three, that 
maximizes the investment.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you very much.
    And Senator Manchin.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank all of 
you, appreciate you very much and your commitment to public 
service.
    I appreciate all of you being here today but I truly do 
find it a little bit odd that Secretary Granholm is not with 
us, given the Department of Energy will likely have----
    Chairman Leahy. I would note for the Senator we have 
invited the ones we have had time for. We've already gone an 
hour over with those. Secretary Granholm is going to be 
scheduled to be before the committee as will the other members 
of the Cabinet.
    Senator Manchin. That's great because the American Jobs 
calls for a $180 billion of investment in research and 
development. So we'll get to her when she does come here. So 
thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for that.
    Department of Energy is very instrumental and very integral 
to this whole process and we have to coordinate it.
    Secretary Raimondo, I've long said that in the 1930s my 
grandparents didn't have electricity. Most Rural Americans 
didn't and Rural West Virginians, and FDR (Franklin D. 
Roosevelt) gets elected and before you have rural 
electrification, they were able to basically take a line of 
every hollow and every little nook and cranny in America to 
make sure when it was connected for the convenience and, I 
guess, for the 20th Century infrastructure it was needed.
    I find it really, really challenging now in the 21st 
Century infrastructure of Internet and broadband connectivity, 
it's about the same as electricity was back in the 1930s and 
still yet we haven't been able to unlock this for some reason.
    I've said if you look at the model that was put together in 
the 20th Century, early 20th Century, using co-ops to go up in 
areas where you could not force the large public companies to 
go because they would lose money, there's not enough activity, 
the co-ops weren't profit-driven or profit-motive, why can't we 
use that same model that was used to basically get up in all 
these very difficult, challenging areas because Appalachia--if 
Appalachia is left behind and you will have more poverty than 
you've ever seen before.
    Secretary Raimondo. Yes. We're not going to let that 
happen. You know, the President is very clear we want this Jobs 
Plan and the $100 billion called for is to ensure that 100 
percent of Americans, including those in Appalachia, have high-
speed affordable broadband and the Jobs Plan is very clear that 
we're going to provide the grants and the money to the entities 
in the best position to provide the service, including 
nonprofits, co-ops, and municipal entities, just like you've 
said.
    There's no one size fits all and so we will consult with 
the community, and I promise you we will make sure that 
nobody's left behind.
    Senator Manchin. Secretary Buttigieg, Lyndon Johnson 
declared war on poverty in 1964, 1964. Appalachia was isolated 
from much of the country and if it wasn't for 1960 election 
where John Kennedy campaigned in West Virginia and made that 
basically his mantra to bring in interstates, we weren't going 
to get interstates in Appalachia. We wouldn't have had anything 
and he made that happen.
    But I will say this. The system is 90 percent complete 
which is the Appalachian Development Highway System that was to 
build 3,090 miles of roads. It's 90 percent complete. This last 
284 miles is the toughest of all and it's not supposed to be 
done until 2040 and we've got parts that are isolated and 
getting further behind because of the transition from the coal 
communities.
    So I'm hoping that the President made it very clear, 
President Biden, he wants to make sure that we leave nobody 
behind. Those areas that we have to bring to your attention 
need to be accelerated. If not, it will not get done for the 
next 20 years. So I don't know if you have been brought up to 
speed on ARC or Appalachian Highway Corridors and all that.
    Secretary Buttigieg. I appreciate your raising that. I've 
had one great interaction with ARC and will certainly take that 
back and learn more about the progress of that effort.
    Senator Manchin. My final one is to all of you, whoever 
wants to answer it. You all have proven track record, all of 
you, all of you got confirmed with really good bipartisan vote, 
which is a tremendous feat in today's toxic atmosphere. So I 
want to congratulate each and every one of you. That was 
tremendous.
    So yesterday on the Floor of the Senate, Leader Chuck 
Schumer, Majority Leader, said we're seeing that when the 
Senate is given the opportunity to work, the Senate can work. 
That's something I very much agree with, as you know. So we 
have to end this on a positive note.
    What piece of your portion of this infrastructure plan do 
you believe seems to have the most bipartisan support? We'll 
just start and go right down the line. Well, let's start over 
here. Marcia, let's start.
    Secretary Fudge. I think the part of the housing piece that 
has the most bipartisan support is to bring up to code existing 
properties. You know, we have some 9,400 units that most of 
them need updating and to find a way to bridge the gap between 
the rising cost of housing and affordable housing.
    Senator Manchin. Secretary Raimondo.
    Secretary Raimondo. The $50 billion CHIPS (Creating Helpful 
Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Act investment into 
semiconductors.
    Senator Manchin. What you're hearing is basically good 
bipartisan?
    Secretary Raimondo. I'm sorry?
    Senator Manchin. It has bipartisan support, you think, from 
all the people you're talking to?
    Secretary Raimondo. Yes.
    Senator Manchin. Secretary Regan.
    Mr. Regan. I believe the water infrastructure portion of 
the bill.
    Senator Manchin. Water?
    Mr. Regan. Water infrastructure, wastewater, stormwater, 
lead pipes, although we're going to work for all of that that 
have bipartisan support.
    Senator Manchin. Secretary Pete.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Well, certainly our surface 
transportation needs I think are well understood, but I also 
love being part of a package that's popular in its individual 
pieces as well as in its totality.
    Senator Manchin. Thank you.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you. I thank the Senator from West 
Virginia who also has the experience of having dealt with these 
kinds of issues as Governor, as well.
    Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's great to 
see all of you here today to talk about the American Jobs Plan.
    We've been talking about modernizing our infrastructure 
around here for a long time. So I'm glad we're finally moving 
forward to do it and not just modernizing our 20th Century 
infrastructure and updating it for the 21st but developing the 
21st Century infrastructure and building more jobs along with 
that.
    There's a lot to cover. I just want to mention a couple 
things to each of you that I look forward to working with you 
on. Broadband's been mentioned. We need to build out 100 
percent broadband.
    Before the pandemic, we were talking about closing the 
homework gap, kids who couldn't access the Internet for 
homework. Now it's a full-blown learning gap and we need to 
connect everybody everywhere.
    Secretary Fudge, on the affordable housing front, pleased 
to see the infrastructure piece here. I also saw your budget. 
You called for another 200,000 affordable housing vouchers. 
Just want to point out that Senator Young and I have bipartisan 
legislation to establish 500,000 affordable housing vouchers to 
help families move to areas of greater opportunities, something 
that has a proven track record of success.
    Administrator Regan, the water and sewers are important for 
clean drinking water and, of course, protecting water bodies, 
like the Chesapeake Bay, and it's not in your jurisdiction, but 
I've been working for years to establish a clean energy 
accelerator to do public-private partnerships to unleash the 
power of a clean energy economy. Look forward to working with 
all of you on that.
    There's $40 billion in the American Jobs Plan for that. 
Senator Merkley and I have a plan, a hundred billion, but we 
want to work in that direction to get it done.
    Community development, Secretary Raimondo, we spoke during 
your confirmation process about legislation we've introduced to 
build on community development efforts, especially in 
Baltimore. As part of the American Rescue Plan, as you know, we 
had $3 billion for EDA (Economic Development Administration).
    I see in this Jobs Plan you identify EDA as a source of 
funds for additional infrastructure and you want to lift the 
cap, the $3 million cap, all good. There's not a number 
specified. I do think that's a flexible funding source that I 
hope to work with you on to really boost that as part of the 
plan. Again, I don't see any dollar figure associated with it, 
but I can tell you in places like Baltimore City, those funds 
can go a very long way. So I look forward to working with you 
on that.
    Secretary Buttigieg, transit, we're seeing not just major 
systems, like WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 
Authority), which is important to make sure the Federal 
Government keeps going by bringing Federal employees to and 
from work, but the Maryland Legislature just a few days ago 
passed authorization for a regional transit system connecting 
Prince George's County to counties in Southern Maryland, hugely 
congested area.
    Those more regional transit projects have sort of been left 
behind and overlooked in the past. So look forward to working 
with you on that as we also repair our roads and bridges.
    And, finally, Secretary Buttigieg, I just want you to 
expand on this. There are funds in here to take down some of 
the infrastructure put in places in years past that actually 
divided communities and was really based on a legacy of 
segregation and racial discrimination.
    There's what we call a ``highway to nowhere'' in Baltimore 
City. In the process of beginning that highway, 900 homes were 
taken and demolished in an African American neighborhood. The 
road was finally stopped because of opposition from East 
Baltimore, the whiter communities, but the damage had already 
been done in these African American communities in West 
Baltimore. It's a scar running through the city.
    So just yesterday, Senators Carper and Cardin and I and 
many others introduced a bill. It's part of your plan to make 
livable communities.
    Can you just elaborate on that? There's some that say, wow, 
you have an infrastructure bill and you're actually using some 
of those funds to take down infrastructure. These are sort of 
things that were done in the past that are actually making it 
harder for communities to come together and succeed.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes, thank you for the chance to speak 
to that and first to acknowledge your leadership and that of 
Senator Carper and others in making sure that there is 
legislation and work around what it would take to deliver 
greater equity.
    Too often our highway infrastructure and road 
infrastructure came in a very inequitable fashion not just in 
terms of who was left out but in terms of people finding their 
neighborhoods destroyed or divided by things like the placement 
of a roadway and I should add sometimes perhaps out of neglect 
because it was the path of least resistance. Sometimes it was 
even worse, being viewed deliberately as a means for clearing, 
quote unquote, an undesirable area or enforcing a pattern of 
segregation between one side of a highway and another.
    And so we do need to pay attention to how we can use 
resources to reconnect what has been divided, especially when 
those divisions happened through the use of Federal dollars at 
a previous time.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Appreciate that. Look 
forward to working with you, Mr. Secretary, and all of you on 
these issues.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
    And our last Senator, not least, the newest member of the 
committee--and also I would note, the member who has spent the 
most time here today of either party listening to what I think 
has been a very informative meeting--Senator Heinrich.
    Senator Heinrich. It has been informative, Chairman, and 
I'm grateful that you didn't start the clock on me early. So 
I'll try and get to as many questions as I can.
    First, I want to say something about sort of the debt 
conversation we heard from some of my colleagues earlier. You 
know, one of the things I learned sitting on a city council in 
Albuquerque was that deferred maintenance is debt and what I 
mean by that is if you have to go to the rating agencies and 
say, oh, you should give us a great bond rating because we're 
going to stop spending money on our roads, stop spending money 
on our water infrastructure, stop spending money on our parks, 
they will tell you that deferred maintenance is debt and they 
will look very skeptically on that.
    We've been deferring maintenance in this country for 
decades now. We are under-investing in infrastructure. I think 
the Chairman said we're putting about 2.3 percent of GDP into 
infrastructure. That's not even competitive.
    The Ranking Member said it well. He said we have a lot of 
crumbling infrastructure in this country. That is not something 
we should be proud of.
    So our current commitment to infrastructure has more in 
common with Belarus at 2.1 percent than it does with China at 
5.6 percent, and I think the reason why we're having this 
hearing is because we all know that we need to change that.`
    Secretary Raimondo, is broadband infrastructure?
    Secretary Raimondo. I believe it is, yes.

                                METHANE

    Senator Heinrich. I don't think there's a single person 
I've met in New Mexico who questions that and yet that is part 
of the conversation as we go into discussing this American Jobs 
Plan.
    It is the information highway. I mean, this is the 
infrastructure of our time, and I very much appreciate what you 
said about reaching out to Tribal communities and to focusing 
on the unserved before we increase capacity in existing served 
areas.
    Administrator Regan, methane is an extremely potent 
greenhouse gas, as you know. It's the primary constituent in 
natural gas, and oil and gas production is the largest emitter 
of fugitive methane in the United States.
    So fixing methane leaks and capturing wasted emissions from 
oil and gas infrastructure is a big potential win-win for the 
economy, for the climate. How might the American Jobs Plan help 
stop methane emissions while at the same time creating place-
based good-paying jobs?
    Mr. Regan. Well, it positions us to partner with 
organizations, like the American Petroleum Institute and Edison 
Electric, who are calling for methane regulations. I think 
we'll use these resources to capitalize on the advanced 
technologies that we have at our fingertips right now to 
quantify methane emissions and significantly reduce those 
emissions while looking at those technologies available to our 
international partners all around the world.
    Senator Heinrich. Yes. I know my colleague from Louisiana 
said how important it is to model these things. Actually, the 
Energy Futures Initiative has modeled the impact that just 
regulating and capturing methane would produce to reducing 
global warming and it is one of the most powerful things that 
we can do.
    In addition, Administrator, electrifying our homes by 
installing energy efficient things like heat pumps, induction 
stoves, is one way for each of us to take immediate and long-
lasting action on the climate crisis.
    The added benefit of that is that indoor air pollution from 
combustion is a huge problem. Many people don't realize that 
there are many homes in this country where if the indoor air 
quality were outdoors, it wouldn't meet the Clean Air Act.
    At the same time, we can manufacture those things right 
here in the United States. So talk to me about what in the 
American Jobs Plan and with your agencies can help Americans 
electrify more of their homes while cleaning up indoor air 
quality, literally saving lives from things like asthma attacks 
and creating local installation jobs.
    Mr. Regan. Well, we have a significant amount of experience 
with indoor air quality at EPA as well as looking at more 
efficient appliances within our homes via our Energy STAR 
Program.
    I think the American Jobs Plan sets up an excellent 
opportunity for the Environmental Protection Agency, Department 
of Energy to quantify the ability to deploy technologies, 
reduce emissions, quantify those health benefits, while, just 
as you say, put lots of Americans to work.
    Senator Heinrich. Finally, Secretary Buttigieg, I was 
really glad to see the American Jobs Plan's proposals to build 
out the national network of charging infrastructure by 2030. 
This is a really important transition we're in the midst of, 
but I want to make sure that there is adequate focus on rural 
States, like New Mexico, where in many cases the map right now 
makes it very hard for my constituents in rural areas to 
utilize those kinds of advanced solutions.
    Secretary Buttigieg. Yes, we think this is especially 
important to consider, that it's often in rural and more 
spread-out States where Americans would have the most to gain 
from the fuel savings associated with electric vehicles, but it 
doesn't do you any good if you can't get charged on those 
longer distances and that's why we believe the electric 
charging infrastructure is such an important part of this 
vision and is absolutely being done with regard to those rural 
and less dense areas.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you for your patience, Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Leahy. Not at all. The questions that have been 
asked have been excellent. I want to thank everybody, the 
Senators who came but especially the witnesses, and the staff 
on both sides of the aisle who worked so hard to put together a 
meaningful hearing.
    You know, I could not help but think--and I will close with 
this--the American Society of Engineers have given our roads a 
grade of D, our bridges a grade of C, stormwater and wastewater 
systems D and D+, drinking water C-. We talked about our energy 
grids, our student populations have outgrown our schools.
    Obviously we have to do something about broadband. The 
American Society of Civil Engineers says 65 percent of counties 
in America have connection speeds less than what they would 
call broadband. One in five school-aged children lack high-
speed Internet connection.
    When I was growing up, you assumed you turned the light 
switch on, the house lights would come on. Today, you assume 
you will have an Internet connection. So we have got to build 
safer, stronger, and sounder.
    We talk about the climate crisis. It is real, and we have a 
part as do all other countries, but if we do not do our part, 
how are we going to go to other countries and tell them to get 
onboard and do their part? We know what is happening to our 
electrical grids. We have got to invest in people, research and 
development, and I think this Jobs Plan speaks to it.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    So I will keep the hearing record open for a week. If there 
are written questions to submit, I would ask everybody to do it 
by 5 p.m. next Tuesday, April 27.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]
            Questions Submitted to Secretary Pete Buttigieg
             Questions Submitted by Chairman Patrick Leahy
                        rural villages and towns
    Question. I want to return to the main theme of my opening remarks 
today: the challenges of rural America. The average town in Vermont has 
1,200 people and leadership that is almost all volunteers with full 
time jobs. These towns are ready to make the investments to update 
their water, their sewer, their roads, and their zoning and build more 
housing, and attract young families and new small businesses. But, 
doing so is a bureaucratic maze. The American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-
generation opportunity for every part of our country.
    Secretary Buttigieg: In your former life, you were the mayor of a 
``small'' town. That town's population is a little less one-sixth the 
population of the entire state of Vermont. I know you understand the 
challenges of accessing these federal resources, to better improve the 
lives of constituents, and strengthen our towns.
    How can the Department of Transportation--and indeed all agencies 
across government--support rural places and small towns in this 
infrastructure plan? How can we ensure that this funding benefits 
everyone in the country, not just cities that have already been able to 
invest in the requirements for shovel-ready projects?
    Answer. I understand that rural communities and small towns have 
unique needs, including resource challenges and extensive unmet 
maintenance. I also know that infrastructure investments in rural 
America are key to supporting economic growth and to ensuring that 
residents have access to jobs, education, and essential basic services 
like health care.
    As you know, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 
codifies the ROUTES initiative, but this work is already underway. 
Specifically, DOT is developing a comprehensive rural strategy to 
ensure that we incorporate rural considerations into all the programs 
that can benefit these communities. I want to make sure that rural 
America benefits from the Administration's focus on safety, economic 
strength and modernization, equity, and climate and sustainability. We 
are developing roundtables and other opportunities to engage with rural 
stakeholders to understand their priorities, and to ensure that they 
are heard by the Department. Our approach will increase access to 
Department resources for rural communities, including funding and 
financing programs, technical assistance, and will integrate the 
priorities of rural America into each DOT program that affects rural 
transportation. We are also partnering with other Federal agencies that 
have a rural infrastructure portfolio--especially United States 
Department of Agriculture--to make sure that rural project sponsors can 
combine federal infrastructure funding and financing programs in the 
most advantageous way possible.
                          bus & bus facilities
    Question. Replacing public buses remains a critical capital need in 
Vermont. Currently, there are over 100 buses in the state that need to 
be replaced. The state continues to make progress in repairing and 
replacing their bus fleet, however, cost remains an issue, with the 
price of diesel buses doubling and collection of fare revenues 
declining.
    What is the administration's plan for ensuring smaller, more rural 
states like Vermont--which are not able to cover their repair and 
replace expenses through fare collections--are able to maintain and 
improve their public bus lines?
    Answer. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides 
a generational investment in public transit, that will help many 
communities support their existing transit systems. This includes 
funding for the Bus & Bus Facilities formula and competitive programs, 
as well as the Low or No Emission Vehicle competitive program. This 
program provides funding to state and local governmental authorities 
for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit 
buses as well as the acquisition, construction, and leasing of required 
supporting facilities. FTA has awarded $409 million for these types of 
projects since the program began in 2016.
                       rural ev charging stations
    Question. Vermont has been rapidly expanding electric vehicle 
charging infrastructure throughout the state, primarily through a 
combination of settlement funds from an international auto-manufacturer 
and state transportation funds. Vermont currently leads the nation in 
per capita electric vehicle supply equipment deployment and ranks among 
the top states in electric vehicle market penetration and electric 
vehicle policy support. In order to continue this expansion, the state 
will need Federal support, especially when it comes to the development 
of electric vehicle charging stations off of Interstates 89 & 91.
    One of the primary tenets of the transportation infrastructure 
portion of the American Jobs Plan involves creating good jobs by 
electrifying vehicles. This includes a plan to establish grant and 
incentive programs for state and local governments and the private 
sector to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers 
by 2030. How does the administration plan on ensuring rural areas such 
as Vermont receive their fair share when it comes to electric vehicle 
charging stations? What about for areas that are not directly connected 
to the Federal Interstate System?
    Answer. DOT recognizes that rural areas are at risk of being left 
out of the major advances occurring in electric vehicle (EV) 
technology. EV infrastructure is expanding quickly, but the growth is 
concentrated in urban areas and along major highways. However, EV 
technologies will bring significant benefits to rural areas by reducing 
driving costs, generating economic development opportunities from 
attracting EV drivers to rural destinations, and in the future 
potentially improving resiliency with vehicle to grid (V2G) battery 
storage.
    DOT is working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other 
Federal agencies to deliver on President Biden's priorities, which 
includes a transformational investment in clean transportation 
infrastructure. Through a combination of grant and incentive programs 
for state and local governments and the private sector, this investment 
will support a transformational acceleration in deployment of a mix of 
chargers in apartment buildings, in public parking, throughout 
communities, and as a robust fast charging network along our nation's 
roadways. The type of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) would 
vary depending on the installation location and its core users. 
Specifically, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation will offer 
technical assistance to Vermont and other states to ensure the 
investments in charging result in a National network of EV chargers 
that is convenient, reliable, affordable, accessible, and equitable. In 
April 2021, DOT's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced 
guidance \1\ on how federal funds can be used to deploy charging 
infrastructure and newly designated alternative fuel corridors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/
alternative_fuel_corridors/resources/ev_funding_report_2021.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DOT has also published a Rural EV Infrastructure Toolkit, which 
provides user-friendly information to rural project sponsors--both 
public and private--on how to plan, fund, and implement charging 
stations in rural areas. It provides information on the full range of 
federal funding sources that can be used for EV infrastructure--not 
just from DOT, but also from agencies with a particular focus on rural 
development, such as USDA, and electric vehicles, such as DOE. It 
builds on FHWA's guidance and on ongoing efforts such as FHWA's 
Alternative Fuel Corridors.
                                  rail
    Question. One transportation section of the American Jobs Plan 
focuses on the need to invest in reliable passenger and freight rail 
service specifically referencing the modernization of the high-traffic 
Northeast Corridor.
    What is the Administration's plan to modernize the Acela Corridor 
and how will those plans impact rail lines that are tangentially-
connected but not considered a high-traffic line in the more rural 
areas of the northeast region?
    Answer. Successful economies demand safe, efficient, and effective 
transportation systems. For more than 50 years, our government invested 
hundreds of billions of dollars in the development of the interstate 
highway and aviation systems, but minimal amounts in rail. The 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will offer a generational 
investment in our nation's rail network. The IIJA includes $66 billion 
in advance appropriations, and up to $34 billion in additional 
authorized funding to enhance, expand, and modernize the Northeast 
Corridor; develop new and improved intercity passenger rail routes; 
address Amtrak's backlog of equipment, stations, and deferred capital 
projects, and enhance safety at highway-rail grade crossings.
    Since the passage of the FAST Act in 2017, we have seen a growing 
interest in FRA's discretionary grant programs including the 
Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) and 
the Federal-State Partnership for the State of Good Repair 
(Partnership) grant programs. BIL expands FRA's existing grant programs 
and creates a process under the Corridor Identification and Development 
program, enabling states, local communities, and other rail 
stakeholders to comprehensively identify and develop new or expanded 
passenger rail corridors.
    Question. A key rail priority for Vermont is ensuring all of 
Vermont's rail lines have access to the national rail network. Does the 
administration's rail plan share the goal of ensuring all rail lines in 
the United States are connect to the national rail network? If so, what 
plans are in place to achieve this goal?
    Answer. The IIJA will make the largest Federal investment in 
passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, for states, railroads, and 
other stakeholders to improve, modernize, and expand the Nation's rail 
network. The IIJA includes $66 billion in advance appropriations, and 
up to $34 billion in additional authorized funding to enhance, expand, 
and modernize the Northeast Corridor; develop new and improved 
intercity passenger rail routes; address Amtrak's backlog of equipment, 
stations, and deferred capital projects, and enhance safety at highway-
rail grade crossings.
    Specifically, FRA received $12 billion for the Federal-State 
Partnership grants to expand or establish new intercity passenger 
projects outside of the Northeast Corridor, as well as at least $5 
billion for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety 
Improvements (CRISI) program. The proposed investment will benefit 
intercity passenger and freight railroads alike, not just by 
maintaining safe and reliable railroad infrastructure and developing 
new corridors to increase capacity and network performance, but also by 
providing new locomotives, advanced research with important safety and 
operational applications, and necessary workforce development programs 
to train the next generation of railroaders.
                             timber bridges
    Question. The current cost of rehabilitating our national backlog 
of structurally-deficient bridges is $125 billion, and in Vermont alone 
there is a deferred backlog of over $838 million in maintenance and 
repair. As with many states, there is an acute need for bridge repair 
in Vermont. As the United States looks to reduce the amount of 
greenhouse gases coming from the transportation sector, mass timber 
products can offer one solution. Timber products can help mitigate 
climate change. The Federal Highway Administration has a long history 
of partnering with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory and National 
Park Service for research and development on timber bridges, but in 
recent years these collaborations have slowed. Continued improvements 
in the fabrication of cross laminated timber (CLT) and other types of 
mass timber have increased this materials usefulness in the 
construction of bridges. Use of CLT is productive for both construction 
projects, for local, rural economies, and for the environment. Many 
state agencies of transportation are unaware of the possible 
utilizations of timber products in bridge construction and a renewed 
focus and investment by Federal Highway Administration will help 
stimulate this struggling market.
    The President's American Jobs Plan calls for $115 billion to 
modernize our bridges, highways, roads, and main streets that are in 
the most critical need of repair, including funding to limit greenhouse 
gas emissions. Timber bridges could be an environmentally-friendly & 
cost-effective way to help repair our Nation's bridges. Will you commit 
to looking into utilizing the Timber Bridge Program as a way to improve 
bridges across the country?
    Answer. Yes, I commit to looking into utilizing timber as a way to 
improve bridges across the country. The Nation faces a trillion-dollar 
backlog of needed repairs and we have fallen to 13th in the world in 
infrastructure-that is not sustainable as a global leader. The 
Administration, through IIJA, seeks to modernize bridges, highways, 
roads, and main streets that are in most critical need of repair. It 
will fix the most economically significant large bridges in the country 
in need of reconstruction, and it will repair the worst smaller 
bridges, including bridges that provide critical connections to rural 
and tribal communities.
                           electric aircrafts
    Question. Advanced air mobility is the emergence of transformative 
airborne technology to transport people and cargo in a cost-effective 
aircraft in previously unserved or underserved rural and urban areas. 
The emerging use of advance air mobility technology, including 
electronic aircrafts, can have a revolutionary effect on the delivery 
of services and care amid natural disasters or crises. It could serve 
as a possible cost-effective alternative to air ambulances; a quick, 
safe mode of transportation for organ transplants are just two examples 
of how advanced air mobility technology is becoming the future of the 
aviation industry. The advanced air mobility market is still untapped, 
even at the international level. The country that develops its domestic 
advanced air mobility capabilities and is the first to produce quality 
advanced air mobility products that are safe, accessible, secure and 
readily available at scale could very well emerge as the global leader 
in this technology.
    When considering how best to improve our Nation's aviation 
infrastructure, is the Biden administration looking into advanced air 
mobility, specifically the use of electric aircrafts, as a means to 
which the US can continue to be a global leader in the aerospace field? 
How can Congress support these efforts?
    Answer. The first passenger-carrying Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) 
aircraft are currently working their way through Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) certification. The FAA has been collaborating with 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop AAM 
Concepts of Operation, engaging with industry, and participating in 
demonstration projects that are opening our eyes to how AAM could 
fundamentally change the air transportation system as we know it. There 
is still a lot we need to learn to prepare for initial AAM operations 
that extends beyond the development of the aircraft itself. The FAA has 
organized its efforts around five areas of focus, which include 
aircraft, airspace, operations, infrastructure, and community.
    The first AAM operations are projected to be piloted, use 
traditional air traffic management services, and travel along 
established visual flight rules routes. These initial operations may 
quickly ramp up to require complex navigation systems, flight plan 
coordination, passenger security considerations, autonomous operation 
rules and procedures, and standards for landing sites, such as where 
they are placed; how they are funded and operated; and how they 
accommodate multiple or a single operator's aircraft. We are actively 
working with intergovernmental partners, industry, states, local 
communities, and tribal governments to better understand this emerging 
technology. I will be happy to share our progress in this field as it 
develops.
                 federal cost shares & rural set-asides
    Question. One issue I continuously hear from stakeholders in 
Vermont is about the need to make Federal programs more accessible to 
rural areas. One hindrance to these critical resources are Federal cost 
share rates. It is much more difficult for small, more rural areas to 
raise the funds necessary to meet various federal cost share 
requirements, especially for transportation and economic development 
programs. Another issue at hand is inexperience or inability to fulfill 
grant writing requirements due to a lack of resources at the community-
level. Grant writing is not always the simplest task, especially when 
the median town size is only 1,200 people.
    There a number of ways to incentivize rural participation in 
Federal grant programs whether it be higher Federal cost shares, 
navigator programs, or rural set-asides for specific Federal programs. 
Is the Biden administration supportive of raising Federal cost share 
matching requirements and implementing rural-set asides as a means to 
make Federal grant programs more accessible to rural communities across 
the country?
    Answer. I understand that rural communities have unique needs, 
including resource challenges and extensive unmet maintenance. I also 
know that infrastructure investments in rural America are key to 
supporting economic growth and to ensuring that residents have access 
to jobs, education and essential basic services like health care.
    Rural set-asides and higher Federal share for rural projects can be 
effective tools for getting Federal resources to rural areas, and where 
statute allows it, the Department implements these tools in a number of 
programs. For instance, the RAISE program has a statutory requirement 
to award an equitable amount, not to exceed 50%, to both urban and 
rural projects. It also allows rural projects to be funded up to 100% 
of project costs, which is not the case for urban projects. For the 
INFRA program, in 2021, the Department awarded approximately 44% of 
INFRA funding to projects in rural areas, well above the statutory 
requirement of 25%.
    Moreover, we have implemented such provisions in more than just our 
grant programs. Rural projects can access interest rates at half the 
typical rate (which means an interest rate just under 1%) through the 
TIFIA Rural Project Initiative, and receive a loan for 49% of eligible 
project costs, whereas other projects top out at 33% of eligible 
project costs. The remaining funding often comes from other DOT formula 
and discretionary programs, and we encourage applicants to leverage all 
sources of federal funds with a TIFIA loan to bring their project to 
fruition.
    Finally, I also recognize the need to provide technical assistance 
to help rural project sponsors apply for grants, which is why the 
Department's ROUTES program is dedicated to providing user-friendly 
guides and information to help rural stakeholders navigate DOT grant 
programs and resources.
                      cross-border infrastructure
    Question. For many states that neighbor the northern border, such 
as Vermont, the continued exchanged of international commerce with 
Canada remains a critical priority when considering how best to 
increase economic opportunities for these regions. Whether it is the 
free flow of commerce between Burlington, Vermont, and Montreal, 
Canada; Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto; or Seattle, Washington, and 
Vancouver, these regions all have the opportunity to revitalize their 
local economies through increased economic cooperation across the 
border. There are a number of obstacles that remain preventing the 
smooth flow of commerce between these regions and Canada including. 
Regarding infrastructure and your Department's role, one program that 
could be utilized to strengthen this effort would be the 
reauthorization of the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program, which 
expired following Fiscal Year 2009. The purpose of this program was to 
improve the safe movement of motor vehicles at and across our Nation's 
borders.
    Should the necessary Congressional programs, such as the Cross-
Border Construction Program, be reauthorized as Congress considers the 
American Jobs Plan, would you consider utilizing such programs as a 
means to increase economic activity in regions along the northern 
border? Does your Department view increasing cross-border commerce as a 
valuable means to improving economic activity in U.S. communities along 
the northern border?
    Answer. Congressional support on cross-border programs is very 
important to our national supply chain and economic growth, not only in 
communities along the northern border, but across the United States. 
Projects that were eligible in the Coordinated Border Infrastructure 
Program may now be eligible for other Federal-aid programs such as the 
Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program, which provides 
flexible funding for States and localities for projects to improve the 
conditions and performance of any Federal-aid highway, bridge, or 
tunnel. The Department stands ready and willing to consider all options 
and programs provided for by Congress to increase the smooth and safe 
transportation of goods over our northern border. Reducing congestion 
and utilizing all modes of transportation to transport goods are goals 
we all share, and you have my commitment to utilize all available 
programs to achieve those goals.
                       rural school construction
    Question. Many public schools Vermont's rural towns serve as an 
important hub for their communities. Many students are spending more 
time on campus to receive important social services, like mental health 
counseling and free meals, which are vital to their growth and 
development. Unfortunately, many of the 300 school buildings in Vermont 
are falling into a state of disrepair: leaking roofs, mold, and broken 
HVAC systems are just a few of the concerns. A recent survey of the 
state's school districts found that an estimated $565 million was 
needed in school infrastructure improvements. Several rural school 
infrastructure projects have been postponed due to a shortage of state 
funding and an inability to shoulder the cost at the local level 
through bond votes.
    The American Jobs Plan includes $100 billion for school 
construction. However, only half of this amount will be allocated as 
direct grants; the remaining $50 billion will be set aside for interest 
subsidies on bonds. School districts, particularly in rural areas, that 
lack community wealth have historically struggled to borrow money and 
pass bond measures. How does the administration plan to ensure that 
rural schools able to access this historic investment and are not left 
behind in the grant process?
    Answer. The IIJA will invest in America's schools, including 
investments in zero emission school buses, improving energy efficiency, 
and removing lead contamination in drinking water in schools, and 
improving broadband access to underserved communities (including 
schools in those communities).
                            forest products
    Question. I am encouraged by President Biden's emphasis on the role 
of forest ecosystems in addressing climate change, sequestering carbon, 
and promoting biodiversity. Maintaining a viable forest products and 
timber industry is critical to these efforts, and for the economic 
recovery ahead. For generations, rural communities in states like 
Vermont have relied on the economic and environmental benefits of the 
forest economy. That forest economy supports more than 10,000 jobs and 
generates nearly $1.5 billion in economic output in Vermont. When 
paired with sustainable forestry practices, wood products greatly 
enhance carbon sequestration, by retaining atmospheric carbon for the 
functional life of wood products.
    What are the primary barriers that exist to scaling up the use of 
timber in infrastructure projects?
    Answer. The engineering properties of timber make it a suitable 
material for some, but not all, infrastructure applications. In 
selecting infrastructure materials, owners typically consider 
engineering properties, expected durability, inspection, and 
maintenance requirements, as well as initial cost. That about half of 
all critical findings reported by the States due to deterioration on 
highway bridges are in timber elements--as many as steel and concrete 
combined (even though there are many more steel and concrete bridges)--
may factor into owners' decisions.
    Question. What are benefits to rural economies and to climate of 
using timber and other biomass in infrastructure projects like bridges? 
Can I count on your Department to deploy these resources in states like 
Vermont, where appropriate?
    Answer. The Department of Transportation does not have specific 
data on the economic and environmental benefits of timber 
infrastructure. However, there are assumed climate benefits of using 
timber and other biomass in infrastructure projects. For example, the 
increased use of timber may reduce carbon dioxide emissions if more 
trees are grown that can absorb these emissions. At the same time, this 
may reduce the need for steel and cement production, which are large 
carbon emitters, as well as provide some benefit to rural economies 
across the northeast region due to the increased use of timber and 
other biomass products. Decisions concerning the materials used in 
transportation infrastructure are made by the infrastructure owners--
typically States or Federal and local agencies. The Department has 
resources available to support a bridge owner's decision to use timber 
where appropriate.
                  northern border regional commission
    Question. Communities in Vermont, across New England and around the 
country benefit from the funding and capacity building work of federal 
commission and authorities like the Northern Border Regional Commission 
(NBRC).
    How can the Department of Transportation work closely with the 
NBRC, and other regional commissions, to plan, distribute funding and 
ensure completion of the investments in the President's proposal?
    Answer. The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is a multi-
state regional organization that coordinates among several U.S. border 
states (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine), including their 
Municipal Planning Organizations (MPOs). Since 2001, the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) and Transport Canada have co-led the 
Transportation Border Working Group (TBWG). The TBWG brings together 
U.S. federal government agencies with border equities, MPOs, border 
communities, and northern border states to meet with their Canadian 
counterparts to address the planning and coordination of border 
infrastructure and other border matters. As directed by Congress, the 
Department's Office of International Transportation and Trade in the 
Office of the Secretary coordinates border activities to ensure 
stakeholders are included in the management of the border as 
appropriate, including interagency coordination. We will continue to 
work through TBWG and directly with MPOs, states, and other multi-state 
and regional bodies to identify, prioritize, and receive feedback on 
projects as permitted by Federal law and guidelines.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
    Question. Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing 
needs of Oregon and other western states who are struggling to recover 
from the damage of the 2020 wildfire season. I believe the scale of 
natural disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    What does the Department estimate was the damage to transportation 
infrastructure or assets as a result of the 2020 wildfire season? How 
much does the Department estimate is the cost to repair or replace that 
infrastructure?
    Answer. Wildfires can affect multiple parts of transportation 
infrastructure assets and operations, including emergency response, 
road control and public messaging, highway maintenance, planning, and 
geotechnical response. Wildfires can cause direct impacts on 
transportation assets, such as burned timber bridges, tree strikes, 
melted culverts, burned signposts and guardrails, and pavement 
structure impacts. Indirect impacts from wildfire on transportation 
assets due to increased hydrologic responses in the watershed over the 
5-10 years following a wildfire event can include rockfall, debris 
flows, clogged drainage structures, channel incision and migration, and 
bridge foundation scour failures.
    The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), works with State DOTs 
and Federal Land Management Agencies to determine the total funds 
needed to repair highway infrastructure damaged from natural disasters 
and catastrophic events. Although this total only captures a portion of 
the impacts from fires, the following is a sum of the total damages 
that are eligible for support through the FHWA Emergency Relief program 
from 2020 wildfires.
  --Number of Emergency Relief for Federal-Aid Highways (ERFA) 
        Emergency events: 7
  --Federal Share of event cost: $152,780,063.55
    Question. It is widely anticipated that 2021 will be another 
difficult fire season. How is the Department preparing for the upcoming 
wildfire season?
    Answer. 2021 was indeed a difficult fire season, with more than 7.8 
million acres burned. Wildfires do not respect state or national 
borders. Combatting these vicious fires requires the resources and 
coordination of multiple Federal agencies, including the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA uses Temporary Flight 
Restrictions (TFR) to clear the airspace for those agencies responding 
to the fire. The FAA uses a variety of tools to notify pilots and 
recreational drone flyers about TFRs. In addition to publishing a 
Notice to Airmen advising of the TFR, the FAA frequently emails 
registered pilots, based on zip code, about the TFR. The FAA also uses 
a variety of social media platforms to notify followers that a TFR has 
been issued and stress the importance of keeping this airspace clear.
    The FAA recognizes that drones are often used as critical tools in 
combating wildfires and provides options to expedite operations in 
response to public safety emergencies. One such pathway is by obtaining 
a Special Governmental Interest, or SGI Waiver/Certificate of 
Authorization. A dedicated team at the FAA's System Operations Support 
Center reviews and approves these waivers. Nearly 99% of SGI waivers 
are approved within 24 hours of submission. The FAA also steadily works 
to raise awareness of the consequences of drone incursions in 
firefighting efforts. Drone incursions that interrupt firefighting 
efforts have remained lower than their high of 41 in 2016, but there 
were still 21 this year. FAA continues their awareness campaigns and 
increased enforcement against UAS pilots who disrupt firefighting 
efforts.
    Additionally, the FHWA's Emergency Relief (ER) Program provides 
funding reimbursement to states, territories, federal land management 
agencies and tribal governments for the reconstruction, restoration, 
and repair of Federal-aid and Federally-owned transportation facilities 
that have suffered damage from natural disasters or catastrophic 
failure from external causes. In December 2021, FHWA awarded $1.39 
billion in Emergency Relief (ER) funds to help 42 states, the District 
of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to make repairs 
to roads and bridges damaged by a variety of storms, floods, wildfires 
and other events.
    Question. The Department of Transportation is responsible not only 
for the management of the roads, bridges, and highways that connect us, 
but also the millions of acres of green spaces along these roadways. I 
have introduced legislation, the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act, to 
better utilize these greenspaces as support habitat for critical 
pollinators, which are quickly disappearing.
    Some states are already leading the charge and utilizing 
greenspaces alongside roadways to build pollinator habitat. Will you 
commit to working with state Departments of Transportation to build and 
expand best practices for pollinator habitats along roadways?
    Answer. Yes, I commit to working with state Departments of 
Transportation to build and expand best practices for pollinator 
habitats along roadways. Since 2014, Federal Highway Administration has 
been working to provide best management practices (BMPs), supporting 
research, and distributing information about pollinator-friendly 
practices in roadside vegetation management. There is a dedicated 
website that provides resources for State DOTs and other transportation 
agencies and roadside managers that includes legislation, policy, 
guidance, pollinator publications, resources for pollinator-friendly 
practices, funding eligibilities and other funding sources, as well as 
State DOT pollinator-friendly practices and information.
    Question. What resources are currently available from the 
Department of Transportation to support efforts to utilize roadside 
areas as pollinator habitat?
    Answer. There are a number of resources available to state and 
local DOTs to use for pollinator habitats. FHWA has a dedicated website 
that consolidates these resources available at https://
www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/env_topics/ecosystems/pollinators.aspx. 
The website provides links to legislation, policy, guidance, pollinator 
publications, resources for pollinator-friendly practices, funding 
eligibilities and other funding sources, as well as State DOT 
pollinator-friendly practices and information.
    Question. How can your Department better utilize existing programs 
and expand existing policies to incentivize efforts to restore natural 
infrastructure, like pollinator habitat, as part of transportation 
projects?
    Answer. These resources were initially compiled in 2014, as part of 
a Presidential Memorandum (PM) ``Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote 
the Health of Honey bees and Other Pollinators.'' These resources could 
be refreshed and promoted so that State and local transportation 
authorities are aware of these resources. The Biden-Harris 
Administration's support for resilience and climate change includes 
opportunities to use local and native vegetation with an emphasis to 
utilize pollinator-friendly vegetation.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
    Question. The FY21 Appropriations bill directed DOT to expand 
technical assistance and trainings to help state DOTs, local 
governments and tribal governments develop reliable indicators of 
vulnerability and actionable mitigation measures in all phases of 
transportation planning, asset management, project-specific planning 
and development, and operations towards improving resiliency. The bill 
provided $1 million for this technical assistance, as well as training, 
research and development efforts. Please provide an update on DOT's 
implementation.
    Answer. Our transportation system is increasingly vulnerable to the 
impacts of climate change. The President is committed to addressing 
climate change, including by investing in electric vehicle charging, 
increasing multimodal access to transit and the zero-emission bus 
fleet, and supporting a robust manufacturing industry that strengthens 
America's competitive position in the world. Further, resilience is 
key. We have to ensure our roads and bridges hold up in a world that 
will see more powerful weather disasters. The Administration is working 
with communities across the country to assess vulnerabilities to 
flooding and weather-related risks and identify opportunities to 
incorporate resilience into our infrastructure systems.
    The Department serves as a resource to transportation agencies and 
provides information on the many ways they can build resilience into 
the planning, construction, and operation of transportation projects. 
DOT has partnered with upwards of 50 resilience pilot project teams 
across the country to conduct climate change and extreme weather 
vulnerability assessments of transportation infrastructure and to 
analyze options for improving resilience. These projects vary in scope 
and emphasis and include: state-wide vulnerability assessments, 
analyses of engineering options for improving resilience of specific 
road segments, analysis of opportunities to protect assets by mimicking 
nature, incorporating climate risks into asset management, and 
deploying and monitoring adaptation solutions. Many of these projects 
can provide useful insights and approaches to resilience for 
communities across the country, and in the last year, DOT has worked to 
facilitate the exchange of information through workshops, webinars, 
technical assistance, and peer to peer engagements. We will continue 
partnering with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments on the 
shared goal of a transportation system that provides safe mobility 
under current and future climate conditions, supporting local economies 
and quality of life.
    Question. Please describe the Department of Transportation's 
proposals for resilient infrastructure included in the American Jobs 
Plan and FY22 budget request, including how these proposals will 
benefit infrastructure in all states-not only those along our nation's 
coasts.
    Answer. Transportation infrastructure must be planned and 
constructed to withstand the impacts of extreme weather events and 
climate change on our roads, bridges, ports, transit systems, and 
airports. Transportation systems must also be able to handle large-
scale emergency evacuations from natural hazards such as hurricanes or 
wildfires.
    The Administration seeks to provide the essential funding needed to 
incorporate resilience and modernize our highways, roads, and main 
streets. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will enable 
these kinds of necessary investments by providing funding for 
resilience through the new Promoting Resilient Operations for 
Transformative, Efficient, and Cost saving Transportation (PROTECT) 
program, airport improvements and upgrades to existing FAA assets, and 
port modernization efforts. In addition, IIJA and the FY 2022 budget 
request include DOT discretionary grant programs, such as the 
Rebuilding America's Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity 
(RAISE) and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants. These 
discretionary grant programs include climate change, including 
resilience, as a consideration in their criteria. Furthermore, as part 
of our implementation of EO 14008, DOT is identifying opportunities to 
incorporate resilience into DOT grant and loan programs.
    We are working closely with our partners at regional, state and 
local transportation agencies across the country to provide them with 
the tools and resources they need to consider climate impacts in their 
decision-making and to determine how we can best assist them as they 
make investment decisions in support of resilience. States are required 
by regulation to address climate change and extreme weather events when 
developing Asset Management Plans for highways. The Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) has published two supporting guidance documents 
focused on assessing and addressing risks, including climate change, 
and assessing life cycle costs of groups of assets. Similarly, the 
Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) grantees are required to develop 
Transit Asset Management Plans for their public transportation assets, 
including vehicles, facilities, equipment, and rail infrastructure. 
Every FTA-supported transit provider is required to inventory and 
assess the conditions of their assets, develop priorities for 
investment based on the inventory, and establish performance targets. 
Climate vulnerability can be cited as a factor in an agency's asset 
repair and replacement prioritization.
    Question. Over the past 5 years, the Chinese Rail Rollingstock 
Corporation (CRRC) has made alarming inroads into the U.S. market. This 
state-owned and directed company has made aggressive advances into the 
United States by using state-backed financing, below-market pricing, 
and other anti-competitive tactics to decimate domestic railcar 
manufacturing with the single end goal of producing all railcars in the 
PRC.
    In 2019, the Transit Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act (TIVSA) 
was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act 
(NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020. I was a proud sponsor of this legislation.
    TIVSA prevents American taxpayer dollars from being used by transit 
agencies to purchase railcars or buses manufactured by Chinese state-
owned enterprises. I believe this is a critical tool to fight against 
CRRC's incursion into the American market while protecting both the 
economic and national security of the United States. The Federal 
Transit Administration (FTA) should aggressively and actively enforce 
the letter of the law as Congress intended.
    However, I am very concerned with FAQs released by DOT in the 
spring of 2020 that do not follow Congressional intent and effectively 
give CRRC a path forward to accepting federal taxpayer dollars long 
after the Congressional deadline of December 19, 2021 passes.
    I previously mentioned this during your confirmation hearing and 
remained concerned that this loophole has not been addressed.
    What will you do to ensure FTA reviews these FAQs and amends them 
to ensure they are meeting the intent members of Congress set out to 
achieve?
    Answer. At the Department of Transportation, we must implement 
Federal law consistent with the express statutory language. Congress 
provided for a ``lifetime'' exemption from the rail rolling stock 
restriction to any transportation agency that entered into a contract 
with CRRC prior to December 20, 2019. The four agencies this exemption 
applies to are CTA, LACMTA, MBTA, and SEPTA. Transportation investments 
represent one of the best opportunities to spur American manufacturing 
and create American jobs. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed 
to ensuring that we lead the world in manufacturing and innovation. 
That means making sure American industries have a plan to succeed in 
the 2020s and beyond. China and Chinese companies must be held 
accountable for the unfair trade practices in which they so often 
engage, such as predatory behavior and cybersecurity intrusions. I will 
continue to work with Congress, American workers and businesses to 
ensure that our approach to procurement and our contracts support 
American jobs first and foremost.
                                 ______
                                 
             Question Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
                      electric vehicles & hydrogen
    Question. The President's Infrastructure plan calls for strong 
investments in electric vehicles. While I recognize the value of 
electric vehicles and the role they can play in reducing GHG emissions 
in the transportation sector and providing new manufacturing 
opportunities in the U.S., I have some serious concerns about how 
reliant we are on other countries, some of which have questionable 
mining practices, for the critical materials that go into the lithium 
ion batteries that power electric vehicles. That is why I am very 
intrigued by hydrogen fuel cell technology because fuel cells vehicles, 
like electric vehicles, produce electricity without combustion or 
emissions but they do not rely on a lithium battery.
    In the President's plan, do hydrogen fuel cell vehicles fall under 
the Electric Vehicle category? If not, is the administration open to 
including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the mix? Does the 
Administration's plan to invest in Electric Vehicles also include 
investments in Electric Vehicle battery recycling?
    Answer. Both hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and 
battery electric vehicles are considered electric vehicles and clean 
hydrogen production can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas 
emissions from the transportation sector. There are many exciting 
opportunities in this area. Announced at President Biden's Leaders 
Summit on Climate, the Administration's 2030 greenhouse gas pollution 
reduction target specifically calls for the prioritization of clean 
hydrogen and recognizes the need to create good paying jobs through 
expanded production. The plan also calls for using the procurement 
power of the federal government to support early markets for clean 
hydrogen. The President's plan includes increased investments for both 
battery and fuel cell electric vehicles. Across the passenger and 
freight transportation modes, the variety of ways that we move people 
and goods will require a variety of clean technology solutions and we 
are investing in that suite of clean energy technologies.
    Hydrogen is one of many alternative fuel or energy sources that may 
assist in moving the sector towards emissions reduction and ultimately 
decarbonization. The Department is looking at how existing programs 
could be used to further support investments, including collaboration 
with the DOE.
                                 ______
                                 
             Question Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
                  navy public shipyard infrastructure
    Question. Our nation's public shipyards were originally designed to 
build wind-and steam-powered ships--Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine 
was founded in 1800 for example. As a result, our public shipyards are 
not efficiently configured to maintain and modernize nuclear powered 
submarines and carriers, and our nation's dry docks, facilities, and 
related capital equipment are badly outdated and in need of 
modernization. In 2018 the Navy issued a Shipyard Infrastructure 
Optimization Plan (SIOP), which is a comprehensive, 20-year, $21 
billion effort to modernize infrastructure at the four naval shipyards. 
Without these investments in dry docks specifically, the Navy says it 
would lack the capacity for about a third of its planned maintenance 
periods at the shipyards and would have to defer needed maintenance.
    If we all are serious about the United States competing against and 
deterring China, we have to consider our vital defense infrastructure. 
Did the Administration consider including this type of critical defense 
infrastructure in its proposal?
    Answer. I believe a strong and resilient maritime industry is 
fundamentally important for the Nation and its industrial base, and is 
even more so now, as we work to recover from severe health and economic 
crises. I look forward to engaging with you and other Federal partners 
to address concerns of the industry and collaborating with all 
stakeholders, including labor unions, employers, and other stakeholder 
groups, to ensure our industrial maritime capacity is sufficient to 
meet the Nation's needs.
                                 ______
                                 
                Questions Submitted by Senator Roy Blunt
    Question. What user fees are currently included in the 
Administration's infrastructure proposal? Do you believe the 
Administration and Congressional Republicans can work together to find 
a package of user fees to financing a bipartisan infrastructure bill?
    Answer. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 
reauthorizes and renames the Surface Transportation System Funding 
Alternatives Program to the Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection 
(Sec. 13001) to continue the program to test the feasibility of a road 
usage fee and other user-based alternative revenue mechanisms to help 
maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund through pilot 
projects at the State, local, and regional level. In addition, the IIJA 
establishes the National Motor Vehicle Per-Mile User Fee pilot 
(Sec. 13002) to demonstrate a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee 
program.
    I appreciate the leadership that this Committee has shown in 
ensuring infrastructure investments are paid for and supporting efforts 
to continue exploring ways to modernize our revenue sources. I look 
forward to supporting Congress and the Administration on implementing 
the IIJA.
    Question. How is the Administration considering opportunities to 
leverage private capital to facilitate infrastructure investment? For 
example, how could a direct payment bond program like the one proposed 
in the bipartisan American Infrastructure Bond Act (Sens. Wicker and 
Bennet) help spur additional infrastructure investment through the 
municipal bond market? Also, how could advance refunding of municipal 
bonds like in the LOCAL Infrastructure Act (Sens. Wicker and Stabenow) 
free up much needed capital for state and local governments to reinvest 
in their infrastructure?
    Answer. I recognize how important this tool is to cities and major 
transit agencies, and I am committed to working with Congress to 
consider a variety of financing options and to leveraging the 
Department's resources to realize President Biden's vision for a 
transformational investment in American infrastructure; to make it 
safer, more equitable, more sustainable; and create millions of good-
paying jobs. That includes using the funding and financing resources of 
the Department, coordinated through the Build America Bureau, to work 
with state, local, and other partners and consider other innovative 
solutions that may be proposed by Congress.
    The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes a $15 
billion increase to the nationwide cap on Private Activity Bonds for 
qualified highway or surface freight transfer facilities. Further, it 
continues all of the programs currently offered by USDOT.
    Question. The importation and exportation of goods are essential to 
the long-term recovery and growth of the United States economy. 
Shippers need dependable and reliable port fluidity to get goods to 
consumers in a timely manner. Most supply chain issues facing this 
country occur at the port level. How does the Administration's plan to 
help alleviate current and future port congestion issues that hamper 
the movement of essential goods?
    Answer. Our Nation's ports are a key part of our critical 
infrastructure. They create jobs and make our economy more resilient 
and sustainable. The Department's port and intermodal infrastructure-
related programs, such as the Port Infrastructure Development Program 
and Marine Highway Program, build upon local investments in 
infrastructure to deliver long-term economic benefits to American 
workers and communities, while also addressing climate and equity.
    On November 9, 2021, as part of the Administration's ongoing 
efforts to address disruptions to the global supply chain, and on the 
heels of the passage of the President's Historic Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a Port 
Action Plan aimed at accelerating investment in our ports, waterways, 
and freight networks. Early actions within that plan included awarding 
more than $240 million in grant funding through the FY 2021 PIDP 
program and helping the Port of Savannah reallocate existing funding 
toward establishment of pop-up inland container yards that have helped 
the port alleviate supply chain congestion. The Department is on track 
to meet additional goals and timelines of the plan, including launching 
the first round of expanded port infrastructure grants and the next 
round of Marine Highway grants, each funded at record levels thanks to 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
    The Department recognizes the importance of these programs, and we 
look forward to working with Congress on supporting our Nation's ports.
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
    Question. Over the past few years, we have been working with the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to provide 
flexibility within the trucking Hours of Service regulations for 
drivers hauling livestock and agricultural commodities.
    Ranchers in my state and throughout the country have continuously 
stressed to me the unique nature of hauling livestock--which can 
include long hours during loading and unloading--and the potential 
animal safety concerns that could arise should a driver not reach his 
destination within the 11 hours of driving, and 14-hour workday allowed 
under HOS requirements.
    For the past four fiscal years, the Senate Appropriations Committee 
has delayed the implementation of the electronic logging device (ELD) 
rule for truckers hauling livestock. I will continue to push for a 
delay of the implementation of the ELD rule until we find a solution to 
the overall Hours of Service problem.
    As well, I have introduced bipartisan legislation--the Modernizing 
Agricultural Transportation Act--which would create a working group at 
the Department of Transportation (DOT) comprised of a wide ranging 
cross section of the agricultural, highway safety, and labor industries 
to examine the existing regulations, and require the DOT to promulgate 
new Hours of Service regulations for the agriculture industry.
    Will you work with me, and the Senate Commerce Committee, to reform 
the Hours of Service regulations for our farmers and ranchers in the 
upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill?
    Answer. Yes, I commit to working with you on Hours of Service 
regulations and how they intersect with the varied complexities of 
truckers' daily work, including those who transport time-sensitive 
cargo such as livestock and agricultural commodities. As you know, Sec. 
23018 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act significantly 
expanded the previous hours-of-service exemption for drivers 
transporting livestock. The exemption now encompasses not only a 150-
air-mile radius from the point where livestock are loaded, but also a 
150-air-mile radius from the final destination of the livestock.
    Question. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the private 
motorcoach industry. Congress included $2 billion in assistance for the 
motorcoach, school bus, and U.S. flagged passenger vessels industries 
in the COVID Relief and Response Act signed into law on December 27, 
2020.
    When will the guidance for the CERTS Act Grant Program will be 
released, when will the application process open, and when funds will 
be distributed?
    Answer. DOT understands the devastating impact that the COVID-19 
pandemic has had on the transportation sector. As directed by Congress, 
Treasury is the lead Department responsible for CERTS program 
implementation. Treasury released guidance on May 6, the CERTS 
application portal opened on June 19, and the application period closed 
on July 19. Based on application reviews, Treasury determined that a 
more effective approach was to make two payments. Making an initial 
payment followed by a smaller ``top off'' payment expedited the 
delivery of funds to as many grantees as possible. On August 13, 
Treasury began notifying and releasing grant agreements to approved 
applicants. Treasury made grant payments on a rolling basis as soon as 
the grantees signed the agreements. On October 8, Treasury sent the 
final payments to recipients of funding provided through CERTS program. 
Over 1,400 motorcoach, school bus, passenger vessel and pilotage 
companies representing all 50 states received grants--93% of which are 
small businesses and more than 33% of which are minority-owned 
businesses. The CERTS grant recipients can be found on Treasury's 
website available here: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/
coronavirus/assistance-for-american-industry/coronavirus-economic-
relief-for-transportation-services/Coronavirus-Economic-Relief-for-
Transportation-Services-CERTS-Grant-Payments
    DOT also provided support to Treasury to ensure that CERTS grant 
funding are distributed as promptly and responsibly as possible. At the 
outset, DOT stood up a team of senior career officials and technical 
experts from OST, FMCSA, FTA, MARAD, and U.S. Coast Guard to assist 
with stakeholder outreach and provide technical assistance to Treasury. 
For example, during the review process, FMCSA reviewed all 1,600+ 
motorcoach applications and conducted data checks to verify applicant 
eligibility. FMCSA also reviewed over 4,000 other records that had been 
blocked and quarantined by Treasury's system to verify none were 
incorrectly deemed ineligible. Treasury's and DOT's partnership and 
collaborative efforts contributed to Treasury's successful 
implementation of CERTS.
                                 ______
                                 
           Question Submitted by Senator Shelley Moore Capito
    Question. Can you reaffirm for us today that the White House does 
not support funneling funding solely through competitive grant 
programs, but also through the formula program, which gives states much 
more flexibility on how to prioritize and spend their federal dollars?
    Answer. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) 
does include several new competitive grant programs that aim to further 
specific national policy objectives, the vast majority of funding will 
be distributed by formula to states and local communities.
                                 ______
                                 
         Questions Submitted to Administrator Michael S. Regan
             Questions Submitted by Chairman Patrick Leahy
                         natural infrastructure
    Infrastructure is no longer limited to our bridges, roads, and 
railways. Vermonters understand the importance of conserving our most 
natural infrastructure, from farmland to watersheds. Doing so is not 
just an environmental imperative in rural states like Vermont--it is an 
economic one.
    Question. How can EPA, in coordination with other agencies, 
accelerate the conservation and restoration of natural infrastructure 
such as wetlands, marshes, riparian areas, and intact watersheds that 
are so critical for resilience to the impacts of climate change?
    Answer. EPA works collaboratively with other Federal agencies 
across numerous programs that leverage resources and authorities to 
prioritize the conservation and restoration of natural infrastructure. 
These include our geographic programs, nonpoint source program, coastal 
wetlands initiative, and the Urban Waters program.
    In Vermont, where nonpoint source and stormwater pollution have 
caused overland runoff, including in the Lake Champlain Basin, EPA has 
funded green infrastructure best management practices. For example, the 
Friends of Northern Lake Champlain used EPA funding to install rain 
gardens and other practices at the Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax, 
Alburgh Community Education Center, and the Georgia Elementary and 
Middle School. The Georgia Elementary and Middle School will educate 
kids about the benefits of green infrastructure as part of their STEM 
programming. EPA is supporting another project to control erosion 
issues at the Highgate Dam by deploying best management practices along 
the Northern Forest Canoe Trail on the Missisquoi River to manage 
stormwater runoff.
    Question. Harmful algae blooms are accelerating rapidly, as the 
result of warmer temperatures and more severe rainfall events. What 
will the EPA do to assist geographic area and estuary programs, as well 
as wastewater and storm water infrastructure, with the funding and 
technical supported needed to accelerate their work and offset these 
impacts?
    Answer. EPA is actively involved with efforts aimed at preventing 
and mitigating harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater systems and 
estuaries. EPA conducts research to understand the causal agents for 
HABs and continues to provide technical support to assist states and 
tribes in the development of numeric nutrient criteria to control 
discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus. EPA will continue to support 
states in implementing their water quality standards, including states' 
efforts to develop HABs-related criteria, identify waters impaired for 
HABs, develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to address HABs 
impairments, and include information on impairments, TMDLs, and other 
plans in the How's My Waterway online tool.
    EPA also provides support and technical assistance to states and 
tribes challenged with cyanotoxins in their source waters. EPA has 
offered monitoring, analysis, and risk communication strategies and 
direct monitoring and laboratory analysis support during HABs events. 
EPA supports the cyanobacteria monitoring network (https://cyanos.org/
), available nationally, to assist states, tribes, and communities in 
identifying HABs. Further, EPA has developed several tools and HABs in 
drinking and recreational waters.
    Investments included in the American Jobs Plan will also assist in 
rebuilding our nation's infrastructure and addressing harmful algal 
blooms and other environmental and public health needs. The American 
Jobs Plan provides $111 billion, primarily in grants and low-cost 
flexible loans to states, Tribes, territories, and disadvantaged 
communities across the country to upgrade and modernize America's 
drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, tackle new 
contaminants, and support clean water infrastructure across rural 
America
                       rural water infrastructure
    Like many rural states, Vermont's aging water infrastructure 
requires significant investment. According to an annual report card by 
the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vermont's drinking water 
infrastructure remains at a C-minus grade, with storm water and 
wastewater infrastructure even further behind. The situation is even 
more urgent for low-income rural populations, which are especially 
burdened by the high costs of replacing aging assets, addressing 
emerging contaminants like PFAS, understaffed water systems, and an 
increase in extreme weather due to climate change. I have worked hard 
to secure Federal funds for Vermont to close this gap, replace our 
aging systems, and increase community resilience, but much more work 
remains. As we work to increase funding for critical infrastructure 
upgrades, low-resource communities still lack the technical and 
financial capacity to secure funding and implement projects.
    Question. What role can technical assistance play in supporting 
these communities, particularly those with smaller, decentralized water 
and wastewater systems?
    Answer. EPA's technical assistance and training programs help to 
ensure that all communities, especially small and underserved 
communities, have the tools they need to address their pressing water 
infrastructure and other water quality needs. In addition, EPA provides 
training and technical assistance to small and rural wastewater and 
drinking water systems to improve their operation and management 
practices and promote sustainability. Examples of EPA technical 
assistance and training programs that help rural communities include 
the Small System Technical Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater 
Grant and the New Technical Assistance for Small Wastewater Systems 
Grant.
    The American Jobs Plan includes additional critical investments 
that will help to modernize small and rural water systems. The Plan 
will scale up existing, successful programs, including by providing $56 
billion in grants and low-cost flexible loans to states, Tribes, 
territories, and disadvantaged communities across the country. The Plan 
also provides $10 billion in funding to monitor and remediate PFAS in 
drinking water and to invest in rural small water systems and household 
well and wastewater systems, including drainage fields.
                               woodstoves
    I applaud EPAs implementation of much higher emissions standards 
for residential wood heaters, spurring the emergence of a new 
generation of highly-efficient devices to the marketplace. These 
advances in efficiency over the last decade have helped heating devices 
like pellet stoves and boilers achieve efficiency ratings over 80 
percent. Deploying these new wood heaters can help states like Vermont 
achieve carbon reduction goals and improve air quality in rural 
communities while providing local, renewable, and relatively low-cost 
fuel. At the same time, old, dirty, and inefficient wood heaters 
abound. They are also highly durable, and without a concerted Federal 
effort to remove them from the market, they could remain in circulation 
in perpetuity.
    Question. What is the value in expanding Federal support for the 
buy-back/removal from market of old, non-compliant, residential wood 
heaters? What can EPA do to initiate this type of effort?
    Answer. Smoke from wood burning contains fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) and other air pollutants, which may result in outdoor air 
concentrations exceeding Federal air quality standards and harming 
public health. EPA is actively working to improve testing and 
certification to ensure that changing out old, inefficient wood burning 
devices remains an important tool to reduce particle pollution in 
communities that use wood for heat.
    Expanded resources would afford EPA the ability to undertake and 
accelerate a multi-year project to develop improved Clean Air Act 
compliance measurement methods for testing new woodstoves. These 
methods would better reflect real-world conditions and additional 
funding would allow EPA to deploy them sooner.
    Through EPA's Burn Wise program, the Agency is working with 
recipients of Targeted Airshed Grant funds and other state, local, and 
tribal programs to implement woodstove changeouts. Burn Wise also 
collaborates with communities, industry, and other stakeholders to 
educate wood burning residents on how to achieve efficient fires that 
maximize heat and minimize smoke.
                        rural villages and towns
    The average town in Vermont has 1,200 people and leadership that is 
almost all volunteers with full time jobs. These towns are ready to 
make the investments to update their water, their sewer, their roads, 
and their zoning and build more housing, and attract young families and 
new small businesses. But, doing so is a bureaucratic maze. The 
American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for every part 
of our country.
    Question. How can the EPA support rural places and small towns in 
this infrastructure plan? How can we ensure that this funding benefits 
everyone in the country, not just cities that have already been able to 
invest in the requirements for shovel-ready projects?
    Answer. The American Jobs Plan specifically commits to upgrade and 
modernize America's drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, 
tackle new contaminants, and support clean water infrastructure across 
rural America. Specifically, the American Jobs Plan provides funding to 
rural communities through several EPA programs, including the Clean 
Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and the Water 
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. These 
programs provide low-cost, flexible loans and loan forgiveness. In 
addition, EPA provides training and technical assistance to small and 
rural wastewater and drinking water systems through programs like the 
Small System Technical Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater 
Grant Program and a new Technical Assistance for Small Wastewater 
Systems Grant Program. The American Jobs Plan investment in these grant 
programs will help to rebuild the Nation's water infrastructure, 
including infrastructure needs and assistance for rural and 
disadvantaged communities and tribal nations.
                    clean school bus rebate program
    President Biden's American Jobs Plan includes an initiative to 
electrify at least 20 percent of our school bus fleet through a new 
Clean Buses for Kids Program at the EPA. Initiatives like this are 
critical to meeting our national emissions reductions goals and 
ensuring cleaner air for our children and communities, particularly in 
rural areas where bus routes are longer. The EPA's existing School Bus 
Rebate program has served as a model for this important work. In recent 
years, however, only two Vermont school districts have secured rebates 
through this program, out of hundreds of awards.
    Question. As we scale up this program, how do we ensure equitable 
distribution to smaller and more rural communities, for which these 
upgrades are particularly important?
    Answer. The Clean Buses for Kids Program in the American Jobs Plan 
will build on the successes and lessons learned from the Diesel 
Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program. EPA's DERA School Bus Rebate 
program, most recently authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 2021, provides rebates to eligible applicants through a lottery 
process. This popular program is consistently oversubscribed on an 
annual basis, resulting in most applications going unfunded. The new 
Clean Buses for Kids Program will create more opportunities for EPA to 
meet the needs of schools, including those in smaller and more rural 
states.
    Already, EPA has taken steps to achieve a greater geographic 
distribution of school bus rebate awards. For example, the agency 
updated its selection process in 2018 to ensure that at least one 
applicant from each state submitting an eligible application is 
selected for funding. Moving forward, EPA will continue to explore 
options to ensure clean school buses are available across the country, 
including in rural areas. The agency will also continue to improve 
outreach and educational efforts so that more communities, including 
smaller towns and rural areas, are aware of our funding opportunities.
    EPA will follow congressional direction in how to allocate funding 
for the new Clean Buses for Kids Program.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
                               wildfires
    Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing needs of 
Oregon and other western states who are struggling to recover from the 
damage of the 2020 wildfire season. While FEMA has delivered 
substantial emergency relief to Oregon, I believe the scale of natural 
disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    Question. I greatly appreciated that you highlighted the impact 
that wildfire smoke has on air quality and public health in your 
testimony. Could you elaborate and expand on the specific impact that 
wildfire smoke has on air quality and public health?
    Answer. Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine 
particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn. The 
biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles. These 
microscopic particles can get into a person's eyes and respiratory 
system, where they can cause a variety of health problems. Short-term 
exposures to particles (hours or days) can cause symptoms such as 
burning eyes or runny nose, and can also aggravate lung disease, 
causing asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and may also increase 
susceptibility to respiratory infections. In people with heart disease, 
short-term exposures have been linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias. 
Long-term exposures, experienced by people living for many years in 
areas with high particle levels, have been associated with reduced lung 
function, development of chronic bronchitis, and even premature death.
    In addition, to impacts on ambient air quality, wildfire smoke can 
enter homes and buildings, exposing people advised to stay indoors 
during wildfire smoke events. The extent to which smoke infiltrates 
into buildings depends on a number of factors including the leakiness 
of the building, whether doors and windows can be kept closed, whether 
outdoor air is brought in via mechanical ventilation systems, and 
whether that air is filtered.
    EPA has developed information for people to reduce their exposure 
to smoke at home, which can be found on our Wildfires and Indoor Air 
Quality webpage. For commercial buildings and other similar building 
types such as schools, EPA representatives participated in the 
development of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-
Conditioning Engineer's (ASHRAE) Planning Framework for Protecting 
Commercial Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire Events.
            water infrastructure damage from 2020 wildfires
    Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing needs of 
Oregon and other western states who are struggling to recover from the 
damage of the 2020 wildfire season. While FEMA has delivered 
substantial emergency relief to Oregon, I believe the scale of natural 
disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    Question. What does the Agency estimate the damage to water 
infrastructure from 2020 wildfires was?
    Answer. There were five Major Disaster Declarations for wildfires 
occurring in 2020. Damage includes, but is not limited to, damaged 
infrastructure (tanks, pipes, pumps, electrical, etc.), erosion of 
berms, and active emergency protective measures (e.g. preventing or 
purging sewage leakage into public water supply). According to the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance 
database, the declarations and estimated damages are as follows:
  --DR-4558 California: Approximately $26.5 million
  --DR-4562 Oregon: Approximately $5.8 million
  --DR-4569 California: Approximately $3.0 million
  --DR-4581 Colorado: Approximately $0.0 ($0.01 million) several close 
        calls
  --DR-4584 Washington: Approximately $0.0 (no water/wastewater 
        utilities claimed damage to FEMA)
    Actual estimates are likely higher as additional claims of damage 
are expected from water and wastewater utilities and not all damage is 
obvious until reconstruction begins. For example, there can be 
contamination of underground pipelines from thermal exposure, which 
might require pipeline replacement. The estimates also may not include 
costs for water systems to provide additional or alternative treatment 
due to changes in source water quality (e.g. increased sediment loading 
and heavy metals) from the wildfires. In addition, FEMA's Public 
Assistance program only covers certain eligible costs for public 
utilities (e.g., labor, equipment, materials, contract work, direct and 
indirect administrative costs) and does not cover the thousands of 
private utilities or private wells that were damaged.
                    agency planning--wildfire smoke
    Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing needs of 
Oregon and other western states who are struggling to recover from the 
damage of the 2020 wildfire season. While FEMA has delivered 
substantial emergency relief to Oregon, I believe the scale of natural 
disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    Question. It is widely anticipated that 2021 will be another 
difficult fire season. How is the Agency preparing for upcoming 
wildfire season? In your answer, please address how the Agency is 
planning for wildfire smoke.
    Answer. EPA will continue to provide the public with key air 
quality and health-related information and tools needed to understand 
the impacts of wildfire and prescribed fires on air quality and public 
health. This includes the AirNow website, the Fire and Smoke Map, and 
the Smoke-Ready Toolbox, which contains resources to educate people 
about the risks of smoke exposure and actions they can take to protect 
their health.
    EPA has coordinated with land management agencies and state 
regulatory agencies to find opportunities to apply appropriate wildfire 
mitigation strategies--including employing prescribed fire.
    To address indoor air quality issues during wildfire smoke events, 
EPA plans to
  --Produce a video demonstrating how to set up a ``clean room'' to 
        reduce smoke exposure at home, which will illustrate the steps 
        described on our Create a Clean Room webpage.
  --Continue to participate in an American Society of Heating, 
        Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineer (ASHRAE) committee 
        tasked with developing a guideline for ``Protecting Building 
        Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn 
        Events,'' which is expected to be completed in 2022. More 
        information about the purpose and scope of the proposed 
        guideline can be found on the ASHRAE Titles, Purposes and 
        Scopes webpage under GPC 44P.
  --Update and create new factsheets associated with Wildfire Smoke: A 
        Guide for Public Health Officials.
    Children and pregnant people are particularly at risk to health 
consequences of exposure to wildfire smoke. Because these groups are 
particularly vulnerable, EPA and other stakeholders recently held a 
workshop addressing the topic of children's health and wildfire smoke, 
which identified proposed recommendations for reducing children's 
exposure to smoke. Once finalized, these recommendations will be made 
available to the public on the Wildfire Guide Post-Publication Updates 
webpage on AirNow.gov. The meeting organizers and workshop participants 
are considering how to share and implement the recommendations during 
the 2021 wildfire season and beyond.
                                 ______
                                 
              Question Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
                           american jobs plan
    Question. Please describe EPA's proposals for resilient 
infrastructure included in the American Jobs Plan and FY22 budget 
request, including how these proposals will benefit infrastructure 
throughout the country-not just in states along the coasts.
    Answer. The American Jobs Plan is an investment in America that 
will create millions of good jobs and rebuild our country's 
infrastructure. In the American Jobs Plan, President Biden committed to 
``deliver infrastructure Americans can trust, because it will be 
resilient to floods, fires, storms, and other threats, and not fragile 
in the face of these increasing risks.'' These are impacts that are 
already affecting Americans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
and U.S. territories. He also wrote: ``Building back better requires 
that the investments in this historic plan make our infrastructure more 
resilient in the face of increasingly severe floods, wildfires, 
hurricanes, and other risks. Every dollar spent on rebuilding our 
infrastructure during the Biden administration will be used to prevent, 
reduce, and withstand the impacts of the climate crisis.''
    The American Jobs Plan includes an $111 billion investment to 
rebuild the nation's aging water infrastructure, which is vulnerable to 
the full range of climate impacts. The investments aim to replace 100 
percent of the nation's lead pipes and service lines, upgrade and 
modernize drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, tackle 
new contaminants, and support water infrastructure and resiliency 
across rural America.
    The FY 2022 President's Budget requests a total of $3.56 billion 
for several of EPA's water infrastructure programs that include the 
Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), Water 
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), Alaska Native 
Villages, and Mexico Border. The EPA also supports water infrastructure 
through grants authorized under the Water Infrastructure Improvements 
for the Nation (WIIN) Act and America's Water Infrastructure Act 
(AWIA). This increased Federal investment paired with EPA's technical 
assistance and training programs help to ensure that all communities, 
especially small and underserved communities, have available tools to 
help address their pressing water infrastructure and other water 
quality needs.
    The FY 2022 President's Budget also requests a total of $1.53 
billion for EPA's Superfund Program of which approximately $1.1 billion 
is specifically for the Superfund Remedial, Removal and Emergency 
Response programs. EPA also requests $140 million for the Brownfields 
Project program to assess and clean up contaminated properties in 
communities and return these idle sites to communities for economic and 
environmental revitalization. Hurricanes and extreme precipitation 
events-the hallmarks of climate change-can flood these contaminated 
properties and toxic waste sites and spread pollution throughout 
neighborhoods, making expedited cleanup of these sites critical in the 
face of a warming climate.
    Together, the American Jobs Plan and the FY 2022 President's Budget 
enable EPA to significantly expand its effort to fund, partner with and 
build the capacity of local utilities, private investors, and state 
programs to expand the array of funding options to meet future 
infrastructure needs that improve resiliency, reduce exposure to 
contaminants, address vulnerabilities, including cyber-related issues, 
and increase water workforce and system capacity.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
             coordination of existing infrastructure funds
    Previous packages have included considerable amounts of money that 
can be used for infrastructure. I fought hard to make broadband, water, 
and sewer eligible expenses for communities that don't have major 
outstanding COVID expenses. That represents $350 billion for state and 
local assistance, as well as an additional $10 billion for critical 
capital projects like broadband. I can tell you from talking to many of 
these city and county officials over the past few months that they are 
ecstatic about these funds. It's the first time they have control of 
their future in their own hands. At the same time, we need to make sure 
that we are making smart investments with these funds. The President's 
plan includes $111 billion for water infrastructure as well as $100 
billion for broadband. Taken together, that's more than half a trillion 
dollars toward some of our most pressing infrastructure needs.
    Question. How much funding has been provided in previous 
coronavirus relief packages for infrastructure?
    Answer. EPA did not receive any infrastructure funding as part of 
the CARES Act (Pub. L. 116-136). The American Rescue Plan of 2021 (Pub. 
L. 117-2) provided EPA with $100 million in funding to address air 
pollution and the disparate health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
The appropriators gave EPA the flexibility to use some of these 
resources for infrastructure-oriented state and local assistance 
grants.
    The American Rescue Plan also provided $350 billion in the 
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for state, local, 
territorial, and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 
emergency and bring back jobs. These funds can be used to make 
necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. 
Finally, the American Rescue Plan provides $10 billion for critical 
capital projects that directly enable work, education, and health 
monitoring; this includes broadband infrastructure, connectivity 
devices and equipment, critical community hubs, and other capital 
assets.
    Question. How are you going to build on the funding we have already 
provided in an infrastructure bill?
    Answer. The American Rescue Plan and the American Jobs Plan 
together are investments in America that, with the agency's FY 2022 
President's Budget request, will create millions of jobs, rebuild our 
country's infrastructure, address environmental justice and tackle the 
climate crisis. The American Rescue Plan, as a first step, provides 
$100 million for the EPA to advance environmental justice and help 
states, tribes, and localities improve air quality for their 
communities. Per the legislative text, EPA will use the funds to 
address health outcome disparities from pollution and the COVID-19 
pandemic and disproportionate environmental or public health risks in 
minority populations or low-income populations
    Building on these environmental justice and air quality projects, 
the American Jobs Plan includes an $111 billion investment to help 
rebuild the nation's aging water infrastructure. This investment aims 
to replace 100 percent of the nation's lead pipes and service lines, 
upgrade and modernize drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater 
systems, tackle new contaminants, and support water infrastructure and 
resiliency across rural America. The Plan also includes $5 billion for 
the remediation and redevelopment of Brownfields and Superfund sites. 
This investment will spur the cleanup of critical infrastructure in 
distressed and disadvantaged communities and turn idle property into 
new hubs of economic growth.
    EPA's FY 2022 President's Budget provides the foundation for 
successful implementation of the American Rescue Plan and the American 
Jobs Plan projects. The Budget accelerates job-creating water 
infrastructure improvements, elevates environmental justice across the 
agency, and increases support for science.
    Question. How are you going to coordinate with local communities, 
states, and other agencies to ensure that this funding addresses our 
long-term needs?
    Answer. Ensuring Federal resources are dedicated to addressing 
communities' long-term needs is central to EPA's shared environmental 
responsibilities with our state and local community partners. Through 
the agency's Regional Offices, the Local Government Advisory Committee, 
and other forums, EPA is committed to regular and ongoing engagement 
with states, tribes, and local governments across the country who know 
their communities better than the Federal government ever could. EPA is 
committed to maintaining and enhancing these open lines of 
communication, working collaboratively across all levels of government, 
and working directly with local communities to ensure funds are 
provided to priority projects that meet both short-term and long-term 
infrastructure challenges.
                               minden, wv
    The President's Infrastructure Plan calls for a $5 billion 
investment in brownfield and superfund site remediation throughout the 
country. Since 1984, the EPA has designated Minden, WV, as a superfund 
site after an industrial plant polluted the town with PCBs. This site 
has had a devastating impact on my constituents, and in 2019, after 
years and years of urging, the EPA finally added Minden to its National 
Priorities List (NPL). I appreciate the EPA's efforts to assist this 
community, but the residents of Minden are in desperate need of 
additional help. Members of the public have expressed concerns about 
the EPA's data collection and research processes, as well as their 
dissatisfaction with the status quo, which makes them feel vulnerable 
in their own neighborhood.
    Question. How will the Environmental Justice offices within your 
agencies collaborate and incorporate outreach to different types of 
stakeholders that live in and represent communities like Minden?
    Answer. EPA has a long and collaborative working relationship with 
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's (WVDEP's) 
Environmental Justice program and will continue to advise, support, and 
provide training as they advance environmental justice for all West 
Virginians.
    I understand that the community has many concerns about the cleanup 
process. In Minden, EPA's site team developed a Community Involvement 
Plan (CIP) to facilitate dialogue between the community and EPA to 
encourage dynamic participation throughout the cleanup process. The CIP 
is a site-specific resource for EPA staff, state and local partners, 
and the community that provides general Superfund program information, 
describes the site and impacted community, identifies and assesses 
community needs, concerns, and expectations, and shares planned 
participation activities and communication options. As part of the CIP 
development, EPA incorporated information from the agency's 
environmental justice screening tool to provide additional information 
about the community. EPA is using information from community 
interviews, the various agency environmental justice tools, and our 
work with WVDEP to target outreach to ensure community members can 
meaningfully participate in the Superfund process, consistent with the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA). EPA will follow up with your office to better understand the 
concerns of the community about the data collection and research 
process.
    Question. Will this include state & local government, civic 
organizations, trade organizations, and technical professionals 
representing affected communities?
    Answer. Yes, state and local government, civic and trade 
organizations, and technical professionals representing affected 
communities are very important to advancing the site work. To ensure 
their involvement, the EPA Site Team has monthly coordination meetings 
with the WVDEP to discuss progress and the schedule for the ongoing 
remedial investigation and site activities. The Site Team consistently 
offers to facilitate and provide the community with resources for 
forming a Community Advisory Group and applying for a technical 
assistance grant. EPA reiterated this recently in an April 2021 letter 
to an attorney representing various community members. Additionally, 
EPA has reached out to local governments to facilitate discussions on 
grant applications and attended a public meeting related to the sewer 
line upgrade project hosted by the City of Oak Hill.
    Question. What concrete steps can we take in the coming weeks and 
months to show these families that help is finally on the way?
    Answer. EPA strives to maintain transparent and frequent 
communication and an open dialogue with the Minden community. The 
January 2021 virtual public meeting, which covered the Remedial 
Investigation Phase 1 sampling results and plans for Phase 2 sampling, 
was well attended, and the community asked thoughtful and detailed 
questions. EPA answered each question and received input on Phase 2 
sample locations from several community members. The Site Team 
discussed the input with community members, and the Remedial Project 
Manager visited the site and had discussions with community members in 
March 2021. The community receives monthly updates on status, progress, 
and key events.
    EPA is finalizing workplans and sampling locations for Phase 2 
remedial investigation sampling. EPA, WVDEP, and Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are working expeditiously to 
begin the next phase of field work sampling. The Site Team expects to 
approve the field sampling plan, including sample locations, over the 
next 45 days and begin sampling in July 2021. EPA will develop and 
share a fact sheet with proposed locations and seek final community 
input prior to beginning field work.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Proposed sample locations will be posted to the public site 
profile page at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/shaffer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
             carbon capture, utilization and storage (ccus)
    Question. We've been working to crack the code on CCUS because 
accelerating the deployment of carbon capture technology is the single 
most effective thing we can do to lower emissions, while keeping the 
lights on for families and our economy.
    We appreciate the administration's work to prioritize CCUS, 
including the inclusion of our bipartisan proposals to enhance the 45Q 
credit for CCUS as well as the SCALE Act, which supports the buildout 
of necessary infrastructure, including pipelines, to transport and 
store CO2.
  --Do you support the buildout of new CO2 pipelines?
  --Do you agree that we need more predictable and transparent 
        regulations to build this needed infrastructure?
  --Do support new infrastructure and technology to capture natural gas 
        and prevent flaring?
    --Does this include supporting new pipeline infrastructure to 
            gather and transport natural gas, and reduce methane 
            emissions?
  --Last year, we worked with the Trump administration to improve and 
        modernize the NEPA review process. At a minimum, do you agree 
        that project developers should have more predictable timelines 
        and that participating agencies should face?
    Answer. In line with the bipartisan SCALE Act, the Administration 
supports large-scale sequestration efforts that leverage the best 
science and prioritize community engagement. To accelerate responsible 
carbon capture deployment and ensure permanent storage, the President's 
plan reforms and expands the bipartisan Section 45Q tax credit, making 
it direct pay and easier to use for hard-to-decarbonize industrial 
applications, direct air capture, and retrofits of existing power 
plants.
    As directed by Executive Order 13990, EPA is reviewing the final 
rule titled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, 
Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Reconsideration.'' In reviewing the 
rule, EPA is considering how states have addressed methane emissions at 
oil and gas operations and new technologies to capture methane. EPA has 
opened a public docket for pre-proposal comments and plans to convene 
listening sessions for stakeholders.
    Consistent with Executive Order 13990, the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) is reviewing regulations implementing the procedural 
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to ensure 
that the regulations effectively implement NEPA and serve its multiple 
purposes. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and CEQ also are 
tasked with jointly considering whether to recommend a replacement to 
the revoked Executive Order 13807, Establishing Discipline and 
Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for 
Infrastructure Projects. EPA stands ready to support CEQ and OMB as 
needed and will provide advice based on EPA's experience in 
independently reviewing all Federal agencies' environmental impact 
statements and as a permitting agency.
                         coal-fired generation
    Question. Coal-fired generation provided over 50 percent of the 
power to the two regional grids in North Dakota (SPP & MISO) during 
February's extreme cold weather. This demonstrates that the 
administration's goal for the power sector by 2035 is not feasible 
without the mass deployment of CCUS.
    Further, China added 38 gigawatts of new coal-fired power in 2020 
and has another 247 gigawatts of coal power under development.
  --As developing economies continue to invest in new coal-fired 
        generation, wouldn't you agree that CCUS technology is critical 
        to any global emissions reduction solution?
    Answer. It's critical that we look at all the tools in the toolbox 
with regard to climate mitigation. To accelerate responsible carbon 
capture deployment and ensure permanent storage, President Biden's plan 
reforms and expands the bipartisan Section 45Q tax credit, making it 
direct pay and easier to use for hard-to-decarbonize industrial 
applications, direct air capture, and retrofits of existing power 
plants. The administration also supports large-scale sequestration 
efforts that leverage the best science and prioritize community 
engagement, in line with the bipartisan SCALE Act, all while ensuring 
that overburdened communities are protected from increases in 
cumulative pollution. To the extent that the United States can be among 
the first movers on climate mitigation, we have an opportunity to 
responsibly develop these types of technologies through American 
ingenuity and export them to other countries.
                                 ______
                                 
               Question Submitted by Senator Marco Rubio
                    clean water state revolving fund
    Question. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is an incredibly 
important funding mechanism that provides low-interest loans to states 
to finance improvements for wastewater infrastructure. This is crucial 
for mitigating nutrient loads and preventing waste from entering our 
waterways. Unfortunately, the formula by which these funds are allotted 
to the states has not significantly changed since 1987, meaning that 
states receive funds largely based on outdated needs, and the 
populations that states had in 1987. This reality largely disadvantages 
states whose populations and water infrastructure needs have grown 
since 1987. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, on the other hand, 
takes current need and population into account.
    a. Does the Administration believe the Clean Water State Revolving 
Fund allotment formula should reflect the actual needs of each state?
    b. Does the Administration support a modernization of the Clean 
Water State Revolving Fund allotment formula to account for the 
population growth that many states have seen since 1987?
    c. Will you commit to supporting a modernization of the Clean Water 
State Revolving Fund allotment formula to more closely reflect the 
method for allotment of funds under the Drinking Water State Revolving 
Fund program, so that the Clean Water allotment better addresses 
wastewater infrastructure needs?
    d. As the Clean Watersheds Need Survey is in need of reform, would 
you support an interim allotment formula based on population to better 
address wastewater need while a new formula based on a reformed needs 
survey is in development?
    Answer. In May 2016, EPA produced a ``Review of the Allotment of 
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)'' for Congress in 
accordance with section 5005 of the Water Resources Reform and 
Development Act of 2014. To develop the report, EPA reviewed the 
adequacy of the current CWSRF allotment formula and concluded that the 
current allotment formula was inadequate because most states do not 
receive appropriated funds in proportion to their reported needs.
    In addition, the report also provided several possible options for 
updating the allotment formula by incorporating a variety of factors 
such as needs, population, water quality impairment, and underlying 
CWSRF performance. The report also explored ways Congress could 
implement policy priorities using a set-aside within the appropriation 
(e.g., ability to pay set-aside). Finally, EPA recommended that any 
future CWSRF allotment formula be updated periodically to reflect 
changes more adequately over time. EPA looks forward to providing 
technical assistance to Congress as it considers legislative changes 
for the current allotment formula.
                                 ______
                                 
           Questions Submitted to Secretary Gina M. Raimondo
             Questions Submitted by Chairman Patrick Leahy
                               broadband
    Question. One issue at the forefront of debate in Vermont is the 
necessity of access to reliable, high speed Internet. In fact, it was 
the topic of a virtual roundtable I hosted in Vermont--during which 
some participants experienced this challenge firsthand. President 
Biden's American Jobs Plan calls for the prioritization of ``support 
for broadband networks owned, operated by, or affiliated with local 
governments, non-profits, and co-operatives.'' Over the past three 
years, Vermont has seen the creation of a new type of broadband entity, 
Communications Union Districts (CUDs), which operate like a multi-town 
fire or wastewater district but with the goal of building broadband 
infrastructure to municipalities. The first Vermont CUD was established 
in 2016, and now there are 11 districts representing almost two-third 
of the state's municipalities. It is these organizations and the few 
small, community-minded internet service providers that are expected to 
be the ones that bring fiber to Vermont homes.
    With these locally led efforts in mind, how does the administration 
propose to distribute funds in a way that ensures they get to rural 
communities? From my perspective, it may be easiest to allocate funds 
directly to states to let them fill in their gaps. Do you have concerns 
with an auction or bidding model, that very well may wind up 
subsidizing corporations or satellite technology both of which would be 
neither future proof nor community-owned?
    Answer. As a member of President Biden's ``Jobs Cabinet,'' I 
champion the Administration's call-in the American Jobs Plan-for 100 
percent of Americans, including those living in rural areas, to have 
access to high-speed, affordable, and reliable Internet to ensure 
equity of opportunities for learning and earning. As a former Governor, 
I also agree that states have an important role to play in determining 
how to distribute funding to the areas that have yet to reap the full 
benefit of broadband in their communities.
    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) has worked with communities across the country for years, 
through the BroadbandUSA program, to help them understand their 
challenges as well as the assets they can leverage as they address 
their broadband roadmap. NTIA also has a robust connection to states 
through its State Broadband Leaders Network (SBLN), a cohort of 
government officials representing the 50 states and three territories 
that focus on state level broadband and
    digital inclusion efforts. SBLN was consulted in the development of 
NTIA's grant programs and will continue to serve as a valuable resource 
to promote outreach and to provide us with feedback as the programs are 
launched.
    NTIA will also leverage the National Broadband Availability Map 
(NBAM), which is improving our understanding of the state of broadband 
availability across the country, and is a tool for state and federal 
policymakers in determining how best to target investments. Recognizing 
the ability of the NBAM to support their own broadband programs, 37 
states and federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), Commerce's Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian 
Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the 
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs have partnered 
with NTIA on this initiative.
    Question. During the April 20 hearing, I asked you about the 
administration's broadband infrastructure plan, and you assured me that 
the administration and your Department are committed to providing 
access to quality, high-speed broadband to all Americans regardless of 
geographic location. You also committed to studying prior broadband 
programs, learning from past mistakes made, and working with the 
entities that are in the best position to provide broadband, including 
non-profits, co-operatives, or municipalities. Toward the end of your 
response, you did not rule out your Department considering 
``alternatives to fiber in cases where that is the best and most-
effective way to deliver broadband.''
    While there are a number of alternatives to fiber, such as 
satellite technology, I have heard concerns from stakeholders and 
officials in Vermont about non-fiber broadband providers over-promising 
and under-delivering after winning auction bids for the region. The 
issue at hand is that while such technologies could theoretically cover 
a wide-range of service areas in a cost-effective manner, in practice 
that is not always the case. Do you commit to working with state and 
local officials on how best to implement various broadband technologies 
for their specific region when deciding how your Department should 
disburse broadband-related funds?
    Answer. NTIA has a history of successful coordination and 
consultation with multiple levels of government, and I will ensure this 
continues to be the case as the agency implements the Administration's 
ambitious, and essential, broadband vision that prioritizes building 
``future proof'' broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved 
areas so that we finally reach 100 percent high-speed broadband 
coverage.
    Through its BroadbandUSA work, NTIA has served local, state, 
territorial, and tribal governments, industry and non-profits seeking 
to expand broadband connectivity and promote digital inclusion by 
providing solution-neutral technical assistance and convening regional 
workshops that bring local stakeholders together. NTIA also 
collaborates with states through its State Broadband Leaders Network.
    NTIA has heard concerns from state leaders and other stakeholders 
over the years about challenges they face accessing federal funding due 
to inaccurate broadband availability maps and reverse-auction models 
that may reward the lowest-cost bidder but fail to reach the hardest-
to-reach areas, or areas without sufficient perceived economic return 
on investment.
    As NTIA develops the grant application review and selection 
process, it will allow state and local officials to articulate their 
needs and explain any concerns with existing awards to their areas that 
might be of concern. NTIA will also consult the National Broadband 
Availability Map, and coordinate with the Federal Communications 
Commission (FCC) and USDA to understand whether existing awards made in 
a particular area consistently provide the minimum speeds at the 
broadband threshold as well as the latency requirements outlined in the 
legislation. In addition, NTIA is working with other federal agencies 
to coordinate and to ensure that the most current information about the 
status of an awarded area is taken into consideration before making 
grant awards. On June 25, 2021, NTIA, USDA and the FCC announced that 
the three agencies had signed an interagency agreement committing to 
data-sharing and coordination. The agencies are meeting regularly to 
develop the processes required to implement the agreement.
                              homework gap
    Question. Access to broadband remains a significant barrier for our 
rural students to succeed in the classroom in Vermont. The COVID-19 
pandemic has only exacerbated the digital divide. With nearly 61,000 
homes in the state lacking access to high-speed internet, remote 
learning forced many students to drive to school and library parking 
lots, or even spend their days in their cars outside of McDonald's, in 
order to attend class and complete their homework. But even public WiFi 
hotspots remain scarce in rural communities and schools often struggle 
to secure affordable broadband deals.
    How does the administration plan to address the homework gap 
through the American Jobs Plan and ensure that Vermont's rural students 
have access to the tools they need to participate in an increasingly 
digital learning environment?
    Answer. Too many students in both rural and urban areas suffered 
tremendous hardship accessing education during the pandemic. As a 
matter of equity, and as an imperative for our Nation's future 
competitiveness, the Administration is committed to closing the 
homework gap.
    The President's plan prioritizes building ``future proof'' 
broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas so that we 
finally reach 100 percent high-speed broadband coverage. I am committed 
to coordinating with the FCC, U.S. Department of Education, USDA, and 
other federal departments and agencies to eliminate the homework gap 
for students and close the digital divide for all in our country. On 
June 25, 2021, NTIA, USDA and the FCC announced that the three agencies 
had signed an interagency agreement committing to data-sharing and 
coordination. The agencies are meeting regularly to develop the 
processes required to implement the agreement.
    I also recognize and applaud the efforts Congress has already made 
to expand access. The bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 
included $1 billion for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, $300 
million for the Broadband Infrastructure Program, and $285 million for 
the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program. The American Rescue 
Plan included state and local emergency relief funding, some of which 
may be used for broadband infrastructure. The American Rescue Plan also 
created the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund to help schools 
and libraries provide connected devices and broadband connectivity to 
students, school staff, and library patrons during the coronavirus 
pandemic. These programs will go a long way towards closing the 
homework gap.
                         semiconductor industry
    Question. The American Jobs Plan proposal includes funding for 
revitalizing the American semiconductor industry, to ensure that we 
have reliable, trusted hardware for our digital infrastructure.
    How will you make sure these funds make the most of expertise of 
rural states like Vermont that already have significant workforce and 
facility capability in creating assured and Trusted microelectronics?
    Answer. The Department is developing plans for the implementation 
of the CHIPS Act funding requested as part of the American Jobs Plan 
and included in the United States Innovation and Competitiveness Act 
(USICA) passed by the Senate. The Department is designing the program 
to incentivize the construction and expansion of facilities to restore 
U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.
    Departments and Agencies are working closely together to leverage 
and support the wide range of resources and expertise found across 
America that make up the microelectronics innovation and manufacturing 
ecosystem.
    The Department of Commerce's evaluation criteria for CHIPS will 
include both the support for workforce that the applicant will be able 
to provide, as well as the ability of the community to support 
manufacturing in terms of available workforce and necessary supporting 
infrastructure.
                        rural villages and towns
    Question. The average town in Vermont has 1,200 people and 
leadership that is almost all volunteers with full time jobs. These 
towns are ready to make the investments to update their water, their 
sewer, their roads, and their zoning and build more housing, and 
attract young families and new small businesses. But, doing so is a 
bureaucratic maze. The American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-generation 
opportunity for every part of our country.
    How can the EDA and other Department of Commerce agencies support 
rural places and small towns in this infrastructure plan? How can we 
ensure that this funding benefits everyone in the country, not just 
cities that have already been able to invest in the requirements for 
shovel-ready projects?
    Answer. Both the Department of Commerce's Economic Development 
Administration (EDA) and the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration (NTIA) play a critical role in supporting 
rural America.
    EDA works with communities of all sizes and geographies and 
historically approximately two-thirds of its funds are awarded to rural 
communities. One of the unique qualities of EDA is that it meets 
community needs in ways that the communities seek, and thus supports 
communities whether or not they have shovel-ready projects.
    EDA has resources to assist rural communities and small towns in 
planning for and managing projects in support of their economic 
development goals, including through technical assistance. Foremost, 
EDA's mission-driven Regional Office staff, including its Economic 
Development Representatives, stand ready to guide rural applicants 
through EDA's project development process. And at the nation-wide 
level, EDA's Research and National Technical Assistance program has 
focused on building capacity of small rural communities--preparing them 
to participate in technology-led development and small-scale 
manufacturing.
    In addition, EDA's Regional Economic Development Integrators are 
able to call on their strategic partnerships with federal colleagues at 
the Northern Border Regional Commission, USDA Rural Development, Small 
Business Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development and other agencies to connect communities 
to the technical and financial assistance that best fits their long-
term goals for inclusive economic prosperity. EDA-funded partners, such 
as Economic Development Districts and some University Centers, also 
assist communities with accessing EDA funding.
    As NTIA implements the broadband programs which can benefit rural 
areas, it is also coordinating with EDA to promote outreach and to 
provide technical assistance to facilitate participation by smaller 
jurisdictions. NTIA and EDA have coordinated well over the years to 
provide regional workshops that assist communities in development of 
their broadband plans. They are committed to continuing this 
coordination to bring the benefits of broadband and economic 
development to all communities across the country.
                  northern border regional commission
    Question. Communities in Vermont, across New England and around the 
country benefit from the funding and capacity building work of federal 
commission and authorities like the Northern Border Regional Commission 
(NBRC).
    How can the EDA and other Commerce agencies continue to work 
closely with the NBRC, and other regional commissions, to plan, 
distribute funding and ensure completion of the investments in the 
President's proposal?
    Answer. EDA is continuing to collaborate closely with the NBRC. 
Opportunities for such collaboration include joint outreach, project 
development, and complementary grant making to support the economic 
diversification and development strategies of state and local economic 
development partners in Vermont and surrounding communities of the 
Northeast.
    As required by Congress since Fiscal Year 2018, EDA will again this 
year transfer $3 million of its Economic Adjustment Assistance funds to 
NBRC for projects selected by NBRC that ``contribute to the recovery of 
forest-based economies and may include support for forest-based 
businesses, outdoor recreation infrastructure, and activities that 
assist in the recruitment and retention of employees in rural 
communities within the territory.'' This arrangement requires that any 
project funded through EDA's discretionary appropriations and selected 
by NBRC as meritorious must meet the requirements set forth for both 
agencies. This fact, at times, causes confusion and some projects put 
forward have been known to meet one set of requirements and potentially 
fail to meet the other. EDA and NBRC are committed to working through 
those issues as they arise so that the arrangement can succeed in 
delivering support for communities in the Northern Border Region. An 
independently-funded NBRC would enable the Commission to work as a co-
equal partner with EDA and invest in larger, more impactful, shared 
regional economic development projects, similar to what EDA has 
historically achieved with the Appalachian Regional Commission.
    NTIA has also coordinated with regional federal commissions, 
including the NBRC, to promote awareness of resources that can support 
broadband. The NBRC, as well as the Appalachian Regional Commission and 
the Delta Regional Authority, publish information about programs that 
can support broadband through NTIA's BroadbandUSA Federal Funding site. 
As NTIA implements the grant programs, it will coordinate with these 
regional commissions to promote outreach and to provide technical 
assistance to facilitate participation by smaller jurisdictions.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
    Question. Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing 
needs of Oregon and other western states who are struggling to recover 
from the damage of the 2020 wildfire season. While FEMA has delivered 
substantial emergency relief to Oregon, I believe the scale of natural 
disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    What does the Department estimate was the economic impact of the 
2020 wildfire season on the national and the Oregon economy? In your 
answer, please address the specific impact that wildfire smoke has on 
small businesses.
    Answer. As part of NOAA's January 2021 Billion Dollar Weather and 
Climate Disasters report we estimate the costs from the Western 
Wildfires were $16.5 billion. However, this represents a conservative 
estimate only capturing direct costs of residential, commercial and 
automotive losses and wildfire suppression costs. Regarding indirect 
costs, it is unclear how much economic and/or physical damage that the 
persistent wildfire smoke and very poor air quality caused to small 
businesses and public health across the western United States during 
2020. The downstream economic impact of wildfire smoke on both natural 
capital and dependent economic sectors is not captured in our analysis.
    Specific to Oregon, in 2020, the state's residential, commercial 
and automotive insured, direct losses to wildfire approached a record 
$3 billion in paid claims according to the National Interagency Fire 
Center. In addition, the National Interagency Fire Center estimates 
that wildfire suppression costs for the western United States were 
collectively near $2.5 billion. Most of this was in California, but 
Oregon's proportion was $350 million.
    The 2020 Western Wildfire season represents a troubling trend, 
exacerbated by climate change, as it joins 2017 and 2018 as one of the 
most destructive and costly U.S. wildfire seasons on record. Each of 
these years had insured losses roughly ten times greater than the 
annual average wildfire insured loss over the last several decades.
    Question. It is widely anticipated that 2021 will be another 
difficult fire season. How is the Department preparing for upcoming 
wildfire season?
    Answer. The ongoing, expanding drought across much of the West has 
ushered in another impactful wildfire season this year. NOAA provides 
critical support to wildland firefighting agencies at the federal, 
state, and local levels--including FEMA, U.S. Forest Service, and 
Interior Department--to prepare for, respond to, and where possible, 
mitigate impacts in the following ways:
  --NOAA continues to provide daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal 
        ``fire weather'' warnings, forecasts, and outlooks to our 
        partners and the public to anticipate, prepare for, and fight 
        wildfires;
  --Our forecasters, using data and information from our global 
        observation network on the ground, in the ocean, sky, and 
        space, have been monitoring and reporting on the development of 
        the western drought and other weather and climate influences on 
        wildfire ignition and development;
  --NOAA's Incident Meteorologist (IMet) forecasters provide on-site 
        weather support for large wildfires, as they are requested by 
        our federal partners;
  --NOAA's scientists and researchers continue to improve and develop 
        the models used to predict wildfire smoke dispersion, such as 
        the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke model, and the weather 
        that drives wildfire behavior and spread; and
  --NOAA research contributes to understanding of human health impacts 
        from wildfire smoke by providing a 72-hour air quality forecast 
        that includes smoke from forest fires for the contiguous United 
        States, Alaska and Hawaii. This information is used by local 
        air quality forecasters to warn the population of unhealthy 
        atmospheric conditions.
    Continued investment in NOAA satellites, fire weather modeling, and 
climate science, will enhance the information and support we can 
provide to our frontline partners.
    The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), an 
independent authority within the Department of Commerce's National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, also works closely 
with first responders on the state, local, federal, territorial, and 
tribal levels to support their public safety broadband needs when 
responding to major emergencies and natural disasters such as 
wildfires.
    The FirstNet Authority learned early on from public safety feedback 
that first responders need to be able to access the network wherever 
they go-in urban, suburban, rural, and wilderness environments alike. 
As part of our solution for rural and wilderness coverage needs for 
wildfire support, the FirstNet Authority, in partnership with its 
contractor, AT&T, offers FirstNet-subscribed agencies access to a 
dedicated fleet of over 100 portable network deployable assets at no 
extra cost. These mobile cell sites link to FirstNet via satellite, do 
not rely on commercial power availability, provide similar capabilities 
and connectivity as a cell tower, and thus can boost coverage during 
disasters like wildfires.
    Additionally, the FirstNet Authority has established a Wildland 
Fire Focus Group ahead of the 2021 fire season in order to consult with 
fire response professionals at all levels of government, in an effort 
to inform the evolution of and future potential investments in the 
network through a better understanding of broadband efforts among the 
Wildland Fire community. This group will build use cases based on the 
information collected from these efforts to better educate the fire 
community how broadband, and specifically FirstNet, can assist in 
performing their mission.
    Finally, NIST continues its sustained efforts to understand and 
derive recommendations from past wildland urban interface (WUI) fires. 
In January of 2021, NIST released its findings from reconnaissance of 
the 2018 Camp Fire in California where there were 85 fatalities and 
almost 19,000 structures were destroyed. As a direct consequence of 
that reconnaissance, NIST has ongoing experimental research to study 
structure-to-structure fire spread and the role of materials and 
building code regulations on WUI fire hazard and loss of property. 
Results from NIST's reconstruction of that event are already being 
incorporated into California building and fire codes for communities 
exposed to wildland fires. After completing the fire progression 
timeline, the focus of the reconstruction expanded to address aspects 
of evacuation, emergency notification, fire suppression, and structure 
protection. Although these efforts are not limited to the 2021 fire 
season, they are helping mitigate the impact of wildland fires on our 
built environment and our communities in the long term.
    Question. Our Oregon groundfish fishermen are committed to 
sustainable fishing practices that maintain healthy fish populations 
and support our maritime economy. As part of their participation in the 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program, these fisherman are 
individually responsible for paying for monitoring both at-sea and at 
the seafood processor--at the cost of $500-$700 per day per vessel. 
These monitoring programs are cost-prohibitive and disproportionately 
impacting our small fisherman, who are already struggling due to the 
economic impacts of COVID-19. While the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission reimburses for at-sea monitoring, no such program 
exists for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
    a. What would be the barriers to expanding reimbursements for at-
sea monitoring to include the Oregon groundfish fishery?
    b. Will you commit to reviewing this program to ensure an equitable 
and just system to support all of our American groundfish fishermen?
    Answer. Yes, I commit to looking into this IFQ program.
    In addition to the longstanding industry-funded monitoring of the 
Alaska groundfish fishery, both the West Coast and Northeast groundfish 
fisheries have requirements for industry-funded monitoring to ensure 
accurate accounting of discards in their catch share fisheries. These 
requirements were recommended by the Pacific and New England Fishery 
Management Councils and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS) approximately ten years ago, after extensive development 
through the Council process and with full participation by fishery 
stakeholders.
    The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission reimburses 
Northeast industry monitoring costs using funds Congress has 
specifically appropriated to NMFS for this purpose. Currently, there is 
not a similar appropriation for the West Coast fishery, or any other 
U.S. fishery, including the Alaska groundfish fishery.
    NMFS has been working with Oregon trawl fishermen and the Pacific 
Council to incorporate electronic monitoring (EM) as an alternative to 
observers to meet the requirements for 100-percent at-sea monitoring in 
the current industry-funded Trawl Catch Share Program. By EM service 
providers' own estimates, EM is expected to reduce at-sea monitoring 
costs by 30 percent. EM will be an option for all West Coast groundfish 
trawl vessels beginning in January 2022.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
    Question. The FY21 Appropriations bill included report language in 
line with my Built to Last Act that directs the Department (NIST) to 
identify a consistent and authoritative set of climate information that 
emphasizes forward-looking climate data that should be utilized in the 
building code standard-setting process. Please provide an update on 
NIST's implementation, including any coordination with NOAA.
    Answer. NIST's FY2022 budget requests would provide an additional 
$20M for expanded efforts in Climate and Energy Measurements, Tools, 
and Testbeds and $4M of these funds will directly support research to 
provide building codes and standards that would help new construction 
be more resilient to future weather extremes. As part of these efforts 
NIST will continue to coordinate work with NOAA and other appropriate 
federal agencies to identify climate information that emphasizes 
forward-looking climate data and projections that are most applicable 
in the standard-setting process. The NIST budget request for new staff, 
equipment for structural testing, and grants and contracts for data 
collection builds on current NIST investments in programs such as 
community resilience, fire risk reduction, windstorm impact reduction, 
and disaster and failure studies. A NIST workshop earlier this year 
brought stakeholders in the building codes and standards community 
together with those in the climate science community to initiate these 
discussions. NIST continues to meet with leadership from important 
partners like the International Code Council that will implement any 
new standards. NIST is leveraging its National Windstorm Impact 
Reduction Program (NWIRP) interagency Windstorm Working Group as a 
forum to exchange information with the NOAA climate community and other 
federal agencies.
    Question. Please describe the Department of Commerce's proposals 
for resilient infrastructure included in the American Jobs Plan and 
FY22 budget request, including how these proposals will benefit 
infrastructure throughout the country-not just in states along the 
coasts.
    Answer. NIST, NOAA, and EDA are actively engaged in various efforts 
to support resilient infrastructure.
    As the recent tragedy in Surfside, FL has demonstrated, the built 
environment is critical to safety, economic security, and quality of 
life. On June 30, NIST launched a technical investigation to determine 
the cause of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South using the 
authorities of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act of 
2002. Under the NCST Act, NIST is authorized to conduct technical 
investigations of building failures following events that have a large 
loss of life or the potential for a significant loss of life. First 
applied to the World Trade Center investigation, NIST is also currently 
conducting a significant technical investigation of the effects of 
Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico to better understand how the buildings 
and infrastructure failed, and how we can prevent such failures in the 
future. The findings of the Champlain Towers South Collapse 
investigation will inform recommendations for improvements to building 
codes, standards, and practices. While NIST is non-regulatory, the 
agency will work with stakeholders to implement the recommendations.
    NIST is committed to conducting the necessary measurement science 
that will establish a technical basis for stronger codes, standards, 
and practices for the Nation's buildings and infrastructure. The 
President's FY 2022 Budget Request includes an increase of $20 million 
to expand NIST research and development related to climate and energy, 
including building resiliently for the changing climate through 
research supporting building codes and standards. The American Jobs 
Plan proposes significant growth in the NIST laboratories of $4 billion 
over ten years, including approximately $100 million to expand efforts 
to develop measurements and standards to help communities prepare for 
and respond to climate change.
    In addition to the NCST Act investigations, NIST has several 
ongoing activities supporting resilient infrastructure:
    First, NIST's Disaster Resilience research programs conduct applied 
research on the effects of hazards, including windstorms, earthquakes, 
and wildfires, on our buildings, infrastructure, and commerce. For 
example, the NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide provides a 
practical and flexible approach to help all communities improve their 
resilience by setting priorities and allocating resources to manage 
risks for their prevailing hazards. The Community Resilience Economic 
Decision Guide also provides a standard economic methodology for 
evaluating investment decisions aimed at improving the ability of 
communities to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from disruptive 
events. NIST continues to work on developing tools that can be 
implemented by communities for effective resilience planning.
    Second, NIST also coordinates closely with other federal agencies 
to make major, measurable reductions in loss of life and property as a 
result of natural hazards. NIST is the lead agency for the National 
Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP) and the National Earthquake 
Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Both programs coordinate federal 
efforts to make the Nation more resilient to windstorms and 
earthquakes, respectively, in partnership with the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the 
United States Geological Survey (USGS).
    Finally, as a non-regulatory agency, NIST experts actively 
participate in consensus processes to advance codes and standards, 
including the International Code Council, the American Society of Civil 
Engineers, the National Fire Protection Association, ASTM 
International, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and 
Air-Conditioning Engineers. NIST efforts covering a range of hazards 
including windstorms, earthquakes and wildfires support community 
resilience across the Nation. For example, the NIST Community 
Resilience Center of Excellence, the Center for Risk-Based Community 
Resilience Planning, is a multi-disciplinary team of experts in 
engineering, economics, data and computing, and social sciences led by 
Colorado State University. The center is developing a computational 
tool to allow users to optimize community disaster resilience planning 
specific to their local environmental hazards.
    NOAA's climate science informs efforts to support infrastructure 
and efficient operations in many sectors of the economy, including 
ports, shipping, agriculture, seafood and fishing, and tourism and 
recreation, which contribute to more than one-third of the U.S. GDP. 
NOAA already plays an important role in strengthening and protecting 
infrastructure, and it will continue to do so under the American Jobs 
Plan. NOAA will support infrastructure investment in at least three 
ways.
    First, NOAA will continue to provide climate data, tools, and 
services to federal agencies, state and local governments, territories, 
tribes, and the commercial sector to make informed decisions for new 
infrastructure investments and make existing assets more resilient to 
climate change. As described in our FY 2022 Budget Request, NOAA is 
investing in our internal capacity to better respond to the needs of 
vulnerable populations, assessing key services to identify and address 
barriers to access for all Americans, funding targeted investments in 
historically underserved communities, and enhancing NOAA's 
capabilities, such as our award-winning Weather and Climate Toolkit, 
the Climate Resilience Toolkit, and the Sea Level Rise Viewer.
    Second, NOAA provides climate services across America--on each 
coast, along the Great Lakes, and in the heartlands--through its 
Regional Integrated Science and Assessment (RISA) teams, the National 
Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), Sea Grant extension 
agents, Regional Climate Centers, Coastal Zone Managers, and others, 
who provide coastal and inland communities with the tools, information, 
and services needed to prepare for and adapt to climate change. NOAA's 
FY 2022 Budget Request proposes significant investments in NOAA 
programs that connect scientists and local decision makers around 
climate resilience, such as the RISA Program, which is prioritizing 
building climate adaptation capacity in frontline communities, as well 
as efforts to restore coastal habitats and protect communities, such as 
the National Coastal Resilience Fund.
    Third, NOAA will continue to empower local communities and mobilize 
the next generation of workers addressing climate solutions through 
grants, fellowships, and training opportunities to support 
infrastructure projects, which bolsters community resilience to storms 
and can enhance absorption of excess carbon dioxide. For example, 
NOAA's early warning system and decision-support tools for extreme 
weather events, such as hurricanes and severe precipitation, help 
communities avoid the worst, most expensive impacts from these events, 
which saves lives, property, and money. NOAA will continue to work with 
NIST to provide the long-range weather and climate information needed 
to support standards-setting efforts to make the Nation's 
infrastructure more resilient to windstorms, storm surge, and severe 
weather. NOAA's goal, as reflected in our FY 2022 Budget Request, is to 
scale up efforts to research the climate system and inform solutions to 
the climate crisis through investments in research, observations and 
forecasting, restoration and resilience.
    Finally, EDA has long prioritized infrastructure investments that 
incorporate resilience principles. This includes a long-standing 
investment priority focused on ``recovery and resilience,'' guidelines 
for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies that recommend 
inclusion of resiliency into regional planning, and inclusion in 
Notices of Funding Opportunity preference for projects that incorporate 
resiliency principles. All of these factors combine to ensure that EDA-
funded projects are designed to provide economic benefits to a 
community or region and anticipate, withstand, and bounce back from 
various disruptions to its economic base.
                                 ______
                                 
           Questions Submitted by Senator Christopher Murphy
    Question. This Congress, I will be reintroducing the Living 
Shorelines Act, which establishes a new federal grant program to 
support the construction of living shorelines. Living shorelines are a 
type of coastal resiliency project that not only protects shorelines 
against storm surges and rising sea levels, but helps restore coastal 
habitats.
    In the American Rescue Plan, President Biden noted that the ``plan 
will protect and, where necessary, restore nature based 
infrastructure'' and called on ``Congress to invest in protection from 
extreme wildfires, coastal resilience to sea-level rise and 
hurricanes...''.
    Given the synergies between these expressed goals and living 
shoreline projects, does the administration support programs that 
directly fund living shorelines projects?
    Answer. Yes, NOAA supports living shoreline projects by providing 
financial and technical assistance to coastal communities through 
existing programs. The National Coastal Resilience Fund is a 
partnership between NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
that funds projects that protect coastal communities while enhancing 
fish and wildlife habitat, including living shorelines projects. The 
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) conducts and funds 
research on the effectiveness, siting, and co-benefits of living 
shorelines and provides decision-support tools and guidance for coastal 
managers. Additionally, the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat 
Conservation's Community-based Restoration Program provides funds for 
the use of living shoreline and related techniques for marine and 
coastal habitat restoration.
    NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program also 
funds projects that allow K-12 teachers and students to investigate 
local environmental issues, which include activities that enable them 
to support and restore living shorelines as well as learn about its 
importance.
    The President's FY 2022 discretionary funding request includes $6.9 
billion for NOAA, an increase of more than $1.4 billion, or 22% over 
the FY 2021 enacted level. This unprecedented funding level is 
indicative of the Administration's support for NOAA programs, in 
particular, to allow NOAA to expand its climate observation and 
forecasting work and provide better data and information to decision-
makers, support coastal resilience programs that would help protect 
communities from the economic and environmental impacts of climate 
change, and invest in modern infrastructure--including living 
shorelines and other nature-based systems--to enable these critical 
efforts.
    Furthermore, the President's American Jobs Plan recommends $50 
billion in dedicated investments to improve infrastructure resilience, 
which includes the restoration of nature-based infrastructure to 
maximize the resilience of land and water resources to protect 
communities and the environment.
    Question. As you know, manufacturing is a major driver of 
employment and economic activity in Connecticut and throughout New 
England. This includes companies of all sizes operating up and down the 
supply chain. In the American Rescue Plan, President Biden stated 
``President Biden believes we must produce, here at home, the 
technologies and goods that meet today's challenges and seize 
tomorrow's opportunities.'' How will you leverage your role as 
Secretary to assist with a whole of government approach to streamlining 
efforts to allow small & medium sized manufacturers access to contracts 
and other federal procurement processes?
    Answer. The President's Executive Order 14005--Ensuring the Future 
Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers--charges federal 
agencies with partnering with Hollings Manufacturing Extension 
Partnership (MEP) for supplier scouting to identify U.S. companies that 
can produce goods, products, and materials in the United States that 
meet federal procurement needs. I fully support this approach and will 
continue to examine additional ways to streamline efforts so that 
American small- and medium-sized manufacturers can access contracts and 
other federal procurement processes.
    In addition, under the President's leadership, I have prioritized 
the Department's work on supply chain resilience. As we are seeing now, 
when shortages occur, they can be especially harmful to small- and 
medium-sized manufacturers. Under Executive Order 14017--America's 
Supply Chains, the Department drafted a 100-day report analyzing the 
semiconductor industry supply chain and identifying areas to improve 
resilience. The proposed semiconductor grant program included in the 
NDAA could directly support small- and medium-sized semiconductor 
manufacturers and allow the Department to further address the supply 
chain weaknesses which have led to the current chips shortage. In the 
American Jobs Plan, the President has proposed institutionalizing this 
function of the Department through a new supply chain resilience 
program.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
             coordination of existing infrastructure funds
    Question. Previous packages have included considerable amounts of 
money that can be used for infrastructure. I fought hard to make 
broadband, water, and sewer eligible expenses for communities that 
don't have major outstanding COVID expenses. That represents $350 
billion for state and local assistance, as well as an additional $10 
billion for critical capital projects like broadband. I can tell you 
from talking to many of these city and county officials over the past 
few months that they are ecstatic about these funds. It's the first 
time they have control of their future in their own hands. At the same 
time, we need to make sure that we are making smart investments with 
these funds. The President's plan includes $111 billion for water 
infrastructure as well as $100 billion for broadband.
    Taken together, that's more than half a trillion dollars toward 
some of our most pressing infrastructure needs.
    How much funding has been provided in previous coronavirus relief 
packages for infrastructure?
    Answer. As of July 11, EDA has invested over $239.4 million in 
CARES Act funding on 93 infrastructure projects to help communities 
recover from the pandemic and to become more resilient to future 
economic shocks. These figures will rise as EDA continues to obligate 
its CARES Act funding. Additionally, EDA expects a significant amount 
of its $3 billion ARP Act appropriation to be used to fund 
infrastructure.
    The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, included $1 billion for 
the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, $300 million for the 
Broadband Infrastructure Program, and $285 million for the Connecting 
Minority Communities Pilot Program. The American Rescue Plan included 
state and local emergency relief funding, some of which may be used for 
broadband infrastructure. Other Commerce programs have received smaller 
infrastructure-related appropriations, including Manufacturing USA and 
the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
    Question. How are you going to build on the funding we have already 
provided in an infrastructure bill?
    Answer. The funding we have received is an important step forward, 
but our communities need further resources to give every American 
access to essential infrastructure, such as broadband, which is now as 
essential as electricity to our everyday life.
    Under President Biden's American Jobs Plan, we will have the 
resources to deploy high-quality broadband infrastructure to every 
community across the country, allowing millions of Americans to better 
participate in our modern economy and society.
    EDA strategically invested funds under the CARES Act to build 
future capacity. Those investments are already beginning to show 
results as EDA is anticipating robust demand for its ARP Act and 
regular program funds.
    NTIA has established the National Broadband Availability Map 
(NBAM), a platform for data collection, visualization, and analysis of 
federal, state, and commercially available data sets, which will help 
in identifying discrepancies in broadband availability for the purpose 
of informing policy and federal funding decisions. NTIA has integrated 
more than 388 data layers/services from 43 sources (over 2.6 TB of 
data) that collectively inform policy and investment decision making.
    Some of the sources include: Federal--FCC/USAC (477 Deployment, 
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)) grant eligibility, Connect 
America Fund Phase II (CAFII), High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) 
portal, USDA (ReConnect program data), Census (American Community 
Survey data), Treasury (Opportunity Zones); Commercial (MLAB and Ookla 
speed test, BroadbandNow pricing data, White Star Parcel Data); and 
data from many state governments.
    NTIA has agreements with 37 states, including West Virginia and 
more to be announced soon, as well as access to state level information 
providing an additional layer of broadband data. NTIA has also 
partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, EDA, the Appalachian 
Regional Commission, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to support their 
broadband programs. With that data, NBAM is becoming a resource for 
addressing the specific issues you raised. NTIA is committed to further 
investment in NBAM to ensure the most effective use of federal funds as 
well as to inform state broadband investments as we have seen 
significant state investment since 2019.
    Question. How are you going to coordinate with local communities, 
states, and other agencies to ensure that this funding addresses our 
long-term needs?
    Answer. EDA has a long history, through its Economic Development 
Integration business practice, of successfully coordinating local 
stakeholders and other federal agencies to ensure that federal 
investments are coordinated and impactful, while meeting local needs. 
EDA expects to continue this practice under the ARP Act and with any 
future Congressional appropriations.
    NTIA has a history of successful coordination with multiple levels 
of government. Through its BroadbandUSA work, NTIA has served local, 
state, territorial, and tribal governments, industry and non-profits 
seeking to expand broadband connectivity and promote digital inclusion 
by providing solution-neutral technical assistance and convening 
regional workshops that bring local stakeholders together. NTIA also 
addressed these issues through its State Broadband Leaders Network 
(SBLN), a cohort of government officials representing the 50 states and 
three territories that focus on state level broadband and digital 
inclusion efforts. NTIA has also recently established a Digital 
Inclusion Leaders Network to address digital equity and inclusion 
issues.
    NTIA has also paid special attention to Tribal broadband 
deployment. Recognizing the special nature of the Nation-to-Nation 
relationship, NTIA held three virtual Tribal Consultation sessions to 
hear from Tribal Leaders, which informed the design of the Tribal 
Broadband Connectivity Program and is committed to continuing a 
respectful dialogue as the grant program is implemented. NTIA held a 
total of four Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program-specific webinars 
with a cumulative total of 1,415 registrants to help prospective 
applicants understand the grant program and to assist applicants to 
prepare high quality grant applications. NTIA will offer additional 
webinars to continue outreach efforts and answer questions from 
prospective applicants. Additional outreach includes communications 
with Tribal leaders and Tribal stakeholder organizations, including 
outreach regarding the funding opportunity to every Tribal nation, more 
than 350 Tribal contacts that previously applied for 2.5Ghz spectrum 
licenses and in-person participation at the 2021 Inter-Tribal Emergency 
Management Summit in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
                   large-scale advanced manufacturing
    Question. The University of Maine is becoming a leader in large-
scale advanced manufacturing, and it is now the site of one of the 
largest 3D printers in the world. In fact, UMaine recently broke three 
Guinness World Records for the world's largest prototype polymer 3D 
printer, largest solid 3D-printed object, and largest 3D-printed boat. 
This accelerated rapid prototyping, enabled by high performance 
computing, can quickly advance R&D efforts in both the defense and 
civilian arenas. UMaine is now developing a new Factory of the Future 
concept which would use high-performance computing, artificial 
intelligence, and additive manufacturing technology to quickly build 
prototype structures which could ultimately lower the cost of navy 
vessels and civilian craft, as well as quickly produce low-cost housing 
units. These are the sorts of cutting-edge, advanced manufacturing 
technologies and research and design efforts that will keep America 
competitive globally. How does the Administration's proposal support 
university-led R&D efforts like UMaine's?
    Answer. A primary focus of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) programs is targeted at support for Advanced 
Manufacturing research and development (R&D). The NIST FY2022 budget 
provides an additional $275M to support expanded efforts delivered 
through the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and 
Manufacturing USA programs. For MEP, their extensive work with numerous 
universities (18 MEP Centers are part of universities) and the DOD can 
help support the work of university-led R&D efforts. Through robust 
strategic partnerships, universities can leverage the expanded 
footprint and capabilities of NIST programs that work directly with the 
DOD and American manufacturers. The new Manufacturing USA Technology 
Roadmaps (MfgTech) program, announced June 23, 2021, provides financial 
support for universities to partner with industry in developing 
roadmaps to grow advanced manufacturing in the United States. The NIST 
laboratory programs support additive manufacturing research in 
academia, like those at UMaine, through a competitive grants program to 
accelerate the adoption of new measurement methods and standards. In 
addition, universities are eligible applicants for EDA funding, 
including the $3B in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding EDA recently 
launched. The $1B ARP Build Back Better Regional Challenge, for 
example, encourages universities to partner with other entities in 
their region around a vision to accelerate their region's economy.
                     semiconductor industrial base
    Question. Sec. Raimondo, Congress is actively working on 
legislation that would provide funding for the CHIPS for America Act. 
Is the Department of Commerce organized to execute these grants in a 
timely fashion? What criteria are you planning to use to determine 
which companies will receive them and which won't? In order to produce 
a more diverse, complex supply chain, would a broad array of smaller 
grants be a better approach than a smaller number of large grants?
    Answer. As you know, the Senate version of the United States 
Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) appropriates approximately $52 
billion to fund the CHIPS for America Act that was included and 
authorized in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The 
Department of Commerce is currently working on a detailed plan to 
implement the programs outlined in the authorizing legislation. We are 
carefully considering a wide array of options to restore U.S. 
leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, technology, and R&D, 
increase market share in leading-edge logic fabrication, maintain 
market share in overall fabrication capacity, and provide for 
diversified, resilient domestic supply chain. We are developing 
criteria based on the guidance outlined in the NDAA with the objective 
to stimulate proposals that:
  --encourage creative consortia of manufacturers and investors-
        potentially with state and local governments that can raise 
        funds and be partners for long-term reinvestment.
  --encourage producers to create coalitions with their suppliers to 
        jointly apply for funds.
  --encourage coalitions of chip designers, customers, and 
        manufacturers so that U.S. fabs manufacture cutting-edge chip 
        designs and expand the U.S. microelectronics ecosystem effect 
        for advanced design and production.
  --encourage coalitions that build on and reinforce U.S. strengths in 
        design, software, and tools.
  --encourage robust workforce development activities.
  --leverage our NIST laboratories and use public-private partnerships, 
        like Manufacturing USA, that pull together industry, 
        universities, and academia to strengthen domestic research and 
        development in semiconductor packaging and semiconductor 
        manufacturing.
    The specific criteria, and call for proposals when developed, will 
be disseminated when funding is appropriated by Congress.
                                 ______
                                 
                Question Submitted by Senator Roy Blunt
    Question. The President's plan calls for revitalizing 
manufacturing, securing US supply chains, and investing in R&D, 
including in biotechnology. The Department of Commerce plays a crucial 
role in this by protecting US intellectual property and innovation. 
That is why I am concerned about a proposal from India, South Africa 
and others at the World Trade Organization to take away the 
international IP rules for COVID-19 vaccines and other medicines. How 
does the Administration plan to defend against proposals at the WTO 
that would threaten US intellectual property? How does the 
Administration plan to preserve American biopharmaceutical 
manufacturing and innovation in the future?
    Answer. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis and ending 
the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe is the Administration's top 
priority. The extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic call for 
extraordinary measures, including pursuing text-based negotiations at 
the WTO on a waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 
vaccines, which will take time given the consensus-based nature of the 
institution and the complexity of the issues involved. The 
Administration will also continue to ramp up its efforts--working with 
the private sector and all possible partners--to expand vaccine 
manufacturing and distribution.
    These extraordinary circumstances aside, the Administration remains 
committed to ensuring that intellectual property protection for U.S. 
companies remains strong and that the U.S. economy and American 
innovation are not undermined through IP theft or forced technology 
transfer. The Administration recognizes that intellectual property 
rights are a fundamental driver of innovation and investment in the 
development of new technologies, including new biopharmaceuticals and 
medical treatments.
    The Department of Commerce's Manufacturing USA program is 
strengthening American biopharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation 
by sponsoring the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing 
Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL). NIIMBL brings together over 180 member 
organizations from industry, academia, and other non-profits in a 
public-private partnership to ensure that the United States preserves 
its global leadership in this industry. By developing agile and cost-
effective domestic manufacturing methods and associated workforce 
training that have been externally validated, NIIMBL reduces the 
incentive to offshore production and supply chains for critical medical 
products.
                                 ______
                                 
               Question Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
    Question. The Joint Committee on Taxation, the Congressional Budget 
Office, and the Office of Tax Policy at the Department of Treasury, 
have for years indicated as a foundational economic understanding, that 
a large portion of the corporate tax rate is borne by labor, in the 
form of reduced jobs, and reduced wages.
    Has the Department of Commerce estimated how many jobs will be 
lost, and by how much wages will reduce, due to the corporate tax 
increase the Administration has proposed?
    Answer. The Department of Commerce has not conducted that type of 
analysis as that is in the purview of other agencies and offices in the 
Federal Government.
                                 ______
                                 
           Question Submitted by Senator Shelley Moore Capito
    Question. Regarding the American Rescue Plan, will you follow the 
traditional algorithm and methods used for the CARES Act funds, 
distributing the funding equally across EDA's regions?
    Answer. This historic and sweeping legislation provides additional 
relief to address the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 
economy, public health, State and local governments, individuals, and 
businesses.
    The ARP appropriates supplemental funding of $3 billion to EDA to 
assist communities nation-wide in advancing their coronavirus recovery 
and resiliency strategies through six Notices of Funding Opportunity 
(NOFO). As it has with past supplemental appropriations, EDA developed 
a unique allocation for each NOFO focused on: (1) bringing back the 
American workforce and industries that have been hardest hit, such as 
travel and tourism and manufacturing, through programs that support 
economic growth and diversification, creating talent pipelines to 
address industry needs, and fostering higher-skill, higher-wage job 
opportunities for all; (2) capitalizing on American ingenuity to build 
regions of the future by focusing on innovation-led economic 
development, including planning, infrastructure, workforce development, 
and business financing; and (3) pursuing a comprehensive approach to 
advancing equity by focusing on populations and underserved communities 
that have been denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of 
economic prosperity.
    Due to the size of the appropriation and the comparatively short 
amount of time Congress provided to obligate the funds, EDA allocated 
the ARP funding somewhat differently than past supplementals while 
continuing to ensure a good regional distribution of the funds.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
    Question. Congress is actively working on legislation that would 
provide funding for the CHIPS act. How organized is the Department of 
Commerce to execute these grants in a timely fashion?
    Answer. As you know, the Senate version of the United States 
Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) appropriates approximately $52 
billion to fund the CHIPS for America Act that was included in the 
FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This funding, if 
passed by Congress, will support an integrated set of programs that 
will restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, 
increase market share in leading-edge logic fabrication, maintain 
market share in overall fabrication capacity, while providing for 
diversified, resilient domestic supply chain. The Department of 
Commerce has an integrated planning team drawing expertise from 
multiple bureaus and is working to address both the operational and 
program design needs so the Department will be ready to implement the 
program when the funding is appropriated.
    Question. What criteria will be used to determine which companies 
will receive CHIPS Act grants and which will not?
    Answer. The Department of Commerce is currently working on a 
detailed plan to implement the programs outlined in the authorizing 
legislation. We are carefully considering a wide array of options to 
restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, 
increase market share in leading-edge logic fabrication, maintain 
market share in overall fabrication capacity, and providing for 
diversified, resilient domestic supply chain. We developing criteria 
based on the guidance outlined in the NDAA with the objective to 
stimulate proposals that:
  --encourage creative consortia of manufacturers and investors-
        potentially with state and local governments that can raise 
        funds and be partners for long-term reinvestment.
  --encourage producers to create coalitions with their suppliers to 
        jointly apply for funds.
  --encourage coalitions of chip designers, customers, and 
        manufacturers so that U.S. fabs manufacture cutting-edge chip 
        designs and expand the U.S. microelectronics ecosystem effect 
        for advanced design and production.
  --encourage coalitions that build on and reinforce U.S. strengths in 
        design, software, and tools.
  --encourage robust workforce development activities.
    The specific criteria, and call for proposals when developed, will 
be disseminated when funding is appropriated by Congress.
    Question. The CHIPS grants are specifically intended to incentivize 
semiconductor manufacturing companies to produce onshore and create a 
diverse, complex secure supply chain. Will you commit to the committee 
that this intention will be executed to distribute a broad array of 
grants to as many eligible companies as possible and not just a select 
few?
    Answer. In planning for USICA, we are considering a wide array of 
options that includes companies of different sizes in all sectors of 
the semiconductor value chain. The Department is designing the program 
to incentivize the construction and expansion of facilities to restore 
U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D.
    I can commit to the committee that we intend to distribute a broad 
array of grants which will benefit all sectors of the semiconductor 
value chain.
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator Marco Rubio
    Question. Congress recently appropriated massive sums for various 
broadband-related purposes, including $3.2 billion in subsidies for 
low-income Americans in the recent COVID-19 relief bill. The FCC has 
queued up additional funding, such as the billions of dollars in the 
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. While the specifics of the 
Administration's plans have not yet been relayed to Congress, it does 
seem as if many of the topline figures were chosen purely to shock and 
without regard for need.
    How will the Department of Commerce ensure that broadband spending 
proposed by the Administration does not duplicate funds that have 
already been authorized or appropriated?
    Answer. The recently passed ACCESS BROADBAND Act (Act) established 
new obligations on NTIA, USDA, and the FCC, which will help to analyze 
and quantify the funding made available for broadband. The law requires 
NTIA to: 1) track the construction and use of and access to any 
broadband infrastructure built using any federal support in a central 
database; 2) coordinate with other federal agencies to ensure funds are 
being distributed in an efficient, tech-neutral, and financially 
sustainable manner; and 3) not duplicate other federal broadband 
programs or Universal Service Funds (USF). NTIA is in the process of 
standing up the database and is working with federal partners to 
develop the reporting mechanisms that will be necessary to populate the 
database.
    The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, also included the 
Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020, which requires NTIA, 
FCC, and USDA enter into an agreement requiring coordination for the 
distribution of funds for broadband deployment under the FCC High-Cost 
Programs, USDA Rural Utilities Service Programs and broadband programs 
administered or coordinated through NTIA within 180 days of enactment. 
On June 25, 2021, NTIA, USDA and the FCC announced that the three 
agencies had signed an interagency agreement committing to data-sharing 
and coordination
    In addition to federal coordination, NTIA has established the 
National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM). The NBAM is a platform for 
data collection, visualization, and analysis of federal, state, and 
commercially available data sets to identify discrepancies in broadband 
availability for the purpose of informing policy and federal funding 
decisions. NTIA has integrated more than 388 data layers/services from 
43 sources (over 2.6 TB of data) that collectively inform policy and 
investment decision making.
    Some of the sources include: Federal--FCC/USAC (477 Deployment, 
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)) grant eligibility, Connect 
America Fund Phase II (CAFII), High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) 
portal, USDA (ReConnect program data), Census (American Community 
Survey data), Treasury (Opportunity Zones); Commercial (MLAB and Ookla 
speed test, BroadbandNow pricing data, White Star Parcel Data); and 
data from many state governments.
    Question. In reading the Administration's outline, I was struck by 
the emphasis on government-owned and operated telecommunications 
networks. The history of American success and leadership in 
telecommunications is defined by private-sector-led innovation and 
investment. Government networks, on the other hand, have a history of 
failure in which everyday citizens are left with the bill for the 
failures of bureaucratic planning.
    What steps will your department take to ensure that private 
companies, which have led the way in broadband deployment and 
investment, are not disadvantaged for contracts and awards in favor of 
government alternatives?
    Answer. As Secretary of Commerce, I am committed to bringing 
business to the table in partnership to solve some of our biggest 
problems, including broadband. I have a track record of working with 
business, and of holding them accountable. They are a critical partner 
given their longstanding investments in telecommunications networks.
    However, there are still millions of Americans for whom broadband 
remains unavailable due to either lack of infrastructure or excessive 
cost for the service. Broadband brings residents into the internet 
consumer market, the work-from-home labor market, and the remote 
education market. The expansion of markets and access to education 
arguably create a gap between the public or economy-wide benefits of 
connecting all Americans with broadband and the revenue private 
providers can recover. The lack of infrastructure and excessive cost 
for the service are the areas that require greater support to ensure 
the full deployment of broadband infrastructure and its adoption by 
communities.
    Given the history of private sector investment in 
telecommunications infrastructure, I am confident that there will be a 
role for the private sector to play in current and future broadband 
infrastructure programs. At the same time, other entities that can 
demonstrate the requisite expertise to successfully implement a project 
will be given the opportunity to compete for the privilege of bringing 
all Americans the benefits of broadband.
    To that end, on June 23, 2021, I sent a letter to the broadband 
trade associations requesting support from broadband service providers 
to voluntarily submit maps of their service areas to NTIA. This data 
will be used to better assess broadband availability across the 
country, and particularly in rural areas.
    Question. What steps will the department take to remove regulatory 
and other barriers that discourage additional private-sector activity 
in broadband buildout, including for 5G, so that more Americans can 
receive coverage without further, unwarranted government spending?
    Answer. NTIA has facilitated interagency coordination to streamline 
federal permitting processes to make it easier for network builders and 
service providers to access federal assets and rights-of-way, reducing 
the regulatory burden and simplifying the deployment of broadband 
networks.
    NTIA is responsible for coordinating with other agencies to 
implement the broadband permitting reforms called for in the MOBILE NOW 
Act, which include developing application tracking procedures, speeding 
application reviews and approvals, expediting renewals, and 
prioritizing permits in previously -disturbed rights-of-way.
    In addition, NTIA provides information about all agencies' 
permitting processes on its BroadbandUSA site to provide easier, ``one-
stop'' access to the information. The site includes information about 
agency fees associated with permitting infrastructure on federal lands, 
information about the Department of Energy permitting processes, and 
permitting process improvements made by the Department of Defense.
    Finally, NTIA also advises the General Services Administration 
(GSA) on their implementation of Executive Order 13821, Streamlining 
and Expediting Requests to Locate Broadband Facilities in Rural 
America, which requires the agency to collect and report to the Office 
of Management and Budget on the number of federal agency permits and 
the associated timeframes to process them.
    Question. It also strikes me as odd that the President's 
infrastructure outline does contain a single mention of 5G and the need 
to lead in the development and deployment of advanced wireless 
services.
    Would you agree that it is vitally important to our economic health 
for the U.S. to be on the leading edge of wireless innovation?
    Answer. The Administration considers the transition to 5G and 
future generations of wireless deployment a very high priority. The 
United States is home to some of the world's largest telecommunications 
companies, and the Administration is actively working to ensure that 
this industry can continue to innovate and win on a level playing 
field, both domestically and globally.
    Advances in network technology and open, interoperable approaches 
like Open RAN (radio access network), offer a potential future with a 
variety of software and hardware vendors and the ability for operators 
to disaggregate their networks between multiple vendors using open 
interfaces. Decoupling what have generally been integrated hardware and 
software telecommunications solutions from a limited number of global 
vendors could, in turn, lower today's high barriers to entry in 
telecommunications equipment markets, unlocking participation by a much 
wider range of potential vendors. The Administration, therefore, fully 
supports industry's development of open, interoperable networks while 
recognizing the importance of maintaining a full suite of solutions 
offered by incumbent trusted vendors. This can provide network 
operators with additional options and play to the strengths of U.S. 
companies, including in software development.
    As you know, the USICA appropriates $1.5 billion for the Wireless 
Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which was authorized by the FY2021 NDAA. 
This funding, if
    passed by Congress, will support efforts to promote and deploy 
technologies that will enhance U.S. competitiveness in 5G and future 
generations of wireless technology.
    Question. Is continued American leadership in 5G and future 
generations of broadband development and deployment a priority for this 
Administration?
    Answer. The Administration considers the transition to 5G and 
future generations of wireless deployment a very high priority. The 
United States has developed a coordinated, whole of government strategy 
to ensure American leadership in the development and deployment of 
secure, resilient 5G networks. The Department's technical expertise is 
part of an Administration-wide effort to ensure that 5G and future 
generations of telecommunications standards are developed through 
transparent, industry-led, consensus-based processes.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted to Secretary Marcia L. Fudge
             Questions Submitted by Chairman Patrick Leahy
                   neighborhood homes investment act
    I commend the proposal to establish a long-term funding source for 
owned homes through the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act proposal, 
which would mimic the tremendous success of funding sources like the 
Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. In Vermont, over 70 percent of 
people live in homes that they own, but many of them are in extremely 
poor shape. Home prices are rising fast, shutting first time buyers out 
of the market. I want to ensure that these new tax credits will work 
well for rural areas, where the face of poverty can look very different 
than in a city or suburb.
    Question. Will rural states be able to use their local expertise to 
target low-income housing investments via programs like the 
Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, as they can do for LIHTC?
    Answer. HUD's understanding of the text of the Neighborhood Homes 
Investment Act, as introduced, is that it requires each state's 
neighborhood homes credit agency to maintain a qualified allocation 
plan that sets forth the agency's allocation priorities, similar to 
what is required for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Thus, each 
state would be able to tailor the neighborhood homes credit to its 
needs, rural or otherwise. This bill, if enacted, would amend the 
Internal Revenue Code and thus be administered at the Federal level by 
the Treasury Department.
    The Administration's proposal for Neighborhood Homes Investment 
Credits (NHICs) requires that NHICs be allocated among the States with 
an emphasis on ``populations living in distressed urban, suburban, and 
rural neighborhoods'' (emphasis added). Treasury and HUD would have to 
establish not only criteria for identifying distressed neighborhoods to 
which the credits will generally be targeted but also criteria to 
select additional rural communities and gentrifying census tracts for 
owner-occupied rehabilitation. Similar to what is required for Low-
Income Housing Credits, each State Neighborhood Homes Credit Agency 
would establish its own qualified allocation plan to guide it in 
allocating potential NHICs among competing proposals. Thus, each State 
could tailor allocation of the new credits to its particular needs, 
rural or otherwise. This proposal, if enacted, would create a new tax 
credit in the Internal Revenue Code and thus would be administered at 
the Federal level by the Treasury Department.
                    shared equity and homeownership
    As in many rural places, homeownership in Vermont is critical. Over 
70 percent of people own their homes and the state has implemented 
widely praised homeownership efforts like shared equity homeownership 
programs, but there is still a significant need.
    Question. How can this Federal funding ensure affordable access to 
homeownership, especially for first time homebuyers who are facing the 
most expensive housing markets in years?
    Answer. These shared equity homeownership programs can help their 
homebuyers so that more people from marginalized communities can 
benefit from shared equity homeownership. Through the Self-Help 
Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), HUD awards grants to eligible 
national and regional nonprofit organizations and consortia to purchase 
home sites and develop or improve the infrastructure needed to set the 
stage for sweat equity and volunteer-based homeownership programs for 
low-income persons or families. SHOP units are sold to homebuyers at 
prices below the prevailing market price.
    The HOME Program provides financing to acquire, rehabilitate, or 
newly construct modest housing for occupancy by low-income households. 
HOME also provides direct assistance to homebuyers in the form of 
downpayment and closing cost assistance or other secondary financing, 
alone or in combination with construction activities. HUD's FY 2022 
budget request includes a $100 million set-aside for States to provide 
downpayment assistance to first-generation and/or low-wealth first-time 
homebuyers who traditionally have not had access to homeownership.
    HUD also believes that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can 
play a part in this and are assessing our policies to alleviate 
regulatory burdens and to improve access to FHA-insured financing 
through a variety of initiatives. For example, the 2022 President's 
Budget proposes the Home Equity Accelerator Loan (HEAL) pilot program 
under FHA. The pilot program is designed specifically to provide more 
opportunities for homeownership to first-generation and/or low-wealth 
first-time homebuyers.
    Question. How will HUD ensure that any Federal funding for new 
homeowners reaches those who have been previously excluded from the 
housing market?
    Answer. HUD recognizes the continued need to provide opportunities 
for homeownership throughout the country. The Federal Housing 
Administration (FHA), Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program 
(SHOP), and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) play critical 
roles in providing such opportunities to those who have traditionally 
been excluded from the housing market.
    As part of the budget, HUD has proposed to implement a Home Equity 
Accelerator Loan (HEAL) pilot program under FHA. The pilot program is 
designed specifically to provide more opportunities for homeownership 
to first-generation and/or low-wealth first-time homebuyers. HEAL will 
offer loan products that lower barriers to homeownership, including 
incentives to lenders and borrowers.
    The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) increases 
homeownership for those who are low-income and contribute a significant 
amount of sweat equity towards the development of the SHOP units. 
Reasonable accommodations are permitted for individuals with 
disabilities in order for individuals to meet hourly sweat equity 
requirements. More specifically, SHOP funds are used for eligible 
expenses to develop decent, safe and sanitary non-luxury housing for 
low-income persons and families who otherwise would not be able to 
afford to become homeowners.
    The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) allocates funds by 
formula to states and local governments to fund the acquisition, 
construction, and rehabilitation of homeownership housing for low- and 
very low-income households. The program provides flexibility for HOME 
participating jurisdictions to design and administer homeownership 
programs that meet their locally identified needs and priorities, 
including through shared equity models. HOME can be used to construct 
or rehabilitate housing for homeownership in areas with inadequate 
supply or substandard housing conditions, or to provide direct 
assistance to homebuyers where housing prices, credit history, and/or 
limited ability to save for a significant downpayment are obstacles to 
entering homeownership. The Administration's FY 2022 budget requests 
includes a $100 million set-aside within the HOME Program for a new 
initiative called First HOME Downpayment Assistance. This initiative 
would focus on populations that have been underserved by targeting 
first-generation and/or low-wealth first-time homebuyers.
                           manufactured homes
    In rural areas, manufactured homes are an important source of 
naturally occurring affordable housing, but too often these homeowners 
can be at risk from natural disasters like floods, deteriorating homes 
that were built before the establishment of strong Federal standards, 
and the fact that private park owners can sell the land underneath 
their largest investment.
    Question. How will HUD make sure that these homeowners benefit from 
these Federal investments and that their investments in their homes 
help them build and maintain a strong financial foundation?
    Answer. HUD's Office of Manufactured Housing Programs (OMHP) 
executes the regulation, oversight, and monitoring of the manufactured 
housing industry nationwide, with the mission to preserve and promote 
the quality, durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured 
homes, including those in rural and underserved areas. OMHP continues 
to maintain a focus on quality design and construction and updating 
Federal standards to reflect current building technologies and evolving 
consumer demands. HUD has been working to update the standards on a 
regular basis, to encourage innovation and cost-effective construction 
techniques for manufactured homes that improve quality, durability, 
safety, and affordability.
    HUD's manufactured housing programs (construction and safety 
program, dispute resolution program, and home installation program) 
also work to protect residents of manufactured homes with respect to 
personal injuries, insurance costs, and property damages in 
manufactured housing. With the 2008 implementation of new Federal 
installation standards that includes provisions for flood hazard areas, 
and recent fire protection standards for zero lot-line or townhome 
style construction, OMHP monitors the quality and compliance of home 
installations, which works to improve the performance of manufactured 
homes and lead to the potential for solid, long-term investments that 
may appreciate in value similar to other housing stock.
                        rural villages and towns
    The average town in Vermont has 1,200 people and leadership that is 
almost all volunteers with full time jobs. These towns are ready to 
make the investments to update their water, their sewer, their roads, 
and their zoning and build more housing, and attract young families and 
new small businesses. But, doing so is a bureaucratic maze. The 
American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for every part 
of our country.
    Question. How can HUD support rural places and small towns in this 
infrastructure plan? How can we ensure that this funding benefits 
everyone in the country, not just cities that have already been able to 
invest in the requirements for shovel-ready projects?
    Answer. The $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund included in 
the American Jobs Plan would target underserved and high-poverty areas 
in urban, suburban and rural communities and finance community-led 
revitalization. The Fund would provide support to communities for both 
the planning and implementation of projects that create equitable, 
weather- and climate-resilient, healthy neighborhoods that support 
access to quality affordable housing, services, and recreation and 
spark strong small businesses and good jobs.
    The infrastructure plan includes $500 million for the Main Street 
Program and proposes resources dedicated to both small and rural 
places. HUD and USDA will work together to ensure grants and technical 
assistance helps revitalize small communities and rural areas.
    Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds provide rural places 
and small towns an opportunity to support local infrastructure projects 
at various stages of development. The CDBG program reaches 
approximately 6,000 smaller communities every year and is available to 
rural places and small towns primarily through the State CDBG program. 
Through the CDBG program, States and those communities identify their 
specific community development needs, including infrastructure. As a 
formula program that provides state and local governments the option of 
a broad range of activity types, CDBG does not favor shovel-ready 
projects in cities at the expense of rural communities' needs. 
Additional CDBG funds will continue to support infrastructure 
investments, from the planning to construction phases, in rural areas.
                             weatherization
    Our houses are often old, leaky and heated with expensive and 
environmentally unfriendly methods like fuel oil. I am glad to see a 
focus on clean energy and weatherizing homes to make sure they are safe 
and affordable, which Vermont desperately needs. Investments in 
projects like this often go further when money can be implemented in 
unique ways, like revolving loan funds, and when partners across 
housing and energy fields are involved.
    Question. How will you ensure that funding for this important 
effort will be spent most effectively?
    Answer. HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes 
received an appropriation of $5 million in both 2020 and 2021 to be 
competitively awarded as grants to facilitate coordinated service 
delivery by HUD's Lead Hazard Reduction grantees and local programs 
funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance 
Program. HUD awarded five grants with the 2020 funding, out of 21 
applications submitted. The Notice of Funding Opportunity, developed 
with DOE staff input, emphasizes the formation of multiple partnerships 
in target communities to help identify and recruit households of 
greatest need and further encourages applicants to develop sustainable 
program models that can continue coordinated service delivery following 
expiration of the coordination grants. The 2022 President's Budget 
includes a request for $5 million for the Healthy Homes and 
Weatherization Cooperation Demonstration grant. The grant program will 
receive a formal evaluation to identify the benefits of this approach 
as well as effective practices that can be adopted by other 
communities.
    The issue of financing energy efficiency in affordable housing is a 
challenging one, especially in the framework of HUD's public and 
assisted housing subsidy structure. It is helpful to point out, as in 
the question, that it is appropriate to explore how direct investments 
of Federal dollars can be leveraged and maximized by partnering with 
third party sources, or by tapping the expertise of non-profit and 
private sector partners to provide the necessary energy and support 
services.
    It is also important to note that some of HUD's more successful 
programs in this space have relied not on direct financing from HUD but 
on third-party financing, most directly, the Energy Performance 
Contract (EPC) program in public housing, which enables public housing 
agencies to leverage outside financing and pay for the improvements 
with the savings. The FY22 Budget proposes $50 million to develop new 
strategies and new approaches to the EPC Program to increase its usage, 
make deeper green energy and water efficiency measures, develop and 
implement renewable energy and battery storage, and reduce the carbon 
and climate impact of public housing.
               northern border regional commission (nbrc)
    Communities in Vermont, across New England and around the country 
benefit from the funding and capacity building work of Federal 
commission and authorities like the Northern Border Regional 
Commission.
    Question. How can the HUD work closely with the NBRC, and other 
regional commissions, to plan, distribute funding and ensure completion 
of the investments in the President's proposal?
    Answer. HUD has a history of working closely with regional 
commissions and authorities like the Northern Border Regional 
Commission. For example, in the Delta Community Capital Initiative and 
the Appalachia Economic Development Initiative, HUD worked with related 
authorities--the Delta Regional Authority and Appalachian Regional 
Commission--and other Federal agency partners, specifically USDA-Rural 
Development and Treasury's CDFI Fund, to increase organizational 
capacity of community development organizations to foster economic 
opportunity within the regions.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Jeff Merkley
                      natural disasters, wildfires
    Thank you for committing to work to address the ongoing needs of 
Oregon and other western states that are struggling to recover from the 
damage of the 2020 wildfire season. In Oregon, wildfires destroyed over 
4,000 homes last summer. According to the most recent data, over 1,000 
people are still without permanent homes. While FEMA has delivered 
substantial emergency relief to Oregon, I believe the scale of natural 
disasters in Oregon and other western states demands additional 
resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental 
legislation.
    Question. Given HUD's role in supporting communities to recovery 
from presidentially declared disasters, how will the American Jobs Plan 
support low-income communities in Oregon and other states who are 
experiencing significant losses as a result of increasingly frequent 
and extreme natural disasters?
    Answer. To address risks associated with the increasing severity 
and costs of disasters, the American Jobs Plan includes $2.5 billion 
for HUD's Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)-Resilience program. 
This investment in vulnerable communities through the CDBG-Resilience 
program would build on lessons from prior community-scale resilience 
programs that HUD has administered in the past. HUD would target 
funding to low- and moderate-income areas with increased risk from 
climate-related disasters (e.g., floods, hurricanes, wildfires), using 
HUD data and other Federal data sources, such as FEMA's National Risk 
Index and the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index.
    Question. What does the Department estimate is impact on the 
housing sector as a result of the 2020 wildfire season? In your answer, 
please include how many homes or other dwellings that were lost and the 
impact on the long-term affordability of housing, if possible? What 
does the Department estimate is the cost to repair or replace that lost 
housing stock?
    Answer. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2020 
there were 58,950 wildfires in the United States that burned more than 
10 million acres. These fires caused severe damage to residential 
dwellings.
    In contrast to homeowners impacted by flooding events, homeowners 
generally carry homeowner's insurance which often provides full or 
partial coverage for fire-induced losses. For this reason, the 
reinsurance industry is often a good source for data. Munich 
Reinsurance, reporting on the 2020 fire season, notes the following:
    ``Once again, a series of large wildfires raged across the western 
United States in 2020, including record-setting fires (in terms of area 
burned) in California and Colorado. Drought conditions, particularly 
across northern California and the Pacific Northwest, helped fuel 
dozens of large fires. 47 people lost their lives due to the fires.
    As of the beginning of December 2020, California had recorded a 
total of 9,600 wildfires in the state. Although most of these fires 
were small and did not cause any damage, the severity and extent of the 
largest fires damaged or destroyed around 10,500 structures. The area 
burned by wildfire in the state was over four times larger than the 
2015-2019 average, and individual fires in 2020 rank 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th 
and 6th on the list of the largest fires in California since the 1930s.
    It was notable that damaging wildfires occurred not just in 
California, but across the rest of the western US as well. Colorado saw 
its three largest fires, in terms of acres burned, in 2020. Wildfires 
in Washington and Oregon also set new records. In Oregon alone, about 
4,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, becoming one of the 
worst natural disasters in the state's history. In total, losses from 
the wildfires in the western United States amounted to some US$ 16bn, 
of which US$ 11bn was insured.'' \1\
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    In 2020, based on Census-collected building permit data, California 
built 50,750 single-family units and 44,000 multifamily units. Oregon 
built 9,325 single-family units and 6,558 multi-family units. As such, 
a loss of 10,500 structures in California and 4,000 homes in Oregon are 
big losses for states that already are struggling to produce enough 
housing to meet demand.
    HUD uses two construction cost indexes to create housing 
construction cost (HCC) limit (hard costs, builder overhead, and 
profit) for most metropolitan areas as well as a Total Development Cost 
(TDC) that also factors in, among other things, administration, site 
acquisition, relocation, demolition of, and site remediation of 
environmental hazards. Many of these fires impacted rural areas which 
tend to have lower costs overall, but such cost data are the best 
available and still have meaning in this scenario. For Medford Oregon, 
the HCC in 2020 for a 1,500 square foot home was $213,061 and the TDC 
was $372,858. In California, HCC tends to range near $250,000 and TDC 
near $450,000. In sum, the cost to build is high.
    As noted above, most homeowners will recover some or all of their 
costs to repair or replace their homes from insurance. But some are 
uninsured or underinsured. FEMA has damage estimates for homes that are 
uninsured or underinsured.
    In 2020, there were three Presidentially Declared major wildfire 
disasters, one in Oregon and two in California, where FEMA provided 
Individual Assistance. The following data are derived from FEMA 
applications for Individual Assistance made available through those 
three declarations.
Impacted Owner-Occupied Homes and Uninsured Loss Estimates
    Data on impact and losses are estimated from FEMA Individual 
Assistance applications and verified losses. Following wildfire 
disasters, losses are only verified for homes that do not have 
insurance or that are under-insured. As such, the number of units with 
verified losses excludes insured homes with full coverage. A total of 
24,114 owner-occupied households applied for FEMA assistance and 3,118 
owner-occupied households without sufficient insurance coverage 
sustained $123,755,805 in verified losses. Approximately three-quarters 
of the owner-occupied homes with verified losses did not have a 
homeowners insurance policy, and such homes sustained nearly $80 
million in losses. For those with an insurance policy, losses were 
nearly $44 million.

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Owner-occupied
                                                                  Owner-occupied    Units with     Real Property
                                                                   Units with IA   FEMA Verified   FEMA Verified
                                                                   Applications       Losses           Loss
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California Wildfire Disaster 4558...............................          11,468           1,005     $54,693,593
    Without Home Insurance......................................           5,675             806     $39,854,144
    With Home Insurance.........................................           5,793             199     $14,839,449
    Oregon Wildfire Disaster 4562...............................           7,717           1,738     $51,573,215
    Without Home Insurance......................................           3,183           1,232     $27,009,964
    With Home Insurance.........................................           4,534             506     $24,563,251
    California Wildfire 4569....................................           4,929             375     $17,488,998
    Without Home Insurance......................................           3,063             322     $13,072,538
    With Home Insurance.........................................           1,866              53      $4,416,460
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      TOTAL.....................................................          24,114           3,118    $123,755,805
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Units with Moderate/Major Damage or Destroyed
    Overall, among uninsured and under-insured housing units, a total 
of 1,666 units were destroyed, and nearly a quarter of these were 
renter-occupied units.

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
California Wildfire Disaster 4558.......................             581
    Owner-occupied......................................             368
    Rental..............................................             213
Oregon Wildfire Disaster 4562...........................             968
    Owner-occupied......................................             818
    Rental..............................................             150
California Wildfire 4569................................             117
    Owner-occupied......................................              98
    Rental..............................................              19
Total...................................................           1,666
    Owner-occupied......................................           1,284
    Renter..............................................             382
------------------------------------------------------------------------

HUD-Assisted Households
    No market-wide data on impacts on affordable housing stock could be 
located within the response time, but HUD program offices produced data 
on the impacted HUD portfolio. Across the wildfire impacted areas in 
California and Oregon for which disasters were declared in 2020, the 
jurisdictions of 64 Public Housing Authorities were affected.
    In California, no public housing units were damaged, and 14 
households receiving vouchers were displaced due to the disasters. All 
but two of them have been permanently housed elsewhere. Among 
multifamily properties, 263 HUD-assisted units sustained moderate or 
minor damage, but all households have been able to return.
    In Oregon, no public housing units were damaged. Of the 75 housing 
voucher households displaced by the disaster, 15 have yet to be 
permanently rehoused. Among multifamily properties, 173 assisted units 
sustained minor damage, but all households have been able to return.

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               California                   Total Units       Damaged
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHA.....................................              56               6
        PH Units........................          13,955  ..............
        HCV Units.......................       1,888,369              14
Multifamily Properties..................           1,475               4
    Multifamily Units...................         119,759             263
        HUD-Assisted Units..............          77,176             263
                                         -------------------------------
      Total HUD Units...................       1,979,500             277
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Oregon                        Total          Damaged
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHA.....................................               8               4
        PH Units........................           1,428  ..............
        HCV Units.......................          12,104              75
Multifamily Properties..................             165               5
    Multifamily Units...................           8,582             264
        HUD-Assisted Units..............           4,315             173
                                         -------------------------------
      Total HUD Units...................          17,847             248
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question. It is widely anticipated that 2021 will be another 
difficult fire season. How is the Department preparing for the upcoming 
wildfire season?
    Answer. With the increasing number of disaster events, HUD's 
Disaster Management Group (DMG) meets regularly to ensure that the 
Department and its stakeholders are prepared for events, such as 
wildfires. The DMG is comprised of senior leadership from both program 
and support offices. Prior to the start of hurricane and wildfire 
seasons, departmental program offices send to HUD-assisted (public 
housing and multifamily) housing providers preparedness notices to 
ensure that they have preparedness plans in place, such as evacuation 
plans. Also, the Department closely monitors weather situations and, in 
the case of an event, coordinates with its field offices in the 
impacted areas and FEMA on response and recovery efforts.
                      national housing trust fund
    Thank you for supporting funding for the National Housing Trust 
Fund in the American Jobs Plan. I am pleased to see the Administration 
include my request for this funding.
    Question. How does investing in the National Housing Trust Fund 
advance the President's call to produce, preserve, and retrofit more 
than two million affordable and sustainable places to live?
    Answer. The American Jobs Plan is an investment in America's 
housing and community infrastructure that will make housing more 
affordable for working and middle-class families. Affordable housing 
development often requires multiple public subsidies to become 
financially feasible. One such program, the Housing Trust Fund, will 
help advance the President's call by increasing production of, and 
access to, affordable housing in communities across the country.
    The Housing Trust Fund (HTF) program provides critical funding for 
acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of quality housing that is 
deeply targeted to be affordable to these vulnerable populations. By 
statute, 75 percent of HTF funds must be used for households who have 
incomes below the greater of the extremely low-income limit for their 
area or the Federal Poverty Line, with the remainder benefitting very 
low-income households. HTF provides soft financing (e.g., grants, zero 
interest loans, low interest loans, forgivable loans), large capital 
subsidies, and ongoing operating subsidies that enable HTF-assisted 
units to remain affordable for a minimum of 30 years.
    Question. How will investing in the National Housing Trust Fund 
help create jobs, strengthen our economy, and reduce housing 
instability?
    Answer. The American Jobs Plan will create jobs that pay prevailing 
wages, including through project labor agreements with a free and fair 
choice to join a union and bargain collectively. Through formula 
funding, grants, and project-based rental assistance, the plan will 
extend affordable rental opportunities to underserve communities 
nationwide, including rural and tribal areas. Since 2016 the Housing 
Trust Fund has financed 850 units of affordable housing and leveraged 
$863 million of other funds for affordable housing with a leveraging 
ratio of 8.81:1 (i.e., $8.81 of private or other public dollars for 
each HTF dollar invested in rental projects).
    HUD estimates that the $692.9 million of HTF funds allocated in FY 
2021 will result in approximately 5,400 assisted units for extremely 
low-income renter households, and approximately 12,000 jobs. Investing 
in the Housing Trust Funds means that these resulting jobs and 
affordable rental units will help stabilize local economies as well as 
secure housing for extremely low-income families, strengthening the 
communities they live in.
    Question. Is there anything else you would like to add about the 
importance of making this investment?
    Answer. Since the financial crisis of 2009, high rents in 
proportion to renter incomes has remained the dominant housing problem 
among households with worst-case needs, leaving these renters with a 
substantial, unmet need for affordable housing and very low-income 
renter households facing competition from higher-income renters for an 
inadequate supply of affordable rental units. The recent economic 
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are not evenly distributed across the 
population. Households that were already experiencing housing 
affordability or stability issues are more likely than other households 
to hold jobs affected by public health and social distancing measures. 
The pandemic exacerbated affordability and stability issues for these 
households. Federal, state, and local eviction moratoria and 
appropriation of substantial resources for rental assistance has 
lessened the pandemic's impact on existing affordability and stability 
issues. In the intermediate and long-term, however, the nation must 
prioritize expansion of the quality housing stock that is available and 
affordable for households with worst-case housing needs.
    The Housing Trust Fund, through its deep income targeting and 30-
year minimum affordability requirements, is an effective vehicle for 
delivering that investment.
                      radon testing and mitigation
    Despite a 1988 law requiring HUD to ``develop an effective 
departmental policy for dealing with radon contamination... to ensure 
that occupants of [public housing] are not exposed to hazardous levels 
of radon,'' HUD still does not require radon testing in all one 
million-plus federally subsidized housing units nationally, and has not 
taken responsibility to test for radon when housing authorities cannot 
or do not.
    Question. With whom does HUD believe the ultimate responsibility 
for compliance with its congressionally mandated responsibility to 
ensure that those living in public housing ``are not exposed to 
hazardous levels of radon,'' lies?
    Answer. It is a shared responsibility. At the time of the McKinney 
Act, national consensus standards had not yet been developed for radon 
testing and mitigation. HUD was part of the group that created the 
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Association 
of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST) radon consensus 
standards. The coordination that the McKinney Act amendment section 
encourages with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only 
expanded since that time, including participation by HUD and eight 
other Federal agencies in the Federal Radon Action Plan (2011--2015). 
HUD is continuing this collaboration as a member of the National Radon 
Action Plan leadership implementation committee, a public/private 
partnership chaired by the American Lung Association with EPA support.
    Question. If HUD believes they have delegated that entire authority 
to public housing authorities, what steps has HUD taken to ensure that 
authority is being carried out?
    Answer. Under current statute and HUD regulations, the Responsible 
Entity (RE), the unit of general local or state government where the 
public housing project is located, is typically responsible for signing 
off on environmental reviews of public housing properties. The role of 
the RE is explained in PIH Notices 2013-07 and 2016-22. The screening 
for contamination including excessive radon levels is part of the 
guidance and training for HUD grantees and REs. The radon testing 
reports for public housing agency (PHA) properties are provided to the 
PHA and/or the RE and not to HUD. In addition to the screening that is 
part of an environmental review, via PIH Notice 2013-06, the public 
housing program continues to recommend and encourage PHAs test for 
radon and mitigate excessive radon levels based on EPA's radon action 
level, even when there is not an environmental review activity that 
requires the contamination screening.
    Question. What steps will HUD take to increase that compliance?
    Answer. The Department agrees that there is a need for increased 
awareness and guidance to HUD grantees on radon testing and mitigation. 
From a survey of public health guidance, the majority of the guidance 
on radon is aimed at the single-family homeowner audience and is 
related to residential real estate transactions, providing an 
opportunity for HUD to create practical guidance to a multifamily 
rental portfolio audience. HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and 
Healthy Homes, the Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the Office 
of Multifamily Housing are working together to provide guidance to PHAs 
and HUD-assisted multifamily owners/operators on radon basics, 
including summaries of testing and mitigation procedures based on the 
national consensus standards. This effort is expected to improve 
compliance based on an increase in knowledge of the importance of 
testing for radon and current best practices for testing and 
mitigation. In addition, the 2022 President's Budget requests $5 
million for a radon testing and mitigation resident safety 
demonstration project that would set the stage for public housing 
agencies to mitigate elevated radon levels and provide HUD with 
implementation information for consideration of subsequent steps in 
addressing radon in public housing.
    Question. Does HUD have any current plans to expand the scope of 
mandatory radon testing in federally subsidized housing beyond its 
current reach?
    Answer. Excess radon risk is related to geology, soil composition, 
building types, and dwelling unit floor count. In 2019, HUD updated 
radon testing requirements for Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) 
conversions of public housing and certain other properties to project-
based assistance. The public housing program is conducting a grant 
competition for public housing agencies to address housing-related 
health hazards. Radon testing and mitigation is an eligible and 
prioritized activity in this competitive grant program. Additionally, 
the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act included $4 million for a 
radon in public housing demonstration grant program, which is being 
designed. Information collected after these grants are carried out will 
help the Department determine appropriate updates to radon policies and 
guidance. Also, following the release of the HUD Inspector General 
Office's report titled, ``HUD Program Offices' Policies and Approaches 
for Radon'' (released on April 8, 2021), HUD program offices are 
working to address the IG's recommendations.
    Question. Does HUD plan to survey the threat of radon exposure in 
at-risk federally subsidized housing units as reported by the 
Oregonian?
    Answer. HUD's guidance and training for Responsible Entities (REs: 
the unit of general local or state government where the public housing 
project is located) includes instructions on how to screen public 
housing properties for contamination, including excessive radioactive 
gas levels, as part of the environmental assessment process. The 
Oregonian article has been helpful in increasing awareness of 
residential indoor radon exposure. Program staff work directly with 
grantees, including the PHAs reported on by the Oregonian. The issues 
covered are complicated and the Department will continue to be 
available to the Oregon delegation to address the important issue of 
indoor air radon exposure.
    Question. Will HUD commit to mandating implementation of radon 
mitigation systems immediately upon discovery of a high radon test 
result?
    Answer. HUD currently requires testing (with suitable exceptions) 
and mitigation of radon levels in indoor air when the EPA's radon 
action level (of 4 picocuries per liter) is equaled or exceeded, for a 
range of new and refinanced Multifamily Housing mortgages. For the 
public housing program, the current radon guidance strongly encourages 
public housing agencies to proactively plan and complete radon testing 
and follow-up with mitigation strategies. The screening for 
contamination including excessive radon levels is part of the guidance 
and training for HUD grantees and the Responsible Entity (RE: the unit 
of general local or state government where the public housing project 
is located). When EPA radon in air action levels of 4 pCi/L or higher 
are identified during an environmental review, the RE makes the 
determination on the appropriate implementation of radon mitigation 
practices and systems.
                                 ______
                                 
              Question Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
                        resilient infrastructure
    Question. Please describe HUD's proposals for resilient 
infrastructure included in the American Jobs Plan and FY22 budget 
request, including how these proposals will benefit infrastructure 
throughout the country-not just in states along the coasts.
    Answer. Over the past decade, communities across the country have 
witnessed a historic number of deadly and destructive weather and 
climate events. In 2020 alone, the United States experienced 22 weather 
and climate disaster events that each exceeded $1 billion in losses 
($95 billion in cumulative losses)--a new record. These disasters were 
not isolated to tropical storms affecting our coasts, but included 
floods, severe windstorms, wildfire, and drought. To address these 
risks, the American Jobs Plan includes $2.5 billion for HUD's Community 
Development Block Grants (CDBG)-Resiliency program. This program would 
build on prior lessons from the community-scale resilience programs 
that HUD has administered in the past--the National Disaster Resilience 
Competition, Rebuild by Design, and CDBG-Mitigation programs. Unlike 
other agencies, HUD has experience with improving resilience in low- 
and moderate-income areas. Using the CDBG program to deliver resilience 
will ensure targeting to low- and moderate-income areas throughout the 
country that have an increased risk from climate-related disasters. 
Participating communities would commit to using the funding to increase 
resilience of these at-risk areas.
    Additionally, the FY22 Budget requests $800 million for targeted 
investments to improve the quality of housing through climate 
resilience and energy efficiency. As part of the Administration's 
whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis, HUD is committed to 
expanding energy-efficient and climate-resilient housing options in 
public and other HUD-assisted housing. Funds would be used to create a 
new program, the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program within 
Multifamily Housing, and fund initiatives that align with or are 
structured within existing programs: the Rental Assistance 
Demonstration, Public Housing, Native American Housing, and Choice 
Neighborhoods. As described above, the Department would target low- and 
moderate-income areas throughout the country.
                                 ______
                                 
             Question Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
       large-scale advanced manufacturing, research & development
    Question. The University of Maine is becoming a leader in large-
scale advanced manufacturing, and it is now the site of one of the 
largest 3D printers in the world. In fact, UMaine recently broke three 
Guinness World Records for the world's largest prototype polymer 3D 
printer, largest solid 3D-printed object, and largest 3D-printed boat. 
This accelerated rapid prototyping, enabled by high performance 
computing, can quickly advance R&D efforts in both the defense and 
civilian arenas. UMaine is now developing a new Factory of the Future 
concept which would use high-performance computing, artificial 
intelligence, and additive manufacturing technology to quickly build 
prototype structures which could ultimately lower the cost of navy 
vessels and civilian craft, as well as quickly produce low-cost housing 
units.
    These are the sorts of cutting-edge, advanced manufacturing 
technologies and research and design efforts that will keep America 
competitive globally. How does the Administration's proposal support 
university-led R&D efforts like UMaine's?
    Answer. Advanced manufacturing projects such as the University of 
Maine's record setting 3D-printer are not only proof of the power of 
the United States' educational institutions innovation, but also show 
that this type of R&D investment means jobs and business development 
potential for the communities around these university and advanced 
manufacturing investments. HUD will continue to support the development 
of new and improved technologies, methods, and materials in housing 
construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance that not only address 
climate and resilience but also meet the public safety needs to ensure 
a safe living environment. HUD also supports place-based investments 
through multiple programs such as Community Development Block Grants 
(CDBG) and Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-
DR) that include job training and support for small businesses that can 
fuel the workforce and supply chain of these ground-breaking 
technological investments.
    HUD grantees have used CDBG-DR funds in the past to support faculty 
and student research and commercialization efforts. HUD also sees such 
projects as advancing economic resilience to the effects of climate 
change, especially given the emphasis placed by the CDBG and CDBG-DR 
programs on providing benefits (e.g., employment) to vulnerable low- 
and moderate-income families which are disproportionately affected by 
the impacts of climate change.
    HUD is also open to funding research into technologies that enable 
faster, cheaper, and/or more energy-efficient housing under the 
American Jobs Plan, specifically the Build, preserve, and retrofit more 
than two million homes and commercial buildings, modernize our nation's 
schools and childcare facilities, and upgrade veterans' hospitals and 
Federal buildings proposal. HUD's Office of Policy Development and 
Research (PD&R) has recently awarded cooperative agreements to 
universities to conduct state of the art research on building 
technologies, methods, and materials for housing construction. A few 
examples of current projects include:
  --A cooperative agreement with Texas A&M Engineering to research 3D 
        Printed Concrete Single-/Multi-Family Housing Technologies. The 
        objectives of this project are to: (1) demonstrate, document, 
        and validate a rational design procedure for 3D printed 
        concrete residential construction, accounting for seismic 
        loads; and (2) develop, in coordination with a stakeholder-
        based Peer Review Panel, a ``Best Practices document'' to serve 
        as a U.S. code proposal that can be adopted by local 
        jurisdictions and national-level provisions and design codes to 
        ensure public safety needs are addressed.
  --A project conducted by Home Innovation Research Laboratory (``Home 
        Innovation'') and a collaboration of industry partners will 
        evaluate wall system components including windows and doors 
        (i.e., flashing/sealing details), wall penetration methods for 
        installing utilities (i.e., water and electrical), and wall 
        connections between the roof and foundation. Although the 
        research is not university-directed, Home Innovation will 
        conduct qualitative research among home builders and 
        contractors at the jobsite and through a national survey to 
        understand the challenges and opportunities to accelerate the 
        adoption of 3DCP.
  --Research on Advanced Modular Housing Design (AMHD) Technologies for 
        Post-Disaster Housing by University of Florida. This research 
        focuses on developing hyper-efficient, advanced modular post-
        disaster housing that has high levels of energy efficiency, 
        resilience, and construction flexibility (e.g., 
        deconstructability and reassembly) and is capable of being 
        manufactured at high production rates. The intent is for the 
        AMHD to play a major role in creating permanent resilient, 
        sustainable communities in the wake of disasters.
  --The Terner Center at the University of California at Berkeley is 
        leading an analysis of the energy savings potential of 
        integrated hot water systems, given the high proportion of 
        typical building energy usage associated with water and space 
        heating. This research collaboration among the Terner Center, 
        SmithGroup, and Factory OS will assess the advantages and 
        challenges of combining integrated hot water systems with 
        modular construction practices with the goal of optimizing for 
        cost efficiency, quality installation, and performance of this 
        major energy saving technique to encourage further adoption.
                                 ______
                                 
               Questions Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
                           tribal communities
    Last Congress, I served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on 
Indian Affairs. As chairman, I saw firsthand the positive impact that 
tribal housing programs can have on tribal communities. The Native 
American Housing Block Grants (NAHBG) and Indian Community Development 
Block Grants (ICDBG) are both resources that assist tribal communities 
with access to safe and affordable housing.
    Question. How can we ensure that tribal communities will continue 
to have support that will enable them to adequately address the 
challenges they face locally?
    Answer. Tribal communities have done an excellent job of utilizing 
resources to serve their communities. The additional resources provided 
in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, 
American Rescue Plan, and other appropriations during the pandemic have 
been essential in maintaining operations while helping to address the 
impact of the pandemic and the severe housing needs. The Administration 
recognizes the need for continued sustained investments in housing and 
infrastructure in Tribal communities for the long term.
    The 2022 President's Budget requests $1 billion for Native American 
Programs, which is $175 million more than the 2021 enacted level. In 
addition, the American Jobs Plan provides a $2 billion investment in 
Tribal communities to expand the supply of affordable housing, create 
supportive infrastructure needs, allow Tribes to advance green building 
standards and address the consequences of climate change on their 
communities. These funds would be administered through tested programs 
like the Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development 
Block Grant, ensuring that these resources would reach communities 
effectively and efficiently in line with our government-to-government 
relationship.
    In addition to ensuring that critical resources are made available 
to Tribal communities, HUD is committed to working closely with our 
Tribal partners to understand the evolving challenges they face 
locally. For example, HUD meets on a weekly basis with Tribal leaders 
and housing practitioners, where HUD learns about major issues and 
challenges facing Tribal housing practitioners and can demonstrate that 
HUD operates in a transparent manner. HUD is also committed to working 
closely with Congress to ensure that all members are briefed and 
updated on major Tribal housing issues, and to provide any assistance 
that may be requested in developing and drafting effective legislation 
aimed at improving the lives of Native American families.
    Question. How do you plan to address affordable housing concerns 
for tribal communities?
    Answer. HUD has worked closely--and will continue to work closely--
with our Tribal partners to strengthen our government-to-government 
relationship and strengthen our consultation policies and practices. In 
addition, HUD works with Tribal and other governments, Federal 
agencies, community organizations, and the private sector to provide a 
coordinated and comprehensive response to Indian Country's housing and 
community development needs.
    HUD actively works to ensure that our Tribal partners are aware of 
all available funding, such as the annual appropriation for the Indian 
Housing Block Grant program and supplemental funding provided in the 
CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan. In addition, Low Income Housing 
Credits support the construction and rehabilitation of affordable 
rental housing in Tribal areas. Other collaborative activities include:
  --Hosting webinars;
  --Hosting weekly meetings with our Tribal partners;
  --Issuing guidance and waivers; and
  --Sending letters about training opportunities, technical assistance, 
        and reporting requirements.
    Since 2020, HUD has received a significant increase in funding to 
address affordable housing needs in Indian Country. In total, $1.050 
billion in new funding ($300 million in the CARES Act and $750 million 
in the American Rescue Plan) has been appropriated to the Office of 
Native American Programs, which administers to largest national housing 
programs in Indian County. These resources will have a major impact in 
Tribal communities and will help address some of the unmet housing 
needs experienced in these communities. However, the overall need for 
affordable housing and critical infrastructure is staggering and will 
continue to require additional resources into the future. Through the 
2022 Budget request and additional funding requested in the American 
Jobs Plan, the Administration aims to further address urgent 
infrastructure and housing needs while providing significant job 
opportunities for Tribal communities and families.
    Furthermore, the Administration's proposals to expand allocations 
of Low-Income Housing Credits and to introduce Neighborhood Homes 
Investment Credits would generally encourage the development and 
rehabilitation of affordable rental and owner-occupied housing, 
including in Tribal communities.

                         CONCLUSION OF HEARING

    Chairman Leahy. I will come down there to personally thank 
you, but on the record, I want to thank the witnesses. I know 
this has gone long, but I hope you can tell by the questions 
there is a great deal of interest in this.
    We stand adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:25 p.m., Tuesday, April 20, the hearing 
was concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene 
subject to the call of the Chair.]


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