[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
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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.
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______
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.]
[all]