[Senate Hearing 117-645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       S. Hrg. 117-645

                            BUSINESS MEETING

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

                                MEETING

                                 OF THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                           NOVEMBER 29, 2022

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
  

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
  
        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                              __________
 
                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
51-768 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------          
       
               COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont                 Virginia, 
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island         Ranking Member
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
MARK KELLY, Arizona                  JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
                                     DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
                                     JONI ERNST, Iowa
                                     LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina

             Mary Frances Repko, Democratic Staff Director
               Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                           NOVEMBER 29, 2022
                           OPENING STATEMENTS

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     1
Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West 
  Virginia.......................................................     3
Sanders, Hon. Bernard, U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont....     5
Ernst, Hon. Joni, U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa............     6

                              LEGISLATION

Nomination Reference and Report:
    PN 1561, Beth Prichard Geer, of Tennessee, to be a Member of 
      the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority...    12
    PN 2401, Shailen P. Bhatt, of Michigan, to be Administrator 
      of the Federal Highway Administration......................    13
    PN 2450, Juan Eduardo Sanchez, of Texas, to be Federal 
      Cochairperson of the Southwest Border Regional Commission..    14
General Services Administration Resolutions......................    15

 
                            BUSINESS MEETING

                              ----------                              


                       TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022

                                       U.S. Senate,
                 Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee, met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m. in 
room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper 
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
    Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Cardin, Sanders, 
Whitehouse, Merkley, Markey, Duckworth, Stabenow, Kelly, 
Padilla, Inhofe, Lummis, Boozman, and Ernst.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

    Senator Carper. Good morning. I am pleased to call this 
business meeting to order.
    Madam Colleague, wing-woman extraordinaire, this lady had a 
birthday this past week, and you can't tell. She looks just as 
good as ever. We hope you had a great birthday and a wonderful 
Thanksgiving.
    I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.
    Sheldon, how are you? Nice to see you, buddy.
    I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
    Bernie, good morning.
    This morning, we are voting on several nominees for 
leadership positions at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway 
Administration, and the Southwest Border Regional Commission, 
as well as 18 General Services Administration resolutions.
    Before we vote, let me say a couple of words about some of 
the nominees that we are considering today.
    First, we will vote on Beth Prichard Geer, one of President 
Biden's nominees to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority 
Board of Directors. As a native Tennessean, Ms. Geer has seen 
first hand how economic development driven by TVA has lifted 
rural communities in her home State. Her years of public 
service, along with her experience working closely with 
developers of renewable energy, will be great assets to TVA's 
Board of Directors.
    Next, we are going to vote on Joe Goffman, the President's 
nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air 
and Radiation at EPA. Throughout his time working on this 
Committee and in EPA, Mr. Goffman has demonstrated a clear 
commitment to following the law in a way that provides cleaner 
air and a safer climate for all while also providing 
predictability and certainty for industry. Should he be 
confirmed, I have no doubt Mr. Goffman will work closely with 
members of this Committee as EPA implements the historic 
climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act.
    Third, we are going to be voting on Shailen Bhatt to be the 
Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. Mr. Bhatt, 
as I think many members on this Committee know, brings with him 
an almost perfect resume for this position. In addition to his 
leading both the Departments of Transportation in Colorado and 
in Delaware, Mr. Bhatt also has substantial previous experience 
in the Federal Highway Administration, along with involvement 
in the private sector and work at non-profit transportation 
advocacy organizations.
    I am confident that Mr. Bhatt will bring the same level of 
outstanding leadership to the Federal Highway Administration 
that he has demonstrated throughout his career. I think 
everybody on this Committee knows how important that nomination 
is. I am encouraged that we will get him confirmed.
    Fourth, we will vote on Eduardo Sanchez to be the Federal 
Co-chair of the Southwest Border Regional Commission.
    Last, we will vote on 18 GSA Resolutions. I will vote yes 
to advance each of these qualified nominees this morning, and 
urge my colleagues to do the same. Finally, I want to 
acknowledge that this may be our last business meeting for the 
year.
    At the end of the year, two of our colleagues on this 
Committee will be retiring from the Senate after long and 
storied careers. I have had the privilege to serve with both of 
them in the Senate and in the House of Representatives before 
that. I knew Richard Shelby when he was a Democrat, and a 
pretty good one.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Carper. He has just continued to be a great 
Senator. We are going to miss him and all that he brings.
    Jim, I am privileged to speak, I not only served with him 
on this Committee, but he and I join together in his hideaway 
with a bunch of our colleagues, Democrat and Republican, for 
Bible study with the Senate Chaplain just about every Thursday.
    Jim, we are going to miss you in more ways than one.
    Richard Shelby will be retiring after 36 years as a member 
of the U.S. Senate. In the days to come, we will speak more 
about Senator Shelby's service to the Senate and to the people 
of Alabama. I want to take this opportunity to thank both 
Senator Shelby for his work on this Committee and for our 
friendship over the last three, four decades, actually.
    Also retiring, as I said, is Senator Jim Inhofe, whom I 
first came to know when we served in the House of 
Representatives over three decades ago. Long time member and 
two time Chairman of this Committee.
    Was it two times? Once wasn't enough. Not many people have 
done that, and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, right? 
Yes, that is quite a resume.
    Jim has been a great colleague to many of us, and we are 
going to miss his humor and his hard work. In the Navy, when 
people are ready to weigh anchor and sail off into the sunset, 
we like to say, ``fair winds and following seas,'' so today I 
say those words both to Jim Inhofe and to Richard Shelby.
    With that, I want to recognize our Ranking Member, Senator 
Capito, for any opening remarks that she may have.
    Senator Capito, you are recognized.

        OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, 
          U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
everybody for being here. Welcome back after the Thanksgiving 
holiday.
    I am grateful for our ongoing partnership. I think we have 
done a lot, as we end this first year together, and I look 
forward to doing much more next year.
    As the Chairman said, we are considering four nominations, 
as well as 18 GSA resolutions.
    I think at this point, everybody knows where I stand on the 
nomination of Joe Goffman as the Assistant Administrator for 
Air and Radiation at the EPA. Both throughout his previous 
service in the Obama administration and during the 22 months he 
has been at EPA in the Biden administration in a non-Senate 
confirmed role, he has made his leadership style and policy 
views clear. He has worked to develop regulations that harm our 
energy sector, will raise prices on American families and 
businesses, and are based on overreaching, illegal 
interpretations of the Clean Air Act, as found by the Supreme 
Court.
    As I said in our July Committee business meeting, Joe 
Goffman continues to implement policies designed to force 
closures of baseload power plants through a suite of policies. 
Shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling against his own Clean 
Power Plan in West Virginia v. EPA, Mr. Goffman told the New 
York Times, ``This case does not really take anything off of 
the menu we have been focused on.'' The fact that one of the 
most significant Supreme Court rulings in environmental law and 
rebukes of EPA authority did not change his regulatory plans 
affirmed why I strongly oppose his nomination.
    Today I am also voting against one of the other four 
nominees, Beth Geer, to serve as the member of the Tennessee 
Valley Authority Board, based on her tweet of our colleague who 
is coming in, Senator Joni Ernst.
    By contrast, I will be voting today to support the GSA 
resolutions, as well as the two nominations we are considering. 
I am supporting the nomination of Shailen Bhatt to serve as the 
Administrator of the FHA. The Committee worked hard to develop 
bipartisan surface transportation legislation that serves as 
the foundation of the IIJA that was signed into law last year.
    President Biden waited a long time, too long, that is 
another repeating story you have heard me say in Committee 
meetings, to nominate a leader for this agency, especially when 
the authorities and funding responsibilities provided to the 
FHWA as part of the IIJA.
    This agency needs a Senate confirmed leader. I have 
expressed my dissatisfaction and opposition to a number of the 
decisions that the FHWA has taken without a Senate confirmed 
leader. And because of that, I asked Mr. Bhatt some pointed 
questions about how he planned to implement the IIJA. The FHWA 
must faithfully execute the laws and preserve those 
flexibilities provided in the law for States to use funding to 
best meet the needs of their citizens.
    For some States, like West Virginia or Wyoming, that may 
mean new capacity on our roads. For other States, it may mean a 
focus on electric vehicle infrastructure. Mr. Bhatt told me 
that he would commit to implementing IIJA as we enacted it.
    When it comes to the States' ability to move funds between 
formula programs, he committed to follow the law again and to 
upholding the States' ability to transport apportioned funding 
consistent with Section 126 of Title 23. He knows this well, 
being as the Chairman said, a State Administrator himself.
    He also committed to implementing all the highway related 
project delivery and streamlining positions in the IIJA, 
including the One Federal Decision policy, as expeditiously as 
possible. I am supporting Mr. Bhatt's nomination today because 
of those commitments and his record of getting things done, and 
projects that he has built as a past leader from multiple State 
Departments of Transportation.
    I also will be supporting Juan Sanchez, who is a nominee 
for the Southwest Border Regional Commission. If confirmed, he 
will be the first ever Federal Co-chair of that commission, and 
I congratulate him on his nomination.
    If I could take just a few minutes to say goodbye to our 
former Chair and beloved friend, Jim Inhofe, and Senator 
Shelby. I have known Jim a long time. And I first met him when 
I was from the House side, and we were negotiating one of the 
highway bills. And he was working with Senator Boxer in a way 
that was just magnificent to watch and resulted in really good 
results.
    He has been 6 year Chairman, 6 year Ranking Member, and he 
is one of our most productive leaders. We all know, as I 
mentioned before, the partnership that he had with former 
colleague, Barbara Boxer, that allowed for the passage of many 
things like SAFETEA-LU, MAP-21, and the FAST Act. He and 
Senator Boxer put Congress on the right track in terms of 
passing water resource infrastructure bills in 2 year cycles; 
hopefully, we are going to get that done at the end of this 
year, reestablishing the Committee's important role in 
overseeing the Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program.
    As Chair, he led efforts to enact TSCA reform, long in the 
making, one of the most significant updates to a major 
environmental statute in over two decades. He chaired this 
Committee when I first came to the Senate, and he deserves 
immense credit for the tone and the bipartisanship that we have 
been able to see, as the Chairman and I have worked together.
    We bid you a fond farewell. You will be missed, not just 
for your effectiveness. On your committee in your advocacy role 
for our military personnel and our national security, hopefully 
get another win under your belt before you leave here in 
December. We are very pleased that the people of Oklahoma will 
welcome you home; Kay, and your children and grandchildren will 
welcome you home. I hope you don't get into their stuff too 
much, because that is what happens when you go home. And I wish 
you many, many years of happiness on your retirement. It is 
well deserved.
    Senator Shelby has championed Alabama's infrastructure for 
many years. He is the Chairman, also, of another committee I am 
on, Appropriations, where he has been instrumental in 
infrastructure legislation. Work on the Appalachian Development 
Highway System, important to Alabama, but also important to 
West Virginia. He has had quite a run leading three committees, 
Banking Committee, Rules Committee, and the Appropriations 
Committee. He has vast experience and is a tremendous asset. 
And his success, again, is something that we should all take 
lessons from.
    We will miss Senator Shelby, and I wish him and his wife, 
Annette, a great retirement, as well.
    Thank you for letting me go a little over, Mr. Chair.
    Senator Carper. No, no, no, that is great. Thanks for all 
those words on behalf of all of us.
    In proceeding, we are going to recognize Senator Sanders 
for a couple of minutes, and then, following that, Senator 
Ernst will be recognized.
    I think we probably have a quorum right now, or very close 
to it. We are very close to it. When we do, we will go ahead 
and roll through our agenda for today.
    Let me yield to Senator Sanders first.
    Thank you.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BERNARD SANDERS, 
             U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT

    Senator Sanders. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for 
holding this important markup, and for your leadership on this 
Committee.
    Today, we will be considering the nominations of well 
qualified individuals to serve in the EPA, the Tennessee Valley 
Authority, the Federal Highway Administration, and the 
Southwest Border Regional Commission. We will also be 
considering the adoption of GSA leases, including $18 million 
for much needed repairs at a Federal building in Saint Albans, 
Vermont.
    Let me very briefly discuss my concerns about one of the 
nominees up for consideration, Joe Goffman, who has been 
nominated to lead the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. I have 
nothing against Mr. Goffman, and I hope and expect that he will 
do a very good job in the position that he has been nominated 
for.
    What I am concerned about is the implementation of a 
provision that I worked on with Chairman Carper that was 
included in the Inflation Reduction Act to provide the EPA with 
$7 billion in Federal funding for zero emissions technology. 
The legislative intent of this program is to make it more 
affordable for low income and working class homeowners to 
install solar on their rooftops and save money on their 
electricity bills. And by the way, when we do that, we create 
hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs.
    If this program is implemented properly, it will provide 
solar to more than 2 million families in the United States over 
the next 2 years and catalyze up to 10 million residential 
solar installations over the next 10 years.
    Unfortunately, since President Biden signed the Inflation 
Reduction Act in August, I have been unable to get a firm 
commitment in writing from the EPA to implement this program 
consistent with the clear legislative intent. The $7 billion 
program was not put into the Inflation Reduction Act for 
nuclear, electric vehicle charging stations, or any other type 
of energy. It was included in this bill primarily to expand 
residential solar and reduce the energy bills of millions of 
low income and middle class families.
    Let me be clear: I will be voting for Mr. Goffman in this 
Committee, but I will not support his nomination on the Senate 
floor until I receive a commitment from the EPA in writing that 
it will implement this program primarily to expand residential 
solar throughout this country.
    I want to thank Chairman Carper for his leadership on this 
issue. I look forward to our continued work together to expand 
residential solar, lower the cost of electricity for consumers, 
and combat the existential threat of climate change.
    Thank you very much.
    Senator Carper. Thank you, Senator. Senator Sanders, I am 
pleased to be able to work with you and your team in order to 
reach such a commitment and support a solar project for low 
income and disadvantaged communities.
    Full disclosure, I got out of the Navy in 1973 and moved to 
Delaware and got an MBA. The last course I took in my 2 year 
program at the University of Delaware was a course where we had 
to develop a manufacturing process on paper of a particular 
product. I chose solar energy, solar panels, all those years 
ago. I am not a newbie on this. This is one that is important 
to me, and we will continue to work with you and others.
    Let me yield now, if I could, to Senator Ernst.
    Joni.

             OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JONI ERNST, 
              U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IOWA

    Senator Ernst. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to you 
and the Ranking Member for the discussion today.
    I am speaking in opposition to Ms. Beth Geer to be a member 
of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 
her written testimony before this Committee, Ms. Geer had 
stated she believed she should be confirmed to serve the 
Tennessee Valley Authority because of her ability to ``build 
relationships and work together.'' That doesn't match with her 
recent past, when she called either my GOP response to the 
State of the Union Address, or just me, hideous.
    Ms. Geer and I had a brief discussion about this when she 
appeared before our Committee earlier this year. While her 
comment was only one single word, it said much more about her 
character. I do not believe Ms. Geer is fit to serve as a 
Senate appointed position in which the nominee herself pointed 
to the value of unity and civility.
    Additionally, Ms. Geer has made concerning anti-fossil fuel 
statements in a time when the Biden administration's anti-
energy policy has increased costs for all Americans. The 
nominee has not shown efforts to work in good faith to support 
an all of the above energy approach, like we do in Iowa, and 
which is critical to supporting those dependent on the 
Tennessee Valley Authority.
    For these reasons, Mr. Chair, I am opposing Ms. Geer's 
nomination. Thank you for your time.
    Senator Carper. Thank you, Senator Ernst.
    We are going to go ahead and vote.
    I think Senator Stabenow has some comments that she would 
like to make at the end of the vote, and there may be one or 
two others, as well.
    Senator Inhofe, if you would like to speak and talk a 
little bit and defend yourself in the face of all this 
criticism, bipartisan criticism, you will be given that 
opportunity.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Carper. First, I am going to call up Presidential 
Nomination 1593, Beth Prichard Geer of Tennessee, to be a 
Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority.
    I move to approve and report the nomination favorably to 
the Senate.
    Is there a second?
    Senator Cardin. Second.
    Senator Carper. It has been moved and seconded.
    The clerk will call the roll.
    The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. No.
    The Clerk. Ms. Capito.
    Senator Capito. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
    Senator Cardin. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Cramer.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Ms. Duckworth.
    Senator Duckworth. Aye.
    The Clerk. Ms. Ernst.
    Senator Ernst. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Graham.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
    Senator Inhofe. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Kelly.
    Senator Kelly. Aye.
    The Clerk. Ms. Lummis.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
    Senator Markey. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
    Senator Merkley. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Padilla.
    Senator Padilla. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
    Senator Sanders. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Ms. Stabenow.
    Senator Stabenow. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
    Senator Whitehouse. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
    Senator Capito. Yes, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Carper. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 11, the nays are 9.
    Senator Carper. Eleven to nine. The nomination is favorably 
reported.
    Next, I call up Presidential Nomination 1832, for Joseph 
Goffman of Pennsylvania to be an Assistant Administrator for 
the Office of Air and Radiation of the Environmental Protection 
Agency.
    I move to approve and report the nomination favorably to 
the Senate.
    Is there a second?
    Senator Cardin. Second.
    Senator Carper. Thank you.
    The clerk will call the roll.
    The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. No.
    The Clerk. Ms. Capito.
    Senator Capito. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
    Senator Cardin. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Cramer.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Ms. Duckworth.
    Senator Duckworth. Aye.
    The Clerk. Ms. Ernst.
    Senator Ernst. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Graham.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
    Senator Inhofe. No.
    The Clerk. Mr. Kelly.
    Senator Kelly. Aye.
    The Clerk. Ms. Lummis.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
    Senator Markey. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
    Senator Merkley. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Padilla.
    Senator Padilla. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
    Senator Sanders. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Ms. Stabenow.
    Senator Stabenow. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
    Senator Whitehouse. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
    Senator Capito. No, by proxy.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Carper. Aye.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, the yeas are 10, the nays are 10.
    Senator Carper. So, the yeas are 10 and the nays are 10. In 
that case, the nomination is not reported as this time.
    Now, I call up Presidential Nomination 2401, Shailen P. 
Bhatt of Michigan, to be Administrator of the Federal Highway 
Administration; Presidential Nomination 2450, Juan Eduardo 
Sanchez of Texas, to be Federal Co-Chairman of the Southwest 
Border Regional Commission; and 18 resolutions relating to the 
General Services Administration.
    As members of this Committee know, we routinely approve GSA 
prospectuses by Committee resolution. The resolutions we 
consider today are for GSA leases throughout our country. 
Members have had the opportunity to review these documents, and 
I believe them to be noncontroversial. Therefore, we consider 
the nominations of Mr. Bhatt and Mr. Sanchez and 18 GSA 
resolutions en bloc and by voice vote.
    I would just say, before we vote, to Senator Inhofe, we 
were talking before we started the markup today. There are a 
number of people that he and I served with that are being 
honored in these resolutions, by being named after buildings 
and any number of other things, so this has kind of a special 
meaning for us, I think.
    I move to report these items favorably.
    Is there a second?
    Senator Cardin. Second.
    Senator Carper. It has been moved and seconded.
    All in favor, say aye.
    [Chorus of ayes.]
    Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
    [No audible response.]
    Senator Carper. The ayes have it. In the opinion of the 
Chair, the ayes have it. The nominations and resolutions are 
approved.
    I note, for the record, that a quorum of the Committee is 
present.
    That concludes the Committee's votes as part of the 
business meeting today. I thank all members for their 
participation.
    I will now recognize members who would like to speak on any 
of the filed amendments or the items we have voted on today.
    I appreciate everybody being here.
    I really want to thank our staff. This goes easily, this 
goes smoothly, but only because of the great work that our 
staff is doing. We thank you for that.
    Senator Stabenow. Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Carper. Yes, Senator Stabenow.
    Senator Stabenow. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know Senator 
Inhofe is just leaving now. I did want to just wish him well.
    Senator Carper. Could you hold, just for a second?
    I would ask our colleagues to depart quietly.
    OK, go ahead.
    Senator Stabenow. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I just wanted, before Senator Inhofe left, to say thank you 
to him. We had an opportunity, we worked on many things 
together when he was Chairman. When there was the lead crisis 
in Flint and the need to respond to that, I will forever be 
grateful for the partnership and work with you and your staff 
to address what was a serious issue. And I know it helped lead 
to a larger water fund that has helped communities across the 
country.
    I just wanted to thank you in particular, in a moment of 
crisis, for working with us to be able to address it. Thank 
you.
    Mr. Chairman, I did also want to just say thank you to the 
Committee for moving forward Shailen Bhatt, who is a highly 
qualified nominee to be the next Administrator of the Federal 
Highway Administration.
    Senator Carper. I have never heard of him.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Carper. He was our Secretary in Delaware for a 
number of years, and did a great job.
    Senator Stabenow. I know. He is also a proud resident of 
Troy, Michigan, so we claim him now, Mr. Chairman.
    I just wanted to say we are very proud of him. I am so 
appreciative of the President moving his nomination forward. 
And I look forward to partnering with him and Secretary 
Buttigieg and with you, and of course, all of us on the 
Committee to deploy historic resources provided through the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
    I thank the Committee again for supporting his nomination.
    Senator Carper. Let me just take this opportunity to thank 
you for your extraordinary leadership of the Ag Committee. Most 
people don't think of Delaware as a big ag State, but it is 
maybe the No. 1 and No. 2 component in our economy.
    Senator Stabenow. I think you have a few chickens.
    Senator Carper. We have 300 chickens for every person, last 
time I checked. We raise a whole lot of soybeans, corn, and a 
bunch of other things, as well. Thank you for that.
    Senator Stabenow. Thank you.
    Senator Carper. Thank you, also, for your support of the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and of the Inflation Reduction 
Act. Both are critical.
    We have authorized so much money to invest in our Nation's 
infrastructure, roads, highways, bridges, water, drinking 
water, water sanitation, flood control, all kinds of stuff. We 
want to make sure, especially on the roads, highways, and 
bridges side, that that work gets done. We are already doing, 
as you know, oversight to make sure the intent is followed 
through.
    We need Shailen in place. This puts us one step close to 
get the kind of leadership that we need. It has been vacant too 
long, but thank you.
    Senator Stabenow. Mr. Chairman, I would just say, it is 
wonderful working on a Committee that works so well together in 
a bipartisan way and gets things done all the time. We pride 
ourselves, Senator Boozman and I, of trying to do the same 
thing on the Agriculture Committee, but it is just such a 
pleasure to be on this Committee. With your leadership, we put 
our heads down and work and get things done.
    Senator Carper. You know what, it takes two to tango. My 
dance partner on this Committee, as you know, is just an 
extraordinary talent, a real pleasure. Two kids from West 
Virginia that have the privilege of running and leading this 
Committee.
    Senator Stabenow. That is dangerous.
    Senator Carper. That is scary, but I think we are doing OK 
so far.
    Senator Stabenow. Thank you.
    Senator Carper. Thank you so much.
    I think that might be it. I have a short statement I need 
to close with.
    Is there anything else?
    OK.
    Again, I want to thank everybody on the staffs, to my right 
and to my left, that have worked to make this happen and make 
it look, I hope, to most observers pretty smooth. We have 
gotten a lot done in a very short while.
    For a little bit of housekeeping before we adjourn, I want 
to ask unanimous consent to submit for the record letters of 
support for the nominations our Committee approved today. I 
also ask unanimous consent that the staff have authority to 
make technical and conforming changes to GSA resolutions 
approved today.
    Again, I thank everyone for your participation.
    That is the unanimous consent request that I would make. I 
would just note to everybody, I am the only member here, so the 
only person who could object to my own unanimous consent 
request would be me. I am not going to object.
    [The referenced information was not received at time of 
print.]
    Senator Carper. With that, I think we are ready to adjourn. 
I am going to tap the gavel to do that.
    I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. We look forward 
to spending the next several weeks together, and hopefully 
getting as much done as a body as we have done in the last 
several years.
    Thank you all. We are adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:28 a.m., the business meeting was 
concluded.]
    [The referenced legislation follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
                                 [all]