[Senate Hearing 117-739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                        S. Hrg. 117-739


  ADVANCING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION UNDER THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE 
          LAW: UPDATE FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

                              COMMITTEE ON
                   BANKING,HOUSING,AND URBAN AFFAIRS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                                   ON

  EXAMINING THE UPDATE FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION ON THE 
                     BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW

                               __________

                             JULY 12, 2022

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs



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            COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS

                     SHERROD BROWN, Ohio, Chairman

JACK REED, Rhode Island              PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey          RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama
JON TESTER, Montana                  MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia             TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts      MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland           THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada       JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
TINA SMITH, Minnesota                BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  JERRY MORAN, Kansas
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
                                     STEVE DAINES, Montana

                     Laura Swanson, Staff Director

                 Brad Grantz, Republican Staff Director

                       Elisha Tuku, Chief Counsel

                 Dan Sullivan, Republican Chief Counsel

                      Cameron Ricker, Chief Clerk

                      Shelvin Simmons, IT Director

                        Pat Lally, Hearing Clerk

                                  (ii)























                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                         TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022

                                                                   Page

Opening statement of Chairman Brown..............................     1
        Prepared statement.......................................    30

Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of:
    Senator Toomey...............................................     3
        Prepared statement.......................................    31

                                WITNESS

Nuria Fernandez, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration...     5
    Prepared statement...........................................    32
    Responses to written questions of:
        Chairman Brown...........................................    35
        Senator Toomey...........................................    39
        Senator Sinema...........................................    44

                                 (iii)

 
  ADVANCING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION UNDER THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE 
          LAW: UPDATE FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

                              ----------                              


                         TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022

                                       U.S. Senate,
          Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met at 10:04 a.m., in room SD-538, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the 
Committee, presiding.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN SHERROD BROWN

    Chairman Brown. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs will come to order. The hearing is in a 
hybrid format. Our witness, Administrator Fernandez, is in 
person. Members have the option as always to appear virtually 
or in person. The Senator from Nevada, welcome, along with 
Ranking Member Toomey.
    Last Thursday, I invited our witness, FTA Administrator 
Nuria Fernandez, to Columbus to see the excitement in the 
community as they plan to build one of the best bus rapid 
transit networks in the country.
    Columbus is growing. If we pass the CHIPS Act, with Intel's 
investment in semiconductor production in central Ohio, it will 
grow even faster.
    Investments from the infrastructure bill will help central 
Ohio prepare for more people, expand service, and connect more 
Ohioans with these exciting job opportunities with new bus 
rapid transit.
    We visited the Wall Street--I am sorry. Not the Wall 
Street. We visited the West Broad Street--I know that. I have 
been on that street. I used to live half a mile from there. We 
visited the West Broad Street corridor with COTA's CEO Joanna 
Pinkerton. We saw the tremendous opportunity for fast bus 
service to downtown Columbus that will spur even more 
development and new affordable housing along the route.
    Columbus is not alone.
    Cleveland RTA has entered the Capital Investment Grants 
program for a new BRT route. Cincinnati is planning its own 
large BRT network. Nearby communities Pittsburgh in Senator 
Toomey's States and Indianapolis also have major BRT 
investments moving forward with FTA support.
    For too long, the United States has not invested in public 
transit the way that we should. We have fallen far behind the 
rest of the world in new transit technology.
    But with the bipartisan infrastructure law we are finally 
working to catch up.
    The bipartisan infrastructure law included the largest 
investment ever in public transit.
    It is not, though, just about the numbers. It is about what 
that investment will do, how this will matter in Ohioans' 
lives, and for people across this country.
    It will connect more communities. It will mean faster 
service to more neighborhoods. It will open up new job 
opportunities, so workers are not limited by a bus that does 
not reach a job site or, as we have seen in this Committee with 
testimony, does not run on Sunday.
    Right now, families are continuing to feel the pain of high 
gas prices because of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
    But if there is a reliable bus or train nearby, workers 
simply do not have to choose between paying for gas or making 
rent.
    It will make a difference, especially in so many 
communities that have not had reliable transit.
    It is the Black and Brown communities who have been 
redlined, who have been cutoff from jobs by interstates that 
walled off their neighborhoods. It is rural areas where walking 
is not an option.
    It is smaller cities and towns that have not been able to 
afford big extensive transit networks like big cities. I grew 
up in one of those small cities.
    Alongside these opportunities, we know the transit industry 
faces challenges. High fuel prices hurt diesel bus operations, 
and like the private sector, transit agencies compete for 
qualified workers.
    We are lucky to have an exceptional leader at FTA working 
to navigate these challenges and deliver on the promises in the 
infrastructure bill. That is certainly where Ms. Fernandez 
comes forward.
    She has been in this job since last June. She is the first 
Senate-confirmed woman of color and first Afro-Latina to lead 
FTA.
    She and her team have worked to deliver pandemic relief 
funding efficiently and quickly.
    In the wake of the pandemic, workers are still adjusting 
their commutes. We need to preserve transit routes and help 
transit agencies keep their highly skilled workers on the job.
    Administrator Fernandez is now focused on an even larger 
endeavor: implementing the most consequential investment in our 
transit infrastructure in a generation.
    FTA has moved quickly to help more communities get new, 
state-of-the-art zero-emission buses on the roads.
    It is important in our fight against climate change; it is 
going to clean up the air in our communities; it is going to 
mean new, modern buses for Americans to ride.
    FTA has made it easier for agencies to apply by combining 
the Low-No Bus application with the traditional bus program.
    FTA has worked to get funding for transit construction out 
the door under the Capital Investments Grants program and to 
help our rural communities improve their options.
    As long as I chair this Committee, workers will always have 
a seat at the table. The Administrator has maintained that same 
commitment. Thank you, Ms. Fernandez, for giving transit 
workers a strong voice at FTA. She is working to ensure workers 
have the training needed for the next generation of service.
    Finally, FTA has continued its sharp focus on safety. On 
this Committee, we have always strongly and bipartisanly 
supported safety efforts. I have worked with Ranking Member 
Toomey, I have worked with Chairman Crapo on safety issues, 
including in the infrastructure bill.
    Administrator Fernandez, I look forward to your testimony.
    Senator Toomey.

         OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATRICK J. TOOMEY

    Senator Toomey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator 
Fernandez, welcome.
    Today we will hear directly from the FTA on implementation 
of last year's infrastructure law. As I have stated before, we 
should not pay for an infrastructure package by borrowing 
billions more dollars, but that is precisely what happened with 
this law. It authorized so much new spending that $118 billion 
had to be transferred from the Treasury's general fund to the 
Highway Trust Fund, which is a specific account financed with 
Federal gas tax revenue to cover mass transit and highway 
construction costs.
    President Biden would make this shortfall worse by 
suspending the Federal gas tax for 3 months, reasoning that the 
solution to high gas prices is not more supply but, rather, 
more debt. I would suggest if we want to help commuters and 
families suffering from inflation, we could start by reversing 
the Administration's actions that keep up from using America's 
own fossil energy.
    But back to infrastructure. Federal spending certainly 
should be driven by a reasoned assessment of our Nation's 
needs. However, last year's infrastructure law seems in many 
ways to have been driven more by Democratic political 
imperatives.
    The bill funneled billions to projects that the private 
sector has been more than willing to fund, such as ferries and 
electric vehicle charging stations. Transit was given $108.1 
billion over a 5-year period.
    Now, to put that number into perspective, it is almost 
twice what transit got in the last surface transportation 
reauthorization, and this staggering sum is on top of the 
nearly $85 billion given to transit during just 1 year of the 
COVID pandemic, the vast majority of that money characterized 
as ``emergency spending'' to offset COVID losses. In fact, that 
nearly $85 billion exceeded the combined annual operating and 
capital costs of all transit agencies in the United States of 
America combined.
    Now, at the time Democrats tried to justify paying for more 
than 100 percent of transit agency budgets by saying that 
transit systems would collapse from declines in ridership and a 
collapse in State and local tax revenues. Except that State and 
local tax collections set an all-time new record in 2020, which 
was then exceeded in 2021. And on top of this all-time record 
tax revenue collected by State and local governments, Congress 
gave States more than $850 billion to deal with COVID relief 
issues.
    But worse still, billions of dollars will go to transit 
agencies that were facing systemic ridership declines well 
before COVID. Since reaching a high of 10.7 billion trips in 
2014, transit ridership has steadily fallen, fell by almost 8 
percent in 2019 alone, before COVID. And the last 2 years saw 
much steeper declines. Ridership fell at some agencies by over 
70 percent. According to FTA, ridership now is only about 60 
percent of prepandemic levels. Some estimates predict ridership 
will never fully return to prepandemic levels. Agency leaders 
in New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington have all said many of 
their riders simply will not return. And even transit agencies 
that are predicting ridership to return to prepandemic levels 
do not expect that to happen this decade.
    So why give away still more taxpayer money to agencies 
serving far fewer riders?
    Well, shockingly, the FTA is allowing transit agencies that 
are seeking Federal funding for projects to expand transit 
systems to use prepandemic ridership data from 2019. Transit 
agencies' largest source for expansion projects is FTA's 
Capital Investment Grants program, known as CIG.
    Now, there are transit agencies seeking millions, even 
billions of Federal taxpayer funding for CIG projects to expand 
streetcars, commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit. And 
to justify their funding request, FTA has been allowing these 
transit agencies to use prepandemic data on ridership from 2019 
and 2020. This boggles the mind. Transit ridership was already 
in decline pre-COVID, and transit agencies are publicly 
admitting that their ridership will not recover to prepandemic 
levels for over a decade, if ever. So Federal taxpayers will 
build out transit system expansions to serve ghost riders, 
which, of course, will also have the effect of increasing long-
term maintenance backlogs.
    I have no doubt that a few years after these projects are 
completed, transit agencies will come back to Congress pleading 
for still more subsidies to operate systems that have become 
far too large for the demand.
    Also concerning is FTA's willful disregard of an important 
feature of last year's infrastructure law. The law requires 
agencies to make progress on their deferred maintenance 
backlogs in order to qualify for CIG grants. But FTA plans to 
allow agencies to qualify for CIG grants even when they are 
actually falling further behind on their overall deferred 
maintenance targets. That is no way to protect taxpayers nor to 
follow the law.
    And speaking of protecting taxpayers, people should feel 
safe while using transit. As I stated at our last transit 
hearing, the rising rates of crime on transit systems are 
deeply disturbing. Unfortunately, it does not appear that FTA 
is taking this issue nearly seriously enough.
    Let me conclude with this observation: I understand it is 
certainly not entirely transit agencies' fault that some people 
are choosing not to use their services. But that does not mean 
that Congress should be throwing even more billions of Federal 
taxpayer dollars at them to build out more services for riders 
they do not have.
    I look forward to discussing the future of mass transit 
today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Toomey.
    The Chair recognizes for 5 minutes Administrator Fernandez. 
Welcome back to our Committee. Thank you for your service.

 STATEMENT OF NURIA FERNANDEZ, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL TRANSIT 
                         ADMINISTRATION

    Ms. Fernandez. Thank you, Chairman, and good morning. 
Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Toomey, and Members of the 
Committee, it is really a pleasure to testify today on the 
progress that the Federal Transit Administration has made in 
implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law.
    First, I want to express my gratitude to this Committee for 
advancing my nomination as Administrator of the FTA. It is 
really the privilege of a lifetime to lead FTA during such a 
critical time for public transit.
    Just over a year ago, COVID-19 was still ravaging transit 
systems nationwide, impacting every aspect of the industry. And 
we greatly appreciate Congress providing about $70 billion in 
relief funding for communities nationwide in response to this 
crisis. These funds made certain that Americans had the 
lifeline they needed and were essential to our economy, 
preserving hundreds of thousands of jobs at transit agencies 
and along the extensive supply chain that manufactures and 
maintains transit vehicles, facilities, and more. Transit 
helped keep America open.
    Now, ridership is about 60 percent of prepandemic levels 
and it is climbing every day. Recognizing the importance of 
transit to so many communities, Congress has entrusted FTA with 
up to $108 billion in funding over the next 5 years. And we do 
not take that responsibility lightly.
    Today I will highlight FTA's progress in delivering on the 
promise of the bipartisan infrastructure law and our plans for 
the future.
    On safety, Secretary Buttigieg has said, ``Safety is our 
North Star,'' and every transit rider deserves a safe, secure, 
and reliable trip, and every transit worker must be able to 
conduct their duties without fear of assault or injury. And we 
are doing everything in our power to improve safety throughout 
the industry.
    Many transit agencies are now required by law to establish 
safety committees with equal representation of management and 
frontline workers, and we expect those to be in place by July 
31st. Then by the end of the year, all agencies in urbanized 
areas must update their agency safety plans to comply with the 
BIL requirements, including approval by the safety committee, 
if applicable.
    We are also expanding our data collection regarding 
assaults on transit workers. These actions will give FTA more 
information than ever before on the scale of transit safety 
needs and more resources to address those needs.
    On workforce development, worker safety is a particular 
concern, so protecting and expanding the transit workforce is a 
top priority of FTA. They just do not need safety throughout, 
but also transit workers need help. They need more coworkers 
and more apprentices.
    Thanks to the dedicated funding from Congress, FTA 
established a Transit Workforce Center last September. The 
center has already reached thousands of people and several 
hundred transit agencies with targeted technical assistance to 
help recruit, train, and upscale their workforce.
    On funding, another critical aspect to ensuring the safety 
of our transit systems is to improve the state of good repair 
of transit assets from rails in New York to wheels in 
Cincinnati, and that is why FTA acted swiftly to make over $13 
billion in fiscal year 2022 formula funding available shortly 
after the 2022 Appropriations Act unlocked that funding. We are 
delivering the remaining 2022 funding as quickly as possible 
with Notices of Funding Opportunity already issued for seven 
out of our ten competitive programs. And this summer we 
anticipate NOFOs for the other competitive programs.
    On equity and accessibility, regarding the All Stations 
Accessibility Plan, I want to thank the Committee and Congress 
for providing the resources to start making headway in the 
backlog of nearly 900 transit rail systems that remain 
inaccessible 32 years after the passage of the ADA. Our focus 
on equity is not only with big cities, though. Far from it. FTA 
has supported transit in rural and tribal areas for decades. It 
is precisely in those areas where transit can make all the 
difference for a senior citizen aging in place or a veteran who 
needs care at the VA.
    In closing, going forward, the transit industry will adapt 
to meet the changing needs of our Nation, but I want to take 
this opportunity to reiterate that, despite the challenges of 
the pandemic, the core value of transit is unchanged. Over the 
next 5 years and beyond, all of us at the FTA are excited to 
continue working with this Committee and all the communities in 
your States and across the Nation who rely on transit to invest 
the historic funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law 
effectively and equitably.
    Thank you, and I will be happy to answer any questions.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Administrator Fernandez. Thank 
you for coming to Columbus last week and visiting the West 
Broad Street corridor. I know we will see additional requests 
for BRT funding from a number of Ohio communities in the coming 
years.
    The bipartisan infrastructure law provided $8 billion in 
advance appropriations for the CIG program, including 
significant funding for these BRT projects under the Small 
Starts category. As you know, we do an 80 percent Federal share 
for highway projects, yet the Federal Government rarely 
contributes that much for transit projects.
    Should FTA give a greater Federal share on CIG projects 
where the law allows?
    Ms. Fernandez. Mr. Chairman, under the leadership of this 
Committee and the work of the bipartisan infrastructure law, 
there was an increase of up to $23 billion in the funding for 
transit capital investment over the next 5 years, so that is a 
doubling. And with the sustained investment in the revisions to 
the Small Starts eligibility, the past year alone we have seen 
a 150 percent increase in the pipeline of projects, Small 
Starts projects, entering the CIG together with the New Starts 
projects, core capacity, and expedited project delivery.
    Half of the current projects in the CIG are for Small 
Starts, so I have heard from the project sponsors, especially 
from smaller and mid-sized cities, that local match can present 
a problem. And we are working very closely with them as the 
applications become available and are complete to assist them 
with identifying not only what their needs are from a financial 
perspective, but what is the amount of Federal funds that will 
be available and we can make available to them.
    Chairman Brown. OK. Thank you. In your testimony you stated 
this summer the FTA will be initiating the major competitive 
programs established by the new infrastructure law, the All 
Stations Accessibility Program and the Rail Vehicle Replacement 
Program. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has 
made significant progress in making its rail stations 
accessible to riders with disabilities, but the agency has 17 
remaining stops and stations that are not ADA compliant. These 
investments are long overdue. The Cleveland RTA is another very 
pressing problem. The replacement of its--or problem and 
project, the replacement of its entire rail car fleets. 
Agencies like Cleveland and Philadelphia, the Ranking Member's 
largest city in his State, have rail cars that date back to the 
Carter and Reagan administrations. That means many rail cars 
are in excess of 40 years old.
    Is it possible for FTA to have awards out for these 
programs later this calendar year?
    Ms. Fernandez. Mr. Chairman, as a matter of fact, we are 
going to be issuing a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the All 
Stations Accessibility Program this summer and hope to have 
selections announced by the end of this year.
    Regarding the Rail Vehicle Replacement Program, as you 
noted, the largest of the transit agencies, particularly the 
legacy agencies, have vehicles that have exceeded their useful 
life, and that affects the timely delivery of service and also 
impacts schedule. We will be issuing a Notice of Funding 
Opportunity for that program this fall and hope to make the 
selection announcement early next year.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you. My last question. I have heard 
from two agencies in Ohio--SORTA in Cincinnati, Southwester 
Ohio Regional Transit Authority, and Akron Metro--that they are 
having issues on proposed projects. FTA over the years has 
created more than one type of categorical exclusion under NEPA. 
I am a strong supporter of the environment. I know you are. But 
a categorical exclusion should be simple and easy to apply for, 
particularly for transit projects that almost by definition 
help the environment. These agencies face challenges with the 
Uniform Relocation Act and appraisal requirements. These issues 
are more challenging pretty obviously for small- and medium-
size agencies. Thank you for looking at these issues.
    Can FTA please continue working to find solutions to help 
these agencies and any other projects that face similar 
challenges?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we certainly can and have 
made ourselves available through our regional offices to work 
very closely with grantees as they are considering building new 
systems, extending existing systems, and going through the NEPA 
process.
    We also offer free courses through the National Transit 
Institute, but as you stated, there are a lot of challenges, 
particularly for the small operators, and we will continue 
through our regional offices to provide that service and make 
ourselves available to guide them as they are going through the 
process.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you. I said that was my last 
question, but I will ask another since your answers are shorter 
than most witnesses' answers. When we were on the bus last 
Thursday in Columbus, we talked about how agencies are 
approaching the use of battery electric and hydrogen-powered 
buses. As we discussed, the city of Canton, Ohio, is the 
Nation's leader in hydrogen buses. What are you hearing from 
the industry? And how is FTA helping agencies consider both 
those technologies?
    Ms. Fernandez. You know, it is exciting to hear that the 
industry overall is making transitions. A lot of them have 
already preemptively taken advantage of formula dollars to 
start transitioning their fleets. And in the bipartisan 
infrastructure law, as you may know, Mr. Chairman, the increase 
in funding is also going to make available specific 
percentages, 25 percent, for low-emission vehicles, and we are 
seeing from members of the industry that they are pursuing the 
type of technology that is going to reduce greenhouse gas with 
a type of technology that can better address their needs in the 
locations that they are.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you.
    Senator Toomey.
    Senator Toomey. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, 
Administrator Fernandez, welcome. And just for the record, the 
Chairman's observation that your answers tend to be shorter 
than those of most witnesses is a very high compliment here in 
the Senate.
    In your written testimony, you highlight that Secretary 
Buttigieg has said that ``safety is DOT's North Star.'' But 
despite having far fewer riders, New York, L.A., Chicago, and 
Philadelphia, among others, are all seeing spikes in transit 
crime. Even New York City's mayor, a former cop, said he does 
not feel safe on the subway.
    Now, you mentioned that every transit rider deserves a 
safe, secure, and reliable trip. Transit agencies, as I 
mentioned during my opening comments, received staggering, 
extraordinary amounts of Federal taxpayer funding recently, 
including funding that can be used for security and to combat 
crime.
    So my question is: How much of all of this money that we 
have recently delivered to transit agencies is actually being 
used to reduce the spike in crime that is occurring on our 
transit systems?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Toomey, every transit agency is 
committed to safety, as is the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. And what we are experiencing, what transit 
agencies are experiencing in this time is a result of many 
factors. Given the pandemic, the effect that that has had on 
loss of life and livelihood, we have received an increase----
    Senator Toomey. I have got limited time. I understand there 
are many factors contributing, but my question is: How much of 
the resources, the huge amount of new resources we have 
provided, is being used to address this spike in crime?
    Ms. Fernandez. The transit agencies have access to their 
formula dollars, and those dollars increased by 30 percent, and 
they are applying those dollars toward all of their programs, 
including safety. They are required--if you are looking for 
specifics, I would be happy to provide you with a specific 
number. I do not have a number in front of me.
    Senator Toomey. I would appreciate it if you would. I would 
like to know, first of all, that the FTA is, in fact, tracking 
the amount of money that is being spent to make our dangerous 
subway systems less dangerous and how much that is.
    But it is also my understanding that in most cities fare 
evasion is a crime, and experience has shown that cracking down 
on fare evasion reduces the incidence of criminal activity in 
the subway systems.
    Does FTA collect data on fare evasion?
    Ms. Fernandez. The National Transit Data base does not 
collect information on fare evasion. It does collect the 
information on how much of the fare ratio of the--the 
collection of fares--I am sorry, not the collection of fares, 
but what the operating budget for each of the agencies, what it 
constitutes, how much is generated by fares and how much is----
    Senator Toomey. OK. But you----
    Ms. Fernandez. ----generated by other resources.
    Senator Toomey. ----acknowledge that there is a 
correlation, a high correlation between fare evasion and 
criminal activity on subway systems?
    Ms. Fernandez. There is a correlation between many factors 
that affect----
    Senator Toomey. Yeah, but this is an obvious one. People 
are choosing not to pay their fare. They are breaking the law. 
And then, not shockingly, some of them go on to break other 
laws because they are, after all, lawbreakers. I just think 
that fare evasion is an important violation of the law that the 
FTA should be tracking. But you do not track it.
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Toomey, we do not track fare 
evasion. Transit agencies, as you may know, some of them have 
open fare; others have fare gates. So they all collect their 
fares in a very different manner, and the information that is 
provided to us really has to do with the resources--the sources 
of funds that build their budgets.
    Senator Toomey. OK. Let us go on to the topic of the 
Capital Investment Grants. Last year's infrastructure law 
requires that transit agencies make progress on their deferred 
maintenance of their transit systems in order to be eligible to 
receive a CIG grant. And the idea, obviously, is to help 
protect Federal taxpayers and ensure that CIG funds are not 
being spent on large capital projects for transit agencies who 
are not even properly maintaining their existing systems.
    My concern is that the new interim guidance that the FTA 
has put out really makes a mockery of this requirement from the 
statute. As you know, there are four categories of assets on 
which there are deferred maintenance backlogs: rolling stock, 
equipment, facilities, and infrastructure.
    Your interim guidance allows a transit agency to make no 
progress whatsoever--in fact, could go backwards--on three out 
of the four. And then on the fourth, which is rolling stock, 
there are 26 different types of rolling stock assets, and under 
your interim guidance, an agency can be losing ground on 
deferred maintenance on 25 of the 26, if they had that many. As 
long as they are making some progress on one of them, then that 
is deemed to qualify them for this progress requirement. This 
does not seem like a faithful implementation of the law.
    So could you explain, what is the justification for 
ignoring 75 percent of the categories of assets when they 
actually account for a very large portion of deferred 
maintenance?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Toomey, first of all, thank you and 
this Committee and the Congress for including that requirement 
in the bipartisan infrastructure law. I think it is very 
important that all transit agencies have, in fact, a process 
for identifying the state of their assets, the life cycle of 
those assets and when they need to be replaced. The additional 
requirement of a transit asset management and tying that 
requirement to the Capital Investment Grant approvals is--we 
put out guidance for that early this spring and received public 
comments. We have taken those comments and, in particular, the 
ones regarding the targets and how to--we will be publishing a 
final implementation in the very near future that is more 
specific.
    Right now we continue to evaluate the various categories of 
the assets and how they are being monitored or being rated 
through their condition. And one of the things that we do know 
is that transit agencies, when they are applying for a Capital 
Investment Grant program, we do a thorough review of their 
budgets; we do a thorough review of their capital programs; we 
do a thorough review of their ability to continue operating the 
systems that they have.
    Senator Toomey. OK. Well, I am out of time, but I just want 
to point out that it is impossible for me to understand how it 
is a faithful implementation of the law to systematically 
exclude the vast majority of deferred maintenance categories. 
And I know that it is an interim guidance. I am certainly 
hoping that the final guidance will address a much more 
comprehensive category of deferred maintenance as is intended 
by the statute.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Toomey.
    Senator Menendez of New Jersey is recognized.
    Senator Menendez. Administrator Fernandez, welcome. You and 
I have had multiple conversations about the Gateway program in 
the past. Broadly, Gateway aims to modernize the rail 
interference along a 10-mile segment of the Northeast Corridor 
connecting New Jersey to New York Penn Station. This is a 
critical stretch of track that carries over 200,000 daily 
Amtrak and New Jersey transit passenger trips on approximately 
450 trains and is the linchpin of the entire Northeast 
Corridor, a region that accounts for over 20 percent of GDP of 
the Nation.
    The Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment 
Grants program is the primary Federal lending source for Phase 
1 of the Gateway program, which includes building a new Portal 
North Bridge, which ultimately is critical for going from 
Boston all the way to Washington, and new rail tunnels under 
the Hudson River. The existing century-old tunnels were badly 
damaged by Superstorm Sandy and are in dire need of replacing.
    Now, I appreciate the Biden administration's continued 
support for the Portal North Bridge project, which has already 
signed a Full Funding Agreement with FTA, and the work that has 
been done to move the Hudson River Tunnel project toward an 
FFGA as well. The FTA's annual funding recommendations report 
released with the President's fiscal year 2023 budget 
recommends for the first time that the Hudson River Tunnel 
project receive $100 million in CIG funding in fiscal year 
2023.
    So, Administrator, can you speak for a moment about the 
importance of the Hudson River Tunnel project and what went 
into the determination that it should receive funding in fiscal 
year 2023?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator Menendez. Last fall, the Hudson 
Tunnel project partners made some significant improvements by 
finalizing their first step, which was the financial plan, and 
by updating that we were able to then rate the project medium 
high onto the CIG program. And this rating is what resulted in 
the recommendation in the President's budget for fiscal year 
2023 for the funds that you noted.
    This project is a project of regional significance, and it 
is currently in the project development phase. There are still 
several steps that need to be achieved in order for it to be 
considered for a Full Funding Grant Agreement, but nonetheless, 
just last week, the partners, the project partners--the State 
of New York, New Jersey, and the port authorities--signed a 
memorandum of understanding with the Gateway Development 
Commission, which, in fact, outlines the payments that they are 
going to be contributing toward the Portal North Bridge project 
in addition to the Hudson Tunnel. And that is a good step in 
the right direction. They have also hired an executive director 
of the Gateway Development Commission, and that will then set 
the stage to stand up the entity that will become the 
designated recipient for Federal funds to deliver that project.
    Senator Menendez. Yes, they have made significant progress. 
Does the Hudson River Tunnel project remain on track to 
eventually receive fiscal year 2023 funding?
    Ms. Fernandez. There are several other steps following the 
project development where they currently are. They need to then 
request entry into engineering, and it is at that stage that 
the Federal Government would lock in the Federal contribution 
to the project.
    Senator Menendez. Now, you said it was a project of 
regional significance. It certainly is. I would say it is a 
project of national significance. When you have 20 percent of 
the entire Nation's GDP generated by the region and this is a 
linchpin to mobility for businesses to get workers to work and 
for people to go to hospitals and a whole host of other things, 
I think it is a project of national significance.
    Now, I understand--I heard Senator Toomey question the need 
for strong Federal support for transit due to lower ridership 
during the pandemic. The Regional Planning Association recently 
released a report that confirms the continued need for the 
Gateway project and found that trans-Hudson ridership would 
return to or exceed prepandemic levels by the time the new 
Hudson River Tunnels are built and would exceed prepandemic 
levels by 15 to 32 percent by 2050.
    So, yes, our transit agencies, like other industries, were 
hard hit by the pandemic, but the fact remains that transit 
will remain a vital and growing part of our transportation mix. 
And I am proud of the much-needed investments that the 
bipartisan infrastructure law makes in modernizing our transit 
systems.
    Let me turn to one other subject. I have long been an 
advocate of transit-oriented development because I have seen 
the transformative effect that it can have on communities, 
going back to my time as mayor in Union City. When properly 
planned and executed, it can bring significant new investment 
to communities, providing new economic opportunities for 
families and business owners while ensuring affordable housing 
for residents.
    The bipartisan infrastructure bill expanded a pilot program 
that I helped create several years ago, and I appreciate the 
FTA announced the availability of $13 million for the program 
for fiscal year 2022.
    Do you believe that further strengthening the linkages 
between transit, affordable housing, and economic development 
can help to create more livable, walkable, sustainable 
communities?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, I do, Senator Menendez. As a matter of 
fact, public transportation is about people, and the models 
that are used to determine where public transportation should 
provide service are models that are driven by origin and 
destination. So housing, affordable housing, to keep 
individuals close to high-capacity transit centers with high-
quality transit service is definitely a need. And the transit-
related development, which encourages the public-private 
partnership through joint development as well would see 
investments along corridors where transit currently exists and 
also create that density that is necessary, that in-filling 
that is necessary to support the continued growth of 
communities.
    Senator Menendez. Thank you very much. Thank you for your 
service.
    Chairman Brown. Thanks.
    Senator Cortez Masto of Nevada is recognized.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And, Administrator 
Fernandez, thank you for being here as well.
    Let me follow up on what my friend and colleague Senator 
Menendez was talking about when it comes to this nexus between 
transit and housing. Just recently, I sent a letter to DOT and 
FTA about implementing my Better PLAN Act, which passed in the 
infrastructure bill, and what the legislation really does, it 
requires more consideration of housing in transportation 
planning and establishes a voluntary housing coordination 
process that MPOs and local governments can undertake to align 
transportation investments with increased housing supply.
    I guess my first question to you is: Can you confirm that 
the Department is working on a response to my letter and the 
implementation of my legislation within the bipartisan 
infrastructure package?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, we are, Senator Cortez Masto. As a 
matter of fact, we are currently working with our partners at 
the U.S. Department of Transportation to implement the housing 
coordination plan provision. That is going to help Metropolitan 
Planning Organizations put more emphasis on regional goals for 
integrating housing, specifically affordable housing and 
transportation into their economic development plans.
    We also have a working group with the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development all geared toward our Thriving 
Communities effort, and that interagency group is going to be 
focusing primarily on the housing--that intersection of housing 
and transportation to help advance the needs of what we have 
already deemed is one of the highest costs to a household, 
transportation is, followed by housing. And if we can keep 
affordable transportation and affordable housing in the same 
corridors, I think that would help save a lot of dollars in 
taxpayers' wallets.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. I appreciate that.
    I also want to highlight the aspects of the bipartisan 
infrastructure bill that truly involve climate change. It 
really is a climate bill, and we provided over $5.5 billion in 
emission reduction transit investments for buses in this 
country, which I can say is vital given the environmental 
concerns we are tackling in Nevada from wildfires to severe 
drought. And that is not even counting the billions for cleaner 
school buses and the change I made or was able to get to 
provide EV charging eligibility through transit formula 
dollars.
    I have seen firsthand the amazing impact that this money 
has made in my State. I was just recently in Reno, Washoe 
County, with the Regional Transportation Commission. They have 
a fleet of over 70 buses. We waved goodbye to the last diesel-
fueled bus there. And what they have implemented and we were 
celebrating was the complete retirement of their dirtier buses. 
And they are 13 years ahead of schedule, and that is a benefit, 
not just to that community but to the many families that live 
and breathe the air within that community as well.
    And so as you are implementing the bipartisan 
infrastructure law, what do you see as the future prospects of 
sufficient and expanding domestic manufacturing of cleaner 
transportation technology such as electric buses and the 
batteries powering them?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, there have been some challenges 
with the implementation and then the availability, but what we 
are seeing is that manufacturing has stepped up. There is going 
to be an increase in the number of manufacturers that are going 
to be helping deliver electric vehicles, electric charging 
stations, in addition to building up on that supply chain. We 
have a long-term goal, and that long-term goal is to transition 
all buses, all public transportation buses, to a cleaner, 
greener technology. And the funding that was made available 
through the bipartisan infrastructure law specifically for the 
bus and low and no emissions, in addition to the formula 
dollars available to transit agencies, is going to help us get 
there. So we are highly encouraged. Yes, there have been some 
supply chain challenges, but we see those as short term. But in 
the long term, the plan is that transit agencies, like the ones 
you have referenced, that have really stepped up and developed 
plans, and we are also helping those who have not developed a 
plan to create a transition plan for their fleets.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And then, finally, talk a 
little bit about workforce measures, because you started that 
conversation or you touched on it in your comments. Are we 
building the necessary pipeline we need around workforce and 
bringing the workforce along with us as part of this bipartisan 
infrastructure package to create these opportunities in this 
new innovation economy that we are seeing?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, we are certainly targeting that, 
because we recognize that really the workforce is the one that 
is going to make the significant difference in not only 
delivering service but maintaining, and then we also have the 
manufacturing side of our industry that needs to be able to 
generate the assets that are used for ferries, trolleys, buses, 
and trains.
    The Federal Transit Administration last year created the 
Transit Workforce Center in recognition that the transit 
industry is experiencing what is known as the ``Silver 
Tsunami,'' and we have such a large percentage of transit 
workers that could retire in the next 5 years. And recognizing 
that we still need to continue providing service and that that 
service is now going to take us into communities where we are 
going to be closing transit deserts and we are going to be 
trying to access and provide a higher-quality service, the 
Transit Workforce Center is--will be focusing on the 
recruitment, training, and retention in addition to upskilling 
with the transition from combustion emissions engines to the 
electric, and also with apprenticeships, creating 
apprenticeship programs and working very closely identifying 
opportunities with local community colleges and Job Corps and 
others to start building that pipeline, because we have to 
build it, and we have to build it quick.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you.
    Senator Smith of Minnesota is recognized.
    Senator Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Administrator 
Fernandez, it is so good to see you again. It was almost 
exactly a year ago, I think, that you came to Minnesota for the 
field hearing for the Housing Transit Subcommittee. Mr. Chair, 
we had a really terrific field hearing talking about transit 
issues in Minnesota. And I greatly appreciated you taking the 
time to come and talk with our local leaders and community 
leaders about our transit needs. So thank you so much for that 
again.
    I want to actually follow up on something that my good 
friend and colleague from Nevada was just talking about. The 
bipartisan infrastructure law has already put millions of 
dollars into transit systems around the country for building 
new lines, replacing buses, and improving transit 
infrastructure. And these dollars are supporting transit 
agencies that are pursuing clean energy through low- or no-
emissions vehicles. This is an issue close to my heart because 
companies like New Flyer in Minnesota are working very hard to 
meet this increasing demand for zero-emissions buses.
    But like all bus manufacturers, there is a shortage of 
microchips, which is making it hard to fill orders in a timely 
way. This is something that I have been hearing about from 
Minnesota transit agencies in advance of the subcommittee 
hearing we had on this issue earlier this year.
    So we have heard a lot of talk here in Washington about the 
impacts of the chip shortage on the car market, but I think it 
is important to pay attention to its impact on transit also. So 
can you talk to me a little bit about this, Administrator 
Fernandez? Is the FTA focusing on this? What is the impact of 
the chip shortage on our capacity to implement the bipartisan 
infrastructure law?
    And then just as a follow-up, it seems to me, Mr. Chair, 
that if we could enact USICA, the competitiveness bill, this 
would be another benefit of that for transit in the United 
States as well. But could you just talk to this chip shortage 
and its impact on transit?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, and, Senator, I am so glad you 
referenced the field hearing, because it was really my distinct 
pleasure to join you there and talk about the great things that 
are happening in your State as well.
    As we have all noted, the supply chain for manufacturing, 
particularly around the metals and minerals needed for this 
transition to zero emission, has been one that has been 
highlighted, and DOT continues to be one of the lead agencies 
on the White House Supply Chain Disruption Task Force.
    Senator Smith. Right.
    Ms. Fernandez. I am very encouraged by the progress that 
has been made, and, you know, as I stated earlier, the focus on 
how we get our systems operational, get the tools, get the 
materials and equipment that is necessary, the components that 
are necessary, is something that is of high attention, has 
garnered high attention at the DOT. The American manufacturers 
are all stepping up. As I noted, there is about $80 billion in 
planned investments in semiconductor manufacturing and more 
than $100 billion in announced investments in electric 
vehicles. So those will help keep pace--once those investments 
continue to be made, will keep pace with the applications that 
transit agencies are submitting. We issued the Notice of 
Funding Opportunity for bus bus facilities. It was a combined 
NOFO that also included the low- and no-emission vehicle 
procurement. And that closed at the end of May, and we will be 
announcing the selections of those. That means that we will 
have hundreds of new buses that are going to be manufactured, 
and the industry is stepping up to meet that challenge.
    Senator Smith. That is fantastic. We want these buses 
manufactured in the United States, and the more that we can 
have the components for these buses, including microchips, also 
manufactured in the United States, I think we are going to be 
much better off. And I think it goes to the importance of 
passing USICA.
    In just the couple seconds that I have left, I want to ask 
you about something related to equity. Now, transit we know is 
a vital tool for advancing equity in disadvantaged communities. 
It is the way in which people get to their jobs, to their 
educations, they get their groceries, they get their health 
care. But we also know that transit can be harmful to 
communities that are displaced--as the construction happens, 
that there is displacement of economic and cultural corridors, 
and it can be very hard on small businesses.
    I am really proud of the work that the Met Council in 
Minnesota and Hennepin County have done on the Bottineau 
extension in Minnesota, which is they created an 
antidisplacement work group that is organized to mitigate the 
issues of displacement as transit is being constructed. I think 
that bringing this kind of equity lens to transit is really 
important, and I appreciated our conversations about this when 
you were in Minnesota.
    Could you just address this briefly, Administrator 
Fernandez? What is the FTA doing to think about expanding 
access to contracts, for example, and addressing the direct 
needs that we have around small- and minority-owned businesses 
impacted by transit and creating opportunities for them?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, and thank you for that question, 
because as you may know, equity is one of the highest priority 
considerations. We want to make sure that transit in itself is 
an equalizer and provides that opportunity and access to all. 
As we think about development that happens in communities, and 
particularly development that involves Federal investment in 
land that is now going to be part of a transit-oriented 
development or joint development project, the emphasis on the 
relocation act, working closely with the community, the 
outreach that transit agencies have to document for these 
changes, and also what type of mitigations are going to be 
included in the project, those are all part of the NEPA 
process, but in addition to that, it is part of building that 
partnership with the community where this new investment is 
going to take place.
    As it relates to the small and disadvantaged businesses, we 
have our small and disadvantaged business programs following 
the regulations that are in place. We will be updating those 
because we want to see more small and disadvantaged businesses 
be part of the great investment that the bipartisan 
infrastructure law is bringing to transit agencies across the 
Nation.
    Senator Smith. Thank you very much.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Smith.
    Senator Sinema from Arizona is recognized from her office.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Chairman Brown, and thank you to 
Administrator Fernandez for joining us today.
    The bipartisan infrastructure law represents a historic 
investment in our national transportation infrastructure needs 
that will update and modernize our highways, bridges, airports, 
railroads, and public transit systems. The law invested $176 
million in public transit in Arizona just for 2022 with nearly 
$100 million going to the Phoenix Mesa metro area and $23 
million for the Tucson metro area.
    The Federal Transit Administration has a crucial role to 
play in disbursing these funds from the bipartisan 
infrastructure law to make sure the money is distributed 
equitably and consistent with the provisions of the law. I look 
forward to working with you and with my colleagues on this 
Committee to continue to advance implementation of the 
bipartisan infrastructure law to help Arizona families and 
small businesses get ahead.
    Administrator Fernandez, thank you for your public service 
in transportation, but I thank the FTA for the Full Funding 
Grant Agreement awarded to Phoenix Valley metro system for the 
Northwest extension light rail project earlier this year. This 
extension of the metro light rail will expand the light rail 
system across Interstate 17 and encouraged redevelopment at the 
Metro Center site.
    Looking forward, I am interested in hearing more about the 
rollout of the low- and no-emissions bus program, particularly 
in a challenging climate such as the Phoenix metro area. Valley 
Metro in the city of Phoenix has prioritized fleet transition 
planning, the purchase of zero-emission buses, and construction 
of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and I hope the FTA 
will again partner with Valley Metro on this project.
    Now, what advice would you offer to Valley Metro as it 
pursues transitioning its bus fleet to electric power?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, good day, and, yes, Valley Metro 
has really done some terrific things in transforming the 
corridors that they are providing service in.
    As it relates to the transition to low- and no-emission 
vehicles, one of the first things that our regional offices, 
working very closely with all of our grant recipients, have 
been doing is reminding them that in applying for the zero-
emission, that they are required to have a transition plan. And 
we have provided a template for how that transition plan can be 
developed. We are not prescriptive, but we certainly want to 
provide a road map for the development of that plan. And in the 
law, there were very specific six points that had to be 
addressed, six areas that had to be addressed.
    So my recommendation is that if the transition--if they are 
in the process of developing a transition plan, our regional 
office is available to provide technical assistance. If they 
have a transition plan and tie that transition plan to their 
capital programs so that it connects with the Notice of Funding 
Opportunities that we would be putting out every year, and they 
can buildupon that replacement and achieve their goals of 
bringing cleaner vehicles to their community.
    Senator Sinema. Well, thank you. On May 20th of this year, 
the Tempe Streetcar opened to the public. The streetcar 
received Federal grants, regional funding, and support from a 
public-private partnership involving the city of Tempe, Arizona 
State University, and local property owners. The Tempe 
Streetcar supplements the existing Valley Metro light rail to 
better enable local residents and ASU students to navigate and 
reach destinations in downtown Tempe. A combination of local 
businesses, office complexes, city parks, art facilities, and 
sports venues are served by the light rail and streetcar.
    How can the Tempe Streetcar serve as a model for other 
cities looking to make their communities more adaptable for 
residents' desire to work, live, and play in one location? And 
how can the Federal Transit Administration assist communities 
in these efforts?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, the example of the Tempe Streetcar 
is a great one because each community needs to identify the 
type of mobility, the type of public transportation system that 
best serves them. In some communities it would be the bus; in 
others it would be a trolley; in others it would be on-demand 
service. So this is a model of really listening to the 
community, working with the community, and identifying what the 
best solution for mobility that can be brought to that 
community. So thanks for elevating the Tempe trolley.
    Senator Sinema. Well, thank you. You know, the bipartisan 
infrastructure law increased our Federal public transit 
investment in communities of all sizes, and I am particularly 
proud of a provision I worked on with Senator Moran to increase 
funding to small transit-intensive cities. These are cities in 
Arizona like Flagstaff and Yuma of 100,000 residents but high-
performing transit systems. For example, the Mountain Line in 
Flagstaff provided over 1.1 million rides last year across its 
ten bus routes. Meanwhile, Yuma's bus system took nearly 
254,000 trips in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone.
    Can you describe the importance of public transit 
investment in these types of smaller and transit-intensive 
cities?
    Ms. Fernandez. Thank you for that question, Senator Sinema. 
Public transportation really serves all communities, but the 
smaller communities and cities that are separated by great 
distances, there is an absolute need for public transportation. 
We know that the services are not as frequent as in urbanized 
areas, and, therefore, having sufficient access to, whether it 
is on-demand paratransit services for individuals with 
disabilities, on-demand services for seniors who have decided 
to age in place, or veterans that need access to the VA clinic 
or the community as a whole, is crucial. In so many of these 
communities, public transportation, especially in rural areas, 
is a lifeline. And just like we may own a vehicle and know that 
it is there even if we do not use it every day, knowing that 
there is a public transportation system that is a phone call 
away or an app request away is really a comfort to many, many 
people in this Nation.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Sinema.
    Senator Warner from Virginia is recognized from his office.
    Senator Warner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate and 
am glad you are having this very important hearing.
    Administrator Fernandez, first of all, let me say how happy 
I am that we have got an FTA Administrator who has actually 
worked back in the 1990s for WMATA. As you know, our system 
here serves the whole National Capital Region. Virtually every 
member on this Committee has staff members that ride WMATA, 
hopefully on almost a daily basis. But as you also know, 
obviously coming out of COVID, WMATA, like almost all transit 
systems around the country, is having some challenges on 
getting ridership levels back up.
    Can you comment on a generalized basis, and then I am going 
to ask a follow-up question on the Silver Line to Dulles, but 
on a generalized basis can you talk about FTA's working 
relationship with WMATA and what FTA is doing to, again, take a 
major system like WMATA and help it get back to pre-COVID 
ridership and other levels?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator, thank you very much for that 
question. Of course, because the Washington Metropolitan Area 
Transit Authority is here in the Nation's capital and this is 
where we are located as well, we see and live the WMATA service 
experience. I use Metro all the time, and, therefore, I can 
tell you that the ridership on the Metro System is continuing 
to grow to some points that we have to sometimes wait for 
another train.
    But, nonetheless, our relationship, the Federal Transit 
Administration's relationship with WMATA is a very good one. We 
have a responsibility for providing safety oversight through 
the Washington Metropolitan Safety Commission of the operations 
of the Metro, and also working with WMATA and all transit 
agencies across the country to assist them with transit renewal 
and assist them with ideas, exchanges of information, and 
collaboration on how they can not only build back ridership, 
but also on the safety challenges that they have experienced 
through peer-to-peer review and collaboration.
    The leadership changes that have occurred recently with the 
former general manager retiring and the incoming general 
manager that is going to be joining on July 25th, Randy Clarke 
from Austin, Texas, I think it is a great opportunity for WMATA 
to continue focusing on all the things that matter, and that is 
safety, ridership, and delivering the highest-quality service 
to the people who live here, who work here, and those who 
visit.
    Senator Warner. Administrator, I appreciate that response. 
I do want to zero in, in these last 2 minutes, though. As you 
are aware, finishing Metro out to Dulles has been a long, 
involved process, and we finally had the handover from the 
Airports Authority, which did the construction, back over to 
Metro. Obviously, FTA has a role on the safety assessment. My 
hope is, since we have made that transference--and, obviously, 
we have got to make sure Phase 2 is safe, but that we do that 
safety assessment is as timely a manner as possible. We have 
got to make sure that we get that Phase 2 open. We have got to 
make sure it is opened in a safe way. We have been working 
closely with the Safety Commission. But can you give us a 
little bit of a sense? Do you feel with the new general manager 
coming in--I think we have got a timeline of later in the year 
to get this open to the public. Do you have any concerns about 
us meeting those timelines?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, from the information that I have 
received through our regional office in Philadelphia that 
oversees WMATA, the project is proceeding. It is in 
commissioning. That means that they are doing testing, and that 
is one of the reasons that now it is in WMATA's hands to ensure 
that all of the systems that have been installed are going to 
operate safely.
    The decision then, once that testing is completed, would 
be--the Federal Transit Administration would be one of the--
will be signing off on the next step, which would be the 
identification or determination of a revenue service operation 
date, and we would do so once we are fully satisfied that it is 
safe to operate.
    Senator Warner. And all I am asking, Administrator, is--
one, I look forward to working with you on this. Two, if there 
are concerns, I hope that we hear sooner rather than later. 
What we do not want to do is go through this whole process and 
at the 11th hour hear there is a concern that has not been 
addressed.
    I look forward to working with you and, again, I appreciate 
your prior experience working with Metro.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Warner.
    Senator Warren of Massachusetts is recognized.
    Senator Warren. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I want to 
discuss the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or the 
MBTA, which has been plagued with maintenance issues, 
shutdowns, and significant safety concerns after multiple 
deaths last year alone. In a letter to the MBTA on April 14th, 
the Federal Transit Administration, the agency that you run, 
Administrator Fernandez, expressed extreme concern for riders' 
safety. The letter also stated that the FTA was going to 
``assume an increased safety oversight role of the MBTA 
system'' and conduct inspections and obtain data to provide the 
MBTA with a ``road map to building a robust safety culture.''
    I share the FTA's concerns. After the FTA issued special 
safety directives, however, the MBTA reacted by reducing 
service frequency on many lines, and these service cuts and 
long delays have negatively impacted all riders, many of whom 
rely on public transportation to try to get to work or to 
school.
    So I have two intertwined questions. The first is: How did 
we get to a point where people are literally dying on the T? 
And, second, when will the FTA have a detailed road map to get 
the T back on track?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Warren, thank you so much for 
highlighting the importance of safety in public transportation, 
in particular in the rail system. As you noted, the letter that 
was issued by our chief safety officer at the Federal Transit 
Administration was a result of a series of events that had 
occurred subsequent to a study of 2019 that identified a series 
of issues that needed to be addressed, that the transit agency 
was in line to address. And when we experienced ongoing safety 
incidents that could have been averted, that is the reason that 
we sent that letter.
    Senator Warren. And I am glad you did. I am sorry. Let me 
just--you talk about a series of issues. How is it--the 
question I have is: How did we get to this place where people 
die on the T? What went wrong?
    Ms. Fernandez. That is the question. The situation here 
is--safety is our number one priority, and when we see that 
safety--that the focus on safety, whether it is culture, 
whether it is decisionmaking or lack thereof, contributes to 
incidents that result in death, that is when we raise the flag, 
and we go beyond just raising the flag where we step in, and we 
immediately sent personnel so that we could conduct a safety 
management inspection. And it was throughout the inspection 
that we identified additional issues, and that is the reason 
that we issued a safety directive.
    Senator Warren. And when do you expect to have a report so 
we can get the T back on track, literally?
    Ms. Fernandez. Well, we are going to be issuing a report in 
August----
    Senator Warren. August.
    Ms. Fernandez. ----with the safety management inspection 
findings. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority needs 
to continue, one, with the training; they need to hire 
personnel; and that is one of the reasons, to your second 
question that has to do with the impact on ridership, with the 
impact on service. And that impact on service only occurs when 
projects and maintenance have not been completed in a timely 
manner that now need to be performed doing revenue service.
    Senator Warren. I appreciate that. I think what you are 
saying is the MBTA was not paying enough attention to the 
maintenance and inspections to keep the system safe. I look 
forward to the report in August. I am going to hold you to 
that. But prioritizing safety and service should not be either/
or. It should be both/and.
    I have one other thing I want to ask about, and that is 
investment in electrification. I think it is a big part of the 
answer when it comes to making the MBTA both safer and more 
modern. Electrification would improve service, would reduce 
long-term maintenance costs, would help us meet our climate 
goals, and would solve issues across housing, affordability, 
traffic, congestion, efficiency, and at the same time help 
create new jobs and promote regional economic prosperity and 
environmental justice. But under the Baker administration, the 
MBTA is not prioritizing electrification.
    Administrator Fernandez, while electrification would cost 
more in up-front capital costs, would this be a way to make the 
T safer, more reliable, greener, create jobs, and reduce costs 
in the long run?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Warren, it will achieve all of the 
above, and as a matter of fact, we did issue a grant to MBTA 
for the replacement of a bus facility. It is going to be a 
combination--I believe there is a TIFIA loan involved--to 
ensure that they have an adequate facility that can start to 
accommodate electric vehicles.
    Senator Warren. You know, electrifying commuter rail would 
mean a faster, more reliable ride, and a cleaner environment, 
and it is mystifying that the T has no tangible plans to get us 
there. Transitioning to an electric system would be costly, but 
right now the Commonwealth has a large budget surplus and is 
set to receive record amounts of Federal funding from the 
infrastructure bill. Rather than continuing to pour money into 
dirty, unreliable technologies from the last century, we can 
replace broken-down trains with electric ones and invest more 
in electric buses. I know it is not going to be easy, but we 
have to use every tool in the toolbox to avert these disasters 
and give Massachusetts residents the first-class infrastructure 
they deserve. Thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Warren.
    Senator Reed of Rhode Island is recognized.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, 
Administrator. Thank you for your leadership in the department.
    Fuel costs are on everybody's mind. In Rhode Island, RIPTA, 
the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, which is a statewide 
transit system, was fortunate. They negotiated a contract for 
gasoline and diesel, or whatever, at $2 per gallon. But that 
contract expires, so they are now being thrown into a market 
where the price is three or four times as much.
    The situation is such that your agency does not allow 
moving money from capital into gas subsidies, if you will, for 
want of a better term. The House had introduced in their 
appropriations bill language that would provide that 
flexibility to a degree. Would FTA be sympathetic to allowing, 
at least for a short period of time, the ability to move money 
from some of these funds, like the capital fund, into gasoline?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator Reed, with the emergency relief 
funds, one of the things that was made available to all transit 
agencies, in particular those who had to use their formula 
dollars specifically for capital and capital maintenance but 
not for operations, was the ability to have access to operating 
dollars, and although the majority of the relief funds have 
been already obligated, many transit agencies continue to rely 
on those dollars for operations. Should Congress adopt a 
provision that allows for the use of capital funds toward 
operations, we would follow through with the law.
    Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Administrator. 
Senator Warren just finished discussing the promise of electric 
vehicles, electric buses, et cetera. We are trying, with the 
help of your agency, to create, we hope, a completely electric 
system. We are scheduled to go totally electric on Aquidneck 
Island where Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth are located, 
these communities. But one of the problems we discovered is 
that these electric vehicles do not have the range of the 
typical diesel, so they need more of them. But yet FTA has a 
limit on the number of spare buses, the so-called spare ratio. 
Again, I am wondering if you could discuss any flexibility that 
FTA might offer agencies that are working to expand their 
electric fleet and need more spares than is authorized 
currently.
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, thank you, Senator Reed, for that 
question, because with the transition to electric vehicles, we 
have been receiving a lot of queries from transit agencies. It 
is a priority to have transit vehicles be replaced when their 
useful life has expired, and we are looking for that transition 
to move toward a cleaner emission.
    We have a number of flexibilities built into our existing 
spare ratio policy, and we encourage all transit agencies that 
are looking for flexibilities to work with the regional offices 
so we can guide them through that process. In fact, this past 
December, I issued a ``Dear Colleague'' letter detailing those 
very specific flexibilities, and particularly as they relate to 
transition to zero emission. Moreover, a specific example is 
agencies that are introducing zero-emission vehicles into their 
fleet are able to keep their existing vehicles that are past 
useful life, and those will not count toward their spare ratio.
    Senator Reed. Thank you. But, again, I think incentivizing 
electrification is essential to getting it on the roads faster 
and with all the benefits, of course, and we would not have 
asked the first question if we were all electric. We would 
still be paying around $2 or less for power per gallon.
    Workforce development is absolutely critical every place. I 
just came from a hearing of the Appropriations Committee, 
Defense Committee, and defense industries are looking for 
workers. Everyone is looking for workers. And just, again, 
RIPTA is putting in a grant for a new bus and bus facilities 
program to update its maintenance garage, but also include 
within that training of maintenance personnel in cooperation 
with the New England Institute of Technology, which is a not-
for-profit tech school with an excellent reputation. In fact, 
they have done a lot of work with the electric boat. So I would 
just ask you to look favorably on this application. It is very 
worthwhile.
    Thank you, Madam Administrator.
    Ms. Fernandez. Thank you, Senator.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Reed.
    Senator Ossoff from Georgia is recognized from his office.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, 
Administrator Fernandez, for joining us today. Thank you for 
your service.
    I want to begin by drawing your attention to a recent 
earthquake that impacted Savannah, Georgia, and Chatham County, 
Georgia, and did significant damage to the Chatham Area Transit 
ferry system. Will you please commit to working with my office 
to identify, if possible, FTA resources that could be brought 
to bear to help Chatham County to repair that damage?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, good day, Senator. Yes, our regional 
office in Atlanta has been in contact with Chatham Transit and 
working to provide them with technical assistance.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you. And just for clarity, Madam 
Administrator, will you please commit that you and/or your team 
will continue to work with my office to try to identify all 
potential solutions FTA can offer to help Chatham County 
recover from this natural disaster?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator, we will.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Madam Administrator. I would 
like to, along the same lines, ask for your commitment to work 
with my office more broadly to identify possible legislative 
improvements or administrative improvements that could be made 
to the Emergency Response Funding program that FTA administers 
to make it more flexible and to give you and your team more 
authority and potentially more resources to help transit 
systems that are impacted by natural disasters and emergencies. 
Will you engage your team with mine to identify possible 
improvements to that program?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, we are happy to work and provide 
technical assistance with emergency relief or any other 
programs that you all are interested in pursuing flexibilities.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you so much, Madam Administrator. I 
want to raise a few Georgia-specific transit initiatives with 
you. The bipartisan infrastructure law obviously provides a 
historic opportunity for improvements, upgrades, and expansion 
of critical transportation and transit infrastructure in the 
State of Georgia--for example, in Metro Atlanta, bus rapid 
transit along State Route 400 that has broad bipartisan local 
support and a new transit line along Campbelltown Road, 6 miles 
between the Oakland City Station and Greenbriar Mall. That is a 
long-awaited critical piece of infrastructure for southwest 
Atlanta.
    Understanding these are competitive grant programs, will 
you please commit to work with me and local stakeholders to 
maximize the prospects for these projects and help us do 
everything that we can as Georgia leaders to maximize the 
chances of success?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, yes, the Federal Transit 
Administration's headquarters office, in addition to the 
regional office, is available to provide technical assistance 
and guidance to transit agencies as they are putting together 
the applications to ensure that the requirements and the 
applications, if there are any questions, that we can assist 
them to better understand what the goal of the grant, the 
intended program is. So, yes, the response to your question is 
yes, we will continue providing that technical assistance and 
guidance.
    Senator Ossoff. Good. I am looking forward to working with 
you to maximize the chances of success for those transit lines 
along Georgia 400 and Campbelltown Road.
    I would like to ask you more broadly as well if you will 
please dedicate a member of your team to meet with a member of 
my staff, a representative from the FRA, and folks in Metro 
Atlanta who are interested in expanding commuter rail service 
for a planning session to discuss how commuter rail service 
might be brought online to serve Metro Atlanta and the role 
that the FTA would play perhaps working with local transit 
authorities and the FRA in helping make that real. Will you 
please designate a staff member and engage with my office in 
some planning work along the lines?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator, our regional office, and 
particularly the regional administrator of the FTA, together 
with her counterpart at FRA, that is exactly the type of 
assistance that they provide, and they will be available to 
support and participate in meetings that you and your team will 
call regarding these projects.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you so much. No- or low-emission 
buses present an opportunity for communities like Chatham 
County and Chatham Area Transit or institutions like Georgia 
State University to upgrade their bus fleets to electric and 
no-emission buses. Both of those organizations, institutions, 
are applying for Federal funding to do that. Will you please 
provide to my office an update, working with your regional 
office, on the progress of those grant applications and work 
with me to try to see them through to success?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator, our Office of Congressional 
Affairs will provide that information to your office.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you so much, Madam Administrator.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Ossoff.
    Senator Warnock from Georgia is recognized. Welcome.
    Senator Warnock. Thank you so very much, Mr. Chairman. And 
folks in Georgia are very much focused on public transit, and 
like Senator Ossoff, it is certainly a concern of mine and a 
high priority. Every day thousands of Georgians rely on public 
transportation, from Atlanta commuters taking MARTA to work to 
our veterans and our seniors who are living rural Georgia using 
one of our 80 rural transit services to get to their doctors' 
appointments. Eighty rural transit services. I think that is an 
important point because often when you talk about public 
transit, as you know, people assume urban. But the rural 
communities very much rely on transit services in some ways 
more.
    Safely and efficiently getting Georgians where they need to 
go is a priority of mine, and that is why I found to include 
provisions from my Capital Investments Grant Improvement Act 
and increased funding for the CIG program in the bipartisan 
infrastructure law.
    The provision I wrote to lift the Small Starts project size 
cap is already enabling MARTA, Georgia's largest public 
transportation service, to develop and improve its 
transportation infrastructure to benefit millions of 
passengers.
    Administrator Fernandez, how will lifting the project size 
cap for Small Starts create jobs, allow more communities to 
benefit from the CIG program, and expand public transportation 
service?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, the Small Starts program is a very 
important program, part of our Capital Investment Grant. And I 
can say to you that there is a pipeline right now in our CIG of 
over 60 projects; 50 percent of those are Small Starts. So we 
are seeing more and more bus rapid transit projects come into 
the fold, and the pipeline itself is, as I noted earlier, 150 
percent greater than anything we have ever had vying for funds.
    By lifting that cap, what we would do is give transit 
agencies the opportunity to better bring their resources, their 
local resources, and be able to maybe even accelerate some of 
the projects that they have in their portfolio. And if it is a 
single project that they are pursuing in a community or maybe 
their first ever Small Starts project, it gives them the 
opportunity to introduce that project sooner and to be able to 
bring that high-quality service to the community and the 
corridors that it will serve.
    Senator Warnock. As I often say, if people cannot get to 
where they are going, they cannot get to where they are going. 
Or said more positively, we need to help people to get to where 
they need to go through being able to move physically. So I 
look forward to working with the FTA to ensure that the 
bipartisan infrastructure law continues to expand access to 
public transportation in Georgia in our rural and in our urban 
communities.
    During the height of the pandemic, rural transit systems 
played a critical role in preserving public health and filling 
the gaps, whether it was meal delivery or rides to 
vaccinationsites. So I am not surprised that when I travel 
across Georgia--I was down in Valdosta a couple weeks ago, Wake 
Cross before that, Columbus--I hear and see demand for small 
urban and rural transit services to connect Georgians to health 
care services, to education, jobs, grocery stores, and so much 
more.
    Last year, I introduced the HOPE Act to help rural and 
disadvantaged communities identify and address their 
transportation needs. I am glad that this year's Government 
funding bill provided $20 million for the HOPE Act, now known 
as the Areas of Persistent Poverty Program, which will unlock 
funding for rural transit projects in communities like Chatham 
County, Savannah, Georgia, Valdosta, and will improve access to 
jobs.
    Administrator Fernandez, what has FTA learned in its early 
implementation of the Areas of Persistent Poverty Program as it 
works to make public transportation services more accessible?
    Ms. Fernandez. Senator, it is a very important program, and 
what we are learning is that there are communities where the 
access to a minivan that can get an individual who recently had 
surgery and needs to go for physical therapy and can no longer 
drive or cannot drive throughout that period, it is their 
connection to health improvement. It is their ability to 
recover.
    I was recently in Jackson, Mississippi, and had the 
opportunity to talk to a woman who had experienced just that, 
where she thought that public transportation was for other 
people, and she realized that that ``other person'' was her, 
and recognizing that she lived on a street that did not have a 
name or an address, but the paratransit vehicle was still able 
to reach to her location and get her to where she needed to go.
    So we recognize and have always been very cognizant of the 
significance of having good public transportation in rural 
areas, and that is one of the reasons that through our 
Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, bringing together 
all of the resources in Government that are available to--
whether it is human services and some of the other cabinet 
departments and agencies, to encourage leveraging those dollars 
so that service transportation, non-emergency transportation is 
available to individuals no matter where they live.
    Senator Warnock. I am out of time, but you talk about the 
importance of this in the ordinary, everyday lives of 
Georgians. Congress, as you know, funded the Areas of 
Persistent Poverty Program in appropriations this year but has 
not permanently authorized the program for future years. From 
where you sit, can you talk about the importance of ongoing 
funding of these programs for rural and low-income communities?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yeah, these programs are very important. We 
know that these areas are designated, when there is 20 percent 
of poverty in the county, and that is how it is designated, and 
recognize that many of these locations are distant from urban 
centers, they are distant from trauma centers, and other 
critical need and access points. So, clearly, having human 
service transportation together with rural operators working 
collaboratively to ensure that there is always access to 
individuals, whether it is for routine or whether it is for 
medical services, that public transportation can be there when 
it is needed.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Warnock.
    I would only add that both Senator Ossoff and Senator 
Warnock have spoken to me many times about the importance of 
public transit in Georgia, something that has been, frankly, 
ignored for far too many years, and the investment that they 
have demanded is really beginning to pay off, and as Chair of 
the Committee with that jurisdiction, I know of my interest and 
I know that you have that same interest, Administrator 
Fernandez.
    Senator Van Hollen of Maryland is recognized from his 
office.
    Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator 
Fernandez, thank you for all your good work.
    I want to start by associating myself with the comments 
made by Senator Warner with respect to the Washington Metro 
system, WMATA, which, as you said, is important to the entire 
region, and the Federal Government has an important stake in 
the success of WMATA. We have some ongoing safety issues. Our 
larger long-term challenge is bringing back ridership that was 
lost during COVID. We have recovered much of that but have a 
ways to go. So I look forward to your input and ideas on that 
front.
    We also have a lot of other important Maryland transit 
projects that have been made possible by the bipartisan 
infrastructure bill, including the Southern Maryland Rapid 
Transit Project. I do not want to go into all the details, but 
I just would ask you for a commitment that your office work 
with us to identify the maximum possibilities to move that 
project forward.
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator, FTA is working with Charles 
County to advance the Southern Maryland Transit Corridor 
Project, and they are not a direct recipient yet, but the 
regional office has been working very closely with them to 
ensure that they comply with all the legal requirements.
    Senator Van Hollen. Well, thank you. Thank you for being on 
top of this issue. I appreciate it, and we look forward to 
continuing to work with you and your team.
    Of course, the infrastructure is an essential component, 
but the other essential piece that makes everything run are the 
workers, the transit workers. And I was very pleased that a 
piece of legislation that I introduced to strengthen the safety 
of transit workers, along with passengers, was passed, included 
as part of the infrastructure bill. And you mentioned that in 
your testimony, that transit authorities located in large urban 
areas must establish their safety committees comprised of both 
management and labor officials by the end of this month, and 
that all transit agencies must complete their safety plans by 
the end of the year.
    My question is: As you monitor these deadlines, are you 
confident that we will be on track in terms of getting those 
safety committees up and running?
    Ms. Fernandez. My expectation is that all transit agencies 
are on track to get that up and running, Senator. When the 
bipartisan infrastructure law was enacted in November of last 
year, it was effective immediately, and the transit agencies 
all understood, based on additional information that was put 
out by my office, what was required of them. And those that had 
existing safety committees, they made sure that there was equal 
representation; those that had to create those safety 
committees have had ample time to do so. I think that the 
additional timing that has been allowed through July 31st from 
the November 15th enactment is adequate for them to make the 
changes, the requisite changes that are necessary in order to 
update their public safety transportation agency safety plans 
by the end of this year.
    Senator Van Hollen. Well, thank you, and thank you for 
holding people's feet to the fire in terms of the deadlines. 
You know, when I talk to transit workers, you hear often 
terrible stories about the kind of abuse that they have to 
take. And so some of the changes that I expect to be made I 
think will go a long ways to addressing some of those issues. 
And that, of course, raises the larger issue of workforce. As 
you well know, we are experiencing, you know, workforce demands 
in many different sectors. And I know the transit workforce 
situation is no different.
    We did as part of the infrastructure bill, as you know, 
include the efforts with respect to investment in workforce, 
and I know that you are focused on the Transit Workforce 
Center. Could you just speak briefly about your vision for the 
program and how the funding is flowing for those purposes?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, and such an excellent question given 
where we are with all the demands of increased funding both on 
the construction side through the Capital Investment Grant and 
then the investment in rolling stock, upgrading and replacing 
rail vehicles in addition to transitioning bus fleets.
    The way that we envision this Transit Workforce Center 
moving forward is to be able to serve transit agencies, provide 
them with some very specific guidelines, provide them with 
training modules, and also help them make connections at the 
local level with community colleges so that they can create the 
opportunities for not only recruiting but also training and 
upskilling the existing workforce to work on the new vehicles, 
to work on the new technology that is out there.
    We, like all other industries, are in competition for 
talent and for individuals who want to become whether it is a 
bus operator, rail conductor, or maintenance frontline worker, 
and, therefore, looking at beyond just the industry and 
connecting with high schools--and that is one of the other 
areas that they are going to be--the Transit Workforce Center 
will assist with, is connecting with local schools in addition 
to labor shops so that the apprenticeship programs can be 
developed and those that are already existing can be opened and 
made available so that that pipeline can continue to grow. We 
do see attrition in the industry, and we want to make sure that 
there is sufficient pipeline to backfill that attrition.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen.
    Senator Toomey has one last question.
    Senator Toomey. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and, 
Madam Administrator, as you know, last year's infrastructure 
law requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a 
program focused on the deployment of advanced digital 
construction management systems under the FTA's Innovation 
Program. Increasing and expanding the use of innovative 
technologies for construction can help expedite timelines and 
save Federal taxpayers money. These types of technologies are 
also applied throughout the life cycle of transportation 
infrastructure, including the maintenance phase.
    During this Committee's last transit hearing in February, 
the Central Ohio Transit Authority testified that they use 
advanced technology systems to help with predictive maintenance 
for state of good repair improvements.
    So, Administrator Fernandez, could you briefly provide an 
update on the timing for establishing this program?
    Ms. Fernandez. Yes, Senator Toomey, and I really appreciate 
that we are having the conversation about the advanced digital 
construction management. I was trained in the construction 
industry, and this is without a doubt one of the best 
opportunities that the transit industry has to not only 
establish a good program management program but also the 
oversight of that program to ensure that with the use of 
technology, we can predict, we can forecast the schedule, 
budget, and keep projects on task. The legacy--the large 
programs, the large projects have been using it, as was noted 
by General Manager Joanna Pinkerton when she testified. What we 
are seeing now with the increase in funding, the $23 billion in 
the Capital Investment Grant program, that means that we are 
going to have more transit agencies, many of them are small 
operators that may not have familiarity. So this is clearly an 
opportunity. We are in the process now of collecting 
information so that we can not only identify what has been 
used, what some of the entities that have applied advanced 
technologies, what they have learned, where do we see the gaps. 
And, you know, as I noted, with the increase in small operators 
now taking on projects, construction projects, that there is 
certainly an opportunity for them to connect, and what, if any, 
additional research can be made available.
    Senator Toomey. Right.
    Ms. Fernandez. Our intent is to move posthaste with them.
    Senator Toomey. Do you have an estimate for when the 
program would be established?
    Ms. Fernandez. We are going to be issuing the information 
on the research aspect of this, because it came through our 
research program, we will be issuing information on that, and 
my expectation is that will be toward the end of this year.
    Senator Toomey. OK. Thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Brown. Thank you, Senator Toomey.
    Administrator Fernandez has shown the FTA is working on 
many fronts to deliver the promised investment and important 
program updates in the infrastructure laws. Thank you, 
Administrator, for your testimony today.
    For Senators who wish to submit questions for the hearing 
record, these questions are due 1 week from today, on Tuesday, 
July 19th. To the witnesses, please submit your responses to 
the questions for the record 45 days from the day you receive 
them.
    With that, the hearing is adjourned. Thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 11:38 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
    [Prepared statements and responses to written questions 
supplied for the record follow:]
              PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN SHERROD BROWN
    Last Thursday, I invited our witness, FTA Administrator Nuria 
Fernandez, to Columbus to see the excitement in the community as they 
plan to build one of the best bus rapid transit networks in the 
country.
    Columbus is growing--and if we pass the CHIPS Act, with Intel's 
investment in semiconductor production in Central Ohio, it will grow 
even faster.
    Investments from the Infrastructure Bill will help Central Ohio 
prepare for more people, expand service, and connect more Ohioans with 
these exciting job opportunities with new Bus Rapid Transit.
    We visited the West Broad street corridor with COTA's CEO Joanna 
Pinkerton. We saw the tremendous opportunity for fast bus service to 
downtown Columbus that will spur new development and new affordable 
housing along the route.
    Columbus is not alone.
    Cleveland RTA has entered the Capital Investment Grants program for 
a new BRT route and Cincinnati is planning its own large BRT network. 
Nearby communities Pittsburgh and Indianapolis also have major BRT 
investments moving forward with FTA support.
    For too long, the United States hasn't invested in public transit 
the way we should, and we've fallen far behind the rest of the world in 
new transit technology.
    But with the bipartisan infrastructure law we are finally working 
to catch up.
    The bipartisan infrastructure law included the largest investment 
ever in public transit.
    But it's not just about the numbers--it's about what that 
investment will do, and how this will matter in Ohioans' lives, and for 
people across this country.
    It will connect more communities. It will mean faster service to 
more neighborhoods. It will open up new job opportunities, so workers 
aren't limited by a bus that doesn't reach a job site or doesn't run on 
Sunday.
    Right now, families are continuing to feel the pain of high gas 
prices because of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
    But if there's a reliable bus or train nearby, workers don't have 
to choose between paying for gas or making rent.
    This is going to make such a difference--especially in so many 
communities that haven't had reliable transit.
    It's the Black and Brown communities who have been redlined, who 
have been cut off from jobs by interstates that walled off their 
neighborhoods. It's rural areas where walking isn't an option.
    It's smaller cities and towns, that haven't been able to afford big 
extensive transit networks like big cities.
    Alongside these opportunities, we know the transit industry faces 
challenges. High fuel prices hurt diesel bus operations, and, like the 
private sector, transit agencies must compete for talented workers.
    We are lucky to have an exceptional leader at FTA working to 
navigate these challenges, and deliver on the promises in the 
infrastructure bill.
    Administrator Fernandez has been on the job since last June, 
becoming the first Senate-confirmed woman of color and first Afro-
Latina to lead FTA.
    She and her team have worked to deliver pandemic relief funding 
quickly and efficiently.
    In the wake of the pandemic, workers are still adjusting their 
commutes. We need to preserve transit routes and help transit agencies 
keep their highly skilled workers on the job.
    Administrator Fernandez is now focused on an even larger endeavor: 
implementing the most consequential investment in our transit 
infrastructure in a generation.
    FTA has moved quickly to help more communities get new, state-of-
the-art zero-emission buses on the roads.
    It's important progress in our fight against climate change, it's 
going to clean up the air in our communities, and it's going to mean 
new, modern buses for Americans to ride.
    FTA has made it easier for agencies to apply by combining the Low-
No Bus application with the traditional bus program.
    FTA has also worked to get funding for transit construction out the 
door under the Capital Investments Grants program, and to help our 
rural communities improve their transit options.
    As long as I chair this Committee, workers will always have a seat 
at the table. The Administrator has maintained that same commitment--
thank you Ms. Fernandez for giving transit workers a voice at FTA. She 
is working to ensure workers have the training needed for the next 
generation of service.
    Finally, FTA has continued its sharp focus on safety. On this 
Committee, we have always strongly and bipartisanly supported safety 
efforts. I've worked with both Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Toomey 
on safety issues, including in the infrastructure bill.
    Administrator Fernandez, I look forward to your testimony.
                                 ______
                                 
            PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATRICK J. TOOMEY
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Administrator Fernandez, welcome. Today, we'll hear directly from 
the FTA on implementation of last year's infrastructure law.
    As I've stated before, we should not pay for an infrastructure 
package by borrowing billions more dollars. But that's precisely what 
happened with this law. It authorized so much new spending that $118 
billion had to be transferred from the Treasury's General Fund to the 
Highway Trust Fund, which is a specific account financed with Federal 
gas tax revenue to cover mass transit and highway construction costs.
    President Biden would make this shortfall worse by suspending the 
Federal gas tax for 3 months, reasoning that the solution to high gas 
prices isn't more supply, but rather more debt. I'd suggest if we want 
to help commuters and families suffering from inflation, we can start 
by reversing the Administration's actions that keep us from using 
America's own fossil energy. But back to infrastructure.
    Federal spending should be driven by a reasoned assessment of our 
Nation's needs. However, last year's infrastructure law seems to have 
been driven more by Democratic political imperatives. The bill funneled 
billions to projects that the private sector has been more than willing 
to fund, such as ferries and electric vehicle charging stations.
    Transit was given $108.1 billion over a 5-year period. To put that 
number into perspective, it's almost twice what transit got in the last 
surface transportation reauthorization. And this staggering sum will be 
on top of the nearly $85 billion given to transit during one year of 
the COVID pandemic, the vast majority of that money categorized as 
``emergency'' spending to offset COVID losses. In fact, that nearly $85 
billion exceeded the combined annual operating and capital costs of all 
transit agencies in the United States.
    At the time, Democrats tried to justify paying for more than 100 
percent of transit agency budgets by saying that transit systems would 
collapse from declines in ridership and State and local tax revenues. 
Yet, State and local tax collections set a new record in 2020. And 
Congress gave more than $850 billion to States and local governments 
for COVID relief.
    Worse, billions of dollars will go to transit agencies that were 
facing ridership declines well before COVID. Since reaching a high of 
10.7 billion trips in 2014, transit ridership has steadily fallen. It 
fell by almost 8 percent in 2019. And the last 2 years saw even steeper 
declines.
    Ridership fell at some agencies by over 70 percent. According to 
FTA, ridership now is only about 60 percent of prepandemic levels. Some 
estimates predict ridership will never fully return to prepandemic 
levels.
    Agency leaders in New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., have 
all said their riders won't return. And even transit agencies that are 
predicting ridership to return to prepandemic levels don't expect that 
to happen this decade. For example, a nonpartisan think-tank--the Eno 
Center for Transportation--recently reported that New Jersey Transit 
does not expect its prepandemic rail ridership to return until the 
early 2030s, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit does not expect 
its prepandemic ridership to return until after 2035.
    So why give away more taxpayer money to agencies serving far fewer 
riders? Shockingly, the FTA is allowing transit agencies that are 
seeking Federal funding for projects to expand transit systems to use 
prepandemic ridership data from 2019. Transit agencies largest source 
for expansion projects is FTA's Capital Investment Grants program--
known as CIG.
    There are transit agencies seeking millions and even billions of 
Federal taxpayer funding for CIG projects to expand streetcars, 
commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit. To justify their 
funding requests, FTA has been allowing transit agencies to use 
prepandemic data on ridership from 2019 and 2020. That boggles the 
mind.
    Transit ridership was already in decline pre-COVID. And transit 
agencies are publicly admitting that their ridership will not recover 
to prepandemic levels for over a decade, if ever. So Federal taxpayers 
will build out transit systems to serve ghost riders, increasing long-
term maintenance costs. I have no doubt that a few years after these 
projects are completed, transit agencies will be before Congress 
pleading for more subsidies to operate systems too large for demand.
    Also concerning is FTA's willful disregard of an important feature 
of last year's infrastructure law. The law requires agencies to make 
progress on their deferred maintenance backlogs to qualify for CIG 
grants. But FTA plans to allow agencies to qualify for CIG grants even 
when they are falling further behind on their overall deferred 
maintenance targets. That does not protect taxpayers.
    Speaking of protecting taxpayers, people should feel safe while 
using transit. As I stated at our last transit hearing, the rising 
rates of crime on transit systems are deeply disturbing. Unfortunately, 
it doesn't appear that FTA is taking this important issue seriously 
enough.
    Let me conclude with this observation. It may not entirely be 
transit agencies' fault that people are choosing not to use their 
services. But that doesn't mean Congress should be throwing ever more 
billions of Federal taxpayer dollars at them to build out more services 
for riders they don't have.
    I look forward to discussing the future of mass transit today.
                                 ______
                                 
                 PREPARED STATEMENT OF NURIA FERNANDEZ
             Administrator, Federal Transit Administration
                             July 12, 2022
    Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Toomey, and Members of the 
Committee, it is my pleasure to testify before you today on the 
progress the Federal Transit Administration has made in implementing 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, and our continued work to improve America's 
communities through public transportation.
    First, I want to express my gratitude to this Committee for 
advancing my nomination as Administrator of the FTA, and to the Senate 
for confirming me last June. It is truly the privilege of a lifetime to 
lead FTA during such a critical time for public transportation.
    Just over a year ago, COVID-19 was still ravaging transit systems 
nationwide, impacting every aspect of the industry. We greatly 
appreciate Congress providing about $70 billion in COVID relief funding 
for public transportation in response to this crisis.
    These funds not only made sure that riders had the lifeline they 
needed--they were also essential for the economy. The American Rescue 
Plan alone is responsible for saving about 50,000 transit jobs, not to 
mention the extensive supply chain that manufactures components for 
buses, rail cars, and more. In short, transit helped keep America open.
    Now, thanks to diligent efforts to win customers back, more demand 
for in-person work as the economy grows, and increasing confidence from 
the riding public, we have seen ridership return to about 60 percent of 
prepandemic levels . . . and climbing.
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law came at a pivotal time for public 
transportation. Recognizing the importance of transit to so many 
communities, Congress entrusted FTA with up to $108 billion dollars in 
funding over the next 5 years.
    Trust me when I say we do not take this responsibility lightly. 
Since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law last 
November, FTA has been hard at work to deliver this record investment 
to agencies nationwide--in areas large and small; urban, rural, and 
Tribal; in every State and Territory in the Union.
    In the next few minutes, I will highlight how FTA has delivered on 
the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as discuss 
our plans for the future.
Safety
    As Secretary Buttigieg has said, safety is our North Star. In the 
COVID-19 era, ``safety'' has taken on a new meaning, but the principle 
is the same: every transit rider deserves a safe, secure, and reliable 
trip, and every transit worker must be able to conduct his or her 
duties without fear of assault or injury.
    With that in mind, we are doing everything in our power to improve 
safety throughout the industry. All transit operators that receive FTA 
urbanized area funds must have Public Transportation Agency Safety 
Plans in place to improve their safety processes and systems. To meet 
the new requirements in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, transit 
agencies in large urban areas must establish Safety Committees with 
equal representation of management and labor by July 31, and all 
agencies in urban areas must update their safety plans by December 31, 
with approval by Safety Committees if applicable.
    FTA also plans to expand our data collection efforts to require 
that all transit worker assaults are reported through the National 
Transit Database. Currently, only those assaults that result in serious 
injury are required to be reported. In addition, FTA is strengthening 
its State Safety Oversight program by giving State oversight bodies the 
authority to conduct unannounced risk-based inspections. Taken 
together, these actions will give FTA more information than ever before 
on the scale of transit safety needs and how to address risks.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Historic Transit Funding
    Another critical aspect to ensuring the safety of our transit 
systems is to improve the state of repair of transit assets, from 
subway tracks to bus wheels. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure 
Law, we have resources to take on the estimated $105 billion backlog in 
transit maintenance needs nationwide. To help transit agencies perform 
needed repairs and modernize their equipment, right after the Fiscal 
Year 2022 Appropriations Act in March, FTA acted swiftly to make the 
full balance of over $13 billion in FY22 formula funding available 
through the apportionment process.
    We are also delivering funding through our competitive programs as 
quickly as possible.

    In February, we published a Notice of Funding Opportunity 
        (NOFO) for Tribal Transit, and in March, we published a 
        combined NOFO for the Low-No and Buses and Bus Facilities 
        programs, making over $1.7 billion available to replace and 
        modernize our Nation's bus fleets in rural and urban areas. In 
        May, we issued the NOFO for Transit-Oriented Development 
        planning as well.

      The Low-No funding is unprecedented, more than six times 
        what it was in 2021. We are on track to meet the statutory 
        deadline to award these funds, which will make an enormous 
        difference in reducing emissions and improving air quality 
        nationwide.

    Just last week, we published a NOFO making available nearly 
        $300 million for three ferry programs: the longstanding urban 
        ferry program, as well as the new Ferry Service for Rural 
        Communities and Electric or Low-Emitting Ferry Programs.

    This summer, we anticipate issuing NOFOs for the other 
        competitive programs established by the infrastructure law, 
        including the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) and the 
        Rail Vehicle Replacement Program. I will discuss ASAP in more 
        detail in a moment.
Workforce Development
    Recruiting, training, and retaining the transit workforce continues 
to be a top priority. Frontline workers--represented by the backbone of 
the industry, transit labor--support riders in their communities, day 
in and day out, and they need help. They need more coworkers to keep 
people moving to jobs, schools, health care appointments, and 
opportunities in communities across the country.
    Thanks to dedicated funding from Congress, FTA established the 
Transit Workforce Center last September to help transit agencies 
recruit, train, and upskill their workforces and establish partnerships 
between transit agency management and labor organizations. Since then, 
the TWC has hit the ground running, providing recruitment and 
management strategies as well as networking opportunities to transit 
agencies nationwide.
    Following direction in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 
applicants to the bus competitive grant programs who have proposed 
projects related to zero-emission vehicles must adequately support 
workforce development, including registered apprenticeships and 
technology training, or use 5 percent of their awards to do so. FTA has 
also worked with the Department of Labor and their Good Jobs Initiative 
to embed incentives for equitable workforce development connected to 
good jobs into other discretionary grant programs.
Equity and Accessibility
    We are thankful to this Committee and Congress for the new All 
Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) included in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law. It has been 32 years since the passage of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act, and while great strides have been made 
to improve transit accessibility, we still have work to do.
    There are over 900 rail stations that remain inaccessible. 
Beginning to upgrade these stations will open new opportunities for 
people with disabilities to independently use rail transit systems to 
reach jobs, health care and other services, social activities, and all 
life's opportunities.
    In addition to improving quality of life for people with 
disabilities, in keeping with the President's Executive order on 
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, we are 
advancing the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to address the 
needs of communities that have been historically overburdened and 
underserved by our Nation's transportation systems.
    I want to be clear that public transportation does not just serve 
big cities--far from it. FTA has supported transit in rural and Tribal 
areas for decades, and we continue that important work every day. It is 
those areas where a local bus, van, or paratransit service can make all 
the difference for a senior citizen aging in place or a veteran who 
needs care at the VA.
    For example, I recently visited Jackson, Mississippi, to highlight 
FTA funding that will allow the Claiborne County Human Resource Agency 
and four partner organizations to collaborate to better connect rural 
Mississippians with jobs, doctor's appointments, grocery stores, and 
other essentials. I saw firsthand that rural transit is not just a bus 
or a van, it is a pathway to health, wellness, and opportunity.
    USDOT is committed to improving transportation infrastructure and 
stewardship on Tribal lands. Recently, Deputy Secretary Polly 
Trottenberg traveled to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma to sign the 
first ever Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Compact. This historic 
agreement means Cherokee Nation will have the opportunity to make more 
decisions on how to use Federal funds to support transportation and 
infrastructure projects that better connect both their residents and 
those visiting tribal lands.
Conclusion
    We know that transportation costs are one of the biggest burdens on 
many family budgets. Transit is the great equalizer, making sure that 
Americans always have an affordable option to get from where they live 
to where they need to go. My staff and I come to work every day to 
ensure the historic level of funding over the next 5 years is invested 
equitably and effectively, taking on the climate challenge and making 
the Nation's trains, buses, ferries, and paratransit better for all.
    I look forward to continuing to work closely with this Committee as 
we go about this important work.
    Thank you, and I will be happy to answer any questions.
        RESPONSES TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF CHAIRMAN BROWN
                      FROM NURIA FERNANDEZ

Q.1. Coordination of Federally Assisted Non-Emergency Medical 
Transportation (NEMT)--Administrator Fernandez, in Ohio there 
are 14 State agencies that invest at least $500 million 
annually to transport their clients and customers to jobs, 
medical care, and other destinations. After FTA, non-emergency 
medical transportation under Medicaid is the next largest 
Federal funding source for human services transportation, but 
Medicaid rules create barriers that encourage duplication of 
services--creating waste and preventing coordination between 
public and private providers.
    How would you assess the Federal Coordinating Council on 
Access and Mobility's work to encourage changes to Medicaid 
program rules that would help facilitate coordination?

A.1. The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) has 
made significant progress in the past 2 years engaging 
stakeholders to identify existing challenges in the receipt of 
needed transportation services and to facilitate coordination 
with non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services in 
the Medicaid program. The Medicaid program is a joint Federal 
and State program that gives State Medicaid agencies 
significant flexibility with respect to the design and 
implementation of Medicaid services, including NEMT, within 
certain Federal program rules.
    Activities have included three CCAM stakeholder listening 
sessions, and one joint FTA and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services (CMS) public transportation stakeholder listening 
session on NEMT, as well as a ``lessons learned'' assessment of 
Mobility Ohio. These efforts helped FTA identify critical areas 
where stakeholders are met with challenges and CCAM has shared 
this valuable information with CMS. CCAM continues to work with 
CMS to share stakeholder feedback to help inform CMS' 
understanding of the challenges stakeholders face, and where 
stakeholders may benefit from further clarification of the 
statutory and regulatory parameters of Medicaid funding and the 
flexibilities available to State Medicaid agencies in the 
administration of their Medicaid programs.
    Many of CCAM's efforts are ongoing. Under FTA's leadership, 
a CCAM Strategic Plan (Plan) for the years 2023 to 2026 is 
currently under development. CMS will lead a task in the Plan 
to develop a Medicaid coordination fact sheet to help inform 
transportation coordination partnership conversations between 
State Medicaid Agencies and State Departments of 
Transportation. CMS will also coordinate with FTA on the next 
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Pilot Program for 
Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility (Section 3006(b) of 
the FAST Act (Pub. L. 114-94, Dec. 4, 2015)). A link will be 
included in the NOFO to the anticipated CMS 2023 guidance to 
help inform potential applicants about flexibilities within 
Medicaid NEMT.

Q.2. What are the most significant obstacles to NEMT 
coordination that result from Medicaid program rules?

A.2. Stakeholders have raised several areas where they believe 
additional guidance would be helpful. These include:

  1.  Governmental Entities/State Departments of Transportation 
        (DOT) Acting as Medicaid NEMT Brokers
        Stakeholders have asked for additional information 
regarding a State DOT's ability to act as a broker of NEMT 
service, which they have indicated will improve coordination 
with existing public transportation infrastructure, leading to 
improved access, efficiency, and affordability, especially for 
rural beneficiaries.

  2.  Public Transit Systems and Self-Referral Prohibitions
        Stakeholders have noted a desire for further clarity 
around the Medicaid program's exceptions to the ``self-referral 
prohibition''.
        To prevent unethical financial benefits to providers, 
CMS has a long-standing prohibition against self-referral in 
the provision of medical services to Medicaid beneficiaries. 
Self-referral occurs when one entity has investment or 
ownership interest in the other, resulting in personal or 
corporate financial gain to one or more of the parties when 
patients are referred for services between the two entities.
        State DOTs and public transit agencies have raised 
concerns about how these rules may apply in circumstances such 
as when a State DOT refers an NEMT trip to a public transit 
provider. Though Medicaid regulations provide an exception for 
Government entities to meet certain conditions, some 
stakeholders have indicated that they would benefit from 
further clarification of these rules.

  3.  Reimbursement for ADA Complementary Paratransit Services 
        for NEMT Medicaid Sponsored Rides
        Some stakeholders have expressed concerns about the 
Medicaid payment rate for NEMT services provided to Medicaid 
beneficiaries in circumstances in which ADA complimentary 
paratransit services are necessary, given the needs of the 
beneficiary.
        Generally, States have flexibility with respect to the 
methodologies used to determine payment to Medicaid providers, 
provided certain Federal statutory and regulatory requirements 
are met. Stakeholders have indicated that it would be helpful 
for brokers to be required or encouraged to establish payment 
methodologies that reflect the cost of services in 
circumstances in which ADA complimentary paratransit services 
are necessary.

Q.3. Advancing Racial Equity and Supporting Underserved 
Communities--In your testimony, you spoke about the FTA's 
commitment towards addressing the needs of communities that 
have been historically overburdened and underserved, in 
alignment with the President's Executive order on Advancing 
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.
    Please share how FTA is working to achieve this commitment 
and please note steps FTA plans to take in the remainder of 
2022 and in 2023.

A.3. FTA is committed to addressing the needs of communities 
that have historically been overburdened and underserved. This 
commitment is reflected in the forthcoming FTA FY 2022-2026 
Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap for how FTA will 
implement its mission to improve America's communities through 
public transportation. In FTA's Strategic Plan, improving 
equity is prioritized as a strategic goal, and one of FTA's 
strategic objectives is to remove barriers to transit access 
for underserved communities. In 2023, FTA will continue to 
employ the resources and tools at its disposal--including 
funding, policymaking, and intra/interagency coordination and 
outreach toward that objective.
    With respect to funding, FTA has elevated the consideration 
of equity in its review and selection processes for Notices of 
Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), including two recent notices. In 
our FY 2022 All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) NOFO, 
published on July 26, 2022, FTA stated that it will ``give 
priority consideration to applications that advance racial 
equity in two areas: (1) planning and policies related to 
racial equity and overcoming barriers to opportunity; and (2) 
project investments that either proactively address racial 
equity and barriers to opportunity, including automobile 
dependence as a form of barrier, or redress prior inequities 
and barriers to opportunity.'' FTA has included the same 
consideration in the FY 2022 Ferry Programs NOFO (Passenger 
Ferry Program, Low-No Ferry Program, and Rural Ferry Program), 
published on July 8, 2022.
    In terms of policymaking, FTA is working diligently to 
update existing guidance and supporting Departmental regulatory 
efforts to advance equity and address the needs of historically 
overburdened and underserved communities. In 2023, FTA expects 
to publish proposed updates to its Title VI Circular, which 
provides FTA recipients with direction on program-specific 
issues and statutory and regulatory requirements. In alignment 
with the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support 
for Underserved Communities, the updated Title VI Circular 
would help remove barriers to transit access for underserved 
communities by strengthening the requirements for public 
participation and equity analyses. Improvements to the public 
participation process would increase transparency and 
accountability to underserved communities, and enhancements to 
equity analyses can help ensure overburdened communities, such 
as racial minorities and low-income communities, do not 
experience disparate impacts or disproportionate burdens for 
service changes, fare changes, or the construction of transit 
facilities.
    In support of intra/interagency coordination and outreach, 
FTA will continue assisting the DOT Office of the Secretary in 
its proposed improvements to the Disadvantaged Business 
Enterprise (DBE) Program. The DBE Program is designed to remedy 
ongoing discrimination and the continuing effects of past 
discrimination in federally assisted transit, highway, and 
airport contracting. DOT recently published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize the DBE program 
regulations, which would help further level the playing field 
for small, disadvantaged businesses--businesses owned and 
controlled by individuals from historically overburdened and 
underserved communities--seeking to compete for federally 
assisted transportation contracts. The proposals would allow 
more firms to become certified more quickly, ensure they are 
paid on time, and help the Department enforce these important 
rules. For FTA recipients, the proposals would reduce the 
administrative burden on our smaller and rural recipients, 
which would allow them to devote more resources to conducting 
their DBE programs and awarding contracts to DBE firms. FTA 
will continue to support this DOT effort by advising on transit 
and transit-vehicle-specific DBE rulemaking matters.
    In addition, FTA is working closely with the Office of the 
Secretary to update the Department's accessibility standards 
for buses and vans under the Americans with Disabilities Act 
(ADA), consistent with the Final Rule issued by the U.S. Access 
Board on December 14, 2016. The Access Board has the statutory 
authority to develop and issue such standards, but it is 
incumbent upon DOT to incorporate those standards into its ADA 
regulations as enforceable standards. These changes would 
ensure that buses and vans used in public and private 
transportation systems are readily accessible to and usable by 
people with disabilities, fulfilling the Department's goal of 
spontaneous travel by wheelchair users. DOT anticipates issuing 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 2023. This ADA bus 
and van rulemaking will be followed by amendments to the DOT 
ADA regulations governing the provision of transportation 
services, and revisions to the standards for buildings and 
facilities to achieve more equitable access.
    In 2022 and 2023, FTA will also continue to support DOT's 
Equity Action Plan and Justice40 Initiative work by deploying 
policy, technical, and senior staff to engage and participate 
in action teams and workgroups. For example, experts from FTA's 
Offices of Budget & Policy, Civil Rights, and Planning & 
Environment are actively participating in the action team to 
update DOT's Public Involvement Guidelines, which has a renewed 
focus on addressing the needs of historically overburdened and 
underserved communities. Last updated in 2015, DOT plans to 
publish the updated Public Involvement Guidelines by 2023.
    Finally, FTA has been working with the Office of the 
Secretary and other DOT modes to implement the Justice40 
initiative. This initiative is working toward the goal that at 
least 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal 
investments go to historically disadvantaged communities. FTA 
is helping with the analysis of its historical benefit 
distribution to inform future funding allocations and is 
working with OMB to identify next steps in the implementation 
of Justice40.

Q.4. How is the FTA working with the Minority Business 
Development Agency (MBDA) to advance contracting opportunities 
minority owned businesses?

A.4. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business 
Development Agency (MBDA) is a valuable resource in FTA's 
administration of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) 
programs. The MBDA provides tools that help level the playing 
field for women- and minority-owned small businesses competing 
for transportation contracts. On September 20, 2022, the U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) signed an MOU with MBDA to 
formalize an agreement between the two to promote data driven 
policies and increase access to opportunities for diverse 
businesses throughout the transportation sector.
    While there are important differences between DBEs and 
MBEs, firms that qualify as DBEs under USDOT's program are 
often eligible to benefit from MBDA programs, and FTA staff 
routinely recommend MBDA's resources. Some of the most 
persistent barriers reported to FTA by DBEs include access to 
capital and awareness of contracting opportunities. The MBDA 
has resources and tools devoted to solving those problems. FTA 
is especially encouraged by some of MBDA's recent announcements 
that FTA believes will result in more DBEs working on transit 
projects. For example, FTA is excited about the MBDA's funding 
dedicated to hiring procurement support specialists in its 
Business Centers. These specialists will focus on connecting 
businesses to BIL-funded opportunities, many of which will be 
transit projects.
    FTA recognizes the need for more women- and minority-owned 
small businesses competing for transportation contracts, and 
that FTA needs to provide resources to those businesses so that 
they are well-positioned to start working when the opportunity 
arises. While FTA's biggest impact on advancing contracting 
opportunities for women- and minority-owned small businesses is 
through effectively administering and improving the DBE 
program, in conjunction with our colleagues throughout the 
Department, FTA will continue to promote the MBDA to our DBE 
stakeholders as a valuable tool.
                                ------                                


        RESPONSES TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR TOOMEY
                      FROM NURIA FERNANDEZ

Q.1. Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program--The Federal 
Transit Administration (FTA) is permitting transit agencies who 
are seeking funding for expansion projects through the Capital 
Investment Grants (CIG) program to use prepandemic ridership 
data from 2019 or 2020 to make ridership projections. Ridership 
data is an important criteria in qualifying a project for a CIG 
grant. The U.S. is well past the depths of the pandemic from 
2020, and transit agencies have ridership data from 2021 and 
2022 on which they could base their ridership projections.
    Yet, FTA is allowing transit agencies to use obsolete 
prepandemic ridership data when FTA is aware that ridership is 
currently only about 60 percent of prepandemic levels today and 
multiple transit agencies project that ridership will not 
return to prepandemic levels anytime soon, if ever.
    Why is the FTA continuing to permit transit agencies to 
knowingly use inflated ridership projections for the CIG 
program?
    When is FTA going to end the concerning practice of 
allowing transit agencies to use inflated ridership projections 
to justify requests for expansion projects?

A.1. In the spring of 2022, FTA gave direction to project 
sponsors preparing submittals for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 
Annual Report on Funding Recommendation for the CIG program 
that ridership forecasts for proposed CIG projects may be 
derived from transit service, fare policy, and ridership 
information from before the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., 2019 
information reflecting prepandemic conditions rather than data 
from 2020 or later). FTA's communication also notified project 
sponsors that while FTA would rate and evaluate projects for 
the FY24 Annual Report using this prepandemic information as 
the basis for the ridership projections, there would be 
continued monitoring of current ridership trends. FTA 
encouraged project sponsors to review and submit their best-
available prepandemic data (from 2019 or early 2020), as well 
as their latest ridership data for transit services currently 
operating within the proposed CIG project corridor. This 
guidance was developed because transit service and ridership 
have been in--and remain in--flux since the start of the COVID-
19 pandemic in 2020.
    Before making the announcement regarding the flexibilities 
in ridership projections that would be accepted from CIG 
project sponsors to inform the FY24 Annual Report to Congress, 
FTA examined the monthly ridership data reported to the 
National Transit Database (NTD) between mid-2021 and early 
2022. That review revealed that the COVID public health 
emergency has caused transit ridership to fluctuate 
significantly since the spring of 2020 and that ridership 
numbers by mode and transit agency varied significantly. At the 
time of the analysis, ridership did not appear to have reached 
a sustained, consistent level of ridership for 6 to 12 months 
without a pandemic related event causing a reduction of travel 
and in-person economic activity.
    Until vaccines for COVID were widely available and 
distributed in 2021, many businesses had not fully reopened, 
which affected transit ridership. The period from Spring 2021 
(as vaccines started being distributed) through Fall 2021 saw 
very strong growth in transit ridership nationwide of 
approximately 40 percent. The Omicron variant, which impacted 
the period from late 2021 through early 2022, eroded ridership 
gains. As the Omicron variant waned, ridership began to return.
    The NTD data represents systemwide information and is not 
specific to the proposed CIG project corridor. While this data 
can inform overall trends in the system, the ridership levels 
occurring on transit service within the proposed CIG project 
corridor may be better or worse than the system trend. For this 
reason, FTA has asked project sponsors to also provide their 
most current ridership for their project corridor. This 
information provides context to the prepandemic ridership 
projections.
    FTA is continuing to monitor trends based on NTD data as 
well as gathering data from transit agencies around the country 
to inform its decision-making. In Spring 2023, FTA will prepare 
its updated set of instructions to CIG project sponsors for 
reporting information for the FY25 Annual Report to Congress, 
at which time FTA will provide specific guidance to project 
sponsors on ridership projections.

Q.2. Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems--The 
Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems is a new 
program established under FTA's Innovation Program in the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. You testified that you 
anticipate issuing information on this program towards the end 
of this year.
    Beyond the statutory criteria, can you explain your goals 
for this program?

A.2. FTA's overarching goal is to provide information to 
transit agencies on resources available for managing the 
implementation of capital projects through Advanced Digital 
Systems.

Q.3. Can you describe how you plan to implement this program 
within the existing FTA research budget?

A.3. FTA is developing a demonstration program using FY 2022 
and FY 2023 Public Transportation Innovation funding for a 
fully integrated, construction lifecycle digital management 
system in major infrastructure projects. Transit agencies, 
private sector companies and consulting firms participating in 
the program will deploy advanced digital construction 
management systems, assess how well the implementation of the 
integrated solution progresses, and then document the most 
promising practices to help other agencies benefit from the 
research. FTA's approach builds upon FHWA's management of its 
Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems for project 
delivery. As a first step, FTA will give a presentation on this 
new program and gather input from FTA grant recipients that are 
administering program management systems at its upcoming 
Construction Workshop. Participants will be asked to share 
their current experiences using digital construction management 
systems to help inform the development of this new program.

Q.4. Will there be a special, designated program officer for 
this program?

A.4. Yes.

Q.5. Throughout the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 
there are references to ``innovative design'' and ``innovative 
technology'' to be considered by Federal agencies to achieve 
certain programmatic outcomes.
    How do you plan to leverage digital technology in FTA's 
discretionary grant programs?

A.5. Digital technology is an eligible expense in many of FTA's 
discretionary grant programs. For example, FTA's Grants for 
Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program allows for the 
purchase of digital farebox equipment, signage and route 
display technology for bus stops, and route optimization 
software. FTA's All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), 
which is a new competitive program authorized through the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also allows for the 
implementation of digital technology to ensure that pre-ADA, 
legacy rail stations are accessible for all. FTA continues to 
provide resources and technical assistance to the public 
transportation industry on digital technology eligibilities 
within all of FTA's formula and competitive programs and how 
these technologies can support mobility for all. FTA's National 
Center for Applied Transit Technology also provides technical 
assistance and training to small urban, rural, and tribal 
transit systems to help them understand the use of technology 
tools.

Q.6. Safety and Security on Transit Systems--There is a 
disturbing rise in crime that is affecting transit agencies 
across the country. At the July 12th Banking Committee hearing, 
you offered to provide me and my staff the specific amounts 
that transit agencies have spent towards mitigating crime on 
their systems. Please provide the following information from 
fiscal year 2019 to the present:
    The amount of Federal taxpayer dollars transit agencies 
have spent on security, denoted by formula program and by 
fiscal year.
    Separately, provide the above amounts for Central Puget 
Sound Regional Transit Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, 
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the New York 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

A.6. FTA is committed to ensuring safe and secure transit 
systems for both transit riders and workers. While many FTA 
funded investments include infrastructure upgrades or 
enhancements as well as activities to protect transit riders 
and workers, safety and security expenses are not delineated as 
an expense category that transit agencies are required to 
report separately to the National Transit Database or the grant 
management system. In large urban areas, FTA formula grants are 
used primarily for capital and planning projects. FTA grant 
recipients would include security investments, such as cameras, 
in their overall grant funded project costs. Federal grant 
recipients in urbanized areas use their local or State funds to 
procure law enforcement safety and security services and in 
rural areas, Federal formula funds may be used for crime 
prevention efforts.
    As of 2022, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act now 
requires transit agencies that serve large Urbanized Areas and 
receive section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Grant funds to set 
aside at least 0.75 percent of those funds for safety related 
projects. Based on the FY22 formula split letters provided by 
each Urbanized Area's Designated Recipient, the required 
minimum set aside for safety related projects for the agencies 
listed above are as follows:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    In addition, FTA's Urbanized Area Formula program requires 
all recipients to spend at least one percent (1 percent) of 
their apportionment on security projects, unless the recipient 
certifies the expenditure for security projects has been 
addressed through other program funds.
    In addition to Urbanized Area Formula grants, FTA Formula 
Grants for Rural Areas, FTA State of Good Repair Grants, and 
FTA Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities can all be used to 
support a range of crime prevention efforts and safety and 
security projects. The set aside numbers in the table above 
provide the baseline requirements for these transit agencies 
receiving Federal assistance, but do not encompass all Federal 
investment in transit agency safety expenditures for FY 2022.

Q.7. Within each formula program, if applicable, provide how 
much was spent on capital versus operating for security 
purposes.

A.7. As noted above, FTA does not directly track agency 
expenditures for security purposes, so cannot currently provide 
this breakdown of expenditures. However, FTA formula grants 
primarily fund capital and planning projects, so most of the 
spending for security purposes is in capital investments.
    FTA's largest formula program, the Urbanized Area Formula 
Grant Program (Section 5307), supports public transportation by 
allowing for investment in crime prevention, safety, and 
security equipment. This may include projects such as increased 
lighting, increased camera surveillance, installation of 
telephone lines, and new technologies or intelligent 
transportation systems that improve public safety.
    In addition, FTA Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program 
(Section 5311) provides formula funding to States for areas 
with a population of less than 50,000. Section 5311 can fund a 
variety of planning, operating, and capital expenses, which can 
be used to support the prevention of driver and passenger 
assaults on rural public transportation systems.

Q.8. FTA launched the Enhanced Transit Safety and Crime 
Prevention Initiative to help transit agencies mitigate crime 
that is taking place on their systems. A Request for 
Information (RFI) on Transit Safety Culture was posted to the 
Federal Register on July 15, 2021, with comments to be 
submitted by September 22, 2021.
    To date, what has FTA done with the information that was 
submitted to the RFI?
    Are there any efforts by FTA to issue new guidance, 
regulations, or distribute information via a Dear Colleague 
using information gathered from the RFI?

A.8. FTA published two related Requests for Information (RFI) 
in 2021. The first, published on July 15, 2021, captured 
information from the industry on transit safety concerns that 
FTA should evaluate for potential action at the Federal level. 
The second, published on September 24, 2021, captured 
information on safety topics that affect transit workers in two 
areas: Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) and transit 
worker assault prevention.
    FTA has reviewed and categorized all responses to the RFIs 
published in 2021. This information has helped inform FTA's 
safety risk management (SRM) process and addressed the 
prioritization of safety concerns in an SRM Action Plan.
    Additionally, information from the two RFIs are informing 
rulemaking and policy update activities currently underway, 
including (1) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) effort for 
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans, (2) a proposed 
update to FTA's National Public Transportation Safety Plan, (3) 
revisions to NTD safety data collection forms and definitions, 
(4) additional data analysis related to transit worker assault 
risk, and (5) a proposed rulemaking on Rail Transit Roadway 
Worker Protection.
    Information collected through the RFIs underscored the need 
to continue to expand availability of Workforce safety-related 
resources and training. FTA partnered with the National Transit 
Institute to increase course offerings, and FTA expanded the 
availability and promotion of training related to worker 
safety, including ``Assault Awareness Prevention for Transit 
Operators'' and ``Violence in the Transit Workplace''. FTA has 
also increased communication regarding available Federal grant 
funding to support rider and employee safety and to address 
priorities identified in RFI responses.

Q.9. Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan--The 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes changes to the 
public transportation agency safety plan (PTASP) requirements. 
These changes require that, for large public transit agencies, 
a Safety Committee be formed consisting of equal numbers of 
management and frontline workers, who will be tasked with 
approving the PTASP. The Safety Committee will have significant 
authority. Moreover, FTA's Urbanized Area Formula Grants are 
tied directly to an approved PTASP.
    How will FTA ensure that the Safety Committees remain 
focused exclusively on safety, and not serve as a forum for 
collective bargaining or other issues?

A.9. FTA is preparing to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) updating the PTASP in response to the new requirements 
established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The NPRM will 
address the role of the safety committees. FTA will review 
implementation of the PTASP requirements, including the role of 
the Safety Committee in approving the Agency Safety Plan, 
through its ongoing oversight activities, including Triennial 
Reviews and State Management Reviews.
                                ------                                


        RESPONSES TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SINEMA
                      FROM NURIA FERNANDEZ

Q.1. 1. What steps has the FTA taken to ensure that rural 
transit is improved by the bipartisan infrastructure law and 
what resources are available to rural areas looking to improve 
their transit systems?

A.1. FTA is committed to improving America's communities 
through public transit. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 
continues the Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program, 
increasing its funding approximately 23 percent from $728 
million in FY21 to $896 million in FY22. FTA will continue 
administering the Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program that 
provides capital, planning, and operating assistance to States 
and federally recognized Indian tribes to support public 
transportation in rural areas with populations less than 
50,000, where many residents often rely on transit to reach 
their destinations. Five percent of Formula Grants for Rural 
Areas funding is available for the Public Transportation on 
Indian Reservations Program (approximately $44 million in 
FY22).
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also provides funding for 
State and national training and technical assistance through 
the Rural Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) 
(approximately $17 million in FY22). FTA will continue 
administering the RTAP which provides a source of funding to 
assist in the design and implementation of training and 
technical assistance projects and other support services 
tailored to meet the needs of transit operators in nonurbanized 
areas.
    Additionally, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires a 
minimum of 15 percent of the amount awarded under the Buses and 
Bus Facilities Competitive Program to be awarded to projects 
located in rural areas. FTA exceeded that threshold in the most 
recently announced FY22 round, providing approximately 23 
percent of the funding to rural public transportation 
providers.
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also established a Ferry 
Service for Rural Communities Program (Rural Ferry Program) 
that makes approximately $200 million in competitive grants 
available annually to States to ensure basic essential ferry 
service is provided to rural areas. FTA published a Notice of 
Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Rural Ferry Program, along 
with FTA's two other ferry programs, on July 8, 2022. FTA 
conducted informational webinars for potential applicants, 
including a webinar focused on the rural ferry program and the 
Electric or Low Emitting Ferry Program on July 28, 2022. For 
the Buses and Bus Facilities and Low or No Emission grant 
programs, FTA conducted an informational webinar for rural and 
tribal applicants on March 30, 2022. In FY 2022, FTA awarded 
approximately $188M in funding to rural and tribal communities 
through the Bus and Bus Facilities and Low or No Emissions 
grant programs.
    FTA is increasing and enhancing the technical assistance it 
provides to rural and tribal transit providers. FTA's regional 
offices and technical assistance centers work directly with 
rural and tribal transit operators to help them address issues 
and improve the efficiency of their transit systems. FTA's 
technical assistance centers (TA Centers) also have created the 
Transportation Technical Assistance Coordination Library 
(TACL), which is an online library that helps rural transit 
agencies coordinate among federally funded transit programs and 
share resources across agencies to improve transit in their 
communities.
    FTA and its TA Centers and contractors work directly with 
Tribes to ensure they understand FTA's requirements for grant 
programs, and to provide targeted technical assistance to 
address specific needs of Tribes throughout the country. Along 
with these efforts, FTA plans to conduct consultations with 
tribal grantees to enhance communication and Government-to-
Government relationships. FTA works with the Office of the 
Secretary on the U.S. DOT's Rural Opportunities to Use 
Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative, which 
helps rural communities address their transportation 
challenges. Finally, FTA attends industry and tribal 
conferences to provide technical assistance to rural and tribal 
recipients.