    [Senate Hearing 119-310]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 119-310

                    HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF SEAN
                   MCMASTER TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
                   FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, JOHN
                   BUSTERUD TO BE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
                   FOR THE OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE OF THE
                   ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, AND
                   ADAM TELLE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
                   OF THE ARMY FOR CIVIL WORKS
    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                  MAY 14, 2025

                                   __________

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

      [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

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

                                    __________

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    62-951                    WASHINGTON : 2026
    =======================================================================

                   COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                        ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                 SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia, Chairman
                SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island, Ranking Member

    KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota           BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
    CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming           JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
    JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah                 EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
    LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina    MARK KELLY, Arizona
    DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 ALEX PADILLA, California
    PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska              ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
    ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi         LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
    JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               ANGELA D. ALSOBROOKS, Maryland
    JON HUSTED, Ohio

                   Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
                      Dan Dudis, Democratic Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                  MAY 14, 2025
                               OPENING STATEMENTS

    Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West
      Virginia.......................................................     1
    Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode
      Island.........................................................     3

                                   WITNESSES

    Hon. Hagerty, Bill, U.S. Senator, State of Tennessee.............     4
    Telle, Adam, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for
      Civil Works....................................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................     9
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Sullivan.........................................    16
            Senator Ricketts.........................................    18
            Senator Whitehouse.......................................    19
            Senator Padilla..........................................    23
            Senator Alsobrooks.......................................    25
    McMaster, Sean, Nominee to be Administrator of the Federal
      Highway Administration.........................................    26
        Prepared statement...........................................    28
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Sullivan.........................................    30
            Senator Whitehouse.......................................    30
            Senator Markey...........................................    31
            Senator Padilla..........................................    32
            Senator Alsobrooks.......................................    33
    Busterud, John, Nominee to be Assistant Administrator for the
      Office of Solid Waste of theEnvironmental Protection Agency....    35
        Prepared statement...........................................    37
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Sullivan.........................................    40
            Senator Padilla..........................................    41
            Senator Alsobrooks.......................................    41

                              ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

    Letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works,
      Statement for the Record of support for Adam Telle from Senator
      Britt..........................................................    66
    Letter in Support for Adam Telle to Senator Capito and Senator
      Whitehouse from Associated General Contractors of America......    78
    Letter in support for Sean McMaster to Senator Capito and Senator
      Whitehouse from:
        American Trucking Associations...............................    67
        Association of Equipment Manufacturers.......................    68
        American Association of State Highway and Transportation
          Officials..................................................    69
        American Cement Association..................................    71
        American Council of Engineering Companies....................    72
        Associated General Contractors of America....................    73
        American Road & Transportation Builders Association..........    74
        National Association of County Engineers.....................    75
        National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association...................    76
        Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association...............    77

    HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF SEAN MCMASTER TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
         FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, JOHN BUSTERUD TO BE ASSISTANT
       ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
    PROTECTION AGENCY, AND ADAM TELLE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
                                FOR CIVIL WORKS

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025

                                           U.S. Senate,
                     Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m. in
    room 562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Shelley Moore
    Capito (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Present: Senators Capito, Whitehouse, Cramer, Lummis,
    Sullivan, Ricketts, Wicker, Boozman, Husted, Markey, Kelly,
    Padilla, Blunt Rochester, Alsobrooks.

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

        Senator Capito. Everybody is bright and right on time, so I
    will call this hearing to order.
        This morning, we will hear from three of President Trump's
    important nominees. I want to first welcome Mr. Sean McMaster,
    President Trump's nominee to serve as Administrator of the
    Federal Highway Administration or better known as FHWA. FHWA is
    an operating administration within the U.S. Department of
    Transportation, responsible for providing technical support, we
    lean on them a lot, and funding to States and local entities.
        The funding provided by FHWA is critical to facilitating
    the design and construction of improvements to our surface
    transportation network. These improvements enable the safe and
    reliable movement of people and goods, which enhances our
    quality of life and supports economic growth.
        Mr. McMaster's relevant professional experience makes him
    well qualified to serve as Administrator. He brings more than
    10 years of government service, working in the U.S. House of
    Representatives and at Federal agencies, including the U.S.
    Department of Transportation.
        Since mid-2020, Mr. McMaster has worked for two private
    sector transportation companies. First, he served as a National
    Practice Consultant and Vice President at Transportation
    Infrastructure Design Firm, HNTB, and most recently, he served
    as the Vice President for Commercial Aviation and
    Transportation at The Boeing Company.
        One challenge that the FHWA Administrator must quickly
    tackle is the significant backlog of announced grants that do
    not have signed grant agreements in place. This inherited
    workload will require diligence and collaboration to resolve. I
    am hopeful that if Mr. McMaster is confirmed, his experience
    and leadership at FHWA will accelerate that process.
        This Committee also looks forward to working with FHWA and
    others on the long-term, bipartisan surface transportation
    reauthorization bill.
        Next, I want to welcome Mr. John Busterud, President
    Trump's nominee to lead the EPA's Office of Land and Emergency
    Management, better known as OLEM. Mr. Busterud's exceptional
    experience has prepared him to lead OLEM and tackle some of our
    Nation's most pressing environmental challenges.
        Following a 31-year environmental legal career, he served
    as Regional Administrator of the EPA's Pacific Southwest
    Region. Mr. Busterud also served our Country with distinction
    as an officer in the U.S. Army, deploying many times, and
    retiring as a decorated Colonel after 23 years of service.
        OLEM's statutory responsibilities place it at the center of
    EPA's core mission: protecting our air, land, and water. If
    confirmed, Mr. Busterud will oversee programs that directly
    impact Americans' health and the environment, such as
    remediating PFAS contamination, cleaning up Superfund sites,
    and revitalizing brownfields.
        Addressing PFAS contamination, which affects communities in
    my State of West Virginia and across this Country, is a
    priority of mine. The EPA recently announced an agency-wide
    PFAS strategy and OLEM will play a major role in ensuring its
    success.
        OLEM is also responsible for cleaning up Superfund sites,
    which are some of the Nation's most contaminated sites. This
    Committee recently heard about the challenges with cleaning up
    Superfund sites and there is bipartisan support to improve the
    program's efficiency. I look forward to working with Mr.
    Busterud to implement key reforms to ensure faster and more
    cost-effective Superfund cleanups.
        Finally, I want to welcome Mr. Adam Telle, President
    Trump's nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
    Civil Works. Mr. Telle is well suited to lead the Army Corps of
    Engineers' Civil Works program based on his two decades of
    public service in the U.S. Senate, including as my clerk for
    the Homeland Security Subcommittee and as a Special Assistant
    to the President in the first Trump Administration.
        Mr. Telle has seen first-hand how the Army Corps' response
    to natural disasters can help communities withstand significant
    weather events and then recover from them.
        The Army Corps does critical work across the Nation through
    its navigation, flood risk management, and ecosystem
    restoration missions. This work protects the lives and
    livelihoods of millions of Americans and facilitates commerce
    throughout our Country and internationally.
        If confirmed, Mr. Telle will also play an integral role in
    implementing biennial water resources development legislation,
    better known to all of us on committee as Water Resources
    Development Act, WRDA. WRDA authorizes numerous feasibility
    studies and projects, and directs the Army Corps to carry out
    various activities to address our Nation's water resources
    needs.
        I look forward to working with Mr. Telle to ensure the
    timely implementation of these laws consistent with
    congressional intent.
        I look forward to hearing from all the nominees this
    morning about their experiences and the issues that they will
    prioritize if confirmed to lead these agencies.
        With that, I recognize Ranking Member Whitehouse for his
    opening statement.

             OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE,
              U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

        Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Chair Capito. We are here
    today to entertain nominations for top posts at the Federal
    Highway Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA
    Office that administers the Brownfields and Superfund programs.
    Those responsibilities are particularly relevant to three major
    pieces of committee legislation that I hope we can pass this
    Congress: WRDA reauthorization, Surface Transportation
    reauthorization, and comprehensive permitting reform.
        I believe Chair Capito and I can continue the good
    bipartisan work this committee is known for in areas for which
    these three nominees will have direct executive responsibility.
        Here is the rub. None of these bipartisan bills will matter
    if Congress' Article I authorization and appropriation power is
    not respected. This administration has repeatedly, unlawfully
    disrespected congressionally authorized and appropriated
    spending. I am happy to see that DOT appears to be making
    progress obligating money to previously awarded discretionary
    grants. I thank the Chair for her diligent pursuit of that
    progress as well.
        However, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
    Program remains paused and stuck in limbo. At the Army Corps,
    erratic, inconsistent and opaque administration of its Clean
    Water Act permitting program creates uncertainty for the
    regulated community at large, and for renewable energy project
    developers in particular, undermining core principles of
    fairness and neutrality in the Corps' permitting program.
        I have called to restore integrity and transparency to the
    Corps' permitting program and to evaluate each permit action on
    its own merits in accordance with law and regulation, with no
    response. EPA, where even to begin? Administrator Zeldin
    continues his assault on clean air and clean water despite his
    promises to us in this committee to protect air and water.
        His list of congressionally authorized and appropriated
    funding that EPA insists on continuing to hold hostage is too
    long to list here today. Obviously, the biggest target is the
    Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, where Administrator Zeldin and
    his enablers at DOJ continue to set themselves up for legal and
    professional liability in the way they conduct their assault on
    that program.
        I have told my team to start work on common sense
    bipartisan legislation in all three areas. The gateway to
    success to ultimately passing those bills is confidence that
    this administration will faithfully execute the laws we pass
    and clear the projects we have already approved, appropriated,
    and obligated. It will not work in permitting reform, for
    instance, to exclude wind and solar from the very definition of
    the word energy, violating not just the law but the dictionary.
        I should add in closing that we are also now faced with an
    effort to use the congressional Review Act to disapprove three
    Clean Air Act waivers granted by EPA to the State of California
    that have existed for many years, even though the
    Parliamentarian has already ruled that these waivers are not
    rules, as required for the Community Reinvestment Act, CRA. A
    decision to overrule her on this matter to deploy the nuclear
    option will have real consequences.
        The misuse of the CRA to undo long ago past policies adding
    to the nuclear option of overruling the Parliamentarian opens
    up an immense can of worms, and the Senate floor will not be
    the same if this is where we go. Overruling the Parliamentarian
    is tantamount to eliminating the filibuster, said Leader Thune
    himself in January.
        There are many avenues for the minority to respond to such
    a disruption of Senate tradition. Simply count how often the
    presiding officer says ``without objection'' on any given day
    to understand what the response could be to such a disruption.
    If this is the path Republicans want to go down, go down it at
    least with eyes wide open.
        Also, on the merits, know that climate change is not a
    hoax, that its damage has already begun in homeowners'
    insurance markets around the Country, that the insurance to
    mortgage, to property values collapse can not be stopped by
    rhetoric, and that the sand is fast running through the
    hourglass to head off that economic calamity.
        Thank you, Chairman.
        Senator Capito. Thank you, Senator Whitehouse.
        We will now turn to introductions for the nominees. This
    morning we are joined by our friend from Tennessee, Senator
    Hagerty. Thank you for being here, and please proceed with your
    introductory remarks.
        Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Chairman Capito, and thank you,
    Ranking Member Whitehouse, for holding today's hearing.
        It is my distinct honor to introduce my good friend and my
    chief of staff, Adam Telle, who is President Trump's nominee
    for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Before I
    introduce Adam, I would like to actually address all the staff
    that sit behind you. I want you to look at Adam, somebody who
    has been here serving as you do in the U.S. Senate for the past
    20 years.
        He has made a real impact working here in the Senate, as I
    am sure all of you do, working night and day and over the
    weekends, as I am sure all of you do as well. Now he is going
    to take that knowledge, that expertise, that experience, and
    move on to do even greater things.
        I hope you take Adam's nomination today as a great
    inspiration for what you yourself might do. I will encourage
    you in that regard.
        I also would take the privilege of suggesting that Senator
    Capito probably shares the same sort of pride that I do in
    seeing Adam's progress. Adam worked for you, you helped train
    him to become the person that he is today.
        As you all know, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
    Civil Works provides leadership that is essential for the
    Department of Defense and for our Nation, especially the
    American citizens and American businesses who depend on the
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is tasked to maintain
    13,000 miles of coastal navigation channels, 12,000 miles of
    inland waterways, over 1,000 harbors, 745 dams, just to name a
    few of the Corps' responsibilities.
        As a native of Northport, Alabama, who graduated with
    honors in computer science and communication from Mississippi
    State University's Bagley College of Engineering, Adam has
    lived in places where the mission of the Army Corps is at the
    forefront of public life. Adam can directly relate to the
    people who depend on the Corps, and he knows first-hand why the
    work of the Corps matters.
        Adam has also served in the U.S. Government faithfully and
    with distinction for the past two decades. After beginning his
    Senate career in the office of Senator Richard Shelby of
    Alabama in 2005, Adam spent 10 years in the office of the late
    Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, earning the roles of
    Deputy Chief of Staff, and Legislative Director. Adam then
    served as the lead staffer on the Homeland Security
    Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, serving
    under the chairmanship of Senators Thad Cochran, Richard
    Shelby, John Boozman, and of course, our chairman, Shelley
    Moore Capito.
        In this role, Adam was the point person in the Senate for
    the U.S. Government's activities involving nearly 20 agencies,
    260,000 personnel, and an annual budget of approximately $70
    billion. During President Trump's first term, Adam led the
    Senate team at the White House's Office of Legislative Affairs
    where he managed national security and appropriations matters.
        He played critical roles in the negotiations for the
    historic Abraham accords, and the creation of the U.S. Space
    Force, which is the first new branch of the U.S. military
    created and authorized in more than 70 years.
        Over the last 4 years I have had the privilege of watching
    Adam in action on a daily basis, particularly as my chief of
    staff. Adam's leadership is evident not just in his strategic
    vision and passion for our Nation, but also in the ways in
    which he is trusted by staff and by other colleagues. The
    kindness, the mentoring and the heart that he demonstrates with
    his teams will make him an inspirational leader of this
    critical organization.
        Adam is just the leader that our Nation needs in the
    Pentagon right now. I urge the committee to move quickly in
    consideration of Adam Telle's nomination so he can assume the
    leadership in this important work as soon as possible.
        I want to thank all of you for your time this morning.
        Senator Capito. Thank you very much. That was a wonderful
    introduction.
        I will now ask the nominees to move up to the witness table
    when Senator Hagerty clears. You can remain standing for a
    minute.
        Before we move to opening statements, I would like to
    administer the oath for the sworn testimony. If you would
    please stand and raise your right hand and answer the following
    question. Do you swear the testimony you are about to give to
    this committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
    the truth, so help you God? We will start with you, Adam.
        Mr. Telle. Yes, I do.
        Mr. McMaster. Yes.
        Mr. Busterud. Yes.
        Senator Capito. Thank you. Let the record show that the
    witnesses have answered in the affirmative. We will now proceed
    to our opening statements, and thank you, gentlemen, for being
    here.
        Mr. Telle, you can begin.

     STATEMENT OF ADAM TELLE, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
                        THE ARMY FOR CIVIL WORKS

        Mr. Telle. Thank you Chairman Capito, Ranking Member
    Whitehouse, members of the Committee, and the staff of the
    Environment and Public Works Committee. It is an honor to have
    been nominated by President Trump to serve as the 14th
    Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
        I want to begin by thanking President Trump, whom I was
    honored to serve during his first administration. In addition,
    I would like to thank Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Driscoll, my
    family, my wife Shelby, my two beautiful children, who are here
    in the back, my mother Rita and my father Whitney.
        I would also like to thank the U.S. Senators, with whom I
    have worked the closest over the last 20 years: Chairman
    Capito, Senator Wicker, Senator Boozman, Senator Richard
    Shelby, Senator Thad Cochran, and finally, Senator Bill
    Hagerty, whom I have had the privilege to serve over the last 4
    years since he came to the Senate.
        Senator Hagerty, you have given me such incredible
    perspective during our time together, and I am so fortunate to
    have had a front row seat as you brought that same fresh
    perspective to the Senate. Thank you.
        In 1802, as President Thomas Jefferson was contemplating
    how to expand our Nation westward, he keenly understood that
    our waterways would be the key. To harness the power of these
    waterways, he turned to the U.S. Military Academy at West
    Point, which was producing America's best engineers. We would
    no longer rely on European engineers. The original navigation
    mission of the Army Corps of Engineers was born.
        The America we know today, from sea to shining sea, is a
    result of the work of the Corps. Over time, Congress has given
    the Corps additional missions, primarily flood control and the
    preservation of natural resources. These missions are also
    important to our current President.
        Some of my earliest memories as a young child are of riding
    with my father, him pointing out the window as we were crossing
    some of our waterways: the Black Warrior River, the Tennessee-
    Tombigbee Waterway, the Mississippi River. He was always
    teaching, and he would turn my attention to the little tug
    boats pushing the big barges, brimming with natural resources,
    opening access from the small communities in our neck of the
    woods to the rest of the Country and to the world.
        Twenty years later I moved to Washington because I believed
    that I could make a difference, helping to represent the views
    and interests of the Americans I grew up with, who often felt
    ignored or forgotten by important people in Washington.
        On August 29th, 2005, exactly 1 month into my time working
    in the Senate, Hurricane Katrina made landfall. This was the
    most costly natural disaster in American history. I stayed up
    all night that night, I could not go to sleep, watching Katrina
    come ashore. A 28-foot storm surge, 1,800 American lives lost,
    and hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.
        Pretty soon, Senator Thad Cochran asked me to run point on
    Mississippi's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. My years of
    experience securing resources and untangling bureaucratic
    messes in the wake of Katrina prepared me for my role as the
    top Homeland Security staffer on the Senate Appropriations
    Committee, where I was also given the top role, working for
    Chairman Capito and Boozman, and advising all Senate
    Republicans on disaster recovery and response.
        These formative experiences as a child and as a young
    professional are emblematic of why my personal background and
    passion match the depth and the breadth of the missions of the
    Corps of Engineers civil works' mission: enabling commerce,
    mitigating floods, responding to disasters, and most recently
    removing debris in the wake of Hurricane Helene, and in
    response to the Los Angeles wildfires.'
        Few government agencies' missions capture the interests of
    American citizens, landowners, communities, States, job
    creators and their representatives here in Washington quite
    like this one. These are real missions, with real outcomes, and
    they matter deeply to Americans in places that are very far
    away from Washington decision maker.
        If confirmed, I intend to aggressively tackle the critical
    issues that confront the Corps. As it relates to permitting, we
    are at a moment in history where all Americans of all
    viewpoints crave certainty from their government about whether
    or not the rules apply to them. We must act with haste,
    transparency, and clarity to give them regulatory certainty
    without delay.
        As I mentioned, navigation was the original mission of the
    Corps. Today, maintenance and construction of our coastal ports
    and inland waterways will help define how competitive we are
    and how resilient we are in the 21st Century.
        With regard to flood control, we must work together to
    maintain the investments that you have made and complete new
    projects as soon as humanly possible to mitigate floods before
    they happen and to fight them when we must.
        When it comes to coordination, issues related to water are
    spread across Federal entities and authorities, perhaps like no
    other. Getting it right for the American public will require an
    outsized focus on coordination among the dozens of entities
    across the government that deal with water. If confirmed, I
    will devote significant attention to collaboration and
    coordination across these partner agencies.
        I am honored to be before you. If I have the honor of being
    confirmed by the Senate, I commit to be responsive to our
    Nation's politically accountable leaders, the President, the
    members of this committee, the members of the Senate, and the
    members of the House of Representatives.
        Thank you, Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Whitehouse, and
    members of the Committee. I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Telle follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Capito. Thank you.
        Before I go to Mr. McMaster, could your family stand up so
    we can see them? I know your kids are little. Are they back
    there?
        Mr. Telle. They are currently in the hall, I am told.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Capito. They are in the hall. You have them really
    well trained.
        Okay, our next nominee is Mr. Sean McMaster. Mr. McMaster
    is President Trump's nominee to lead a critical agency, the
    Federal Highway Administration. Welcome, Mr. McMaster.

       STATEMENT OF SEAN MCMASTER, NOMINEE TO BE ADMINISTRATOR,
          FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
                             TRANSPORTATION

        Mr. McMaster. Thank you. Chairman Capito, Ranking Member
    Whitehouse, and members of the Committee, thank you for the
    opportunity to appear before you today as you consider my
    nomination for FHWA.
        I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Duffy for
    the opportunity to serve in this position. If confirmed, I look
    forward to working with you to achieve the President's and the
    Secretary's vision of building big, beautiful American
    infrastructure.
        With me today is my amazing wife Brittany and two of my
    three children, Grady and Emerson. I would also like to mention
    my oldest son Connor who could not be here today. He is a newly
    minted Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps serving
    our Country as an air traffic controller in California.
        Without their tireless support and understanding the
    commitment required to serve in the Federal Government would
    not be possible.
        We must work to build and restore the beautiful roads,
    bridges, and tunnels across the Nation. The Federal High Way
    Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory data shows that
    more than 83,000 out of 147,000 bridges on the National Highway
    System are in fair or poor condition. While we have made
    progress advancing these priorities, the current State of our
    critical infrastructure must further be improved.
        If I am confirmed, I will work tirelessly to support the
    Secretary's efforts to manage this challenge. This work, and
    all work under my leadership, if confirmed, will be guided by
    my top priority, and the top priority of the Department,
    safety.
        As the transportation industry is painfully aware, delays
    in project delivery can delay safety enhancements and drive up
    project costs. Data from FHWA's National Highway Construction
    Cost Index shows that transportation construction costs have
    increased by 67 percent over the last 3 years reported, from
    2021 to 2024.
        I saw first-hand these impacts to cost, schedule and
    delivery of essential infrastructure projects during my time at
    HNTB working directly with State and local leaders as they were
    challenged to identify and attain Federal funding in time to
    support their critical transportation infrastructure needs.
        It is essential that we build projects more quickly and
    efficiently. We must further streamline project delivery,
    including the permitting process.
        If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Secretary
    and Congress on ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs so
    more of the funds being invested in our infrastructure will go
    to building the infrastructure.
        I know from experience that this is achievable. While I
    served at the Department of Transportation during the first
    Trump Administration, the I-85 bridge in Atlanta reopened less
    than 7 weeks after a fire caused its devastating collapse in
    March 2017.
        Thanks to Emergency Relief funds from FHWA, the bridge was
    quickly rebuilt using innovative components and state-of-the-
    art concrete. Significantly, the bridge reopened ahead of
    schedule--demonstrating that time and cost savings are
    attainable.
        This is an important moment for FHWA. In addition to its
    ongoing work, FHWA must also look forward as the current
    surface transportation authorization, the Infrastructure
    Investment and Jobs Act, is set to expire at the end of
    September 2026.
        Surface reauthorization is vital for maintaining and
    enhancing the safety of our Nation's roads, bridges and
    tunnels. It provides U.S. transportation infrastructure with
    policy direction and consistent multi-year funding.
        While I served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department,
    I was fortunate to lead the development of its surface
    reauthorization proposal that included FHWA. Through this work,
    I met with key stakeholders to understand the needs and impacts
    of the reauthorization on our States and local communities.
        This Committee has already started its critical work on
    surface transportation reauthorization, and Secretary Duffy
    appeared before this Committee last month to discuss these
    efforts. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the
    Secretary and Congress throughout the reauthorization process
    so that we can realize a golden age of transportation.
        As the Administration and Congress embark on this
    transformation through the accelerated deployment of critical
    projects, further reductions in red tape, common-sense
    solutions for infrastructure needs, and reauthorization
    legislation, it is critically important that we fully
    understand the unique challenges affecting States throughout
    the Country.
        Through meetings with State and local transportation
    leaders during my time at the Department and at HNTB, it is
    clear that states have a unique understanding of their specific
    needs. FHWA maintains strong partnerships with States
    nationwide. If confirmed, I will continue to support those
    critical partnerships and work to ensure that States receive
    consistent guidance and support from FHWA.
        Thank you for your consideration. I would be happy to
    answer any questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. McMaster follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. McMaster.
        Our final nominee this morning is Mr. John Busterud. Mr.
    Busterud is President Trump's nominee to lead the EPA's Office
    of Land and Emergency Management. If confirmed, Mr. Busterud
    will oversee vital programs like the Superfund and Brownfields
    to ensure efficient and effective management of our Nation's
    land and waste issues.
        Welcome.

        STATEMENT OF JOHN W. BUSTERUD, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT
          ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE OF THE
                    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

        Mr. Busterud. Thank you, Chairman Capito, Ranking Member
    Whitehouse, and all the distinguished members of this
    Committee. It has been a privilege to meet with you and your
    staff to learn about the issues of highest concern to you. I
    intend to work with all of you to ensure that we protect human
    health and the environment for all Americans.
        I humbly appear before you nominated to serve as EPA's
    Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency
    Management. I am grateful to President Trump and Administrator
    Zeldin for giving me the opportunity to lead the men and women
    of OLEM.
        If confirmed, I look forward to working with our dedicated
    career staff, States, communities, and stakeholders to ensure
    OLEM fulfills its core statutory mission to clean up historic
    sites, prevent releases, and respond with urgency and
    compassion when emergencies arise. In this way, OLEM provides
    an essential connection between environmental protection and
    economic prosperity, a linchpin of this Administration.
        This morning, I am accompanied by my wife Gretchen, herself
    a retired EPA attorney and a great source of inspiration and
    support. Our grown children, Becky and Tommy, are here in
    spirit.
        I come to you with a background of commitment to public
    service and environmental protection. Growing up in northern
    California, I was profoundly influenced by my father, also John
    Busterud, who served in the California Legislature and later as
    Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality under
    President Ford. Environmental issues were often front and
    center at the dinner table and took precedence over partisan
    politics, at least as far as I can remember.
        After law school I chose to practice environmental law,
    representing businesses who saw environmental compliance and
    leadership as essential business functions, valuable to their
    customers, employees, and shareholders. In that role, I worked
    with State and Federal regulatory agencies, advocacy
    organizations, communities, and our State legislature to
    support policies that sought to balance environmental
    protection with a sustainable business climate in California.
        After retiring from corporate practice, I served on the
    board of the California Council for Environmental and Economic
    Balance, a public policy organization with members from Fortune
    500 companies and labor unions. CCEEB works to find common-
    sense, bi-partisan solutions to emerging environmental issues.
        I was also privileged to serve our Country as an officer in
    the Army Reserve, deploying to Iraq in support of Operation
    Iraqi Freedom and Djibouti in support of Operation Enduring
    Freedom, and retiring as a Colonel in 2014.
        In Baghdad, I had the unique opportunity to advise the
    Iraqi Minister of Environment as she developed Iraq's first
    environmental regulatory programs. This service not only
    provided some of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,
    but taught me that the rule of law is central to peace,
    prosperity, and environmental protection.
        In the first Trump Administration, I was honored to serve
    as Regional Administrator of EPA Region 9. As RA, I worked with
    600 dedicated career staff and Administrator Wheeler to protect
    human health and the environment for 50 million Americans in
    California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, 148 tribes and the Pacific
    Territorial Islands. My experience in Region 9 was one of the
    highlights of my career and I am looking forward to working
    again with all our regions to support the offices that are
    truly the face of EPA across our Nation.
        If confirmed, I will be responsible for implementing some
    of the most forward-facing programs in EPA. As much as any
    other Office at the agency, OLEM affects Main Street America in
    many tangible and beneficial ways. The Superfund program, both
    at civilian and Federal facilities, remediates sites to provide
    essential protections for land and groundwater. The popular
    Brownfields program literally addresses environmental
    conditions on main streets across our Country, restoring urban
    lands to productive use.
        Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA, and
    underground tank programs ensure that we do not create future
    Superfund sites by preventing releases of hazardous materials
    from currently operating facilities. The Office of Mountains,
    Deserts, and Plains uses a cross-media, cross-agency approach
    to address abandoned hard rock mines. Finally, the Office of
    Emergency Management works alongside other Federal agencies,
    States, cities and communities to plan for and respond to
    emergencies.
        Through these programs, OLEM has the opportunity to provide
    essential human health and environmental protections for all
    Americans and do so in a non-partisan, common-sense manner that
    promotes our great American comeback.
        I look forward to working with all of you to fulfill this
    mission. Thank you, Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Whitehouse,
    and all the members of this Committee. I look forward to
    answering your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Busterud follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Capito. Thank you all very much. I appreciate that.
        Before we begin with questioning from each member, there
    are three standing yes or no questions that I will ask all of
    the three of you if you could just respond.
        Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this committee
    or designated members of this committee and other appropriate
    committees of this Congress to provide information subject to
    appropriate and necessary security protections with respect to
    your responsibilities?
        Mr. Telle. Yes.
        Mr. McMaster. Yes.
        Mr. Busterud. Yes.
        Senator Capito. Thank you. Do you agree to ensure that
    testimony, briefings, documents, and electronic and other forms
    of communication of information provided to this committee and
    its staff and other appropriate committees in a timely manner?
        Mr. Telle. Yes, Senator.
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator.
        Mr. Busterud. Yes, Chairman.
        Senator Capito. Thank you.
        Finally, do you know of any matters which you may or may
    not have disclosed that may place you in a conflict of interest
    if you are confirmed?
        Mr. Telle. No.
        Mr. McMaster. No.
        Mr. Busterud. No.
        Senator Capito. Great, thank you.
        Okay, I am going to start my round of questions, and I am
    going to start with Mr. McMaster. You mentioned bridges, and I
    think you and I talked about bridges when we had our meeting in
    the office. I appreciate all of you for coming to visit. Our
    geography requires us to have a lot of those bridges.
        We need a strong Federal partner in the FHWA. It is
    critical to our success. A lot of progress was made and is
    being made with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,
    IIJA. Are there any policy and funding proposals that we should
    consider including in the next reauthorization, which we are
    beginning work on, to further address regionally significant or
    bridge projects?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, I appreciate the question. I
    know you have been a champion for bridges. For the Federal
    Highway Administration, bridge safety is a paramount importance
    issue. It is critical to the safety of our traveling public; it
    is critical to our supply chain. As we look to support
    reauthorization, there is work still yet to be done. Tremendous
    progress over the last few years, when I served at HNTB I was
    fortunate to work in support of the Brent Spence Bridge, which
    after 20 years is now finally realizing development.
        I look forward to supporting you if I am confirmed. I know
    it is of paramount importance for the Federal Highway
    Administration and I look forward, if confirmed, to supporting
    your efforts through authorization to identify additional ways
    we can accelerate the maintenance and enhancement of our
    Nation's bridges on the highway system.
        Senator Capito. Thank you.
        Mr. Busterud, addressing PFAS is a top environmental
    priority that I share with Administrator Zeldin, and I think
    they are making some announcements today. I was pleased to see
    the EPA release an agency-wide plan setting bold goals to
    tackle this crisis.
        If confirmed, you will be responsible for leading OLEM's
    major role in this strategy, from updating PFAS destruction
    guidance to enforcing the polluter pays principle. How would
    you lead in this way, and help us tackle this very difficult
    and far-ranging problem of PFAS contamination?
        Mr. Busterud. Thank you, Chairman. PFAS is a high priority
    issue for EPA, and the Administrator on April 28th as you noted
    announced a suite of programs basically taking a whole of EPA
    approach to addressing PFAS across its major program offices.
        As you noted, and as we discussed in our conversation in
    your office, OLEM will play an important role to increase the
    frequency of guidance we give on PFAS destruction. It has been
    every 3 years. We are going to commit to providing those
    updates on an annual basis, and there was great interest in
    that.
        OLEM will also look at and examine its RCRA authorities to
    prevent releases of PFAS from manufacturing facilities and
    other facilities which use PFAS. You mentioned the polluter
    pays issue, and I support that entirely. We will continue with
    that approach.
        The notion of passive receiver, the issue of passive
    receiver is very important to a number of Senators on your
    committee and others. That is an issue that if confirmed, I
    pledge to work with our dedicated career staff and to look at
    ways in which we can avoid a situation in which customers of
    water utilities would be forced to pay for contamination they
    didn't put in the water to begin with. I look forward to
    working with your committee on that.
        Senator Capito. Great. Thank you.
        Mr. Telle, we had a hearing on Corps of Engineers and the
    implementation of some of their programs. This is a daunting
    challenge, I think, to step into the position that you are in,
    because the slowness and the sluggishness of some of the work
    that we know is critical is, I think, universally felt by all
    of us.
        This goes to the fact that the Army Corps is actively
    working on nearly 100 ongoing feasibility studies and general
    reevaluation reports. These will result in projects later on,
    as you know, and authorizations and appropriations.
        How will you ensure that projects and other activities are
    appropriately prioritized in work plans, and balance the
    competing water resources in the Country?
        Mr. Telle. Chairman Capito, you have identified the
    fundamental issue as it relates to this nomination, which is
    this is a complex and exhaustive set of challenges. The demand
    for the Corps' work is greater than the supply. The Congress is
    incredibly interested in the projects and work of the Corps of
    Engineers, as you have identified.
        The core principle, and when it comes to prioritization in
    a constrained budget environment is to follow the law. The law
    says that the Corps' primary missions are navigation, enabling
    commerce on America's waterways, flood mitigation and control,
    and aquatic ecosystem restoration.
        Those have to be the primary beacons when it comes to
    prioritization, examining how the projects meet those missions
    as the Congress has laid them out, setting priorities on the
    basis of benefits versus costs, life and safety and other
    factors that ultimately will play into all these decisions. It
    is a complicated one.
        Senator Capito. Thank you. Senator Whitehouse?
        Senator Whitehouse. Thanks, Chairman.
        Mr. McMaster, the Chair and I both intend to deliver to you
    a robust, bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization, as
    we discussed in my office. In order for that to happen, we need
    assurances that whatever bipartisan legislation we write and
    get enacted into law will be implemented by the executive
    branch in a faithful and unbiased say. In particular, we need
    to clear the illegal funding freezes that have jammed up so
    many already appropriated projects.
        Will you commit to implementing any and all authorized
    programs in a faithful and unbiased manner?
        Mr. McMaster. Senator, I appreciate your comment and your
    question. It is an important one. I give you my full
    commitment, if I am confirmed, to implement the law with the
    intent of Congress.
        Senator Whitehouse. You understand how it would be hard for
    the minority to agree to a bipartisan bill if the upshot of
    that agreement was that only the majority's parts of the bill
    were actually implemented, and everything that we wanted got
    binned by the executive branch?
        Mr. McMaster. Senator, I appreciate your comments. I think
    as the Secretary pointed out, infrastructure is not partisan.
    You have my full commitment to implement the law in accordance
    with the intent of Congress.
        Senator Whitehouse. Thank you.
        Mr. Telle, I have referred to the Army Corps of Engineers
    as a bureaucratic tributary of the Mississippi River. That is a
    rhetorical point that I make to highlight the extent to which
    the Army Corps appears to favor inland over coastal flooding
    projects.
        We have looked back at the Inland and Coastal Flooding
    Account at the Army Corps, and its best year was $20 for inland
    for every $1 for coastal flooding. That was our best year as
    coastal States. Worst year was $100 for inland flooding for
    every $1 for coastal flooding.
        Rhode Island's sea level is up about 11 inches. That is not
    a debatable proposition. You measure that the same way you
    measure the height of your kid on the doorway. It is really
    simple; it is inches and rulers.
        We have real coastal flooding issues. I would like your
    assurance that you will take these inland versus coastal
    concerns seriously as coastal flooding becomes more and more of
    a danger for coastal communities.
        Mr. Telle. Senator Whitehouse, thank you for raising this
    issue. I look forward to and am eager to, if confirmed, to make
    sure we have our hands around this data and understand it. I
    think historically the riverine flooding has been easier to
    predict perhaps than the locations of coastal flooding, but
    that does not mean we should not invest as much as, a greater
    amount in coastal flooding. This is obviously an issue that has
    been near and dear to my heart, working on hurricane recovery
    my entire career, as well as the inland flooding, riverine
    flooding.
        I would just say, I think you are right, as we work to
    justify and prioritize, as Chairman Capito mentioned, the
    projects that are of the greatest benefit to the public, we
    have to be able to consider things that have in the past been
    unpredictable and try to predict them more accurately.
        Thank you, Senator.
        Senator Whitehouse. Yes. I would also add that Federal
    Emergency Management Agency, FEMA's, mapping has been such a
    flagrant disaster that States like mine have had to do their
    own flood mapping, because FEMA's mapping simply wasn't worthy
    of belief. You do not have to look much beyond FEMA's flood
    mapping of the Houston area versus the actual flooding,
    repeated flooding, in the Houston area, which is a really big
    area in the last decade, to see how bad FEMA's mapping has
    been.
        Part of the problem is to fix the mapping as well as to fix
    the priorities. I look forward to working with you on that.
        Mr. Telle. Senator, if I may, really quickly, this is an
    issue I have worked on in the past and would say there is a
    great deal of frustration in the public around FEMA's mapping
    programs. It is not something that I will be in charge of if
    confirmed, but certainly something I will work on.
        Senator Whitehouse. To the extent you want to rely on them,
    you need to go in eyes wide open that they are a failure.
        Mr. Telle. One of the frustrations that the public has had
    about FEMA's maps is it does not adequately consider flash
    flooding, rainstorms. It only considers storm surges in many
    cases, and it does not adequately consider flood control
    infrastructure. These are issues that have to be addressed in
    order to give the public confidence in the government's
    product.
        Senator Whitehouse. I would also like to work with you and
    the Chairman on a priorities list where committee members who
    feel that a project has gotten lost in the Army Corps'
    bureaucracy can get a regular scheduled briefing from the Army
    Corps where we put our projects on that list and you know that
    those projects are on that list and you are going to have to
    come in and report to us on them on a regular basis, so that
    projects that are important to members of this committee get
    the attention that they deserve.
        Mr. Telle. Senator, when Congress passes a law and the
    President signs it, there is some expectation that it be
    followed. I look forward to working with you on that.
        Senator Whitehouse. Good. Well, this is an issue where the
    Chair and I are going to need to work together and agree. We
    would certainly urge that senior Army Corps folks turn up for
    those briefings on those projects once we have sorted out what
    that looks like.
        Senator Capito. I would add, just the second question that
    I asked you all, with timely responses back, there is nothing
    more frustrating, no matter who is in charge, to not get an
    answer. That happens, and it is very frustrating.
        We will go to Senator Ricketts.
        Senator Ricketts. Thank you, Chairman Capito and Ranking
    Member Whitehouse, for holding the hearing today. Welcome to
    all of our nominees, congratulations.
        I chair the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife,
    and sit on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I
    look forward to learning from each of you how you plan to serve
    Nebraskans and Americans in your new roles should you be
    confirmed.
        The Endangered Species Act, ESA, is a law that impacts each
    one of you as nominees. Mr. McMaster, you and I shared, I
    shared with you my concerns about the American Burrowing
    Beetle, and its impacts on infrastructure. Mr. Telle, you heard
    about the piping plover and the pallid sturgeon and its impacts
    on the Missouri River and the Platte River. Then Mr. Busterud,
    you are no stranger to National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA,
    compliance.
        I would like each one of the nominees to talk a little bit
    about how you plan to implement the ESA in a way that promotes
    species protection and recovery but is not prohibitive to the
    work in your respective offices. Mr. Telle, may we start with
    you?
        Mr. Telle. Senator, thank you for the question. I detected
    a bit of frustration from you and I have detected it from the
    public over my time working here in the Senate about when the
    law is applied on the basis of, or decisions are made within
    the government on the basis of something that the government
    did before. I think that is the case here, with the species you
    are talking about, where the government's work actually
    increased the habitat and then created a problem where before
    it didn't exist.
        We have to be better at predicting these things and having
    a comprehensive management plan that looks at second and third
    order effects of the government's work and gets it right, and
    when we do not get it right, correct it as quickly as possible
    instead of ignoring the problem.
        Thank you, Senator.
        Mr. McMaster. Thank you, Senator, I appreciated the
    conversation the other day. I will say the Administration has a
    strong process, a robust process and a way to find ways to
    expedite project delivery, but at the same time respect and
    conserve the environment in that process.
        If I am confirmed, I look forward to learning more from you
    on these specific issues you raised in person, working closely
    with the Federal Highway Administration in partnership with the
    State to make sure that those environmental challenges are
    conserved, maintained, and respected while we look to move
    projects forward quicker, faster, and better for the benefit of
    the State and the Country. Thank you.
        Mr. Busterud. Senator, based on my environmental legal
    experience, and I would bring that to bear here with EPA, I
    believe that early consultation and engagement on endangered
    species issues in the planning phase before shovels even go in
    the ground is essential in terms of planning out an expedited
    schedule that is not impaired by the presence of either
    critical habitat or listed species.
        Senator Ricketts. Great. Thank you.
        Under Chairman Capito's leadership, we are beginning to
    work on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, and
    are focused on improving efficiency in the system. I have heard
    from Nebraskans that one reason projects are significantly
    slowed is that too many agencies are required to take action to
    approve a single project. Often these approvals are being done
    consecutively instead of concurrently, adding unnecessary
    delays to project implementation.
        Mr. McMaster, how important is streamlining processes to
    deliver on timely project delivery and what can Congress do to
    help?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, I appreciate that question. It
    is a tremendous priority of this administration to find ways to
    move projects faster, better and more cost effectively. I will
    say this tremendous backlog, the historic backlog of grant
    awards that are awaiting grant agreements, it in no small way
    is a tremendous priority that needs to be addressed. Over the
    last couple of weeks we have seen two different tranches of
    backed awards totaling more than $5 billion in this effort.
        The Secretary is also interested in reducing the regulatory
    burden on these awards and future awards, so that when we say
    we want to build, we are able to build and we are able to build
    more cost effectively. In addition, the administration is
    looking at updating its guidance on NEPA and then looking for
    additional streamlining provisions.
        If confirmed, I look forward to working closely with you
    and the Congress as you engage in your efforts to reauthorize
    the Surface Transportation programs.
        Senator Ricketts. I am running out of time here, but Mr.
    Telle, obviously as Governor I sat through a 500-year flood in
    Nebraska in 2019. Can you tell us how you can work with sister
    agencies like Fish and Wildlife to ensure the management of the
    Missouri River Basin to prioritize people and property to make
    sure we are protecting life when we have those 500 year floods?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Ricketts, thank you for the question and
    thank you for your leadership as Governor during that flood
    that affected large swaths of the Country, and especially
    Nebraska.
        With the Missouri River, which I told Senator Fischer
    yesterday is America's longest river, edging out the
    Mississippi by one mile, it requires management from Montana
    all the way to Missouri. Your State is right in the middle.
        There are competing interests that have to do with
    navigation interests and flood control interests up and down
    the system, as well as water supply interests, especially in
    the farther west reaches of the river.
        It is a challenge. The Corps of Engineers often has to make
    decisions about whether agricultural interests and weigh those
    against commercial interests and weigh those against life and
    safety interests. I would just say that life and safety and the
    protection of property has to always be a primary concern as
    these issues are balanced.
        The Corps of Engineers has manuals that dictate how they
    operate these facilities, but Senator, I think our elected
    leadership, our politically accountable leadership, I think
    there is an expectation that they will use good judgment in
    times of crisis like this one to deliver the best result for
    the public. I hope that we can get it right.
        Senator Ricketts. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        Senator Carper. Senator Ricketts, or excuse me, Senator
    Padilla?. We just had Senator Ricketts.
        Senator Padilla. Thank you, Madam Chair. I mean, people
    confuse us all the time.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Capito. Right.
        Senator Padilla. It is understandable.
        Senator Capito. I think it is the accents.
        Senator Padilla. I appreciated, Mr. Telle, in our meeting,
    that you are tracking the proposed $1 billion cut to the Harbor
    Maintenance Trust Fund. As you may know, the Ports of Los
    Angeles and Long Beach are the busiest ports in the western
    hemisphere, receiving 40 percent of the Nation's imports. There
    are other ports along the coast of California, but those two
    alone account for 40 percent.
        They are also considered donor ports, which generate nearly
    half the revenue into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund but
    receive only a small fraction in return. Now, Congress directed
    the courts to ensure more equitable distribution of the trust
    funds in the 2020 WRDA, and finally, in the Fiscal Years 2024
    work plan funding was made available.
        Can you provide, Mr. Telle, some assurances that the Harbor
    Maintenance Trust Fund, HMTF, obligations defined under WRDA
    2020 will continue to be met this year and going forward again
    in that more equitable fashion?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Padilla, thank you for the question. You
    have identified an issue here that is important. The Congress
    and the executive branch have had debates, and the Congress has
    weighed in heavily on how revenues related to the Harbor
    Maintenance Trust Fund are collected and expended.
        Congress did recently enact a provision, as you referenced,
    that says ports like the ones in your State, which have
    significant traffic but fewer dredging needs, that they have
    the ability to use Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund revenue and
    expenditures on non-traditional depth and width projects which
    help facilitate commerce in areas of the port where the Corps
    of Engineers hasn't traditionally worked.
        I intend to follow the law in this regard, and certainly
    look forward to working with you on how the Harbor Maintenance
    Trust Fund is managed.
        Senator Padilla. I very much appreciate your answer in
    regard to following the law, as current law is, following the
    directions as set by Congress. I hate to even have to ask, but
    you know as well as I do what we have been through the last 4
    months, where despite congressional action and not just
    authorization by appropriations, we are dealing with an
    administration that sometimes thinks they know better and
    directs departments and agencies to do differently.
        I believe you when you say you will stick to the letter of
    the law, and look forward to following up with you to ensure
    that on specific projects.
        Speaking of specific projects, the Los Angeles County
    Drainage Area Project is a dynamic flood conveyance system that
    provides flood risk benefits to the 10 million people living in
    Los Angeles County, and frankly, a larger number of people if
    you look at the greater metropolitan area. However, the Corps-
    owned and maintained portion of the system has a significant
    backlog of maintenance, nothing new; you referenced the general
    dynamic earlier, which leaves the entire system vulnerable to
    extreme weather events.
        The Corps' annual budget cannot keep up; it is not even
    keeping close. As a result, the County of Los Angeles
    Department of Public Works is currently engaged with the Corps
    to transfer some of the Corps-maintained sections of the system
    to ensure the long-term viability and safety of the critical
    system. We have been working on this for a couple of years.
        Given the Corps' $100 billion backlog of authorized but
    unfunded projects, I am encouraged when I see partners like Los
    Angeles County willing to step up and work together to address
    the challenges. As a member of this committee, I was proud to
    support provisions in WRDAs 2022 and 2024 to help address the
    operational efficiencies of the LA County Drainage Area System.
        All that being said, my question is to have your commitment
    to work with me and Los Angeles County to ensure the seamless
    transfer of those assets to the county that have been agreed
    to.
        Mr. Telle. Senator Padilla, thank you for your advocacy for
    this. As a general principle, I agree with the notion that
    Federal responsibilities, to the degree that a State or
    locality has the capacity to deal with an issue or to operate a
    facility, we ought to be pushing authorities and
    responsibilities and the fiscal burden to the local entity,
    because they understand the needs of their citizens much better
    than we can here in Washington.
        In general, I agree with you on that principle. I do not
    have the details in terms of how this could affect the system
    of systems that is the California water system. I would like to
    take a look at that, but I commit to taking a look at that and
    working with you on this to make sure that we get it right for
    the citizens of your State and of course the surrounding States
    in the west, who all share water resources in a very careful
    manner.
        Senator Padilla. I am sure the rank and file and
    professionals at the Corps have agreed that this makes sense,
    we are in the process of doing it, it has been agreed to. I
    hope that we can continue and finish the transfer process.
        A couple of other questions I would like to ask, but my
    time is up so I will submit questions for the record.
        Mr. Telle. Thank you, Senator.
        Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Senator Ricketts. [Presiding.] I will take over for the
    Chair while she is voting. Senator Wicker?
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, and very ably done, Mr. Interim
    Chair.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Wicker. Mr. Telle, let's talk about a wastewater
    treatment program, project that involves the State of
    Mississippi and the State of Tennessee. As everyone knows,
    Memphis and Shelby County amount to one of the largest
    metropolitan areas in the Country and certainly the largest in
    the State of Tennessee.
        Just below Memphis and Shelby County is DeSoto County,
    Mississippi, one of the fastest-growing counties in
    Mississippi. Included abutting the State line are the cities of
    Southaven, Horn Lake, and certain unincorporated areas. About
    48 years ago, a wastewater treatment facility was federally
    funded, addressing the wastewater treatment needs in both of
    those areas. It was funded to the extent possible based on
    population numbers from the Mississippi area as well as the
    Memphis area.
        Some years ago, the folks north of the State line brought
    suit and asked that the Mississippi customers be excluded from
    that treatment plant. This went to court, we didn't feel it was
    fair, but the Federal judge ruled that the Mississippi areas,
    Southaven, Horn Lake and certain unincorporated areas, have to
    get on their own water treatment system by the year 2031. Only
    way we can possibly do that is to look as this metropolitan
    area did 50 years ago to the Federal Government.
        The Army Corps of Engineers is a valuable part of this new
    project. Can you please commit to me that the Army Corps of
    Engineers do everything possible to assist the DeSoto County
    Regional Utility Authority, known as DCRUA, in building a new
    wastewater system before this judicially imposed 2031 deadline?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Wicker, thank you for the question. It
    is an issue that I have familiarity with from both sides of the
    State line. In 1992, Congress began authorizing the Corps of
    Engineers to take on projects generally described as
    environmental infrastructure. These are not the traditional
    navigation, flood control, aquatic ecosystem restoration types
    of projects that the Corps of Engineers has done, but it has
    had a great deal of interest from the Congress.
        I think that is going to continue, and I certainly commit
    to work with you in an area, DeSoto County, Shelby County, that
    I know well, to make sure that we get it right and we can
    facilitate to the degree we are able DeSoto County's ability to
    meet the directive of the courts.
        Senator Wicker. I assume that if this project is not done
    by 2031, the Federal judge will not decree that sewage start to
    run in the streets of DeSoto County, Mississippi. We are going
    to try, with your help, we are going to try to comply with
    this.
        Let's talk about the Bonnet Carre Spillway. We have already
    talked about how long the Mississippi River is, and the
    Missouri River. Thirty-one States contribute to what runs by
    the States of Louisiana and Mississippi as it gets almost to
    the Gulf. By the time it gets there, it is full of bacteria,
    nutrients, fertilizer runoff, sediment and other things that
    leads to algal blooms in the Gulf.
        When the water gets high, there are a number of spillways
    that can be opened to prevent flooding of a number of very
    important areas. In 2019, though, the Bonnet Carr Spillway was
    opened for a total of 123 days. It spilled into the Mississippi
    sound, a saltwater important area for fishing, changing it more
    into freshwater, hugely damaging, costing many, many jobs.
        We can not possibly have this happen again. There are times
    when the spillway can be opened, take some of the freshwater
    into a saltwater area, but not that much.
        Will you agree that the Army Corps should include
    stakeholders such as the Mississippi Sound Coalition and
    stakeholders in both Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi, in a
    comprehensive study of which spillways are opened?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Wicker, I would gladly take input from
    stakeholders. As you rightly point out, there are facilities up
    and down the Mississippi River from Bird's Point to Morganza
    and then the spillway of last resort, of course, is the Bonnet
    Carr, which diverts water into Lake Pontchartrain, and then
    ultimately as you say, into the Mississippi Sound, which
    affects the ecosystem there, the commercial ecosystem as well
    as the recreational ecosystem.
        These are the types of tradeoffs that we have to discuss
    when we talk about operating the Corps of Engineers many
    facilities. Preventing a flood upstream may mean effects, as
    you described, on places like the Mississippi Sound. It is very
    important that the Corps of Engineers has clear input from
    stakeholders from across a waterway, from up and down, to
    understand the impacts. These are complex systems of systems
    and we could use as much input as we could possibly get to try
    to make sure that we get the balance right.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you for that answer. Mr. Chairman, I
    realize we have gone over, but it is a matter of thousands and
    thousands of jobs up and down the Mississippi River. Thank you.
        Senator Ricketts. Senator Blunt Rochester?
        Senator Blunt Rochester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to
    the nominees and your families for being here.
        I would like to start with Mr. McMaster. Thank you for the
    opportunity to meet. When we were in my office, you indicated
    your willingness to be transparent about the status of
    discretionary grants in my State, if confirmed. I am sure, and
    you have mentioned that Secretary Duffy recently shared the
    grant obligation announcements.
        Missing from that list were many projects in Delaware.
    During his confirmation, he committed to getting discretionary
    grants out the door and abiding by the law. I am sure this is
    an easy question for you. Will you make this same commitment?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, absolutely. This is a
    tremendous priority for the administration and the Secretary.
    You have my full commitment, if I am confirmed, to support the
    Secretary in those efforts and to look into any specific
    projects you may have and followup with you directly.
        Senator Blunt Rochester. Great. Thank you so much.
        I made a point during my meeting with him as well that this
    funding was already awarded, much of it. I understand that we
    are like re-reviewing some of the grants. I hope, again, for
    me, that is not as efficient. I am looking forward, and I am
    grateful for your commitment. I appreciate that commitment. We
    will followup.
        My next question is for Mr. Busterud. If confirmed, you
    will oversee EPA's Superfund program and as of now, there are
    over 1,300 sites on the Superfund's National Priorities List.
    Delaware has 17 sites spread across our State.
        Given your commitment to putting public health and the
    environment at the center of your work, and the limited
    resources for a very complex program, how will you prioritize
    the completion of Superfund projects under your leadership?
        Mr. Busterud. Senator, thank you. I am committed to
    protecting human health and the environment, as I told your
    staff during the visit. I am going to make a priority in
    enhancing and improving the pace and efficiency of our
    Superfund cleanups.
        Really, there are two essential components there. One is a
    suite of process improvements we can make. There are
    opportunities for that. I spoke with Senator Ricketts in his
    office yesterday about that very issue, providing enhanced
    project management tools to the regions, so they can explore
    ways in which we can take phases of the remedial investigations
    and move them in parallel rather than in sequence. There are
    also great opportunities for using AI in producing reports and
    not necessarily spending time drafting documents, you know,
    have an issue, if you will.
        I want to say, too, in addition to those enhancements, I
    want to acknowledge to this committee that there is a human
    element to Superfund. Superfund affects children, families,
    communities, tribes, businesses and their employees. I know if
    confirmed I am going to make that a priority for me in terms of
    implementation. I know our dedicated career staff feels that
    way, and I look forward to working with them and with the
    communities we serve.
        Senator Blunt Rochester. Thank you for that commitment as
    well.
        Mr. Telle, as a former staffer, I was impressed by Mr.
    Hagerty acknowledging everyone around this room. I am sure they
    are proud and inspired.
        Delaware, as you probably know, is the lowest lying State
    in the Country, which makes the Army Corps' work critical to us
    as a State. Affordability criteria and the high Federal cost
    share are critical to helping our local communities, like those
    in my State, mitigate disaster risk.
        This approach has been essential to funding beach
    nourishment and restoration projects across the Delaware Bay
    beach communities. That really gets inland as well.
        Mr. Telle, if confirmed, do you commit to following
    affordability criteria and including a high Federal cost share
    in order to protect local communities?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Blunt Rochester, thank you for your
    comments. You raise a very important issue. Part of the reason
    that I am so honored to have been nominated for this position
    is because the Corps of Engineers' mission reaches into the
    smallest communities in America and some of the biggest cities,
    and has an impact on all of them in a very real way.
        Often times, it is reaching to the small communities, and
    in many cases, economically disadvantaged communities over the
    course of history, along the Mississippi River, along the
    coast, along the tributaries. These communities may not have
    the capacity that the larger communities have.
        That is why it is incumbent upon the Corps as it works with
    these communities which are very important to provide technical
    assistance along the way, and where necessary tailor the cost
    share to meet the community's needs as appropriate, and of
    course with care for the Federal taxpayer as well.
        Senator Blunt Rochester. Thank you. I have additional
    questions on brownfields, reconnecting communities, the Port of
    Wilmington and dredging, but I will submit those questions for
    the record.
        I also am in a Commerce Committee hearing on FAA right now.
    I think I heard Mr. McMaster mention that your son is an air
    traffic controller?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, that is correct.
        Senator Blunt Rochester. Tell him thank you, thank you on
    behalf of our Country. I yield back.
        Mr. McMaster. I appreciate that. I will. Thank you.
        Senator Ricketts. Senator Boozman?
        Senator Boozman. Thank you so much. First of all, I want to
    congratulate Mr. Telle on his being nominated to lead the
    Corps. I had the opportunity to work with him, actually I felt
    like I worked for him on Homeland Security. I was the chairman,
    he was the staff director. He did a tremendous job, and I know
    he is going to bring that same work ethic again in leading the
    Corps. I really believe that he is the right person for this
    position.
        As you know, Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith,
    Arkansas is the home of the F-35 Foreign Military Sales
    Training Mission. The recent passage of the Fiscal Year 2025
    full year continuing resolution includes funding to enable
    important construction projects that the Little Rock Corps is
    doing, responsible under tight timelines.
        I have to compliment them; they have done a tremendous job
    so far in working so hard to expedite this. This is something
    that has kind of been an all hands on deck approach.
        If confirmed, will you commit to ensuring the Little Rock
    District receives the Corps' full support and resources to
    deliver these mission critical projects on schedule to the
    highest standard?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Boozman, thank you very much, first of
    all, for the compliment. I appreciate it. I absolutely worked
    for you. The first time I came into your office, I saw a sign
    on your desk that said Arkansas First, and we followed that
    practice at all times.
        Senator, with regard to the Little Rock District, I commit
    to working with you to make sure that congressional intent,
    your interests, the interests identified to you by your
    constituents are met. We visited Arkansas when I was working
    with you, and I look forward to visiting the Little Rock
    District if confirmed.
        Senator Boozman. Very good. Again, I want to publicly thank
    them for doing a really good job up to now in pushing things
    forward.
        In 2024, the Corps of Engineers recreation sites welcomed
    approximately 260 million visitors nationwide, including Corps
    managed lakes and parks in Arkansas and throughout the Country.
    These sites are vital to the local economies, providing safe,
    affordable access to public lands for fishing, boating and
    camping. Yet many sites face aging infrastructure and deferred
    maintenance. Fees collected onsite most of the time are not
    reinvested where they are generated.
        I know that the Corps has its missions and this and that.
    Again, this has grown to a tremendous extent. The problem is
    you fix things and you prevent them from getting bad, it does
    not cost a whole lot of money, you let them go and eventually
    they have to be replaced and it costs a fortune.
        If confirmed, would you prioritize helping us figure out a
    better path forward, so that we can maybe take some of the
    burden off? Things like public-private partnerships, thinking
    outside the box. Then also maybe looking at the fact that
    again, these are generating money for the Corps, seeing if we
    can keep a percentage of that money in the areas where they are
    generated.
        Mr. Telle. Senator Boozman, thank you for the question. You
    have hit the nail on the head here. The Corps of Engineers'
    facilities actually have more annual visitors than the National
    Park System. This is of great benefit to the public. It is not
    a primary mission of the Corps of Engineers, as you have
    identified, but it is a secondary mission, and certainly, when
    the Corps of Engineers takes on projects, there are often
    recreational benefits that come alongside those projects that
    do not add significant additional funding to the cost of the
    project.
        We need to be smart in trying to meet these needs. When it
    comes to maintaining and operating and improving these
    recreational facilities, I do look forward to working with you,
    and I hope it's in a creative way, to help solve the issue you
    have identified.
        Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
        Mr. McMaster, very quickly, as you are aware, the U.S. has
    35,000 injuries, thousands of fatalities from roughly 100,000
    work zone crashes each year. How does U.S. Department of
    Transportation, USDOT, plan to improve worker safety? Do you
    have any ideas about worker safety and work zone awareness in
    these areas, to try and get these numbers down?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, you highlight an extremely
    important issue that the Federal Highway Administration faces,
    and the Department recently just honored work zone safety. I
    will say I look forward to, upon confirmation, getting briefed
    up by the Federal Highway Administration on kind of the current
    challenges, where the data is. I look forward to working with
    the Congress directly to resolve and improve our work zone
    safety challenges that we have throughout the Country.
        You raise an important point, it is not something that has
    been solved to date, and we need to continue to work to protect
    those critical workers as they build out our infrastructure
    across the Country.
        Senator Boozman. Thank you very much. Thank all of you for
    your willingness to serve.
        Senator Ricketts. Senator Alsobrooks?
        Senator Alsobrooks. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Thank you
    as well to each of the nominees today. Congratulations to you
    and to your families on your nominations.
        The three offices that you are being considered for are
    really critical to Maryland. I am excited to have the chance to
    ask some questions today.
        I will start with Mr. McMaster, and ask you a question
    regarding the university transportation centers. Last week, the
    U.S. Department of Transportation actually terminated grants
    for seven university transportation centers related to
    advancing a so-called ``woke'' agenda. I understand that Johns
    Hopkins University, which is one of the seven universities
    impacted, had however already revised its work plans to align
    with the administration's priorities. These grants required a
    dollar-for-dollar match, meaning that the universities made
    significant financial and institutional commitments, and they
    did so based on the promise of a 5-year Federal partnership.
        I am concerned not just about the terminations themselves,
    but how it was handled, and the justification that was
    provided, and what this says about the Federal Government's
    willingness to honor its commitments.
        The question is, given that some of the universities have
    already revised their work plans and others have expressed a
    willingness to do so, can you commit today to working with
    these institutions to reverse the terminations and instead
    pursue a path that allows these universities to fulfill their
    mission under the revised mutually agreeable terms?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, thank you, Senator. I understand how
    important this issue is to you.
        I am not familiar with the recent terminations of those, so
    I can commit to you, if I am confirmed, to following up
    directly with the Federal Highway Administration and the
    Secretary and the Department to understand more fully what the
    justifications and what the interests were in that, and then
    happy to followup with you directly to address this issue.
        Senator Alsobrooks. Perfect. Thank you so much.
        Mr. McMaster, just one other question regarding Maryland,
    the freezing of some funds. Maryland's aging bridge
    infrastructure presents for us a really significant challenge.
    There are several critical structures requiring attention and
    investment.
        For this reason, the Bridge Investment Program, which was
    established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is really,
    really important to our State. The Trump Administration froze
    this program at the beginning of the year and then quickly
    reinstated the program. The freezing of funds caused confusion,
    as you might imagine, uncertainty, and it also added to some
    project delays.
        If confirmed, can you commit that the Federal Highway
    Administration will keep congressionally appropriated Federal
    funds flowing?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, I appreciate the question. I
    can confirm, if I am confirmed, I can commit to you that I will
    carry out these programs in accordance with the law and the
    intent of Congress.
        Senator Alsobrooks. Thank you.
        The third, Mr. Telle, I want to ask you a question as well
    about sustainability and climate resilience projects. Many of
    Maryland's Army Corps projects are related to climate change
    and are designed to enhance resilience. The Baltimore District
    in particular is currently working on projects that mitigate
    risks from sea level rise, coastal storms and flooding. I
    suspect that you have familiarity with similar projects, given
    your time working in both Mississippi's and Alabama's
    congressional delegation.
        If confirmed, the question is whether or not you would
    commit to working with my office to ensure that Maryland's
    congressionally authorized Army Corps projects that focus on
    sustainability and climate resilience are completed?
        Mr. Telle. Senator, thank you for the question. With regard
    to climate resiliency, it is a question of, for the Corps of
    Engineers, the policy, the Corps of Engineers does not set the
    policy on why or the root cause of a particular project. It
    only looks at the data, the latest hydrological trends, the
    real hard information to make decisions about how to plan
    projects for now and for the future, so that they can make
    States like Maryland more resilient.
        I absolutely commit to following congressional intent and
    working with you on advancing the projects that are important
    to your State.
        Senator Alsobrooks. Thank you. I yield to Senator Husted.
        Senator Husted. [Presiding.] Thank you.
        Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. I know that you
    will hear from me what will be a broken record, that is, time
    is money. The faster we go, the more money we save, the more
    quickly we begin to improve life. You each have roles that
    impact the environment and the economy, and the faster we get
    to solutions on the problems that you are addressing, the
    better off we will all be.
        If you take the previous 4 years, although the latest
    inflation numbers show that inflation is at a low for the past
    5 years, but if you take the previous 4 years, there were, the
    average inflation rate was 5 percent. That is a 20 percent cost
    increase over the previous 4 years. That is illustrative of my
    point about how quickly we make these decisions the more money
    we save, the more quickly that we can improve our environmental
    circumstances.
        Mr. Busterud, I want to bring this to you, and I know there
    was just an announcement on PFAS this morning, which I saw some
    of the details. It is hard for me to digest all that has
    happened.
        I first became aware of PFAS through the Patel Institute in
    Ohio, which has done a lot of work on this issue in terms of
    PFAS destruction through their annihilator technology. With
    PFAS, for example, it has a dramatic health impact, which can
    cause cancers and other health challenges for people.
        Tell about your plans to fast-track that evaluation and get
    some of these new technologies in place as quickly as possible,
    so that we can get PFAS out of our water systems.
        Mr. Busterud. Yes, Senator, I could not agree more than it
    is an urgent issue. As part of OLEM's role in the whole of EPA
    approach to PFAS, which Administrator Zeldin announced last
    month, we are committed to providing destruction guidance on a
    much more frequent basis than we had historically. We were
    doing it every 3 years, and we are going to be doing it at
    least annually going forward.
        If confirmed, I commit to working with our staff to ensure
    that we and our scientists, our OLEM scientists, to ensure that
    we are considering and providing guidance on emerging
    technologies that have real promise.
        Senator Husted. I appreciate that. It is the, it was
    originally, I mean, it is just amazing how quickly the
    technology can be developed, and we just have to get the
    technology deployed and the guidance out there are quickly as
    possible. All that you can do in that respect I think is in all
    of our best interests.
        Mr. McMaster, I will again, with the theme of time is
    money, you mentioned the Brent Spence Bridge, which of course,
    when we had a chance to talk, I believe the last bridge that
    was built across the Ohio River took 13 years, 10 years to
    design and permit and 3 to build. With all of these
    construction projects, particularly with bridges, can you just
    give us a sense of confidence and direction about what you are
    going to be able to do to improve the speed with which these
    projects get completed? Then what advice you have for us as
    this process moves along on how we can help you.
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, I appreciate the commentary. I
    also appreciate you brought up inflation. I have that in my
    testimony. The last 3 years reported on the national
    construction cost index from the Federal Highway Administration
    shows that there has been a 67 percent increase alone in
    construction for infrastructure projects.
        Senator Husted. The States, it affects the State revenue.
    They have been challenged with this. I know in Ohio, we had a
    plan, but inflation ate into the cost so much that now the
    funding mechanisms are not sufficient for the plan.
        Mr. McMaster. Absolutely, there is a tremendous impact in
    the ability to deliver these projects in a timely way. Then
    ultimately you deliver less projects as a result of the
    inflationary pressures on those.
        What I will say as far as expediting project delivery, I
    mean, you could not have a more supportive administration in
    this effort. I know the Secretary has a tremendous effort
    underway to take these thousands of grant awards and move them
    to grant agreements. As part of that process, there is a review
    and a process to reduce the regulatory burden where there are
    not statutory demands and intent of Congress. He has taken it
    upon himself to clean up those grant awards, so that the
    ultimate project awardee can move those projects quicker,
    faster, better.
        You have a tremendous advocate in the administration. Upon
    confirmation, I look forward to supporting his efforts strongly
    to expedite that backlog to completion and support you all as
    you consider additional opportunities for streamlining projects
    and accelerating project delivery under your reauthorization
    proposal.
        Senator Husted. Great. Thank you very much. Sorry I didn't
    get a chance for you to give your time is money remarks, but
    Chairwoman Capito, I turn it back over to you.
        Senator Capito. [Presiding.] Thank you, Senator. Thank you
    for taking the gavel there. We are all running back and forth
    today.
        Senator Kelly, you are up.
        Senator Kelly. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Mr. Telle, good seeing you again. Thanks for coming by my
    office.
        I want to talk about some priority infrastructure projects
    that we have in Arizona. First, as we discussed in my office,
    we talked about Winslow, the Winslow Levee Project. The Army
    Corps of Engineers is constructing this new levee system that
    will remove the town of Winslow from a 100-year flood plain.
    This project is authorized and it is fully funded under the
    Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They have the local match.
        Will you commit to ensuring that the Corps moves as quickly
    as possible to complete this infrastructure project?
        Mr. Telle. Senator, of course, if confirmed, I will follow
    the law and work with you and your constituents to make sure we
    provide that facility as quickly as we possibly can.
        Senator Kelly. Thank you. Second, in last year's WRDA bill,
    we secured some new emergency authorities for the Army Corps to
    ensure that the Corps can exercise your regulatory authorities
    differently in regions experiencing drought. What I am talking
    about are the flood control curves that we discussed. These
    changes have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of
    acre feet of water in certain years in the west.
        Will you commit to working with my office to ensure that
    the Corps' implementation guidance reflects congressional
    intent so the Corps moves quickly to respond to conditions in
    drought-stricken regions?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Kelly, thank you for the question. As I
    have testified today, on a number of occasions, the primary
    missions of the Corps of Engineers are navigation, flood
    control and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Water supply can be
    a secondary mission of the Corps.
        I think I would point out the provision that you worked to
    include in a recent WRDA bill that said, in times of drought
    emergency, there can be an exception made to that policy. I
    think it makes sense, especially for communities in areas like
    your State that at times can be so desperate for water.
        I look forward to working with you to make sure that we
    follow the law and get that provision implemented, the guidance
    and the rulemakings, and other processes that are required to
    bring that to bear. I look forward to working with you to make
    sure we get it right.
        Senator Kelly. Thank you.
        Finally, we also talked about Rio de Flag, which is another
    flooding issue in Flagstaff, Arizona. We have this project, it
    is downtown Flagstaff, it has been funded. Phase one of the
    project should be ready for construction next year.
        We may run into an issue with the 902 limit. If a post-
    authorization change report is required for this project, will
    you commit to working with the city of Flagstaff to find a way
    to continue advancing phase one of the project without delay?
        Mr. Telle. Senator, thank you for the question. I look
    forward to learning more about the change that you describe and
    certainly across the board as has been discussed on numerous
    occasions here today, and the Senator right before you the
    point that time is money. I am sure that is the case in this
    project, too. I look forward to working with you, and I commit
    to doing everything we can to get it right, even with changes.
        Senator Kelly. If a packer is required, will you commit to
    ensuring that the report is completed as quickly as possible so
    that it is provided to Congress in time for WRDA 2026?
        Mr. Telle. Senator, thank you for that question as well.
    This is another topic that I think I have heard on a bipartisan
    basis is of interest, which is even if we, whether we like the
    answer you are going to give us or not, give us an answer. I
    believe in that. I look forward to trying to be transparent and
    clear with you about the projects of interest to you, so that
    even if the answer is not something that you would have
    preferred, you can potentially work to mitigate the concerns
    that may exist.
        Senator Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Telle.
        Mr. McMaster, thanks for coming by my office as well. When
    we met, we discussed this 22d Street Bridge project in Tucson.
    It is a classic example of the type of project which Congress
    on a bipartisan basis intended to fund when we passed the
    Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
        This project replaces an ageing bridge over Union Pacific's
    main rail line that goes east to west through Tucson. Right
    now, the bridge is in such poor shape that, as we talked about,
    school buses and ambulances do not go over it.
        The city of Tucson has submitted a draft grant agreement to
    the Federal Highway Administration for their review, which
    included all of the NEPA documents and utility and right-of-way
    clearances. Yet the city has not yet received any feedback on
    this submitted documentation since December, and they have not
    been able to meet with anybody. I know you are not in the
    building yet, but anybody with the staff.
        If confirmed, will you commit to prioritizing and
    completing finalized grant agreements that have been caught up
    in this haphazardly implemented funding freeze like the 22d
    Street Bridge?
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, I appreciated the conversation
    in your office. I will commit to you that I look forward to
    supporting the Secretary in his efforts to move these projects
    from award to agreement as quickly and expeditiously as
    possible. Lives and money are impacted with any possible delay
    as it relates to this specific project. I look forward to
    following up with the Federal Highway Administration on the
    current status of that effort. Then I will followup with you
    directly afterwards.
        Senator Kelly. Will you also commit that your office will
    follow the law and implement any other discretionary grant
    programs as Congress intended?
        Mr. McMaster. I commit to following the law with the intent
    of Congress.
        Senator Kelly. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Madam
    Chair.
        Senator Capito. Senator Sullivan.
        Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for
    the witnesses and your families, for your service.
        Mr. Telle, you are a glutton for punishment. A lot of folks
    do not know, you had your Armed Services confirmation hearing
    yesterday. You did a great job on that one. This should be a
    piece of cake.
        Mr. Telle. Thank you, Senator Sullivan.
        Senator Sullivan. By the way, in my State, I am going to
    focus a lot on Alaska. I appreciated our meetings, Mr. Telle
    and Mr. McMaster.
        Hard to build anything in Alaska, right? You want to build
    a road, a sidewalk, you usually get, you know, 12 radical far
    left environmental groups that sue to stop. We had the King
    Cove Road, we have only been trying to get that done for 40
    years, a nine mile single lane gravel road that every Democrat
    in the Country, including, God rest his soul, Jimmy Carter,
    said you can not build a road in Alaska.
        Then it went so bad, you had the Biden administration's
    last frontier lockup. My great State suffered through 70
    executive orders, and executive actions, from the Biden
    administration, singularly focused on Alaska. I like ripping
    this up because that is not the issue any more.
        We now have President Trump who issued his day one
    executive order called Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary
    Resource Potential. Mr. Telle, as you and I discussed, there is
    a lot of great provisions in here. This is all about getting
    things done in Alaska, not crushing us, as the radical left
    wants to do.
        There is a really good provision about the Corps of
    Engineers. I am going to read it to you. The Assistant
    Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, that is you, shall
    immediately review, revise or rescind any agency action that
    may in any way hinder, slow, or otherwise delay any critical
    project in the State of Alaska. That is from the President.
        Will you commit to abide by that very expansive provision
    to get things done in my great State after, you know, 4 years
    of being crushed by the previous administration?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Sullivan, absolutely. When I visited
    your office, I tattooed the executive order that the President
    issue on Alaska on my heart.
        Senator Sullivan. That, by the way, that is a great answer.
        Mr. Telle. I will go ahead and read the second paragraph to
    you from memory, which essentially says that I shall if
    confirmed coordinate as closely with the Governor of Alaska as
    any human could possibly coordinate.
        Senator Sullivan. Good. The Senator from Alaska.
        Mr. Telle. Of course.
        Senator Sullivan. Okay. Just double checking on that.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Sullivan. We talked about the Juneau Glacial Lake
    outburst flooding. You want to talk about a unique issue in
    Alaska, we have had this flooding that pretty much happens now
    every summer. It is amazing it hasn't killed anybody. We need
    the Corps' help. This is a unique challenge. It is uniquely,
    the Corps is uniquely qualified to help us. You can not have
    flooding. I went and toured where this happened this past
    summer. Over 200 homes were flooded. This is, I mean, we got to
    fix it.
        The Corps initially said when I went to them, well,
    Senator, we are going to work on this. We think it will be 10
    years to study and fix this. Say what? That is the wrong
    answer.
        Can you commit to me and really importantly the citizens of
    Juneau, Alaska, that the Corps is going to bring its best minds
    in a very, very rapid way to help address this unique challenge
    that we really need the Corps' help on?
        Mr. Telle. Senator Sullivan, thank you for the question. I
    did fail to mention, as a part of my answer to your previous
    question, that Alaska is home to greater than 60 percent of the
    U.S.'s wetlands. It makes the work of the Corps of Engineers
    critically important, thus the need for the executive order.
        With regard to the glacial outburst issue in Juneau, you
    rightly point out that this is an issue that is brand new as
    far as I understand it to be in terms of flood risk management.
    It is going to require creativity----
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, it is.
        Mr. Telle:--and the Corps of Engineers was made to solve
    tough problems. I look forward to working with you with the
    surrounding communities to try to solve this challenge.
        Senator Sullivan. Great, thank you. In an expedited manner,
    not 10 years. That is just----
        Mr. Telle. In an expedited manner, Senator.
        Senator Sullivan. You and I talked about the Ambler Road,
    the Port of Nome, so I will just submit questions for the
    record. The Port of Nome has got bipartisan support. We do not
    have an Arctic port anywhere to push back on the Russian and
    Chinese aggression in my part of the State. That project, it is
    really important. We got to get over the finish line.
        Can I get your commitment to work with me and the others in
    this committee on that project? That is an interesting project.
    I mentioned you had your Senate Armed Services Committee, SASC,
    hearing yesterday. Environment and Public Works, EPW, and that
    is very much DOD, to be able to have Navy ships, icebreakers,
    be able to pull up to the Port of Nome. We do not have a port
    in the Arctic right now that can handle Navy ships and
    icebreakers.
        Mr. Telle. Senator Sullivan, one of the most strategic
    issues that confronts the United States of America today is our
    status as an Arctic and Antarctic nation. This is an area of
    the world that the Chinese Communist Party is very interested
    in. The Russians are very active. Your State is front and
    center to the United States of America's being an Arctic
    nation. We must be. It seems to me that if we are going to be
    an Arctic nation that Alaska ought to be one of the key
    launching points of that force projection and power projection
    and economic projection.
        I look forward to working with you to help make the case
    for the strategic nature of Alaska and the Port of Nome as it
    relates to the United States asserting itself as an Arctic
    nation.
        Senator Sullivan. Great. That's a great answer. I really
    appreciate your expertise on that.
        Finally, I am going to submit, Madam Chair, for the record,
    a number of other questions.
        Just, Mr. McMaster, I mentioned to you, we are a resource
    rich, infrastructure poor State. We have less road miles than
    Connecticut, and we are almost 120 times bigger. If Senator
    Whitehouse were here, I would say we are 491 times bigger than
    Rhode Island. He does not like when I say that, but it is true.
        Can I get your commitment to work with Alaska, this
    committee, our delegation, on permitting reform but also on
    just helping us build, right? We need more roads to resources.
    We need more roads to help our economy be stronger. That will
    help Alaska.
        When you unlock the resources of Alaska, it helps America.
        Mr. McMaster. Yes, Senator, absolutely. I know the Federal
    Highway Administration has a strong partnership with the State
    of Alaska. If I am confirmed, I look forward to looking for
    ways to even strengthen that.
        Senator Sullivan. For the record, we also have a couple
    grants on infrastructure from the Infrastructure Bill that have
    been frozen. I would like to work with you and your team on
    just getting these unfrozen. I have talked to Secretary Duffy
    about it. Can I get your commitment on that as well?
        Mr. McMaster. Absolutely.
        Senator Sullivan. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Senator Capito. Thank you. Senator Lummis?
        Senator Lummis. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        Mr. Telle, first of all, congratulations on your nomination
    to oversee the Army Corps of Engineers. In Wyoming, we deal
    with the Corps so much we just call them the Corps, and
    everybody knows what we are talking about when we talk about
    the Corps. Right at the moment, we do not have any front page
    news projects with the Corps like my colleague from Alaska
    does. Did you call it a glacial outburst?
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, it is a very unique challenge that,
    it is almost like a glacier burping every summer and it floods
    in huge ways. It is a real challenge. We do not have that in a
    lot of other--I do not think West Virginia has glacial outburst
    issues.
        Senator Capito. We have outbursts, but they are not
    glacial.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Lummis. It is a spectacular country in that way,
    that it is so diverse. Of course, if you are trying to
    administer programs at the Federal Government level, it creates
    real challenges because of the nuances and uniqueness of this
    great country.
        I will just let you know that we do have some ongoing Corps
    needs and some potential projects in the pipeline and I will
    look forward to working with you on those when they arise.
        Mr. Telle. Senator Lummis, I look forward to it as well. As
    you clearly articulate, the wonderful thing about the position
    I have been nominated for is that it does reach into every
    corner of America, Wyoming, West Virginia, Alaska. I look
    forward to working with you on issues important to Wyoming.
        Senator Lummis. Thank you.
        Now, Mr. McMaster, good morning. Roads really are the
    lifeline in Wyoming. We have very little airplane traffic,
    obviously very little waterborne traffic. It is a State that is
    road-dependent. I think we will be spending a lot of time
    together. Thanks for your willingness to serve in this
    capacity. It is critical infrastructure in this country.
        The fact that you have Arizona roots helps you understand
    how vast our distances are, how challenging our terrain is, how
    extreme our weather can be. I know that is true in Arizona, it
    is very much more true in Wyoming. I for one thing can see that
    you understand how EV mandates do not work in Wyoming. Our
    elevations, our cold weather, and the distances that we have to
    travel just make EV mandates unworkable.
        There is 450 miles that I travel from my farm to my ranch.
    One, I can see the Idaho border from, the farm, and I am very
    close to the Colorado and Nebraska border on the ranch. I
    travel between them; I can not get between them on an EV
    charge. It is just not a practical solution for Wyoming.
        Additionally, you appreciate that Wyoming has a really
    short construction season, and that means projects can not
    afford to wait on Federal approvals or disbursements to get
    underway. We have this very, very narrow window for a
    construction season. It is, it creates a unique challenge for
    Wyoming. Even more unique than you might see in our adjacent
    States of Montana and Colorado.
        There are a couple of projects that are very, very front
    and center. Currently, the Wyoming Department of Transportation
    is seeking reimbursements for the Green River Tunnel in I-80.
    There was an absolutely horrific crash in that tunnel that did
    a great deal of damage to the tunnel. That tunnel is used by
    commercial truck traffic en masse every single day of the year.
        The other one is the Teton Pass issue. There is tremendous
    traffic between Driggs, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming. Nobody can
    afford to live in Jackson. The millionaires have now pushed the
    billionaires out of Jackson----
        Senator Capito. You mean the billionaires have pushed the
    millionaires.
        Senator Lummis. Well, I would have said that, but now the
    billionaires are coming down to Star Valley where I am because
    they want to get away from the millionaires and there are so
    many more millionaires. It is just the nuttiest place.
        None of the people that are providing accommodations and
    services to these millionaires can afford to live there. They
    are driving either from Star Valley, where I am, up to Jackson,
    on the roads or they are going over Teton Pass from Driggs,
    Idaho, to work in Jackson. That roads sloughed off, it just
    slid away. We have a temporary fix. The permanent fix for Teton
    Pass will be coming to your attention. I will look forward to
    working with you on that.
        Again, I want to commend you for your willingness to serve,
    your family's willingness to allow you to serve and support
    your service. You have a really strong transportation
    background, both in policy and administration, that are going
    to serve our Country well.
        You have to work with the States. You have to trust the
    States. Our administrators really do know boots on the ground
    what the issues are they have to deal with and can help guide
    you in how to help us, the old help me, help you.
        I want to ask you if you could take the remaining minute to
    talk about your priorities for FHWA.
        Mr. McMaster. Senator, I appreciate those comments, and I
    thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I look forward to, if I am
    confirmed, working closely with the Wyoming Department of
    Transportation, but all States around the Country.
        As far as my priorities the FHWA, I think I look at it in
    four ways. The first and obviously the most important is to
    support the Secretary in his refocused mission on safety. I
    think that is critical. I expect if I am confirmed that the
    Federal Highway Administration will additionally strongly
    support that effort in a refocused manner.
        The second priority for me would be to advance expediting
    project delivery as quickly as possible. It has been raised
    multiple times here today. Time is money, as it relates to
    moving projects forward. There are limited resources available.
    The longer it takes the fewer projects we are actually able to
    realize.
        I would like to support the Secretary in his efforts to
    address the backlog initially while he is reducing regulatory
    burden on our project awardees, so that we can realize quicker,
    faster, more cost effective projects, and actually build rather
    than say we are going to build and move paper around.
        My third priority would be to strongly assist your critical
    work here in Congress as you look to reauthorize the Surface
    Transportation Bill. I have an acute appreciation for what that
    may require for you all, and I want to make sure that you
    understand that the Federal Highway Administration, if I am
    confirmed, will be a resource for you as you consider many
    different aspects of what that will mean.
        Then the fourth component I think for, as a priority for
    me, would be to make sure that the different viewpoints and
    unique needs around this Country are well reflected in the
    Federal policy at the USDOT. I look forward to supporting you
    all. Those would be my top kind of four areas of priority. It
    is an honor to potentially serve, and if I am confirmed, I look
    forward to following up with you on those priorities, and any
    other concerns or issues or priorities of your own you may
    have.
        Senator Lummis. Thank you, and I might mention one more
    priority I have, which is commercial truck parking. Obviously,
    with the Department of Labor limits on how long you can stay
    behind the wheel, 18-wheelers are struggling for places to park
    when they time out. Another member of this committee, the
    Senator from Arizona and I, are working on that together. We
    will look forward to those conversations with you as well.
        Thank you all, panel. Appreciate you.
        Senator Capito. Thank you, Senator Lummis.
        I want to thank the panelists. It has been a busy day, in
    and out. I am sure you are well aware of other obligations.
        I would ask unanimous consent to enter into the record
    letters of support for all the nominees today. Without
    objection, so ordered.
        [The referenced information follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Capito. With no further questions, I would like to
    thank you, as I just did, and also my colleagues for their
    participation this morning. Senators who wish to submit written
    questions for the record have until 5 p.m. next Wednesday, May
    21st--gosh, is it almost May 21st?--to do so. The nominees'
    responses to these questions are due back in the committee no
    later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28th, and will be admitted
    for the record.
        With that, this hearing is adjourned, and thank you all
    very much, and thank the families. Thank you.
        [Whereupon, at 12:18 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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