Transcripts For CSPAN Transportation 20240704

Adjourned. We are getting ready to start the second half, that date night doubleheader. It will extend into the nighttime. I dont think it will. With that, im pleased to call this hearing to order. Welcome all of our witnesses, welcome to guests, and a special thanks to senator capito and our colleagues for being here for this important hearing. Today, we are to discuss the federal Highway Administrations communication of the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act. Its, im enormously proud. I know senator capito is as well. Weve worked with this committee did and literally, laying the foundation for the bipartisan infrastructure defense of. People say to me and im sure they say to you, senator capito, when you travel back to West Virginia around the country, why cant you guys and gals just Work Together to get stuff done . As it turns out, in this committee, thats what we do. We reported out parts of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation unanimously, 20 to 2. Ten democrats, ten republicans, and were proud to help lay the foundation for what turned out to be one of the biggest investments in our nations infrastructure ever. It started right here in this room, so i think we make some history and hopefully we, continue to make that history going forward. Before we begin, i want to take this moment to acknowledge the disaster that occurred this past weekend, just north of philadelphia. My wife and i live five miles from the Pennsylvania State line, so this was too close to home, and theres a lot of work meant going on, and our witness today, jalen, has been up there for quite a time and will have a little bit about that as well. Eight tanker truck carrying some 85 gallons of gasoline caught fire on the off ramp on an overpass of i95, causing it to collapse. Seen on television. Administrator bought, who also goes by administrator bhatt, has already been to the site of the crash a couple of times. He and his team are working with state officials there as they seek to restore mobility on this critical quarter for our nation. I call i95 is our nations highway. It goes all the way from maine all the way to florida and the amount of traffic on that, goes through my state, is just incredible. I want to thank our administrator and the rest of his team, the federal Highway Administration for the important work that you are doing. We appreciate very much for being with us today. Its been a little more than two years since this committee unanimously marked up the highway bill that will go on to service the foundation of bipartisan infrastructure law. And when we, did we notice that it was quite [interpreter] funding for our nations highway programs. It included the first ever climates title in a bill of that nature, and our highway, but we created that promoting resilient operations for transformative, efficient, and cost saving transportation, also known as the protect program. We did so with the intent of improving resilience of our Transportation Systems, and reducing our vulnerability to extreme weather. Weve all heard saying that the transportation with a pound of pure, that is certainly the case with investments and resilience. Building the protective futures and National Projects to keep transportation to withstand disasters for years. On the earlier of those protections are in place, the it will be. With that in mind, im pleased the federal Highway Administration is now accepting applications for the first round of protect grants. Its my hope that the federal Highway Administration works quickly to award these programs funds and help begins to improve the resilience of the communities, rather, nationwide. Our bill also creates dedicated programs to build electric vehicle or Ev Charging Networks across our country. It also includes a 70 increase in funding or problems to build safe, accessible, pedestrian and bicycle pathways across our country. In addition, our Service Transportation bill authorizes the connecting communities program. This first ever federal program to invest in the safety and pollution impacts of highways that have divided and hurt neighbors and neighborhoods in many places across our country. Importantly, not only did our highway bill focused on that Critical Issues of climate, safety, and equity, but it did so in a lasting, bipartisan way. As my colleagues have heard me say, shailen, million times, Bipartisan Solutions are lasting solutions. Im very proud of the investment we took the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But during that markup, i also noted that the infrastructure bill alone was not enough to address Climate Change. Once we pass the bipartisan infrastructure law, we got to work on legislation that dismantle inflation. The Inflation Reduction Act out there several programs of the program of the federal Highway Administration. This included a program to reduce the industrial emission front, construction, materials, as well as funding to Environmental Review, and permitting times. Inflation rejecting act also provided funds to mitigate air, no, ice and water pollution, and other impacts on Highway Infrastructure on disadvantaged communities. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act represents the most significant investment in clean energy and transportation. Clean energy, as well as members alliance, in our patience is three. Still, theres no shortage of remains to be done, there are key questions that federal Highway Administration has to address limitations around regulation, and guidance. Thats why im delighted to welcome our friend, not just from delaware, a friend whos actually been secretary of transportation and delaware and colorado, worked with i think, u. S. D. O. T. , in any number of other responsible positions to prepare him for this day. This is his first time before our committee since the Senate Confirmed his nomination to the administrator of the federal Highway Administration, by voice vote, in december of 2022. We look forward to hearing your testimony today about the extensive work that you have led in the last six months or so. As ive noted, congress provided the federal Highway Administration with historic funding, and the authorities necessary to provide, highways across our country. The agency must also use its authority to address ongoing needs. One such need for regulation is to help reduce emissions, from our transportation sector, which account for nearly 30 of our nations Greenhouse Gas emissions. The largest Single Source in our current economy. As my recollection, 30 will be coming from the vehicles who drive cars. Mobile sources, 25 comes from our power plants across the country. Another, roughly 20 , comes from manufacturing, basic manufacturing operations. But the biggest of those three is our roads and highways and bridges. Last, july, the federal Highway Administration reported rule in states metropolitan areas to measure their performance on Greenhouse Gas emissions and set targets to reduce those emissions. Once finalized, this will be a critical tool to steer Infrastructure Investments towards Better Climate outcomes. And i hope the agency will move quickly to finalize that rule. Finally, i would like to emphasize the importance of improving safety. Last year, nearly 40,000 people tragically lost their lives in our nations roads. The highest number in 16 years. I will say that again. Last year, nearly 43,000 people tragically lost their lives on our nations roads, the highest number in 16 years. The u. S. Department of transportation is taking important steps towards the skull by releasing the national roadway Safety Strategy, which sets a goal of zero fatalities for u. S. Roads for the first time, zero, for the first time. Still, there is more work to do. The federal Highway Administration, and should be giving to prioritize safety. That includes working with states, working with metropolitan areas, planned today the streets that are safer for all users, and susan highway designed in roadway designs and meeting unsafe behavior. With that, i look forward to hearing about that work that administrator bhatt has done and will continue to do to advance these priorities. I have to concern to ranking senator capito, whose leadership is critical to the passage of the infrastructure bill were discussing today. Senator capito, you are recognized for as long as you need to speak. Thank, you chairman carper, for calling todays hearing. Your ongoing willingness to conduct oversight on the iija and the Inflation Reduction Act. Administrator bhatt, its good to see you. I know youve been extremely busy here over the last several days. Since your confirmation, you have maintained a very open line of communication with me and my staff. I want to express our appreciation for doing that. I also want to thank your hardworking staff at the agency. I know they are working a lot on a lot of different issues. I would like to acknowledge the tragic incident on our 95, in philadelphia, the pictures are just overwhelming, and i know youve been on the ground. I appreciate the responsiveness of the fhwa, in providing assistance to the state of pennsylvania. I know the investigation is underway, congresswoman provided more information on is available. Im very proud that this committee, as the chairman said, developed a legislation that served as the foundation of the iija. We did so together, and bipartisan through regular order, i was proud to manage the bill on the floor with the chairman and to attend the signing ceremony at the white house. Unfortunately, our bipartisan product was jeopardized by if h, before you got there, fhwas december 2021 policy memorandum, but i want to thank you, administrator bought, for issuing a substantially revised policy memorandum that superseded the original one. I appreciate that you recognize the original memorandum diminish the bipartisan accomplishments of this committee and contradicted the statutory text and clear intent of the congress. When the iija was signed into law, we promised the American People that the legislation would deliver results by improving our natures Core Infrastructure transportation infrastructure, and were starting to see real, tangible benefits of that investment. In a negotiating the legislation, i prioritized inclusion of a robust project delivery and process improvement title, that included the codification of the one federal decision policy for surface transportation projects. I look forward to receiving an update from you today on how the agency is implementing those provisions and others in the iija. Proper implementation of the law, is the only way to see the full elements of the iija. Now on to the inaptly named Inflation Reduction Act, which has not and will not reduce inflation. Following the passage of the iija, the administration embarked on a partisan exercise to pass what i believe our policies through the budget reconciliation process. That effort began with the introduction of the socalled build back better legislation in 2021, and culminated with President Biden signing the i. R. A. Into law in august of 2022. The original version of the reconciliation legislation included a provision that wouldve directed fhwa to establish a Greenhouse Gas emissions performance measure and associated targets. I challenged that provision, as violating the bird rule of the congressional budget act. That provision was stripped from the legislation, that removal of line it was the second time since i became Ranking Member of this committee that we have dealt with this policy. That was the second time that congress directly rejected fhwa, the authority to establish a Greenhouse Gas performance measure and associated targets. Providing this authority to fhwa was also debated, and ultimately left out, of the bipartisan iija. The biden administration, through your agency, is now attempting to input, and the chairman just talked about, this imposed a Greenhouse Gas emissions performance measure and associated targets on state departments, transportation metropolitan planning organizations without any authority from congress. This rulemaking feels very similar to the december 2021 policy memorandum. Yet again, this administration is trying to implement partisan policies they wish had been included in the iija, and the i. R. A. , through agency actions. Im hopeful that under your leadership, this rulemaking for Greenhouse Gas Performance Measures and associated targets will not move forward. On a related note, i want to express my concern with the proposal that the president s fiscal year 2024 budget request has. The budget request included legislative language that would repurpose 60 million in an obligated Contract Authority from the tibia program to the active transportation Infrastructure Investment program. This is in the weeds, but i know you understand what im talking about. The iija did not provide Contract Authority for that program. It received an honorization, but is subject to appropriations. This committee determines what programs receive Contract Authority and how much, now thats apartment. I hope this is not something your agency plans to pursue, as once again, the committee has already made a decision here. Finally, i want to raise an issue that is not directly related to either of the loss we were discussing today, but may have Significant Impact on how state deities manage their programs and their ability to move forward. Im referring to the 3. 5 billion dollar discrepancy in Contract Authority between the two fiscal management systems. Known as fema and delphi. I appreciate you brought this issue to my attention in january, and i look forward to receiving an update for you on how d. O. T. Plans to resolve this discrepancy. In summary, the topics of our hearing today start to contrast a different outcomes. A quality into rehabilitate. We get great quality and durability when the senate pursues Bipartisan Legislation through regular order. If we compare that to a partisan legislation through budget reconciliation process that i believe falls short. Nevertheless, oversight for implementation of these two laws is a critical function of this committee. I would like to take one moment to say farewell to a much beloved and incredible member of our staff over here, the republican, staff epa w, lauren bacon will be leaving us i dont know if its today or tomorrow, but way, way too soon. And she has been, she really helped to shepherd the iija through our committee. She is an incredible resource, i know she will be successful wherever she goes, but lower, and we will miss her and i know your department will miss her as well. Because its a great given take weve been able to have with her and through your department. So, thank you for letting me bid lauren a fond farewell. Lauren, thank you for your work. One of the joys and working this committee is working with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Its not just member to member, but the staff as well. And you add to courtney to members of our respective staff, thank you for that. We set the example, weve all heard trickle down theory . And it also, when the leaders of a Committee Like this Work Together and reflect the kind of behavior, i know the staff picks up on it as. Well and its a good thing for us. So, and youre our rock star. [applause] do you know were lawrence going to come next . Private sector. Okay. All right. Before i turn it over to shailen bought, i want to note that i want to drive to the train station, and thats one of listening to npr news, and they were giving some updates. They announced that they were able to people say the i. R. A. Doesnt really help reduce inflation, but at the end of the day, the morning news this morning, we just learned that inflation continues to drop. I think the annual ice numbers is now down to 4 . And the left job creation number that was reported out of the department of labor a couple of weeks ago, jobs 23 40, 000, in the last month. And Unemployment Rate for the country is still going, down around three and a half percent, which is pretty darn good number. Its not perfect, theres still things we can do better, but the, i think, for the bad its not that bad. Thank you, senator capito, will now hear from our witness, jalen bhatt. Shailen protests just name bhatt, but a lot of us pronounce it bhatt. And bhatt, insoles, the better to play. I will answer to either one, but he the administration of the federal Highway Administration. Sort into his current role on january 13th, 2023. After was confirmed by the senate on december 8th of last year. As administrator, mr. Bhatt overseas and agency thats more than 2700 employees. Which includes a staff who are working all 50 states. West territories as well, and the district of columbia, carry out federal aid, highway. Welcome, shailen. You might now proceed with your testimony. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, chairman carper. And Ranking Member capito. Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act, otherwise known as the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. These historic investments in our nations infrastructure and the opportunities to build Clean Energy Economy to create good jobs and lower costs for working families. When i appeared for this committee for confirmation hearing i notice that if h. W. Staff have been working tirelessly. I have hit the ground running since being confirmed at the dedication of ejects w a staffing carrying out these laws and getting real results for the American Public is inspiring. If all weeks of the Transportation Agency is for two reasons. To save lives and to make peoples lives better. This past monday, i joined members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation as well as the Pennsylvania Department of transportation secretary in touring the site of the partial collapse in philadelphia that occurred on interstate 95, involving a truck fire which resulted in the tragic loss of life. The i95 corridor is a vital connection for people and goods traveling along the east coast. It has officially to offer support and estimate for local officials to safely reopen the section of i95 as quickly as possible. We are working diligently with our divisions in all surrounding states, as well as our sister agencies on emergency relief support and maximizing all best practices. Having led the Delaware Department of transportation through the ifour 95 bridge emergency in 2014, i am critically aware of how important the i95 is for the state region and nation. Every day of closure will affect people and freight on this vital corridor and we are laser focused on working with our partners to get the road open as quickly as possible. In addition to our commitment to safety at h. W. Days work is guided by an issue that we refer to as proven for the 21st century. Theres six acts specks of this initiative. Delivery, resiliency, innovation, values, equity, and our nation. Each of the six aspects of the driven initiative guide our efforts to implement the many programs and funding opportunities authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Delivery is the first aspect of driven, thanks to these we have the funding to make major improvements in our Transportation System. It h. W. Way has taken numerous actions that will support implementation of projects that improve safety and peoples lives. Including distributing more than 120 billion dollars in highway for mullah funding to states, and issuing notices of funding opportunity for approximately 4. 6 billion in available funds. Were also administering nearly 900 awards totaling 700. 5 billion across nine discretionary programs. These are more than just numbers. These dollars mean projects that will improve both safety and peoples lives. I think itll be way has a longstanding practice of engaging with our stakeholders. And providing Technical Assistance, but weve placed an even greater emphasis on these efforts since the passage of the legislation. Fhwa is committed to supporting our stakeholders at the state, tribal, and local levels and we have specific efforts in place to fight provide training and Technical Assistance. Resilience is an important part of building a more Transportation System, still keep our infrastructure strong and to fulfill our most important duty, getting people to where they need to go and getting them there safely. Fhwa has already made significant progress in carrying out funding programs that are specifically targeted at addressing Climate Change, including distributing funding to the protect Formula Program and Carbon Reduction Program, and publishing and snowfall for the discretionary Grant Program. Innovation is essential for the future of transportation infrastructure. It will help us tackle a broad range of issues, which is approving safety, increasing the resilience of our infrastructure, and finding new ways to combat the climate crisis. The current round of its h. W. Ways every Day Counts Program sports innovation, specifically Climate Change concerns safety and equity. While the Tireless Service of fhwa employees is evidenced by the quality of our Transportation System, we are also responsible for members of our agency. Fhwa is committed to all of our core organizational values, and caring for our staff. Equity is one of fhwas primary values. It drives every one of our programs, projects, and initiatives. Not only do the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act include programs specifically intended to address equity issues. , but the historic investment in our infrastructure will benefit those who find well paid work, rebuilding their communities. And every aspect of h. W. s work is driven by the people in the nation that we serve. We must create a Transportation System that delivers for our economy and all of our people, while getting individuals and goods safely to their destination. Transportation system that literally unites us as americans. Driven will allow us to deliver results for drove u. S. Transportation system and americans as a whole. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today, ill be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks for that. Im going to start our questioning by asking you about the recent this after that took place just north of us in pennsylvania, on i95 near philadelphia. I know that the conversations, you spent about a whole bunch of time there. And in the days since, i understand that the governor is making the announcement in realtime as we are gathering here today. You might be in the position to comment on what you are saying a little bit later in our hearing. I look forward to that. To start off, please talk with us this morning about the role that the federal Highway Administration will play in coordinating the state and local agencies to respond to the bridge collapse. And to support a movement a good codes and people around the philadelphia region, while this bridge is being rebuilt. Well, thank you, chairman carper, and as you and the Ranking Member mentioned, fhwa staff have been working tirelessly on bill, and i want to highlight that in addition to standing up to which has been a lot of efforts, you know, we also have to deal with the sort of business of keeping the federal highway system up and running. And i just want to highlight for that committee thats on sunday, when the call started coming, and we had dozens of federal highway staff here in d. C. In pennsylvania, just on calls, all day long, and i just want to thank them for their efforts. I did, i showed up in philly on sunday, met with tens of, the secretary carroll has been doing an amazing job of marshaling that people there. Theyve got all the experts that they need. We are acutely aware of the impacts that this closure is having not just on the city of philadelphia or the state of pennsylvania but, the region and the nation. Secretary buttigieg went to visit yesterday and got a briefing. The president has asked for daily briefings on this project. So, every lever that we can pull is being pulled. We released Quick Release funds last night for 3 million for the state of pennsylvania. And the bulk of these costs will be covered by the e. R. Program. Thank you. Just as a followup, are there any initial takeaways that we can learn from this disaster that might help prevent some of the disasters in the future . Well, i think senator, i think you were keenly aware of this and embers of the committee, just how critical our Transportation System is, and i think sometimes, we take it for granted that it just operates. And when Something Like this happens, it becomes very apparent why these investments are so important. Why this infrastructure is so important. So, i would say it would be important to wait for the ntsb investigation into the calls. And learn any lessons that we can. But i think that, i just feel like, having been to a lot of those meetings over the weekend, and into yesterday, that truly, when you just have all of these engineers trying to solve a problem and you have all the experts in the room, theres just an Amazing Energy and unified focus, and i think you wouldnt be able to tell who were democrats who were republicans in the room there, and you, know i think thats emblematic of infrastructure solutions. Thats great. Thank. You my second question, senator capito, deals with the empty pilot, vehicle pilot miles traveled, for more than a decade, federal fuel tax revenues were camping up with transportation investment needs. Eight dozen states have used federal funds to study vehicle miles traveled. Those pilots are showing some success, as you know. The bipartisan infrastructure law makes u. S. D. O. T. To create an Advisory Board finding alternatives and to undertake National Study of d. O. T. Fees. But goal of that work is to produce a meaningful data that would provide timely input for the next reauthorization bill. Given that deadline is essentially, let the work begin and begin quickly. Unfortunately, either the Advisory Board nor the National Study have been established yet. My question is, what is the timeline for federal Highway Administration setting up the Advisory Board and getting the National Study underway . Thank you, senator. And i am aware of your interest in this program dating back to when i was the secretary of delaware, and was part of the mileagebased User Fee Alliance im not commenting directly on this issue. Yes. And in colorado, when i was the director of the western railroad usage, i consortium, reduce sodium so, we are working expeditiously to get the Advisory Committee set up, and well make sure that we get this important data for the committee as we look to reauthorize the program. Right, thank you. Lets go, thats music to my ears. Senator capito . Thank you. In my opening statement, i talked about the debate that we had over the Greenhouse Gas emissions performance measure. And targets that we had rejected it here in the congress, and you are pursuing a measure that would achieve this through rulemaking. What is your response to what i said in my opening statement, and what authority do you have to be moving in this direction, do you believe you have . Thank you, Ranking Member capito. Before i address that question, i would also like to echo your comments about lauren. We will miss her grace and professional knowledge. So, i would say, my reaction to your comments is i hear you and i heard you during my confirmation hearing, about your concerns about the g h g peace. From the authority perspective, obviously, we have lawyers at federal highways who will examine that, lawyers at u. S. D. O. T. , i believe map 21 did provide authority to measure the performance of the Transportation System. And i think we are in a bit of rulemaking right now. We have received 40,000 comments from folks and before we move forward in that rulemaking, we would want to understand all of those public comments. Okay, i think i probably need a little more clarity on what authority, but will follow back up with you on that. Lets go to the fence a delphi discrepancies. It is definitely in the weeds, but very impactful for many states, including the smaller states. We had asked about this, how are you going to address this, and the quote that came back was once the task force is completed its review, you must and fhwa will determine the type of adjustment required and the applicable authority. It seems like we are getting, we need the authority before we can make the decision. Where are you on this issue . Where is the Task Force Working . Thank you, senator. Thank you, Ranking Member. Specifically, on the fema delphi issue, as soon as i became aware that i have been in close contact with the states. We did establish a task force, i think they are diligently working with all of the potential impacts here. I think when you have an issue of a 3. 5 billion dollar discrepancy, we want to make sure that we have looked at every angle here, and so i am hopeful that well be able to provide you a little bit more detail soon, but my uptake here would be that we are working towards getting a resolution as quickly as we can. Okay, so, would that be into summer or in a year . Well, i would say as quickly as possible. Definitely this year. I am just, its some of this involves other coordination. I just want to, but we will continue to be in close contact. Okay. It looks like im over my time by three minutes. I dont feel like ive been that long so, im going to ask one more question. It feels long to me. [laughter] well, okay. Thats pretty good. [laughter] in january, and guess peter hamman the race concerns about the safety impacts of electric vehicles. On our roadways. And looking into this, the realization that these vehicles weigh a heck of a lot more than gas vehicles do, so, we reached out to fhwa to ask how you are planning to look at this from a future safety of our roadways, im sure its going to have impacts on not just bridge safety, guardrails, and also impacts, our response from them was, from you, was well fhwa doesnt currently have a, Research Plan on how to wait and weigh the distribution that if hes may have on guardrails and the longevity of the highways, number one priority, we know safety is number one. Why does the agency not have any plans research in this area, as were being pushed in this area to move towards the evs . Thank you, Ranking Member, for that question. I will double check where we are in terms of research, the size and weight is something we take a look at, particularly with regard to bridges and the performance of guardrails, obviously, something we would want to understand. The impacts. Just as a personal example, i have a mini van that has an electric battery in its. I would want to, again, verify, but i feel like its in the same weight range, but particularly, as freight and some of these cost 8 becomes electric colors, that is something. I would be happy to come back for you and get you some specifics around a research. Thank you. This issue was raised by our state d. O. T. , they are concerned about what kind of impacts this could have on highway safety. So, well follow up with that. Thank you. Administrator bhatt, first of all, welcome. Its nice to have you here. This past week, the maryland federal congressional legation had our annual meeting with governor more. He was here with his cabinet, set to redevelop, and they were very optimistic and very thankful for the support theyve gotten from the federal government. In the new programs. And the governors specifically mentioned their concerns of communities that have been in adversely impacted from transportation programs and the use of our funds in order to deal with that. We have the reconnecting communities being implemented, but he also indicated that as we build new transportation programs, we need to be more sensitive to community needs. And part of the infrastructure bill was a significant increase in the Transportation Alternative Program. 10 of the funding. Can you just share with us how you are administering that program to make sure the intent of congress to help communities deal with transportation challenges under the Transportation Alternative Program is being implemented . Thank you, senator cardin, and we have heard from communities across the nation, including in maryland, how excited they are about the opportunity to transform their communities. I will give you one very specific example. You know, when it comes to complete streets, which are an important part of active transportation and transportation alternatives, as an example, we have waved the local match on planning requirements around complete streets for communities who want to be able to access these funds, but may not have the local match or the planning expertise in house, so that is one example. I think transportation alternatives is a very important program, one i have deployed in delaware and colorado and happy to provide further details to your office. Thank you. One of the areas we are looking at is how we can deal with Traffic Safety. Including the use of Transportation Alternative Program funding. I have introduced legislation, and working on legislation that honors sarah length in camp, who was a distinguished Foreign Service officer and constituent killed while riding her bike in bethesda. Legislation is being offered, the more liberal use of our funds for highway and Traffic Safety. Including the tap program, when we see the increased numbers of safety episodes, if injuries and deaths on our highway, tell me the urgency of your efforts, to deal with Traffic Safety . Well, sir, i remember when i became the secretary director of the colorado d. O. T. We had, 484 fatalities. When i left three years later, we were over 714, 10 increase year over year, the vast majority among vulnerable users, and for me as the steward of the federal Highway Administration, and a role i take every one of those fatalities, incredibly seriously, we want to make sure that safety is out there and available for people who want to take alternatives like biking, like walking, and so it is an imperative for me as a federal highway administrator. One of the challenges we have in multi modalism, which is a way in which we can really improve safety as well as convenience and more efficient highways and Transportation System, it is to encourage more multi modalism. We have that in our state. The challenges that we have stood is funding, in many cases. Its hard to coordinate a multi modal forum. Tell me the efforts that you are making and order to encourage that type of transportation cooperation, which is in the best interest of our communities . Yeah, i think that the senator, thank you for that question. I think this is a primary focus for secretary buttigieg at u. S. D. O. T. Bringing in all of the ot approach, so, we want to make sure that as communities are reaching out, whether it is federal highway funds or fta funds, or real funds, as we and example, with reconnecting communities, that we are looking at it through a multi modal lens. So, the solutions that come out are the best ones for those communities and not federally prescribed approach. Thank you, senator kramer . Thank you, senator cardin and senator capito for this very good and important hearing. Sister thanks for being here. Im going to drill down, and i want to go back to senator capitos concerns about the proposed rule, and not only the lack of authority, i believe there is a lack of authority to do, it but also on the practicality of it. But first, first on the authority side, before i get to why its not gonna work in north dakota, or other places, that are going to require commuter buses or subways, in the Inflation Reduction Act, it dedicates 27 billion dollars for green banks, something the vpi withdrew almost immediately after getting the authority to do it. They created, instead, this sort of slush funds for grants. Now, theres nothing new in a lot the expressly prohibits such a thing. This is sort of been the tradition of decades, of administrations, republican and democrat alike. To take the absence of a prohibition in a law that authorizes certain things as a license to do whatever is not prohibited. But i want to speak to two really big recent Supreme Court cases that you think that major questions doctrine, stating emphatically that agencies dont have authority that isnt given to them in law. And that, of course, the first one being West Virginia versus epa, and the other one being the rule. They will take up a doctrine, as you will see how that turns out. , so i just think its becoming increasingly clear that bureaucracy is not the Fourth Branch of government. I policymakers. First of all, and i want to ask you, whats your sense of the Actual Authority to do these things but secondly, again, i want to stress that its impractical in places, rural places, especially. We just arent going to build subways in our toilet to get people to their farm. And so, i would hope if this is going to proceed, id rather have you withdraw and utilize what they did with the previous memorandum, but short of that, i hope theres consideration for the uniqueness or the difference qualities of different places across our everything for his country. Senator, i thank you for that question, and that statement. And i guess i would frame this, you survey two parts piece there. On the legal authority, i am not a lawyer. But i start virtually all of my meetings with federal highways as we will follow the law. And we have lawyers on staff, and i take that very seriously. So, i dont want to pine as a lawyer. I will follow the direction, no, that our lawyers give us on following the law very clearly. I hear you on the impacts, particularly for rural states and others around this place. You are not likely to build a subway around devils lake. But i would simply say here on this piece that this bipartisan infrastructure law did have a Climate Change title in it. And from a Performance Management perspective, when i was in delaware, we wanted, it was hard to get folks to talk about Performance Management, bridge condition, basement conditions. I think what were trying to look at here is not sort of penalize states for their Greenhouse Gas emissions, but get them to begin tracking Greenhouse Gas emissions as a if this is 30 of our beaches coming from the transportation sector, this is the piece of it. Maybe its not a subway, but maybe its alternative fuels, like other things, electric vehicles. Other ways to drive that down. So, i know its become a very political hot button issue here, but as with most of my efforts, i try to just focus on the heres what were trying to get to, and will follow the law. But not to be punitive, but more from a tracking perspective. I appreciate that. But i also, on this particular topic, for example, while theres a title that relates to the basic issue, weve discussed this specifically issue and decided not to do it. In other, words theres not a lot of ambiguity about the intent of the congress in this legislation. So, again, your lawyers will pick that over, finds a way around, and eventually, but here, in short of the Supreme Court weighing in specifically on a lawsuit on it roll so forth, not a rule, so, i dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves. But i think we have to consider that if were going to be this sort of general with our authorities at the administrative level, the next administration might be able of a different persuasion and take that slush fund and say hey, lets build a wall with solar panels at the southern border, and you know, it seems extreme and it probably is, but theres a lot of less extreme examples and probably come up with that, i think, you know, the democrats would find objection able for good reason. So, i appreciate hanging in there with the law, i always dismiss the lawyers after i get their advice before i make big decisions, so, thank you. Thank you, mister chairman. Senator whitehouse . Thank you very much. Thank, you mr. Bhatt, for being here. I would offer a different view and my distinguished republican friends. I think that if congress specifically authorizes you to do something, that is good and you have a clear direction from congress. If Congress Fails to specifically authorize you to do something, then whats you, revert to is your innate executive authorities. And if congress wishes to could forbid you to pursue those inherent executive administrative authorities, which theyve done with things like republican driven efforts, to prevent the irs from policing political start running. , so there are examples of doing that. I dont think its correct to say that when Congress Considers a specific authorization and doesnt pass it, that failure is a lawful restriction on your ability to do what you need to do using your innate administrative powers. And as a states, which has a coastline, which we believe is going to intrude quite far on our current seaside and bayside boundaries, predictably in the years ahead, were looking at very significant changes to the actual map of rhode island. So, dealing with Climate Change, responsibly, is a deadly serious matter for my state, and i would strongly encourage you to pursue your Greenhouse Gas Performance Measures to the full extent of your executive authorities. It matters to states like mine that you get this right. And whatever pressure there is to the contrary, please remember those of us who are highly vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change. To the ocean acidification, to the ocean warming, to the Sea Level Rise, to coastal roshan, through the air quality affects, all of that. And they offer that is a contrary view to what congressman by not specifically authorizing you. The bridge investment program, is that going to get another round of funding . Do we have another round of applications . Thank you, senator. Yes. Bridge investment, there will be another round that comes out i believe, this summer. Whats the timing for that, more specifically, if you know . In the, more specifically, other than this summer . Yes. Do you have a date . Or a month . July or august . Sometime in july or august . Yes. Okay. So, you will be accepting applications during that period for that second round . Yes, sir. Okay. Good to know. Thank you for that. I think thats all i have. We recognize cory bob from newport, who is with us. Good to have a robot islander in the house, and we look forward to working with you to support you in every way possible. On the emissions dangers and having proper information in order to assess and address those dangers appropriately. There are many, many, Many Americans who are counting on you to make the right decision, not the bomb that the fossil wheel industry wants. Thank you. All right, senator merkley, we are waiting for senator records, but will that with senator merkley. Theres so much going, on so well have a lot of in and out here. Thank you very much. And i appreciate your testy and your work. A couple questions. I want to start with the issue that has been brought up in my state. Oregons in the cascadia subject an zone, and theres a lot of preparation for essential infrastructure to survive the big one, if you will. And we have been told by the government of transportation they dont consider the need for seismic resiliency as relevant to a number of the grant pool applications. And that certainly is concerned. We are working to rebuild one of our bridges to make sure that there is at least one bridge that survives, and can you speak a little bit to my seismic resiliency is not considered a factor for you all in the number of these Grant Programs . Thank you, senator, and i am always made aware when i travel to the west coast and these seismic zones, the difference in bridge repairs, and the size of those peers, as compared to non seismic activity. I would want to double check on that. I know the golden gate large bridge investment that was made for 400 million was a seismic retrofit for the golden gate bridge. And that was a critical piece of that funding, so i would double check that where thats where, we stood on that. Okay. Id love to follow up with you in regard to the specific project and the concern that is relevant to the multi modal project discretionary grants, the bridge investment program, and the race Grant Program. And because a bridge may be functional now, but if we dont have any bridges that survive a quake, then addressing the emergency at that time is a real challenge, and thus, trying to responsibly reinforce key infrastructure. I want to turn next to a project that really begin with Lamar Alexander of tennessee, who served here previously and they developed a program in his home state where along the highways, they did plots and had Different Things maintaining different pulmonary plots, and our highways created enormous opportunity to address the basically the pollen armageddon. Weve lost massive numbers of butterflies and bees along our highways. One of the species that teaches public attention is the western monarch. The western monarch went from a high of about 10,000,040 years ago down to as low as 2000 butterflies to winter so go. It is not a couple good years, and then had huge storms over winner in Southern California that this late winter, early spring this year. Another huge hit. But pollinator butterfly, it travels for generations to go north, one generation go back south to california. Nobody sees monarchs in oregon7x anymore. We think they see them when they actually see the yellowtail butterflies. At least it is not orange, but it is yellow. Close enough, maybe i saw a monarch. The bigger issue is that we could really have clubs sponsored, lots of winds along our northsouth quarters just as tennessee did along their highways, and we got this bill, the practice on roadside highways into the bipartisan infrastructure law. But you all have not stood it up yet, and it is really a opportunity for folks to directly participate in establishing plots along these major corridors with all kinds of species. And i mentioned the monarchs, and people think milkweed, yes. Merkley is essential for the female butterflies to lay their eggs, but they needed all butterflies need the pollen flowers just like other pollinators to, and so it would help a whole lot. Are you familiar with this program, and can you tell me how the standup is going . And remember, when i was in the secretary in delaware, we had a b truck overturned a 95, in millions of these just trying to make sure that we were able to get that in because of the importance of pollinator. I would want to double check and come back to exactly where we are in standing up that program, but i hear you on the importance of ensuring that from agricultural perspective and is from our natural environment, that those pollinated are critical. You can imagine hundreds of just like they adopt them on the highway now, to keep them clean. Yeah, we want to go seed pollinator nectar producing flowers and milkweed. And contribute to a major opportunity to use the sides of our highways that are otherwise just not contributing much, but it is a perfect possible direction, and finally i just wanted to encourage the work to roll out the ev charging stations, and i think the model for this program is that it has to be as easy to charge up as it is to fuel up, and if you have driven electric vehicle any distance, youre probably aware that that is not the case because of the great complexity of the different charging technologies that are out there from different companies. I really pushed private transportation to have a National Standard so that it is as simple to charge up as it is to fuel up. How do you see that Program Going . Well thank, you senator. Obviously, the president has said a goal of 500,000 chargers, and i agree with you. If we are going to be successful, with the ev rollout for the American Public, they do need to be able to charge as easily as we are able to fill up. I think that i would give the Committee Credit for the investment that are being made through the bipartisan infrastructure law. We are actually seeing the market moving up with the big announcement between tesla, ford, and gm, and lots of other companies now looking to move that standard. And so i think that is a very positive outcome, notably one where we will continue to see consolidation. Well, thank you very much. Thank you mister chairman. Before i turn to the senator, i apologize that we have hearings going on and other committees, and in the Homeland Security committee, which i serve, of votes. And so they need to drag me in there every now and then, and so i apologize. I was out of the room here with some discussion and i just wanted to make a comment if i can in my absence. But on the discussion on Greenhouse Gas performance measure, and the fact that the bipartisan infrastructure law did not amend the Performance Measures section of law in order to require a Greenhouse Gas measure. I would note that my own recollection is that our committee actually did consider a provision that would require a stringent Greenhouse Gas performance measure. While also exempting half of the states of the nation from that measure. We declined to include that language in favor of retaining the existing authority to set Performance Measures for environmental sustainability, which include Greenhouse Gas emissions. That authority was created by map 21 in 2012, and im glad that the federal Highway Administration is still using data. All right, let me yield now to senator ricketts for his question. Thank you for joining. Thank you member capito. Thank you for being the attendee. My pleasure. I told you, i love this committee. We do to. All right, so my first question, administrator, is it bad or bought. Whatever the pleasure of the committee, but generally bat. I heard delaware. But in seoul. I do want to thank your team for the relationship with the rest of the partner transportation. Prior to that, i was governor, i think in 2015, and pride that i think it is a pretty poor relationship between our Department Transportation and federal Highway Administration, and your team is really help prepared that, and i know that the first director now vicky kramer, appreciate the working relationship, and so thank you very much for continuing to build upon that relationship. Its important we continue to work closely between the federal Highway Administration in the state department of transportation, and so i really appreciate that. I also reiterate with senator capito said about making sure that our agencies take legislation that we pass and faithfully execute that legislation in the way that congress intended to be implemented. Thank you with that, and with that, i would like to jump into the infrastructure and jobs act and talk a little bit about the august redistribution. And so a billion for fiscal year 2022, are this redistribution jumped up to 6. 2 billion dollars. I think with the infrastructure, investment, and jobs act, we can expect to see that august redistribution continue to climb. However, as you know, theres a very limited amount time with which department of transportation, specifically the Nebraska Department of transportation in my case, can get that money back and redeploy it efficiently and effectively. And that number becomes larger, thats going to become an increasing challenge. We want to make sure obviously that those dollars are spent effectively. What do you see with regard to that august redistribution, and how can we make that process one where departments, state department of transportation, will be able to have access to that money, and able to use it in a way that is not going to be inefficient. Thank you senator, and its your first director who worked for you had a much more challenging last name than mine. [laughter] to pronounce, and spell too. But kyle is a dear friend, and grateful that we are rebuilding that relationship in nebraska. Look, you raise a very important issue, senator. The august redistribution in addition to the femas delphi issue when i came in the january, one of the first things that we did, we sat down with ash toe at the derby meeting in january to say listen, where 6. 2 billion last year, are going to be higher. We generally notify states in july of the impending august redistribution numbers. We have been in close contact with the states since basically march. Saying this is coming, please get ready, what can we do to help you . What flexibilities can we get there . Our goal is, i know that the goal, and even within communities within those states, its to make sure that all of that gets used, and that is one of our very primary focuses in the next few weeks. And other additional flexibilities that you have in mind to be able to give state d. O. T. s so that they can especially as they get bigger in a more effective way . Senator, thank you for that. This is always very important for me. We say that we have to follow the law always follow the law. Absolutely follow the law, but for each of our administrators, when you are working with all of those states, whether it is West Virginia, delaware, nebraska, if the state has a creative idea that says like hey, we may be able to apply some of this of limb on a project here, and their Contract Authority, then i think that this is something that because of the size of the bipartisan infrastructure law, if august redistribution is going to be at this level, it might be something that we want to look at a legislative fix going forward. Okay, fair enough, thank you. Also in relation to the i a. G. A, we have some discretionary grants, and one of the things that im hearing from folks in my home state is about the process. Especially if you think about some of the small localities if youre able to apply force on these grants. The challenge of getting through the application process. What sort of resources do you have where do you think that you can do for some of these localities to make it easier specifically navigating the launchpad for example. Ive heard some challenges with that. Especially for smaller communities. What can you do to provide extra resources to make the process easier for those communities to be able to apply for these discretionary grants. Thank you senator. And i think what we want to make sure is that for all of these communities, whether they are large state devotees or cities or smaller communities, we want to get them an award, and also get them across the finish line with this fastenal project. We have elsa local Technical Assistance program, tribal Technical Assistance program. We have set up websites. The secretarys office is very engaged. And if there are specific things for us to reach out, to we would like you to do that. And chairman, ill turn the tie makeover you. Thanks, thanks so much. Senator merkley, you are recognized. Senator chairman, ambassador bhatt, its good to see you again. And just wanted to get come back to our favorite subject, the cape cod bridges and the need to ensure that not now that theyre nine months older than the last time that you testified, that they are even more desperate need of replacement. And if a severe storm war to strike cape cod, extremely worried that the bridges will become a bottleneck for residents and visitors seeking to evacuate, creating a very severe safety risk. So can you reaffirm your commitment to working with me to replace the cape cod bridges . Thank, you senator, and just as in my confirmation hearing, nor know them as the bridges, and much of the cape cod bridges. After brent spence, these are probably the bridge projects that i have heard quite a bit about coming in, and absolutely this is a priority focus for administration, and happy to continue to work with you on it. It was so important. Its the only way when that storm comes, and it is coming, it just evacuation will be catastrophic if this bridge is there. The highways and roads of the past splintered and displaced communities, and as we drive into our clean energy future, we cant greenlight more inequality. Weve to put those injustices in the Rearview Mirror and cities like philadelphia, chicago, white census tracks more likely to have electric vehicle charging stations. And we are reckoning with that in massachusetts, boston. Most Ev Charging Infrastructure is located in the seaport, fenway, beacon hill, but neighborhoods like roxbury, and charlestown have limits no options. That is why last congress, i introduced a Community Vehicle charging act that would invest in Ev Charging Infrastructure in Environmental Justice communities. Unintentional and equitable deployment of electric vehicle charging must be a priority in the bipartisan infrastructure law implementation. And one way the boston is increasing access is by deploying chargers in the city owned parking lots and low income and black and brown communities. So administrator, how does the charging in fueling infrastructure Discretionary Community charging program help cities and states to tackle this conundrum of making sure that the charging stations are in inner city communities . Thank, you senator markey, and the significant investments in electric vehicles that this committee put forward, the bipartisan infrastructure law, we are working with states on their programs in assuring that they are adhering to the standards that we have put in place so if i actually just close the discretionary brandt Grant Program and 13th and so we are anticipating opening all of those applications and that is a critical lens for us to make sure that we not only have the interstate covered, but also all of our communities, and the very communities that you mentioned in your comments. Thank you so much, very very important. And do you think that mobile charging has a role to play in the charging and feeling Infrastructure Program as well . Particularly to provide resilience to charging systems in case of emergency . Thank you senator. Yes, i think this is a very exciting time and the industry. It is one that i think that the president is very clear he wants america to lead in, and so we are going to look at a all of the above approach to make sure that this transition is successful. Technical assistant will be very important for frontline communities to be able to apply for the bipartisan infrastructure bill programs and for the Inflation Reduction Act programs. Is the federal Highway Administration supporting communities . So that they can make the most of these funding opportunities and frontline communities . Thank you senator, yes. I think what is both a blessing and a new burden is the fact that what we have traditionally worked, with state duties to administer this program. There are many many direct recipients. And so again as i said before, we want to make them successful in getting a award, and also cutting a ribbon on that project. Thank you. And finally, i was proud to secure 45 million in the 2023 on the bus for my active transportation Infrastructure Investment program, which promotes walking and biking infrastructure and supports active Transportation Networks that allow people to safely travel without a car, in those active Transportation Networks reduce transportation emissions, increase mobility. So now that the program is officially founded, the federal Highway Administration needs to deploy those funds as quickly as possible. So can you commit to swiftly implementing the active Infrastructure Investment program . Yes, senator. I think everyone within federal highways knows that im a huge supporter of active transportation. Senator, thank you. And senator sullivan and i, we partnered on that, and its just amazing how much alaska and Greater Boston have in common. In about partnership, we could to see a future that works for everyone. Senator markey, sullivan, massachusetts and alaska. Its a marriage made in heaven. [laughter] senator sullivan, you are on. Mister chairman, im over here cracking up, because senator markey was mentioning his bill, not just going to say, its really our bill, but he is the lead, but i think i was really republican cosponsor on that. I say that, i thought i did a good job of digging out of the hole. You know . [laughter] i saved it so thank you. But administrator, some very important bipartisanship here, i do want you to send all of that 45 million from our bell, particularly as a project outside of anchorage called moose loop. If you can take a hard look at moose loop, this has great potential. Its right up the alley of what senator markey was talking about. So that is my first issue i want to raise. Have you heard of moose loop yet . I have not. Well now you have, right . [laughter] in the boston public guidance, we have to make way for the ducklings. Its not moose, but its the same concept, maybe a little bit bigger animals. So thank you senator markey, but in all seriousness, it was great legislation, and i was very honored to cosponsor it. I think its going to benefit a lot of people across the country. We will see new info on moose loop. Let me get back to another issue that relates to alaska. Administrator, we still have to get you up there, right . It is on my list probably more summer than winter, but we will do moves loop together. Moose loop, we can do that for sure, that is a good idea. I want to talk about another part of the infrastructure bill. I did vote for the infrastructure bill, which was the protect program. That is about resiliency. You know alaska has more coastline than the rest of the lower 48 states combined. So when you talk about resiliency for coastal america, we are over 50 of it for the whole country. And you might remember, it did make a lot of respect here, but last fall, the west coast of alaska got hit by a typhoon. Typhoon murdaugh. A very big storm that did a lot of damage in our state d. O. T. Has been working with fema and your agency on faster ways to complete the repairs to the damage infrastructure that took place after this typhoon. So im just wondering, what are you doing to implement the protect program, particularly in the coastal communities in america, but in my state given like i said that we constitute over 50 of all coastline in america. Well thank you senator sullivan, and i think that whether it is a typhoon hitting alaska, or flooding in kentucky and West Virginia, there is no shortage of weather events that are testing the resilience of our system. And a couple years ago for the watch to events, hearing about some of the impacts of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change there, i was just recently at the event and met with the alaska director of the d. O. T. , deputy d. O. T. And talking about the very unique coastal aspects and needs. And so specifically with protect, we have distributed the funds to the states and the Formula Program and also launched the discretionary program. So happy to visit with you if theyre any discretionary opportunities, but share your concern then and the importance of that program. Okay, good. Let me mention another topic that i know you and i have talked a lot about. Senator capito has been leading the charge on here in the senate. And of course is the ever endless goal of so many of us, including a lot of my democratic colleagues, on reform. We have a system that is just dysfunctional that it takes forever to get projects, whether roads, ports, or bridges, or mines, Energy Projects off the ground. The country hurts workers. And that is self inflicted. So the infrastructure bill has some decent permitting reforms that we negotiated here actually in this community. Not enough, in my view. And so did the debt ceiling agreement. And so i have two parts to my question. One is, what are you doing to implement those. Very bipartisan, we want to keep them going. Certain groups america dont like it, but theyre definitely in the minority. And second, with regard to permitting, one of the most egregious things that i have seen that really really kind starting to put us in the world of, you know, venezuela and banana republics is, and ive seen it a lot in this administration, particularly as it relates to alaska. We had a number of projects that went through final e iss. Six or seven years, millions of dollars. Got record of decisions from the previous administration. Professional federal employees doing that, and in this administration, the biden ministration, come back and look at all these records of decision on infrastructure, on roads in alaska saying, you know, they didnt consult enough, and so we are going to reverse that. So literally opening up records of decisions that are four years old. This is just nuts. And so any views on both of these issues related to permitting in general, and then reopening records of decisions that are four years old. I mean that is not the rule of law, its not america. But the biden ministration is doing a lot to my state, and its outrageous. So thank you again for the question. I would say on the first part, having been a state d. O. T. Secretary in two states, i have anxiously awaited a decision of no Significant Impacts, but as a project delivery person coming for the private sector before i took this job, i am always resolutely focused on the critical path. On time on budget. From a federal highways perspective, i recognize that we are not a permitting agency. We are actually going to our sister agencies who do issue the permits. However, we do have great relationships with army corps efficient wildlife and so i think we are trying to leverage those relationships to get to the important forms in place. In terms of opening records of decision, i would love to visit with you off line about that because, as i say, we want to follow the law, and that is my commitment that we will do that. Thank you mister chairman. Thank you senator sullivan. Senator fetterman, you are next. And senator fetterman . You are recognized. Please proceed. Thank you mister chairman. Welcome, thank you for coming. We had earlier some comments about the tragic accident on nine 95, if you want to make any comments with respect to that, feel free, you are recognized. Oh, no, i really would like to, the 95, 95, 95. You know, obviously, youre pretty much preoccupied with the 95, and i certainly am to, and we know it is a major problem, not just for pennsylvania, but for the east coast and a lot of pennsylvanians are worried that the delays in repairs bring to its stance. Im glad to see last night, you are so quick to get 3 million to the emergency relief funds got out so quickly. Just personally, it just seemed like 3 million wasnt enough. It seems like its going to be a lot more expensive than that, but i get the sense President Biden, you know, i was standing next to a collapsed bridge in western pennsylvania and things move down really quickly and got it down. And im confident that the same is going to happen you know in east pennsylvania as well. But right now, you have an incredible asset in seeped a. It is the Regional Rail and subway lines, that i think could be a gamechanger if subpoena still needs your support to expand temporary capacity to ease congestion on the road. My question to you, administrator, could you emergency relief on other funds that your agency could help their temporary operating costs to create a fire and will you commit to working with the secretary to get the septa support in the next few weeks . Thank you senator, and i know how important this project is, and chairman carper had reached out to me on sunday and i know had connected us and so we will be very engaged on this. With specifically to the 3 million on a Quick Release, all of the cost of this will be borne through the emergency relief program. The 3 million is sort of a down payment and its about a 10 estimate of what they think they are going to need. If that number goes up, we will provide more funding, but that was the regent reason for the 3 million. Specifically on septa, i was with leslie richards, who is the general manager of septa yesterday. Secretary buttigieg was briefed on that. And again, back to this concept of following the law, federal highway yar funds specifically relate to added capacity on septa and we are working to stand that up. Secretary buttigieg has also asked us to look with fda fda put provisions that may have. But septa is a Critical Link that corridor. Yeah. Well i am here, i also wanna talk about the federal government implementing expert advice in making streets safer as well. I reached out twice to express my concerns about the actions of your agency. Should be making streets safe and delays they have been witnessing with some key guidelines. When can we expect these actions to be finalized, and will commit to working with my office to address the concerns that i have raised. Thank you senator. I think secretary buttigieg is very clear that safety is our priority and its part of the National Railway Safety Strategy. Safe streets, safe design, safer speeds. These are all things that we talk about incessantly within federal highways. Having to follow up with your staff owned any concerns you may have raised so that we can more quickly deploy safety on our system. Thank you. And i look forward to your response via the questions, and so thank you very much administrator. Thank you sir. And i cede my balance to the chair. The chair is happy to have it. [laughter] we will turn to the issue on the i95 a little bit later and hearing, but thank you senator fetterman. Okay, i think senator kelly. Thank you mister chairman. First of all, Truck Parking. I have a bill with senator kelly called the Truck Parking Safety Improvement act where we are going to authorize some additional funding to your agency to address the backlog. But as we continue to debate that bill, im interested to hear what work are you doing now on this issue . Thank you senator lummis, and i remember when i was a colorado d. O. T. Director we will get the closure notices for i80 often. And we will start reaching out to our commercial vehicle partners to let them know that they didnt need to come up. We would try to stop them before they got up and got stacked up too much. So this is a critical issue for us. I would say that this is an eligibility that we have extended through our formula funds, and there are even extra discretionary grants that have been awarded that involve Truck Parking. I know this is something that myself and secretary buttigieg are supportive of. Thank you. We just had an absolutely outrageous winner in wyoming this year. And road closures were extremely common, and i think are bound to continue to be. So you know the challenges of that high plains environment. Okay, i want to switch to the Inflation Reduction Act a little bit. A few questions about that. Its a last year i had Major Concerns regarding the program that the i. R. A. Created. It is called the neighborhood access and equity Grant Program. My concerns there are i dont want to just to be a way to funnel taxpayer dollars to urban areas and neglect rural areas. Can you give me some assurance that that is not happening . Or do you have some information about how that money is going out . How is it being awarded . Thank, you senator. Obviously for any of the discretionary programs, we will issue a notice of funding opportunity that has great detail and prescribes how we award the funding. Im quite certain we have examples of Rural Communities that have received funds, and so i would be happy to follow up with you directly after the hearing. Super, i look forward to that. And i want to touch on some issues yet that we are also discussed by senator sullivan. The Environmental Review system is effectively broken, and it really affects highway dollars because of the massive increase in inflation in the construction industry. It exceeds inflation in other areas of our economy, and so delays in construction are hugely costly. So i have introduced a bill. It is called the interactive federal review act. It is to test interactive cloudbased platforms that are estimated to shorten the time span spent reviewing the documents for large projects by as much as half. So have you had a chance to look at this idea and do you believe that a step like that could help expedite project delivery . Senator lummis, thank you for that comment on that work. I was in the private sector before i came to this role, and digital delivery, digital tools, for construction and bringing all of that. Digital nepa processes i think are something that are very exciting. And so we are happy to work with your office on that. Just an inflation case, i was in a global tent Protection Role and i would just say that inflation is a huge issue in america for transportation projects. Inflation was also an issue in the middle east for transportation projects, and the uk, in asia, and there is sort of a global issue with commodities now, and so i just wanted to highlight that its a challenge were dealing with globally, not just here in the u. S. Good point. I want to run another thing by you that also deals with these types of delays. Congress updated the categorical exclusion in the iija four projects with limited federal funding. 6 million. Its not that inflation has made 6 Million Dollar contribution to federal funds to the project, such a small contribution that you cannot effectively use categorical exclusions. I am inclined to want to raise the up to 12 million. Double it. So it can be meaningfully used instead of being almost irrelevant. Do you have any comments on that . Thank, you senator. Happy to work with your staff to evaluate what that right number would be. We want to be able to use a ceo whenever possible, and i think that your notes on inflation, i am very focused on project delivery. And if we can deliver these projects in time, its going to help with the inflation issue as well. And can i ask one more question about that . No, go ahead. In your experience, what advantages does it give a project to qualify for a categorical exclusion . From my experience, if you can get a c e, then you are not looking at doing the higher levels of Environmental Review. But that is always correlated with the impacts to a project, right . So if it is a major bridge project that has water impacts, potential travel impacts, or other issues, that is where you are going to start to add time in review because there is just greater impact for a project. But the Structural Integrity of the project has to be evaluated regardless of whether you have a cat x or not. Thank you senator. So Structural Design elements would be different than the environmental impacts of a project. Thank you very much, thanks mister chairman. Thanks as always for joining us. Senator kelly, good morning. Good morning mister chairman, thank you. Administrator bhatt, thanks again for being here, and great to see you. I wanna start by discussing the project to widen interstate 10. It goes through arizona, because all the way across the country in fact, but the area between phoenix and tucson is a problem. In our single day there is a accident that backs up the stretch of highway for hours, and it is because there are portions of this highway that are just two lanes in each direction. And it is a major safety issue. It is also worth noting that this stretch of roadway that i am talking about is within the gila river indian community, yet the infrastructure does not currently exist to adequately connect the community to this critical transportation quarter. Unfortunately, the arizona Department Transportation, the gila river indian community, and local leaders from throughout maricopa canal and counties in the state of arizona have come together to support a comprehensive plan to add a extra lane to the interstate in each direction and at several critical new changes to improve connectivity to the gila river indian community. To date, the state of arizona and Maricopa Association of governments have committed more than 800 and 50 million in state and local transportation funding to complete this project. It is a lot of money. We are hoping to make up the remainder of the funding with either a infra or a grant this year. Administrator, bhatt, can you provide any indication of when you expect the notice of funding opportunity for the infra and mega grants. Thank you, senator kelly, and i am very aware both of the importance of that interstate to those communities, phoenix and tucson, and then also as a vital quarter for the united states. I am happy to be in contact with director as well that would be helpful. I will give you specifics, but we have so many of these ones that are coming out. Again, i believe it would be one that will come out in the next summertime as well. Okay, sometime in the summer. Can get back to us with a specific date . Absolutely sir. Thank you. As you know, we applied for one of the mega grants last year for the specific project. We dont receive it. After that decision i heard concerns from some of their zone of that the project was not selected in favor of some multi modal projects. I know you cannot comment on a specific project. Can you speak more broadly about whether projects to expand interstates, especially in fast growing states like arizona, could be competitive for a future maga or a infra grant award . Thank you senator. I think what we always want to make sure is that i think we think that states and locals are the ones who make the best decisions about the transportation needs, and we are happy to work with those communities. And i think on mega, we are probably weeks, not months away on mega. From a look, i would be happy to is there any reason why adding additional lanes to an interstate would not qualify for a mega grant . I know that there are some of the Carbon Reduction Program grants specifically forbid it. But there is nothing expressively in the law that would prevent capacity under some of these programs. And last year, there were nine mega grants awarded. I think that was the number. None of these projects, if we took a look at them closely, none of them appear to be located on tribal land or meaningfully serve tribal communities. So can you speak to the work that the federal highways is doing to ensure that tribal communities are able to apply for and be competitive for Grant Funding opportunities like the mega and in for grants. Thank you senator. I worked closely with the tribe in colorado when i was the director there, and i am aware of the unique circumstances there. We have a tribal Technical Assistance program that we work directly with tribes to help them apply, and im happy to connect with your office to provide more details. Helping them apply, does that also help them to be competitive . I believe those two would be synonymous, but i want to just double check. All right, thank you. Thank you mister chairman. Thank you senator kelly. Senator capito. I want to go back to the questions i asked you about the safety on evs, and we talked about the weight limits. So my staff got me this from a ntsb head, and he was quoted as saying that the ford f150 lightning ev is 2 to 3000 pounds heavier than the same models commercial version. And the mustang mock e electric suv, and the ball though you see 40 easy she said are about 33 heavier than their gas counterparts. So this is an issue. I would just encourage you at the department of the other things is to look at this increases the number of evs, what it is going to do to our safety impacts on the highway. Because i think it will have an impact. We know weight has an impact on damages. I want to ask about by america. Im understanding that theyre inconsistencies about buy america, build america provisions that we put in the iija kind of has a patchwork of state implementation challenges causing some confusion. So fhwa will play a major role in the approval process, if not, this could bring some of our projects to a halt. And im hearing by america on all kinds of different issues, and it goes back to the supply issues that senator lummis was talking about. Can you talk about the waiver process of h f w a and how you are preparing for the influxes of requests that are going to come . Thank you, Ranking Member. And yes your crack staff i am sure provides it with a lot of information. I would say very specifically on the buy america plan buy america plan. When i hear the president speak, i hear him talking about the transformation role of the law and building projects and improving our infrastructure. And with equal passion, i hear the president talking about rebuilding the economy and ensuring that these are good paying american jobs, and these products are built here. And so there is a, as we are rebuilding our industrial capacity, around some of these projects that are being now, and were getting battery plants built here, there is going to be a tension between getting projects built quickly and then getting those projects made with products that are made here in america. And so we are just going to have to find a way to thread this needle of ensuring that we are getting projects done quickly and then finding appropriate waivers to make that happen, but making sure that we are also rebuilding the industrial capacity. Will you find a larger influx of requests for waivers . Ranking member, i would say that i would have to go back and double check, but yes, generally we and you have the mechanism set up to be able to address that growing challenge within the department . Yeah. So every waiver request that would come, and we have a process for evaluating, yes. Let me ask about one federal decision, because i have been touting that as a way to streamline, but obviously it is the debt bill that we just passed four other projects, and there was concern i think, has this been implemented enough to really make a difference . Are you seeing more streamlined implementation on these projects . You would know coming from the state sector whether it is moving faster. How many projects are on track to achieve that twoyear goal of the eiss . Are you utilizing the provision that requires one environmental document . Talk about one federal decision, youre implementation, and some of these specifics that i mentioned. Thank you Ranking Member. And i would say, as somebody with a project of every background, i appreciate these efforts. To just get greater clarity and accelerate project liberty. Im happy to come back with very specific lists of projects that were implementing some of these reviews on. I would say that for all of these major projects, these are big thorny issues, and i think this is one of the areas where mitchell andrew, who works directly for the president on project delivery, hes constantly saying, how can we get these agencies to Work Together better . I would say that we have great awareness and great cooperation with the resource agencies, and right now is just a matter of getting through some of the processes so that we can get to these decisions anymore quick way. Are you seeing the end result here yet . Of this one federal decision . I would say that i personally can think of examples where we are actively engaging with resource agencies proactively. We are talking about the timelines that have been established. Ive been in the role for six months, and i dont know if i can say that i have a project from start to finish in that twoyear timeframe. Okay. So we need to keep following up on that. And lastly, you testified that fhwa is administering nearly 900 awards, and the sort of follows on to that one federal decision. I mean i guess we could follow up with you and your staff more specifically. How many of those awards actually have project Grant Agreements in place. Are we getting to the end point here . You have a lot going on, and we understand that, but are the awards being made in a timely fashion to satisfy you . Because we are hearing some blow back on that. Thank, you Ranking Member. So we are working very closely with any of the award recipients to make sure that there is a Grant Agreement in place, that we will get them successfully, because some of these programs have construction timeframes around obligation. Our money obligated within timeframes. And so we want to make sure, and were happy to invite you into staff with any timelines in updates on the project lists. We would like some specific data on that, following up on your opening statement, but thank you for being here, and thank you for everything that you are doing, appreciate it. Thank you senator capito. I have a couple of questions, and by the end of, that we will return to i95 for any last thoughts that you have, especially on where i think the governor has explained it earlier today. First, i question dealing with ev charging standards and this week forward in general matters General Motors said that they would rely on teslas charging technology for their electric vehicles as well. Since the three companies together represent i think about 75 of ev sales in the u. S. , that indicates some industry consolidation around the north american charging standards, or in acs. Rules require countries seeking ev charging grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law to use a alternate standard. The combined charging system or ccs. Question, how does the existence of multiple industry standards affect the build out of Ev Charging Infrastructure and why does the role of the fhwas role in facilitating convergence around a single convergence. A corollary to that is that additionally, if a single charging technology emerges and an industry standard, how will federal Highway Administration make sure that it is open, accessible, and liable for all evs . Thank you, senator. And thank you chairman. I think that a couple of things. I think that the public should recognize that the coalescing of ford, testa, and gm, convent big three on evs is in no small part due to the investment side by the bipartisan infrastructure law. President bidens focus on this. It is great to see private sector coming together and working to get the standard. I think that is part of our challenge, as we are ruling out this new program, is that we are making live decisions, and the world is moving and evolving as we move forward. And as somebody who has an electric vehicle that has a ccs charger, i want to make sure that mine will be able to charge. I think one of the things that we are reassured by is that there are adapters that are available. If for some reason the industry moves and assert direction, this is not like a very finite, like you either have to choose one or the other right now, but we are i think excited to see industries coming together, and we will work with our Public Sector partners to make sure that we are trying to move in concert as much as possible. And as an electric vehicle owner, i feel the same sentiment that you feel. And the title rollout, the threat of Climate Change means that you must urgently reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Justice urgently, and for the Transportation Systems are resilient to have an increase in natural disasters that are already being witness across the country . I strongly supported the inclusion of a historic climate title in the bipartisan infrastructure law, including discretionary grants to build out ev charging and communities and to increase resilience. I am somewhat concerned, having said that, but these discretionary Grant Programs have been slow to be implemented, and that no funds, im told no funds have been awarded yet. Heres my question, this federal Highway Administration have the Staff Resources its needs to promptly began ordin grants and meet the urgency of the moment in implementing the climate title . Thank you chairman carper. I think that one of the things that i have been very focused on is turning awards into projects. Since i have been coming here, i know that secretary buttigieg is also very focused on this. Ill give you one very specific example. Anna cfi, we initially had a deadline in may for those communities to submit their applications. Because we got a lot of requests for more time, because these communities wanted to be successful in applying, we actually extended the deadline to june 13th. Some of it is theres a lot of new programs, federal highways that was yesterday. What was that . That was yesterday. Right, there is a lot going on. But yes, yesterday was the deadline there. But i cannot stress this enough. I think the federal highway, since this law was enacted, have been working around the clock to get all of these programs stood up. We will continue to work like that, but it is a balance have we want to move swiftly, but also thoughtfully to get to successful outcomes. And i think youve probably answered this question, and i will ask it anyway. How is federal Highway Administration working with states to ensure the states prioritize investments in Ev Charging Infrastructure . Thank you chairman carper. Yes, i think that we have a robust discussion with our partners around navy, improving their plans, looking at some of the exceptions that they have asked for as they look to stand up the of alternative fuel corridors. I think just like when the interstate system was built, we want to make sure that this Evening Network is one that americans can go coast to coast and community to Community Without fear of not being able to charge. Good. Bus Rapid Transit. Im the first time i heard of this program, i said that is a clever idea, i wish that i came up with that. But the bus Rapid Transit system will provide as you know fast, i think in many cases reliable high quality public transportation. Theyre being adopted in cities across the country and offer way to connect, and suburbs to job centers, and to expand access to real networks, among other things. The bipartisan infrastructure law provides new eligibility for states to use formula dollars to build Rapid Transit systems. I think when i was out of the room markup on their business meeting, my other committee, i miss this. But how is the federal Highway Administration providing information to states about the opportunities to build bus Rapid Transit systems, and corollary to that in general, how is the federal Highway Administration coordinating with the federal Transit Administration to facilitate multi modal investments . Thank you chairman carper. When i was delaware secretary, i also ran d. C. Very familiar with transit operations. I would say that from the federal highway perspective, we are constantly making states aware, and i think states are aware, of their eligibility for flexing highway dollars for transit. We work very closely, the fda administrator, and we are often close communication with the secretarys office. I think that we are bringing a multi modal approach more so than any other Department Transportation has had that focus. All right, thank you. We have talked earlier about the alarmingly high number of pedestrians who are dying in this country. I think the fatality levels, which is the highest level in decades, maybe 40 years or so. And the fatalities increased during the pandemic because, despite an overall decrease in driving, people just drove less, but i think we saw i continue to see an increase bipartisan infrastructure law invests heavily in safety, particularly for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users, and it also directs u. S. D. O. T. To reconsider some of the manuals and procedures that govern a road design. U. S. D. O. T. Has also released a Safety Strategy to recognize that it is a danger to the high speeds and roe designs posed to vulnerable road users. Question, how is the u. S. D. O. T. Safety strategy in forming a federal Highway Administration and the administrations implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law . And as federal Highway Administration are we considering design guides and procedures to discourage higher speeds . Thank you chairman carper. I think that secretary buttigieg often speaks about the focus on safety. The national roadway Safety Strategy incorporates safe design, safer speeds and to this. And i think that as a federal highway administrator, what i often tell our folks in our state partners is, we need to differentiate our interstates islam from where those interstates become arterials, and those arterials become the city streets. And i spoke at an actor earlier this year, and we really want to part with partner with communities who want to enact lower speed limits in the cities. I think what we are learning sort of globally is that the cities that get the best outcomes and the safest cities are the ones where people feel safe to lock walk and bike. We want to make sure that we are not thinking about moving cars and trucks, but we are creating these places where people feel safe to be active in the transportation. All right, thank you. I and if anybody wants to ask questions, with the hearing this going on right now i need to react this up. But before we do, that the governor of pennsylvania, governor shapiro, will made surrounds this morning they think are relevant to the discussion that were having today. And if you could share with us briefly while it your reaction to what he has announced, i would appreciate it. Thank, you chair, and chairman carper, and yes, i have been in the hearing, and so im not sure specifically what he announce, but it was my understanding that he was going to detail the timeline for the expected repair, and i think that we were thinking it might be several months, and i think that pendant ought has come up with an expedited plan, and i was part of those discussion. It will get us to resolution much quicker, and restore traffic on i95 which is crippling the region right now, and so just really grateful for the innovation of penndot and the cooperation of philadelphia and our regional partners and the federal Highway Administration. Any question that you had not been asked that you like to be asked . I have several serve, but i want to get to the finance committee before. My staff will appreciate that. I want to say how what joys been here sit here today and to hear from you and hear your response to the questions that have been asked. I for the other people who may not know this, i was given the opportunity to suggest how folks to the newly elected president a couple years ago, two people to serve in his administration, and chairman was especially pleased to recommend. And sitting here listening to you today, i find the questions, and coming at forthright in frank way, it makes me very happy. And, to your family, who are sharing you with all of us across the country, your wife and, you have one child . To. Daughters two girls. Tell them that we appreciate them sharing their husband and dad with the rest of us. And, lets see here, some points that i have to mention. In closing, i want to thank our witness, administrator claude shailen for his time and testimony today. And as we have heard today, the federal Highway Administration faces no shortage of important work as it continues to implement the critical problems that are authorized, and funded by the bipartisan infrastructure claude imparted by the inflation act. And we thank you for your willingness to serve, so why the federal Highway Administration has time for rebuilding claude the americas infrastructure. And we hope that the teams elite in the team members that read across the country are thanked bipartisan for the good work has been done. Everything i do, i know we can do better. I think the same is true for federal Highway Administration, and what is its in the constitution, and would form a more perfect union, in the preamble, it will never be made perfect, that is our goal. And we will continue to strive to do that. And we appreciate the spirit in which you lead this agency. Thank you. And i think the senator is going to be allowed to submit questions for the record, through the closing that it is on wednesday, june 28th. And we will compile those questions as two weeks from today. We will compile those questions, send them to be federal Highway Administration, that is the day that we have we responded to by you and your team, by wednesday, july the 12th, and with that, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you so much. [whispering]