Transcripts For CSPAN2 Transportation 20240705

Federal highway administrators giving testimony on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act and other legislation passed by congress. Also spoke about emergency relief efforts to reopen am pleased to call this hearing. Welcome to the witnesses and to the guests and a special thanks to our colagues for being here for this important hearing. We are here to discuss the federal highw administration and implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act. I am enormously proud and i know senator ouppercaseletter is as well, the work the committee did providing the foundation of the bipartisan infrastructure law. People say to mand im sur to you, senator when you travel back toest virginia, whyant you Work Together to gettuff done and as it turns out in the committee thats what we do, the bipartisan infrastructure 20zip and proud to help lay the foundation for whats turned out to be one of the biggest investmentsver and hopefully we will continue to make that the history going fward. Before we begin i want to take a moment to acknowledge the disaster. In philadelphia my wife and i live here too close to home and i know the witness today has been up there for qui a while and a little bit about that as well. Causing an overpass on the collapse. He and his team are working with state officis there as they seek to restore mobility. I call i95 as the nations highway from mne down to florid i want to thank the administrator and the rest of his team at the federal highway adnistration for the important work thatou are doing and i appreciate very much your being with us today. For the bipartisan infrastructure law and when we di it destroyed funding for the programs and i also noted the fit ever claimant title in the bill of that nature. Efficient costsavingre transportation also known as the protect program. We did so with the intent of proving resilience in the Transportation System and reducing the vulnerability to extreme weather. Weve all heard of the old saying. Thats certainly the case with investments and building the protected features and nionalt infrastructure to keep the assets to withstand disasters for years and at the greater the benefit will be. With that in mind im pleased the federal Highway Administration is accepting applications for the first round of the grants. Its my hope the federal Highway Administration works quickly to award the programs and help begins to improve resilience of the commodities, communities rather nationwide. Also electric vehicle or easy charging networks across the country and 70 increase in funding for accessible pedestrian and bicycle pathways across the country. The surface transportation bill authorized the reconnecting communities program. This was the first of federal programanay to address the safey and pollution impacts of highways that divided neighborhoods in many places across the country. On the issues of climate, safety and equity but it did so in a lasting bipartisan way. My colleagues have heard me say Bipartisan Solutions or Lasting Solutions and we are pro of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But during that mark of two years ago i also noted that the infrastructu bill alone wasnt oenough to address the Climate Change and once we passed the bipartisan irastructure law we got to work on legislation that became thedd Inflation Reduction Act. It authorized several new programs under the purview of the federal highway admistration. This included a program to reduce thehe industrial essions for the Construction Materials as well as funding to facilitate efficient Environmental Review and permitting times. Inflation reduction act also provided funds to mitigate air, noise and Water Pollution and other impacts on Highway Infrastructure for the climate t resilience in the nations history so theres no shortage of work that remains to be done. There are key questions the federal Highway Administration must address in the implementation around regulation and guidance and thats why im delighted to welcome our friend not just from delaware but who spend the secretary transportation and our lawyer, colorado to prepare him for this day. This is his first time in the committee before the Senate Confirmed his nomination for the federal Highway Administration by voice vote in december, 2022 and look forward to hearing the testimony today about the work that youve lived in the last six months or so. As ive noted the authorities necessary to provide across the country. The agency must also use the authority to address the ongoing needs to be at ones need for to helpmu reduce from the transportation sector at account for nearly 30 of the nations Greenhouse Gas emissions, the largest Single Source in the economy. 30 of the missionsgr come from the vehicles and trucks and 30 from the power plants and manufacturing base. Last july the federal Highway Administration proposed the re thatat would require the areas o measure the performance on Greenhouse Gas emissions and set the targets to reduce those emissions to steer the Infrastructure Investments to a Better Climate outcome and i hope the agency will move eequickly to finalize that rule. Finally i would like to emphasize the safety. 40,000 people lost their lives on the nations roads the highest number00 in 16 years. The highest number in 16 years. The u. S. Department of transportation is taking an important step towards this goal by releasing the national roadway Safety Strategy that sets a goal of zero fatalities for the first time, zero. So theres more work to do in the federal Highway Administration that they should be doing to prioritize with metropolitan areas safe for all users and we look forward to hearing to continue to advance and i want to turn to the leadership that is critical in the passage of the infrastructure that we are diussing today. Senator, you are recognized. Thank you for calling todays heing andr ongoing willingness to conduct oversight on the Inflation Reduction Act. Its a very good to see you. Wi know youve been extremely busy the last several days since the confirmation yve maintained a very open ne of communication and i want to express appreciation foray doing that the incident t pictures were overwhelming and i knowhat youve been off the ground. I know the investigation is underway and wil be pvided more information when it is available. Im very proud of the committee as the germans had developed the legislation and bipartisan regular order ias proud to manage the bill onn the floor with the chairman and to find the ceremony at the white house. December 20th 21 policy memorandum. I appreciate that you recognize the original memorandum diminished the bipartisan accomplishments of the committee they would deliver results in the transportation infrastructure and we are starting tot see tangible benefits of that investment. The one federal decision policy for the surface transportation projects i look forward to receiving an update from you today on how the agency is implementing those provisions and others. Proper implementation of the law is the only way to see the full benefits, so now to the Inflation Reduction Act that has not and will not reduce inflation following the passage of the administration and barked on the misguided policies through the budget reconciliation process. That began with an introduction to the socalled build back federal legislation 2021. The reconciliation legislation includ a provision that would have directed fhwa to establish the Performance Measures as violating the rule of the congressional budget act stripped from legislation. That is the second Time Congress rejected the authority to establish a Greenhouse Gas performance measure providing the authority was also debated and ultimately left out of thean bipartisan iai ja. The administration through your agency is attempting to and at the chairman just talked about this and pose a Greenhouse Gas emission performance measure and associated targets on the state departments transportation metropolitan Planning Organization without any authity from congress. This feels similar to the policy memorandum yet again this administration is trying to implement the partisan policiess they wish hade been included through agency actions. I am hopeful under your leadership the rulemaking for the gas performance measure and associated targets will not move rward. On a related note i want to express concern. The budget request included legislative language that would repurpose 60 millionge in on obligated Contract Authority from the program to the active transportation Infrastructure Investmentrogram but i know you understand what im talking about. The program received an authorization but its subject to appropriations. This committee determines what programs receive Contract Authority and how much, not the department. I hope this isnt somethi youre agency plans to pursue as once again the committee has already madeve a decision. I want to raise an issue that isnt directly related to either of the laws we are discussing today but may have Significant Impact and the ability to move forward. Im referring to the 3. 5 billion discrepancy and Contract Authority between the two fiscal management systems. I appreciate that you brought this issue to my attention and i lookst forward to see how the dt plans to resolve the discrepancy. The topics of the hearing today start byontrasting different outcomes into the quality and durability. We get great quality and durability when the senate pursues bipartisan the decisionr through regular order and we compare that to a partisan little solution through budget reconciliation process that i believe falls short at thehe oversight of the implementation of the walls is a critical function in the committee. I would like to take one moment to say farewell. I dont know if it is today or tomorrow but way too soon and she hoped sheppard through to our committee. Shes an incredible resource and i know she was successful wherever she goes but we will miss her. To the members, i respect. Weve all heard the trickledown theory and when the leaders of the Committee Like this reflect that kind of behavior i know the staff picks u on it as well and its a good thing for us. With respect to the ira but in the news this morni we just learned that inflation continues and the annual numbe dow to 4 and the job creatio number reported out of the department of labor 340,0 new jobs in the last month and the unemploymt rate for the country still 3. 5 which is a good number. Its not perfecte theres still things we could do bette thank you, senator. We will hear from the witness a lot of us pronounce but full wil answer to either one. The administrator sworn in to his current role january 14, 2023. As the administrator overseas an agency for more than 2700 employees that include staff who work in all 50 states, u. S. Territories as well and the district of columbiat to carry out federal lead, welcome. Yo may now proceed wit your testimony. Thankwa you, chaman carper and rankingow member and members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to dcuss implementation of the frastructure js act otherwise known as the bipartisanor infrastruure l anreduction act. These historic investmentsn the infrastructurend new opportunities to build the Clean Energy Economy tt creat good jobs and lower cost for working families. When i appeabeforehe committee for the confirmation hearing i noted that the staff had been working tirelesy. I hit the ground running at the dedication carrying out these laws and getting real results for the American Public is inspiring. Ive always said the Transportation Agency exists for two reasons toave lives and make peoples lives better. This pastonday i joined members of the pennsylvani congressional delegation as well as the Pennsylvania Department of transportion secretary to tour the se of the partial coapse in hiladelphia that occurred on interstate 95 involving a truck fire that resulted in the tragic loss of life the court orders or a violent connection for people and goods traveling along the east coast and offered support and assistance to state and local ficials to help them safely reopen the section as quickly as possible we are working diligently with all surrounding states as well as our sister agencies on emergey relie support and maximing all best practices. Im aware of how it is for the stateegion every day of closure will affect people and we are laser focused on working with our partners as quickly as possible. In addition to the commitment of safety its guided by the itiative we referred to as driven to the 21st century theres the delivery, silience,om innovation values, equity and the natn. Deliveries the first aspect. We have the funding necessary to make major improvements in the Transportation System. Theyve taken numerous actions that will support implementation issuing notices of the funding opportunity for approximately 6 billion and available funds. At the dollars need projects that will improve the safety and peoples lives. They have a longstanding practice of engaging with our stakeholders. The stakeholders at the state, tribal and local levels and efforts in place with techcal assistance. Resilience is an important part of building the Transportation System as it will help us keep the infrastructure strong and fulfill the duty getting people where theyeed to go and getting them there safely. They are specifically targeted addressing Climate Change including distributing funding under therotect Formula Program to protect the grant program. Es finding new ways to combat the climateap crisis for innovation for the Climate Change concern and equity. We aree responsle forhe the agency committ to all of the organational values. It includes programs specifically intended to address equity issues. Those that find wellpaid work, rebuilding the communities. Every aspect of the work is driven by the people and the naon that we serve. We must create a system that delivers for the economy and all of the people while getting individuals and goods safely to the destination. I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Im going to start the questioning about the recent place justat took north in pennsylvania on i95 in iladelphia and in the days since then. I undstand the governor i making an announcement in real me ase are gathering here today and as we are saying a little bit later i look forwd to that. Please talk with us about the role the federal Highway Administration will pl in coordinating with state and local agcies to respond to the bridge collapse and the moment of goods and people around the philadelphia region while its being rebuilt. The staff have been working tirelessly and i just want to highlight that in addition to standing up to this law that has been a lot of effort we have to deal with the business of the federal highway system up and running and i just want to highlight for the committee that on sunday when nicole startedoming in we have dozens of staff here in dc i just want to thank them for their efforts. I showed up inhilly on sunday and met theyve been doing an amazing job marshaling the people there. We theyve g all the experts that they need. We are acute aware of the impacts that disclosure is having not just on theity of philadelphia or pennsylvania but the region and the nation. The secretary went to visit yesterday and got a briefing the president has asked for daily iefings on this project so every lever that we canull is being pulled for the state of pennsylvania and the bul of the costs will be covered by the t program. The initial take away is that we can learn from this disaster that might help prevent similar disters in the future. I think you are keenly aware of the seemed members andhe committee of how critical the Transportation System is a sometimes we take it forranted operates and when Something Like this happens itecomes very apparent why thesenvestments are so important and why this infrasucture is so important. It wou be important to wait for the investigation to the cause and learn any lessons that we can. But i just feel like lot of those meetis over the weekend andns io yesteay thatruly when you have all these engineers trying to solve problem at all the experts in the room theres an Amazing Energy and unified focus and i think you wouldnt be able to tell who were delegates and publicans in the room and that is emblemac of infrastructure solutions. My second question dealsith more than a decade the tax revenues have notse kept up as u know with transportaon vestment needs they federal funds to study the vehicle miles traveled fees and those are showing some success. The bipartisan irastructure law to create Advisory Board on funding aernatives on the fees. The goal of that work to produce meaningful data that would provide a timy input timem the next reauthorization bill. During that deadline its essential thathe work began and beg quickly neither the Advisory Board where the study have been established. My question is what the timeline for the federal Highway Administration sitting up the Advisory Board getting the National Study uerway. Thank you, senator,nd i am aware of your the secretary of delaware and in colorado when i was the vice chair to get the Advisory Committee se up and we will make sure that we get this important data for the committee and as we look to reauthorize the program. Thats good to hear ming music to myars. In my Opening Statement i talk about the debate that we h over the Greenhouse Gas emissions Performance Measures we are pursuing measure that would achieve this through rulemaking. What is youresponse to my Opening Statement and what authority do you have to be moving in this direcon . Thanknk you, Ranking Member d before iddress that qstion would like to eo for professional knowled, so the reaction to the comment as i hear you and heard you in my confirmation hring about your concerns about the piece from the thority perspective we have those lawyers at u. S. Dot thatid provide authority to measure the performance of the Transportation System. We were in an open rulemakin right now and received 40,000 comments fro folks we understand allhose00 public comments. Irobably need a little bit more on what authority but we will follow back up on that. Ond the discrepancy that is in thweeds but very impactful for the states including the sller states we would ask about this how we are going to addre this and the quote that came out that compted the review its required in the applicable authority it seems we need to the authority before we can make the decision. Where a you on this issue and where is the Task Force Work . Tnk you, senator. We are diligently working through the potential impact is here with 3. 5 disepancy we nt to make sure we looked at every angle so im hopeful that we wil be able to provide a little bit more detail soo but my update here was to be that we are working towards getting a resolution as quickly as we can. Would that be the end of the summer, the end of the year . I would say as quickly as possible, definitely this year. Some of this involves other coordination. It looks like im over my time. Im going to ask one more question. The ntsb chair raised concerns about the safety impacts of electric vehicles on the roadways. And looking into this they way a he of a lot more than gasoline vehicles do. So we reached out to ask how youre planning to look at this from a future safety of the roadways and im sure its going to have impacts on not just bridge safety, guardrails and in practice, the response from them was if fhwa doesnt have research planned on the way to distribution andow it may impact the guardrails, bridge safety and longevity as number one priority why does the agency not have any planned research in th are thank you, Ranking Member for that question. I will double check where we are in terms of research. Size and weight is something that we take a look at with regards to bridges and the performance of guardrail is something that we would want to understand the impacts of. As a personal example i have a minivan that has an electric battery. I would want to begin verify particularly i as afraid to bece electrified. Fi we had our annual meeng with goveor moo. He was here wit this. He was here wit this cabin and they were very optimistic and very thankful for the support they have gotten from the federal govnment in the new programs and the governor specifally mentioned the concerns of communities that have been at pernally impacted to public ansportation programs in the use of our funds to deal with that. We have the reconcting communities havelummeted but he also indicated as we bui new transportation programs we need to be more sensitive to Community Needs and part of the infrastructu bill was a significant increase in the transportati alternative program, 10 of funding. Can you share wit us how you are administering that program to make re thentent of congress to help commities deal with trsportaon challengesnder the tranortationlternative ogram is being implemeed . Said tnk youenatorardin and we have heard from communities across the nation including in maryland how excited they are about the opportuny to tnsform their communities. I give you one specific example. You kw when it comes tond complete streets which are important part of activee transportation alternatives, as an example we have e way to thlocal match on planng reirements f committees who want to b able to access these fus. Ma not have local match for the trainingxpertise so thats one example. Transportation aernatives is an importantrogram that i do put i colorado and happy to provide further details. Hank y. E of the areas we are oking ats how we deal with traffic saty incding t use of alrnative transportatio funding but i ventured this legislatn working legislaon thatould hor a dtinguished reign service oicer constituent killed while riding her bike and legislation is being offer to allow better eis of our funds to hhway trafficafety. When you see thencreased numbers of safety episodes injuries and deaths on the highway talk to me about the emergency of efforts to deal with Traffic Safety . When i became the secretary of the treasury for the d. O. T. We had cornered 84 fatalities and when i left we were at 417 and the vast majority and for me as a the stewart of the federal highway demonstrations rule that i take everyone 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 walking. Its an imperative height imperativeor me as a highway administrator. One of the challenges we have is way in whi we can improve safety as well as convenience and more efficient highway and transportation syste. To encouraore multiliberalism ande have that in our state for the challenges are funding in many cases so its hard to coordinate the multimodal form. Tell me the efforts that you are making to encourage that type of transportation and cooperation which is in the best interest of our communities. I think the center and thank you for that question its a primary focus for secretary buttigieg and all of d. O. T approach so we want to make sure as committees who are reaching out with its this federal highway funds or fta funds are yearold fds as an example of the reconnecting o communities that we are looking at it through multimod length so they are the best ones for those communitie and not a federally prescribed approach. Thank you. Senator cramer. Thank you senator cardin and thank you senator capito for this good and important hearing. Thanks for being here and i want to drill down a little more and go back to senator capitos concerns about the reports can had not only the lack of authority to do it but the practicality of it but first on the authority side. They arent going to require commuter buses or subways. In the Inflation Reduction Act a dedicated 27 biion for eenbank something that u withdr and they created a slush fund for grants. There is nothing new and the law at expressly or have it such a thing andst thiss then the tradion for decades of administrations republican a bidemocrat alike, to take the absence of a prohibition and n bother authorizes certain things to havlicense to do whatever is not prohibitebut i want to eak to two really big reasons the Supreme Court cases and the major doctrine stating ematically the agencies dont have ahorityiven to them in law. And the first monday one being West Virginia versus epa and t other one being and now they willake up the chevron doctrine and we will see how that turns out. I think its boming increasingly clear that bureaucracy is not a fourth branchf government for policymakers. First of all what is your sense of the Actual Authority to do these things particularly want to stress if yre pcticaln places and rural pces especially, werent going to build subways. Like you wisely did with the previousan memorandum. Short of that i hope theres consideration for the uniqueness orhe different qualities of dierent places in a very diverse country. Senator thank you for that question and statement you framed it in a twoart piece on the lel authority i am not a lawyer. I starvirtually all of my meetings with we will follow the one weave lawyers on staff andho i take that very seriously. I dont want to opine that the lawyer iill foowa the direction that our lawyers give usn following the law. I hear you on the iacts particularly rur states and others around this piece and we are not likely to build the subway around dble slake but i would simply say here on this piece of this bipartisan after after structure law did have Climate Change title and i and from a Performance Management persctive it was hard to get folks to talk about Performance Management. What we artrying tofo look at is t penalizing states or their Greenhouse Gas emissions but to get them to gin tracking Greenhouse Gas emiions. It does 30 of ourdp is comg from our transportation stor maybe its not subway but its alternative fuels lik electric vehicles and other drive that down. I know its become a hot bin hotbutton issue. I try to just focusn the choose what we are trying to get to and we will follow the law from a tracking perspective. I appreciate that but also on this particular topic while relo the basic issue we discuss the specific issue and decided not to do it. In other words theres not a lot of ambiguity about the intent of congress in this legislation so wayn lawyers will find a around it. The Supreme Court weighing and on the lawsuit thats not a rule. If we are going to be this general with our authorities at the administrative level the next Administration May be of a different persuasion and take that slush fund from epa and say hey lets build a wall with nesolar panels at the southern border. It seems extreme and it probably is but theres a lot less extreme examples that we could come up with. Democrats wouldro find it objectionable from good reasons so i appreciate you hanging in there with the law. I always like to get their device before wnd i make a decin so thank you. Senator whitehouse. Thank you very much and thank you mr. Bhatt for being here but i would offer a different view that might distinguish republican friends. If congress specifically authorizes you to do something thats good and you have a clear direction. If Congress Fails to specifically authorize you too o something they are what you avert to is your innate executive authority and if congress wishes it could forbid youn to pursue those inherent executive administrative authorities which they have done with thingsgr like republican driven efforts to prevent the irs from policing political money. En theyey are examples of doing th. I dont think its correct to say when Congress Considers a specific authorization and then doesnt pass it that failure is a lawful restriction on your ability to do what needs to using your innate administrative powers and as a state, which has a coastline which we believe is going to intrude quite far on our current seaside and bayside boundariesve predictably in yeas ahead we are looking at very significant changes to the actual map of rhode island. Dealing with Climate Change responsibly is a deadly serious matter for my state and i would strongly encourage you to pursue the youre Greenhouse Gas Performance Measures to the full extent of your executive authority. It matters to states like mine that you get this right and whatever pressure there is to the contrary please rememberr those of us who are highly vulnerable to Climate Change to the Ocean Acidification to ocean warming to sealevel rise to the coastal erosion to the air quality effects, all of that and i offer that as a compliment. The Bridge Investment Program is that going to get another round of funding and will you have another round of applications . Thank you senator, yes bridge investment, there will be another round that comes out to bleed this summer. With the timing for that more specifically if you know . More specifically other than the summer . And amonth . July or august. Sometime in july or august . So youll be taking applications for that second round . Yes sir. Good to know thank you for that. I think thats all i have and i recognize corey who is with us and good to have a rhode islander in the house and no though work with you in every way possible. The missions dangers of having proper information or to assess and address those dangers appropriately, there are Many Americans wanting us to make the right decision not the one that the fossil fuel industry wants. Thank you. Senator merkley there waiting for senator ricketts but we will go with senator merkley. Thank you very much and appreciate your testimony and, your work couple of questions that i want to start with the issue that has been brought up in my state. Oregon is and they cascadian 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 department of transportation that they dont consider the need for seismic resiliency as relevant to a number of the grant applications and that certainly is a concern and we are working to rebuild one ofof our bridges to make sue theres at least one ridge that survives and can you speak a little bit to why seismic resiliency is not considered a factor for you all in the programs . Thank you senator and im always made aware when i traveled to the west coast to the difference in bridge piers. And the size of the spears compared to nonseismic activity. I would want to doublecheck on that. I know the golden gate large bridge investment made purported Million Dollars was a seismic richer for it bridge retro fritz retro fit bridge so i want to see where we stood on that. I will look at the concern that its relative to the multimodal programs. A bridge may be functional now. If we dont have bridges that survive addressing the emergency at that time is a real challenge and does trying responsibly to reinforce key infrastructure. I want to turn next to a project that really began with Lamar Alexander of tennessee who said here previously and they developed a program in his home state were along the highways they did and had dferent clubs maintaing different areas and it created an enormou opportunity to address basically the pollinator armageddo we have lost massive numbers of fire flies and bees along o highways. One of e species that catches public attention as the wester monarch. The weern monarch went to as low as 2000 butterflies to winters ago. Set a couple of good years and then we have huge storms in california and as late winter or early spring this year and that pollinator butterfly travels for generations to go north in one generatn to go backellsn oregon anymore. They think they see them. They are actually seeing the yellowtail butterfly. Its not orange but its yellow so hey its close enough so the bigger issue is that we could really have clubs sponsor plots of land along our north south corridors just as tennessee did along their highways and we have got this bill the pollinator for roadsides into the bipartisan infrastructure law. But you all havent stood it up yet and its really an opportunity for folks to directly participate in establishing major corridors that would assist with all kinds of spaces and they mention the monarchs and milkweed. Milkweed is essential for the female butterflies to lay their eggs. Butterflies need the pollinator flowers just like other pollinators do. So would help a whole lot. Are you familiar with this program and can you tell me how this standup is going . Thank you senator and i remember whenpr i was a secretay in delaware we had millions of these trying to make sure we were able to get that to a successful ending because of the imports of pollinators. I wont doublecheck and come back to where we arent standing up that program but i hear you on the importance of ensuring from an agricultural perspective and our National Environment pollinators are critical. You can imagine we want to see a pollinator nectar producing flowers and contribute to a major opportunity the size of our highways that are otherwise just not contributing much. Its a perfect possible connection. Finally i just wanted to encourage the work to rollout the e. T. Charging stations and i think the model for this program is a test to be easy to charge up as it is to fuel up in a few fuel h an electric vehicle you e probably where thats not often the case with the complexity of different charging technologies by Different Companies and pushing the department of transportation to have National Standards so its a simple charge up as it is to feel love. The president has set a goal of fiber a thousand charges and i agree if we are going to be successful with the ev rollout for the American Public they are able to charge as easily as they are to fill up. I give the Committee Credit for the investments being made to the bipartisan infrastructure law. We are seeing the market moving with the big announcement between tesla ford and gm and other companies now looking to move that standard so thats a very positive outcome and hopefully one we will continue tond see consolidation. Thank you very much. Thank you mr. Chairman. Before he turned to center rickets terror hearings going on in other committees and the homan security meeting. I apologize for leaving. I was out at the room and there was some discussion and i want to make a comment if i can in my absence. The fact that the bipartisan infrastructure law did not amend the performance measure section of the law to require a Greenhouse Gas measure and i would note my recollection is the committee did consider provision that would require a stringent Greenhouse Gas performance measure while also exempting half the states in the nation from that measure. We decline to include that language in favor of retaining the existing separate Performance Measures which include Greenhouse Gas emissions. That authority was created in 2012 and im glad the federal highway frustration started to use that authority. Now lets go to senator rickets for his questions. Thank you. Thank you for being such a faithful attendee. No problem. My pleasure. Ymy first question administrat . Administrator bhatt. Bought and sold. First of all i want to thank your team for the relationship with the department of transportation. I was governor and i think it was sworn in at 2015 and there was a poor relationship between the department of transportation and the federal highway frustration. The first director i appreciate the working relationship so thank you for continuing to build upon that relationship. Support we continue to work closely between the federal highway frustration in and the state department of transportation so i appreciate that. I would also reiterate what senator capito set about making sure our agencies take the legislation wee passed an faithfully execute that legislation in a way that congress intends it to be implemented in with that id like to jump into the infrastructure and jobs act and talk about the august redistribution. Fiscal year 2022 had jumped to 6. 2 billion i think with the Infrastructure Investment jobs act we can expect to see that august redistribution decline. However as you know theres a limited amount of time with which the department of transportation and the nebraska Department Transportation my case can get that money and redeployed efficiently and effectively and is the number becomes larger to becomes an increasing challenge. We want to make sure those dollars are effectively. Whatel do you see with regard to that august redistribution and how it will make that part process one or the state department of transportation will be able to access that money and use it in a way that will not be inefficient. Thank you senator and your first director had a much more challenging last name than mine. [laughter] and spelling too. I was a deer friend and grateful that we are rebuilding that relationship do you raise a very important issue senator the august redistribution in addition to the fema one of the first things we did was we r sat down at the trb meeting in january. We generally notify states in july up and pending august redistribution numbers. We have been in close contact with the states. This is coming please get ready and what can we do to help young what flexibilities can we get . Article is ac National Gold within communities within the states we make sure that it gets used and has one of our primary focus is for the next few weeks. Are there additional flexibilities that you have in mind with theprtate d. O. T. And e states whether its West Virginia delaware nebraska at the state has a creative idea that says we may be abl to apply some of this onhe project here and they ha Contract Authority going fward this is something tt because of the bipartisan and for structurli law i our distribution is going to be this level of maybe something we may want to lk at as we go forward. Fair enou, thank you. Plus y have discretionary grants and one of the things im hearing from fol in my home stateso is about the process especially i you think of the smaller localities and the challenge of getting through the application process or it what sort of rources do you have or do you think you can do to make it easier to nigate the launchpad for example especially for smaller communities and what n you do to prove extra resources for those communities to be able to apply . Thank you senator and for all of these committees whether they are large states do you tease our cities or smaller 20s we want to get them across the finish line with age successful project. We have local techno Assistance Program and we have set up web sites. If ty are specific committeesam you likes to reach out do we be happy to. Thank you very much. And senator or we will send it back to you. Sentry you are recognized. Thank you so much mr. Mr. Representative. Ambassador bhatt is good to see you again and its been my favorite subjects the bridg and the made need to ensure now its been nine months since you testified they are in even more desperate need of replacement end of a severe storm were to strike cape cod extremely worried the bridges will bece a bottleneck for residents and businesspeople to evacuate as a severe safety respect can you commit to replace the bridge is . Thank you senator. Its not just the cape cod purchase. Theseha are probably the bridge projects ive heard quite a bit get it ying to this is a priority focus for demonstrations and i will continue to work with you on it. Its the only way off of cape evacuations will be catastrophic the highways and wrote have splintered and into space committees and as we drive them toward Clean Energy Future we have to put those injustices in the Rearview Mirror and philadelphia and chicago are likely to have electric vehicle charginge stations and we are reckoning with that in massachusetts. The infrastructure is located in the seaport, fenway and courts like chester and charles town have limited to no options. Thats why congress to introduce the Community Vehicle charging act which is a need the tracking of the structure and environmental communities. Its equitable deployment of electric vehicle charging it must be a priority in the bipartisan infrastructure law. One way that boston is increasing our assistance is by deploying charges and a cityowned parking lots and in communities. Administrator how does the ancharging and fueling infrastructure discretionary coming to church in program help cities and states to tackle this conundrum . Thank you senator markey and the significant investments in electric vehicles that this committee put forward in the bipartisan upper structure love. We are working with states ensuring they are adhering to the standards we have put in place. See if i just closed the Discretionary Grant Program on june 13th so we are anticipating opening all of those applications and thats a critical lens for us to make sure we not only have the interstates covered. All of our communities and the very committees youd mentioned in your comments. Thank you very much. Very important and you think mobile charging has a role to play in this program as well particularly the resilient to them case of an emergency . Fantasist exciting time to be in this industry and the presence clear he wants america to lead in it so we will look in all of the above approach to make make sure its successful. Technical assistance will be important for frontline committees and they will apply for the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Actro programs. If the federal Highway Administration supporting community so that they can make the most of this funding opportunities for thank you senator. Yes what is both a blessing and a new burden is the fact that while we have traditionally worked with stateha d. O. T. s to administer these programs there many direct recipients so again as i saidd before we want to become successful in getting air award. Gr was proud to secure 45 million in the 2023 on the bus and infrastructuree Investment Program for walking and biking and infrastructure to support active networks that allow p people to safely travel without a car and those active transportation effort to reduce mobility. Nowal that the program is officially funded the federal Highway Administration can you commit to swiftly implementing the infrastructure think everyone knows im a huge supporter of aor psent active transportation. Centers sullivan and i partnered on that. That Partnership Works f everyone. Thank you. Senator markey and sullivan [inaudible] senatosullivan. Mr. Chairman im over here cracking up because senator markey was mentioning his bill and i w going to say its the power. Me i believe i was a cosponsor on that. But beg you. You did. I sed it. Thank you. Its verymportant bipartisanship here and i do want you to spend all that 45 million from our bill particularly from a project called loose loop and you can take a hard look at mse loop. It has Great Potential and its right up the alley of what were talking about thats my first issue i wanted to race. In the boston public guidance we have make way for the may be a its the same but a bit bigger animals. And in all seriousnesshat it les honored to cosponsor and it will benefit a lot of people across the country. Let me get back to another issue that relates to alaska administrator. We still have to get you out there, right . It is on my list of probably more summer than winter but we will do loose loop together. Loose loop, thats a good idea. I want to talk about another part of infrastructure bill. I did vote for the infrastructure bill which was to protect program and thats about resiliency and alaska has more coastline than the rest of the lower 48 states combined. When we talk about resiliency for coastal america we are over 50 for the whole country preview might remember it didnt make a lot of press back here. Last fall the west coast of alaska was hit by a typhoon, a veryes big storm that did a lotf damage in their state d. O. T. Has been working with fema and your agency, 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 supplement to protect program particularly in the coastal communities in america but in my state like i said we constitute over 50 of all the coastline in america. Thank you senator sullivan and i think whether it is typhoons hitting alaska or flooding in kentucky and West Virginia theres no shortage of weather events and are testing resilience of our system and issue no couple of years ago we heard about some of the impacts of sealevel rising Climate Change there. I was recently at an event and met with the alaska director of d. O. T. And talked about the unique coastal aspects and needs so specifically we have distributed the funds to those states to the form of the program and have wants the discretionary programs though im happy to visit you with about this discretionary opportunities and importance of that program. Let me mentioned another topic that i have talked a lot of thought andco senator capito and data courses that ive are endless goal of so many of us including a lot of my democratic colleagues. We have a system that is just to sectional and it takes forever to get projects on the road portsrm or bridges or mines or Energy Projects off around you can choose to workers its selfinflicted so the infrastructure bill has some decent permitting forms that we negotiated, not enough in my view and so did the debt ceiling agreement so i have to part to my question. One is what are you doing to implement those. Piper Assembly Want to keep them going. Okay they are definitely in the minority in second within regard to permitting one of the most things that i have seen that really count and put us in the role of venezuela and the Banana Republic and ive seen it alive in this administration and in alaska. We have had a number of projects thatna went to final six or sevn years millions of dollars in god a Record Number of decisions so in this administration abided frustration if you come back and look ato these records of decision on infrastructure on roads in alaskas saying yea no it isnt enough so we are going reverse that written letter early opening up decisions that are four years old. This is just. On both of these issues remain relating to farmington on reopening records of decisions that are four years old. Thatss not the rule of law and is not america but the Biden Administration is doing a lot in our state. Thank you senator for the question but on the first part having been a state d. O. T. Secretary of two states i have anxiouslyon awaited a finding of no Significant Impact and is a project for every person coming from the private sector before i took this job im always focused on the political backdrop and we are not a permitting agency. Our sister agencies issue the permits however we do have great relationships with army corps, fish and wildlife so i think we are trying to leverage those relationships to try to get it put in place but in terms of opening records of decision id love to love to this alias to you offline about that because as i say we want to follow the law. Thank you and thank you mr. Chairman. Senator vitter menu our next senator vitter menu or recognize. Please proceed. Welcome. Earlier we had comments about the tragic accident on i95 and if you want to make comments with respect to that. 95, 95, 95. Obviously you are preoccupied with 95 and i certainly am to even though its a not just forennsylvania but for the east coast and a lot of pennsylvania are worried i glad to see last nht you were so quick to get 3 million in emergency reliefunds that got out so qckly. Ju persolly is seen 3 million wasnt enough. It seemed like its going to be a lot more expensive than that. I get the sense president biden, i wasth standing next to that collapsed bridge and pennsyania and things moved quickly and they t itown and im confident the same is ing to hapn in pennsvania. Righ now you have an increble asset i seat to the Regional Rail and subway lines that i think would be a gamechanger if it expands temporary capacity to ease congestionth on the roads. My question to you administrator, could your emergency reef andther friends kuchar agency s up temporary operating costs for a viablele alternative for local avel and what you commit to working wi the secretary to the support in the next few weeks . Thank you senator and i know how portant this project is and chairman had reached out to me on sunday and connected us. I know you are varying gauges on this. Specifically to the 3 million on the Quick Release all of the costs of this will be born to emergency relief program. The 3 million is served at town payment and an estimate of what they think they are going to need. That number goes up well provide for funding but that was the reason for the 3 million. Specifically on septa i was with lisay richardson is a general manager and secretary buttigieg was briefed on that. Back to the concept of following the law federal highway er funds specifically relate to egg capacity onset and we are working and senator buttigieg is working withs and septa is a Critical Link for that quarter. That corridor. I want to talk about the federal government dragging its feetmplementing expert advice and making streets safer. I reached out twice to express my concerns about the actions of your e agency that should be making streets safer and frustration delays have been witnessing for some key guidelines. When can we expect that these actions will be finalized and i will commit to working with my office on the concerns that i haveaised. Thank you senator. Secrety of what the judge is fclear that safety is part othe national roadway Safety Strategy soso heard sned tabor speeds and these are things wealk aut physical and the federal highway. I will raise ccernsouve had okay, thank you. I loo forwa to you ansring my other questions. We will turn to the issue of i95. Thankha you senator. Senator lummis and following u. S. Senator kelly. First of all i have build with senator kelly called the Truck Parking Safety Improvement act where we will authorize additional funding for your agcy to address t backlog but as we continue to face that hell im interested to hear what work are you doing now on this issue . Thank you senator lummis and as the colorado and d. O. T. Director we would get funds offered and start reaching into our commercial vehicle partrs to let them know we were trying to stop them before they got stacked up too much of this is a critical issue for us. I would say this is in a lebility that we have extended through our formula funds and discretionary grants have been awarded that involve tracking. This is something myself and secretary buttigieg are supported both. We will thankaren you. We have had an absolutely outrageous winter in wyoming this year and road closures were extremely high and are bound to be content to be so when you know the challenges of that kind of environment. I want to switch to the Inflation Reduction Act and ask you questions about that. Last year i had Major Concerns regarding the programs that the ire a created called the neighborhood access to equity grants program. My concerns there or i dont want to just to be away to funnel taxpayer dollars to urban areas and neglect rural areas but can you give me some assurance that is not happen in or do you have information abo how its being awarded to . Thank you senator obviously for any of the discretionary programs will issue a noticof funding opportunity that has great detail and prescribes how we all work the funding. Im quite certain w have committeesroome at have received funds so id be happy to follow up with you directlyfter the hearing. Super. I willook forward to that. And i want to touch on some issues yet that were discussed by senator sullivan. The Environmental Review system is effectively broken and its affecting highway dolrs because of the massive increase in inflation in the Construction Industry that excds oth areas of our economy, delays in construction are hugely costly. So i have introduced a bill called the interactive bedroom review act and its two test interactive cloudbased platforms that are estimated to shorten the time in reviewing the documes for largerojects by as muc as half. Have you had a chance to look at this ide and do you believe a step like that could help expedite project delivery . Senator lummis thank you for that comment in that work. I was up in the project before he came to ts wor and digital deliverynd Digital Tools for construction and bringing back visual process is something thats very exciting so im happy to work with your office on that. I was at the Global Transportation roll in inflation is a huge problem for transportationt. Projects but it wa also an issue in the middle east in uk d asia. Eres a global issue with commodities so i want to highlight that. Its a challenge we are dealing with here in the u. S. Good point. I want to run another thing by you but also deals with these types of delays. Congress updated the categorical exclusion and the iij eye for projects with limited federal funding of 6 million. Now that inflation has made a 6 milliondollar contribution of federal funds to a project such a small contribution that you cant effectively use categorical exclusions. Im included to want inclined to want to raise the amount to 12 million, doubl it so it could be meaningfully used insteadf being almost irrelevant. Do you have any comments o that . Thank you senator. Happy to work with your staff to a loo at what that right number would be. Your notes on inflation im very focused on project delivery and if we could deliver these projects on time it will help with that issue as well. Can i ask one more question about that . In yourxperience what advantages does it give a project to qualify for categorical exclusion . From my experience if you can give this ce then youre not looking at higher levels of Environmental Review but thats always correlated with the impacts to a project so if its a major bridge project that has water impacts and potentially impacts or other issues thats where you wl add time in review because they are greater impacts on the project reads back the Structural Integrity of the project tesd the evaluated regardless of whether you have it or not. Thank you senator. The Structural Design elements would be different than the environmental part of the project. Thank you very much. Thank you mr. Chairman. Senator kelly good morning. Thank you and good morning mr. Chair and thank you. Administrator bhatt thanks for being here great to see you. A project to widen interstate 10 that goes through arizona across the country and back at the area between phoenix and tucson is a problem. Every single day there is an accident that backs up the stretch of the 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. Its alsost worth noting that ts stretch of roadway that im talking about is within the Gila River Indian Community yet the infrastructure does not currently exist to adequately connect to a community to this critical transportation corridor. Unfortunately the Arizona Department of transportation to gila river indian come in 10 local leaders from throughout Maricopa Pinal and puma counties in the state of arizona have come together to support a comprehensive plan to add an extra lane to the interstate in each direction and they have several critical and her changes to improve connectivity to give the river to de the state appears of arizona and the Maricopa Association of governments submitted more than 850 million in state and local transportation funding to complete this project. Its a lot of money. 800 and 5n state and local transpoation 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 anyindication when you expect the tice of funding oprtunity for the infra and mega grants. Thank you, senator kelly, an i am very aware both of the importance that interstate to thos communities, phoenix and tucson, and then also asa vital quarter for the united states. I am happy to be 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 maa or a infra grant award . Thank you senator. I think what we always want to ke sure is that i think we think that states and locals are the ones who make the best decisions about th transportation needs, and we e happy to work with those communities. And i think 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 cmunities are able to apply for and be competitive for Grant Funding opportunities like the mega and in for grants. Tank you nator. 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 wk 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 tse 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 highw. Because i think it will have an impact. We know weight has an impact on damages. I wanto ask about by america. Im understanding that theyre inconsistencies about buy america, build america provisions that weut 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 arereparing for the influxes of requests that are going to come . Thank you, rankg member. And yes your crck staff i am sure provides it with aot of information. I would say very specifically on th buy america plan buy america plan. When i hear the president speak, i hear him lking about the transformation role of the law and building pjects and improving our infrastructure. And with equal passion, i hear the president talking about rebuilding th economy and ensuri that these are good paying american jobs, and these products are built here. And so there is a, as 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 gettingthose projects made with products that are made here in america. And so we are just going to have tofind 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 wi 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 oth projects, and there was concern ihink, has this been implemented enough to reay make a difference . Are you seeing more streamlined implementation on these projects . U wou know comingfrom the state sector whether is moving faster. How many projects are track to achieve that twoyear goal of the eiss . Are you utilizing the provision that requires one vironmental document . Talk abo one feder decision, ure implementation, and some 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 gater 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 maor projects, the are big thorny ises, and i think this is one of the areas where tchell andrew, who works directly for the president on project delivry, hes constantly saying, how can we get these agenci 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 relt here yet . Of this one federal decision . I would say th i personally can thinkf examples where we are actively enging with resource agencies proactively. 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 u on that. And lastly, you testified that fhwa is adminiering nearly 900 awards, and the sort of follows to that one federal decision. Iean i guess we could follow up with you and your staff more specifically. How many of the awards actually have project Grant Agreements in place. Are weetting to the end point here . U he 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 th 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 meframes around obligation. Our money obligated within timeframes. And so we want to make sure, and were happy to invite you into staff with antimelines in updates on the project lists. Wwould 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 neral 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 noh 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 do 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 Higay 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 oalescing 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 ware reassured by is that there are adapters that are available. If for some reason the industry oves 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 y 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 myquestion, this federal Highway Administration have the Staff Resources its needs to promptly began ordi 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 ocused on is turninawards into projects since i have been coming here, i know that secretary buttigieg is also very focused on this. Il give you one very specific example. Anna cfi, we initially had a deadline in may for thse communities to submit their applications. Because we got a lot of reques for more time, because these communities wanted to be successful in applyg, we actually extendedhe deadline to june 13th. Some of it is there 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, ve 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 outces. And i think youve probably anered this question, and i will ask it anyway. How is federal Highway Administration woing with states to ensu the states prioritize investments in Ev Charging Infrastructure . Thank you chairman carper. Yes, i think that we have a robust discussion with our partners ound navy, improving eir plans, looking at some of the exceptio that they have asked for as they look to stand up the of alternativefuel corridors. I think jut 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 ogram, 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 trsit systems. I think when i was out of the room makup on their business meeting, my other committee, i miss this. But how is t federal Highway Administration providing information to statesabout the opportunities to bld 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 wh 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 approacmore 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 spds and roe designs posed to vulnerable road users. Question, how is theu. S. D. O. T. Safety sategy in forming federal highway adminiration and the ministrations implementation of t biptisan 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 thinkthat 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 bome 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 bik weant tmake sure that we areot 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 goi on right now i nee to react this up. But before we do, that the governor of pennsylvania, governor shapiro, will made surrounds this morning they tnk arerelevant to the discussion that were having today. And if you could sha with us briefly while it your reacti to what he has announced, i wold appreciate it. Thank, you chair, and chairman carper,and yes, i have been in the hearing, and so im not sure specificall what he announce, but it was my undetanding that he was going to detail the timeline for the expected repair, and i think that we were thking it might be seral months, and i think that pendant ought has come up with an expedited plan, and was part of those discussion. It will get us to rolutio much quicker,nd restore traffic on i95 which is crippling the reon right now, and so just really grateful for the innovation of penndot and the cooperation of philadelphia and our rional partners and the fedal 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 hereit he today and to hear from you and hear your response to the questions that have be asked. I for the other pple who may not ow this, i was givethe opportunity to suggest how folks to the newly elected president a couplyears ago, two people to serve in his administration, and chairman was especially pleased to recommend. And sitting he listening to you oday, i find the estions, 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 onehild . T. Daughters twgirls. Tell them that we appreciate thesharing their husband and da 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 tod. 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 t 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 sa is true for federal Highway Administration, and what is its inhe 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 sator 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 12, and with that, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you so much. [whispering]