House transportation and infrastructure subcommittee. I ask unanimous consent the chair be authorized to declare recess at any time during todays hearing. Without objection so ordered. I ask unanimous consent of members not on the committee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee and ask questions without objection. If members wish to insert documents into the record please also email documents ti mail. Gov. Several other senators and a press release from senator kramer into the record without objection so ordered. I now recognize myself for the purpose of an Opening Statement for five minutes. Good morning and thank you for being here today. The undersecretary and the administrators before us represents the full scope of the jurisdiction in the subcommittee on highway and transit. However despite the long record of bipartisan oversight efforts, weve not had any administrators before us since 2019. Todays witnesses can help provide clarity on issues related to the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act as they and the people in the programs they represent play a pivotal role in the department of transportation efforts to enact the legislation. This last month we marked two years since the passage that provided funding increases for americas infrastructure including over a half a trillion dollars for programs in the subcommittees jurisdiction. I increased funding for existing programs, created new programs with the legibilitys it increased by nearly 500 the amount of competitive Grant Funding. The average provided was the most under the committees jurisdiction and creates approximately 80 compared to the last authorization bills fixing americas surface transportation act. Since i became transportation and Infrastructure Projects into the companies that provide the services in those sectors have not been immune to these costs. The prices of materials with Construction Equipment and labor have all remained high since the passage. In september the federal Highway Administration released updated data for the Construction Cost index with federal highways now in the First Quarter of 2023 the Construction Index reached an alltime high. Further according to the Transportation Bureau of transportation statistics highway construction increased nine of the last ten quarters compared to the last quarter of 2020 the Construction Costs increased 53. 8 . The purchasing power provided therefore greatly diminished not only my concern about the inflationary pressures, but as i have said many times before the administrations focus should be on enacting the legislation is written, not on the progressive policy proposals that didnt make it into the final. The day before thanksgiving when im sure all of us were refreshing the website waiting for an important proclamation, the fhwa announced it had finalized to create a new Greenhouse Gas performance measure to cut the tailpipe emissions stemming from transportation on the national highway system. I understand you have been tasked with tackling Climate Change first in your core measurements against the concern is during the consideration the policy proposal is expressly excluded and the legislation. Theres simply no congressional mandate or provided authority to take this action. Another example dot with direction from the policy offices using the discretionary Grant Programs to layer on the requirements that do not exist in statute and while we received a press release after press release announcing funding rewards these are not legally binding documents. I think we can all agree that it has plenty of Strings Attached by congress. Theres no reason to add even more at the agency level. Im also very concerned at the extremely slow rate they are being negotiated around the parties have signed according to the numbers. They advertise that youre making grants but it isnt going out the door and projects arent being done. I could go on but i would reiterate the message from the stakeholders theres the risk of delaying critical transportation projects that are necessary to move people safely and efficiently through the country even though i did not support, its of the law and i will ensure the resources provided are addressing the most pressing safety infrastructure supply chain needs, which i know is a shared bipartisan goal of all of us in the room today. The bill was not a blank check for this administration to pursue social or Environmental Policies unrelated to the nations Transportation System. The committee will work with dot end of the agencies represented to ensure the dollars are spent wisely and prudently on the Infrastructure Improvements the nation requires. I think the witnesses for appearing today and i look forward to a productive dialogue and recognizes the Ranking Member for five minutes for an Opening Statement. I would like to thank the subcommittee chair for holding this hearing on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act. It was one of the most important bills enacted in last congress and within the subcommittees jurisdiction it provided 365 billion for highways 180 billion of transit, 3 billion for a multimodal grand and 13 million for highway and motor carrier safety. The work of the subcommittee helps set the ball high. Many of the funding levels on inthe Infrastructure Investment and jobs act are similar to what we proposed. Two years and we are seeing this past summer the regions transit agency, the washington metropolitan received 104 million over grants to push the zero emissions and convert the Maintenance Facility to Serve Electric buses and training its workforce to operate and maintain electric buses. I think the administrator and the Biden Administration for this investment in good jobs and Clean Air Act for the region. Success stories like this are playing out across the nation. Every member in the room today, whether they voted for the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act or not has at least one project funded in their congressional district. As implementation continues, our country will see safer transportation, a cleaner environment, and better access for all communities. Much work remains to be done. America is experiencing an epidemic of traffic fatalities that is falling disproportionately on pedestrians, cyclists and communities of color. I look forward to hearing from each of the witnesses about their work we must reckon with the rise of new technology. Such as Autonomous Vehicles and what it means for the workforce. As new technologies become prevalent we must ensure we protect jobs and give workers a seat at the table. We must also work to mitigate the impacts of our Transportation System. The transportation is the largest source of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the United States in our transportation policies and programs must be reformed accordingly. Expanding access, transit, walking and biking infrastructure is a key part of the solution. I also support tracking the highway emissions with plans to reduce them. This requirement is from authority provided by congress in 2012 and is a critical step in the right direction. I also appreciate the department of transportation wide efforts to improve equity and reverse the decades of all caused by the Transportation System and to low income communities and communities of color. Approved by the committee as a part of the Inflation Reduction Act is quickly put to use. Thank you to the witnesses today. I appreciate your diligent work. To implement the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act and the diverse and thoughtful perspectives you bring to the challenges ahead. I look forward to todays discussion. Thank you mr. Chair. Thank you, ms. Norton. I would recognize chairman graves. Hes not able to be with us at this particular hearing, so i recognize the member of the full committee mr. Larson. Thank you, mr. Chair. And i want to thank the chair into the Ranking Member for having the hearing today and i want to welcome all of the witnesses. Thanks for participating in the hearing today about your work to implement. The bipartisan infrastructure law in this hearing today is an opportunity to highlight how these federal infrastructure dollars are benefiting communities and helping us to build a cleaner and more accessible Transportation System the investment level and number of new initiatives with previous transportation bills and congress handed them to a tall order to implement the legislation. The first two fiscal years the department distributed over 180 billion in highway funds and 40 billion in transit funds in states and localities. Its gone out under more than three dozen competitive Grant Programs and more is on the way. Just this morning the department announced the words for the sake of the streets from the Program Totaling 810 million for 385 projects nationwide including, and you will be surprised how many are talking about this, three in my district. Indeed totaling about 1. 4 million to help the city and the county develop action plans and the Business Council to test nine safety demonstration projects. Yesterday the department announced rewards for 18 projects under the Transportation Grant Program which totaled 645 million. The funding would help the communities reconstruct roads and infrastructure to make them safer and more accessible. I highlight these announcements because it clearly demonstrates how communities across the u. S. Are seeing the benefits of the bipartisan infrastructure law and also seeing the benefits by the creation of jobs. This translates into projects on the ground and jobs for American Workers. September 23 we saw this over 60,000 highway projects alone according to an analysis by the american road and transportation builders association. Theres at least one new project underway in every district in the country according. Thanks to the department has awarded a 25 million and raised grants to the county in my district to replace the island very. Projects like this one and others across the country means jobs. Jobs, good wages and working conditions for transportation workers and manufacturers. It means more jobs in the transportation construction transit, trucking, aviation, rail and maritime sectors. Without these investments the economy would be in far worse shape. We are only two years through a fiveyear bill. The department has been investing in projects in the country and theres more to come. Now the job of conducting oversight of implementation efforts by the dot, state dot, project sponsors and industries to ensure they are delivered quickly and effectively the end of the law is implemented in line with congressional intent. Congress directed investments to address many things including addressing Climate Change and reducing Carbon Pollution. We directed investments to improve safety and outcomes on the Transportation Networks. We want more decisionmaking power in the hands that know the infrastructure best. These and other changes are in the hands of dod to execute. I applaud the efforts to date on this front and the steps taken to address the high rate to prioritize Equity Consideration to ensure Disadvantaged Enterprises reap the benefits into the measure and reduce Carbon Pollution from the sources as provided in transportation law dating back decades. I welcome the opportunity to once again acknowledge the infrastructure benefits into the districts and constituents. The committee continues delivering Bipartisan Solutions for all americans. I want to thank the witnesses for their service and guiding the agencies and priorities and for the priorities Congress Asked you to implement. I look forward to todays discussion with that and yield back. Before i proceed i want to welcome the newest member of the subcommittee, the representative from utah. Thank you for being with us and welcome to the subcommittee. Now i want to welcome the witnesses and thank them for being here today. The honorable carlos undersecretary transportation proposals the office of the sec. Of transportation. The honorable shay lean, administrator federal Highway Administration, maria fernandas administrator for the federal transportation administration, robin hutchison, administrator Safety Administration and curls and acting administrator national Highway Safety traffic Safety Administration. Briefly, i probably dont have to go into greater detail, you know how these lights work, green means go, yellow means step on the gas because it is fixing to turn red and you will run out of time. Due to the nature of the Committee Hearings that we have five witnesses we ask you to strictly adhere to the five minutes if you hear this little sound, that means you are exceeding your allotted time and we ask you to wrap up so we can get onto the next witness and member questions. I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses will students be included in the record without objection so ordered. I ask unanimous consent to record remain open at this time the witness provided answers to any questions that may be submitted in writing. Without objection so ordered. I also asked comes in the record remain open for 15 days for any additional questions and comments submitted for the witnesses to be included in the record in todays hearing. Without objection, so ordered. Written testimony has been made a part of the record and we ask again that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes. With that, mr. Undersecretary, you are recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Chairman graves, Ranking Member larsen, chair crawford, Ranking Member norton and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in for your support as we continue to build a stronger, safer Transportation System. Last month of the administrations of the radar second year of implementing the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act through which weve already implemented 37 new programs and announced funding for more than 40,000 projects and counting in every corner of the country. The department has continued its history of accountability, responsibility and financial stewardship. The team behind the dot implementation efforts 182023 samuel j service to america metal. Its the Public Servants and the work doesnt stop. Just this week as mentioned we announced 650,000,018 projects in rural areas to reconstruct or replace critical roads, bridges and upgrade freight hubs and expand services. I would like to share a few notable examples of how we are delivering on these priorities. Safety is the departments top priority and in 2022, the secretary announced an ambitious goal of zero roadway deaths. Through the departments national roadway Safety Strategy, the infrastructure law gave unprecedented resources to invest across the country. Under the safe streets they are already benefiting 70 of the nations population. Earlier today the secretary announced another 817,000,385 projects to continue helping communities with safety improvements like enhanced crosswalks and improved lighting. We are also making the roads and railways safer by improving risky rail crossing advancing lifesaving technologies like automated emergency braking and expanding the availability of truck parking. We are doing all this first and foremost so our loved ones make it to holiday dinners and make sure the simple act of walking into the Grocery Store keep workers as safe as they can be. Preventing crashes also benefits our economy, complementing the Administration Efforts to provide American Workers and businesses access to resources and markets in good paying union jobs. We are strengthening americas trucking workers creating pathways for more drivers through apprenticeship programs. Meanwhile investing in our network improving the ports and investing 40 billion to replace and upgrade the bridges across the country including the Memorial Bridge right here in washington and between kentucky and ohio. The second worst projects in the country. Infrastructure investments like these are critical to making the supply chains more efficient which ultimately cuts costs for consumers and drives down inflation. Its going to help holiday presents arrive on time, keep the store shelves stocked and provide access to jobs, schools and other vital destinations. As we work to improve the safety of the Transportation System and strengthen it as a core driver of the nations economy, we are mindful that the investments must reach everyone especially in communities that historically have been left out of meaningful investments. That means rural and tribal communities and communities of color. New programs created by the infrastructure law to reconnect the communities that were divided by transportation structures. Capping the interstates to reconfiguring the changes to extending the Transit Service so people can get to their destination safely and easily. We also know Smaller Government agencies face a steep learning curve as they try to navigate federal funding landscapes. Thats why we are providing technical tools and organizational capacities leveraging the experience of the nonprofits, academia and the private sector to help disadvantaged and under resourced communities to compete for federal aid and to deliver the project is once they get it all in the effort to accelerate the benefit of those investments. Through this work we are building a more efficient and resilient system while cutting Carbon Pollution and creating jobs. For example we are investing in modernizing more than doubling the number of zero emission buses on the roadways while creating good paying jobs, manufacturing operations, maintenance. Also state and local governments to create convenient, reliable affordable and Equitable National charging networks which is already spurring private sector investments. These generational investments will benefit the entire nation from its cities to the most remote communities. Whether you walk, roll, drive we are committed to making the transportation experience safer, cleaner, more affordable, more reliable and efficient. We are committed to working alongside congress to deliver on these promises to the american people. Thank you again. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you, chairman crawford. Ranking member larson and Ranking Member of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It represents a once in a Generation Investment in the nations infrastructure. Competitiveness communities of resistance to Climate Change and the reduction act provides historic investments and new opportunities for both of the Clean Energy Economy that creates good jobs and lowers cost for all working families. The dedication of the federal highway Safety Administration staff in delivering on the promise of these historic investments when the american publics inspiring. Ive always said to the transportation entity exists for two reasons to save lives and make peoples lives better. The Mission Begins and ends with safety. Last month i dream state and local officials at the sight of a fire that took place under a section of i ten near Downtown Los Angeles resulting in a closure in both directions. Within days, the announced the Immediate Availability of 3 million seeing quick phones for use by caltrans to offset the costs of emergency prepared work. At the offer support to state and local officials and provide Technical Assistance to help respond to the closure of this vital corridor. Eighty days after the fire i was pleased to join officials as Governor Newsom announced the reopening of the i ten freeway. In june they provided to similar levels of Emergency Support to open i95 in philadelphia in record time after the tragic tanker truck explosive that resulted in loss of life in a partial collapse of a bridge. In addition to safety, fhwa work is guided by an initiative we refer to is driven for the 21st century. There are six aspects, delivery, resilience, values, equity. It is this first aspect of driven delivery that i would like to focus on today. While everyone celebrates receiving a grant award, we are committed to turning those into successful projects. Thanks to bill and ira we have the major funding necessary for the Transportation System. Fhwa has taken actions supporting implementation of projects that improve safety and peoples lives including distributing more than 180 billion in highway and formula funding to states and issued notices of the funding opportunities for approximately 14. 7 million in available funds. We are currently administering 1500 grants totaling approximately 10 million across 15 discretionary programs with more to come. I recognize pressure can present challenges for project sponsors, but this is not a unique challenge for u. S. Transportation projects. I previously served in a Global Transportation rule and inflation is the challenge we are dealing with on transportation projects globally. We are aware of these challenges and recognize time is money which is why we are continuing to develop ontime and on budget. The success of the bill is dependent on the streamline funding to recipients. They stood up a new Permanent Team to oversee the matters and implement a process we continue to refine to increase efficiency and transparency thereby benefiting the delivery of new projects. The bipartisan infrastructure law is funding throughout the country that will deliver results for the Transportation System and americans as a whole. The Bridge Investment Program announced in january, 2023 included 1. 35 billion to rehabilitate and reconfigure the existing to improve interstate and local traffic flow between the interconnected regions on either side of the ohio river. Its focused on strong engagement with states and locals as they deliver the many projects funded by the bill. Ranging from Small Projects to large complex projects. For example, key members of fhwa members team and myself are in regular communication with ohio and kentucky leadership to ensure the critical project stays on track. As administrator ive had the privilege to travel around the country to see and hear how the immediate need for savers successfully and resilient transportation. The transformational funding enabled to create a system that delivers for the economy and all of our people while getting individuals to their destinations. Theres no democratic roads or republican bridges transportation binds us all together which is why we must work with each other to support the common good. Fhwa remains committed to the task. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. We would be happy to answer any questions. Can you hit your microphone, maam. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the bipartisan exceptional law. The hard at work delivering the first two years of the largest investment and Public Transportation in American History making available nearly 40 billion in the transit operators communities nationwide. That is on top of the continued administration of the critical Emergency Relief Fund all told we have invested more than 63 billion and almost 9,000 projects since november of 21. And our work is far from done. In arkansas thanks to the bipartisan law, theres nearly 2 million to harbor these electric buses. From the Cheyenne River tribes in south dakota is 600,000 transit grants that means more reliable trips expanding the transit across the 4200 square mile reservation. The trains, buses, fairy and equipment to maintain and modernize them are being made in america and over a thousand companies nationwide. The Capital InvestmentGrant Program also continues to building a Community Building and projects from 240 million in minneapolisst. Paul to expanding successful Transit Networks into historically underserved communities to 150 million in the pittsburgh building highcapacity bus transit along one of the busiest corridors in the city. Both will reduce traffic and emissions and help thousands to get the job and schooling healthcare. Carefully following the ridership nationwide. In the past two years it increased from 77 of pre covid levels. As agencies better understand Community Needs and the just service for those needs, they are seeing above pre pandemic levels. Agencies large and small have redesigned the bus routes creating Better Service outside of traditional hours and provide equity of opportunity. To help the progress they funded 50 products in 24 states to plan and adapt. Communities including some of the largest cities still face physical challenges and trends transit operation. However providing the transportation for the people of the nation is not a responsibility we can simply decline. As a President Bidens expanded flexibility in how the federal transit funds can keep america moving. In the lives of some, its important to the big cities. Yet urban areas are using increased transit investments to enhance regional economies. However it provides more than economic value to urban, rural and suburban communities across the country. It also shows a moral commitment to leaving no american behind. For every commuter if they are advised to a medical equipment of the hospital. Or a College Student heading to class a small town worker both take the bus to a successful future and for every millennial writing transit for the job in the big city a little baby boomers freedom to grow old in her hometown. In mississippi the funding in the rural communities. A woman and jackson told me about her husband who was in the hospital. She had a doctors appointment and he normally drove her and for the first time she used ondemand transit. Her house on a dirt road that doesnt even have a name. The driver picked her up, took her to the doctor and returned her home. She says she never thought she would be one of those people that needed to the services we support. Like millions, she discovered transit when she needed it most. Thanks through the bipartisan infrastructure law people are experiencing more freedom thanks to more service. We still have work. Decades of underinvestment created 105 billiondollar backlog. Manufacturing vehicles need to become more efficient and less expensive and transitioning to zero emissions requires increasing transit workforce. They are working to meet all these challenges. We are also working against the transit workers because this is unacceptable that any Public Servant should worry whether they will return home safely. For every dollar invested, five dollars of value is created and the impact is not only fell to the bottom line. Its measured at the bottom step. When they exit through open doors into a wide world of opportunity thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law the world is closer than ever as we build more american vehicles and train more workers and the opportunities they offer. I look forward to your questions today. Thank you. Thank you. Administrator hutchison you are recognized. Thank you, chairman crawford, Ranking Member, member larsson and the Ranking MemberHolmes Norton for your leadership on the subcommittee and to all committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your ongoing partnership. When i was confirmed as administrator of the federal fel motor carrier Safety Administration, there was an unprecedented the spotlights not only on the trucking and motor industry but on the men and women driving that industry. The Truck Drivers coming off the heels of the pandemic americans are now acutely aware of the impact from the long haul with 75 of the goods annually, the School Bus Drivers taking our children to school and to the city drivers picking up our recycling, theres no doubt that drivers are essential to our daily lives. Today im happy to report that we have kept that spotlight shining on the industry as we carry out our mission to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. The safety affects those not only whose lives were lost, but the family members and loved ones for the grief of loss. We can and must do better. The industry is supported by the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law. I want to thank you for the opportunity to work on this unprecedented investment which ive allowed to achieve the goal of zero fatalities on the nations and to support the goal of the department of transportation safety, economic strength, equity, climate and transformation. We continue to work with our state and local government across the country on the critical goal leveraging the increased resources. The formula and discretionary grants by prioritizing, dedicating resources to high crash corridors, work zones. Im closing loopholes to prevent unsafe drivers and carriers from ever being on the road. Truck drivers are essential safety partners. The safest are those that have been in the industry the longest. We need to understand why our drivers leaving the industry. Ive written along. At the municipal drivers in alaska posted listening sessions with stakeholders and asked these questions. We know drivers need to feel safe, have access to training and to be well compensated to enter and stay in the industry. Theyve taken that and leveraged the bipartisan to assist and the nations supply chain by creating a better, safer, high highflying driver and improving the recruitment. The assistance undermines as it sits at the intersection of economic strength and equity. The Advisory Board understands violence, harassment, discrimination for women entering and remaining in the industry. We created action items to reduce the barriers because the fact is we cant leave any talent on the table. We have implemented requirements to ensure drivers entering have a minimum level of training. We advise. Members of the underserved communities and others safely operating the commercial vehicle so they may enter the industry. The infrastructure law Grant Funding to expedite commercial drivers license issuances. And since 2021, theyve issued over 1. 3 commercial drivers licenses. Weve also launched initiatives to study predatory leasing arrangements, Detention Time and worked with our departmental colleagues to address truck parking. Theyve increased efforts to combat is Strategic Plan for fraudulent household activities including the launch of the campaign. It spans 16 states and resulted in 700 closed complaints and a 30 reduction. Finally, weve dedicated the funding and the resources to prevent human trafficking. Underscoring the safety and equity goal. With of the work we focus on prevention and your historic investments and safety is unique to our crashes. Thank you for the opportunity to share our work and our successes and implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law. Thank you, administrator. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Ranking member larson, Ranking Member norton and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for coming to testify today. The efforts under the leadership of the secretary to fulfill the agencys important safety mission. Every person has been crushed by crashes. Many of us including myself have lost loved ones, friends or family to a crash. Everyone knows someone who has been injured. Thats why this touches every person every day. We are committed to making the roads safer for everyone, preventing crashes and reducing fatalities, injuries and the Economic Cost of crashes on the roads. Today, im pleased. For january through september, 2023 which projects the traffic fatalities declined for that sixth street quarter and they seek 4. 5 for the same time 2022. Optimistic we are seeing a reversal of a record high fidelity seen in the pandemic isnt a cause for celebration. An estimated 19,515 people died in Motor Vehicle traffic crashes in the first half of 2023. A devastating loss the secretary has rightly called the crisis on our the Safety System approach and the Safety Strategy. The only acceptable number of fatalities is zero. Getting 20 will require consistent dedicated focus and work, Safety Advocates and the private sector. One way we are working toward zero fatalities is using the remarkable new resources congress provides in the bipartisan infrastructure law. And thank you for increasing the overall budget by more than 50 . We continue to work as quickly as possible on these projects and rules to save lives and to meet our statutory obligations. Weve issued a proposed rule to require automatic emergency braking and pedestrian. We issued a proposal including for tractortrailers and when deployed these technologies should dramatically reduce rear end crashes, save more than 500 lives, prevent more than 33,000 injuries per year. Theyve also proposed significant outbreaks and a bill in 2022 when we issued the final adaptive driving rule. We are also working with of the state and those communities affected by traffic. Its worth noting for example while 20 of live in rural areas, they accounted for 40 of all traffic fatalities in 2021. Every decision and also informs our approach to the technologies including automated driving systems and advanced driver assistance. Promoting innovation while prioritizing the strong Safety Culture is at the heart of the work and is evolving this sector. Innovation and safety need to go handinhand. A robust Safety Culture builds public trust and advances technologies and automatic vehicles. We are using the authorities on making sure we advanced technologies that make the vehicle and roadways safer. Finally, they take the enforcement responsibilities very seriously. So far this year we have opened 40 defense investigations, closed 28 investigations and overseen more than 900 and safety recalls for vehicles, car seats, tires and other equipment. And you may have seen todays news that after an extensive investigation into crashes involving auto pilots, tesla agreed to recall the more than 2 million vehicles on the road in the United States. Our office is up in 13 criminal investigations this year. A small agency with a big mission and safety at the heart of everything we do. They all deserve to arrive home to their loved ones safe and sound at the end of every day. I think the committee for the support in the lifesaving mission and i look forward to answering your questions and continuing to work with you to save lives on americas roads. Thank you. I think all the witnesses with your testimony and we now begin the member portion. I recognize myself for five minutes. So im with administrator. They recently released a final rule to allow the states and planning organizations to establish a new performance measure with declining targets for the Carbon Dioxide emission attributed to the national highway system. In pursuit of the final rule despite the fact that congress considers. How can you continue to its consistent with the law were given the fact it wasnt where it was considered and ultimately excluded. I want to be clear we are always consistent and follow the law. In this case the authority is laid out. We track about 17 measures given the Authority Congress has measured so we are using that to now track which is called out. Not only was the requirement before but it was also previously included and later omitted and that is the basis for the Inflation Reduction Act. If the administration believes it has existing authority to impose the requirement, then why does the administration continue to seek this authority through legislation . Thank you for that. I wasnt part of the negotiation i would say from my estate experience in delaware and colorado, we dealt with fires and floods in colorado, tornadoes in tennessee and kentucky during my time. I think it is pretty obvious from the infrastructure perspective, we are dealing with climate from infrastructure from the 20th century that does not consist with the 21st century so we are asking students to begin tracking without penalizing them, but to track the amount that comes from the Transportation Systems. So, just to be clear this particular point was specifically addressed in the proceedings, both the housing of the senate. It was specifically rejected as a part of the final package. And yet you are citing a previous authority under map 21. So does that mean that you can pick and choose when we passed the law that supersedes the old law that if you can basically pick and choose we dont like this particular provision, so we are going to go back to a previous iteration of authorization that allows some authority that we do like. In my understanding that correctly . Chairman, just to be clear, we are following the law that was laid out in map 21 so i would say the measure that allows us to measure 17 performance measures. You are following map 21. Even though the reauthorization, so this looks to me like a deliberate attempt which was expressly addressed and that particular provision was taken out and not considered as a final passage was on the floor of the house and on the floor of the senate. But youve gone back to map 21 is your underlining authority to implement something that was expressly refused in the current authorizations of that is what i want to make sure we understood that correctly. But we move on to another topic. I have a memo here. You were copied on that issue. After the vehicles of trust. It indicates the product will not result in the adverse impact but rather will help reduce rear end crashes. It goes on to say in the equivalent or greater level of safety likely to be achieved finally the memo makes clear the waiver is warranted for the use of the brake lights and my question for you is this issue with some clarity believes in the general pulsating brake lights and mentioned in the memo it is willing to work with nhtsa. Why is nhtsa preventing the industry from these lights on trucks that would prevent rear end accidents and make things safer. I appreciate the question, chairman. Let me start by saying theres a federal safety standard 108 that requires study earning rights and thats a requirement that needs to be followed by manufacturers and dealers. It does prevent the installation by the dealers. They can install them so long as it is consistent but cannot be installed by dealers because that would violate based on the safety conclusion and a steady consistent signal to drivers. Despite the fact that the data that you are aware of and that exists youre still saying that cant happen so again not necessarily demonstrating great commitment. I now turn to ms. Norton for five minutes. Our nation is experiencing an epidemic of traffic fatality including alarming increases in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities. What does the Biden Administration believe is causing this spike and what concrete actions as the is the Department Taking to save lives . Thank you, Ranking Member. One of the things im most proud of is when i was with the Delaware Department of transportation that went from 23rd to fourth bicycle friendly states, because we recognized the transportation is a critical part of our Transportation Network and making sure people could do it safely. When you look into the data, this is what the secretary has asked us to do under the an rss is to look at the safe system approach. Theres speed, distracted driving, infrastructure. One of our 28 proven Safety Measures are protected bike lanes and we are also working with states to identify vulnerable road users studies in their states and so we look forward to working with them on that data and i will turn it over. Thank you, congressman. Let me start by answering the question about what do we think of as the call by providing some data and to some potential explanation. One of the things we know is 70 of pedestrians were killed at night. Most of them are adults, pedestrian fatalities among children have actually declined pretty dramatically. We also know most of them are not at intersections. And as my colleague said one of the things we are focused on his infrastructure where the lighting could be a huge improvement. We also know that people are speeding. Obviously if you are hit at higher speeds you are much less likely to survive a pedestrian crash. And drivers are driving distracted much more frequently so we are working on all those things but let me give you two examples of things that we are doing to address pedestrian fatalities. One of the most important is our proposed rulemaking for pedestrian automatic emergency braking that would provide vehicles with technology that would identify pedestrians that the driver didnt have time to see and would also work i got a little over 5 million to address the problematic areas were pedestrian fatalities are occurring. Using a data to figure out where the worst intersections are the lighting problems . Are there infrastructure problems . Using our safe system approach to try to tackle that problem with every single so we have. Cooks ms. Hutchinson. One area of concern i hear from our constituents as Household Goods moving scams. Far too often people going through a move are taken advantage of and have their property held hostage or lost forever. This can be devastating as it can include your replaceable family heirlooms. The fast act created the Household GoodsConsumer Protection working group within the federal carrier Safety Administration. I plan to introduce a bill and the new year that would grant the Safety Administration to conduct household good enforcement. Cant you describe the agencys ongoing efforts to moving scams and educate consumers who are working to move . Thank you Ranking Member norton for the opportunity to talk about this. I have heard it got wrenching stories from people who have lost everything in household moving scams. They lose their whole lives and memories its a deeply personal issue. We launched a strategic action plan. Part of that is operation protector move that was rolled out in the spring. With increased awareness of. We have stepped up our investigation completing more and more as we go. And as a result we have close to 700 complaint that had a 36 reduction in the number of consumer complaints coming in. We are not going to stop until we bring these numbers down of the complaints that come in. And anyone who is suffered from this are plans to move please do check our protector move website you can find information how to move your goods yourself safely without experiencing the loss. Thank you, youll back in. Quick to judge lady yields. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Administrator of the fm scsa has proposed a rule to limit the speed of commercial vehicles throughout the agencies proposal. At the university of arkansas part however doctor johnson conclusion seems to be a little different than yours. His research showed the speed of vehicles different from the average speed of other vehicles intersection vehicle increase so does a chance for an accident. In fact the chance is increased to 220 higher if the vehicle is going 10 at mileperhour slower than the speed limit. Doctor johnson even said if it is implemented its port and two notes it will occur on the basis of supported opinion than the definitive value, value and reliable uses of data. Has your agency considered any research to determine what types of crashes would be increased when the agency creates or expands a speed limit or mandate . Thank you representative for raising this important issue. The strategy identifies speed something needs to be addressed. In the truck crashes is one of the leading reasons why there are fatalities including drivers themselves. Ntsc determined speed was a contributed factor not just one but many. A tragic crash in pennsylvania for people lost their lives in six people were injured as i believe you are aware the rulemaking process we received numerous comments. And have heard about this research about what is called a seat differential. I thank you for raising it. We have not yet published proposed rulemaking its still an agency review. The analysis will consider the research in this issue specifically. Proximate side of the advantage of having a representative form of government many of us are actually and other industries around before we come here. Grow up in the trucking business, know it well for theres one other member but he is not here today. He did the same thing. Two questions of concern im going to express them because i know you probably never drove a tractor trailer up and down the highway. Thats just an assumption, maybe you have. There are two problems one in the state of illinois on the state legislature the problem was we had one limit for trucks when it limit for cars we did discover through our research they cause more racks then it would if the flow of traffic report. If you have a driver who was a skilled driver and all the sudden is going to get in the situation you have not limited his ability to use his speed to react to get away and protect while driving a vehicle you have changed the Vehicle Dynamics they are far you are endangering people rather than saving them to where you have a limiter that does not allow a professional driver to make decisions to try to either speed up and get out of the way or it speed up to go around the situation may be occurring in front of them. That is something you should consider as well. I have a second question id like to ask its complete different question. That freight fraud is involved really bad with scammers. Let me tell you how this works. We are people out there claiming to be brokers. Truck drivers are out there trying to find the loads or their companies are trying to find loads for them. The broker all of a sudden comes and gets in the middle of the supply chain issue. They broker the load. Ready to be paid for longer in existence you can no longer find them. Can be dealing with as far as the fraud that is occurring and or owner operators . One thing for great big company. Smaller companies cannot take that. I appreciate your experience in the industry we unequivocably share your concern about the impact of fraud the industry and specifically broker fraud. We are taking steps. First and foremost we issued a financial responsibility rule will ensure security limits for brokers has increased to 75000. We know its not enough. We are also taking steps for transparency and transaction. Working very c we are also taking steps to improve transparency and transaction we are working with tia and others. The gentleman yields. Mr. Larsen . We are nearly an hour in the conversation and no one has said stop spending money and creating jobs in my district. Good job getting those benefits out, into the district. Having said that, i have a few questions. First off, you mentioned the recall. Can you describe, briefly, the actions and events it took, leading up to the filing of the notice, please . I appreciate the question. Let me start by acknowledging that a number of people have died in tesla crashes where autopilot was on. Frequently those crashes appear to be a driver not realizing there was an obstacle that appeared suddenly in front of it. When i kept hearing about tesla crashes my Immediate Response was, we have to do something about this. In august, 2021, we launched an investigation. I want to give you an idea of the complexity. We examined over 900 crashes. 322 of those involved frontal impact crashes where autopilot was engaged. Drivers were not always paying attention when that situation was on. Tesla has agreed to the recall and we appreciate they have agreed to it i will read what it says and i will stop, it says that the Software System may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse so they will be addressing that problem where the interaction between the system and the driver is not sufficiently attuned to the fact that the driver could just tune out when he or she is driving. There are much broader implications beyond what tesla is doing as well, when it comes to using this to elegy for any vehicle. Passenger or otherwise. Mr. Bhatt , there is the ability to provide the structure, but the buildout frankly, it has been pretty slow. Can you provide an update on the role of the funding and where you are going to be going to move this rollout on ev charging more quickly . I would say, we have taken two years to stand up the program. Ohio open of the first federally funded electric charger last week. New york is going to join later this week. Maine, vermont, pennsylvania, hawaii is coming soon. I would say that we are expecting thousands of charges to be coming online. Why the pace . We did not expect it on day one, but why day 730 . There is 1. 2 trillion in the infrastructure lot. Of the 7. 5 billion dollars, we have had to write rules, work with the private sector, and set up with doe, so that we could do this right the first time. We will continue to watch that very closely. Ms. Fernandez, we have talked about the groundbreaking in the past, some event in lynnwood, washington recently. You have awarded funding for seven projects so far for electric or lowemitting various. We have the largest system in the country by vehicles and people moved. I know there have been lessons learned. What do we need to consider as we move forward . Thank you very much for your question, Ranking Member larsen. Our programs are critical to coastal communities. And the new programs that will be funded around the low emitting electric fairy will help us improve and expand service while surviving supporting the environmental goals. The lowemitting ferry program, just last week, i issued the second round of 220 million to 13 projects in eight states. And those dollars are going to start a revolution, a transformation, of the ferry program. As a matter of fact, the first u. S. Electric ferry , it is being built in providence by a company. That will be the beginning of manufacturing the lowemitting various that will help transit to get those out and be deployed. It may be the first in the u. S. But it is not the first in the world. This is not science fiction. It is about time the u. S. Catches up. Of course, there are a number of important investments being made. We want to make sure that those investments do not strengthen our adversaries. Of course, you are familiar with light rx, which uses laser light to map our surroundings. We deploy this at airports, ports, intersections and in Autonomous Vehicles and as we make these massive investments in deploying this Important Technology we want to make sure we are not creating vulnerabilities for the Chinese Communist party. Most americans probably do not realize the extent to which the Chinese Communist party has used a number of tactics to be a market leader. They have identified some chokepoints that they wanted to own, which gives them a certain amount of coercive power over this infrastructure. It is not just me. In fact, a recent Congressional ResearchService Study indicated that, yes indeed, the Chinese Communist party could use this exquisite mapping capability to be able to gain some additional power and exploit these vulnerabilities. That is one reason those of us on the select committee on china yesterday morning past a report that called for us to try to derisk our exposure, our vulnerabilities to the prcused, prcdominated technology. We want the technology but we want to be investing in a way that does not strengthen our adversaries. Any thoughts on what d. O. T. Is doing, to educate its team and contractors about the fact that we do not want to give the prc anymore coercive power over our country . How do we deploy this . Thank you, congressman. I would love to turn it over to acting administrator carlson. The concern with the peoples republic of china is spot on. We are in constant communication with the Treasury Department as they do analysis is analyses as they are deploying this, that they are resilient against attacks. We see thousands per day. It is the pnt, the signal we get from space. We are again in constant communications and secretary buttigieg has led the research team, and our chief information officer, we are tracking threats and we are helping our oem partners. Lets get specific, in case people think the undersecretary or i are fear mongering. Here is the nonpartisan statement. China could use data compiled by prc, to acquire exquisite mapping of u. S. Infrastructure. We are really talking about exquisite. Every option, every location, the speed, how all of these fit together i mean, what unbelievably detailed and frankly dangerous information about our Transportation Systems. Are there specific actions that our government is taking to make sure that we are not just buying Technology Managed by the prc and their partners . I share your concern. Nhtsa has some authority although i will say there is more authority across the federal government. We have a list provided to us by other agencies in the federal government that identifies those Chinese Companies and other companies around the world that pose a Security Risk and we prevent vehicles that have technology from those companies from coming into the country, we have a relationship with the u. S. Customs service to try to ensure that we work very closely with our automated automotive partners on cyber data. We have a model for industrywide cooperation. I have spoken at the last two national meetings, in part to convey the importance of the issue and we have been working closely with the department of commerce and again, we share your concerns. These are serious. I am out of time. I think that is heartening from the automotive perspective. Ports, airports, we have a lot of work to do and i look forward to working with our panelists on that. Mr. Menendez . Thank you to our witnesses, highlighting the critical work made possible. The impact on the new jersey infrastructure cannot be overstated. There were 4 million grants announced in new jerseys eighth congressional district. These will allow key parts of the Gateway Program to advance. I look forward to working with our witnesses today. Administrator fernandez, earlier this year, i wrote a letter urging them to take action to prevent transit operators from assault. There will be the announcement regarding general directives. I am glad to see the mda engaging on this issue. How will this general directive aim to protect transit workers from assault . Representative menendez, think you thank you so very much for that question. Our attacks the attacks on our operators are unacceptable. These people were celebrated during the pandemic. They went to work so that people can get to their jobs. They directed the administration to create and to publish a rule on transit worker safety. From the first day of this administration, we have been moving forward with getting a publication underway but i will start by saying that secretary buttigieg sat with operators his first week on the job. I have met, not only with the operators, i have met with the labor union and transit operators. We take this very seriously. Not only do we have a rule underway, we are taking full advantage of the existing authorities that we have so that we can direct transit agencies to implement safety for their operators and we will be holding them accountable to do just that. How can we in congress be supportive of the efforts that you just discussed to protect writers, pedestrians, and other roadway users . Representative, again, thank you for that question. Of course, there is funding that allows transit agencies to use dollars for introducing security measures into their system. They can hire security officers. They can implement technology. On the Security Side and in addition to that, they can do the training necessary. We have been implementing an initiative called transit safety and in addition to that, we have been holding a series of trainings on deescalation. And we have invested funding in developing a prototype to protect operators in the drivers cab. We are doing a holistic approach. We know that there is work to be done, but transit agencies have a responsibility to protect the people that work for them. They are also protecting the public using the system. We look forward to partnering with you to advance those initiatives. The state department is working to advance a wide array of issues. In new jersey we have seen reports of poll evasion through fraudulent license plates. Several laws have been passed down to crackdown on cold evaders. There is a lack of updated technology at the dmv. New york can suspend habitual poll evaders. How are they helping states modernize the dmv . I would love to turn it over to my colleagues, who directly work with the dmvs, what of one of the wonderful things they did was give us money to up the game. Perhaps administrator hutcheson can answer better than i can. Thank you to my colleague for passing it to me. We have issued a tremendous amount of grant money through bipartisan infrastructure law, i can say that these grants have been used by states to expedite and improve the i. T. Systems and increase accuracy and timeliness of traffic convictions, suspensions, and disqualifying information. This ultimately will help keep all drivers safe on our nations roadways. It is a big issue, especially as we look at funding for state Department Transportation agencies. I yield back. Time has expired. My first question is for mr. Bhatt added concerns project delivery times. You said in your written testimony that time is money and that is why you are committed to delivering projects in a timely manner i am hearing that projects are getting more expensive while they are waiting for permitting. What are you doing to streamline permitting so that things do not get more expensive . Thank you, ms. Maloy. We want to get these projects underway. We are not a permitting agency, but we work very closely with the permitting agencies and state sponsors so that we can quickly turn any permitting needs that are in place to get those projects under construction. Okay. Ms. Fernandez, similar question. I am hearing that the dnieper process is slowing down the process, what is your agency doing to make sure that these permitting processes are moving so that projects can be filled before they become too expensive . Thank you very much for your question, mrs. Maloy. We are working with those who are intending to request federal funding for their projects. One of the areas i would like to emphasize, 99 of the projects that come before us receive an exclusion. These are projects not affecting the environment and they are not subjected to going through an environmental process. That helps to get projects out sooner. We are also working across the department of transportation with the permitting action plan so that we can get all projects. Many have interfaces with other modes of transportation, so getting all of those projects out on time. Last question, ms. Hutcheson. The safe driver apprenticeship program. I am hearing that there are requirements being required that are not in ia ja and it is making it difficult to fill all of the slots, are you considering removing all of the available slots . Our responsibility is to safety first. We have been rolling out the safe driver apprenticeship program. We are in the process of building up the ranks of drivers in order to complete that for a significant study, we have included safety requirements, Congress Gave us authority to add Safety Measures to ensure that safety is insured. We have done that. We have reached out, we continue to build these ranks and we look forward to reporting back to you on a successful program. Thank you, mr. Chair, and Ranking Member, for calling this meeting. Since the passage of the historic bipartisan infrastructure law, there are grants under 103 programs for roads, bridges, and more. All types of activities that the government is supposed to do. And everything the public utilizes and that are bipartisan in nature. There are districts with members who voted against this bill. So far, 6. 2 billion in funding has been announced and is heading to tennessee. With over 266 specific projects designated for funding. In my district, we are supporting 47 new projects in addition to 48 projects from 2022. We appreciate that. Since the passage of the bill we have received several discretionary grants. And there were fpa grants issued to the metro transit authority. We have grants for the crosstown quarter project, and 14. 8 for the memphis airport terminal expansion, 640,000 for safe streets and all grants, city of memphis. It is important what it has done for my district and all districts across the country. To mr. Monje . Is it monje . It is monje. Thank you for asking. Mr. Monje, i want to talk to about a project that chairman crawford did not mention. It is an application for the Bridge Program. The gentlemans time has expired. It is an application jointly submitted to replace the i55 bridge with a bridge called the American River crossing, 200 million would come from the department of transportation of arkansas, now, that bridge crosses the mississippi river. Lots of eye40 and i55 traffic throughout the country. This is an important bridge, the old bridge was built in 1949. Not a long time for a person but a long time for a bridge. And the port of memphis was the fifth largest inland port, and we need to have a resilient bridge that does that, we appreciate the Grant Application review. Are you familiar with that Grant Application . Yes. The great thing about the program is that there are statutory minimums for each state and the chairman has met with the d. O. T. On this project. We are able to take these bottlenecks and make them move from the wish list to the construction schedule. That would be important for all of the world. The mantra should be what is good for memphis is good for the country. This is certainly, we fly everything out of the airport on fedex. And then you come across the i 40 or the i55 bridge. So, ms. Fernandez, thank you, good to see you again. I know that we are appreciative of what youve done in the past. They can only use federal funding for Capital Projects and expenditures, so the states, localities, in that, the Biden Administration tried to change that but it did not make it into law. How important is it for major urbanized areas like memphis to be able to access federal funds for operating expenses . Thank you for your question, mr. Cohen, representative cohen. And thank you for the focus on the bus facility in memphis that was sinking and now has funding to be rebuilt. As you may know, large urban transit systems cannot use federal funds. Smaller rural systems can. That is one of the reasons why in the 2024 budget, the president requested that it would increase local providers to use those funds, when they need to. While we of course defer to congress, we agree that it would be helpful, particularly for those closing the gaps. And currently we are able to use those dollars for operations. And it is so essential to people around this country that it is imperative that they continue to have access to that service. And that access comes in the way, in the way of funding to operate those services. Madison goes to west memphis. In closing, mr. Bhatt, there is a safe streets for all grant , we will need to get down to zero losses of life. I appreciate that. Id yield back to thank you, mr. Chairman. Administrator hutcheson, they are continuing a number of regulations. Including a potential speed limit or mandate on large trucks, big, big trucks. You may not be able to comment in detail, but i hope that you would agree with me that a credible process is very important, particularly when working through controversial rulemaking. Would you agree we need to get this right . Yes . Representative, yes, i agree. This is what concerns me. The fmcsa had a specified speed limit of 60 Miles Per Hour. It was in the u. S. D. O. T. Agenda and it was quickly rescinded and chalked up as a clerical error. Did you know about that 68 Miles Per Hour . A clerical error, i believe you are a keynote speaker at a soirie sponsored by labor unions, large trucking companies, all of these stakeholders have been pressuring your agency to select a speed limit rule set at 60. Well below what the agency indicated it was prepared to select. Were these two occurrences connected in any way . Representative, i appreciate the opportunity to make clarifications here. We have not yet set a speed limit or issued what would be available for feedback and what about attending a fundraiser for advocates on one side of the issue, while the regulation is under consideration . Representative, we take very seriously the fidelity of the processes. And you do not discuss the contents of the role even as we are engaging with stakeholders. I am going to trust you on this but i hope that you equally consider the 15,000 comments, 15,000, from americas truckers who have provided input. They will not be able to host a big fund raiser. Are you familiar with landline magazine . It is a very good magazine. Do you read it or does it just sit on your desk . This is the october, 2023 issue. Page 12. Very dangerous, very dangerous. It says here, talking about, the speed limiters on this thing. Read this article, because i tell you, the people who travel around. I think you mentioned earlier, the truckers that are moving our goods and services, they, the truckers, they know better than the bureaucrats and specifically congress. The aeb rule, i believe that c. A. P. Has gone beyond that, and vocational and emergency vehicles, the rule, as written, is not implementable. They are not completed, the chassis, they are sent to Third Party Customization shops, like a dump truck with a snowplow in front of it. Manufacturers would not be able to provide a misunderstanding for the operator. Ms. Carlson, are you familiar with this magazine . I dont. You have got to read the magazine. It is the whole injury industry. The emergency brake mandate would jeopardize safety. Talked about one of the Truck Drivers, it was a shadow or the guard rail causing him to lose control. I have a little lexus, i was backing out of the Grocery Store the other day, and it slammed the brakes and it scared me, scared my wife. This thing must have detected a vehicle coming from my left or from my right. This can be very, very dangerous. If you read this, as a matter of fact, i will give you this copy when i am done. It talks about these breaks and how dangerous it is going to be. Lets get into, lets get into what is really important. Trucker access act. Would you mind if i respond . I have another 20 seconds. Ms. Carlson, mrs. Hutcheson, are you familiar with the trucker bathroom axis access act . Is the administration supportive of my bill . We believe in dignified working conditions. I love that. All of the truckers running around, trying to relieve themselves and find a bathroom. I mean, it just makes sense that we should be providing these bathrooms, what is a lady going to do . She needs access to a bathroom. Do you have any data or ways to accumulate data for Truck Drivers who were denied bathroom access . Your office has reached out to mine. I am glad that you support it. And i will support you. We need to make sure that truckers have a place to relieve themselves in the right way, legally. I yield. Mr. Carlson, do you have a short answer that you would like to give, as briefly as possible . I appreciate the opportunity. I wanted to say that we have received comments and we will consider every one of those comments carefully. Some are reflected in the article that you referred to. We will issue a final rule that takes into account those comments. The successful implementation of the bipartisan infra structure law is our shared priority but every corner of my state of arizona is benefiting from these investments. More than 220 million has been allocated to reconstruct and expand the i10 broadway curve, one of the most heavily traveled sections of freeway in the region. There were safe streets and roads for all funding, authorized by bil, with the goal of getting us to zero row weight debts. This is to keep our communities safe. There is still much more to do and projects that desperately need federal support to become a reality. One of the most important is the expansion of i10 in arizona. Arizona has invested in wisely widening i10, a major artery for freight traffic in the southern United States. The majority of i10 between phoenix and tucson has been widened, there is one significant gap that lies between the boundaries of the Indian Community. The improved portions of the i 10 and at the Indian Community boundary, picking up on the other side of the community boundary, for decades, centuries even, tribal governments have not been treated equitably in federal transportation projects. Adding the interchange is vital to provide direct access to the Government Services and hospital. It will accelerate a Response Time for Emergency Services and it will prevent traffic from detouring onto the reservation with bottlenecks or accidents otherwise restrict traffic. All priorities for administrators like yourself. I am hoping that i10 can finally receive the federal Grant Funding to move ahead with this muchneeded expansion. Mr. Bhatt, on that being a pending success, i want to turn to you. Included in the bil was the rocks act, intended to draft policies to ensure that we have sustainable access to construction materials. My own state of arizona has led the way, keeping prices low and ensuring that more sustainable options are available as we work to fund the infrastructure built by bil. We are establishing the federal working group created by the rocks act but it is still not moved, will you investigate the support as you work with your team to support the implementation of a working group to uncover resources. I was, represented stanton, in arizona for a wildlife crossing and we met with the team at the broadway curve office. And the i10 project was mentioned to me, i will work on getting that stood up. Yes, the r. O. C. K. S. Act act has been slow moving. I am short on time, but i want to and on another success, the build out of infrastructure, specifically the phase two project that i used to be the mayor of phoenix and we put on the ballot, support for light rail and other Public Transportation improvements, back in 2015. It passed overwhelmingly, my own reelection was on the same ballot and we won as well. It was a good day in phoenix. This project will extend light rail west on dunlap avenue, north on 25th avenue, and across i17, ending on the west side of the freeway near the former metro center mall. This was the first cig project to receive a full Grant Agreement under the Biden Administration and the Ribbon Cutting is next month. So, i want to extend a personal invitation to you, ms. Fernandez, to join us in arizona for this important celebration. I hope you can make it. Thank you very much, representative stanton. I hope i can make it, too. The gentleman yields. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, panelists, for joining us and bringing us information and testimony. It will help. Now, we know that, in my home state of california, as well as at the federal level, there is a lot of conversation about reducing Greenhouse Gases and more specifically it seems to boil down to Carbon Dioxide and there are goals being set, targets, et cetera so, i know that each of you are probably looking at different aspects of those goals. I would say that is probably pretty fair. Let me ask each of you, in order to set goals, what is the basis for where we are starting . Each of you, go down the line please, what percent of our atmosphere is currently Carbon Dioxide. I will start with you, mr. Monje. I am not 100 sure, but i would imagine about 3 . I think it is about 0 point 04 . I would go with 0. 2 . Mrs. Hutcheson . I do not have that information before me. Mrs. Carlson . I dont have that information either but i will admit that is increasing as we emit more Greenhouse Gases into the atmosphere. Two of you i command, it is 0. 04 . It has been creeping up. So, 0. 04 is where we are starting. Our atmosphere is made up of 78 nitrogen, 21 oxygen, a little under 1 argon, and Carbon Dioxide is mixed in with nitrous oxide, methane, and trace gases that are also in there. So, indeed, i do not believe that Carbon Dioxide is the enemy. It is essential for plant life. That leads to the production of oxidant. We need plants around. That said, it is listed on your website, under climate sustainability, d. O. T. Is committed to substantially reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and transportation related pollution. I am glad some of you know the percentages or were at least guessing at that. So, administrator hutcheson, the administration has really launched a strong effort on the Trucking Industry to reduce emissions, very burdensome, and i get it, on diesel emissions, and so it soot, we have made tremendous gains. And so, the administration, pushing climate goals over the trucking needs, and what the consumers need. So, at the same time, you are working on a speed limiter mandate on heavy vehicles that could be working against the efforts to reduce emissions. It focuses on how emissions from these vehicles could be lowered by a speed limiter. So, what the effect could likely be, instead of trucks being able to go with the flow of traffic, we have seen it arbitrarily slowing them down, in my home state, 55 Miles Per Hour that everybody creates an according affect accordion affect, slowing down the ability of trucks to deliver and get their job done. So, it is a difficulty sometime, with hours of service and available drivers, it is creating a bottleneck for a lot of folks. Has your agency really assessed how these overall emissions would be effected by an actual increase in truck traffic . And the general slowing down of traffic, such . I will not speak to the emissions piece. That is outside of our authority. But i can repeat again, some of the information that i provided about the speed limiter rulemaking process. We have not yet determined a speed. We have not yet published a notice proposal. You have incomplete information about what the effects are going to be on traffic, on trucks being able to deliver, hours of service but you are moving ahead with the mandate, is that correct . The analysis that we published, we look forward to sharing that with you, when it is available. I am out of time. I yield back in chairman, Ranking Members, all of the witnesses today, equitable transit, for years, disenfranchised communities have been left out of the transit planning and have suffered as a result. One such group can be considered an afterthought. The community with disabilities. That is why i am thrilled, thrilled that the iija helped fund the accessibility program, modernizing rail stations to make them fully a. D. A. Accessible. It is about time that we prioritize safe and convenient travel for all users rather than centering it around abel bodied people in predominately wealthy neighborhoods, there were 118 million two remodel stations across the city. Many were built over 50 years ago and will be modernized with improved signage. The iija has contributed historic investments, but we need to make sure that they promote safety for our most vulnerable users, such as pedestrians and bikers as well. Chicago has a network of over 280 miles of bike lanes. Only 40 of them are protected with physical barriers. Archer avenue, in my district for example, is identified as a route to increase ridership in the city streets cycling program. However, the southwest side has many barriers to safe walking, and Public Transportation. These barriers are the result of barriers along with related environmental concerns. We need to make sure that districts like mine get equitable funding to make streets safe for all users. Undersecretary monje, the Safety Strategy includes recommendations for bike lane safety, such as installing divider posts, which can drastically reduce bus crashes with vehicles. Many roads do not have physical barriers separating bike lanes. As bike ridership continues to increase, can we incentivize the installation of physical barriers and improve crash reporting to keep bikers safe . Yes, sir. Thank you so much for your leadership. We were also able to get a safe streets project and a safe travel for all roadmap for the city. In 2022, we had 7345 pedestrians killed in crashes, part of an ongoing epidemic of traffic crashes that we are addressing. The safe streets and roads for all program is really a wonderful gift that Congress Gave to us. Because these bike lanes are very easy to put in place. They do not require a lot of construction. And, just today, i announced another round of them. Thank you for your support of the program. Autonomous vehicles, i will zoom in on one area. Ms. Carlson, in 2018, nhtsa shutdown a school bus program, the equipment had been improperly imported from outside of the u. S. The driver of the bus was taking kids back and forth to school with no human operator. I do not believe that it is possible to ensure the safety of schoolchildren on board vehicles that are absent a human driver. Do we have the ability to ensure the production of Autonomous School vehicles, please, a brief answer. Thanks, i appreciate your interest in Autonomous Vehicles. This is an area where we are focused on the safety of Automated Vehicles in a way that can promote innovation. Those two things are not in conflict with each other. I do not believe that we can innovate, unless Automated Vehicles are safe. I will start with a basic, foundational notion. If a vehicle is compliant, it is up to the state to determine the vehicles on the road and whether a vehicle can actually operate. We have extensive safety authority. We use it. We have recall the number of vehicles under that authority and we continue to monitor it very closely. Finally, to someone who hails from chicago, three decades of wonderful transportation infrastructure experienced, ms. Fernandez, great to see you here. Do you believe that you have the Necessary Authority to oversee the safety of autonomous travel, transit vehicles, and what additional clarity can congress provide to prevent the unsafe operation. Quick answer, ms. Fernandez. Thank you for your question, representative garcia, on this important issue. I want to restate what my colleagues have shared. The u. S. D. O. T. , as well as the federal Transit Administration, safety is front and center. We always put the safety of passengers and operators above Everything Else, including technology. We have been investing in research around technology for Public Transportation, a technology that centers around the buses, but also by automating maintenance facilities to decrease the opportunities for maintaining those vehicles, we are gathering data. We are gathering information around that space. We have not received a full, complete set of information that would allow us to then make a determination. However, we do know that automation is one of several advancements. However, through the federal government, as well as our colleagues here, those decisions around safety will be determined by other agencies, within the department. I appreciate your indulgence. I yield back. The gentleman yields. Thank you, to eyewitnesses, for being here ms. Carlson, on the morning of october 30th, 2018, a driver in rochester, indiana, in my district, made a deadly decision to illegally go around a stopped school bus, whose stop arm was up. The lights flashing were activated. She killed three siblings and seriously injured a fourth child. The incident took place in our Northern Indiana community and it totally shook that community, in the wake of this strategy, my predecessor offered the stop for school buses act. This legislation was included in the infrastructure or jobs act, directing nhtsa to evaluate best practices and mitigation technologies and look at driver education materials. As i understand it, nhtsa is still working on these deliverables. Can you provide an update on where things stand and your updated timeline for completion . Let me acknowledge the incredible tragedy in your district, it is hard to fathom three siblings being killed. I experienced something similar in los angeles, a young girl who was killed when she got off a school bus. We are committed to School Bus Safety in a number of different ways. The studies that you referred to are underway and they have been contracted for. And we expect them to be completed by sometime in 2024. And we will keep you updated as soon as they are ready. We are doing everything we can. All states have these laws that prevent people from passing school buses that have the arm up. People do not always abide by the law so as you correctly point out, one of the things we are really trying to do is educate Young Drivers with driver educational materials and we have a Safety Campaign that we have funded it. One of the things that is heartening, although it does not take away from the tragedy that you described, the school bus is one of the safest forms of transportation for children. As you know, there are millions of illegal schoolbus passings every time, we need to prevent a tragedy like the one that occurred in rochester. Mr. Bhatt, you oversee programs with 7. 5 billion dollars, do low how many chargers have been put in place and inservice . On the federal side, chairman, representative, thank you for the question. We just had the first one go online in ohio but many are coming online in the next weeks and months. In two years, with 7. 5 million, we only have one charter online for that program . I think, representative, we obviously would prefer that to move more quickly. I think from the perspective standpoint, 1. 2 trillion in bipartisan infrastructure law, 350 billion of that, flowing through federal highways, 7. 5 million on this program. We did not write the standards. It took us about 35 years to build the state system, two years in, we are ready to hit the gas. Not the right analogy. 7. 5 million may not sound like a lot but to my constituents, that is certainly what we would call real money. How many chargers do you believe will be up and running and inservice by the end of next year, by the end of 2024 . Thank you, chairman. I was not meaning to minimize the 7. 5 billion, i was thinking in context of the full bill. The president has a goal of about 166,000 that are in total out there now. Anticipating hitting a 500,000, the president s goal. Of the 7. 5 billion that has been allocated we anticipate all of the states coming online in the coming months. The number of charters, at the end of next year, the course you can see, to me, when i hear from a lot of the industries that there is a lot of red tape, and there are a lot of contracting requirements, all types of things that hold up these projects, that stands in stark contrast with a company like tesla that has deployed 17,000 without any regulation. Thank you for the time, i yield back. The gentleman yields. Thank you, mr. Chair, thank you for all of your time, for your testimonies, the bipartisan infrastructure law, that, with this committee, they are helping to draft and it was signed into law over two years ago. And it has translated into over 550 million for more than 150 local projects. More funding continues to come forward. It has been a winwin to create goodpaying jobs and beginning to tackle the current climate crisis. Undersecretary monje, i heard first hand the positive impact in beginning to reduce the house gas emissions through implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law, Inflation Reduction Act, and the c. H. I. P. S. Act. Currently, there are new highway formula programs, the bipartisan infrastructure law stood out, the carbon reduction program, and the project program. Combined, these programs will help reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and harden our infrastructure against extreme weather. Can you provide an update on these programs, specifically, how are you working with states to make sure that we are fully taking advantage of them . Thank you so much, congressman, as you said, the bipartisan infrastructure law, and the inflation act represent the greatest opportunity to address the fact that our Transportation Network is the largest source of Climate Emissions in our country. And in doing so, create thousands of american jobs and insured the leadership of america. We do have another 3. 7 billion for the carbon reduction program. If it is okay with you, i would like to defer to administrator bhatt for an update on his programs. Thank you, representative, i would say, of the 27. 5 billion, within the bipartisan infrastructure law, specifically around p. R. O. T. E. C. T. , those formula dollars, working with the states to get that funding. Also, we put out a notice of funding opportunity for discretionary p. R. O. T. E. C. T. Dollars, both for the formula side and the communities to deal with climate related issues for the infrastructure. Thank you, administrator bhatt, they issued a final guidance and lamenting the build america, buy america, allowing additional agencyspecific guidance where necessary. What, if any, fhwa guidance might be issued . Thank you, buy america is very important to our president. And this is something that we are working very closely to, to pursue. And that is out there right now, fort manufactured project, and buy america products, we will continue to work with waivers for states when they come in, and we are trying to build these quickly, with not the idea of these jobs being for American Workers. A sense of realism is extremely important. Mr. Bhatt, it requires it to establish an Advisory Board to inform the development of the new National Pilot program to test mileagebased user fees as a replacement. Where are we with that process and when it will that body be constituted . Thank you, representative, it is very important that we get that feedback into inform our next reauthorization. I think, i think, we, we had to call for the names to go out. We have received those. We are working through that and we would expect to see that come up in the next year. Any sense, in general, next year, any . I will be happy to follow up with a more specific time. Thank you very much. I yield back to the gentleman yields. Thank you, mr. Chair, thank you all for being here today. My colleague, i am a we walked down a line of questioning that i was going to ask that i appreciate the updated information regarding the guidance. I want to acknowledge, having spent the last 12 years serving in local government, the historic significance of the investment. Of course, in states like new york, we continue to see a delay in getting dollars on the ground. For the kind of work that we would like to see advancing in the state of new york. I do want to return to the question of ai, which i think came up a little bit earlier. And administrator bhatt, if i could. Obviously, we acknowledge the ai potential within infrastructure development, as noted earlier this year, President Biden announced through executive order, directing federal agencies to monitor and explore the responsible usage of ai. It is obviously being increasingly deployed in a variety of industries. Can you speak, to the fhwa response to the executive order and discuss, if you would, the administrations plan to foster the use of ai in fostering project development and planning . Thank you, representative, i will ask the undersecretary for the more Broad Administration approach. I have spent a lot of my career at the intersection of technology and transportation. And it is something that we want to be very careful with, as we develop solutions, especially around the transportation side. Traffic operations, ai is being deployed right now, by private companys and states, to better operate Traffic Management systems on the construction side, we are looking at things like parametric design, to use technology to help us design some of our projects. We are in the nascent stages. But that is something i am not sure if the undersecretary would like to address. Just this week, the president convened the ai council, there ai has to be safe and secure. We have to make sure that we are protecting privacy, as well as cyber security. Advancement and incentivizing, is the use for the planning and Infrastructure Projects. They are critically important to driving down the cost of efficiency at the local level. If you would, i also wanted to ask about ai in the trucking space. Your collaborating stakeholders in this space. Ensuring the future of the industry. You are recognizing a commitment to safety. Thank you, representative, for your highlight on ai. We are hearing from our stakeholders, we know how they are going to affect jobs in the growing industry. I intend to rely on experts to help guide us through the work that we do together. All commercial Motor Vehicle operators, have is looking forward to working with you in your office on this. Certainly from my perspective, we are critically bouncing the use of technology and safety. We are looking at the protection of those jobs. We are working with the trucking experts, and the folks who are driving on our highways. I have no further questions. I want to say, i want to particularly offer this up to the fta. I have spent much of my adult life in local elected services. This is critically important. Access to Public Transportation from those, these are even more important. We have significant advancements, to address through the compliance and other visible actions. It comes to providing access. Not only physical access to americas Public Transit system, buses, trains, et cetera, not only physical access, but connection to employment opportunities. Ensuring that local and regional administrators are focused on making sure that those intellectual and development disabilities, experience 80 unemployment. We have a great opportunity for the infiltration of the administration is going to be part of these disabilities as critical. We are trying to further incentivize. The gentleman yields. Thank you, chair. This week, the Washington Bridge on the interstate, has enclosed due to a critical failure of some of these components. Are you aware of this closure . Yes, representative. We have worked with the division of administration. This is from the project themselves. As you know, this has been hugely inconvenient to tens of thousands of constituents. Also, rhode island as well. Time for family, miss work, and Everything Else in congestion. We are looking at what the highway and ministrations are trying to do and support. We are currently assessing options. This is more of a failure of the 1960s bridge. This is in the same way as a tanker fighter. We have a large federal eligibility to use funds to help repair the bridge. We have large eligibility for the funds . Through the Bridge Program that is being provided for federal funds. We are trying to figure out how to best support that. It that is promising. What about Technical Support to reduce the timeline, getting it up and running . It is my understanding that they are going to use one of these to take half of the traffic in a couple of weeks in each direction. 96,000 vehicles a day on the road. Looking into a few months. We are actively engaged with the state and private sectors and we are going to mobilize and get that bridge open and repaired as quickly as possible. Is there something that the state can be doing to reduce the timeline for repair . For everyone on the east coast, it is critical. We have Technical Support on that. Earlier this week, im looking at the massachusetts right to repair law. This is not conflict with the safety act from the revision from the earlier position. This is over independent repair shops. We have access and vehicle data. We are looking at a level Playing Field for independent mechanics, as well as the automakers. Repairing these vehicles, and consumers, for the best prices. Can you describe the differences between Remote Data Access . What about independent repair shops . Is this going to be independent report access . Thank you for your letter. We are looking to support the secretary writes. It is extremely important. You support the proposition of your right to repair this . You are still putting in technical impediments to its realization. It is extremely important that it would be implemented in a way that reduces or minimizes cyber Security Risks. The letter that we sent to massachusetts in august, was a very close collaboration with the general offices. This includes the department of justice. This sets forth in a way that this statute can be incremented. Automobile dealer networks, have a separate closed system, with respect to the transition of data from the manufacturers, and those dealers. We work very carefully with them as well to minimize Security Risks. This is what we are really concerned about. We have open access. A terrorist, for example, we are trying to look at a white hat. We are trying to organize those vehicles. You can see my concern. President joe bidens ministration, looking to break up cartel behavior. We have administrative actions that are looking at the preference closed systems. We have independent repair shops, which are in turn, raising prices, and lowering choices for consumers. We are looking at the Remote Data Access. We are looking at the stakeholders. We are trying to continue to look at the true spirit of the right to repair. You are going to have to make this a quick response. Im out of time. Thank you for your comments. This is the bill that is happening in my district. Were trying to look at these amenities. You may know that the 15th ward in syracuse was particularly harmed in the nordic community. This is from the original construction. This is all in particular. They have all described it. This is running right next to Martin Luther king elementary school. The highway has been a shift. We have this in the green space. This is going to exist currently on federal properly. Property. This is all going to be slightly confused. This is all going to be included. We are trying to adjoin the surrounding Martin Luther king elementary schools. Can you give me any insight or advice . Is this from the transportation role . Your office can be a participant. Thank you, representative. We are looking at construction from the neighborhood. I375 conversion. This is from the boulevard. This is from a local and state group. This is going to be the same process that applied right here. We are looking at transparency in many of these transactions. This is to address these issues. 1958, the project displaced 1300 families. We are trying to address that. We would love to continue working with your office, making sure that the plan goes well. We have the Public Housing authorities that are adjacent. It is the number one concern. Is way beyond politics. I want to make sure that the federal authorities are providing the oversight. They are frankly using our office. Collectively yours and mine. This is within this particular case. I look forward to that advice. Particularly, detroit as an example. Under the secretary, one of the concerns that we have in new york state, is something called a scaffold law. 49 other states that have no similar law. We have a law that has absolute liability. This comes from gravity related incidences. This is a particular law from 300 million of expense. This is true for everyones infrastructure and product in new york. Do you have any advice on how we can address this . New york state can be more efficient on how it uses its federal dollars. Thank you, sir. We have a critical and important aspect of our work. We would love to continue to work with Everything Else. Following in the examples of 49 other states would be helpful. Thank you. Representative . Thank you, chairman. Thank you for your testimonies. The Infrastructure Investment in jobs, is a historic piece of legislature. This is what we use every day to get where we need to go. I am especially grateful, this is from the department of transportation. Giving to the development, a new passage between raleigh, North Carolina, and richmond, virginia. I was proud to join the secretary in North Carolina earlier this week. This is for the announcement of this historic grant. These investments, have been made possible by president joe bidens administration. They will develop this passenger route. They will boost Economic Development in carolinas fourth district. This summer, they issued a call for federal applications for two key programs. This includes the neighborhood access and Equity Program under the reduction inflation act. Each program, is looking to regress the highways of the past. They are cutting off these units. It these programs are also about building a future in communities that have been left behind. Im hopeful that we will see investments from the Transit Services. Can you give us another update on when these awards will go out under these programs . Can you speak to how we will balance the funding between removing harmful or outdated infrastructure . We are building new infrastructure to improve access, and safety. Thank you, representative. One of the projects im most proud of in my career, was the i70 project in denver that put the community in the anchor park. This is all about the projects that are trying to reconnect communities that have been torn apart by highway construction. We work very close with our chris office of secretaries. We will let them address the issue. Thank you very much. 18 months in North Carolina. I traveled 30,000 miles on the highways. As you mentioned, the Inflation Reduction Act. They gave us 1. 89 billion dollars for grants. We are hoping to get that money out earlier next year. We are going through these projects. The wonderful thing about these two projects, it gives us many tools in order to stitch back communities that were torn apart. Not just by big highways, but rail lines. This includes the infrastructure. It is not always about bringing down the highway. They have different interchanges. It is enormous from these projects. The same story from these countries. Im looking forward to working with your office. This is the question. They are putting these projects on the ground. These jobs dont require a College Degree in many cases. More people have access to those jobs. We are making sure that people with disabilities have access as well. We are making sure that we are being cognizant of the impacts. We have the impacts of projects. We know how to do this from the 1960s. Thank you. I will yield the balance of my time. Thank you, chairman. Good afternoon. Thank you for all of the witnesses for being here today. We are trying to discuss the oversight of the 1. 2 trillion that was authorized and appropriated over a fiveyear plan. They were looking at the toll roads infrastructures. This is what they are doing two specific areas. I5 near portland, and near the district. We have citizens from all political backgrounds. I have a chance to speak with you back in october over these issues. They are trying to look at the proposed project. They both agree that more extensive environmental statements, were not necessary. Do you still stand by that assessment . Yes or no . We always follow the law. Yes or no . Do you stand by that . Yes, we follow the law. How is the public supposed to fail in this process if there are no new public criticize discussions . We are following the steps. We are ensuring that there is public dialogue. It is my understanding that o dot, are looking at dubious assumptions. They have weak and unrealistic analysis actions. This is from various locations and intersections. We are trying to look at how they are going to impact those communities. They are trying to miss the mark on this public admission. Again, they set and stated that a project sponsor failed to do the appropriate outreach. This can lead to a title vi concern. They can lead to that project are not getting cleared by that department. By that assessment, it makes sense to me, will the federal Highway Administration scope without these environmental assessments . This really constitutes a lead of failer failure. I understand your concerns about the three projects that involve tolling in oregon. We will continue to follow them. We will ensure that the public receives the necessary information. That havent been done to this point. This is from the governors office. There has been no answer down the road. No new testimonies have been taken by the public. To me, that is a failure, correct . We will continue to work with the states and communities. They are getting frustrated. I can hear it in my voice. These are supposed to be represented. Small businesses, can make meaningful comments. We have Small Businesses and communities, struggling with the impact of tolling. Can you commit to me and my constituents to a redress of grievances from the communities in the Fifth District . They are resisting them to find the review process for implementation. Better yet, please work to resend some popular proposals altogether. Representative, i commit to working with your office. O dot, trying to ensure that we follow them to follow the law. The lady yields back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank all of you for being here. They will improve the highways and bridges. Included in these, 11. 4 million. This is from the carbon reduction program. This is the department of transportation. This is the division of environmental protection. We are looking at the funding that we have received. We are looking at the new programs that have been battled. This program legislature, is looking at the clean trucks. We are trying to find out if the funding that is under the reduction program, can be used to help get the program started up and running. They are trying to help finance that. We have not been able to get the answer. They are causing confusion and delays. I just need to address that. Thank you, representative. Think you. Ive been working with the directors. Im not sure if it is exactly right. They went off on themselves sometimes. We are trying to see if we can fix it. Im trying to see if it is a good program. The intention and goals of it fit right in with this funding. This serves all of southern nevada. They will welcome their first battery electric bus template. It was very exciting. We rode the bus. That was also made possible by the infrastructure law. We found that one of the challenges, are trying to hire up front fueling costs. You have need for Additional Support or changes . Is there anything that we can do to make the process better . I visited the transit center. This was represented by the infrastructure law. I have been working at these. If it is okay with you, and mr. Fernandez, can you weigh in here . Is that okay with you . That would be great, thank you. Thank you very much, representative titus. Thank you for raising the actions that they have been taking. They have been working with the federal Transit Administration in the regional office, looking at transitioning from their buses. One of the great things about the bipartisan initiation law, is that it provided additional funding for the admissions. They have been operating these roads run the country. With the funding that is available, they have been able to divide additional opportunities for these transit agencies to apply for discretionary programs. They will be on the streets of america. It is creating the manufacturing jobs that are necessary for us to continue to grow from the state of nevada. In particular, looking at the transition. We have been working very closely with them on the funding that they currently have. This is in addition to emphasizing that there is the 5 from the training existing operators. Great. They are heading this up. They have great leadership. Thank you. I would be happy to work with you in your office. Thank you. I yield back. The lady yields back. We will go for five minutes. Thank you very much, mr. Chair. They will be put forth towards charging stations. You have stated since the legislation became a lob over two years ago. This has been constructed in ohio. Is that correct . One of them has come online. Can you reassure this committee that the charging station was constructed following america . Is this from the criminal charging stations . Is this a reference to building charging stations . I believe it would have been. Yes. I can confirm that. Do you know if there is anything from the build america provision . Does it even exist involving critical panels building out the charging stations . The answer is no