Transcripts For CSPAN3 Transportation And Construction Industry Execs. Testify On Infrastructure... 20221130

we have seen them used for speculation and fraud and scams, sanctions, evasions, and outright theft. there doesn't seem to be anything useful or beneficial in the hundreds of speculative chris cryptocurrencies can be used. for since i've been chairman of this committee for close to two years, many on my side of the aisle -- >> we will leave this recorded program at this. point you can finish watching if you go to our website at c-span.org. we take you live now to capitol hill for transportation the industry leaders on the result of the bipartisan infrastructure law. her before the public works committee. coverage is on c-span three. our colleague in our staff today on committee holes. fourth hearing on implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure. has another name, abbreviations acronym fourth. i always call it the bipartisan infrastructure bill. and i think i always will. today we will examine this law from the perspective of state law. this hearing is an opportunity for us to explore what is working well, but also identify some potential improvements for future infrastructure. my colleagues hear me say something to. often everything i, do i know i can do. better and the goal is not perfection, or heading in the right direction. -- plays an integral role in developing the partisan infrastructure. and i like the quote, well. will rogers used to say. if it's true, it ain't bragging. but this is a big piece of legislation. and maybe the most monumental and meaningful infrastructure method that we have made sense the interstate system. we are very very proud well of a chance to work together on that. certainly after biden took office last year, we invited several members of this committee to a meeting at the oval office. and we were joined in person by the vice president. by our secretary of transportation. and we had democrats and republican members from this committee. and had a long conversation. basically we said, i went to my desk by -- and he said by. easter bipartisan legislation, bridges, water waste, water, sanitation. and he said i can't do that. to work on that. to do. and that is exactly what we did. that is exactly what we did. ultimately, that committee success in advancing robot service transportation, wastewater, legislation, made the bipartisan infrastructure possible. i would like to say we laid the foundation. -- was right in the middle of it. all extensive negotiations, one-on-one negotiations with the president of the united states leaving the groundwork for what we are there to do. weather now we begin working on the highway portion of this law, we saw input from a variety of stakeholders including some in this room. and the time it was clear to me, they're bipartisan legislation, there would be a vehicle through which we have many important objectives. infrastructure programs could help us reduce emissions from our transportation sector. that is a sector that counts for nearly 30% of emissions nationwide. there are major sources of greenhouse gas emission in this country. one, global sources. the second is our power plants. and the thyroid is manufacturing. consumer, plants steel mills, that sort of. think those are the three major. sources this big deal of transportation sector, building bridges. big deal. as we take on the climate crisis. new programs could also improve the resilience of our transportation system, and reduce our vulnerability to extreme weather perceptions. heat waves and flooding will continue across our continent, and indeed across -- like some of, you like to our bicycles. in france they have days in paris this year, when the running the tour to violence. they cannot write on the pavement. the stuff is not just the stuff that we're making up. our highway programs could improve the safety of the road, with more than 40,000 people tragically lost their lives last year. i would like to see those numbers going down. so that is a matter of concern to all of us. across all of these critical objectives, we also saw them uphold a. principal and that is that infrastructure should help to create an environment for job creation. and job preservation. i talk to the governor of delaware about 400 years ago, when i was governor of delaware, it wasn't that long ago. i would often say that the government should work together our partners in the private sector to expand opportunities for people. to access good jobs. i have said that ever since. i'm recovering governor. if you will. and that is why i am delighted to be here. my colleagues in -- the news we hear from five representatives if private sector businesses and associations. witnesses gathered before us today. representative range of industries from road builders and contractors to bus operators, to material suppliers, to electric network providers. and your perspectives are critical to not just substance committee, but to our nation. and why, you ask? a -- president the bipartisan infrastructure law, federal state and local agencies, are wanting to implement these programs. which are only part of the equation. the industries representative here today along with many other private sectors also played profitable roles and the six as our transportation investments. these are businesses contracted with public agencies to provide the materials we provide in the workforce, engineering, skills and manufacturing projects. the transportation agencies rely on to see projects through to completion. as we all know, private sectors industries invest in important research and development, innovative approaches to delivering projects and improving mobility. improving, safety and improving sustainability. it is also worth noting that the private sector will benefit tremendously in new opportunities created just once in generation our nations infrastructure. the bipartisan infrastructure law provides more than theater 50 billion dollars. 350 billion with a. be the statement that the staff gave me system from the 15th. million i think it's more than that. billion with a b. don't forget. including a 34% increase in the state formula fans. a little more contracts and business opportunities. and your employees across the country. private sector businesses have several contracts, needing to operate. also important requirements and expectations. developing bipartisan infrastructure law, which we took care of to ensure that new programs would support congressional priorities. statutory requirements and regulations will ensure our infrastructure dollars, supporting manufacturing. provide common sense labor to have protection. and reduce emissions from vehicles and materials. as we implement these, programs i believe it is critical to find and it between keeping our policy goals, which remain a long term uncertainties. so that businesses can engage profitably. i also believe that we will make more progress in advance international goals if we allow the private sector to participate fully. and constructively. when driving behavior cross industry. and federal funding with private sector investments to achieve the greatest possible outcomes. my hope is that our panel of witnesses today will share across and how federal industries can best rupture programs and regulations to achieve these goals. reducing, emissions improving. safety making our infrastructure more resilient. and last but not least, fostering job, creation preservation here at home. with us, today, we welcome jonathan levy. not levy. how high that right? jonathan? i stamped out in big capital, letters so i would not score. without the chief for commercial officer's even go. including max stanbury. hi, matt. managing director of highland electric incorporated, i will also hear from gave -- gave that away, the president and ceo of transportation association. finally, we will hear from gary. johnson with whom i served as, governor i think was governor of new mexico. he's changed a lot. different -- probably. even though you are a close relative i'm sure the other gary, johnson perhaps. delay that you've. come today. he actually went for, president as well. didn't he? he does a lot better than i did. we're gonna hear from gary. testify on behalf of national sands dumb and gravel association. and lastly we will hear from, is it ali? are you ever something called something different, like ally? no, i'm sure. we are glad to see ali. thanks for bringing these guys with. you we will hear, from you president -- contracting. testifying on the association of general contractors. we look for tearing from all. if you miss is been a big month on capitol hill. shelley, she celebrated her 39th birthday. earlier. earlier this month. and i think something really -- she something really important happen in our family, yesterday in west virginia. we love west virginia. almost as much as she is never mentioned. him and she has -- we have a couple of kids and grandkids, and she does. to one of them is a state legislature made important announcement. we wish him well. i used to say when my time was almost up as governor of delaware, what we want to do next, tom? and i, said i would like to be moved to another state. people would say, what state without a b. and i missed a west virginia. but i think i will not have a chance to do. that will recognize whatever you want to say. thank you. >> thank you, chairman carper. i should take that hint and, say yes, congratulations to my son whose name is more capito. we can use the same. names and he threw his hat in the ring for governor for west virginia yesterday. >> that could be such a good slogan. more capito! >> as the chairman has said, we just passed the one year mark. ever since the presence on the i-aj. and we promised the american people that this would deliver results by improving and expanding our nations core transportation infrastructure. or are they starting to see some of the tangible benefits. roads and bridges are underway. we have a lot of those origin outcomes going in west virginia. states receiving a second round of historic levels of funding, through their core highway formula fans. and discretionary grants are beginning to be awarded. there is still so much work to be done. agency deadlines are piling up. and we are still waiting for significant sections of a lot to be implemented by d.o.t.. mainly the project delivery title to cut down delays and rotate. this committee has a responsibility of proper implementation of the i-aj. and we have had several hearings with others, to see how that is going. this is an important voice that we're gonna hear today in this conversation. our panel represents, as a chairman, says a diverse range of individuals. and i think all of you for coming. you are the ones who have the, boots literally, on the. grant our witnesses represent companies that are being awarded projects, funded by the ihra, which means they are perfectly positioned to provide the committee additional real world perspective on how things are going. just yesterday this committee voted out in favor of the nomination to be administrator of the federal highway administration. this is critical, i. think a critical position for the implementation of the ig. or the agency has been without a senate confirmed administrator for far too long. and if he is confirmed by the full senate, which i guess that he will be, i hope that he will grab the reins quickly. and move to improve some of the issues that have already come to life. through his, leadership i expect that the agency will begin to execute the laws congress had intended. we are committed to do in front of this very committee. their public hearings in private conversations with doj leadership and letters, certain members of this committee have called on fhwa to stop pursuing policies that outright contradict the iija statutory taxed. this includes the december 16th fhwa memorandum to staff, entitled, quote, policies on using the bipartisan infrastructure law resources to build a better america, and. cloud and various other programmatic guidance documents. fhwa should instead more expeditiously work to implement all provisions of the law as written. the project deliberate title including the one federal decision policy. the agency should focus on the bipartisan active president provision of the ij, which will accept -- and improve the resilience of our transportation infrastructure. instead of undertaking and authorize unilateral partisan action. like rulemaking, to establish a greenhouse gas emissions performance measure and associated targets. for state deities and metropolitan planning organizations. to me, as i read that and say, that lets a delay, delay, delay. i'm also interested in how the current construction landscape impacting historic investments provided. inflation is still high. and impacting supply chain challenges with this looming rail strike, this isn't a whole another issue which puts old pressure on the system. i continue to hear that labor shortages are making it hard for companies to bet on projects, and then move into a completion on time. and on. budget with the recent exploration of d.o.t.'s waiver of buy america requirements for construction materials, i understand there are inconsistencies among states and the implementation of that policy. certainly had a conversation myself with our constituents in west virginia. i look forward to hearing from you. what policies are most beneficial to put this investment to work? what's going well in terms of implementation, and what is not going well? what is making it more challenging to bid on projects and bring it up to a conclusion? the iaea jfk, the bipartisan infrastructure, packets, included unprecedented to address the needs of our nation's core infrastructure in the transportation proper, proper implementation of the law as the only way that the funding will uphold those promises are made to the american people. with its passage. thank you so much for being here and i look forward to your testimony. >> serena capito, thank you for his comments. thank you for the great work you did, and frankly everybody in this committee and our staff, on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. and i also want to say, thank you for helping us move -- yesterday including chalian -- i pushed the bid on this administration, for way too long to get them to nominate. he is just excellent. great experience. hopefully we can move that before this section, that will be great. now we'll turn to our witnesses and that full testing will be entered into the. record i'll start with the standard managing director. highland electric fleets. mr. sandra, you may proceed with your statement. welcome. thank you. >> chairman carper, ranking member capito, and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. i work for a company named highland electrical fleets. highland is a flees electrification company focused on helping governments electrify their fleets. today we specialize in school bus fleets. we learned that communities wanted cleaner alternatives to diesel school buses, a major manufacturers are making good quality electric school buses right here in the united states. at the same time we saw the adoption is low because the vehicles cost more upfront and the process of electrification felt to risky for school transportation directors. it was not a technology problem, but rather a business model an access problem. we built a company designed to help schools address the specific challenges in a public private partnership to solve the complexity. we knew everything required for districts to electrify. to make it affordable, we leveraged values electric buses can provide which are hard for districts to capture without the help of specialized private companies. for example, we help them capture the savings from fuel and maintenance. tax depreciation, volume purposes, center programs and number of other areas. we have -- in the country, all of which, i would note, come from domestic manufacturers. we are the largest president north america, just of the road from here. and in. maryland are pipeline of projects underway are in development. covers over 20 states in canadian provinces. and our district partners range from small rural communities too dense, urban environments. we interacting with a bipartisan infrastructure law in multiple ways. but i will center our comments today on section 71, one-on-one. clean school bus program. it is well under way, and in our area of expertise. the passage of the law is a watershed moment for school bus fleet electrification. as the federal government is uniquely situated for a number of things. nationwide technology. , to accelerate the development of a resilient market for adoption. for -- ensure that all communities have access to the technology. of, course successful will require implementation from the federal protection agency, which rolled out the first version of the program earlier this year. at the outset, i would like to congratulate the team at epa for doing the hard work that standing up a major role major federal program in short order, it really is no easy feat. i am pleased to report that our business has seen a large uptick in awareness and interest in electric technology based on the program's first round. . building awareness and education is critical and all technology transitions, and this result alone is a significant victory for the bipartisan infrastructure law. i would like to commend the members of the member, congress a large and the administration for making a possible. let, said we see a central challenge in the approach in the incentive program. they will present the clean school bus program from fulfilling all the goals that congress laid out. unless some significant changes are made going. forward specifically, the incentive structure was not designed to sufficiently leverage private sector investment and competition. to both drive down product costs and accelerate the plan. going forward, three things will be required. moving away from a lottery based system that discourages competition and creates uncertainty. reducing incentive levels to put down pressure on project costs. and encouraging project cost share in private sector participation. with that, i will close by noting the woman testimony focused on the clean school bus program, it is likely that the big themes of relatively widespread uptick ability. as the federal government rolls out new programs, especially those dealing with technology transitions. which should use unique platform to build education and awareness. and it sure does on the program's carefully to leverage the capacity of the private sector. in this way, it can create momentum. so that the private sector can help fund the transition moving forward. chairman, carper ranking member capito, and members of the committee, thank you again for the opportunity to testify before you today. and provide some private sector perspective on putting the bipartisan infrastructure law to work. i look forward to engaging with you on any no questions. >> thank you. you got 18 seconds to spare. thank you for that testimony, and three delivery. thanks for joining. us on your left, there, that is jonathan levy from -- did i get it right? >> yes, sir. >> mr. levy, we will ask you to go proceed with your. statement please proceed. >> thank, you chairman carper. ranking member capito, ranking members of the. committee thank you for this opportunity to share ev goes perspective on -- law for the electrification sector. since you welcome everybody in a family way i will wish my dad happy birthday today. >> how long has he been your? that >> my whole life. very good at it. my name is -- >> give him our best. >> thank, you sir. i. well as, mentioned i'm jonathan levy and i'm the chief commercial officer. evgo has been a chief charger owning an operating fast. archers fast, chargers as you all, no can charge electric vehicle at about 15 to 45, minutes depending on the cars capabilities. the evgo network has about 50,000 locations across 50, states and has been power by 100% renewable electricity since 2019. this committee should be lauded for its leadership on transportation, electrification, especially through the 7.5 billion dollar and zero mission infrastructure funding, included in the bipartisan infrastructure. law especially the program where the five billion formula funds. is this is a powerful talent to support ev adoption, it is one of many complimentary policy efforts with stretches across the u.s.. the evgo strongly supports a passage of the infrastructure law and other inclusions in the reduction act. if you will pardon the food metaphors before, lunch we often hear about a chicken and egg problem when it comes to evs and charging. infrastructure >> this committee is chaired by somebody who has 300 chickens for every person. feel free to use that one. >> my affirmation birthday boy father was in the chicken business, so i am familiar with delaware as a farming. there that evgo we are not big fans of that metaphor. the chicken and the egg says that we are starting from scratch into something has to go first. but when we have a base of charges an exigent excellent ev models available for consumers, instead we like to talk about mueller and. jelly enough charging stations for people to buy evs with confidence, and enough he's using the resort to support the sustainable bailed out. evgo encourages us committed to continue advancing complimentary policies that support infrastructure and buildings in tandem. and we are confident that congress in the administration to just that by pairing the -- from the bipartisan for social with consumer -- ambitious fuel economy standards, as proposed by, nato and other policies like the rent. as states are on the cusp of awarding funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law, we also have a few recommendations to share. first, we appreciate the congress and the administration focused on investment a fast charging starting with -- and we recommended in addition to holdouts, let states move quickly to also support community charging projects. the definition of one highway corridors are built out was ambiguous. and we recommend the obligation of funds as a practical milestone. secondly, congress wisely doesn't need it a lot of action investments to leverage and not supplant private sector dollars and experience. accordingly, states have best practices and learning from past charging programs and experienced players in the market. specifically, states should use transparent point space scoring rubrics rather than over specifying specific program criteria. navy funds prevents an opportunity to make certain projects penciled earlier than they otherwise might. extraneous requirements such as bundling multiple sites in the same corridor may undermine bath mat and reduce the pipeline of valuable projects that can buy. the administration is implemented a robust public comment process, and we'll state planes have been, approve the proposed minimal technical standards have not yet been finalized. and it's crucial that fhwa resolve problematic elements of the proposed, standard especially eliminating regulated rates of return, and having specific versions of technical protocols. navy guidance includes ambitious goal of energizing charging stations within six months of obligation to funding. to, mythical states will need to work with stakeholders from utilities to local agencies to address existing employment -- when we support build america by america, and rapidly working with our suppliers on offshoring planes, the current state of the supply chain has a longer waiver expires at the end of this. year based on even go in the market, away for at least the end of 2023 is needed as they coming to mystic supply will not meet the demand for federally funded projects. with these improvements and complimentary, programs the implementation of the navy funds will deliver critical support to the burgeoning ev ecosystem. a strong believers in the vision of electric for, all egos grateful to this committee for your leadership in an ongoing and just transition to. levy congress and the administration acted boldly with both the aisle and i.r.a., and we commend all of you for that action. we are looking forward to seeing the vision of this committee become reality, and for the states to start to award. funds i look forward to any questions you may have. >> thank you very much, mister. leaving earlier from, day barr the president and ceo of american road and transportation buildings associations. please proceed with your statement, and. welcome >> thank. you good, morning mr.. chairman ranking member capital. members of the committee. thank you for her prodding the american writer transportation association in the opportunity to take part in this timely discussion. in 2003, then memphis tennessee where call -- against a 55 a cramp avenue, malfunction junction. and a state transportation official referred to the area as they work in your state that we have in the state of tennessee. fast forward to 2022, i 141 million dollar project broke around this summer for -- inability in the affected. region the i-55 interchange is one of the 29,000 infrastructure improvements in a congressional district this year, with highway rage formula funds provided by the infrastructure investment and -- up. the u.s. department of transportation has released another 192 confectionary grants with more 2022 awards on the way. each project has a unique story of solutions. and they are all tangible illustrations of the impacts underway from the leadership of this committee in delivering generational investments through a multiyear service transportation program reauthorization. on behalf of all of our members, thank you. to put the 29,000 state led projects in perspective, highway formula phone supported 2500 more safety mobility and infrastructure improvements in 2022, then in the previous year. tv, claire what we are seeing is more than just an increase in the quantity, but also an enhanced ability for states to tackle large scale projects with the resources and confidence provided by our legislation. as an example, the number of 100 billion dollar plus projects increases from 1811 states to 24 in 14 states, this year. this data makes a pivotal point. the iija bridge investments are working as intended. we have provided each of you with a fact sheet, to help you see the specific ways your constituents are benefiting from the first year of the highway bridge investments. mister chairman, and as powerful as the iaea has been, there is no denying. inflation has reduced the purchasing power of every american household, and it is having the same effect on federal state and local efforts to deliver and advanced transportation infrastructure and improvements. the impacts of, inflation however, vary by state and project type. some regions have experienced material prices as high as 40%. and, yet bids and other areas are coming in well below expected costs. while inflation is clearly diluting the initial investments from a bipartisan infrastructure law, it is also clear that the situation would have been dramatically worse had congress opted for another short term flat funded extension of the service transportation program. another part of the ij relates to regulatory requirements. that influence how much projects cost, and how long they will take to complete. the infrastructure law includes common sense reforms to the environmental review and approval process, that once implemented has the potential to produce project costs and speed their benefits. conversely, well intended's new requirements such as expansion of buy america to materials, and to construction materials, if not pursued, would stay with their input and a clear eye on market realities. which could have the opposite outcome. well i am pleased to report on the progress of the i-20 highway and bridge investments, i must also emphasize that this is year one of a five-year commitment and the commitment of previous long term reauthorization's indicate that these results will escalate substantially in the subsequent years. mr., chairman before i wrap up, i just want to take a moment to thank senator and off for his leadership role on this committee, for the free reauthorization of the highway and bridge program. that led up to the bipartisan infrastructure law. and i wish you well in your next adventure. mister chairman, thank you again for allowing me to participate in today's hearing. look for your questions. >> thanks very much for your testimony. especially for that -- at the end, we spent the better part of our business meeting yesterday logging senator and. huff and one democrat and one republican after the other, he presented. one of my favorite sayings is flattery will not hurt you if you do not inhale. . did not breathe into the, play next month might hurt you. all right. let me yield to our ranking member. thanks for testimony. ellen really hear from, you and gary. next then we will take our -- go ahead, ali mills. >> chairman carper, ranking member capito, and members of the environmental and public works, thank you for inviting me to testify on this vitally important topic. my name is ali, mills i'm the president of plum contracting in pennsylvania. an active member of associate general contractors of america, agency. plum contracting is a family operated business for 42 years, located just east of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. and that, time we have become my high values highway and bridge contractor in pennsylvania, while also being a successful subcontracting division along the east coast. i want to start by thanking the committee for their work and leadership in the development of the i ha. it represents the most significant infusion of investment in our infrastructure since the enactment of the interstate highway in the 1950s. i also want to thank the committee for continuing to prioritize formula dollars to states through the core highway formulate programs, announced that you continue to do so in the future rather than creating new grant programs, especially discretionary wants. a recent survey of agency members found a 93% of the construction companies are experiencing long wait times and or allocations for construction materials. infrastructure projects continue to climb in cost and rising for certain material prices and shortages. material price increases have doubled or even tripled in some cases. supply chain disruptions from the pandemic have inflated the cost of construction materials and made project illiberal schedules and product availability more uncertain. today, my company is experiencing an unprecedented burden with the procurement of new projects. we are bidding, jobs plugging in numbers, because suppliers will not have projects due to the fluctuation material pricing or lack of material supply. we are seeing supplier projects, but not signed purchase. orders and they are not held responsible for honoring the price of material prices if they do increase. once we begin construction, the new normal is delayed because of supply issues. from a project scheduling perspective, it has turned into a nightmare. as you, know the ig or including the build america by america, which expands domestic sourcing requirements to all construction materials on federally assisted projects. i want to be clear, the agency supports the sensible efforts to encourage the growth of americas domestic manufacturing capacity to restore balance to the supply chain. however, these new requirements of greatest ignorance confusion among the industry about the instructor materials and the manufacturer product. what manufacturing process is much sticker domestically for construction materials. but to address this, issue u.s. d.o.t. must advice was a big list of which construction materials will have to be by and there. compliant and which materials will have to be considered for a manufactured product. to date, they are not on this. there is also a heartburn within the construction industry, about potential future project. delays due to the need for a buy america waiver. and the little likelihood of being granted one based on history. while we still await clarification from omg, the initial director of the main america office has since left just weeks before the implementation has begun. to put it nicely, implementation of a new buy america requirement is off to a rocky start in the construction industry which is very concerned and confused. a great way to maximize the investment in ihra would be to implement the environmental review, and the reforms or mandated in the. bill my implemented these provisions we believe that the cost associated with delivering projects will be reduced without jeopardizing environmental protections. and you see also has concerns about recent changes to the national environmental policy act. in the council environmental policy phase one rulemaking. these changes that bureaucratic steps and already burdensome in slow process which will require more time consuming analysis, increased litigation risk for project, assumptions and encourage agencies to have requirements that go beyond -- regulations. and was slow agency decision-making and discourage the transformational investments needed across the country. labor shortages also continue to be a top concern for the industry, with the most construction firms expecting labor conditions to remain tight. despite firms increasing pay and then if, it's the workforce shortage continues. the industry is facing the effects of decades of policy is directing students to attend four year institutions as the only career options. again, i think the committee for the opportunity to testify today and i appreciate its continued efforts to help improve the nation's infrastructure and enact policies that create good paying jobs in america. i look forward to answering any questions. >> thanks very. much i am going to go in and go back to last. point about the kind of skill sets that we are graduating students from, from congress and the diversity and community colleges. it's a good point. welcome back to that, thank. you think we. testifying mr. john -- >> good, morning chairman carper, ranking member capito, and members of this committee. thank you for a meeting with me to discuss the implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure. i'm gary johnson, vice chair of national stone and gravel government affairs committee. grant is one of the largest diversified infrastructures and material companies with hundreds of locations across the house. we have done or in every state representative -- into states. and we're working on those two states. we are one of 400 members, what are some members of an associate. will they operate in -- and employs over hundred thousand people in high paying jobs, to source 2.6 billion tons of aggregates each year. we are used to sustain or modern way of life and build our nations communities and infrastructure. i would like to echo the comments of my colleagues, to profoundly thank you and your staff for executing this historic law. and senator and, of we are identity for years of service. you saw the stage, which is why we are here today. we appreciate. that your work to advance the bipartisan service transportation bills of loss to congresses sets the stage for delivering the largest infrastructure investment in our lifetime. as our country faces economic headwinds and uncertain future, i a j. a is laying the groundwork to keep the aggregate and the materials industry moving forward, as we build resilience and sustainable communities and stronger transportation networks. it is certainly provided by ai aj through the five year we arthur isolation of the service transportation, program which allows companies to better plan and make robust adjustments to our, people plants, and equipments. this is also important for states department of transportation to be able to plan their work out, also. however, with the enactment of any major legislation, from challenges and opportunities. i would like to focus on four primary areas. first, by america. it is important that federal and state partners responsible for distributing investments follow the build, america by america. as a written and passed by congress. clear guidance is needed to ensure that aggregate based products remain excluded from the implementing regulations as directed by congress, allowing us to quickly deliver materials they call slow, and help keep american jobs. under permitting, we would like to, plan, build and operate our facilities. which supply the essential building materials. many times we are faced with conflicting and confusing guidance from federal and state entities, as we permit more westerly sources. we support rapid enactment of policies, including it i aj, like one federal decision that will streamline bureaucratic review and reduce timelines from seven years to two years. mike lane, senators, our industry is leading the way to create more sustainable materials to reach emission goals set by, you and some of the. states in 20, 21 16% of the asphalt material in granite mixes was recycled asphalt. and in 2020, to what we are going to exceed 20%. ironically, we can go a lot higher if more state and local agencies would adopt best practice standards. many states allow up to 40%. it's amazing how many states do not allow anywhere near that. and even local communities. there is a lot of low hanging fruit there. that we need legislators, both of the state and federal level, to help us reach. in 2021, we replace won a half million gallons of petroleum diesel with renewable diesel plans. resulting in a 40 to 50% reduction in life cycle, greenhouse gas emissions. granted they've currently developed the use of -- inner asphalt mix, further reducing our use of petroleum by 20%. and we applaud the decision of the iaea and i.r.a. to encourage innovative, technological advancements. and we ask that these come online as soon as possible. we have a list of projects that we can apply for a grant, lower energy requirements. and lower greenhouse gas emissions. we are ready to make those grant applications when the agencies have systems in place. flexibility. you believe it is critical to follow the will of congress to provide maximum flexibility for state and local partners. whether investing in new road and rural communities, new transit systems in urban cities, infrastructure investment, by the ig hr benefit every american. in conclusion, we saw the new york state in your options to unanimously advance the nomination of the new f-aj administrator, the bipartisan work is critical. we hope it continues. 69 senators voted for the rj. aric's irons to ensure your work is successfully implemented. i apologize for taking so much time. but afford your questions. thank you. >> 30 seconds. thank you very much for those, words mr. johnson. in baseball, we have a thing called telegraphing. i'm gonna telegraph my pitch. when we get to the end of this hearing, i'm gonna us to just come back for the credit restart. taking maybe 30 seconds or so. and tell us what you think you agree. if it is like common ground between the five. you think about that. it is one thing to talk about where we disagree. i'm looking for common ground. we'll do that at the end of the hearing. we should not be a surprised to hear that there are a number of things that need to be fixed. tweaked, or whatever. this is massive and transformational. involving state local counties and federal government and private sectors. you name. it, it's hard to match and we would've gotten it perfect. we just need to keep working out. it he left the office to come over here in and these are my staff in the front office. we had to see something on. it they were announcing tom petty, who joined a couple of years ago. they're releasing a new live. artist that's interesting. they were playing the words of the song, stand my ground. we are not gonna back down until we get this. playing is close to perfect as possible. we appreciate your help in getting us there. your first call for applications we see a requested for nearly four billion dollars in funding from the school bus program, with applications from every state in the nation, and the majority districts. from districts that served some of our needs students. it is not surprising that school districts all over the country want the benefits of electric school buses taking dirty easel school bosses. air pollution that contributes to childhood asthma. while contributing to warming climate. questions. in highlands experience, what are the ways that public industries and school districts benefit by switching to electric fleets. beyond the emission reductions in public benefits? for, example are their lower operations in these, costs associated with the electric buses compared to diesel? >> chairman, thank you for the question. electric school buses are one of the really interesting spaces in the public policy arena, because they are if you see so many types of benefits in the communities that they serve. so if you look to your first suggestion yes indeed there are savings from both the fueling and maintenance. to about 3% of the moving parts on the electric school bus, as there are on a traditional diesel school bus. that translates directly to savings. on the fuel science there is lower costs. electricity is lower costs. it's less volatile in its uprising we've seen a lot of that as we see inflationary action given the war in ukraine has waited some substantial cried price hacks recently. there are a number of benefits to the communities as well, some expected in some unexpected. and so just to take one example, it creates a better working environment for best drivers. as many of you probably know from your states there is a nationwide shortage of best drivers today that has come from the effects of the pandemic. what we have seen is that actually the school districts are using new electric buses as a way to recruit new drivers because the ambient noise levels on the left of school bus is so much lower than in traditional school buses, it makes for a safer environment for the bus driver. they can hear the kids, and the kids can hear each other. and naturally, trial volume drops. and the west river has an easier time hearing what is happening outside the bus. and so there is a range of, others i will go into all of them. but you see a wide range of benefits. >> thank. he really, quickly a follow-up. one or two changes briefly being made by epa work on this that can help low income and disadvantage schools better participate in the clean school bus program. >> good question. i think there are some rule changes that can be made around particular scrap age requirements. the agencies initiated some additional flexibility to its traditional approach. 2141 scrapped requirements that have helped some. but they are not a full fix and we know there are school district today that did not apply in the first round because they do not feel they have the ability to meet the current scrapped requirements and i would note that in a bill that is transformational, and a program that is designed to help with a market transition it is difficult to have one for one replacement requirements because it creates transactional cost by individual actions in the school district. there are risks associated with it. perceived in an, real for transportation directors which causes concern. continuing to add flexibility on scrap and requirements would help have more school districts. >> thank you for the next. we have a lineup here for questioning, senator capito is next. senator kramer and senator -- all right, senator capito. >> we have heard all already people are dressing partially my first question was what is working what isn't working. i would like to drill down more on the not working portion of it. because obviously the buy america issues a big issue but i want to talk to you, mr. bauer, about the one federalists. isha because i think the longer this is going to be the biggest issue. we have received from the department of transportation responses to questions when we are asking about implementations. and appears as though the administration has really been slowing in making these precision decisions for one federal decision. what would you suggest to improve that. do you feel like communication is good and you feel like department is in on this? and wanting to do? it's where are we on this? we are looking at moving that concept to other permitting types of activities. and if it is not working at d.o.t. does not going to work anywhere else. >> that is a big question but let's start with understanding that the environmental review process for highway projects to probably takes 5 to 7 years right now. one federal decision lowered that goal to two years. and i think we are all waiting to see how the administration is going to meet that goal of moving from 5 to 72. but that's when some of the key things that were part of this discussion we are assuring that the department has the ability to compel other involve federal agencies in performing their part of the review. >> is that happening now? >> not that we have seen. no. and remember that we are still very early on in the first year of the infrastructure law and states obligated their funds and a good portion of them have moved to the construction phase. but that will probably take time. >> they probably had things in the pipeline that were already ready to go. >> right. yes. >> so the other agencies that is a problem. okay. other issues with the federal decision. go ahead. >> there are page limit requirements as part of one federal decision also, which i don't think it's as difficult but back to trying to make the process as efficient as possible one of the key goals here is assuring that the overlapping reviews in the financial process or the planning process, are consolidated and performed in conjunction as opposed to one after another. in general, i think the guidance about how to get from the status quo of 5 to 7 years to two years, i think we all agree with the goal. the challenge, it is how do you do that? >> as the department -- we are here into and has a finite life here. are you -- those decisions to have not been made. >> my recollection is that when the secretary was here earlier this year they talked about how they were utilizing the process to focus on categorical exclusions and that is great but it is the environmental impact statements and environmental assessments there that are more labor and time intensive and deserve a lot of focus also because that whole thing about how do you shave off the ears is not just going to happen and remember that one of the things that is part of the law is that there is a report to next year about the efficacy of one federal decision and if we do not have some clarity about how that is actually going to achieve the goal of saving years, that is going to be a pretty weak report. >>. by mr. johnson, give any comment on that from your perspective? only one federal decision? >> well it is disappointing that additional earlier this year the administration added some additional phase two rule. >> when the pop. >> underneath. and it is difficult at times to give state agencies and federal agencies to work together on permitting projects or even facilities like -- in california. in a lot of times the state regulations or even more stringent than the federal regulations and if there is any inconsistencies between the two sets of regulations, that makes it very difficult to get the agencies to come together and agree upon a certain mitigation measure in a timely manner. >> okay. miss mills, you are right there on the ground trying to figure out how to write your bags to match these sorts of things. are you seeing? this i know that by america will get more into that but are you seeing the one federal decision in any form or fashion moving from your planning to your actual able to biden get projects moving faster? >> i think that coming from a state like pennsylvania which is known for having a lot of structurally deficient bridges -- >> i get, it i'm from west virginia, we've got them to, >> i'm from pittsburgh and we just had the foreign hollow bridge collapse in there was a rush to get that project back on the ground and any further permitting and time delays is hard on us in pennsylvania to correct our problem. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. before we turn to senator gardner, several members of our committee are veterans. of the former military. the almond think is a retired lieutenant colonel. senator sullivan is a colonel in the marine corps. and in the navy we have a lot of sayings. one of them is that i have always turned to in a situation like this. what we are talking about trying to take a huge piece of legislation. monumental piece of legislation, so they were looking for, and actually implemented in a cost-effective untimely. way it's really. hard about learning an aircraft carrier, a bit like turning an aircraft carrier, but you stick with it. do not give up. work together. we can turn aircraft to care carriers. and we can get this piece of legislation. not just passed and enacted, but. implemented it is what we are committed to, doing thank. it with, that let me turn to my neighbor, my body, then britain. first of all, let me thank you for your leadership. we do share a lot. we of course have the sandy canal. do we need to widen it so we can get an aircraft carrier that can turn around? we will see what the next word looks like. let me thank all of our witnesses for being here. we are very proud of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. it is to modernize infrastructure in america. we've seen as we travel internationally that america was behind where it needed to be. and the principal objective was to modernize our infrastructure. the say seeds we have planted are starting to take hold as we see local governments, state governments moving forward on a lot of infrastructure projects that were delayed for a while. it's very interesting. mister chairman, as you know, i was in charles shake for cop27. we got complaints from our traditional allies. they think we are moving too quickly, and they won't be able to compete with us. that is good news for us, but bad news for our competition. but one of the major objectives on this panel here today, it really sick underscores it, is to help our economy create jobs. as i see it, looking at the people at this table, we are doing exactly that. we are using resources under the bipartisan infrastructure bill to move forward on some very important projects. so i'm going to start with you first. it's my understanding that you have about 62 fast charging stations in maryland, across about 33 locations. so thank you for the work you are doing and state of maryland. i'm very interested as to how these charging stations will keep up with technology, and production changes. you see the electrification of our transportation fleets, and it's not just limited to our passenger vehicles. it's also with how do we reach communities have traditionally been underserved? there is no financial opportunities here. you talked about one aspect of that in regards to the disposal of the older buses. i'm also concerned about outreach. do they really understand how to engage in this program and the support that we can make sure underserved communities are aware of the opportunities they have with regards to transportation other school buses? >> senator carton, thank you for the question. without a doubt, there is more that we can do for outreach. when you look at the communities that have been historically underserved, they face a number of challenges. in the adoption of electric school buses, it is unique to the circumstances. it's not just that they have less resources, it's that they have less personnel. so that means less folks to do the same amount of work that every else has to do. less folks to dive into the details for learning a new technologies, implementing new technology, understanding the federal programs, to your point. and so there is a significant additional outreach that is needed for those communities. in the first round of the program, epa did start to take some of those steps to get more information into the hands of those communities. that is a good start, but more is needed overtime. i would also say that it's important that the agency start to look at providing differential resources between different kinds of communities. so the folks in traditionally under resourced communities need additional support beyond what other communities need. the agency did take a start in that, but needs to refine the approach going forward, setting aside a specific budgetary alignment for those communities is one thing that they can do that would really help. and then providing a structure that allows for -- separately from the communities applying for other funds. >> good suggestions, thank you mister chairman. >> thank you for joining us today and for your great work on this bill that you have played a huge role in. i'm grateful for that. >> thank you, mister chairman. i want to thank mr. johnson for his comments. it's been a mission of love over these years. mr. meals, we have something we are faced with right now which is a level of inflation that creates other problems. over the past year, how has your company managed the workforce and supply chain challenges in the face of what i would call the low tide decade, high inflation environment we are in? >> yes, as i spoke before, we are actually one of the biggest highway edged drain installers on the east coast. so what we do is we put in plastic pipe and we all know what happened with plastic pipe in the past year. i can tell you, we installed 1 million and a half feet a year across the east coast, and our pipe pricing went up 80% since last year. so something that used to be below $1 is not close to $2, and a contractor of my size cannot absorb 1 million dollar loss continually with all these issues. >> as easily, perhaps, and some of the larger companies are able to do. and then, would you also specifically talk about, as you know, oklahoma is a rural state. and the unique problems you are facing right now in oklahoma. >> in pennsylvania, where my companies located, were also pretty rural. we're outside of pittsburgh. but we're having trouble getting people to drive to job sites because of the cost of fuel. some of our projects are an hour away and our employees are taking more urban areas to go to work, or other jobs outside of the construction industry because they can't afford to drive that hour or pay for gas. >> i haven't thought about that. well, mr. bauer, would you speak to the challenges of the completion of completing these projects. what unique problems are you facing? >> we talked a moment ago about the decision and how it has the potential to very much assist the situation. but we also can't overlook the challenges that occur from lack of regulatory clarity on a lot of other issues. case in point, you all have been aware for the last several administrations that the issue of related to waters in the u.s. has bounced back and forth from administration to administration. the biden ministration has repealed that all along. they are trying to advance projects with this new changing set of rules in the middle of the game, that makes it very difficult. and wetlands are certainly a significant component of infrastructure projects. and the waters of the u.s. isn't the only situation where that occurs. but i think it's a very well understood want. >> i think it has been. four from our perspective, and you've been dealing with this for a long time, those of us sitting on the side of the table, what would we be looking at that needs more attention today than it has in the past? dealing mostly with the fact that you bring up, and that these are problems. we have different administrations that come in and they change because those people who are serving don't always know how difficult it is once you get a path going. >> i think that we certainly recognize the challenge of passing legislation. but the ongoing oversight that you have started performing is essential in assuring, that the law has employed implemented as it was intended. we can't overlook the need to deliver federal funds in a timely manner. recall the first year of the bipartisan infrastructure laws. it came six months into fiscal year 22, and states obviously were able to commit those funds. but a six month late start doesn't help. and so these funds are provided to the annual corporations process. that's another area behind -- that can be very helpful. >> thank you very much. thank you, mister chairman. >> thank you very much, senator. we are joined by senator kelly, and he will be followed by -- >> thank you, mister chairman. and thank you everybody for being here today. mr. johnson, the first question is for you. now we are talking about a bill included in this infrastructure law. it establishes a working group to make recommendations for how to better manage sources of aggregate materials, like sandstone and gravel, and consider a projects proximity to sources of these materials during the planning process. this bill was modeled off of policies adopted by arizona during the past decade and sure that this is considered with transportation projects. i'm hopeful that our bipartisan bill will enable these best practices to be shared nationwide. so mr. johnson, can you share more about how better management of aggregates can help to lower costs and alleviate supply chain concerns for transportation projects? how can this ensure planners consider local supplies and aggregates and developing country inspiration projects? >> sure, senator. and first, thank you for working with senator bornemann. and you go back to arizona, which is how this idea came about. we are protecting access to these geological resources. not every rock in the ground can be used to make concrete or asphalt. and i did find the appropriate geologic areas and working with communities and cities and counties, we are protecting that. so mining companies are this can drive up the cost for projects significantly, having the aggregate long distances this is a very heavy material that is low cost. moving at long distances, this can drastically increase the cost. if you look the average cost of rock, sand, and gravel in arizona, a lot of that is due to local governments and state governments stepping in and saying, we need to protect these areas. hopefully, with them working together, they will come up with regulations that can be used to help the states do the same thing. >> mr. johnson, and mr. levy, you both mentioned these were included for all programs in the bipartisan infrastructure law. you both raised in similar terms but how these requirements have been rolled out. and the uncertain timelines, and when they should kick in. so why don't we start with mr. levy. can you expand on her testimony and provide specific steps that you would like to see the administration take? and see how they can comply with the build america by america requirements. >> he we are a technology specify or that works with a number of suppliers, so with pretty good view of where the industry is from different sources. while the level twos charging infrastructure manufacturing base is a bit more advanced in the u.s., including in senator coren some state, the higher power is almost starting from scratch. there are a couple of things have started and people have announced some charging manufacturing. this is not available yet. additionally, even if somebody were to take an offshore manufacturing facility and copy and paste it to the u.s., it's still needs to go back through certification and following certification, individual charging networks but those charges in place. we test all of these things, the buy america way for the district where at the end of this year means that their effect is not a waiver for any future projects when supply is not there yet for 2023. we have submitted to fhwa. what has passed from u.s. sources. we are seeing very long lead times from existing overseas manufacturing capacity, and so we know it will take time to ramp up as increasing demand is spurred by this. >> i am out of time, but thank you to all of you for being here. >> on a personal note, there was a tv special on cnn maybe sunday night that featured a member of your family, and we are honored to be in your presence. tell them we said hello, and you go girl. senator kramer, you came early new stayed late. thank you for your patience and we recognize you know. >> well, this is important stuff. i like to satisfy my curiosity by listening to the answers of the witnesses to other people's questions. i come to find out they are often the same questions i have, so it works pretty well. so i'm going to make some observations. first of all, some of these things were said. and then maybe i will drill down a little deeper in cut for the clarification. you said something interesting in your opening statement that i think is worth repeating, and i will repeat it in my words and you can repeat correctly if i'm wrong. he referenced how important how important this new bill was, compared to the alternative, which would have been a one-year flatline extension of the status quo. particularly in this inflationary time. i think it is an important point. because really, that would have exacerbated inflation, and i think we don't talk enough about the inflation or the anti-inflation impacts of infrastructure. because everyone talks about the supply side of the economy, they talk about the demand side of the economy. but they talk about in the context of the federal reserve. they talk about it in the context of money, the supply of money. to shrink the demand for the products. and of course, one of the ways they do that is to add to the cost of money, right? so it is all anti what you are doing. it actually enhances the cost of things, and i'm not saying the federal reserve should do that. i want to bank committee, and i'm glad they're doing that, i wish they would've started sooner. that said, i think you raised a point that we should talk more about. that is, that infrastructure is inflationary, especially when the real challenge we have is that while demand grew -- you guys fix supply chains we. i wouldn't mind a little more detail, if anyone has its, it is specific to how big this bill is and how hard it has been to turn the ship. we were rather prescriptive, i think, in the legislation. with the one federal decision. that was a prescription to the complications and was designed to simplify the environmental process, not to further complicate it. i'm not looking at you all as part of the blame. i'm saying, the administration in many cases in implementing this law, they have tried to add complication by considering things that we specifically excluded. that's what memorandum 16 was all about. adding the administration's priorities into the guidance and whatever other things they can add to. so in this inflationary time, we are trying to fix inflation by fixing the supply chain, maybe we could talk a little bit about the cost of that. you're already dealing with inflation and dealing with a higher cost of borrowing money and buying equipment, labor is a stress point. how about the cost of complicating the regulatory side of it? what can we do better? maybe i will start with you. mr. johnson, go ahead. the governor of new mexico is from why not, north dakota. he is a republican governor who ran for president. >> so, yeah. the inflation has driven the cost up of construction drastically. the last two and a half years of prices meant that it was the most important ingredient going into -- it is gone up 30 to 40% in two and a half years. liquid asphalt, which is the binder that we used to make the asphalt and we pave the roads with, in the last two years it is gone up 76%. so if we squelch the supply of cement and asphalt oil, it is going to continue to drive it up. it's going to drive the price up. on the permitting side, the voter true putin, the longer the regulations have to go through, the longer the process. and obviously, it drives the price up. i was at a conference in dallas a couple of weeks ago, the u.s. army corps of engineers. they said, they've got projects they're putting out to bid, a lot of the department of defense contracts, that are not being that upon because they don't have the ability to get the contractors adjustments on material pricing on long jobs. so contractors are granted or saying, we can't do, that it's too much risk. so we've got to get inflation down. the only way i know to do that is to increase supply and increase the ability of people to get things done quickly and easily. >> do i get to just a little bit? >> just a little bit. >> any of the other witnesses who want to add on to that, mr. barry brought it up originally. >> yeah, the theme of your question is the time value of money. it's just the longer it takes, the more it's going to cost. and you are right, that doesn't get considered enough and it's very hard to create policy, to capture the time a value of money. but what they have described with their businesses in the last couple of years, it just puts a blast rocket on a typical time value. everything costs more, and i wish i would have said this when senator capita was asking about one federal decision. and again, it's hard to budget like this. but the fact remains that without the commitment on the part of the federal agencies, state agencies to try to do this, your policies are always going to miss the mark. and there has to be a commitment of the port of our industry, project owners, and administrators. we want to try to capture value and get projects out as soon as possible. and again, you have a lot more skill than i do in this area. you know how to legislate, it great. but that commitment is a huge component of success, moderate we're talking about. >> you are right on the point. my greatest reservation of this -- thank you, mister chairman. senator capito, i think they have to leave another obligation. but she is going to ask her questions and if anyone else shows up, they can join us. but if anyone else shows up, i will have some questions to ask. senator capito? >> thank you, and thank all of you. it's been very interesting. i would like to say, in terms of electric school buses that west virginia has attracted a green power who is in the process of manufacturing green schoolbooks us in food crude fun. we're excited but some of the grants we already received four or more rural areas. we will be able to access electric school buses. we have terrain issues that are difficult, and the length of time of certain routes, unfortunately, which presents challenges. but we're at the front end here, so we are excited about that and our have west virginia is working on this. i mentioned in my opening statement the frustration i have that we talk about where we have compromised, and help put into this bill things we wanted, like one federal decision. but we also left things out on the cutting room floor that we didn't put in here. and one of these is the greenhouse gas performance measure. there was an effort to incorporate that into the bill and a requirement for our states to set certain stages. but we did not include that in there. however, the federal highway administration is coming back for a proposed rulemaking to establish greenhouse gas emissions performance measures, requiring states to set declining targets. practically speaking, i don't know how that plays into your bidding and your perception of how this might impact further construction and further implementation of this bill. >> i think, again, my location in pennsylvania, i'm not in an urban area. i am in a more role parts of the state. so it's going to be the distances that we travel, and the kind of work that we do. it's going to be a challenge. >> yeah. i would agree with that. i don't know mr. bauer if you have a comment on that? >> this is a situation that a lot of states are addressing individually. it is very reflective of the different challenges that the states have with respect to trying to tackle climate change. but this is not dissimilar from what i referenced previously about waters of the u.s.. it's almost the same playbook, in that we have an obama administration proposal in 2015, and then it was repealed. and it is the continual changing of the regulatory regime as we try to implement long term transportation plans. and i think the way that you all approached greenhouse gas emissions with respect to certain discretionary grant programs and eligibility for states, given the lack of common ground exists right now, it is a nice way to try to present that continual changing of regulatory requirements that are really not conducive to developing projects in a timely manner. >> thank you for that. i suppose at this point in my career, i can't claim to be naive. but i think the intent of our legislation should be directing the certain administration, cabinet officials on how we want to see these things proceed. but we all know that the rules and regulations is really where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. and there is still enough leeway in there to have the administrations put their foot on the pedal, one way or the other. that's what we see happening. mr. johnson, you mentioned that you had in your industry made great strides, in terms of emissions and bringing emissions down. do you have an opinion on this particular part of what the federal highway administration is doing right now? >> well, the legislation needs to be followed. states and companies need to be given flexibility. give us some guidelines, give us some goals. i think it's inappropriate for agencies to be creating their own standards that are not in line with legislations passed by congress. >> that goes to what miss mills was saying. we are a rural state, we don't have the congestion of traffic that a lot of our more urban areas have. so in order for us to bring our targets down, it's going to be really difficult. because it is almost like we are going from 100 to 90. i'm going from 2 to 1. and sometimes, the flexibility we try to build in throughout this bill is critical. it is intentionally negotiate between the chair and i. we felt our projects would move quicker, we felt it would eliminates some of the delays. whether the decision was to not build another highway. let the states decide how and when to best use those dollars. i am one of the ones who repeats. for the progress in everything, whether it is an ev charging station or whatever it is, it will be developed in l.a.. it is not going to work in the entire state of west virginia. we need to look at other options, and i think that is what is critical, and i think all of you for what you're doing to try to keep that flexibility, and match what our intent was in the bill. >> thank you, i'm going to slip to make a quick phone call. we are going to try to keep this guy under control. we recognize and welcome the marine colonel who -- >> i want to thank the witnesses for being here. this is an important topic. i would like to say, my state is also rural. senator capito's talk about west virginia. the great state of alaska, we are resource rich but infrastructure poorest state. we are 120 times bigger than connecticut and we have fewer road miles. think about that. and we have resources, minerals, oil, gas, so many things that can power the whole country. but they are hard to get to, and unfortunately, there's a lot of radical groups from the lower 48 that trying to prevent alaskans from building anything. and what i want to do is talk about the continuous topic of permitting reform. a lot of us worked hard to get some good permitting provisions in this infrastructure bill. i voted for the bill, it wasn't perfect. but in part because of the permitting provisions, we need more of them, but it was a good start, so here was my astonishment and some of you might have shared it with me, that the biden administration which touted the bill as important for the economy, and workers, then issued a regulation in april of this past year from their ceq group in the white house. a rule to make permitting on infrastructure much harder. we all know that. so miss mills, i want to talk about that aren't maybe others. i put together what's called a congressional review act that congress's ability to flex its muscles and say, you know what? we don't want that executive order. we're going to rescind it. and i was proud to say that my cra, as we call them, had a vote on the senate floor, and it rescinded the biden permitting ceq rule, which was an anti permitting rule. meant to stop production and building of energy project projects and roads. unbelievable. so that passed. the recent past is because we had over 50 groups in america, all the unions that buildings. ag see, farmers ranchers, you name it. they came out, the chamber of commerce. literally everybody, except the radical -- they came to support my cra. so can you talk about this insane ceq role that undermines the whole bill, do you support my cra? i know you do, because you guys one of the groups that supported it. and what more can we do to make this administration wake up to the fact that you can't crush the ability to get projects done. i know you love the radical in via rose, mister president. the center for biological diversity, all these not jobs. but nobody else does. they hurt workers, they hurt the economy, they hurt the ability to build infrastructure. can you guys talk about this? it's so important, and it's remarkable to me that we pass a bill, and in the white house would come out with rules to undermine the variability to build infrastructure that they have touted. >> i remember when this bill is being passed, i was staying up late talking to are so ca shun director, back and forth. like yes, let's get this done. and we were so excited about this historic bill. i am right outside of pittsburgh, we had the phone halle bridge project. we have all this money. let's get all this work out to the contractors, and my employees. everyone wants to be at work, everyone wants to make roads and bridges that are better. so what was your view of the ceq role? >> it was a burdensome. >> they make it harder to build bridges and roads, right? >> yes. >> he passed infrastructure bill with permitting reform and then you have the white house say they are going to issue a rule makes it harder to buildings. >> sir -- it is, and something else that confuses us, we are moving vehicles that are becoming more fuel efficient with electrical vehicles. honestly, that lowers the amount of revenue we get from the gas tax. i'm sure everybody will figure out how to raise revenue later, but if the vehicles are becoming more energy friendly and environmentally friendly, what's wrong with building capacity. we need capacity to move the freight, to move the goods, which reduces inflation. if i have a truck sitting on a highway because it's going ten miles an hour, all it does is increase inflation. so we need to get over the fact that we have to continue to build capacity and team up with the fact we are increasing population in the state. we are producing more goods. >> absolutely. do you have the on this? and open it up for all. but we need more efficient, timely, certain permitting. we're not cutting quarters in alaska, we love our environment. but it should take eight years to permit a bridge. we had a gold mine in alaska, it took 20 years to permit. the kensington mine, and now employs over 40 people. the average wage, over hundred $10,000. in 20 years. that's insane. the only people that helps is the chinese postcommunist party and the radical in via rose. that's my view. >> i worked in a quarry in southern california took over 20 years. >> it makes no sense. >> the solution is exactly what you described. certainty, focus on time. but i think what's over looked a lot of time, mr. johnson addressed this. when we deliver infrastructure improvements, they can have a positive environmental impact. new cars moving at free-flowing speeds of traffic. it produces fewer emissions then the stop and go traffic it took to get here this morning. and i think that and point also has to be part of the discussion and the consideration of permitting throughout the initial stages. the legislation that you all put in place last year, which, again thank you for that. it has the elements of what we need to be able to move forward and it needs to be implemented and directed. >> i want to thank all the richness is. we talked about this many times, i think we're on the same page. common sense permitting reform is something that every american, regardless of political party and regardless of where you live, we all agree with. and that's what we try to get done in this bill. i think it was a good start, but the administration now is undermining it and it makes no sense. so we are going to keep fighting to enable people to build infrastructure in our great nation. it shouldn't take ten years to permit a bridge or 20 years to permit a gold mine. we are having problems, mr. johnson, in alaska and other places. you mentioned 20 years in california on a quarry. we have to do a better, and we are very focused on it. it's an obsession of mine, and we will continue to focus on it. thank you, all of you, for being here. i look forward to continue to working with you on this issue. >> thanks very much. with respect to permitting, i hope we can move forward on that issue. i think both democrats and republicans believe it's important. and to keep in mind the least of these communities, including families up in alaska. thanks so much for joining us, and for your passion and good work. i promised i was going to ask all of you to answer the same question, and i just want a fairly short answer because we have questions to ask. but i was going to ask, we are into our first floor, so just be brief in right to the point. we will start with mr. stanbury. here's a question, you are all in agreement. if you don't remember anything else, remember this. >> we all agree this is a transformational bill. the private sector is ready to take it on. we all need help getting in the rules right, to your point. so we have clear rules of the road going forward. i think we can all 100 percent agree on those points. >> thank you. mr. levy? >> in addition to green with mr. stanbury, the theme i heard a couple times is that there's a lot of best practices already existing that we can require some stakeholder engagement for working through implementation of the awards. here's something we've seen in other grant programs. i think the power of leveraging best practices to make sure we implant them strongly and effectively. >> thank you, mr. levy. mr. bauer? >> a big part of this discussion, and i can appreciate you convening the hearing. it is trying to talk about how the legislation that you all crafted and shepherded through is impacting lives. and i think we can't do that enough. and when we get to the point where the bipartisan infrastructure law has to be reauthorized, if members of congress and the american public don't know exactly how they benefited, and how greatly it changed all the life of the american economy, then our challenge of continuing the trajectory that routing progress you all made is going to even greater. so we have to do more of that, as these go forward. >> all right, thank you. mr. bell? >> yes, again, thank you for this historic bill. we are really excited about it here in pennsylvania. and i think i am echoing what everybody else is saying, there's some challenges to it. there is a little bit of an sort of uncertainty, but we look forward to benefiting from it. >> okay, thanks. >> they mention the reauthorization, but even before that, it's important that we get a full year appropriation. and we don't have continuing resolutions. we have to get the money to the states and let them spend it. it is inflationary to continue to push things down the road. >> that's one of the first things i ever learned at the age of 29. i will take that with me to the grave we have senator. padilla's who joins us by webex. go ahead and take a few minutes, go right ahead. thanks for joining us. >> thank, you mister chairman. thanks for the flexibility. as you know, i am simultaneously in judiciary committees, so i appreciate the opportunity to join a virtually. and i will just jump right into it. strengthening our electrical grid is an ongoing effort particularly in my home state of california. ten years ago, you may recall, an extreme summer heat wave placed so much stress on the grid of that rolling blackouts were imposed on many customers across the state. this september triple digit temperatures brought in extreme heat dome event, and presented a similar challenge with peak electricity demands reaching a new all-time high. this time, there were no rolling blackouts, and we have the hundreds of thousands of californians who took voluntary steps to reduce their energy consumption, to think for that. between 2020 in this year's heat wave, californians installed over 3000 megawatts of new battery storage. i am proud of that includes five billion dollars of partisan infrastructure laws to enhance the physical resilience in response to extreme weather events and natural disasters. electric vehicles draw power from the grid, but some markets will be able to return power for the intense demand, or serve as their own residential or community power generators. a system of by directional charging. how does electrification, along with the rollout of the great technology support opportunities to support improve great resiliency? especially during emergency situations. >> senator padilla, thank you very much for the question. we are proud to be doing work with school districts in california. electric school buses, as folks may guests, have very large battery packs that can serve multiple purposes. since these buses have duty cycles, or use patterns that leave them on yours for much of the time, the batteries can be used to serve critical functions. in particular, they can provide power back to the grid and buildings and other devices when needed. and i would say that the electric school buses are designed in part due to some of the work done in california, to provide that by directional flow. most of them today can do this. and that means that we can provide vehicle to grid services where the buses can provide power back to the grid, in times of need. we have a couple of projects up in south burlington, vermont. we have power in the public schools in massachusetts with the national grid and. in fact, these very vehicles are being used to provide power during peak demand events. it's a thing i would note in the senators outline of extreme routes public response, we are seeing an increased interest, because the batteries of these buses can be is not only to flip our back into the great, but also to buildings. in using these batteries in tandem with onsite solar generation in places like california, to form a local micro grid. that can use the schools, which are public buildings, as community resilience centers during times of natural disaster. so really, these bus batteries end up serving a purpose of a community resource. >> senator, if i may, i think there is an additional benefit beyond this side of beneficial use, and what we see is that evs, whether it's this side or -- have the ability to flatten the curve, as we see daytime utilization coinciding in california and elsewhere. there's a symbiosis there that can happen, even just on the usage side of the equation. >> thank you for that additions, mister chair. i would like to ask just one more. >> make it really brief, though. >> it is related here. so i think i speak for all of us when i say we applaud president biden's critically important goal of deploying 500 -- electric vehicle charging stations by the 2030. >> say that again, you cut out. how many? >> 500,000. go ahead. to achieve, this is clear we are going to need strong public and private partnerships and maximize incentives for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. it's notable that the bipartisan infrastructure law will make generational investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and i want to make sure that no one is left behind from these investments. it's critical to focus on building a charging infrastructure within communities, and not just along highway corridors. 2021, a ucla study on electric vehicle charging from that residents of multi family housing units largely rely on public charging infrastructure. it's especially the case in california, where apartment buildings comprise one third of all housing units. and in addition to that, residents of multi unit dwellings tend to be more low and moderate income individuals and live in areas that are heavily impacted by the air pollution trying to counter. so how can we work together to a more equitable deployment of charging stations, and what can the federal government do to ensure that we are meeting the needs of families in the communities where they live, work, and go to school? >> i'm going to ask you be very brief in response. >> i will be very quick. essentially, it is a couple different ways. one, we vehemently agree with you that we should encourage states to move quickly from corridor to also supporting community charging projects. we can do that by setting the date at which the corridors are built as the date of obligation of funds. second of all, we would note that the work of senator carton on i.r.a. included the geo targeting of 30 seed to look at lower income since its drafts. and third, private companies have a role to play here. what we have done is incorporated the epa's environmental justice screen tool into our proprietary citing analysis tool, so we can say, let's look at and make sure we are supporting those impacted communities. whether they are going to be used by the very same residency mentioned, and they might not have access to parking. or the ride share drivers that start and in those trips in low to moderate income communities that are disproportionately burdened by the pollutants. >> thank you very much, thank you mister chair. >> thank you for your attendance on this committee. we appreciate that. in person, and remotely. so thank you for joining us in this case. maybe one last question and then i put a couple comments and we'll call it a day. these questions for the entire panel. it's clear from her testimonies that the private sector can partner productively with agencies to achieve important actual goals. what advice would you give to the u.s. department of transportation and to the environmental protection agency to ensure that they implement federal programs like the ones we were just talking about here today? they help to leverage private sector expertise. and help to illicit private sector investments. and mr. johnson, would you go first? very briefly. >> sure. we are always eager to work with the agencies to find solutions and to move the stuff forward. but one of the things that the agencies can get out is there granted location programs, so you can take advantage of the authorization under iija and i.r.a.. to come up with innovative ways to further decrease energy use, and decrease air emissions. >> thank you. mr. mills? very briefly. >> sure. i think i will echo what mr. johnson just said. we're eager to get to work, we want to build those bridges so they are not falling in the state of pennsylvania. so we want to partner with any agencies for a great project. >> all right, thank you, ma'am. >> yeah. and similar to that, the ongoing dialogue about regulatory policies or put in place in our industry. it recognizes narratives that are put in place and the administration is pursuing. and we want to be part of that solution, whether it be involved in the dialogue at the front, and as opposed to the back end. and i just think that is essential to success going forward. >> i agree, thank you. okay, mr. levy, please? >> yes sir. so the administration is done a great job soliciting public feedback and comment, as have the states. we would modestly say they hope listen to the recommendations we've submitted. these are very different in the traditional projects that my colleagues on the left have worked on. where the projects may take very long times to build, so what is happening is often with a month or to delay, we are only on site constructing four for 12 weeks. the whole project to build an ev charging station typically takes around 12 to 18 months. so any three or six month delay from a local utility or a local permitting authority, that's an issue we want to make sure we can all work together. and again, as best practices, convinced a colder's, and push for two exhilarated point. >> good, thanks. >> thank you, senator. in addition to what my colleagues have said, i would say that our advice would be to seek out structures and senate programs that encourage cost share. i would note that that is something that was specifically called out by congress in the law, in the school bus program. it has yet to be implemented. i know the environmental protection agency is looking at doing that. and we have strongly encouraged them to move forward expeditiously in implementing that. i would also say to look for structures that reduce uncertainty and for business that will participate in providing that cost share. and to encourage competition amongst those businesses. >> good, thank you. and in closing, i would say a couple of things, if i could. i'm a big believer in -- that's been a theme that has been permeating almost all of your testimonies. i am privileged to share this committee. we deal with homeland security governmental affairs. that committee, which i used to chair, we do a lot of oversight hearings. and at the end of the year, i would ask our witnesses, what should we be doing more? as an oversight committee, and how much security -- they, said what advice do you have for us? almost every time, the witnesses would say, more oversight. that's the first time i heard that, it was surprising. but oversight is helpful. and we work so hard to put this bill together and this legislature. and this team, with a focus on the house democrats and republicans. none of us -- it won't be perfect. so we are going to do a lot of oversight, and we appreciate being a part of that for us today. i go back and forth on a train to delaware almost every day. and not a weakness by the people don't say to me, i wouldn't want your job for all the tea in china. you massage your job. i love my, job i feel so lucky to actually be here and involved. whether it's climate change, the economy, inflation. it isn't any better than that. einstein used to say, and i quote it a lot. he used to say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expect different results. that's not the quote i use, i use only goes like this. in inadvertent in adversity lies opportunity. there is a lot of adversity here, and another guy i like to quote, henry ford who built a model t. he used to say, if you think you can or you think you can't, you are right. if you think you can or you think you can't, you are right. i think we can, and one of the ways that we will is to rein in the most good out of it. through your health and your advice and participation. one of the things i like to do during recess's customer calls. i do them all the time to businesses, large and small, in my state. i would like to focus on how to create a -- do you want to help? make sure the businesses that are doing good work are providing those job opportunities. but i was out on the west coast, the bay area, there's a bunch of technology companies that were interested in what we've done in the inflation reduction act. particularly the huge piece in the i.r.a. and clean energy. and they are a bunch of technology companies out on the west coast, as you know. but there are other places in the country. they are very much proving that bill. and we visited one company in what was -- and they are involved in technology that enables for the creation of cement, rather than increasing carbon dioxide and global emissions, it actually diminishes it. and so, you can have your cake and needed to. but there were taxpayer monies, like we are investing in this. we have to do both, of course. and the last thing i would say, i would like to say there is no silver bullet. there is no silver bullet, but there's a lot of silver bbs. a lot of silver bbs. and you are helping us to identify some of those. for that we are grateful. one of the silver bbs involves getting a senate confirmed federal highway administrator on the job. and again, with your testimony today, to that effect is i think, helpful. we are proud of our community. we are grateful to senator -- for her support. finally, gives us a great nominee, jalen, who we are hearing through now and reporting. and we are going to try to get him and confirmed him asap, it will be a great early christmas present for the people of this country. it's super great job. and i think the other thing, we'll wrap it up and all go vote, i want to thank eyewitnesses for appearing before us today and sharing the perspective on the implementation of a bipartisan infrastructure law. -- we'll be allowed to submit written questions through the closing business on wednesday, december 7th. december 7th. delaware they. it's our 225th anniversary that they delaware became the first state to ratify the constitution, a day that will not live in infamy, but glory. but delaware, december 7th, it's the last day my colleagues have a chance to submit their questions. and that's a week from today. we're going to compile those questions. for going to send them to our witnesses and ask you to reply to them by december 8th, the next day. we're going to ask you to reply by wednesday, december 21st. last, a word on inflation. one maybe writes this fellowship, i study economics, they might say, not. enough that enough to become a naval flight officer, i know the vietnam war and after that war was over, i came back to the states and moved to delaware, and got an mba in socioeconomic. one of the things i learned about supply of demand is i don't think they have been reinvented entirely. when we're looking at prices, one of the points i want to have us keep in mind, putin in russia, who is a no good guy, and he is killing literally, dozens of course of people every day, innocent people. it's awful what is going on. he's been using energy policy, their energy policy, in effort to really be engaged in our election process. by aiding and abetting the increasing inflation, and particularly the price of energy. he and iran as well. we are determined to stop before those countries, both of those bullies from being successful in what they're trying to do. i didn't want to mention that, but the last thing i have to say is, i think it was treasurer when gerald ford and ritual that's can were present. we had inflation, as i recall, looking at inflation like 20% inflation. paltrow kerr was nominated to confirm the -- federal reserve. and they raised interest rates 20%, they recall, and they choked off inflation, created a recession, but it worked in terms of the inflation. hopefully, that's not going to happen this time. hopefully, the federal reserve, which was able for frankly, too much of this, year, they have now started doing their job. i think they are doing it. well hopefully, we can navigate a way for a softer landing. but controlling inflation is a key support, and the federal reserve has a big responsibility to do that, as to the rest of. and the private sector, companies like brimstone are coming through. there's a bunch of them and providing jobs and doing good things for our planet. that is, for me, the holy grail. how do we save this planet, the only one we're going to have, president biden's having a state dinner tomorrow night with the president of france, macron, it's going to be there. president macron spoke to a combined session of house and senate about three years ago, and i will never forget what he said. he spoke in english brilliantly. he said, there is no planet b, it's what he said. there is no planet b. this is the only planet we're going to have. so, we have an obligation to take care of it. thank you for your commitment to that as well, and we are determined to in the same time and do good things for job creation in this country and do good things so our kids will have a planet to take and be proud of and live on for a long time to come. with that, i think that's a wrap. god bless you all, happy holidays. thanks so much. we are adjourned. >> this afternoon, president biden's pick to serve as u.s. ambassador to serve the russia, lynn tracey, testifies before the senate foreign relations committee. watch the confirmation hearing life at 2:30 pm eastern on c-span 3. c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> friday to 8 pm eastern, c-span brings you afterwards, from book tv. a program where nonfiction authors are interviewed by journalists, legislators, and others on their latest books. this week, forbes magazines chloe sorvino talks about the future of the u.s. meat industry, with her book, rock deal. she is interviewed by former agriculture secretary, and that him and. watch afterwards every friday at 8 pm, on c-span. >> preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it's your access to the federal government, with bio and contact information for every house and senate member. important information for congressional comm, th presidents cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. scan the code at the right to order copy today. it is 29 95 plus shipping and handling. every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. at c-span shop that were. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions, building

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