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▶ 0:19:33right. The committee on transportation infrastructure will now come to order and I'd ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing. And without objection, that is so ordered. As a reminder, if members wish to insert a document into the record, please also email it to documents timail.house.gov. I now recognize myself for the purpose of an opening statement.
▶ 0:20:00Today, I look forward to the hearing from um members sharing their transportation infrastructure priorities for the 119th Congress. The TNI committee has a very busy agenda this session and looking ahead, we have multiple legislative priorities that the committee has to uh reauthorize. A top priority is the reauthorization of the nation's surface transportation programs. And as we plan for a new reauthorization bill, we're going through the infrastructure investments and jobs act carefully and looking at what works and and simply what doesn't work.
▶ 0:20:29A priority of mine is to return the surface transportation reauthorization back to a traditional infrastructure bill that focuses on roads, bridges, and movement of freight. The portal for members offices to submit priorities to a surface transportation reauthorization bill went live on Monday and will be open until May 30th. I look forward to working with everyone uh on this mustpass bill.
▶ 0:20:52In addition to the surface transportation bill, we're also we're going to be working on pipeline safety reauthorization and the water infrastructure bills. Throughout our busy schedule, we're going to continue to prioritize implementation of the 5-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization um that was signed into law just last year on a very bipartisan basis. As we advance our legislative agenda, it is important for both myself and the ranking member that we gather input from all the members of Congress.
▶ 0:21:20And again, thank you for being here today and thank you for testifying on the transportation infrastructure needs of your district. And I now recognize uh Rickford's opening statement. Uh thank you um Mr. Chair and welcome to committee members day hearing everyone. It's an opportunity for our house colleagues to testify before the committee about transportation and infrastructure priorities that are the most pressing for our constituents. 28 members have signed up uh to um before the committee today.
▶ 0:21:49This robust participation from members on both sides of the aisle as witnesses demonstrates, as the chair and I have said multiple times, the issues before this committee are not about which team you're on. They're about solving problems for the people in your district, solving the transportation infrastructure challenges uh that they face and creating opportunities, economic opportunities for people we represent. The enthusiasm of members seeking to testify today is not surprising.
▶ 0:22:14Thanks to the work of this committee, we are seeing real and sustained investments in our nation's roads, bridges, rail, airports, and water infrastructure. The bipartisan infrastructure law is delivering results for communities across the country, and it's essential that this committee continue to build on its success. The testimony of our colleagues uh that they deliver today will no doubt help us in that effort.
▶ 0:22:37The investments we authorize and oversee on this committee promote a safer, a cleaner, a greener, more accessible transportation network, create jobs and opportunity for everyone, enhance our global economic competitiveness, build capacity in our communities, restore and protect the environment, and increase the safety of transportation in the United States. Today's hearing will help inform our upcoming surface transportation reauthorization legislation, which is vital to maintaining a safe and efficient transportation system.
▶ 0:23:06This bill offers us an opportunity to enhance safety, improve our roads, bridges, transit, and rail networks and invest in our communities to ensure America's economic competitiveness. I'm confident the ideas we hear today will help us accomplish these objectives.
▶ 0:23:19I want to thank chair the chair as well for his commitment to working in a bipartisan manner to see this legislation as well as coastg guard authorization pipeline safety water resources legislation and most recently a a FEMA reform bill that we uh discussion draft that we released last week and working to get all these things over this finish line in this Congress.
▶ 0:23:42including a wide range of perspectives is essential to ensuring the work of this committee and that that this committee meets the needs of the people from across the country. Making sure our members can directly advocate for the districts is an important part of this. I want to thank the members who've made time to come before the committee today and eager to hear your testimony. With that, Mr. Chair, I'll back for today's hearing. All committee members are going to be testifying and I'd like to take a moment. Well, I don't have to explain it to you all.
▶ 0:24:10you understand the lighting system uh and how it works. Um with that, I'd ask unanimous consent that the witness's full statements be included in the record. Without objection, that is so ordered. As your written testimony has been made a part of the record, the committee asks that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes. And given the number of members that is are going to be appearing before the committee today, out of consideration for our colleagues time, I'd ask unanimous consent that members of the committee be given two minutes to question each member following their statements. Without objection, that is so ordered.
▶ 0:24:39And with that, uh, we'll start with Representative Frost. Five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Ranking Member for the opportunity to address the, uh, House Transportation Infrastructure Committee this morning. Central Florida is one of the nation's fastest growing regions. Like similar communities, our streets, highways are notoriously congested. Government, community, and business leaders there all agree that we must attack this problem through better transit. Good public transportation saves everybody money whether they use it or not.
▶ 0:25:09And with better transit access, even drivers will save thousands of dollars a year. Transit also saves everyone time after work and between errands as well. Time that can be dedicated for friends, family, and not being stuck in traffic, which is a normal experience of being someone from Orlando, Florida. When it comes to making transportation work for their residents, communities large and small face a major obstacle. The cost of new transit buses is shockingly high.
▶ 0:25:37They can easily reach over a million dollars each. Industry stakeholders are aware of several contributing factors and we've pulled together a lot of people on this back at home. We've seen the amount of customization, the decline in the number of manufacturers severely dropped for buses, supply chain issues, and the low number of yearly orders.
▶ 0:25:57To develop consensus around a legislative solution to this problem, further work needs to be done to confirm the key drivers of costs and examine how the Federal Transit Administration and the federal government can continue to help bring down prices. I'm going to be introducing a bill called the Transit Bus Affordability Act, which has been developed with input from the GAO, industry stakeholders, and policy experts.
▶ 0:26:19The legislation instructs GAO to investigate which factors are driving up the cost of transit buses, what steps the FTA, transit agencies, and stakeholders have taken to reduce cost, and any additional authorities at the FTA or transit agencies may need to help minimize cost. This bill would not be a burden on the budget, and its findings could help save our state and local governments millions of dollars as they pursue and update their public transportation.
▶ 0:26:45As the committee works on constructing a surface transportation reauthorization bill, I also encourage the committee to incorporate this legislative study in the bigger package so we can take steps towards saving taxpayer money and helping our communities travel more easily and affordably throughout the communities. Additionally, I hope the committee will consider and pass my bipartisan legislation, the Safe Air on Airplanes Act.
▶ 0:27:09It builds on action you all took um in last year's uh FAA reauthorization to tackle fume events on commercial airplanes. This issue was brought to my attention by a constituent who suffers from major health issues after several fume events while working as a flight attendant. The root cause of these fume events is part of commercial airplanes designs a system called the bleed air system.
▶ 0:27:32Except for the Boeing 787, all commercial jet aircraft take or bleed air through the engine compressors and supply it to the cabin and the flight deck. The compressors are lubricated with oil and they can also ingest external contaminants like hydraulic fu fluid. New advance uh advances in aircraft design and technology means that we no longer need these systems.
▶ 0:27:54The bipartisan safe air on airplanes act will ensure a future where pilots, cabin crew, and airline passengers will not have to fear fume events by ending the use of bleed air systems for ventilation in new commercial aircraft design, requiring effective filters on bleed air systems within seven years, and phasing out the use of bleed air systems for ventilation and existing commercial aircraft designs for the coming decades.
▶ 0:28:19Another piece of bipartisan legislation I asked the committee to consider is the Energy Storage for Resilient Homes Act. This uh piece of legislation um allows the existing uh Federal Emergency Management Agency resources to be used for the installation of home energy storage in single family homes. When a severe storm hits, the loss of electricity can mean the loss of life. In fact, most of the time, many of the people who die because of hurricanes don't die during the hurricanes. They die the days after the hurricanes because their power's gone out.
▶ 0:28:48And unfortunately, much like Hurricane Ian, a 100% of the deaths were people over the age of 65, many of whom died because their machines turned off and u that were helping to keep them alive after the storm. This is something I think we should look at and the Energy Storage for Resilient Homes Act will help with that. Finally, I request that the committee revise the uh inappropriately unequal funding split that we see at the Highway Trust Fund that we've seen for decades, which presently 80% for highways, 20% for transit.
▶ 0:29:17Wellunded public transit makes everyone's commute cheaper and easier. Um, and we want to make sure that we have a wellunded public transit system throughout the country. Last thing is in my district, uh, government and community and business leaders all alike are excited about Central Florida's Sunshine Corridor.
▶ 0:29:36It's a project which will significantly ease the commute of over a 100,000 workers while making our largest attractions directly accessible by rail to tens of millions of visitors who choose Orlando as their vacation.
▶ 0:29:49Starting at the airport, we hope um that not just the committee, but the federal government will help central Florida as we expand Bright Line, already existing from Miami to the Orlando airport through Orlando all the way to Tampa, which will dramatically uh change and transform our region um and make us even more competitive in being able to host large-scale events um as we are the largest tourist destination in the country. I look forward to working with the committee uh to improve transportation for all of our constituents. and I yield back.
▶ 0:30:20Do any members wish to be recognized for Uh, represent Frost, just clarify on on Bright Line. Is it envisioned that the expended from Orlando to Tampa that that would be Bright Line or is it? Yes. Yeah. So, it's um really interesting and so essentially right now it's going to the airport and the Sunshine Corridor is it'll kind of zigzag through Orlando, some very key spots, Disney, Universal, etc.
▶ 0:30:48or those areas and then it'll continue from Tampa, but there will be a transfer station with our commuter rail which is called Sunrail in Florida in Orlando as well. And so this uh bright line which will go from east to west going to Tampa will connect with our north south commuter rail which will be transformational for the workers all throughout the region and the entertainment industry but also for the people who live there who will more easily be able to get from any part of the state most parts of the state um through rail.
▶ 0:31:18Anyone else wish to be recognized? See no one. Thank you. Thank you. Um, we'll next move to Representative Loa, New York. First, uh, thank you, Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larson for holding today's hearing and for giving me the opportunity to speak about an issue that has a great deal of importance to the people I represent back home on Long Island, the Long Island Sound Program.
▶ 0:31:42Back in 1985, Congress wisely created the Long Island Sound Program to take on the environmental challenges facing one of our region's most treasured and economically vital natural resources. Since then, the program has helped us clean up pollution, restore habitats, and protect the sound for future generations. For folks on Long Island and across the sound in Connecticut, this isn't just about environmental protection. It's about our way of life.
▶ 0:32:10Whether you're a fisherman, a small business owner, a researcher, or just somebody who enjoys our beaches and waterways, the sound is a part of who we are. It's how a lot of people in our region make a living, and how even more build a better life for their families. But let's be honest, the sound has had its share of problems. Decades of pollution, overdevelopment, and neglect have taken their toll. We've seen water quality suffer, marine habitats deteriorate, and dangerous hypoxia threatened fish and shellfish populations.
▶ 0:32:40The good news is that the Long Island Sound program is working. Because of federal investments, nitrogen pollution is down more than 70% compared to the 1990s. Hypoxic conditions have dropped nearly 60% and we've restored over 2200 acres of coastal habitat. In FY24, we've secured $40 million, the highest funding level the program has ever seen, and we've and we're putting that money to good use with more than 570 conservation projects underway.
▶ 0:33:10We've come a long way, but we're not done. Reauthorizing this program is how we build on that progress and make sure the sound is clean, swimmable, fishable, and thriving for generations to come. I'm proud to represent a district where protecting the sound is not a partisan issue. It's a local priority. I look forward to working with all of you to reauthorize this program and I urge my colleagues to support my legislation, the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act of 2025.
▶ 0:33:39Also, very quickly on a separate issue as we approach reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill, the Amalgamated Transit Union or ATU represents thousands of school bus drivers on Long Island and many of the New York transit bus drivers live in my district. These hardworking Americans put their lives at risk on a daily basis, transporting folks to schools.
▶ 0:34:01Workforce safety and workforce development are critical issues for these great men and women, and I ask the committee to consider their priorities of the ATU as you begin drafting your surface transportation reauthorization. Thank you, chairman. I yield back. Chair, thanks a gentleman. Are there any members that have questions? Larson is recognized. Thanks. Thank you, Representative Lotto, for your testimony on Long Island Sound.
▶ 0:34:28The Puget Sound is also one of those programs in the EPA's uh um geographic program program. Uh and so um looking at your particular bill would probably be done in a larger context of the 12 or 13 of the geographic programs that are part of that, but certainly um supportive of I'm as supportive of Long Island's proh program as I am of Puis Sounds program. so we can work together on this. Uh, ranking member, in 2003 and four, I was stationed in Breton, Washington.
▶ 0:34:58I lived in Seattle and transited the Puget Sound routinely and uh, I support your endeavors, too, sir. Oh, and we appreciate your efforts there while you were there to keep it clean. I did my part, sir. Gentleman yields. Are there any other questions from any other members? Hearing none, chair thanks. The gentleman from New York. The chair now recognizes Rep. Goodlander. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:35:22Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member Larson, members of this committee for the opportunity to be here today uh to testify before you. Uh my good friend and colleague, Congressman Chris Papis, represents our state of New Hampshire very well on this committee, and I'm delighted to be here today to join him in those efforts. New Hampshire is a small state, relatively small state. My district is a pretty big one.
▶ 0:35:486,500 square miles from my hometown of Nshawa all the way up to the north country, the Canadian border. We've got almost 17,000 miles of public highways and roads, almost 4,000 bridges, and it's a district that is mostly rural. So, I want to thank this committee for the bipartisan efforts that you've made to support our rural communities. today.
▶ 0:36:10You know, as I've traveled across the district, I've heard two things loud and clear from our partners at the local level, at uh the county level, at the regional level. And I've spent some time with our regional planning commissions.
▶ 0:36:22And the two things I've heard are number one, uh, I hope that this committee will continue to prioritize ways to cut red tape and to streamline the processes that so many of our local communities struggle with in accessing federal funds, which for New Hampshire and for for so many communities across our country are the lifeblood of our transportation and infrastructure system. And so I want to urge this committee to continue uh to develop those ideas.
▶ 0:36:49I think there have been some promising proposals, for example, for the development of a common application that would cut red tape and allow for communities to apply for multiple federal infrastructure programs through a single application process. A common sense way to cut red tape and to make government work more effectively for the American people. I also want to say, you know, our communities really depend upon reliable federal funding streams.
▶ 0:37:16And in in New Hampshire, the $15 million that was clawed back um for electric vehicle charging stations earlier this year as part of a funding freeze has been extremely disruptive in our state. And uh I hope that this committee will continue to prioritize doing everything in our power to make sure that we've got reliable funding streams across the board.
▶ 0:37:39Um I want to just point out a few priorities for New Hampshire in the upcoming the mustpass surface transportation reauthorization bill. A number of discretionary programs have been critical to my state. That includes the build program uh which has been essential in the development of regionally significant projects like the Claremont access restoration development and safety project the cards project in my district.
▶ 0:38:04My hometown NSHA has been working towards uh a commuter rail to connect southern New Hampshire with Boston and the consolidated rail infrastructure and safety improvements program is a key source of funding for that effort. Flooding has also been a persistent problem in the granite state and the protect program is an incredibly important source of funding for resiliency focused projects.
▶ 0:38:28I want to point out two other programs uh when it comes to transportation safety and reducing transportation related fatalities and injuries and that includes the highway safety improvement and the safe streets for all programs. That's especially important for motorcycles which have a large presence back at home. I hope this committee will also prioritize better safety data collection, including on cargo vans used by big companies like Amazon.
▶ 0:38:55And I I hope the committee will in the upcoming bill add add language that will ensure those with felony sex assault convictions aren't able to get commercial driver's license. This is, I think, a really important safeguard um that addresses concerns that have been raised by the women of trucking advisory board.
▶ 0:39:14I want to also point out a bipartisan bill u that I hope to have the support of this committee on the path to education act which is designed to really ensure that we fill gaps across this country um that's preventing people from accessing programs like Head Start and from being able to attend our community colleges. Head Start delivers a really strong return on investment in New Hampshire. Um, and our community colleges are the the lifeblood of our communities.
▶ 0:39:44And this simple, common sense, bipartisan bill would empower the Department of Transportation to act on data that's been collected by the mapping project at the National League of Cities to close gaps in transportation and really enable the kind of economic opportunity that we all want to see.
▶ 0:40:03Um, in closing, I just want to point out I hope this committee will continue to support the Northern Border Regional Commission, which has has punched above its weight and been an essential uh driver of economic development for New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Maine. And finally, I I just want to thank this committee for the bipartisan work that you've done on aviation safety. Um, my district is home to one of our country's 22 air traffic control centers, the Patricia Clark Center in my hometown of Nshawa.
▶ 0:40:33Uh, HR 3270, the Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act of 2025, has earned support across the board from this committee, and I want to thank you for your efforts on that bill and urge you to see that bill um across the finish line. But I thank you for the bipartisan work of this really important committee and look forward to working with you in the days ahead. chair. Thanks a gentle lady. Are there questions or comments? Hearing none. Thank you, ma'am.
▶ 0:41:01Chair now turns to the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Yakim. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh to to Chairman Graves, who I know is outside here, but also to ranking member Larson. Uh it's great to be back in 2167 Rabburn again. I had the privilege of serving on the transportation infrastructure committee in the 118th Congress and I'm proud of the work that we were able to accomplish together. I want to present five priorities that I hope this committee will consider uh this Congress.
▶ 0:41:31The first is ensuring that the FAA releases its overdue notice of proposed rulemaking on beyond visual line of sight operations for unmanned aerial aircraft systems as soon as possible. One of our committee's key accomplishments last Congress was the bipartisan FAA reauthorization. Unfortunately, this notice of proposed rulemaking was due September 16th of 2024. That deadline, of course, has come and gone.
▶ 0:42:01It's one of many missed opportunities that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buddha Judge left for the current Secretary Shawn Duffy. this Congress, the expiration of the infrastructure investment and jobs act or looms large. I wasn't in the House when I passed, but I participated in a number of oversight hearings, and it's clear that AIA's results did not live up to its promises.
▶ 0:42:26I have three priorities that I believe will make the next surface transportation bill a success. First, streamline the grant agreement process as much as possible and require public reports on grant agreement progress across programs to ensure and accountability. Secretary Buddha Judge's crippling bureaucracy got in the way of putting shovels in the ground.
▶ 0:42:51It's no wonder Secretary Duffy was saddled with a backlog of 3,200 projects that were announced but not executed on. A valuable oversight tool was the department's monthly reports on grant agreements under the rebuilding American infrastructure with sustainability and equity or raise program.
▶ 0:43:11As of the last available report, November 2024, only 224 of 414 grant agreements, just over half, were executed for grants awarded in fiscal years 2021, 2022, and It's absolutely unacceptable for projects to wait upwards of three years to get the green light from the secretary, especially in a time of high inflation.
▶ 0:43:37You might think projects highlighted in the department's press releases got a little extra attention. They did not. Only nine of the 23 raise projects, 39% highlighted in the fiscal year 2021, 22, and 23 press releases had an executed grant agreement as of November 2024 progress report. Too often, Secretary Buddha Judge seemed content to bask in the fanfare of the announcement only to leave the project stuck at the starting line.
▶ 0:44:06My next priority is to dramatically scale back discretionary grants in favor of formula funding. IDA expanded discretionary grants by 500%. But Indiana ranked dead last on a per capita basis in securing these grants. Apparently the Hooser state maybe just needed some better connections in the department. And while some of the responsibility lies with uh project selection and design, the department had a large scale too.
▶ 0:44:36For example, a local entity that was passed over for a planning grant to study a grade separation at a dangerous railroad was told in a debrief by the Department of Transportation that the project might have scored higher had they included a plan for EV charging. States know where's be where it's best to allocate infrastructure money for local needs, not bureaucrats in Washington that think railroad overpasses need EV chargers.
▶ 0:45:04Speaking of which, I urge the committee to end IA's failed EV charging programs. The $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI and the $2.5 billion charging and fueling infrastructure or CFI programs again had lofty promises. But in over three years, Nebby stood off only about 60 stations and CFI only three.
▶ 0:45:29Here too, the secretary gummed up the process through rigid regulations and burdensome requirements. But the federal government shouldn't be involved in constructing EV charging stations in the first place. According to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, there were 12,000 public charging ports added in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone.
▶ 0:45:54In three years, Nebi and CFI built approximately 300. My final priority is to ensure agencies refocus on their core missions. The Biden administration infused its woke DEI agenda into agencies, often at the expense of their core functions. For example, the deputy administrator for the pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration or FIMSA tried to brand the safety agency as a quote climate agency.
▶ 0:46:25FEMA changed its number one strategic goal from build a culture of preparedness to instill a culture of equity as a foundation of emergency management. These pointless word games add nothing of substance. They only waste time and distract from the core missions. Our federal agencies need to get back to the basics. Thank you for having me uh testify today. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Chair, thanks.
▶ 0:46:54and gentlemen, are there questions or comments from members of the committee? Hearing none, I would just uh say to uh to Representative Yakam, I agree with you regarding many of the things, probably almost all of the things that you said. There might be something there, but um but specifically the uh the ability to go beyond the line of uh of visual sight for the UAS um industry in America.
▶ 0:47:20We've worked long and hard at that and and it is it is well and long overdue and I think that there's an agreement on both sides of the aisle in that regard and so I appreciate you making uh bringing it to our attention once again and I thank the gentleman. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Chair now turns to Representative Simon for her testimony. Well, thank you so much Mr. Chair, Chair Graves and Ranking Member Larson, members of the committee.
▶ 0:47:49I am just so honored and I believe that ranking member Larson knows how honored I am to be speaking in front of this committee today as a member of Congress, a new member. Again, I've long dreamed of sitting in this seat and talking about how much I love transit.
▶ 0:48:08I was born premature with a visual impairment and one of the few folks I believe in the United States Congress who was born with a congenital visual impairment. I'm legally blind and as a blind person, a transit dependent person, I have relied on public transportation for all of my life.
▶ 0:48:33In fact, as a young mom, a teen mom going to college, taking my baby to daycare, I had to make decisions on where I lived, what time the bus or the train came to get to work, to turn in assignments, to be able to make a way out of nowhere for my family. the time tax.
▶ 0:48:54When you are transit dependent, you are not only reliant on transit agencies, you're reliant on good employees getting to those bus stops at the time that you need to get there to be able to get to work. I know this all too well. Public transit for me was not just a convenience. It was a lifeline, an opportunity, stability, and survival.
▶ 0:49:14The deep personal connection that I've had as a transit dependent person actually led me to run for office and to win an office to be on the board of directors of Barrier Rapid Transit, one of three elected transit boards in the nation, better known as BART. I helped lead BART during a very difficult time during COVID. And I want to thank this committee for your advocacy and support.
▶ 0:49:38And despite declining writership during the COVID pandemic, BART continued to run trains for nurses and janitors and grocery clerks, the essential workers who kept our communities going. And like so many other public transportation agencies in this country, we did it during that crucial period, because of the federal partnership, because of the brave men and women who sat on this committee who understood that mobility is in fact not
▶ 0:50:08a privilege, that it is a the $69 billion that moved really from this committee all over the nation in emergency support to support systems like barrier rapid transit led institutions to move instead of collapse and again so thankful to the members of TNI for leading us through that process but as emergency
▶ 0:50:39funds they're suns setting In 2026, systems across the country face, and you all know this, a fiscal cliff. The situation is not just urgent. It is in fact existential. BART has had to heavily rely on fair revenue, which unfortunately has made up 70% of our operating budget, but now fair revenues only cover about 25% of the total operating cost. This isn't about poor financial management.
▶ 0:51:10In fact, it's about decades. It's a national issue. Decades of transit disinvestment, underinvestment, leaving us far behind our global partners, our global peers, our adversaries, and building moderant public transportation systems. This committee has been integral in putting together IIGA, a historic downpayment on our nation's infrastructure that we must build on.
▶ 0:51:36Now, without new reliable funding, BART and other transit agencies around the country are facing severe service cuts, Bay Area Rapid Transit up to 80%. This means no weakened service. This means layoffs. This means devastating impacts to transit congestion and air quality. I got to say, for many of us who are speaking nationally about the crisis of public transportation, some of us don't have car keys.
▶ 0:52:03We rely our lifeblood on being able to access reliable and safe public transportation. The cuts now wouldn't just harm transit systems. They disproportionately would harm low-income folks, vulnerable folks, transdependent folks, and of course our elders, seniors, and people with disability. Slashing transit services now means slashing and slamming the door on these communities.
▶ 0:52:30You know, in California, I only have a few seconds left, but in California, legislation has been introduced to give voters the opportunity to continue to support public transportation in its dire phase, but the states can't do it alone. I would love to work with this committee. Mr. Larson, I would love to be a shadow member of this committee as a part of the Democratic Party. I'll be outside working with you all as we move towards a transit equitable nation. Thank you so much for having me today. Okay, I would love to take any questions.
▶ 0:53:00The chair thanks the gentle lady. Are there comments or questions from members of the committee? Mr. Larson, the ranking members. Thank you, represent Simon. I don't think the committee rules allow for shadow members, but that was a joke, sir. But I get your point. So, yeah, let's uh let's stay in touch especially on transit and how important it is for you. Absolutely. Absolutely. Shadow meaning that I support this committee and I support the work. Thank you very much. Sure. Chair, thanks a gentleman. Any further questions or comments? Hearing none, seeing none. Thank you, Representative Simon.
▶ 0:53:30The chair now rec recognizes Representative Mint. Uh, thank you, Chair Perry, Riking Member Larson. Appreciate the opportunity to share my transportation priorities with the transportation and infrastructure committee. I represent the heart of Orange County, coastal Orange County, uh, just south of Los Angeles, and as we all know, the Olympics are coming to LA in 2028. Uh, we are going to have some pretty important infrastructure needs. And for those of you who've come down to our district, uh it's a beautiful place.
▶ 0:53:58Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, some of the nicest beaches in the country. Uh you know that our populations are expanding rapidly. And right now many people in my district are concerned that Orange County is headed down the same pathway as Los Angeles that we're going to experience gridlock and traffic. And so TNI is very very important for our district at this pivotal moment in time where we have the opportunity to maybe avoid some of the challenges that LA, our neighbor to the for north, has faced. So, I've got three priorities for you today.
▶ 0:54:26The first is for local suballocation for surface transportation block grants. Uh, and uh, this is one of my top priorities for the Orange County Transportation Authority for transportation users throughout my district. And, and that is restoring the ability to suballocate federal funding to counties in California. of federal funding for our transportation system such as the surface transportation block grants have historically gone to metropolitan planning organizations and then have been distributed to county entities based on population.
▶ 0:54:56This framework has allowed transportation projects to move forward more efficiently especially in Southern California which has the largest metropolitan planning organization in the country. I want to urge the committee to make clear that local sub allocation is explicitly allowed and it's critical to the timely implementation of transportation projects.
▶ 0:55:14Recent federal guidance has been less than clear on the eligibility of funds for suballocation, adding unnecessary burden for Southern California and reducing the responsiveness of taxpayer dollars to co to to our region's transportation needs. Uh my second priority is uh coastal resilience for inner city rail. The loss or loan.
▶ 0:55:35Extreme weather events have driven by changing climate have placed an enormous strain on our transportation systems creating growing service delays and costs necessary to modernize our aging infrastructure in Orange County. We've seen this firsthand with the Los Angeles San Diego San Louis Abyspo rail corridor or Los San as it's known uh that runs through the heart of my district.
▶ 0:55:56This is the second busiest inner city passenger rail corridor in the country with millions of passengers relying on this annually to get to their jobs, to see uh beaches, to visit their families, uh for tourism and the like. However, coastal erosion is threatening this key economic corridor. Unstable bluffs, hillsides, and other hazards brought on by coastal erosion are beginning to cause significant disruptions to transportation services in the region.
▶ 0:56:22Uh you probably heard about the the need to reroute the Amtrak corridor uh through the heart of my district, Orange County to San Diego, and that's led to a number of delays, including five shutdowns in Orange County over the past 5 years. Federal support for infrastructure stabilization and resiliency is urgently needed at this time to address vulnerabilities from extreme weather events, new climate patterns, uh to ensure that our inner city rail corridors like Los Angeles can continue to support passenger service, goods movement, and regional connectivity.
▶ 0:56:52Very, very important priorities for the economy. Finally, my last priority uh is for zero mission vehicles. Air pollution from the transportation sector is a serious public health concern in Orange County. It was not that long ago that uh in Southern California, we regularly saw some of the worst smog and air pollution in the world. Uh we were able to move that around with uh you know some some uh changes to our local and federal policies.
▶ 0:57:16But even with the existing uh lower emission standards, uh this pollution has cost our state and country billions of dollars annually in healthcare costs and loss productivity. We need to take advantage of new technologies that are coming to market to diversify our transportation options, reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs and create healthier communities all while all while creating jobs and spurring innovations.
▶ 0:57:39Unfortunately, we've seen right now so far in the Trump administration a hostility to these efforts uh with a number of targeted programs like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program which are helping to build out the infrastructure necessary to support zero emission vehicles. I would also point out that this is an important spur for manufacturing. There are many companies that have invested heavily in the United States in manufacturing.
▶ 0:57:59Uh based on some of these types of incentives and programs uh keeping those in place will help to ensure that we keep those thousands of jobs uh whether it's companies in Georgia or South Carolina or in California. uh as you develop your surface transportation program, I would urge you to consider uh the importance of zero emission vehicles for averting the most devastating consequences of the climate crisis, leaving future generations with a livable world.
▶ 0:58:24I would urge you to continue funding by critical programs, including those supported by the BIP partisan infrastructure act that are helping to decarbonize transportation across the country. In places like California, zero emissions vehicles, electric vehicles makes sense. If you visit, you notice most people are now driving. Most of the new car sales are in fact electric vehicles. Uh we need that infrastructure support to keep building that out. So thank you for your time and for your consideration of my priorities. Look forward to working with the distinguished members of this committee and appreciate your hard work. Yield back.
▶ 0:58:55Chair. Thanks the gentlemen. Are there questions from committee members for uh Representative Mint? I do have a question for you if you if you could describe briefly. You talked about the suballocation of resources. Can you provide any granularity to what the barriers that you've experienced are what would be an example or some examples of those barriers? I think right now it's what we've heard is mostly lack of certainty like that that our Orange County Transportation Authority.
▶ 0:59:23Uh they're unclear on which funds they can use and so uh we would like to just as I mentioned I have more spec specificity. if you'd like, I can communicate with OCTA and see if they have specific requests uh that we can further to your committee staff. I think it would help the committee to know that and how that's you know how that how that's being manifested in communities and so as we're looking forward to writing the next surface bill. I think that'd be important input to have. I appreciate your uh you know receptiveness to that and we'll get back to you shortly, chair. Thank you, sir. Thank you. All right.
▶ 0:59:53Chair now recognizes Representative Tite. Thank you so much uh Chair Perry and of course Ranking Member Larson uh for this opportunity. Uh I always like the opportunity to bring my district here to Congress and hope that I can um share with all of you some of the challenges and hopes uh for the goals of this committee. I want to start in regards to hazardous u materials enforcement. Um Mr.
▶ 1:00:16Chair and ranking member, we all know in the aftermath of ETH's uh Palestine uh Ohio rail disaster, there is rightfully um growing concerns over uh safety. Uh and the focus uh now more than ever needs to be around trans around enforcement and protection regarding transportation of hazardous materials through many of our communities. Uh in Detroit, uh Mr. Chair, we have 90 a 94 year old ambassador bridge.
▶ 1:00:44It spans between the Detroit River and connects the United States to Windsor, Ontario, CA, Canada. Over 20% of trade crosses uh that bridge um and it's but most importantly even it's located upstream of a municipal drinking water intake system. Uh the bridge is privately owned uh by the Detroit International Bridge Company. It's very rare to have such a important trade corridor and it has a long history though uh of illegal activity and disregard of safety rules and regulation.
▶ 1:01:13The longtime owner even was jailed at one point and held in contempt for not following court orders. Last year, Mr. Chair, the state of Michigan made a regrettable decision to loosen restrictions on hazmat transportation across this bridge over so many residents objections uh in both Detroit and Windsor. The bridge is too old. It's narrow. Uh it lacks proper firefighting and other hazardous mitigations.
▶ 1:01:40The federal agency in charge uh of enforcing hazardous material regulation includes custom uh and border patrol as well as FIMSA uh and they lack the resources to do aggressive enforcement that safeguards our public health. Numerous conversations continue to confirm that. So I encourage please that that the committee to support the highest possible funding for FIMSA's uh hazardous materials field operation so that they can provide proper and timely compliance inspections on the Embasser Bridge and others like it.
▶ 1:02:10I also want to talk about um how we know that Michigan, the state of Michigan also suffered one of the worst inland oil spills in our nation's history when Enbridge's line 6B dumped a million gallons of heavy crude oil in Calamu Kalamazoo River. Enbridge continues to violate state law by operating its line five pipeline through the straits of Macheno and the Great Lakes.
▶ 1:02:34Many of my residents have not forgotten about that nation's uh again worse inland oil spill in our nation with the line 6B um Kalamazoo River uh the crude oil I mean the images uh many of us still remember. So the importance of pipeline inspections and enforcement cannot be overstated. I urge the highest possible level of funding of FIMSA's pipeline field operations to help safeguard the Great Lakes for generations to come. Next, Mr.
▶ 1:03:02Chair, I know you hear from a lot of uh my colleagues in regards to this. Um but my district is home to many communities in close proximity to the Detroit Metro Airport and many residents are burdened by excessive air and noise pollution. I encourage the committee, Mr. Chair and ranking member, to support the level of funding that is necessary for the Federal Aviation Administration's airport no noise um compatibility planning um referred to in part 150 to be able to do their jobs effectively.
▶ 1:03:31Uh robust funding uh for part 150 would allow Detroit Metro and airports like it across our nation to update their noise mitigation plans. It's so important um more now more frequently to adjust the changing weather patterns also airline trends um and urban growth. Uh this in turn will better protect many of our residents from pollution and disruptions in their everyday lives and will help local governments respond to resident concerns.
▶ 1:03:58Uh I still get calls uh from the same woman from my first term in regards to noise pollution and I believe that she wants us to do more uh and I agree with her. Uh two more items, Mr. Chair, um many of you don't know, but I lost my uncle uh to um uh a car uh hit him and two hours later he lost his life. So I want us to do more about pedestrian safety.
▶ 1:04:24Uh after that happened, so many people in my community called me and said that happened to their mother, happened to their child. Uh a grandfather called and said it happened to his grandson. So I encourage the committee to continue to support the safe streets and roads for all uh grant program uh which funds regional, local, and tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway uh fatalities as well as serious injuries.
▶ 1:04:48Our district has suffered far too many um roadway pedestrian cas casualties and our local government need that support and help um in designing uh uh better pedestrian infrastructure again to keep us all safe. Lastly, uh Mr. Chair and ranking member, many of my residents live a few hundred feet of major federal highways and experience ele elevated rates of significant health problems due to increased air pollution exposure from those highways.
▶ 1:05:15Sound walls, cut sections, road uh side uh vegetation can all help reduce exposure to air pollutants that harm our communities. So again, I always say this, you know, children can't learn if they're hungry, but they also can't learn if they can't breathe clean air. and so many schools in my community it but right up against service drives of large highways that are very congested.
▶ 1:05:37Um so I urge the committee to please support funding of green buffers and other means of reducing residents exposure to transportation related air pollutants especially uh in communities like mine. With that I I yield back. Chair. Thanks a gentle lady. Are there questions from members of the committee? Ranking members recognized. Thank you. Uh, represent I just want to make a note on this. You provided a lot. I just want to focus on the safe streets and roads for all.
▶ 1:06:04I'm hearing a lot from local uh NPOS, RTPOS who have these planning grants and now are going to be done with their plans and are questioning whether or not the money now will be there to implement those plans in the next surface bill. And I think it's important that you highlighted this because it is about it's about separating cars from bikes, cars from people, people from cars, bikes from cars.
▶ 1:06:31It's about roadway safety uh when we still have 40,000 roadway deaths a year. And so appreciate you bringing that up. Yeah, Mr. Larson, I come from a district we don't really have mass transit. Cars are everywhere in in Metro Detroit area.
▶ 1:06:46And uh if anything, a lot of the corridors and areas like where my uncle was hit, it's it's grown economically, which is great, but the pedestrian and the growth in business and people trying because it's right in a neighborhood and you just at a fruit market. Uh and uh I think for me it was eye opening how many people reached out and said, "Do you know this happened to me? I almost got hit by a car." I mean, it's just overwhelming that. And I think there's a great need especially because local governments just don't have the capacity.
▶ 1:07:16They need the federal Chair, thanks a gentleman. Chair, thanks a gentle lady. The chair now recognizes Representative Kagans for test. Thank you very much, Chair Perry and Ranking Member Larson and the committee just for for making time today for people like me to come and talk about the things that are important to our district and I have the privilege of representing Virginia's second congressional district. So, Hampton Roads, home to our Atlantic fleet.
▶ 1:07:42Uh, a lot of defense and and veterans live there, but also home to critical, uh, coastal communities and hardworking families. And my remarks today are going to focus on three issues important in my district. The WUS' rule, which impacts local development, the urgent need for air traffic control modernization, and the importance of parody for our Coast Guard service members. So to start out with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Wus rule, local housing development district has been severely restricted by the Biden era waters of the United States or WUS rule.
▶ 1:08:11This rule applied under the previous administration did not align with the Supreme Court's Sacket decision and led to federal overreach, permitting delays, and uncertainty for developers. I commend the Trump administration for initiating rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act to replace the Biden Was framework. Congress must work closely to monitor this process, ensure that if a new Trump era wotus rule is enacted, it is implemented swiftly and as intended.
▶ 1:08:35We've had a lot of meetings and roundts just with local developers and construction industry representatives and I need more housing. I need more development. I need it for my military families. I I think this committee is well aware of our base infrastructure challenges right now. So, we're looking off base. What does that look like to complement that? Housing is an important piece of that quality of life, quality of service component for our military for recruitment and retention are we have great local partners that want to build, but they're hamstrung again by this wus rule.
▶ 1:09:04And we've met time and time again the weight that they're having to go through is unacceptable. They've had they've had a couple different groups have said people have died, just passed away waiting for approval so they can start these projects. They have the land, they have the motivation, they have the the resources they need to complete these projects, especially housing. But we need that to be enacted. I need that Army Corps piece, especially with some of these wetlands issues, to be resolved and to be resolved quickly. The second thing is the Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control workforce issues.
▶ 1:09:34And Virginia's second districts is home to Naval Air Station Oceanana, which is the Navy's East Coast master jet base. As a former Navy pilot, I understand the critical role of air traffic control in training, readiness, and civilian aviation safety. The United States currently faces a shortfall of nearly 3,000 air traffic controllers. It's an unacceptable risk to our national airspace system. I appreciate the work of the Transportation Infrastructure Committee and support the president's 12.5 billion investment to modernize air traffic control systems and expand training pipelines.
▶ 1:10:04Not only have I heard in my official capacity here in Washington from air traffic controllers about this issue, but I've many many pilot friends who've transitioned now from the Navy into airline jobs. And when you listen to those guys talk about the safety issues from the constraints of ATC, what that looks like, it's impacting their ability to do their jobs safely and their ability to to for consumers to have timely air travel. So, so this is an just a uh should be a priority fixing that system.
▶ 1:10:32And I I think it I don't even need to mention what happens as a result of not having adequate and sufficient air traffic control. So I appreciate the prioritizing that. The third thing I wanted to advocate for was my Coast Guard Parity Act. As a Navy veteran, I'm proud to advocate for all service members and that includes the Coast Guard, which remains the only branch without full PAR and separation policies. The Coast Guard Parody Act would ensure enlisted members with 18 or more years of service are not involuntarily separated before becoming eligible for retirement.
▶ 1:11:02This bill brings Coast Guard standards in line with Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force. It supports the morale retention and fairness and honors the long-term commitment of those who serve in our maritime force. We're thankful for our Coast Guard, especially for our large presence along along our coastline in Virginia. uh but they are instrumental in maritime defense, border security, and just maritime safety. And we need to make make sure that we have their backs as well.
▶ 1:11:27So in closing, these issues, housing development, aviation safety, and military parody are vital to the security, stability, and prosperity of my district and our nation. I urge the committee to support efforts that reduce federal overreach, invest in infrastructure, and treat all service members with equal respect and support. Thank you very much for your time today. The chair thanks the gentle lady. Is there are there questions from the committee? Uh I would just comment uh hearing no other uh comments or questions.
▶ 1:11:54I would just comment regarding your um advocacy for modernization of the ATC um system as a army aviator myself. uh you know trying to land with an NDB in 2025 is you know is an un unacceptable prospect right so um but I do I am encouraged by the president's um uh interest and focus on this as well as secretary Duffy's and and this committee's in particular
▶ 1:12:25under the subcommittee chair and I would just encourage you to reach out to Representative Nells uh regarding that um if you have specific ideas because he's going to be leading the charge here from the committee standpoint. And I thank the gentle lady. Thank you. Chair now recognizes Representative McKenzie from Pennsylvania. Chairman Perry, ranking member Larson, and members of the committee.
▶ 1:12:47Thank you for the opportunity to present just some of the transportation infrastructure priorities of Pennsylvania's seventh congressional district, which encompasses the greater Lehigh Valley, a region experiencing rapid growth and serving as a critical logistics and manufacturing hub in the Northeast. I'm going to talk about three priorities today for our district. The first is highway and bridge modernization. The second is prioritizing community safety through targeted federal programs. And third and final would be rail safety and access.
▶ 1:13:18In the category of highway and bridge modernization, Pennsylvania's infrastructure challenges are well documented. Statewide, 13% of bridges are rated in poor condition, nearly double the national average of 7%. In Lehi and Northampton counties, for instance, 10% of bridges are rated as being in poor condition, and those bridges are on average of 93 years old.
▶ 1:13:41My constituents continue to express frustration over their the persistent congestion and deteriorating roadways and the conditions of those bridges in our local communities. Interstate 78 and 476 are vital corridors for commerce and daily commutes. However, the frequently experienced congestion impacts economic productivity and quality of life.
▶ 1:14:03I urge the committee to support federal programs aimed at expanding highway capacity, enhancing safety, and accelerating bridge replacement projects to address these pressing needs. In the second category about community safety, the greater Lehi Valley has transportation challenges that impact more than just traffic. They pose serious safety risks for families and communities like Allentown and Bethlehem.
▶ 1:14:27That's why I'm encouraged by the structure of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which empowers local governments to develop data-driven safety action plans designed to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries. These federally authorized safety planning efforts are already helping our local leaders identify high-risisk corridors and design common sense solutions such as safer intersections, pedestrian infrastructure, and trafficcoming improvements that directly respond to the needs of our residents.
▶ 1:14:58This program stands apart because it puts local communities and their safety priorities first rather than pushing top- down federal mandates that often miss the marks for community like ours. As the committee considers future surface transportation reauthorization pro proposals, I encourage you to maintain this program, but I would actually also encourage you to improve this program.
▶ 1:15:20We saw during the last administration that local communities in our area had an approval from the Department of Transportation with the Biden administration, but then yearslong delays in back and forth between the local municipality and the Department of Transportation led to those safety improvements never actually being done. They were talked about.
▶ 1:15:40They were advertised as something that this the previous administration was going to be doing, but because of delays and inefficiencies in the Biden administration's Department of Transportation, those safety improvements were never carried out. In the third and final category, rail safety and access. As a major freight corridor, the Greater Lehi Valley relies on a safe and efficient rail network.
▶ 1:16:02Federal support for grade crossing safety improvements, track upgrades, and technologies to prevent derailments is essential to protect our communities while supporting the economic benefits that freight rail provides. This support is also important for reducing congestion on our local roadways.
▶ 1:16:20It's imperative that the greater Lehi Valley's voice is heard also in future Amtrak expansion decisions and I look forward to working with the committee to ensure our communities have their passenger rail options that they seek out. In conclusion, the greater Lehigh Valley's growth underscores the urgent need for strategic investments in transportation infrastructure.
▶ 1:16:41Addressing the aging and deficient roads and bridges, expanding passenger rail, enhancing safety measures are critical steps to ensuring economic vitality and quality of life for our residents. I look forward to collaborating with the committee to advance these priorities for Pennsylvania's 7th district. And I thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. Chair, thanks a gentleman. Are there questions? Again, thanks for coming in. Represent McKenzie.
▶ 1:17:07Uh thanks again for safe streets for all mentioned shows it's bipartisan and rashida represent talib as well speak to that and uh I would just underscore you're really going to need support from folks like you who want Amtrak service and Amtrak service expansion. Uh I think it is a target in the budget um to cut and so uh we need to show a broad base of support for Amtrak service uh throughout the country and so appreciate you bringing that up.
▶ 1:17:37Thanks, chair. Thanks a gentlemen. I would just say to Rep. McKenzie, welcome to the transportation committee and your comments regarding Route 78 particularly impactful to me. I can't think literally of a time and I'm sure I don't drive it nearly as much as you do because it's a little bit of a hike for me, but I can't think of one time I've ever been on 78 when it hasn't been under construction. Can't think of one time. So, I don't know if that's good or bad, but u certainly needs to work. So, thank you for your testimony today.
▶ 1:18:05With that, the chair will now recognize Representative Cisneros. Thank you, Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larson for the opportunity to testify to support in support of critical transportation and infrastructure programs that support my constituents in California's 31st district and communities across the nation. This committee will soon begin drafting the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
▶ 1:18:30The most recent surface reauthorization bill, the bipartisan infrastructure law, funded roughly 66,000 projects across the United States. This amounted to almost $570 billion for projects to improve roads, repair bridges, modernize transit systems, support public safety, and more.
▶ 1:18:47This legislation created programs to build out electrical vehicle charging infrastructure, created American manufacturing jobs through the low and no emission bus programs, and invested in workforce development in the transit and trucking fields. Modernizing our transportation infrastructure should not be a partisan issue. Modern and safe transit roads, bridges support economic activity across the United States. They support countless people who just want to get to work and at school.
▶ 1:19:18These investments support American manufacturing jobs right here at home in districts across the political spectrum. And with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Parolympic Games coming to Los Angeles County, we must make needed investments in transportation infrastructure. Not only to host the international athletes and visitors, but to ensure our local e econ economies benefit from the economic opportunities that these global events will bring.
▶ 1:19:47Safe, modern transportation infrastructure is integral to our economic success as a nation. As you draft the surface transportation reauthorization bill, I urge my colleagues to not only to not to allow politics to get in the way of supporting American jobs in your districts and the economic growth of the United States.
▶ 1:20:06Specifically, I urge full funding for the low or no emission grant programs, urbanized area for formula grants, the railroad crossing elimination program, the reconnecting communities pilot program to support lowcapacity communities, and the charging and fueling infrastructure grant program.
▶ 1:20:25Critically, I also support a significant investment in transportation needs, especially in public transit needs such as buses and rails ahead of the 20128 Olympic and Parolympic Games in Los Angeles. Thank you again for your your time and consideration. I hope you will keep these priorities in mind as you draft legislation for the benefit of our communities. Thank you, chair. Thanks, gentlemen. Are there questions from members of the committee? Hearing none, the chair thanks the gentleman for his testimony.
▶ 1:20:55Chair now recognizes Representative Isel. Thank you, Chairman Perry, Chairman, Ranking Member Johnson. Uh, I have two issues here today. One of which is of the making of this committee, one it's not, but both you can address and help us with. The first is one that uh, ranking member Johnson is well aware of. The growth in the court over the last many decades has not been even.
▶ 1:21:23It is in fact been greater in some areas and others. Much of this due either the border activities andor intellectual property litigation. San Diego is both. So in anticipation of that, the federal court system at their own expense back in the early 2000s built a courthouse that had room for growth, room for additional space. This was not arbitrary.
▶ 1:21:49In fact, this was a second courthouse that was colllocated but not contiguous, not purely contiguous with the original courthouse. They recognized that they had outgrown the old courthouse dramatically that they were in lease space all over the city and that in consolidation they didn't want to have to do it again because there was no room even with uh eminent domain there was no room for expansion further. Therefore they built this courthouse with future growth.
▶ 1:22:19This committee recognizing that they didn't need it at that time said come back to us when you need more and we have done so on multiple occasions. First time we got two additional. We are now in a situation in which this committee has not acted promptly and as a result we have judges in makeshift courouses around the city. These are article 3 federal judges and bankruptcy judges.
▶ 1:22:47The inefficiency and the risk to these judges uh both for themselves and in the transfer of uh of criminal uh individuals related to trial uh creates a burden, an expense and a risk and this continues. We have applied multiple times for a waiver dating back some years. We have not been granted one. We're here today to say the time is up.
▶ 1:23:15The committee and its staff have simply not acted and continued to ask us for additional information. Mr. Chairman, your own staff has told us, "You're never going to give us the waiver." I'm here to say, "Give us the waiver." The fact is, we are the only courthouse in the United States of America that has to come to this committee.
▶ 1:23:37On top of that, the funds are not coming from appropriation, but in fact are made by the court system where they allocated to where they believe they should. So the idea that when we have judges who are remote that we want to bring back in that we're not able to simply because a building already existing has rooms that have not been prepared for the judges makes no sense.
▶ 1:24:05I'm here sounding like we're in the minority. I'm here sounding like we're the opposition party. But as ranking member Johnson knows, I'm passionate about the safety of our judges. And I know everyone on this deis has supported the various measures to bring additional safety to all of our judges both at the high court and the district court. This is a safety risk. This is one that should not continue. It is also a cost risk.
▶ 1:24:33I would ask you to please give it your highest attention. It is an exemption that should be pulled off. I understand why it was put on, but quite frankly, it is more than outlived its usefulness. I would close on that issue and say the next time the court comes and to building a building, would you like them to build a building with no room for growth in a growing area and thus in fact need a third, a fourth, or a fifth building over the years? It's not efficient.
▶ 1:25:03It makes no sense. I'll close with this. There is something not of your making. The fact is the growth of electric vehicles, vehicles that do not pay the gas tax, has created a desire by many areas, including in my hometown under an organization known as SANDAG, which is the regional authority for building roads.
▶ 1:25:24They have repeatedly proposed taxing miles on all vehicles to make up the shortage that they believe is there because of higher efficiency vehicles and vehicles that don't use uh gasoline or diesel fuel at all. I would ask this committee to seriously look at prohibiting that tracking system in order to um to collect that.
▶ 1:25:47I think as a matter of being a pure libertarian, if we continue to allow further tracking in the name of taxation, where will it lead and where will it end? I thank the Chair, thanks. Gentlemen, are there questions from the members? The ranking member is recognized.
▶ 1:26:06I I thank uh the chair and I thank the uh members for your testimony today and my partner representative Isa uh on the uh judiciary subcommittee has given eloquent testimony today on the need for uh this body to pay more attention to article three of the court of the constitution. our judicial system.
▶ 1:26:31And the the truth of the matter as as we have discussed before, Representative Visa, is that we have as a body, the legislative branch has uh neglected the needs of the judicial branch for many, many years.
▶ 1:26:47How long has it been uh Representative Isa since there has been meaningful expansion of the uh of our court system in terms of judges and cour houses and courtrooms and h how does that impact us at this point? The last expansion was in the '9s.
▶ 1:27:06However, uh there was a bipartisan bill uh broadly passed in last Congress and resubmitted in this Congress that would make about a 10% increase which would be about 66 judges needing courtrooms around the country. And some of the facilities in which those courtrooms would be built are already um situated in such a way as they can accommodate uh the buildout of those facilities to uh accommodate the need for more courtrooms.
▶ 1:27:37The court uh has been trying to use its funds to do just that for more than 30 years. But we need to do more to support that in terms of the legislative branch. Is that your testimony today? that is ranking member and uh last uh representative Isa you spoke about really uh taxing electric vehicle owners for uh in the same way that uh internal combustion engine uh owners
▶ 1:28:07have to pay the gas tax. Do you agree with uh uh the the thinking that a $250 charge per year uh per electric vehicle uh in the United States is an appropriate way of uh having electric vehicle owners pay into the gas tax?
▶ 1:28:29I would highly recommend that a system uh occur that doesn't involve what was proposed in my home county which is a real time tracking system of every mile and every location uh simply as a constitutional reality. Uh that's an eva invasion of people's privacies. But that's what's being proposed.
▶ 1:28:50Um many states do have uh when they do their inspections every year or two, they do look at the mileage and and they could tax it based on that. So there's a number of ways that they could collect a fair and equal tax without tracking vehicles and particularly in the case of the proposal in San Diego uh which almost became law, they were going to track every vehicle, both gas and Thank you. Are you back? Further questions?
▶ 1:29:21I do have uh seeing no others, I have a couple questions for the representative. So the waiver, so the courthouse was built in anticipation growth. You're saying that you need it and I don't doubt that that is justified. Why if it the courthouse was built in anticipation of growth does it require a waiver? because this committee slipped that in back in 2009 when it was being built and it's just been a reality.
▶ 1:29:49Uh we're the only courthouse in the country. Um it actually was uh my understanding Eleanor Holmes Norton and perhaps one other member who thought it was worthwhile doing. Um I've I've questioned the the delegate from uh uh DC and she doesn't remember the details of it or any need for it. Uh, so you might even check there.
▶ 1:30:12Th this is kind of an odd one because I understand at the time of its original building, it had potential for up to six additional courtrooms and building them out at the that cost might have been expensive, but what's happened in the interim is that uh they have uh some are being used by the IRS and so on.
▶ 1:30:33Uh but in the meantime, because we didn't get the waiver uh over a number of years, what's ended up happening is they've gone and built courtrooms in leased space. Those leases are coming due. And we'd like to be able to build out the courtrooms at the cost to the court system from their funds in order to not have to renew those leases, which could, you know, trap us again for years.
▶ 1:30:58And chairman, the the big question that my chief judge asked me in San Diego is, do you understand the risk to us of transferring prisoners and of our judges being in a courthouse that is by definition not nearly as secure because it's outside a perimeter that they designed for the two buildings that represent our combined court system. Understood. Thank you.
▶ 1:31:23And then finally your comment slashquesting on the charges for electric vehicle charging and how that not charging but uh how that will be paid into their their utilization of the roadway will be uh how they'll participating participate in paying for their use of the roads.
▶ 1:31:45And while I agree with you that this this committee and this Congress should probably take action regarding local jurisdictions doing what you're talking about and I'm completely in concurrence with your assessment, we're also going to have to mind that this organiz organization itself is seeking to do a very similar thing and we'll seek to do the same thing in the future and I'd be interested in working with you on a solution set uh for charging appropriately similarly to what
▶ 1:32:15we do with gas and diesel powered vehicles for the fuel source. However, I'm not looking for an opportunity for the IRS to review my electric bills or anybody's electricity bills. So, that's a particular challenge and I'd be interested in working with you on trying to find a solution set and and hopefully we'll have more than a couple weeks to come or literally 24 hours, which is what I had the last time offered uh to find a solution set to this problem. Chairman, I look forward to it.
▶ 1:32:42Uh uh I've been here just long enough to remember the late Don Young warning us about the upcoming problem as we had fixed revenue per gallon and a clear forecast that per vehicle mile we were going to use less fuel and that was even before electric went to zero fuel.
▶ 1:33:01So, it is legitimate that we find a way to have the revenue per mile driven uh come up to where perhaps it was when Don Young cried it's a problem in the 90s. Right. All right. The chair thanks the gentleman. The chair now recognizes Miss Representative Lucen Camp Perez. Thank you, chair. Thank you, ranking member.
▶ 1:33:24Um when uh your colleague uh Rick Larson visited my district, he prudently described himself as the public works director at the federal level. And um those are the most popular people in my community. And so um we appreciate the work you all do on this community to in this committee to make sure that we have the nuts and bolts of good government working correctly uh efficiently for the necessary things.
▶ 1:33:47Um, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today um on uh as the committee begins its work on surface transportation reauthorization. Um, as the ranking member knows well, my district is home to one of the largest, most complex, and most important bridge replacement projects in the country. The I5 bridge crosses the Columbia River. Uh, it's a critical stretch of I-5 that connects Portland, Oregon with Vancouver, Washington. One span of the bridge was built in 1917.
▶ 1:34:16And the bridge is at risk of collapse in the event of a major earthquake, which we are on the Cascadia subduction zone. This is a real risk. Uh congestion clogs the bridge for as many as 10 hours per day, keeping commercial vehicles from moving goods and people and getting home to their families. Uh we need a new bridge. That's why I'm glad to have helped bring back $2.1 billion for this project through the mega and bridge investment program grants award.
▶ 1:34:41These grant programs were created in the bipartisan infrastructure law and are crucial to getting this project done. We must ensure that awarded funding goes out quickly and efficiently through our agency partners. This isn't only a bystate bridge in my district that needs repair. In fact, the Louiswis and Clark bridge which connects Long View in my district to Reineer, Oregon. It was included in the N National Transportation Safety Board's recent report identifying bridges susceptible to collapse in an incident like the devastating collision in Baltimore.
▶ 1:35:12As the committee considers a service transportation reauthorization bill, I urge you to continue support for discretionary programs like the Federal Highway Administration's bridge investment program that can help communities in my district make our bridges safe, durable, and separately. Another issue that I've been hearing about from loggers in my community is related to restrictions on younger drivers hauling across state lines. My district is a giant border district.
▶ 1:35:38You can drive 5 hours all across the border and uh these restrictions on younger drive drivers not being able to cross bystate lines is a serious impediment to the industry and to these young professionals making their way in a career.
▶ 1:35:54Uh while the bipartisan infrastructure law established an apprentichip pilot program for individuals under 21 who hold a CDL to travel across state lines, this program was un under subscribed and did not bring real relief to constituents like mine who are frustrated by the regulations imposed on state boundaries. I am looking forward to working with the community to provide a pathway for 18 to 20-year-old CDL drivers to safely cross interstate lines. You learn how to drive log trucks safely by driving similar routes.
▶ 1:36:24A a a singular radius around the uh mileage isn't the same thing as being able to cross interstates freely to get those logs to a mill. I'd also like to mention um an issue that draws the eye of thousands of Americans. If you spend any time on certain subreddits, uh, some of which have thousands and thousands and thousands of subscribers, you will know about, uh, overly bright headlights.
▶ 1:36:51This is something that draws eye from rural Americans, from older Americans, um, from law enforcement. Uh, I understand the bipartisan infrastructure law tried to improve this issue by allowing manufacturers to make adaptive driving beams, but let's be honest, it has not helped.
▶ 1:37:06I'm interested in working with the committee to ensure that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations develop overall maximum brightness on the lumens uh standardizing headlights for automobiles that retain visibility for drivers but also reduce glare and increase safety for other drivers on the road. Thank you again to the ranking member and the chair for the time to speak before this committee. I look forward to working with you both to deliver for people in my community of Southwest Washington.
▶ 1:37:38Do do you have a question? Any members have a question? All right. Thank you, Representative Gusen Kim Uh I now recognize Representative Hernandez. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. Uh Madam Chair, it's appropriate to have you as as chair in this moment because the issues that I'm about to address will probably be very familiar to you. I will be brief in my spoken remarks and submit the written testimony for the record, but in essence, I'm here to talk about the state of Puerto Rico's infrastructure.
▶ 1:38:07Puerto Rico is beautiful in many respects, but the state of its infrastructure is an exception. Uh, time, storms, earthquakes have damaged our infrastructure to levels not seen in our history. And the work of this committee in helping our island recover from these disasters has been and will continue to be very important. So I come here with two concrete asks.
▶ 1:38:32In light of our unique infrastructure challenges, we would like that Congress continue funding programs like the state of good repair grant program under the federal transit administration, which gave San Juan last year uh 11.1 million to strengthen its transit infrastructure and ensure safe, reliable services for our residents.
▶ 1:38:54Uh, I strongly urge the committee to maintain robust funding for this program and to ensure Puerto Rico's continued inclusion in its formula funding or grants that are automatically awarded to territories, Commonwealths like the Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico and states. I would also like to thank this committee for the role in establishing the promoting resilient operations for transformative, efficient, and cost-saving transportation protect program under the Federal Highway Administration.
▶ 1:39:22Uh, unfortunately under this program, Puerto Rico does not currently receive a formula allocation and it is critical for Puerto Rico's future to be included in the formula allocation under programs like Protect. We need consistent, equitable, and fair access to these resources to strengthen our infrastructure now before the next disaster strikes, which is not a question of if, it's more a question of when.
▶ 1:39:51The reality is that for Puerto Ricans, our transportation network is a lifeline. It is a reli its reliability directly impacts access to emergency services, education, and healthcare. So, I urge the committee to include Puerto Rico in all formula and competitive grant programs. I urge the committee to do the same for the other territories and commonwealths of the United States.
▶ 1:40:15Thank you for your leadership and for recognizing the importance of resilient, inclusive transit and infrastructure for Puerto Rico and the entire nation. Does the ranking member have any questions? I hope. All right. Thank you, Hernandez. I now recognize Rep. Thank you, uh, Madam Chair and ranking member, uh, for holding today's member hearing.
▶ 1:40:42Um, I represent the Congressional 34th District of Texas where which is where the border meets the coast. Uh, it's a resilient region uh that gets hit regularly by hurricanes and storms on the Texas coast and um and and one of the poorest regions in the country. Um, it's we're we're extremely prone to severe flooding from heavy um heavy events.
▶ 1:41:06But we are working on a project that we've been working on for quite a while that I want to bring to your attention that's critical to mitigating future floods and it's called the Raymondville drain uh which would improve uh drainage by building new connecting channels and and widening the existing ones making additional improvements on on a 63 mile drainage that parallels the Rio Grande Valley. Uh this is one of the in the last few years, South Texas has suffered multiple floods.
▶ 1:41:36Uh just a few months ago, we had a 20in flood in in just a matter of hours. And last month, um and we continue to struggle with my constituents were forced to evacuate abandoned vehicles, homes, property, and many, you know, had to be rescued during the storm. The rainfall resulted in massive flooding across Cameron, Willis, and Adalgo counties. uh a place that was traditionally has always been uh prone to storms.
▶ 1:42:04And in 1967, the last um category four and five hurricane that that uh hit the area when there was a a very limited population and most of it was rural left the entire region underwater. Um, according to a preliminary report from Noah, uh, just these last dam damages resulted in over hund00 million dollars.
▶ 1:42:26As a as of April, uh, 14th, 2025, we've we've confirmed over 5,000 homes that were damaged, many of them destroyed, and Congress uh, must do more to effectively address the risk of severe flooding in communities like South Texas. While the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, pockets of persistent poverty continue to exist.
▶ 1:42:51And sadly, financial hardship and poverty in these regions are exacerbated by severe storms and floodings. The Rio Granded Valley is one of these areas. And therefore, it's critical that the Raymondville drain project, which was originally authorized for construction by WRA in 1986, almost four decades ago, and expanded in '07, continues to move forward.
▶ 1:43:19Once the Raymondville drain is completed, it would substantially improve storm water management for the region. Idalgo County juristic district number one who is the lead non-federal sponsor for this project originally submitted its visibility study to the assistant secretary of the army for review in 2020.
▶ 1:43:38Since then the drainage district has continued to closely work with the US army corps and uh has recently uh submitted a plan under section uh for a section 203 study to ASA. Um, I want to I want to thank the committee for having this hearing and I want to urge uh y'all look at this project. I I um I you know it's not very sexy when you talk about drainage and flooding. I know we deal with it in a lot of parts of the country.
▶ 1:44:08This um this is a a a really a minor investment to what it would cost if we get another category four or five in this region. We're home to SpaceX. We're home to two LNG terminals that are coming that are being constructed now that are that are essential to the n national security of this country.
▶ 1:44:27If we get a category four or five in this region, the entire region will be underwater and it'll cost our taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in investment for this region to recover. It's on the border. It's important for trade, for business, for energy, obviously space exploration that's h happening in the region.
▶ 1:44:48And I like to compare this to the levy um that flooded the entire city of el of of New Orleans where many people died and it cost us, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers to recover. Right now, we can get out of this for a fraction of the price. It's been on the books for going on four decades. It's time for us to stop sitting on our hands and make critical investments in regions like South Texas. I know there are others in the country that have similar situations. This is a critical one.
▶ 1:45:16Um, I I know that if it's not done and we do get a category four or five, we will be looking back wishing we had made this investment. Thank you all so much for for hosting this tonight today. Do any of the members have any questions? If none, thank you, Rep. Gonzalez. Thank you. I now recognize Representative Nun. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. Miss Kings, ranking member serving uh Representative Johnson Jr.
▶ 1:45:45Having these hearings is an important part for our communities to be able to come forward and highlight the transportation infrastructure we need across our community. Back home in my district in Iowa, we have a little bit of everything from rural hometowns to a bustling metropolis in De Moines. With that, we want to keep our economy moving forward and we're asking the federal government to be a partner in this.
▶ 1:46:06In speaking with the Iowa Department of Transportation, county, city, and state engineers, as well as local leaders, and most of all, Ians, their voice has been resounding on this. Whether it's a farmer hauling grain or a local mayor trying to repave Main Street, Ians need infrastructure that works, and they need a Washington that's a steady partner, not a roadblock. Construction costs, as have been noted by my colleagues on this, have soared.
▶ 1:46:33The last surface transportation bill and our investments need to reflect real world price increases and the pressures those bring. How this money gets to the state matters just as much. Formula funding works. It's reliable, fast, gives local leaders certainty they need to plan ahead and gets shovels in the ground.
▶ 1:46:53On the other hand, discretionary grant programs often feel like to my hometown guys a lottery where some of them win and some of them lose, but they all do the same amount of hard work trying to get to that final point. Candidly speaking, that's not sustainable and it doesn't help for long-term planning.
▶ 1:47:11So, I'd like us to prioritize core formula programs that give states flexibility to move funds when they're needed most without all the red tape that builds up over years and years of doing this. Ask any local official in my district. And what's holding up the process is not the process itself, but the politics involved in the project. Environmental reviews drag on for years. Reports that no one reads pile up on bureaucrats desks.
▶ 1:47:40federal rules that sound good in theory but ultimately just end up ending at more cost and less value. I'll give you a perfect example. Under current law, if a project has already gone through an environmental review and a new rule comes out in the middle of that process, those guys have to start the entire process over from day one. That's not efficient. It's not helpful. And effectively, it's government bureaucracy at its worst.
▶ 1:48:06We need to streamline project delivery, reduce duplicative processes, and make sure that the focus is on result, not building up things other than infrastructure, but things like paperwork piles. I know your committee is working hard on this, and we want to thank you for your leadership and action on it. So, I'll get right to the point here. Our number one ask in Iowa, help us invest in hard infrastructure. Iowa's transportation is largely built on our agriculture and advanced manufacturing.
▶ 1:48:36Farmers and business leaders rely on road access to be completed. And it's not just our state. It's every state from coast to coast that transports down our corridor from north to south, east and west. It all comes through Iowa. Which is why I'm pushing for two common sense updates to federal law that will help Iowa farmers and business people across our country. Most importantly, it will help families. The first is let Iowa permits for vehicles over 108,000 pounds on key segments of I380.
▶ 1:49:07Other states already do this. Ians know this as I65. And when it comes to harvest season, we've already been doing it for quite some time. If state highways get added to the interstate system, which we are asking for, let the trucks already operating on them operate with the same limits. There's no point in changing it after it becomes a federal interstate. If they were operating safely before, I am confident they will not change their behavior overnight simply because it says interstate on the sign.
▶ 1:49:34This will also help increase access to some of our biggest economic developments in the region and help de mo grow as a hub for manufacturing in this space. This has support for our from our farm bureau and a significant portion of our a land operators near this area. Madam chair, these aren't radical ideas. They're practical updates to keep an egg supply chain moving across our country. Additionally, it invests in our rural innovation. Iowa's been a leader in using smart tech to manage traffic, reduce crashes, and stretch every dollar. We'd like to continue with your help to build on that.
▶ 1:50:04The next bill should make it easier for federal funds to start and clear standards that will help allow connectivity and growth, particularly for rural areas. As this committee knows better than anyone, infrastructure is not a red or a blue issue. It's about being able to get your kids to school safely. It's about getting goods to market. It's about allowing small towns and hometowns have a shot at growth. Iowa is ready to innovate. We just need Congress to use the right tools. Thank you for your leadership on this. We look forward to working together.
▶ 1:50:34I yield my time. Do any of the members have any question? If none, thank you very much, Nun. I now recognize Rep. Hulahan. Thank you, Madam Chair and ranking member for the chance to testify before the transportation and infrastructure committee today.
▶ 1:50:54As the committee is working to advance the reauthorization of federal pipeline safety in the 119th Congress, I'm participating in this hearing to call attention to the deadly safety risks that are associated with something called Attal A plastic piping.
▶ 1:51:10Two years ago, March 24th, 2023, a natural gasfueled explosion in my district at the RM Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, tragically killed seven people, injured 10, and displaced three families from their home.
▶ 1:51:27Two months ago, the National Transportation Safety Board completed its final report of that incident, and it determined, quote, that the probable cause of the explosion was a degradation of a retired 1982 AD A polyethylene service te with Delrin polyacetyl insert that allowed natural natural gas to leak and to migrate into the RM polymer company candy factory building where it was ignited by an unknown source.
▶ 1:51:53The safety board recommended that the pipeline and hazardous material safety administration advise natural gas distribution pipeline operators to address that risk that is associated with ATLA a service TE's by replacing or by remediating them.
▶ 1:52:09Furthermore, the NTSB found that operators may not be aware of the locations of their plastic natural gas assets that are vulnerable to degragation in elevated temperature and environments and they need to urge operators to do more to evaluate and to mitigate these kinds of risks. I commend the NTSB for this work which sheds clarity onto the devastating incident in my community and those impacted. Unfortunately, however, the findings are not particularly surprising.
▶ 1:52:38DuPont's Adelaide has a long and wellocumented history of poor performance histories relative to brittle light cracking, including several pipeline and hazardous material safety administration warnings dating all the way back to 1999. Concerningly, in just these past two years, there have been two deadly incidents involving Adela A in the United States.
▶ 1:53:00The first in my community that I'm highlighting today and the second in South Jordan, Utah in November of 2024, which led to the death of a 15-year-old child, displaced families, and damaged many residents as well. In its preliminary report for the South Jordan explosion, the NTSB again cited a leak in the Adelaide natural gas main during near the home.
▶ 1:53:22Following the decades of unheated federal safety warnings, the many kitchen tables that now have a chair left empty, and the wholly inadequate response by pipeline operators and our federal government to prevent future incidents. This is why I'm here urging that this committee ask itself the sobering question, how many people, how many more people need to die before we here in Congress act?
▶ 1:53:47In the 118th Congress, I introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation with my Pennsylvania colleague, Representative Dan Mooer, to put an end to the safety risks associated with dead deadly ADA A plastic piping. The ADA A hazard reduction and community safety act requires the proper documentation and the subsequent removal of AD A in high consequence areas. It also allows for considerations to minimize cost and service disruptions.
▶ 1:54:15I stand very very ready to work with the committee to reintroduce this critical legislation and urge for its inclusion in the pipeline safety reauthorization this Congress. In doing so, Congress will finally heed the decadesl long warnings and greatly improve the safety of our pipeline distribution systems against the dangers of deadly att.
▶ 1:54:36I also encourage and urge the committee to use its oversight responsibilities to ensure that the pipeline and hazardous material safety administration, pipeline operators, and other implicated parties under the committee's jurisdiction expeditiously implement all of the NTSB's recommendations in its final report for the Palmer incident to help prevent future ADL A explosions.
▶ 1:55:00Once again, I thank the committee for its attention to this very, very pressing issue, especially considering the troubling increase in deadly Adelaide explosions over the recent years. And on behalf of my constituents who lost their lives and on behalf of my community, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today's hearing and I yield back. Do any of the members have any None. Thank you very much, Rep. Hulahan. Thank you. I now recognize Magcguire.
▶ 1:55:30Uh thank you, Madam Chair, and the ranking member uh for having me here today to present my priorities for the 119th Congress in Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I'm here today to talk about my very first bill I've introduced as a member of Congress, the Agricultural and Forestry Hall Efficiency Act.
▶ 1:55:48Agriculture and forestry are two of the largest industries in the Commonwealth of Virginia, combining for over $120 billion dollar in annual economic impact and providing over 450,000 jobs. This bill allows the Commonwealth of Virginia to permit trucks up to 90,000 pounds on interstate highways that are hauling unprocessed agricultural crops and raw forest products.
▶ 1:56:14Virginia approved a maximum weight of 90,000 pounds for trucks hauling these products on non-instate highways in 2015, but this does not apply to interstate highways. This bill addresses a decadel long discrepancy between state and federal law. It does not permit heavier trucks or increased weight limits.
▶ 1:56:34It simply enables trucks operating within state approved weight limits to take safer, more efficient routes, bypassing winding rural roads that go through small communities, school areas, pedi pedestrian zones, and residential districts. Last year, federal law was enacted that allowed the state of Mississippi to adopt the exact same policy.
▶ 1:56:56Additionally, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Minnesota, and New England states have similar authorization to allow agricultural product trucks permitted for higher weights to transit certain segments of the federal uh interstate system. Allowing these trucks to uh on interstates is safer, uses less fuel, leads to fewer emissions, better fuel mileage, less wear and tear on vehicles, and provides shorter routes. Simply, it's safer for the community.
▶ 1:57:23We want to get the heavy trucks off of the back roads and onto the interstates with other heavy trucks. It's safer and more effective. And I respectfully ask the committee to take into consideration this important legislation. And I want to thank you for providing me an opportunity to speak in front of you all today. And with that, I yield back. Do any of the members have any questions? If none, thank you very much, Rep. Magcguire. I now recognize Rep.
▶ 1:57:52Uh, Madam Chair, thanks for recognizing me today. I came today to talk about this committee's draft uh, bill, the FEMA Act of 2025. Uh, and I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for for working on this. Before I get there, I just wanted to give a little bit my background. You I'm the only former emergency management director that was elected to Congress and I was the emergency management director in Florida for a Republican governor.
▶ 1:58:13I took my my Democratic hat off for two and a half years and joined the Dantis administration and ran that department uh and was solely in charge of the COVID response in the state of Florida. Before that, I worked on the recovery of from Hurricane Michael, which was in the panhandle. And it was President Trump and the Trump administration who gave Florida the resources it needed so that the people of the panhandle could recover.
▶ 1:58:37And without those resources from FEMA that President Trump approved and the administration gave to Florida, the panhandle would not have recovered and would not be what it is today. I want to talk about a couple issues of the FEMA act of 2025. First of all, it includes the FEMA Independence Act that I filed with Byron Donald, which I support, which is to get FEMA out of homeland security. President Trump is right that FEMA needs reform. Let me say that again. President Trump is right that FEMA needs reform.
▶ 1:59:07We've known that in the emergency management industry for some time. One of those pieces of reform is it's got to get out of homeland. Homeland is too big. It's too bureaucratic. And they have FEMA running all of the grants for all of the agencies doing immigration stuff that they shouldn't be doing. And FEMA has gotten away from its core mission as a result of focusing on response and recovery. The second is we can block grant some of this money. And I have that bill with Tim Burchett in the house and some of that is in the FEMA act of 2025.
▶ 1:59:35We can give states more responsibility. We can send money down. States can do that. But I also came to issue a warning. I am deeply concerned about what Secretary Gnome is doing at Homeland on FEMA. And I got to be honest, I think she's doing a disservice to the president in the last 5 months. what she has done under her leadership with FEMA, okay, is take FEMA, which needed reform, president was right about that, and turn it into Newark Airport.
▶ 2:00:05I am worried that FEMA is going to fail this summer. If a hurricane came into Louisiana, Alabama, or Mississippi, those states will go bankrupt without FEMA aid. Right now, the secretary has all FEMA aid paused, even ones that are under previous presidential declarations, money that Congress has appropriated. I'm worried that those states, Mississippi, Alabama, right, they, you know, they don't have the same resources as a Florida or a Texas, even though the the grants in Florida and Texas are also paused.
▶ 2:00:35Let me say this, Florida and Texas might be able to survive one one hurricane this summer without having to cut health care or education or their DOT budget, but not two. If Texas or Florida got a double hit, which has happened all the time, they will have to raid their DOT budget, their education budget, and their healthcare budget just to survive. FEMA also provides resources. Now, they don't own those resources. They coordinate those federal resources. Most of them are DOT resources.
▶ 2:01:02Without FEMA's ability to do that, states that don't have those resources, like the states I said, Mississippi, Alabama, right? uh Louisiana, something comes in from the Gulf of America, it's going to be very tough for those states to respond. What about Tornado Alley? Those states don't have it. Kentucky, Oklahoma, they go bankrupt. And we've not had an earthquake since the '9s, thank goodness. But I can tell you right now, FEMA will fail based on what the secretary has done to that department.
▶ 2:01:32And so, the president is right, FEMA does need reform. I know this committee is working on that. I want to work with the committee and the chairman on FEMA reform. But we have to save FEMA. We can make it smaller. We can make it faster, right? We can do those things.
▶ 2:01:46But if this if the idea is we don't need a FEMA anymore, and that is what the secretary has said, I can tell you the results are going to be catastrophic and it's going to be mostly for red states uh based on their geographic territory and their financial ability. And so I appreciate the opportunity. I support the president creating the task force that he has created to try to come up with FEMA ideas. I look forward to them meeting.
▶ 2:02:13I believe those meetings are going to start soon and we'll look forward to their recommendations and working uh working with Congress. Uh but you know with with that, Madam Chairwoman, I stand ready to answer any and all questions. Thank you. Do any of the members have any If none, thank you. Repositz. Thank you.
▶ 2:02:46The chair now recognizes uh Representative Moore. Uh would you turn on your mic? I believe let me start I'll start over there. Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate you and the other committee members for uh this hearing today before transportation and infrastructure to hear from members from around the country.
▶ 2:03:11Uh I represent uh the 14th district of North Carolina and uh I can tell you that the Charlotte Gastonia metro is one of the fastest growing areas in our nation. Uh as western North Carolina continues to grow, so do the demands on our local infrastructure like so many other locations. Uh that's why actually the first bill that I filed this year was HR 1333 which would designate US Highway 74 as a future interstate.
▶ 2:03:37This segment would stretch from Interstate 26 and Columbus, North Carolina to Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. For many of my constituents and frankly for folks that travel from around the country, uh US74 is a heavily traveled route for commuting, commerce, and daily life. Upgrading US74 to interstate status will bring long overdue improvements. This designation will open this corridor for new economic development, attract businesses, and create more opportunities for western North Carolina.
▶ 2:04:06And the future interstate designation will allow the North Carolina DOT to place corresponding signs along the quarter that run through Pulk, Rutherford, Cleveland, and Gaston counties and will ensure the road is brought up to interstate standards. The reason this is important is one of our counties, Rutherford County, is one of the one of the few counties in our state that and the only one in my district that does not show an interstate within its within its county lines. This designation of what essentially is an interstate. It already functions that way.
▶ 2:04:36It has exits, a controlled access, all that uh is expected to boost economic opportunity in this county while also improving regional connectivity. Um it you some of you may know when a company's looking to expand somewhere on their site selection they want to know how close are you to an interstate and it may be an interstate quality road but if it doesn't have that magic blue and red it doesn't count as an interstate port. So it's a way that can sometimes disqualify areas that's what's happened in Rutherford County and Mr.
▶ 2:05:03chairman, I would submit it's probably happened in other local around the country and it's something it's an easy fix that we could do to help regions like that. But certainly looking forward to working with this committee on that, but really moving forward something even more important. Uh I'm sure you all heard about Hurricane Helen that really ravaged western North Carolina. Uh and I can tell you that beyond infrastructure improvements, disaster relief remains the top issue for western North Carolina.
▶ 2:05:29Uh like I say, last it's been a little less than a year ago when Hurricane Helen came in and did significant damage, but there has been progress since President Trump entered office. There's still debris to clear, rebuilding to do, but the pace has picked up and we're very grateful for that. You know, we've also seen that the leftover debris has proven to be dangerous as it acts as a fuel for wildfires. Some of you may have followed the news and saw about all the wildfires that we had a couple months ago.
▶ 2:05:54Uh and I'll just say that the bureaucracy at FEMA uh particularly in the past had made getting the debris cleared very difficult. Uh but that's not the only issue at FEMA. We recognize there needs to be overhaul and I look forward to seeing this committee take that up as I know the president has put a lot of effort into that. And I got to say since the first year, FEMA really has stepped up their game and has done an even better job at debris removal as well as as well as other things.
▶ 2:06:19You know, we know in the last administration FEMA spent I think it was $1.4 four billion dollars on migrant housing, transportation services instead of getting those dollars where they needed to be to take care of folks who were dealing with all this hurricane damage that we had. So, I'm glad that the president is is putting a focus on that, is reforming FEMA and is working to get those resources delivered to western North Carolina.
▶ 2:06:43And I'm I'm looking forward to working with the administration as well as you know this committee and the rest of our colleagues here in in Congress to make sure the federal government is prepared to help states respond swiftly to any disaster and to prioritize American families instead of getting in the way. You know, states also need more freedom to take the lead in their disaster response because they know the needs of their constituents better than any bureaucrat in Washington DC or anywhere else. It means faster relief.
▶ 2:07:11We have to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability with within disaster relief funds across our federal government and ensure that taxpayer dollars go directly to helping families recover and rebuild. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Uh thank you, Mr. uh thank you, Representative Moore, for your testimony. Um want to turn it over to the committee if uh anyone has any questions. Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. Have a good day.
▶ 2:07:39Thank I believe we're still waiting for a few members to uh uh to make their way to the committee. But so in the meantime, the committee shall stand in recess subject to the call of the chair.
▶ 2:11:41Uh the committee on transportation infrastructure will reconvene. Um uh with that, Representative uh Captor, you are recognized for five minutes for your testimony. Thank you, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member uh Larson, who is not here uh right now, and members of the committee. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today.
▶ 2:12:05I rise to share the priorities of Ohio's 9inth Congressional District, which stretches along Lake Erie Southshore from Toledo West to Indiana, east to Sunduski, Ohio, and then south to Fremont. for our communities, many of them industrial, agricultural, port centered, and workingclass. Surface transportation isn't an abstract policy.
▶ 2:12:32It's about American economic progress, jobs, safety, mobility, and quality of life. I strongly support the transportation alternative program which provides $1.38 billion annually through fiscal year 2026 in cities like the largest one that I represent Toledo and then Sanduski.
▶ 2:12:55These funds are building safer sidewalks, bike paths, and ADA accessible routes helping connect neighborhoods long left behind. These investments aren't just about transportation. They're about health and workforce development in the Great Lakes nation. Uh we are all along the southern rim of Lake Erie, a lake we share with Canada.
▶ 2:13:19I also want to commend and by the way the transportation modernization that needs to occur with Canada is a work in progress. Uh shortly the Gordy How Bridge will be dedicated and we're very very excited about that. But we need to have other improvements on the transportation uh front because Canada is our largest trading partner. I want to commend the committee's continued support for RAISE grants funded at approximately 1.5 billion per year in northwest Ohio.
▶ 2:13:49RAISE has helped unlock longstalled infrastructure projects from reconnecting divided communities to strengthening multimodal access. These competitive grants are vital for midsize cities with ambitious plans but limited tax bases. Another critical tool is the active transportation infrastructure investment program authorized at $200 million annually.
▶ 2:14:13This program supports safe connected bike and pedestrian networks which are essential in communities where car ownership is not universal. From East Toledo to rural Ottawa County, these investments help residents get to school, work, and health care reliably and safely through protected spaces, including Toledo's number one ranked metrop parks in our nation, for which we are so proud.
▶ 2:14:40Equally urgent is investment in rail connector routes. We are heavy on rail and short line infrastructure. The Chrissy program funded at $1 billion in FY2024 and over five billion through FY26 for us is essential in Toledo.
▶ 2:14:57Upgrading rail links to our port, Thriving Port, the busiest port on the lower Great Lakes and industrial parks would improve freight efficiency, reduce highway wear, and strengthen our manufacturing competitiveness. In addition, connecting passenger rails around the Great Lakes is an achievable dream. Finally, I would urge this committee to continue its work to incentivize cities and localities to make the necessary investments for passenger rail in our region.
▶ 2:15:27I wish the major public fleets uh that are necessary uh to move people uh and cargo um uh and their valuable repair and maintenance facilities across our nation could be more cohesive. In other words, we have large numbers of public fleets to connect that opportunity to workforce development for mechanical technicians that we dearly need in our country.
▶ 2:15:56We're over a million short already. So, we have a serious shortage of training sites for workforce development, for trained technicians and mechanics, and too many uh repair garages with circulation systems of the past era. We need healthy garages in which people can work and be trained.
▶ 2:16:15With your committee's leadership, I believe in a new era of safer, cleaner maintenance facilities that can repair firet trucks, police cars, municipal vehicles, ambulances, street sweepers, garbage trucks, lawnmowers, and equipment that keep communities serviced. And I would really value the opportunity to develop a more intensive dialogue on that point. Taken together, these programs are not just line items.
▶ 2:16:38They're lifelines, and they connect our people to opportunity, support local economies, and help us build communities that are safer, greener, and more inclusive. Thank you for your leadership, Mr. Chairman, and members, and for giving communities like mine a seat at the table. I look forward to working with you to continue delivering for the American people. I yield back and thank you. Uh, thank you very much. Uh, any members on the DAS have any questions? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. Uh the chair now recognizes Representative Fitzgerald.
▶ 2:17:09Uh you have five minutes for your testimony. Thank you, chairman, ranking member, members of the committee for allowing me to testify today about bicyclists and pedestrian safety. On August 25th, 2022, Sarah Deppneck Langing Cap, wife, proud mother of two boys and 17 year US service foreign service officer was tragically killed when a flatbed truck collided with her while riding a bicycle along an
▶ 2:17:39unprotected bike lane in Bethesda, Maryland. Sarah's tragic death highlights the need to make our roadways safer for all who travel them, specifically bicyclists and pedestrians. Currently, highway safety improvement programs funds are not able to be used for the connection of two or more segments of existing bicyclists or pedestrian infrastructure.
▶ 2:18:01While a reasonable interpretation of a highway safety improvement project would include connecting existing bikeless, bicyclists, and pedestrian infrastructure, the absence of these funds for these projects puts America's cyclists and pedestrians in an unnecessary danger.
▶ 2:18:18As this committee works on the surface transportation reauthorization package, I ask that you provide clarifying language to allow highway safety improvement program funds to be used for the protection of vulnerable road users when two existing projects are being connected. This will make our roads safer for all who travel them and prevent future tragedies like the loss of Sarah from happening again. Thank you. Uh thank you very much.
▶ 2:18:49Uh any members want to ask any questions? Seeing none, uh thank you for your testimony. Uh the chair uh the committee shall uh stand in recess. Subject to call the chair.
▶ 2:26:02Uh the committee on transportation and infrastructure will reconvene. Uh I want to thank all the members for participating. Uh this concludes our hearing for today. The committee stands adjourned.