Transportation Secretary Duffy testifies on department budget before House subcommittee

[0:00] when all is said and done today this subcommittee welcomes the honorable sean duffy secretary the [0:08] department of transportation to testify for the fiscal 27 budget secretary duffy it's good to see [0:14] you thank you for appearing before us today the president's request for dot is 26.8 billion in [0:22] discretionary budget authority for fiscal 27 this amount includes an increase for air traffic [0:28] operations to continue efforts to hire controllers and other safety personnel another installment for [0:35] air traffic modernization and new investments in ports shipyards and rail safety we're going to hear [0:41] a lot about that today this is the first year without advance appropriations from the iija [0:48] which totaled 184 billion for the department from 2022 to 2026. i appreciate your efforts [0:56] the efforts of your department to move things forward since you were in front of this subcommittee [1:01] last the obligation rate for the iija division j dollars has increased from 39 to 51 percent in the [1:11] past year the backlog of 3200 grants has all but been eliminated we appreciate that effort and would [1:18] remind you of the requirements set forth in the fiscal 26 law regarding proper execution of programs [1:24] appropriated by this committee along with new congressional notification requirements [1:30] our hearing today serves as an example of the reciprocal relationship between this committee [1:34] and the executive branch to ensure the appropriate resources are provided to dot to meet our shared [1:41] goals of safety infrastructure improvements and modernization of our transportation systems [1:47] the investments we've made together in air traffic control prove this concept funding to [1:51] rebuild the controller workforce combined with long overdue modernization of air traffic technologies [1:58] reflects the kind of sustained bipartisan commitment that a safety critical mission demands this work [2:05] is far from finished and the challenges ahead are significant the progress we've made shows what's possible [2:12] when congress and the department focus on common priorities and follow through with real resources as we look [2:20] to fiscal 27 we know more needs to be done for the seas we need to ramp up our investments in the nation's maritime [2:27] workforce and infrastructure to ensure we have the commercial competency to compete globally this will [2:34] also support our national defense capability in the indopacom region and elsewhere for our surface [2:40] transportation infrastructure we're on the precipice of a reset following the expiration of the iija how we build [2:48] upon what worked and how we course correct from those investments that were serving political pipe dreams [2:55] is the key question in my opinion for fiscal 27. i look forward to seeing what our authorizing counterparts [3:01] put forward they're in the process of doing that as we speak and we stand at the ready on the appropriations [3:08] committee to cut the check when the time comes i should be clear however that this committee has the sole [3:14] jurisdiction on discretionary funding efforts to recreate the advanced appropriations of the iija [3:21] are ill-founded and not to be contemplated without the full involvement and deliberation [3:27] of this committee the invite remains mr secretary to come down to arkansas's third district and see how [3:33] the investments of your department are flowing into communities like mine the department is a unique [3:38] department in that way as the impact of your work is seen in every single congressional district [3:45] as such this committee enjoys a history of bipartisanship and i look forward to continuing [3:51] as we begin the fiscal 27 process speaking of which i'd like now to recognize my dear friend and [3:57] the ranking member of this subcommittee mr cliburn of south carolina for any opening remarks he prefers to [4:05] make i now recognize the gentleman from south carolina for that purpose thank you very much mr chairman welcome [4:11] back for mr secretary dot's primary mission is to invest in solutions that improve transportation [4:20] safety this includes safer transportation in our skies on our rails in our ports and over and under our [4:30] bridges according to the american road and transportation builders association there are more than 9 500 bridges [4:38] across my home state of south carolina and more than 2 130 of them are in disrepair to make matters worse [4:49] now that 600 bridges are structurally deficient a number that has grown over the last three years [4:58] as you might be aware south carolina is the fastest growing state in the nation this means that as we [5:06] welcome more people and businesses there will be more wear and tear on our roads and bridges at the same time [5:16] south carolina ranks among the highest for fatalities on our highways according to the insurance institute [5:24] of highway safety in one year alone 2023 my home state has seen more than 1 000 fatality fatalities [5:35] on our roads including in rural areas which face unique safety challenges and this is not unique to south [5:45] carolina in fact the american society of civil engineering gives the united states infrastructure [5:53] a c grade although an improvement from c minus which it was before it is in part attributable to the major [6:03] investments enacted by this body the bipartisan infrastructure law made a historic five-year investment [6:12] in our nation's transportation systems whether it is helping to repair deficient bridges or improve our [6:19] ports these investment investments are intended to enhance safety employ american businesses put more people to [6:28] work and create new uh private uh public partnerships i am pleased that our colleagues in the house [6:39] transportation infrastructure committee have begun their work to reauthorize so many of the programs [6:47] important to our districts however i am concerned that the committee this committee is not at the table [6:55] uh to support another tranche of much-needed supplemental advanced appropriations as you are aware the bipartisan [7:05] infrastructure law included an additional 36.8 billion annually over its five-year span to help meet our [7:15] transportation infrastructure needs unfortunately no new supplemental funding will be available beyond september 30th [7:24] of this year i implore my republican colleagues and you mr secretary to impress upon our leadership and the white house [7:33] to help ensure that this committee continues to help close the gap on transportation projects across the [7:41] country i believe this subcommittee can work in a bipartisan fashion to deliver safer transportation networks [7:50] for the american people and i look forward to hearing from you mr secretary about how [7:56] we can best use america's resources and talents to build a safer more secure country now with that [8:06] said mr secretary i would be remiss if i did not raise on this panel today my concern with your great [8:13] american road trip while i agree with the importance of having boots on the ground so to speak to learn [8:20] more about the complexities of our transportation and travel needs across the country it's important to [8:26] keep in mind the millions of struggling tax-paying americans who are not afforded the same opportunities my [8:35] hope is that as you're moving around the country you will include some roads less traveled now while i do not [8:44] argue with robert frost i believe that what really makes the differences in our lives are the people we [8:53] encounter during our travels irrespective of which road one might take it is my collective duty our [9:04] collective duty to make america's greatness accessible and affordable for all not just some and with that [9:13] mr chairman i'll give back thank you mr clibbert and at the risk of patronizing the overall chairman let me [9:22] just say as i said earlier today reimagining the appropriations process for this congress has been [9:30] a challenge for a number of years dating all the way back to the time mr secretary that you were serving [9:35] in this great body this guy to my right that's about to speak deserves a lot of credit for moving us toward [9:44] a much more perfect and meaningful process he's done it skillfully he's done it very patiently and against [9:52] great odds and i want the public to know how grateful i am and how grateful this committee is [9:58] for the work of our overall chairman mr tom cole of oklahoma you're recognized sir for five minutes [10:06] thank you for that very generous and fulton praise but i can tell you any success i had wouldn't happen [10:11] without my friend the ranking member uh because this is a bipartisan exercise and appropriation it always is [10:18] and i'm particularly proud of this subcommittee because of the bipartisanship that exists between [10:23] this chairman and its ranking member and how well they've worked together uh so thank all of you and [10:29] thank all the other members for being here secretary duffy welcome to back to thud uh thank you so much [10:36] for appearing before this subcommittee again and for your continued leadership and service i particularly [10:42] want to commend you for your commitment to modernizing our air traffic control system upgrading aging [10:48] air traffic control infrastructure is long overdue and your leadership and urgency on this issue [10:54] are exactly what is needed as we move through fiscal year 2027 i remain focused on maintaining [11:02] responsible investments in our nation's transportation system as chairman warmack has already stated your [11:09] team has already made exceptional efforts to ensure that we're investing taxpayer money [11:16] in infrastructure and safety uh improvements that are worthwhile taking a hard look at thousands of funding [11:23] decisions to make sure they deliver real results for the american people you're to be commended for that [11:29] the subcommittee furthered these efforts in the fy 2027 bill uh under chairman womack and ranking [11:36] member vibran's leadership supporting programs that improve infrastructure while scrutinizing those that are [11:43] wasteful and duplicative uh but make no mistake we've not uh sacrificed dot safety mission in that [11:50] process over the past three fiscal years this subcommittee has made the hiring and training of new air [11:56] traffic controllers a top priority in our fy 27 bill we're supporting 2300 new controller candidates on top of [12:05] the 2500 we funded in fy 26 reflecting the committee's commitment to rebuilding the controller workforce [12:13] that keeps our skies safe and the economy moving i also want to recognize your personal interest [12:20] and support for the mike monrone center in oklahoma city and your determination to supercharge [12:26] controller hiring across the board that attention has made a real difference and it reflects a genuine [12:32] understanding of what this facility means to the safety of our entire aviation system we have the land the [12:39] facilities world-class staff in oklahoma city to ensure that controllers receive in-person focus and [12:47] state-of-the-art training i'll continue to fight for the funding that this center needs to modernize and [12:53] expand and i'll frankly put push back any efforts to decentralize or weaken what we've built there [12:59] this commitment extends beyond controllers alone aviation safety depends on a full complement of qualified [13:07] safety personnel across the faa i will also reiterate my steadfast commitment to prioritize investments [13:15] in tribal and rural areas and the fy 27 bill under mr womack's leadership demonstrates that commitment [13:23] nearly 70 percent of america's road miles are in rural areas and about 145 000 of those miles are on roads [13:31] that pass through tribal lands these communities face notable challenges and have different needs [13:38] from urban areas as we move through the appropriations process i look forward to working with my [13:43] colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fund the critical safety missions and transportation [13:48] infrastructure needs of the country with that again thank you chairman warmack for this hearing and [13:54] thank you secretary duffy for appearing before it i thank the chairman and what i said about mr cole goes for [14:01] the ranking member as well mr laura of connecticut um it is a true partnership and we're grateful for [14:08] your leadership as well ma'am and i recognize you for five minutes thank you very much mr chairman and it [14:13] is an honor for me to work with both you and and ranking member cliburn to work with you and chairman cole [14:21] as we make sure that the appropriations process is as strong as it needs to be and that it is [14:29] um really where the power of the purse resides and thank you very much um uh thank you uh mr secretary [14:38] for testifying today we look forward to your testimony and to uh hearing your answers to our [14:44] questions uh america's transportation infrastructure is crucial it's crucial to the economic health of our [14:49] country it connects communities expands prosperity extends opportunities to people across this country from [14:55] big cities to small towns unfortunately the president's budget request proposes substantial cuts [15:01] to many of the programs and initiatives that americans rely on the budget proposes to cut 327 million [15:08] dollars from amtrak including 200 million from the northeast corridor and 127 million from the national [15:15] network amtrak is crucial to my home state of connecticut where nearly 1 000 of their employees are based [15:22] more than 2 million travelers were served by amtrak in connecticut um in 2025 and they facilitate an [15:30] incalculable quantity of economic activity uh investing in this service they provide is essential [15:37] for supporting so many of my constituents so i'm disappointed to see um such steep cuts proposed [15:44] in the president's budget it's crucial that this administration restore americans faith in the safety [15:50] and security of air travel following a series of tragic incidents last year i understand the faa [15:58] i understand that the faa recently revised downward their projections for necessary air traffic [16:05] controllers the staffing levels to maintain safe skies by roughly 2 000 positions and as we approach [16:12] some of the busiest travel months of the year the administration needs to do everything it can to [16:17] provide the american people with the assurance that they will be safe in our skies we didn't we need [16:23] to know what is needed as appropriations committee to be able to provide the resources needed to keep [16:29] people uh safe uh to keep our aircraft moving making the airspace more efficient the american people are [16:39] struggling every day with the rising cost of living and robust transportation infrastructure is key [16:46] to connecting people with the well-paying jobs that they need to stay afloat transportation i think [16:52] we all concur is an economic engine and our investment in it must meet the needs that the american people [16:58] face so secretary duffy uh i look forward to your testimony today and i look forward to the uh [17:05] interaction with our our questions and answers thank you and i yield back thank you mr duffy your uh full [17:12] written statement will be included in the record and at this time i recognize you for five minutes [17:17] to summarize your remarks uh chairman womack chairman cole uh chairman rogers as well uh ranking member [17:24] cliburn and uh delauro thank you for having me it's good to be back in the house uh it's great to have [17:30] such wonderful attendance even though you guys are supposed to be gassed you're all here it's great for me [17:35] um i i i hope today we do have a chance to talk about what mr cliburn uh mentioned about the the bridges [17:42] uh it's an issue um and you also mentioned and we all know this that our infrastructure has a c rating [17:48] and i think as we sit here together um this is probably the most bipartisan place in this whole [17:55] body uh we all work together because there is not a republican road or a democrat bridge [18:01] there's not a republican safe airport or a democrat safe airport it's we are all in this together as [18:06] one american family and doing this together um i think is is critically important and uh chairman [18:13] cole i would agree with you on travel lands as well making sure that is not forgotten uh in rural places [18:19] like where i come from uh the road less traveled um is one that i have been on for a very long time [18:24] so uh to the committee thank you for having me and again it's good to be back uh in the house [18:30] for the past 16 months with your support the department of transportation has been hard at work [18:34] uh delivering wins for the american people we have a once in a generation opportunity to revitalize [18:41] the critical infrastructure that millions of americans rely on every single day from our runways [18:47] to our roads to our railroads we have upgraded our national infrastructure invested in the backbone [18:53] of our economy and made life safer for american families we are aggressively moving to clear the [18:59] backlog of 3200 grants that were left behind in the last administration our goal is [19:05] simple to ensure that these grants deliver safe enduring infrastructure that will serve americans [19:12] for generations to come at the faa we have kick-started a historic overhaul of our air traffic control [19:19] system this admitted this has been possible because of this congress and i'm grateful for that [19:25] thanks to the working families tax cut act we received 12.5 billion dollars as a down payment [19:31] to begin deploying state-of-the-art equipment across our airports and nas and that work is underway we [19:38] replaced 50 percent of legacy copper wiring converted 278 radio sites installed 58 new surface awareness [19:47] systems and transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips but technology is nothing without people [19:55] we need the people our air traffic controllers so since march we've hired a record-breaking 2400 air traffic [20:01] controllers and we had an innovative gamer uh campaign we realized at the academy as we [20:08] surveyed the the the the students uh out of 250 surveyed uh all of them but three are gamers [20:17] and so we made a pitch to the the gamers by the way they have multiple screens um they're problem solving [20:22] and they're talking at the same time we received over 12 000 applications in 24 hours to be an air traffic [20:29] controller it was it was quite historic um we smashed the old records it was a great ad campaign um [20:35] and uh but it's it is truly bringing in the best and the brightest who want to serve their country and [20:40] and they're concerned about safety and i think these are the young men and women we're bringing into this [20:45] field that is so important we're also restoring integrity and safety to the american trucking industry [20:51] it was a policy of the last administration to allow for unqualified foreign drivers to get behind the [20:58] wheel of a truck those days are no more we just saw an incident in california a couple days ago maybe [21:04] it was yesterday um i think we all have to work together to have the right policy in place to make [21:08] sure that our roads are safe and what should that policy look like i have my ideas on what we need to do [21:14] together we've worked with states to cancel 28 000 illegally issued licenses for unqualified foreign [21:21] drivers and we're holding um some states that aren't cooperating accountable we all need to follow the same [21:28] rules we've also knocked more than 20 000 drivers out of service for failing to meet basic requirements [21:34] like reading our road signs or being able to communicate with law enforcement these changes [21:40] aren't just keeping you and your family safe on the road they have added benefits to boosting wages for [21:46] the great american truckers who serve our communities every single day our commitment to historic safety [21:52] standards is already delivering historic results um in 2025 we successfully reduced roadway deaths [22:01] by 6.7 percent across the nation mr cliburn i'd be happy to talk to you more about what's happening [22:06] in south carolina but the numbers nationally have come down and that is a good thing this is the fifth [22:12] largest drop in roadway deaths uh in the history of dot so we're making progress we have a long way to go [22:19] um we're at you know 36 000 plus deaths a year still way too many uh but we're making progress we're [22:25] going in the right direction we're working on our freedom to drive initiative working on bottlenecks [22:31] um across the country making sure we can alleviate uh traffic snares um i'm going to try to move through [22:39] this uh quickly but i want to talk uh about um what we're doing uh collaboratively with states to [22:46] finally make transit safe and clean and dependable i'm a republican and i recognize that our states [22:52] do not work our cities not our states our cities don't work if we don't have good transit systems [22:58] but i do think we should expect from those systems that they are clean that they're safe [23:04] the people want to ride them you should have your well i have a your 16 year old daughter should be [23:09] able to take um the subway or the transit system at seven o'clock at night on a saturday and if we [23:16] don't hit that standard we have work to do together to make sure that is the bar is high for us to [23:21] make sure that people want to ride and they can ride and they can safely ride because a lot of people [23:25] can't afford to ride other forms of transportation so i think we owe it to our uh fellow brothers and [23:32] sisters i i would like to just mention before i turn it back to you mr chairman i would at one point [23:38] like to talk about the merchant marine academy uh for those of you who've been there um that's wonderful if [23:44] if you haven't been i'd ask you to go these are some of the most amazing young men and women um have [23:50] such great heart and this their academy was built in the 1940s after world war ii and um it's as a [23:59] service academy as americans i don't i don't think our our young men and women deserve to have um the [24:05] buildings the heating systems the lack of dishwashers um i believe that either we have to invest in this [24:12] academy um and in these young people or um i don't want i love i love i love that i have it and you [24:19] have it on this committee but if we're not going to make the investments you got to shut it down [24:24] maybe you got to give it to the navy and i don't want you to do that but we we can't let these kids [24:30] american men and women in this academy have this kind of infrastructure we can't and because we let [24:37] it go for so long it's going to take a lot of money and that's the decision that you all have to make [24:42] but i'll i'll plead with you because if you haven't been there go see it and and and talk to the [24:48] midshipmen and you'll be heartened to see the men and women that want to serve this country and be [24:53] mariners so i've gone way over mr chairman i apologize for that i'm looking forward to your [24:58] questions and uh thanks for having me again i thank you mr secretary and on the subject of the merchant [25:03] marine academy there's a couple of kids from my hometown in rogers it will be incoming freshman [25:08] class of 2030 so you have my commitment to visit the merchant marine academy thank you we owe that [25:16] to you we have um typically start with the the leadership of the subcommittee but today i'm going [25:24] to yield first to mr shreve of indiana he is performing double duty today not only is he a member of this [25:31] subcommittee but he's also engaged in the markup on tni on the surface transportation bill and so at this [25:38] time i'm going to recognize mr shreve for any questions he may have you're recognized for five [25:44] minutes sir uh mr uh chairman thank you very much i appreciate this privilege uh mr secretary thank you [25:51] uh for appearing uh before us thank you for spending some time in my state looking at a bridge project [25:57] and and many other things i am the newest member of this subcommittee so this is a particular uh privilege [26:02] uh and i serve on uh tni where we're obviously wrestling with the uh surface reauthorization [26:10] today and so there's a lot going on two floors down i'm looking at this as a new member but through the [26:16] lens of both the appropriator and an authorizer i am from indianapolis where we met last time my district [26:24] runs south and east uh our motto back home is we're the crossroads of america and that's not just a [26:30] slogan indianapolis my district includes material portions of i-65 i-70 i-74 i-69 i've got parts of i-465 [26:41] we're a major short line uh rail state we're talking a little bit about rail safety uh today and and [26:48] beyond two floors down the indianapolis international airports in my district it is the top ranked mid-sized [26:55] airport in our country and it's the home to the second largest fedex air hub so there's there there's [27:00] my uh my my pitch for indiana's sixth district hoosiers know how to move freight and we also know [27:06] what happens when the system fails in recent years hoosier families have suffered tragedies involving [27:12] commercial drivers who should not have been behind the wheel of 80 000 uh uh pound rigs secretary duffy you [27:19] have taken steps at your department including stronger english language enforcement for commercial [27:26] drivers and broader push to remove unsafe drivers from our highways i want to focus on what congress [27:33] our congress can do to help you finish the job our protections are only as strong as the systems [27:38] we rely upon that's why i'm co-leading legislation to modernize dhs's save system so immigration status [27:46] checks to non-domiciled cdls come back currently and quickly indiana has been cracking down since [27:53] april 1st just since april 1st our state has revoked 1800 non-domiciled domiciled cdls what else does this [28:01] congress need to codify or fund to help your department and fm csa keep ineligible and unsafe drivers [28:11] off of our roads thank you congressman not bad at freight and okay basketball um in indiana and i [28:20] appreciate your work on the on the save act that's uh that's important on the save um uh system so [28:26] here's i want to to to be clear to everybody on the committee uh the issues we've had with commercial [28:33] driver's licenses um has been a nationwide problem there's not a difference between a democrat state [28:40] and republican state alike all the states uh perform poorly meaning they're they're giving uh [28:47] commercial driver's licenses to uh people who maybe should not have been in the country at all they [28:53] were illegal um or others who had come into the country in the last four years and they were given [29:00] a driver's license for way longer than their work permit and so we've now modified the rules and um [29:07] we're not allowing for the new rules on commercial driver's licenses to operate that way anymore [29:13] one of the problems we have though is i don't have the authority to retroactively look at the [29:19] all the thousands tens of thousands of commercial driver's licenses that were previously issued [29:25] and and encourage or incentivize states to take those drivers off uh the road and just one of the [29:32] issues at play here is for an american truck driver to get a commercial driver's license we look at [29:37] their record what do they have drunk drivings do they have speedings like who are they as a driver [29:42] we'll look at their criminal records so we get a full purview into who these men and women are that [29:47] are going to buy the uh drive these 80 000 pound rigs when we've had people come into the country [29:53] recently it's very challenging for us to look at their records and so we don't know who they are what [29:58] is their driving record and i think that's creating some risk to the system and if you're going to church [30:03] or you're going to walmart um you should be safe these should be the best drivers on the road [30:08] not um some of the ones that are killing our families so i'm i'm hearing that you don't have the [30:14] data sharing tools or all those tools that that your department needs i don't i don't have all the [30:18] authority that i need and i would like to work with this committee in a bipartisan way to to talk about [30:23] what should it look like what should the rules be um and look forward and look back i appreciate that [30:29] that can i can i mention one other thing we just launched the modus um system where we have a lot [30:33] of these chameleon carriers and they are um you'll have one address that has a 100 or 150 trucking [30:41] companies at one p.o box or one address and just you guys see this across across the spectrum the [30:49] technology is old yeah and we have a hard time dissecting the tech the the all the information so [30:55] modus has come out a new software system that's allowing us to actually have purview you can't [31:00] have a hundred or ten or five trucking companies from um in one p.o box that's that'll that'll be a [31:09] sign of fraud we should also have a conversation of do we want foreign operators in eastern europe or [31:15] somewhere else to own trucking companies in the u.s and have a hundred trucking companies we're seeing [31:21] some fraud with that as well we could work together on tightening it tighten up those rules that will [31:26] drive the safety and and reduce fraud mr secretary i would love to delve deeper into the problem of [31:30] chameleon care uh carriers but i so appreciate your indulgence uh mr chairman and i yield back thank you [31:36] mr shrieve i'll recognize myself now for five minutes um mr secretary the the 26 t hud bill requires [31:45] build awards to be based solely on the selection criteria in statute that criteria include the extent to [31:50] which a project improves safety quality of life economic competitiveness state of good repair and [31:56] cost effectiveness your fy26 build nofo issued in december includes project labor agreements as part [32:04] of the economic competitiveness consideration for applicants but i want to talk about that for [32:10] just a minute because i think every state that has and my staff can correct me if i'm wrong every state [32:18] that has an anti-pla law is represented on this appropriations committee so can you walk the [32:28] committee through your rationale to add pla preferences back into the nofo so the pla's uh option is in there [32:37] but i believe there's 10 criteria so a state like arkansas would not be penalized at all if you have a if you're [32:44] one of the 22 states that uh don't allow for plas there's no penalty to your state in access to the [32:50] built grants um it's one of uh 10 factors that can be considered um in in the process so it's not [32:57] exclusionary at all what specific analyses or procurement reviews or economic calculations has the department [33:08] conducted to evaluate whether a pla preference is uh makes you know are economically competitive [33:16] can you help me understand what background you have to make those determinations well we'll look at [33:23] um we'll try we'll ask for data to be submitted information to be submitted but we we isn't you know [33:30] this we want good good projects and projects that um we're not going to spend just a lot of money on to [33:36] spend money we want the deliverable um and does it make economic sense as well um and so we'll uh we'll [33:43] ask for information from uh from the project sponsor and then we'll analyze that and i'm not not to shock [33:51] anybody but sometimes people fudge information to us um and we have to go through and suss out the truth [33:58] of of the information that was submitted to make it a determination well i asked the question only because [34:03] uh we want to make sure that uh non-union states like my state of arkansas can remain competitive [34:11] and it's good to know that they're not going to be punished for having those those types of [34:17] prohibitions finally as you know i've championed funding to address the chronic shortage of safe [34:22] parking for american truckers our 27 bill made another installment in this priority the trucking industry [34:29] state dot's and local communities are watching closely to see how the department moves on these [34:33] grants this is not a single agency problem it crosses the federal highways infrastructure portfolio [34:41] and the federal motor carrier safety administration's safety and hours of service mission it's not just [34:47] a convenience issue tired drivers who cannot find a legal safe place to stop or a safety hazard and you [34:53] don't have to drive america's interstates particularly at sundown to understand where these truckers are [35:00] finding some relief they're on our exit ramps and entry ramps can you provide us with an update on the [35:08] implementation of this program and specifically when you anticipate the release of a nofo yeah so first [35:14] i appreciate the committee's work and making sure it was 200 million dollars for uh for truck parking and [35:20] you're right uh you go to uh on ramp or off ramp on any freeway at sundown we have trucks uh pulled [35:28] over they're looking for places to park sometimes spending upwards of an hour looking for a place to [35:33] park and it becomes a safety hazard and a safety risk for other drivers but also uh for um uh those [35:40] commercial drivers so i anticipate i believe it's either uh this week or the start of next week that nofo on [35:47] the 200 million uh will come out and if i i do think if the uh the money comes back for a second [35:54] round of of truck parking i do think there could be an opportunity that we could work on is there [35:59] is there a way we could expand the money that this body gives to have a public private partnership where [36:05] we bring in private capital to um truly expand and give us more uh parking across uh the country on our [36:13] on our freeways in our states our federal highways and the motor carriers working on a joint framework [36:19] on on this how these funds are going to be deployed well we've ost is uh putting out the the nofo and [36:27] we work with all uh all the modes and we'll together work through the best uh applications there's some [36:35] there's a there's a thought process on how we could do that and um how we should look at where we [36:40] do it is it sporadic or is it on you know several different routes we have another installment that's [36:45] in our bill that we marked up this morning and will be in front of the full committee in a couple [36:49] of weeks but i want to make sure that truck parking will continue to be a priority of your administration [36:54] and i think we're going to ask for a quick turn um off the nofo so we can make determinations and get [37:00] those dollars out relatively quickly i thank the gentleman thank you mr cliburn thank you very much mr [37:06] chairman mr secretary i've got a safety question that uh is a two-parter uh one involving manpower the [37:14] other uh methods um the first one is you know we've uh spent about 96 million dollars to um hire [37:23] new air traffic controllers and i understand that um uh there's been a sort of a new supercharged hiring [37:33] process uh that is uh being undertaken uh but it's been called to my attention that the uh natca uh the [37:45] air traffic controls union uh is not involved in this process at all uh could you explain why uh the [37:55] group representing uh the employed uh were not yeah was not brought into this that's a great question [38:03] thank you congressman for asking it um so just if you give me i'll try to be quick the historic level [38:11] of staffing up till 2024 was the 1.87 which is what we've gone back to right now um and it was bumped [38:21] up to a higher staffing level um for the last two years but historically that's the number that we've [38:27] determined is a safe staffing level um to operate the national airspace but because of the disagreement [38:33] between the faa that wanted the historic number and natca that wanted the the bigger number um you [38:41] all told me to go to the transportation transportation research board and have the transportation research [38:47] board independent nonpartisan look at this and tell us what's right what's the right staffing levels [38:53] and they did come back and they've said that the staffing level that we've come out with the historic [38:58] staffing level is the right level not the heightened one from from neck and i just by the way i do work very [39:03] well with natca and the team and i'm grateful for the controllers and have a wonderful relationship [39:08] with them well i i hope that that the relationship will continue because i do believe irrespective of [39:16] what one's feeling may be about organized labor when there is a legitimate group representing employees [39:25] uh i think uh irrespective of whether or not we follow their suggestions bringing them into the process [39:32] uh i think it's a good thing my other question on safety is this now i understand uh that um our commitment to [39:45] modernizing uh your efforts uh has been uh met with some uh skepticism about a fee that you talked about [39:57] charging uh in order to uh facilitate that modernization could you tell me a little bit about this fee and [40:06] oh no thank you that was someone had asked me a question um about how could we fund this so i would tell [40:13] you i the 12 and a half billion that you all gave me um i'm by the way that was a leap of faith that [40:19] was truly a leap of faith because this goes back to the next gen in early uh early 2000s we knew this [40:25] was a problem and you all gave billions of dollars and that you never got the deliverable and so that [40:31] you were seeing all the aviation incidents and you took a leap of faith on giving us that money i'm i'm [40:35] grateful for but that's not enough so we're doing the infrastructure i mentioned the the telecom and [40:40] the radios and the radars all the all all that's being done but the deliverable for the american [40:46] people the magic for the american people is going to be the software because i think people don't [40:50] want to be delayed they don't want to be canceled if it's a mechanical issue or it's weather like [40:54] we can't control that but we would have more uh more airplanes commercial general evital's drones [41:01] in the airspace and the software is a big part of it and i don't have them i keep asking for money [41:06] uh i haven't got it yet i'd love if you all want to give it to me um but if that wasn't the case [41:12] another option i'm just an idea factory over here if you want to charge a fee and put that on to you [41:18] know come in and and fund this um but but i'd prefer that you all just gave me the dollars and just [41:24] if i can make one of the clarification the way this works is that you're very strict in how i could [41:29] spend the 12.5 billion i don't have a lot of latitude i wish i had latitude to take some of the money [41:36] and move it towards software development i don't think we want to wait till the 12.5 billion is [41:42] deployed and we got a better infrastructure and then you're like well then let's take another [41:46] three years and start to develop the software like we should i think we could do it all together [41:50] and that's right have you given us a plan of how you would do this and how much it would cost [41:55] you i have i i think i did um i so i'm gonna ask for uh so i wanted another i originally i was at 31.5 [42:05] billion dollars you gave me 12.5 well in everyone here has a problem with a a tower in their in their [42:13] community there's everyone calls me about their towers because they're really old i took the tower [42:18] money out now and i'm asking for 10.2 billion i think you all are going to give me money for towers [42:24] in your own districts because everybody has a problem because it's really old but the 10.2 gives [42:29] us some money for the chicago um the the chicago tower and then gives us the money for um the software [42:36] that we're going to need now i'd happy to time has expired i i would welcome to sit down and or give [42:41] your team a call on what we want to do i'd like to know a little more about this fee sure thank you [42:48] mr cliburn mr mr cole uh thank you very much and again mr secretary as i said in my opening mark we [42:54] very much appreciate your focus on the mike monrone center and and getting a handle on this problem [42:59] with the air traffic controllers how many of them we have producing i know that over many years and [43:06] we've gotten on a high washout rate which in some ways is reassuring because it means the standards [43:13] are high and and they're tough to meet but i know you have a particular focus on trying to improve the [43:19] student graduation rate could you tell me a little bit about what you're doing and what kind of success [43:24] you're having in that regard so you you bring up a good point uh the the washout rate is about 30 [43:29] percent and you we want a washout rate we don't want everyone that gets into the academy to graduate [43:35] because you you need the best ones and the and the right ones uh 30 is too high um and so we've had [43:42] some unique a unique set of problems where we lost some students um last fall um and that's brought our [43:50] washout rate back up because they count as a washout um but what has been the the ad campaign to bring in [43:57] excited young people to be controllers uh you know coupled with the time frame we've truncated the time [44:04] frame that you can apply and until you get a seat in the academy it's 39 days it was pushing a year [44:11] before and by the way that was not an easy uh problem to grapple with probably one of the [44:16] most difficult problems to grapple with how do we truncate the time you know get the physicals get the [44:20] testing you know and get a spot in the academy um so that is still a work in progress but it um it [44:26] should be lower than 30 percent but we had some unique problems in the fall a couple of fall and i'm [44:33] sure you're aware of this uh recently we had the faa director mr bedford out there which was i think the [44:39] first time we've had a visit in seven or eight years really appreciated it appreciated the team [44:46] uh very very impressive uh group that you've assembled there um could you talk a little bit [44:52] about the importance when you're training of having literally direct trainers there with them not you [44:59] know not trying to do all of this over the uh over the internet makes a big difference to have real [45:05] instructors in a face-to-face relationship with students so just to be clear i did beat the [45:11] administrator to the academy i've been there early in my tenure so um and it's a remarkable facility um [45:17] and uh oklahoma city is the hub and they do an excellent job but you do want um hands-on skilled [45:25] training this is not something that you do uh over the internet uh we get experienced controllers um [45:32] experienced professors to come in and give great instruction to the young men and women at the [45:36] academy um and if by the way if anyone hasn't been to the academy you should actually go and see the [45:41] training facilities um in oklahoma city it's it's it's quite remarkable um and and one of the you know [45:48] this one of the issues that we have is the throughput through the academy and uh it's it's you need to [45:56] get the right the right professors in the right um former air traffic controllers in um so we can [46:03] move students through the system we've also offered students because if you get if you fall behind [46:09] you're just you're taken out and so we've offered uh tutoring services so if you fall a little bit [46:14] behind and you're you're an energetic smart young adult we can keep you in the program you gotta still [46:21] you gotta still meet the scores you still gotta meet the benchmarks but if you just need a little [46:26] extra help we're offering that to the young people uh who are there to get them you know to get them [46:32] through and that can be helpful on the washout rate just a little extra time that you can give to [46:36] someone can make a big difference for a great air traffic controller appreciate that i'm running up [46:40] in the end of my time uh but i would like to ask you to i know you know we've got the olympics coming in [46:46] 28. unusually oklahoma city is one actually a minor part of the site we're not los angeles but we have [46:53] softball and water sports and uh you've got a uh system of distributing the the monies we vote which [47:00] seems to be working well but could you sort of tell us where you're at in that process yes so you [47:06] you all sent uh a pot of money and i could i could uh walk through how that money is being spent but [47:15] all of all of the locations for the olympics are going to um receive money obviously los angeles is [47:23] going to get get a lot more uh this for transit specifically almost 90 million but if you want [47:28] oklahoma city or oklahoma is going to be 2.5 million dollars um and again the the less you have going [47:36] on with the olympics the less money you're going to get in transit most is going to be california and [47:40] they're getting the biggest not a complaint just uh wanted to flag it for you california might object [47:45] if we gave you as much as that thank you very much i yield back thank you mr laura thank you very much [47:54] mr chairman mr secretary i want to talk a little bit about rail investments in rail including amtrak [48:01] critical importance to the economy particularly to my constituents and those who live along the [48:06] northeast corridor and rely on the service to connect them with their schools with their jobs including [48:11] myself i take the uh i take amtrak twice a week um and love it so i know that the northeast corridor [48:18] rail line is a service uh it's a lifeline six trillion dollars uh to the economic region which [48:25] spans from 12 states from virginia to maine um the budget requests that we received from the departments [48:31] through omb in addition to that we've historically received a grant request directly from amtrak this year [48:37] the amtrak board of directors which you are a member has chosen not to submit its independent [48:43] funding request to the congress um i appreciate receiving the department's request your views on [48:48] this um having the separate request from amtrak in years past has been critical it helps the committee [48:55] uh to fully understand stand how best to provide the resources to meet amtrak's needs [49:00] and while uh uh the chair of the subcommittee and i may disagree on the overall t-hud bill that passed [49:06] out of the subcommittee this morning i want to say a thank you to chairman womack for including language [49:11] that will make it a requirement um for amtrak to submit a funding request in the future uh your budget [49:18] request mr secretary 2.1 billion dollars for amtrak it's a cut of 327 million from last year's funding [49:25] levels to what extent did the federal railroad administration consult amtrak when it developed [49:31] the 2.1 billion estimate for fiscal year 2027 well uh congresswoman uh it's good to see you uh if you [49:40] recall we started the ovarian uh cancer caucus together a warrior um on that issue and i think [49:48] america and those women who have ovarian cancer need someone like you to fight for them so thank you [49:53] uh for that and if it's if it's touched your life uh someone in your life you know how important it is [49:58] and this body needs to pay attention to it um so thank you for that uh so we we submit as you know [50:05] there's a back and forth that we have with the administration with omb um and there are submissions [50:10] that that that we make and and we um work together and and come up with um a strategy and a set of numbers [50:17] to submit to this body uh but i would join you i think that amtrak is important our ridership [50:23] is up we're dynamically pricing which i as as a business model is great as a rider it's not [50:28] great because my some of my prices go go up when i'm traveling um so with amtrak so in terms of the [50:36] 2.1 billion for fiscal 2020 amtrak amtrak weighs in on you know their viewpoint um and again we work [50:44] with there's a you know there's a lot of different components that go into putting this product [50:49] together to submit to you it's my understanding though and i just wanted to get um uh your request [50:56] is 327 below 2026 but the capital plan that amtrak has laid out calls for 2.4 billion in federal [51:04] appropriations which is what they say is necessary uh to continue passenger operator capital state of [51:12] good repair activities for 2027. um so i i've got some of uh a state of good repair work may go [51:21] unaddressed at at the lower level what are the implications if any if amtrak is funded at the [51:27] lower level well i think which is which is which is helpful northeast corridor people are people are [51:37] riding right that's great and by the way in connecticut we've made as i think you're aware a lot of uh [51:42] investments on rail um for for rail we've made a lot of investments there um but i think with the [51:51] ridership and the extra resources that are coming in i think that's how we see the bridge being met [51:56] um as we you know look at what what does the congress need to provide to amtrak and what can amtrak [52:02] do on their own because of the great success of amtrak in this environment and the ridership and [52:07] and the dynamic pricing well i i would just say look i i i'm going to look forward to hearing from an [52:15] independent amtrak as well in the future i appreciate that and and to working with the [52:20] chairman to fully understand what amtrak needs to support its rise i applaud you know the uh uh [52:27] you know the increased ridership etc uh because it is such a a vital and valuable economic engine [52:34] so uh and that you know we i'm i'm for uh continuing to invest in rail and building the progress that we [52:41] have could i ask could i mention one other thing on amtrak we've worked with the unions and we've [52:46] worked with uh other stakeholders we're and i'll i'd love to work with you as well when we get to that [52:51] point but maybe you've heard of this we're trying to look i don't look to europe all the time as a [52:56] model of how i want to do things but they do rail way better than we do their rail is exquisite and so [53:03] we want to take some lessons on how they've structured their rail and apply them here we're the only ones [53:10] that do rail this way and i think if we rethink the model how it's structured not privatized [53:16] i don't i will not know but i think we do a different structure it's going to be better for [53:20] states and i think we're going to get better purview into how the money is being spent and so i would [53:25] as we work through that um i would welcome your input and insight into what we're thinking about but [53:31] i think we i think we can do even better look forward to that thank you mr secretary thank you chairman [53:37] rogers thank you mr chairman mr secretary welcome home it's good to be home you had a great career [53:48] here and thank you mr chairman house and you're doing great work where you are you mentioned in your [53:53] opening remarks about uh that your job is to work the family work for the family well you're an expert in [54:05] in that field too those uh nine kids you and the missus i want to talk to you about two things that [54:14] matter enormously in my district the first is the appalachian development highway system program has [54:24] been a bipartisan commitment for over 50 years and remains unfinished the corridors that still [54:32] need to be built through some of the most economically isolated communities in america and completing [54:42] that system would be genuinely transformative as we've seen in parts of the area so far tell me where [54:50] adhs stands in the budget and whether the administration is seeing it through uh i should also [55:00] say i i i think i said former chairman it's like probably saying former marine mr chairman um i'll [55:08] let me take a look i uh i want to see where that's at um on where that is and i would just note that in [55:16] in your state you're right i know in south carolina there's a lot of projects big projects and the [55:22] population has changed throughout the country and how do we how do we look to those changes that can [55:26] accommodate the american people and make the investments in the right places so i'll follow up with you on that [55:30] project good thank you yes the second issue is emergency relief funds um eastern kentucky has been hit [55:41] terribly time and again with hundreds of roads and bridges destroyed we also know the relief program [55:52] has carried a significant national backlog at one point exceeding eight billion dollars which compounds as [56:02] more disasters take place my communities can't wait years for the federal process to catch up to the [56:12] damage on the ground that's there what is the department doing to expedite emergency relief [56:24] to states with outstanding disaster related projects well it the resources that you all give me i don't have a [56:34] lot of dollars there um on the emergency front i usually look to fema to be somewhat helpful they [56:40] have a way bigger pot of money for us but it is looking to um those areas that have been hit hard by [56:47] disaster and looking how we can apply grant money to those to those hard-hit areas again american citizens [56:55] that need the help of their government and their federal dot um to make the critical investment so [57:01] um if you want to talk further about what the needs are uh in eastern kentucky uh i'm i'm happy to do [57:09] that and i'm not sure if there's if where the application process is um with from the state and [57:14] the state dot um but i'll i'll get briefed up and i can give you a call good thank you good luck thank you [57:27] miss Watson Coleman thank you very much thank you mr secretary for your kind words about my retirement [57:35] um and thank you for being here um earlier this week you were asked by senator gillibrand about the [57:43] gateway tunnel project um and so this time you're going to hear from the other side of the hudson [57:50] about it uh your department notified the development the gateway development corporation commission i'm [57:57] sorry that it was reviewing the tunnel projects for civil rights violations and on february the 9th the [58:03] southern district of new york put an injunction so that the federal funds would continue to flow [58:09] could you first of all do you appreciate how important this gateway project is do you support it [58:18] so first i will say congratulations uh not just service in the house but a long uh line of decades [58:25] of government service so thank you and i as i mentioned you're going to in an odd way you're going [58:30] to miss it um you're going to miss all the fights and the bickering and you're not going to take all my [58:34] time i'm not saying nice things to me but i will tell you well you deserve nice things to be said [58:42] yeah this is as i mentioned to the senator this is the largest project in the western hemisphere it's so [58:48] vitally important yeah yeah you have you have no argument for me what what we we we have to also follow [58:53] the law and the and um that's what the push was on the project and yeah i want to ask about that [59:00] specifically what is the status of the civil rights uh review what were the reasons that it was even an [59:10] issue well it was there there was three projects and there was a lot of press and commentary about how [59:19] they were going through race-based contracting and dbe is is important and you know disadvantaged [59:25] businesses and and looking at that but the supreme court said you this one factor can be sex but that [59:34] can't be the only factor and that's what we found was though they said they'll change the way they [59:40] contract and so that's it's still it's money's flowing to the project right now but um and they've [59:46] agreed like no we can't do it that way and we won't do it that way what what is the status of the review [59:51] right now uh well we so so there there's still pending litigation right now and it's based on that [1:00:00] review and there's a couple factors checked so i spent a good part part of my career in civil rights [1:00:10] enforcement yes the whole development of um recognizing remediating the impact of prior [1:00:20] discrimination which is a legitimate responsibility of government when putting out taxpayers [1:00:26] money can you tell me when you think that this review will be done and any barriers that exist or any [1:00:35] concerns that raise can be um addressed so i would i'll tell you that this is more of a a litigation [1:00:43] issue than now you know probably where we're at with the in the process of the review the the the [1:00:48] properative at this point and we're working through the finer details so can i thank you but not long [1:00:57] as the uh secretary then could i ask you for a commitment through this because someone gets [1:01:07] someone high up gets mad because things aren't moving in the direction that they'd like them to [1:01:12] move or what or whatnot that we recognize we got to get this done this is historic it's a it's a very [1:01:18] big project so um versus something on foreseeable of course i'm going to move forward with the project [1:01:25] so um the ranking member of our committee basically took my thunder was because i obviously if i'm [1:01:34] going to talk about the gateway time i'm going to talk about amtrak that goes through it all the time [1:01:39] because i do have some information i mean there over 200 million passengers travel each year by [1:01:45] approximately 2100 a day and this includes an average of 122 000 riders each and every day sorry my [1:01:55] question is when we are when we are reducing the funding towards uh amtrak that obviously has a [1:02:05] lot of outstanding needs with so many people in it running you know need to have of this um trains in [1:02:17] good repair and systems in good repair so if we're taking this money away from them are you anticipating [1:02:25] replacing that loss to amtrak from another account and if so what might that be so i'm committed to [1:02:34] making sure amtrak functions and functions well and serves people and if i could just underscore this [1:02:40] point yesterday we announced we are going to rebuild penn station now if if gateway doesn't happen [1:02:48] does it make sense to do penn station probably not and a lot of good work to be done but it's trains [1:02:57] and we are fully engaged going through that process and the announcement you know came out yesterday so [1:03:02] i do care about uh uh the service that's provided and i'm making investments to make sure that um along [1:03:10] the people who um who ride i appreciate that um i have two really quick questions number one is you have [1:03:20] any idea why amtrak refused or did did not put in a request i do i could double check that i'm not sure [1:03:30] i could my my last little tiny question has to do with the safety issues that um the secretary [1:03:37] he's so generous only because only because you're retiring and and you don't have to deal with me [1:03:42] anymore and all those great things that were said about you this morning in our markup yeah are you a [1:03:50] member of the board and i have a i have a i have a designate on the board yes but i don't i don't know why [1:03:56] they didn't well i have my my uh uh uh i mean i'm curious as to s2 sits on the board and who by the [1:04:03] way uh is one who actually loves amtrak a lot and cares about it and listen you're not good we're [1:04:09] going to be in a good place okay um i'm going to i'm going to ask my colleague to ask that other [1:04:15] question that little tiny question i had you're you're the safety for licenses licensing of commercial [1:04:24] trucks you refer to it as a problem that we're having and you kept saying that you kept implying [1:04:30] that it were that it was non-american folks that were responsible for this they're the only ones and [1:04:40] what percentage of it are immigrants that are very quickly very quickly we got to move on i'll provide [1:04:48] data but as a percentage um i think we're seeing a lot of these crashes but i'll i'll look at the data [1:04:53] and send it over to you thank you ms watching coleman sheriff it was two minutes over chairman [1:05:03] secretary delphi it's great to see you again in uh high school students to attend our military academies [1:05:13] and um you meet some of the best and brightest uh of our children and um we you know particularly as a [1:05:24] coastal community representative uh not only is annapolis very in process but also i push very [1:05:33] heavily on the uh uh the uh u.s merchant marine academy which i was really glad to hear you bring [1:05:41] that up because i want to focus uh my questioning around our maritime industry and the needs there [1:05:49] um and and having seen your frequent visits to the merchant marine academy campus [1:05:55] it's clear to me that you an academy uh but you mentioned even in your opening remarks and i was [1:06:05] glad to hear that because i know what a focus you're putting on that and you know that uh that [1:06:15] challenge to look at uh the merchant marine academy in the in the really desperate needs there [1:06:24] from a facility standpoint modernization and i know there's an academy modernization [1:06:35] plan and uh if if you could talk just a little bit about that and how you think this committee [1:06:44] i i want this subcommittee to hear as it exists now and where you think it should be going [1:06:53] congressman i appreciate the question um i again i don't mean to keep calling on mr clavern but he [1:06:59] mentioned that the the rating on our roads is a c into the merchant marine academy are an f [1:07:06] it is it's deplorable the way these kids are are are living they didn't have works they're reading off [1:07:14] paper plates and plastic forks and so one of the problems that the committee had and i think this is [1:07:21] fair is invested and spent and the point you made to me was hey why are we going to give you more money [1:07:30] if you can't spend the money they've already given you and i think that's a fair point from this body [1:07:35] we have hired the um the army corps plan um but one of the issues is that um there's so much there's so [1:07:48] much work just to keep it operational and i mean keeping buildings from to that um so i would say to [1:07:58] the tune of i mean if if this is the proposal and it's going to come in at you know uh for capital [1:08:04] improvement 70 million uh shut it down send the kids home and i don't want you to do that i i'm i [1:08:12] don't want sometimes we can forget about shipping well today we're not we see how important shipping [1:08:20] is it is i mean almost all our products move on ships and do we want to have american sailors sail [1:08:26] those ships if we come into times of conflict these are the these are the men and women who sail [1:08:31] those ships to to back up our military there are critical are you know but we can't win this i i if we did [1:08:41] it really billion dollars um it's if we take a long time it's gonna be three billion dollars but [1:08:49] every academy is is getting you know 600 million for this some are getting brand new stadiums and [1:08:54] these kids don't have hot water the young men and women come they're going to graduate on the on the [1:09:03] 20th or 22nd of june come and see them and you'll say that we shouldn't we should not see the maritime [1:09:13] industry to some foreign country it should be ours we were the best and we should be the best in the [1:09:18] future amen thank you and and another issue here and that is our u.s maritime line uh when i look at [1:09:37] the two recent uh jones act waivers these days that our uh u.s flag vessels are not being utilized when [1:09:51] they're available they're asked for by the secretary of defense that precludes uh uh any even look for [1:10:04] jones if the waiver is under the 501b that's done by the department of homeland security and then there's [1:10:17] a look mark the jones act vessel available they get that call as opposed to a foreign uh flag vessel can can [1:10:29] can you talk about the importance of supporting our our our supply chain integrity and resiliency [1:10:39] and the impact that these waivers are having on that in a homeland together we were advised at the [1:10:48] at the end that this was going to happen but we were not consulted um but if if we can figure out [1:10:54] how we get cargo on ships that's a some work we can all do together because i think we want to build [1:11:03] ships in america but if you think this is like cabotage so we don't let a foreign carrier fly into the [1:11:10] u.s pick up passengers in new york and then fly to california we prohibit that you can't do it and [1:11:16] it's the same philosophy in maritime right we you can come in but you can't sail around our ports and i [1:11:23] think uh if we didn't have um and so uh this is a unique time and um we'll get through this time and i don't [1:11:33] see long-term waivers but in this moment um i thought again war has different and probably better [1:11:41] information on what i'm not going to comment on on the decision they had to make but thank you for [1:11:48] bringing that up sorry mr chairman i yield back thank you and for the record both sides are now even [1:11:53] on time on time miss torres maybe not for long uh secretary duffy thank you so much for being here [1:12:03] um today i i do appreciate you being here uh the city of uh claremont um they the city of claremont was [1:12:13] deemed uh ineligible for a fiscal year 2025 safe streets for all grant uh because missed an email um [1:12:27] missy missed an email missed an email but um secretary mistakes happen i rise for an in-house error [1:12:38] or be forced to pay thousands more in filing for a new application my with the city of claremont they [1:12:51] are asking for their fiscal year 25 application to be considered in fiscal year 26 without having to [1:12:59] reapply if they have to reapply then they are going to have to cover the that they spent in the original [1:13:07] application i have an email here i don't want to put it to the record i'm happy to give it was missed [1:13:15] um by one of the staff i i would i would welcome that and if if that ever happens in the future and [1:13:20] you want to text me to i and so i can work on remedying that okay more quickly i would welcome a text [1:13:26] from you to say let's make this right right now not i i really appreciate that in your openness to [1:13:35] discuss all of these different issues offline uh with us i will have i represent a freight corridor [1:13:44] um the la including priorities for the la 28 games uh one of those is going to take place literally [1:13:52] like 20 seconds from my front door so i invite you to come and spend some time in in my district [1:13:58] during that time and bring that your house maybe or much has been said already in other committees [1:14:07] that i i don't want to talk about in that way about the road trip um i want to do i do want to say [1:14:15] personally that it it it warmed my heart um it brought to me a lot of memories of my chat [1:14:23] uaw household and being able to afford to take camping trips in the summer in the winter a road [1:14:35] trip is a great way to show off our beautiful national parks as we especially as we celebrate [1:14:44] it's unfortunate that president trump is making road trips unaffordable because of his illegal war in iran [1:14:51] the tariffs and a complete disregard for the closest my the families that i represent will get to seeing [1:15:02] the beautiful sites is hopefully they'll watch on youtube because i think it was beautiful um your [1:15:13] trip was filmed over the course of seven months 24 days between september 2025 and may 2026. um i want [1:15:22] to submit chairman uh for the record this article which states that during the 43-day republican [1:15:27] government shutdown um we had air traffic controller high absences um three of those uh days of that [1:15:39] trip um you know secretary was on that trip um between can i put this to the record without objection [1:15:48] thank you um secretary duffy between 20 september 2025 and may 2020 aviation accident database [1:15:59] uh states that there were over 900 aviation accidents 167 of them fatal we have major dlt issues that [1:16:10] you've outlined in your opening statement and while i also want to celebrate the 250th birthday we have a [1:16:17] lot of urgent needs um you have a lot on your plate i don't envy the work that you have on your plate [1:16:27] uh didn't affect your job performance uh being the secretary of transportation [1:16:31] um my colleagues on the other side of the aisle um were convulsing when the former secretary of [1:16:40] transportation to um parental leave when his twins um were unfortunately ill and hospitalized so [1:16:50] i i i want you to explain how did you manage um that remote work um is there anything that you can [1:17:03] have been suggesting to be allowed to do some of that work i'm gonna i'm gonna allow him to answer the [1:17:10] question i just want to remind the subcommittee here that we have a five minute rule for a reason [1:17:15] and if you're going to spend most of your time editorializing that's your call but uh to be [1:17:23] respectful of everybody else's time listen i appreciate the kind question i don't want this to be a [1:17:31] negative thing i want you to talk about let him answer working let him answer i don't take it i [1:17:38] appreciate the question actually was done to celebrate as you mentioned america too fast away [1:17:48] a couple years ago um my dad wouldn't come with us but my mom would drive us from wisconsin to arizona [1:17:54] or wisconsin to california wisconsin to florida some of the finest memories i had with her and as she [1:18:00] talked to her about the road trips i've done those with my own kids and i think it's a great way [1:18:07] on people to come to california as well so to incentivize people to see their country [1:18:14] i think is a beautiful thing and i'm not yeah i know you're not saying they shouldn't but um [1:18:19] and it's one thing that 50th birthday but also the beauty of our country that brings us together [1:18:27] and so this was run through the career ethics that worked for me in the last minute uh this makes [1:18:35] sense it was in partnership um with a uh with a non-profit um it's uh 250 um and this body has told me [1:18:48] that uh one of my jobs is to promote travel and tourism i didn't make any money i didn't get i [1:18:56] don't get anything i did it with my my children but how did you manage that to film it and so to [1:19:01] that the shutdown i think between everybody here um i was sick of seeing myself at airports all over [1:19:12] this country i was everywhere um thank you thank you mr secretary i did we appreciate we appreciate [1:19:17] that i did it in a way we appreciate that i'm going to reclaim the time here okay just getting [1:19:22] going mr chairman thank you chairman i want our members heed the gavel heed the gavel mr zinke well [1:19:29] thank you mr chairman miss i wish you would have went to montana during your trip i'm i'm glad actually [1:19:37] you were on the front line looking at the roads maybe i did go to montana just got to tune in let's [1:19:45] talk about montana really really really quick uh you're you're from wisconsin from montana you know [1:19:50] it's rural out there and a lot of it is our essential air service i i see in the budget on page 23 [1:19:58] your recommendation is identify a cut of three um you know montana way out there [1:20:09] some of us regulatory uh some of these security systems are adding a lot of cost [1:20:13] uh and we're not chicago uh we're calispell or we're butte montana and somebody but they don't [1:20:23] make a lot of sense out there and on the cut we would just want to make sure and have your commitment [1:20:28] that you'll you'll look at those and make sure we don't cut services but cut this money was spent [1:20:37] but the the services i think are essential so if i could have your commitment you'll take a look at that [1:20:42] with us and make sure we don't cut the services uh behind the eas program don't want to cut services [1:20:48] i had es eas uh airports in my district and i would just you as as we didn't have funding [1:20:55] for eas during the shutdown the the president was i was in constant contact with him we found resources [1:21:02] to keep eas uh operational so we didn't lose service to the rural parts of america during that [1:21:08] shutdown the 43 days so that i think that underscores the commitment that i have with [1:21:13] the president to provide for the rural parts of the country as american interest or american indians [1:21:23] and tribal centric but those those smaller communities you know serve our our reservations [1:21:28] and our indian nations as well let's turn really quick to drones love uh are we are we going to give [1:21:34] the drones 500 feet below are we still going to require them to have pilot's license or are we going to [1:21:40] have europe run roughshod over us on their ability to fly drones and technology where is the drone [1:21:47] program in your assessment and and and how can we move forward safely that's that's a fantastic [1:21:53] question and just to take one of your points of course i said it i don't want i don't i don't want [1:21:58] somewhere else uh to um dominate the drone industry um a lot of a lot of information can come off [1:22:07] of a drone uh for those who may not like us so much we want uh american drone dominance and so we have [1:22:13] put out rules that allow it easier for um a lot of these manufacturers and service providers um to [1:22:21] navigate in the nas um and it's it's it but it does go to the point that we are going to have a more [1:22:27] complicated airspace with its with drones and with evitals um and how we manage that becomes critical [1:22:34] and and what kind of a beacon or squawk does each of these have um is is critical to to safety but [1:22:41] also making sure that we can continue to innovate in the country i think we're going to all see [1:22:45] not in new york not in dc but we're going to see uh drone deliveries um of far more frequently it's [1:22:52] happening in a lot of cities um but um i think it's going to happen uh more frequently around the country [1:22:58] and and does the department have an articulated plan on milestones and timelines for integration [1:23:04] into the nas we did we put we put out um a proposal and i can send that over to you as well and by the [1:23:10] way you know we manage we're trying to manage there's the commercial side of it there's also as [1:23:15] you know this all too well there's a military side of drones as well and trying to marry those two [1:23:19] things together on the national security front but also allowing the commercial side of the innovation [1:23:24] to happen um is what we're working with war on right now to make sure we can do both i think [1:23:29] we're both hogging the same sheet we want to make sure we dominate drones with some of it is precision [1:23:33] farming wildlife management all those things pipeline done more efficiently and i appreciate your work [1:23:39] on it and with that uh the time i yield back thank you mr espiont thank you mr chairman secretary [1:23:48] it's been about a year since you were last year we were talking about air traffic controllers back then [1:23:54] um i speak to the controllers often and they're really unsung heroes and deserve our full support [1:24:03] uh i wanted to ask you uh that the house t hud bill provides resources that should lead to [1:24:10] the hiring of an additional 2300 controllers that target number is not necessarily easy to obtain [1:24:18] i know that we are investing in in the academy but every candidate cannot go up and down to [1:24:24] oklahoma anybody from oklahoma here but i'm proud of my work uh to design and establish the charles b [1:24:33] wrangle infrastructure workforce initiative a city college in new york which brings young talent from [1:24:40] harlem the bronx and the heights into the trays and onto jobs like gateway second avenue and subways [1:24:47] it had more than a thousand enrollees last year um i want to know if if there's room for this type of [1:24:53] initiatives to uh also build the capacity for atc candidates and are you willing to work with us [1:25:00] we do have schools that we have a program where they can be trained in and if you have a a college [1:25:06] or a school that would like to um talk to us about how they could apply and make that happen i would be [1:25:12] uh be happy to do that can i just make one other point on the controllers we it one part is getting the [1:25:16] controllers into the academy and that's important getting the right students into the academy we're we [1:25:22] we didn't think i've told you this but we are we are paying uh controllers who are of the age where [1:25:27] they can retire they're the most experienced controllers that we have and and i want them to [1:25:32] stay so i we've offered them a 20 up front cash bonus for every year they'll stay i mean again new [1:25:39] controllers are great but they got to get trained up if you have a controller that you already have the [1:25:43] expertise we don't want to lose them and i've had i think at least 600 controllers have taken us up on [1:25:48] that and so we're trying to think of it through through every different lens of keeping more in [1:25:54] and happy to work with you on on the school that could bring more kids from harlem into air traffic [1:25:58] control thank you thank you so much now local hiring our aspirations as members of congress and [1:26:05] representing our districts is that some of these projects like gateway second avenue subway my district [1:26:11] and of course uh penn station which was announced uh this week uh that we have local hiring that [1:26:18] people from our communities our constituencies get those opportunities are you guys how are you guys [1:26:25] committed to local hiring um i gotta look at the the policies the nofos and the proposals um i think [1:26:33] it's hard for a community when uh to your point you bring in an outside workforce some from some far [1:26:39] out place instead of not just giving jobs but giving training to people in your community where the [1:26:44] projects happen i think that's always best um but the requirement on local hiring i'm not [1:26:49] sure that i have that um but i would be happy to talk to you about it and maybe we can modify how [1:26:54] we do the nofos because i think many of this project in my case second avenue subway we don't [1:26:58] want it just to be three subway stops we want it to be an economic engine for the community move [1:27:04] forward together with with that initiative 100 and i look forward to working with you finally uh [1:27:09] mr secretary uh secret dhs secretary mark ray mullen just told uh travel executives that he's serious about [1:27:17] curving international flights to u.s airports in cities with sanctuary policies which obviously [1:27:26] could force airlines to reroute and inflict economic pain on travelers what's your position on that well [1:27:33] i'm not familiar with the statement from um from the secretary uh listen i i view i view what i do [1:27:41] through the lens of america and i think all of you could attest that that's the way i have i've run this [1:27:47] department because again you can't say i can't separate your district from my hometown because we [1:27:52] all travel through each other's districts so um i'd like to take a look at his his comments and get the [1:27:59] context and not even ask him a question of what he meant by that but we want we have people from around [1:28:03] the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places we [1:28:07] shouldn't down we shouldn't shut down air travel in a in a state that doesn't agree with our politics [1:28:11] it's again because by the way that role will be reversed right we're going to switch well we all [1:28:16] switch you all switch spots at one point hopefully not too soon mr chairman well i'll take that as an [1:28:23] answer and i'll yield back thank you thank you mr secretary thank you mr joyce thank you mr chairman um it's always a [1:28:35] pleasure to see you secretary good to see you uh first question i think i asked you last time you're [1:28:41] going to look into it i'm going to bring it up again just to refresh your recollection but it involves [1:28:46] the port infrastructure development program and they have substantial investments in your ports [1:28:53] nationwide uh but since fiscal year 2019 the funding of the great lakes despite playing a critical role [1:29:00] obviously in domestic manufacturing energy transportation strategic material movement [1:29:05] and supply chain resilience these ports are essential economic and national security assets [1:29:10] and the continued investment and you know will help us for our long-term competitiveness and the [1:29:15] livelihood of the region as the department looks ahead to future pitip i shortened that pitip [1:29:21] awards and broader infrastructure investments how can dot better position great lake ports to compete for [1:29:27] federal funding opportunities and additionally what opportunities do you see in which we could [1:29:32] expand federal investment in the great lakes and inland systems to strengthen domestic supply change [1:29:37] economic resilience and long-term regional competitiveness it'd be helpful to have a secretary who [1:29:41] actually understood the great lakes maybe lived on the great lakes um was near the great lakes um that's why [1:29:48] you got that one i'm from wisconsin and i i i lived actually in uh ashland wisconsin rose the prosecutor [1:29:55] there it's by the way it's beautiful um but i i i think um there's a lot there's so many needs [1:30:02] and i think it's it's a competition between where are the biggest needs where's the biggest bang for the buck [1:30:08] um but i will put some attention on to the great lakes uh more so uh than i've been able to at this point [1:30:14] because we're trying to get some of these um other projects out but i will maybe we can work together [1:30:20] on kind of where is it where is where where do we get the the biggest um bang for the dollars we put [1:30:25] in but we can't forget the great lakes it's a it's a it's a it's a incredibly important artery [1:30:30] um that um is is beautiful and important um for this country thank you we just want to be competitive [1:30:36] in the grant aware uh announcements and if you you know you can't get to it i'm going to sick marcy [1:30:42] captor on you and marcy is a a storm when it comes to these things it's great another question i have [1:30:48] for you is in the wake of the east palestine derailment real safety and system uh resilience [1:30:53] remain a major focus for communities surrounding my my district and for congress as a whole one area [1:31:00] has received less attention in this conversation is the software systems railroads use to dispatch [1:31:04] and route trains through there in 2024 the fra stated there are currently no regulations supporting [1:31:11] the oversight of train dispatching software these computer-aided these dispatch systems provide [1:31:16] rail operators with real-time information on the trail on train locations track occupancy and such [1:31:22] given the rail industry's growing reliance on these technologies how is the department and the [1:31:26] fra evaluating safety and resiliency of train dispatching software today in the software um i don't [1:31:33] have an answer for you right now but i will take a look at that and i could uh circle back you [1:31:38] back to you with uh with fra but you know rail safety and we saw with east palestine how how tragic [1:31:44] that was in the long-term implications and one of the things i think that we do actually very well [1:31:49] whether it's in you know whatever our mode of transportation we're talking about when when bad [1:31:53] things happen and we we don't want that because we're safety driven but we actually learn from [1:31:59] what's happened and try to uh improve our systems um so we don't make the same mistakes over and over [1:32:05] again we continue to get safer with better policy and better equipment well you know this is one of the [1:32:10] things that's being bent heard about now and downstairs in the t and i hearing but should [1:32:14] additional federal standards oversight reporting mechanisms be considered by the department or [1:32:19] congress to help prevent widespread operational disruptions and strengthen rail safety oh listen [1:32:24] i think there's a lot that can be done in this body uh when you look at rail safety um and there's [1:32:29] the rail safety act i know which is being considered uh right now is it downstairs is this where this is [1:32:34] happening i i know the financial services uh uh uh room is but yeah i know that's being uh that's [1:32:40] being considered right now but there's a lot we can do to continue to drive safety and uh it's it's one [1:32:45] of the rail is one of these things that you can forget about if you if you um if you don't uh work in [1:32:52] it or you don't have rail close to you but it's a it's critical whether it's shipping or rail the country [1:32:58] doesn't work um uh without these uh important modes of transportation so um i'm interested to see what [1:33:05] the the committee does and um how they consider the rail safety act but a lot of good things in [1:33:10] there certainly appreciate it thank you keep up the great work i yield back thank you mr quigley [1:33:14] thank you chairman mr secretary let's have a deal lightning round three quick questions three quick [1:33:19] answers then we're done all big yeah i'll write you a note okay but you talk about big bang for your buck [1:33:26] o'hare busiest airport yep um most flights transfer through there you mentioned the tower there yep [1:33:34] because that one tower is so understaffed we got a runway that's barely used and it's brand new how [1:33:40] close are we to addressing that so first i i can be kind of quick and not really quick because [1:33:47] you're right it's if you've been up in the tower i mean the airport is massive and how that airport [1:33:51] functions is a testament to the great controllers that we have um but i do in the request that i'm [1:33:57] going to make i can you have three towers um i do think that if we get a new tower um and we get better [1:34:04] visibility i think you're going to get better performance out of out of the airport and again [1:34:08] as a wisconsin guy from real wisconsin it's one of the main arteries that we travel through if you want [1:34:12] to go see a packer game you've got to go through o'hare so that's fine but you we respect this so we can [1:34:18] finish we didn't get to the bears this last year which was challenging for us it's been a long time [1:34:23] you i'm with you but we just got to get staff uh the red line yes extension and it's hard for [1:34:32] chicagoans not to see that as some degree of vindictiveness of holding it back and it drives up [1:34:37] costs and it puts risk but just put this in perspective big bang for your buck amtrak 34 million [1:34:43] rides riders a year chicago transit authority 338 million it means the world to [1:34:52] the southland extend that and these delays make it more and more expensive can we get through this [1:34:58] and not have to have a court order to get the money continually going through there to extend [1:35:03] and vindictive not i'm i've without even you asking me i will tell everyone you did ask me [1:35:09] but listen i'm looking at o'hare i i haven't had any issue with chicago but it was it's not how they [1:35:16] were how they were contracting and we're in a good place now money's going um flowing to the project [1:35:21] what i would ask you i think we do all have to work together we do have to drive better safety [1:35:25] we do need better policies in place so riders are are safe and i think that's just good government [1:35:30] you'll get even more riders on your system let me just stop you for a second yeah this week i met [1:35:34] with three bus driver three bus drivers who had been involved in crime scenes and they were victims of [1:35:41] this and we talked about what cta can do better so i acknowledge that but you don't help when you cut [1:35:49] money instead let's talk about changes in policies but can you help us get more security you know it's [1:35:56] a lot easier to meet in the middle where we don't all yell at each other 100 like 100 so let's let's [1:36:01] keep talking on just on that one if i could just quickly i i don't want to be the one that cares the [1:36:06] most about i think you know locally if there's a lot of care if you if you if we can talk on a plan [1:36:11] on what you'll do on safety and then what you're going to need me to come on the back end and help you [1:36:15] with i'm i'm all in i don't i don't want to fight on anything below we're actually merging metro pace [1:36:21] cta functions and you know we'll get there and they're going to have a security force so that's [1:36:26] part of me in the middle to keep us on track the interchange everything being biggest and best best [1:36:31] there interstate 294 and interstates 290 88 this matters to the whole country because all the freight [1:36:38] runs through this uh largest freight corridor in the united states uh and obviously the improvements [1:36:46] that are necessary there uh this funding has not been obligated yet and the delays are impacting idot's [1:36:54] ability to move forward with phase two of the project so uh for my friends in indiana and ohio [1:37:01] and iowa and wisconsin this is where this is where everybody goes through so if you don't have it now if [1:37:08] you could get back to us what what was what was that again what's the problem what is the interchange [1:37:13] of interstate 294 and interstates 290 88 in the chicago region the most congested freight interchange [1:37:20] in the united states according to the american transport research institute idot was awarded 95.6 [1:37:27] federal mega contract in 2024 for the uh interchange project okay i have a list of all the look into that [1:37:35] i will because i have all the list of of of grants that um have not gone yet okay and i don't have [1:37:40] that one on so i'd i'd welcome very good that follow-up let us know and we return the time we'll [1:37:45] work through team that was rapid fire thank you mr strong thank you chairman womack uh ranking member [1:37:52] cliburn uh mr secretary i congratulate you uh i noticed we had chairman uh cole here chairman rogers [1:38:00] ranking member delora i mean you bring all the heavyweights in here everybody likes to see the secretary of [1:38:05] transportation and i think everybody's been uh very good on this dice i think we ought to all get extra [1:38:11] uh project for each one of us but uh that's just my opinion secretary duffy uh thank you for being here [1:38:16] today it's uh good to see you again also glad to see uh members of your staff that have joined us [1:38:22] today i know it's a hard job what they do i appreciate your commitment to the american people in [1:38:26] making the effort to see america's transportation industry firsthand meeting with civil servants and [1:38:32] specialists to keep this country running i want to um i would be proud to host you in rocket city usa [1:38:40] alabama's fifth congressional district feel free to bring the wife and kids we'll take you to space [1:38:45] camp and the u.s space and rocket center and i know you'll have a great time there you start looking [1:38:50] at the district uh the work building up to our nation's infrastructure modernization and aviation [1:38:55] systems and ensuring federal dollars uh deliver real results for taxpayers my district in north [1:39:01] alabama is home to redstone arsenal where more than 45 000 people commute through the the gates [1:39:07] every day making it the single largest employment site in the state of alabama secretary duffy before [1:39:14] thousands of redstone civil servants contractors and service members can get on this base to carry out [1:39:20] those critical missions many face severe traffic congestion and infrastructure constraints [1:39:26] surrounding the installation these transportation bottlenecks [1:39:29] do more than create computer frustration they affect operational efficiency and create vulnerability [1:39:35] around facilities essential to our national security my district has seen firsthand how [1:39:41] transportation investments directly affect economic growth innovation and national security i'd like [1:39:47] to thank chairman womack for including 350 million in the build grant funding for direct investment [1:39:53] in high growth areas including the huntsville metropolitan area i served 26 years in local government uh and i'm just [1:40:02] telling you i saw firsthand what these grants can do in local government uh serving as the chairman of the [1:40:07] madison county commission at that time the third largest county in the state of alabama and now the second [1:40:12] largest county as the department evaluates build discretionary grant applications for project [1:40:18] projects like road widening congestion relief and capacity improvements how will you implement target [1:40:24] investments in high growth areas like huntsville and are you taking into account factors such as [1:40:30] proximity to key national security assets and high growth areas so first off i had i had nasa for a great [1:40:37] four months and i was going to go to take my kids to space camp and i never did probably one of my regrets and i could [1:40:42] have come down and seen um your your district i think um i mentioned this before but the the country's [1:40:48] changing and we have to try to meet the needs of the the growth areas and um and i'd like to come down [1:40:55] because nothing um you don't get the same perspective when you talk about it versus when you actually come [1:41:00] and see it but i have heard the stories about the congestion um that you have in your district um and how [1:41:06] challenging it is and uh men and women are who are providing great service to our country are having [1:41:11] challenges uh getting to and from work um and but that's that's we don't have and then you don't [1:41:17] give me an endless amount of money and so uh uh figuring out what the right priorities are and what those [1:41:24] bottlenecks are is what we work through um and um we're trying to use public private partnerships for [1:41:31] some of them where it can work to to maximize our dollars or our loan capacity uh to to build more [1:41:37] can i make can i make one pitch with i know you have a minute left but we if there's a way that [1:41:42] we can all work together to everyone has projects that they want done if we could permit them faster [1:41:48] we're going to spend less money and that doesn't mean permit just say yes there might be a there might [1:41:53] be issues in with an environmental review that we just don't do a project but they can't take four or [1:41:58] five and if we can do that better we can build so much more when 40 of a project can go to the permitting [1:42:05] process versus turning dirt i can get so much more done um and that's a bipartisan thing we have to [1:42:11] do together and i hope we we would and still be responsive to the environment but also have the [1:42:16] money to build in all these places which i think is important i totally agree and another thing that i [1:42:21] think that uh should be taken into account the states and local government need to get skin in the [1:42:26] ball game if it's a number one priority in their area they've got to find a way to bring dollars to [1:42:31] the table and i think that ought to be given uh consideration when you do it uh mr chairman [1:42:36] i yield back thank you that's always helpful when when the states will give some money put some skin [1:42:41] in the game it's always helpful for us mr angular thank you chairman womack and ranking member cliburn [1:42:47] and thank you mr secretary for being back here before us today mr secretary i was disappointed to see [1:42:53] the fy 27 pbr lack of critical funding for the la olympic and paralympic games which will be held [1:43:00] uh in southern california where mrs torres and i represent president trump touted the games at the [1:43:06] state of the union this year and don't worry i stood up and clapped uh when he mentioned it i know you [1:43:12] guys thank you for that i know you guys monitor that sometimes uh so you can roll the tape i had a decent [1:43:17] seat uh and you yourself have called these america's games uh yet the budget request doesn't reflect that [1:43:23] enthusiasm for historical context a republican controlled congress provided 2.1 billion dollars [1:43:30] in inflation adjusted numbers for the 2002 salt lake city winter games while i was glad to see the t hud [1:43:37] bill we marked up this morning included 875 million dollars for la28 thank you chairman womack it's an [1:43:45] improvement from last year uh despite the offset that we have concerns about it still falls short of [1:43:50] what's needed to showcase our country on the world stage uh mr strong talked about local uh impact and [1:43:58] local skin in the game uh the funding uh that we have proposed uh pales in comparison to the 17 billion [1:44:05] dollars our regional stakeholders have already invested in their own funds uh so we have that skin [1:44:12] in the game i wanted to ask a few specific questions first will you and the administration commit to [1:44:18] supporting la28 with the similar federal backing that u.s hosted games have received in the past [1:44:24] so obviously every community is different and all the needs are different but to your question i think [1:44:30] is do you are you going to lean in and support the olympics in la and the answer to that is yes i was [1:44:35] actually you know they're in 28 right you know they're coming up okay coming up and i know that the the [1:44:39] the the the group from la was here today and wanted to meet um and our team meets quite a bit with them [1:44:45] i'm here with you so i didn't meet with them but uh yeah no i i we want to listen this is not la it is [1:44:51] but it's america like we're showcasing america in um and i think this is the point you're making as well [1:44:56] beyond the security component of the olympics which is the biggest part of it the second biggest thing [1:45:01] is transportation and making sure we don't i don't want you to have gridlock that's reflects poorly on [1:45:07] all of us i want i want a seamless system we have to work with lax we have to you know i think is it [1:45:12] archer is going to do the evital's but making sure we have the amount of money necessary for transit [1:45:17] bringing buses in bringing drivers in having mechanics in to to make the flow happen i i commit [1:45:22] to working with you to make that happen and with this committee because this reflects on all of us [1:45:27] to what level is dot coordinating and working you just mentioned obviously the two big components are [1:45:32] the transportation and buses and and the homeland side on the security um so what efforts are underway to [1:45:40] to to to work closely between those two agencies so art art us in a homeland yeah you know oh there's [1:45:46] a with regional stakeholders and and transit operators there's a task force that's all working together [1:45:52] with the different um uh aspects of the federal government with the olympics um but then we also [1:45:58] specifically meet with the olympics uh and what we use our role is technical assistance for the most part [1:46:06] they're on the ground um telling us their needs what their thought process is on on the routes and [1:46:11] the plan and what streets are open what's what's closed and we provide assistance in how they're [1:46:16] thinking through they're going to operate the transit system for the games and do you feel about [1:46:21] that you got to get both the paralympics as well right after exactly yeah i mentioned the paralympics [1:46:25] so you didn't question um uh and and your commitment is to push whatever whatever resources [1:46:31] this committee comes up with uh whatever that top line number is your commitment is to get that out [1:46:37] the door in advance realizing you know this is this is coming up i mean this isn't just you know planning [1:46:43] money out in the future and based on where we have been historically we are we are behind i'll shake [1:46:48] hands with you if you want and i commit to getting you already offered your text your you know for us to [1:46:52] text you and nobody i'll tell you to be honest nobody on this side has your has your number of [1:46:56] detects so it's very kind of you to offer just just for just for clarity i get more texts from [1:47:01] democrats than my friends on the republican side of the aisle on projects so i'll just nobody on this [1:47:06] committee so that's fine maybe that's good you know congress and this gets a little friend group [1:47:10] sometimes and maybe yeah exactly but i i i might text you back though that's the problem i have your [1:47:17] number two i don't but no i i commit to working with you and i i'll get the money out and i want [1:47:22] these games and as you you i think you quoted the president he he also recognizes that [1:47:26] he's in office when these games go off we want to showcase the country and just even with i mean [1:47:31] you have big fifa games uh coming as well which i think if i can make it out i want to come to [1:47:36] the games on the 12th is the 12th in la i don't know i'm gonna be here so i don't know um it's a friday [1:47:43] anyway i we've sent money there too to all the different communities that you all you gave us 100 [1:47:47] million dollars and we've divvied that up based on all all the number of games each of the communities [1:47:53] have and i think you had nine million dollars in la for the games i think that's right for transit [1:47:58] you know we have to make these you know games work as you mentioned i appreciate you you know [1:48:03] we agree these are america's games yeah um we want to make sure that uh they're adequately [1:48:08] resourcing we get the money out the door so i appreciate it thank you mr chairman if you stick [1:48:11] around i'll give you my number thank you thank you mr siskamani bring us home honey thank you chairman [1:48:18] secretary good to see you good to see you too thank you for being here i know you know arizona well [1:48:22] we'd love to have you back uh where your schedule permits there's some great things to see that i [1:48:27] want to show you there but the first one that i want to talk about is bus safety and i think you [1:48:32] you know as briefly touched on a second ago um growing up in in tucson my my dad was a bus driver [1:48:38] so he drove buses for first for the school district and then he drove buses for the city for [1:48:43] for suntran so ensuring that those behind the wheel of a bus um full of people feel safe and [1:48:48] secure is the top priority of mine for the bus drivers themselves but also for the the people [1:48:54] that they're carrying in the bus since 2020 the city of tucson has operated under a no fares on buses [1:49:00] and uh this has led to an increase in assaults on bus drivers a tremendous increase actually i want to [1:49:07] give you a few headlines here of examples of what i'm talking about in july of 2022 this is the [1:49:13] headline female suntran driver assaulted at tohana odom bus terminal on june 28th of 2025 this was the [1:49:21] headline suntran bus driver assaulted by a knife wielding man on september of 20 september 9th of [1:49:27] 2025 bus driver assaulted as a suspect through rocks at the driver the suspect got off the bus and jumped [1:49:33] onto another bus in the same direction these are just a few examples uh we're seeing hundreds of [1:49:39] disturbing reports like this all over the country not just in tucson can you update us on your agency's [1:49:45] efforts to stop cities like the city of tucson from putting our transit operators in harm's way so [1:49:52] first i was a bus driver myself um that's where i first got my commercial driver's license um seven [1:49:58] months uh so and i take i take your point uh seriously what i i i don't have a lot of authority [1:50:06] right but you to your point um one of the greatest success stories has been in san francisco they stopped [1:50:12] fair evasion on their subway and crime plummeted and there's a correlation if you just open if you [1:50:18] open the systems up um you start to see more crime and the criminal element come in and i can't i can't [1:50:25] leverage the the city to do the right thing but hopefully the community would step up and look at [1:50:31] the data and you know push their leaders to to to stop some of the uh the policies that are not helping [1:50:39] but inhibiting safety well this is definitely no question uh a majority responsibility on the or [1:50:46] actually all responsibility on the local um city council and mayor and decisions there to make these [1:50:52] fares basically free and and having the consequences that i just talked about i do want to explore [1:50:58] different ways you mentioned the word leverage different ways that we can at a at a federal level [1:51:03] also uh try to impact this because it's it's a safety issue as you mentioned i mean you have you [1:51:08] have cdl holder my my dad was as well before he retired this is a serious issue and it's getting [1:51:13] worse so i i want to i do want to explore ways that we can probably look at something there that we that [1:51:19] we could do we we have to i have to explore every avenue when uh when my the the the city where i [1:51:24] live in and the major city in my district is not it's not going to go the right direction uh we need [1:51:28] help i i appreciate you bringing up the safety on on our buses and our just the transit system [1:51:34] it's too much i think our country deserves better our people deserve better and it takes leadership [1:51:40] and it's hard to you know we don't want to do the leadership that's not federal leadership the [1:51:44] communities need to lean in and serve people better and we have to say this is this is for people [1:51:51] moving from point a to point b and if we have a homelessness problem well transit's not the place [1:51:56] for let's deal with homelessness but let's not put them on transit let's not put criminals on transit [1:52:02] you have to reserve that for the good people who pay for it that need it i would take the bus um when i [1:52:07] was a kid uh to and from one of the first high school that i attended after football practice and you [1:52:12] know late in the evening i i you know that's not something that kids do anymore that you just can't [1:52:16] you're not not safe in that just a minute left i'm gonna drop this question real quick you already [1:52:22] kind of talked about there's a terminal radar approach control facility tracon on davis mountain [1:52:26] air force base um i've heard directly from the air force traffic controllers working there about the [1:52:32] deterioration of the tower along with unsafe outdated work equipment um would adot be willing to look into [1:52:38] the infrastructure needs here uh of of what we were seeing on the on the air traffic controlling [1:52:43] overall i would i would welcome that just the needs are so great um and we just we're getting out 1.7 [1:52:51] billion dollars that we had that that money is moving some of the towers are not ready to to take [1:52:56] it but um i'd be happy to work with you but there's a huge need that's gonna you guys are gonna have to [1:53:00] deal with in the out years here and everybody has a problem by the way congressman cladburn's getting money [1:53:05] for his airport the air traffic controllers work hard and i think this is one of the most bipartisan [1:53:10] issues we'll find we all need this and uh we're glad to work with you on that mr chairman i yield [1:53:14] back two seconds american safety thank you mr siskamani and that completes our round of questions i'm [1:53:21] going to uh before i close yield to my friend the ranking member for any closing comments he'd like to [1:53:26] me jim well thank you very much mr chairman and thank you mr secretary for being here you know i um [1:53:35] i'm a great level of history i am not proud of all of our history but i love uh all of it in south [1:53:46] carolina we have uh three national heritage corridors uh the south mountain national heritage corridor [1:53:55] the gulligichi heritage corridor that's the low country uh and we have the uh we call a southern [1:54:07] campaign heritage corridor that's a southern campaign of the revolutionary wall i don't want [1:54:13] you all to mistake our reputation for having started the civil war i um i studied this civil war [1:54:22] but i don't uh i'm not proud of the heritage so you're invited to south carolina because all these [1:54:28] heritage corridors uh or or in south carolina though i don't know what congressional district [1:54:33] they're in and for another week or so uh but i would love to see a tour uh like you've conducted to [1:54:44] bring attention to the real history of this country uh i think if you consider a trip like that to uh [1:54:54] one of all three of these heritage corridors it would be welcome in south carolina and i think it would [1:54:59] have you come down and bring some attention to it i think your road trip will do that for us i don't [1:55:31] look forward to doing that sometime in november congressman can i just quickly 30 seconds um [1:55:38] i'm not i can't tell you what and where the road trip went but they could have gone to charleston [1:55:43] and they could have gone to the uh uh the the marina there that goes from the mountains all the way down [1:55:49] through um into the ocean and it's uh it's a it's a beautiful place and i'll i'll take you up on your [1:55:54] invitation and you but just if i can make one last point you're the infrastructure needs of south [1:55:58] carolina you mentioned the growth of south carolina uh it's per capita not total growth but per capita [1:56:03] growth it's it's huge and uh there's there's real needs of of uh roads and even evacuation routes [1:56:10] in south carolina thank you thank you i'm not sure where all the road show went but if in fact it didn't [1:56:19] go certain places where you've been invited and the road show comes back understand you will be [1:56:26] welcomed with open arms and without any criticism from this panel there's there's no season two i'll [1:56:35] guarantee you that there's we appreciate you thank you very much [1:56:42] you will be most welcome in the great northwest arkansas the chair detects that we have a few [1:56:47] interns that are in the audience here today uh maximizing their opportunity to see government in [1:56:54] action from a very practical standpoint mr secretary if you would when this is over today [1:57:00] if you would stay for just a moment give these kids an opportunity to engage you in conversation [1:57:06] maybe take a picture i would love that it'd be wonderful our time is concluded i want to thank [1:57:11] everybody for being here today there may be some members who have remaining questions that they need [1:57:18] answered and if that's the case submit those questions for the record please do so promptly [1:57:22] secretary duffy again thank you for your time it's an honor and a privilege to have you here we [1:57:27] look forward to working with you as we complete the fy27 t hud appropriations process and with that [1:57:32] our subcommittee is adjourned thank you mr chairman