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▶ 0:16:24go ahead and start I think we can if you want to do a little tap and say we're about to get get started everybody and meeting each we're going to go ahead and get started if everybody wants to take their seats I call the committee on Transportation infrastructure to order and I ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare recess at any time during today's meeting
▶ 0:16:54without objection that is so ordered I now recognize myself for the purposes of an opening statement today we are meeting to introduce new members of the committee uh and also to adopt the committee rules first I want to welcome both our new members um and our returning members on both sides of the aisle with 66 members the transportation infrastructure committee is the largest Committee in the house for in Congress for that matter our returning members know that this is a committee uh that produces results for the good of the country and
▶ 0:17:24for the good of the American people in the 118th Congress our committee delivered on multiple legislative priorities that became law including bipartisan legislation that reauthorized the Federal Aviation Administration a water resources development act and important reforms to the general Services uh Administration to reduce waste and federal office office space utilization I frequently State and you've heard me say it before um that I don't consider this committee to be a show horse committee but I do expect
▶ 0:17:55to continue to be a Workhorse committee and I'm honored to serve as the the chairman during the 119th Congress I intend to continue working with members on both sides of the aisle with ranking member Larson and with the Committees Democrat members and while I know that we don't agree on every issue I always be open to working with any one of you we've adopted a successful practice here in the committee of facilitating member input and working to find agreement where we can uh the committee rules which we will vote
▶ 0:18:25on today here in just a few minutes are structured to allow every member the opportunity to participate and for the committee to work its will so right now I'd like to introduce uh the new members on our side of the aisle we have 12 new uh Republicans Tony weed of Wisconsin we have Tom Barrett of Michigan Nick bagage of Alaska Rob Brenan Pennsylvania Jeff herd Colorado Jefferson shrie of Indiana Addison mcdal of North
▶ 0:18:55Carolina Dave Taylor of Ohio Brad of North Carolina Kim King Hines of Northern Mariana Islands Mike Kennedy of Utah and Bob and the great state of Missouri we're expected to uh have you all on the committee um or we're excited to have you all on the committee and and both again new and our returning uh returning members our new membership along with returning members will consist of we're going to have sheriffs we've got helicopter Pilots
▶ 0:19:25uh Machine Heavy machine operators we've got Pro prosecutors we've got Physicians and many many more uh occupations so a very diverse uh committee and having a membersip ship with such a wide ranging uh with wide ranging backgrounds uh I think is going to be a great asset as we work to get America moving again and pursue an ambitious agenda as Congress we have a lot to accomplish including a surface reauthorization Bill a coast guard reauthorization and pipeline safety reauthorization I would
▶ 0:19:55look forward to working with each of you on those now I recognize thank you member lson my partner in this process for his opening statement well thank you chair Graves I appreciate it and I want to welcome all the new members uh to the transportation and infrastructure committee for the 119 Congress and the returning members uh for those who are returning to the committee um you know what a unique and important committee that we have our work on this committee is about creating jobs good paying jobs for the hardworking women and men across the country we work in a bipartisan way
▶ 0:20:26despite the polarization that we see in other parts of the Congress and this results in good bipartisan legislation I've said it uh uh before and I'll say it again uh except for perhaps the um congressman from uh from DC Elanor Holmes Norton is who's here um I want to say this if you want to be on TV in DC there are committees for that if you want to be on TV in your District this is the committee for that
▶ 0:20:56and so um you have have an opportunity over the next two years to do real work and go home and talk about it last Congress for instance we passed into law among other bills the fa reauthorization Act of 2024 and the Water Resources development Act of 2024 both with wide bipartisan margins and this Congress we hope to pass among other bills a bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization and I'm confident that with the help of everyone in this room we'll do that so I want to briefly introduce our
▶ 0:21:26uh new Democratic committee members uh although I'll start with a few folks who aren't necessarily new to Congress we have one returning member of the committee after seven years Jerry Nadler from New York's fight and 12 who returns to the committee after serving as both chair and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee we also have a member who's not new to Congress but is new to our committee Robert Garcia from California's 42nd who brings a wealth of Transportation experience from his time serving as the mayor of Long Beach in addition we have five newly elected
▶ 0:21:56members who will be who are joining the committee Nelly Poe from New Jersey's 9th as a state senator representative po prioritized creating economic opportunities for Working Families Christ McDon McDonald rivet from Michigan's 8th as a state senator representative McDonald rivet worked to replace lead pipes and secure clean drinking water in schools and Child Care Centers Laura Friedman from California's 30th and as a member of the State Assembly in California represent fredman secured over $60 million in funding for projects improving infrastructure
▶ 0:22:26and transportation systems Laura Gillan from New York's fourth was is the first Democrat in over a century to be elected as the supervisor of her Town Hemstead New York in 2017 and haling from Alabama's Second District representative Shamari figur who previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and counselor to the Attorney General of the US Department of Justice so we welcome our new committee members you're joining the best committee on the hill don't let Energy and Commerce tell you differently
▶ 0:22:58with that uh Mr chair thank you very much and you'll back thanks Rick I appreciate it and for the new members it will take me as Miss Scolton can attest it will take me a little while to get to know everybody's names and uh but I will work to um to make sure that I know all your names just as soon as possible pursuant to Clause 2A of house rule 11 the committee is meeting today to adopt the rules of the committee on Transportation infrastructure of the 119th Congress a copy of the proposed committee rules and a summary of the proposed rules
▶ 0:23:28to the to the rules from the 118th Congress were distributed both electronically in advance and also available in the hearing room for those of you that have served on the committee previously you will see that the rules are very similar to those that we have had in place in previous congresses you'll note that the revisions to the committee rules were simply to align our rules with the rules of the house we were able to coordinate these minor changes with ranking member Larson and I appreciate him working with us and his staff on this package and I recognize ranking member Larson for a statement on the proposed rules
▶ 0:23:59thank you Mr chair the changes the committee rules are simply updating references to denote the new Congress the 119th and minor edits to conform with house rules for the 118 Congress I urge adoption of the committee rules and yield back the balance of my time any other members wish to be recognized for a statement on the committee rules seeing No One Is there further discussion on the committee's proposed rules seeing none the proposed rules are open to Amendment at any point are there any amendments to the committee's proposed rules seeing none
▶ 0:24:29I recognize Mr Larson for a motion thank you Mr chair I move the rules of the committee on Transportation infrastructure now before us be approved and adopted as a rules of the committee for the 119th Congress the question is on the motion all those in favor signify by saying I I all opposed signify by saying nay the opinion of the chair the eyes have it and the motion is agreed to and the proposed rules are adopted pursuant to house rules the rules on the committee on infrastruct or Transportation infrastructure for the 119th Congress will be printed in the Congressional Record and
▶ 0:24:59made available in electronic form to all members of the committee and the public on the website pursuing to rule six of the rules of the committee on Transportation infrastructure the chairman notes that the presence of a quorum for the actions taken on all committee business today and without objection that is so ordered I'd ask unanimous consent that staff be authorized to make all necessary technical clarifying and conforming changes to each of the items adopted today to reflect the actions of the committee without objection that is so ordered
▶ 0:25:30we'll remind members that we're about to move into our full Committee hearing but the committee on Transportation infrastructure has now completed its organizational business for the day and the committee is
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▶ 0:34:44the committee on Transportation infrastructure will come to order and I'd ask unanimous consent that chairman be authorized to declare recess at any time during today's hearing without objection that is so ordered as a reminder if members insert a document into the record please also email it to the doc to documents mail.house.gov I now recognize myself for the purposes of an opening statement I'd like to welcome uh everyone to today's uh Transportation committee's first hearing uh in the 119th Congress as I noted earlier during the committee's organizational meeting we
▶ 0:35:14have a lot to accomplish over the next couple of years one of the committee's top priorities will be passing legislation to reauthorize our nation's surface Transportation programs we will approach the creation of this legislation the same way we tackle the fa authorization legislation and the Water Resources development act last Congress this will be a collaborative effort in which the committee will solicit feedback from both members and from stakeholders and we will consider all input we'll consider the members priorities um which are going to drive
▶ 0:35:44what's in the bill as the committee uh proceeds and the piece of legislation that we produce but I want to be clear this doesn't mean that everybody is going to get everything they want our intent is for everybody to get most of what they want want I look forward to again partnering with the ranking member and working with the committee members on both sides of the aisle as we undertake this process we've also set a very aggressive hearing schedule to ensure that the committee's members can gather information and examine all facets of the infrastructure
▶ 0:36:14um uh process to inform uh to inform the creation um on this piece of legislation that we are going to uh tackle this year today's hearing is a kickoff of these discussions and I hope our dialogue will produ or will provide a broad overview of the state of the nation's transportation system what's working where we should be directing Investments to fund core infrastructure projects and the benefits of streamlining the process to allow faster project completion
▶ 0:36:44um I want to thank our Witnesses um for joining us today and I look forward to hearing um each of your perspectives on the state of infrastructure in this country and I now rank recognize ranking member Larson for his opening statement thank you Mr chair appreciate the recognition and for holding the hearing to kick off our infrastructure work in the 119th Congress this committee has a great story to tell thanks to Historic levels of federal investment the nation's transportation system is better off today than it was four years ago let's go through the numbers
▶ 0:37:14to leave me to lead me to that conclusion Federal investment is improving infrastructure in 2024 the American Society of civil engineers found that infrastructure dollars that Congress provided in the bipartisan infrastructure law quote halted the rapid growth of the infrastructure investment Gap these bold long-term Investments are delivering nearly $600 in savings each year for American families according to the asce and for decades this analysis that they've done has shown a steady decline in infrastructure chronic
▶ 0:37:45underinvestment meant that roads Bridges airports ports waterways public transit and rail were aging becoming less reliable less safe costing consumers and businesses money and hurting our economic competitiveness Congress responded in 2021 and passed the B with the overwhelming support from States local governments tribal governments Transit agencies railroads ports and and airports uh to provide a much to provide a much needed boost to our transportation system and that investment means America is building right now these funds
▶ 0:38:15have supported over 85,000 new Transportation projects in every congressional district according to the American Road and transportation Builders Association these projects are largely selected and controlled by state and local Transportation officials Transit agencies passenger railroads and ports in each of our districts for example over 90% of B Highway and Bridge dollars go out by formula including about $6 billion dollar to my own state of Washington and about five billion dollars to the state of Louisiana we're going
▶ 0:38:45to hear from the governor in a moment on that Congress designated a much smaller portion of B funds to be distributed via competitive grants and us do continues to award those dollars into communities in our districts as quickly as possible just this month dot announced $5 billion for more than 560,000 trans Transportation projects in every state these announcements benefit all of our constituents they fund projects important to members of Congress Governors Mayors and state legislators Republicans and Democrats alike
▶ 0:39:16in my district the city of Everett was awarded an $18 million Grant uh for railroad crossing elimination to improve uh safety and eliminate two existing atg grade Highway rail crossings on Smith Island Rail terminal which will help Industrial Development we have quite a bit of work ahead of us though but you should know Congress that your investment is creating jobs Project funding consistently flowing across the country means industry stability and jobs for people these are private sector jobs in construction engineering Transit Trucking
▶ 0:39:46Aviation Rail and the maritime sectors the latest jobs report showed uh the 47th consecutive month of job growth more than 16.6 million jobs added since and unemployment down to 4.1% it's evidence that these uh Investments are working and the economy is on the move the B provided substantial flexibility to State and local governments to invest in priorities as each Community determines and within that flexibility dedicated and robust investment is helping solve
▶ 0:40:16High party challenges important to each and every one of you and your constituents Federal investment keeps Goods moving Congress your funding is tackling the biggest Transportation bottlenecks with 7 billion in dedicated formula funds more than 40 billion in Bridge repair and replacement to make sure new bottle necks don't form helping ports move cargo these Investments should continue let's keep it going in Congress your investment is for improving safety more than 40,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes every
▶ 0:40:46single year amounting to a safety crisis and this past law took a major step in safety by boosting the highway safety Improvement program funding to States and providing direct funding to cities counties and Rural communities to save lives let's keep that investment going Congress your investment is expanding cleaner and Greener ways to get people around Landmark investment available in the B for rail Transit and EV infrastructure means communities can build these solutions that reflect state and local
▶ 0:41:16needs and priorities through advanced Appropriations Congress leveled the playing field on funding certain certainty for rail these Investments should continue let's keep them going and Congress your investment is making the future Workforce ready for more work and more jobs the B included over $800 million to train workers for manufacturing jobs in addition to eligible funding for Workforce training available to States through flexible formula funding these Investments should continue let's keep it going
▶ 0:41:47keeping our transportation system in good repair keeping it resilient keeping it safe and ready for future Freight and passage demand requires ongoing investment we're ready to make that investment and I'm committed to working with chair and the incoming Administration to provide the necessary resources to create more jobs protect the traveling public and to support America's transportation and construction workers I hope all of us all of you can join uh all of us in that commitment I want to thank our Witnesses for being here today and look forward to the
▶ 0:42:17testimony and yield back thanks Rick I'd like to now welcome um all of our Witnesses uh and thank you for being here today uh briefly just mention the the lighting system uh green means go yellow means are running out of time and red um please try to uh to wrap up uh as quickly as you can with that I would ask unanimous consent that the witness's full statements be included in the record and without objection that is so ordered um I do want to point out that the governor has a hard stop at noon so
▶ 0:42:47if you have questions or if we don't get to you please submit them in writing and uh he will get an answer to you so with that I would ask unanimous consent that the record for today's hearing remain open until such time as our Witnesses have provided answers to any questions that may be submitted to them in writing without objection that is so ordered I'd also yes ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days for any additional comments and information submitted by members or witnesses to be included into uh the record of today's hearing without objection that is so ordered as your written testimony
▶ 0:43:18has been made a part of the record the committee ask that uh again you you keep oral remarks to uh to five minutes and with that I will introduce our first witness Governor Landry who is a former colleague was a member of the United States House of Representatives before moving on and uh thanks for being here uh governor and and uh you're recognized for five minutes you might I don't know if your on oh I got to put that on
▶ 0:43:48back home they put it on Forest uh chairman Graves thank you ranking member Larson distinguished members of the House committee on transport infrastructure thank you for an opportunity to testify before you today on behalf of the state of Louisiana I would also like to take a moment to thank you for your prayers and support that many of you have given to the City of New Orleans our country continues to mourn unnecessary tragic loss of life and the families whose lives will never be the same I also
▶ 0:44:18offer to the people of California who have suffered tremendous loss in property and life from the tragic fires Louisiana's thoughts and prayers as well well over the past 8 years in three different election Cycles 6274 and 77 million Americans voted respectfully and expressed their desire to see this country return to exceptionalism by voting for president Donald J Trump that's over 210 million votes that were cast over
▶ 0:44:48years and those votes were a commitment to change the Mandate is clear and it is time we really look towards the infrastructure policies that the president had put in place and eliminate the regulatory barriers streamline the permitting and Implement and truly implement the One Federal decision the One Federal decision requires federal agencies to establish a one agency one decision structure for environmental reviews it also shortens the
▶ 0:45:18environmental review process to two years allowing us to finally address the our infrastructure needs immediately honestly I really have a hard time understanding why if you were replacing a bridge that had been there for 50 or 60 or 70 years we need to do an environmental assessment to Simply replace that bridge one of my first actions when I was here as a member of the 112th Congress was a dear colleague letter that I sent that I resubmit
▶ 0:45:49into the record today where we highlighted the need for fiscal responsibility when spending the people's money but by doing so by investing in the infrastructure that this country needs to be great unfortunately over a decade has passed an amount of money spent has increased exponentially but there seems to have been actual little return to our infrastructure needs in this country in order to make America an exceptional country our people our
▶ 0:46:19Commerce must be able to move efficiently and effectively over reliable and improved infrastructure as governor I would like to highlight the critical role our infrastructure plays in driving the prosperity of the United States as a whole so let's look at Louisiana in 2022 Louisiana moved over half a trillion dollars worth of Freight in our State ranking US 16th while 25th in population we are expected Louisiana is expected to have the third
▶ 0:46:49largest freight growth in the nation by 2050 making us the ninth highest share in semi- truck move through the state of Louisiana that's how critical our needs are and it helps each and every one of you in your districts our waterways are equally critical Louisiana has five of the top 15 ports in the country moving over half a billion tons of cargo Louisiana's energy infrastructure
▶ 0:47:20provides the power and goods that you all need to fuel your economies in your districts without the investment in our roads Bridges and ports the supply chain falters and manufacturers slows consumers face delays in night and and we're losing we're losing in that in 1982 representative toan established an i49 Corridor to connect I40 to New Orleans providing much needed north south surface Transportation route to improve the movement of goods and services
▶ 0:47:50in the country the completion of this project helps everyone in the middle States of America and it also serves as a very important hurricane evacuation route it has not been completed in 1950 I 10 a bridge was basically um it was seized not really seized it was used by the federal government to complete I 10 over the kashu river bridge it carries 990,000 Vehicles a
▶ 0:48:20day let me repeat 90,000 Vehicles a day move over that bridge the national Bridge inspection ranking scores that bridge as a three from three to they go from one to nine with one being the worst and three one being the worst and nine being the best today that bridge is a three to compare that the Baltimore bridge that collapsed was a five let that sink in so the bridge that collapsed
▶ 0:48:51was a five and we're at a three with very little help from the federal government we decided to finally toll that bridge so that we could have a replacement of that bridge we would basically beg Congress to help us secure additional funding so we can lower the the toll on the commercial traffic that's going to flow over that bridge the tolls that we are going to have to implement certainly are not what I would like them to be and y'all can help
▶ 0:49:21we also also quickly just want to talk to you about the 404 B project okay 404b there is not a member of Congress that I have ever heard say anything good about the core's ability to issue 404b permits it is it is consistently a problem with being able to move projects forward in our states in EPA Congress and then under EPA has allowed
▶ 0:49:51states to assume the responsibility of actually implementing the 404 permit process we are going to use that this year because in January of 17 that process goes into effect under EPA the state of Louisiana intends to start doing that that will help us y'all can help us by simplifying that and speeding that process as well let the states take on that permitting process and then
▶ 0:50:22lastly the Port of Houston and the port of New Orleans are in the top five most busiest ports in the country I 10 as I said flows between Houston and Congressman Babin knows this well so I'm just a minute ago 990,000 Vehicles move between the state of Texas and the state of Louisiana carrying commercial transportation getting to New Orleans means that they have to cross the Mississippi River I know there are me many members in of this body on both sides whose
▶ 0:50:53districts are along the Mississippi River we need a a new bridge in Baton Rouge Baton Rouge has the fourth highest traffic conest congestion in the nation and if you are traveling from Texas to New Orleans and you get to Baton Rouge you will see what I'm saying if any of you want to make my commute from the town of brussard over to Baton Rouge I welcome you we could use some help in being able to procure and we're not
▶ 0:51:23asking for all of it in fact if we had to I wouldn't have a problem doing the same thing we did in Lake Charles but we need the federal government's help to basically eliminate that congestion but more importantly to help move those goods back and forth that actually service your districts and help you grow your economy and so with that Mr chairman I know I'm over my time I apologize but I strongly encourage you all this is one of my favorite committees because you know what everyone
▶ 0:51:53of you irrespective of where you are needs an infrastructure Improvement done in your District so that you can grow your economy and so I implore you to find a way to help us Finly move this country back on track in Louisiana they say we let the good times roll today unfortunately not much is rolling in America thank you Mr chairman for your time thank you governor also want to recognize Governor's wife who's in the audience I see thanks for being here next it's a pleasure to introduce
▶ 0:52:23uh mayor protim Fuentes from the great City City of Austin Texas thanks for being here thank you chairman Graves ranking member Larson and members of the committee thank you for inviting the national league of cities to testify today as the committee begins to reauthorize the iig ja I'm honored to be here on behalf of the great City of Austin our region and the nation's 19,000 cities towns and villages in each of your congressional districts no matter how small or large your community or
▶ 0:52:53where you live in our country infrastructure is essential to building a great community and a great economy local governments own more than half of all us infrastructure in fact we are major investors in every mode of America's Transportation Network as you meet with City officials in your District you will hear that infrastructures costs far exceed what local governments can raise themselves on their annual balanced budgets that is why iig was a GameChanger
▶ 0:53:24local governments finally had the opportunity to leverage local funding to rebuild our infrastructure iiga also incentivized States and regions to collaborate to get more projects built now with congress's support more than 72,000 infrastructure projects are moving forward today including 1,500 core Transportation projects led directly by cities and towns supporting local jobs and growing Economic Development while the 119th
▶ 0:53:54Congress will make major national budget decisions reducing infrastructure investment from iig levels would be a$1 trillion mistake snapping back to fast act funding levels will mean 1 trillion in economic losses to major US job sectors like Health Care manufacturing and Professional Services putting more 237 American jobs at risk however keeping iiga funding levels would give $700 back
▶ 0:54:24to every American family for the next 20 years keeping iig investment levels is what the American economy deserves and it's the ROI that the American people also require as Congress renews NLC urges you to prioritize continued infrastructure collaboration with America's cities towns and Villages through direct and Regional programs that will improve more than half of the nation's Transportation Network carry the majority of
▶ 0:54:54Americans daily trips and support the first and last mile of all Freight movement because of the Ia there are more than 25,000 local and Regional Transportation organizations in the US that were now able to jump in and help push through those much-needed infrastructure projects forward you can see the effect of working with local Partners In The Safe Streets program today the US was losing 100 American lives on our roads each day and the statistics weren't budging so in the
▶ 0:55:24iiga Congress added a bottomup program specifically targeted to local and Regional Road safety for both rural and urban areas now the nation's traffic fatalities are declining for the ninth straight quarter while we must continue the work iig safety Investments with local and Regional governments are helping to create a national change showing a potential formula for congress's future programs every congressional district deserves a safe Network and direct
▶ 0:55:55investment like safe streets America's local government local governments urge Congress to double down on safety across multiple programs like raise rail crossings and reconnecting communities to ensure we are protecting all of our road all of our road users as well as our valuable economic generator are people finally we know that implementing the iiga at usdot and moving all the necessary work forward on a 5year schedule was a substantial effort especially with the global pandemic
▶ 0:56:25and inflation increasing project costs yet these conditions are hopefully now in the rear view ahead for the US is the opportunity to deliver infrastructure projects build accountability for every Federal dollar and expedite and rightsize the federal processes for infrastructure projects especially for the smaller safety projects and existing public RightWay America's infrastructure delivery could also be supported by tools to follow infrastructure progress and budgeting open data and mapping platforms research
▶ 0:56:55and manuals that that are more practical and less limiting and programs like smart which can leverage testing and expedite new entrance to Transportation like Advanced Air Mobility autonomous Transit AI driven signaling and much more NLC looks forward to supporting this Committee in the reauthorization of the iiga and with our state and business partners here we will continue the momentum I look forward to your questions thank you now we're going to hear from
▶ 0:57:25um Miss gitaa uh who is the vice president of transportation for Home Depot thank you for being here thank you uh ranking uh chairman Graves ranking member Larson and members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Home Depo the world's largest Home Improvement retailer and share our perspective on the critical role infrastructure Investments play and enabling Commerce and serving the needs of businesses and communities my name is Sarah galita
▶ 0:57:56and I serve as the Home Depot's vice president of Transportation in this role I have unique insight into our complex supply chain which spans all modes of transportation from our direct Imports with ocean carriers to domestic Trucking and rail I personally saw the power and resilience of our supply chain firsthand during the pandemic we were able to quickly adapt to meet high demand from our millions of customers across the US the Home Depot operates more than 2,300 retail stores across North America and port Puerto
▶ 0:58:26Rico with over 2,000 in the US employing over Associates our top goal is to get our product to our customers and their communities when and how they need it and at the lowest cost to do this we've invested over a billion dollars to open over a hundred buildings in the US that set new standards for inventory and speed these facilities have improved both our operational efficiency and customer service allowing to
▶ 0:58:56better serve individual markets and customer categories the Home Depot relies on a thirdparty carrier base including ocean carriers van flatbed carriers Rail and more we work with these carriers to continue to improve service reduce costs and enhance safety the Home Depot has a unique perspective on the importance of interconnected multimodal investments in transportation infrastructure we strive to invest in these modes and in our supply chain to red reduce
▶ 0:59:26costs for customers and drive down the overall cost of housing inputs we appreciate the work Congress has done over the past several years to ensure the appropriate funding is directed towards our nation's infrastructure as this committee looks towards the next surface reauthorization Bill we ask that you consider the following items First America depends on its highway system for economic productivity outdated infrastructure compromises this system's Effectiveness we support immediate Investments
▶ 0:59:56to modernize roadways pave deteriorating surfaces and strengthen Bridges to ensure they serve the demands of today tomorrow the Home Depot's dedicated network of reputable carriers has highlighted that truck parking and congestion are the most significant infrastructure issues this industry is facing we recommend that Congress appropriate more funding for truck parking spaces and fund new infrastructure projects that add Lanes to address congestion rather than only repairing existing
▶ 1:00:27infrastructure next ports are a vital component of our supply chain and the broader US economy at the Home Depot we utilize 65 origin ports across nine Global ocean carriers and serve 15 ports of entry in the US and Canada however ports are often hindered by aging infrastructure including truck and rail congestion in and out of ports and the challenges of handling the modern Mega vessels recurring shutdown threats and labor disputes create C cly bottlenecks that
▶ 1:00:57dis disrupt the flow of goods on the topic of sustainability Home Depot was committed to finding Solutions across the supply chain we work closely with our shipping Partners to encourage and adopt environmentally responsible practices such as optimized truckloads on domestic Trucking while our carriers are committed to reducing carbon emissions there are legitimate concerns about the feasibility of battery electric trucks as it relates to charging stations and the Associated strain on the
▶ 1:01:27nation's electric grid finally our supply chain has not only designed to meet everyday demands but also provides critical support during emergencies and natural disasters the Home Depot leverages the resources and Partnerships of states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to address road closures truck weight exemptions and hours of service adjustments that allow immediate shipment of urgent supplies the wildfires in Southern California are top of mind for many members
▶ 1:01:57and I want you to know that the Home Depot is actively working with all officials to help in any way we can in conclusion infrastructure is the backbone of Commerce and modernization is critical to ensuring America remains a leader in global trade to serve businesses like the Home Depot and the communities we serve Congress must invest in updating our ports highways and trucking systems by working together we can create a more efficient and resilient supply chain and drive down cost for consumers
▶ 1:02:27and help reduce the burden of rising housing costs thank you and I welcome any questions thank you very much um next we're gonna introduce Mr uh shogan who is the vice president William Brothers Construction and uh thank you for being here you're recognized thank you good morning chairman Grace ranking member Larson and members of the committee on transportation and infrastructure thank you for for inviting me to testify on this vitally important
▶ 1:02:58topic my name is Seth shulan and I'm the vice president of Williams Brothers Construction I here on behalf of the associated general contractors of America which advocates for over 28,000 construction firms Nationwide including America's leading general contractors and specialy Contracting firms many of which are small businesses Williams Brothers Construction is a Highway construction firm with over 70 years in business we employ 2400 people operate over 700 trucks and currently manage 26 active projects
▶ 1:03:28with a total contract value of over $5 billion in my testimony today I will discuss the status of the nation's transportation system from the perspective of a construction company focusing on the challenges and opportunities we face and rebuilding America's infrastructure the infrastructure investment in jobs act has brought the most substantial investment in infrastructure since the creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950s yet inflation has eroded the ija's since 2020 construction costs have risen dramatically
▶ 1:03:59with Highway construction costs increasing over 70% since 2020 according to fhwa this has resulted in reduced purchasing power of federal funds with an estimated $60 billion loss due to inflation despite this AGC members have strong expectations for the upcoming year for increased investments in highways bridges and transportation reflecting the ongoing impact of the iiga this optimism is due to Growing demands for Safe Transportation Systems in response
▶ 1:04:30contractors are planning to expand their workforces to meet the anticipated demand however over 90% of contractors report that they are struggling to find workers at Williams Brothers we have raised wages and expanded benefits but still face difficulties hiring qualified workers such as equipment operators and CDL Drivers this isn't just a business problem it's a national one for decades education policies have prioritized four-year degrees over trade careers and we're seeing the consequences
▶ 1:05:00these Workforce shortages are prompting many firms to charge more take longer to complete projects or not bit bid on projects at all AGC strongly supports increase funding for Career and Technical education programs under the Perkins act these programs introduce students to viable high-paying careers and construction at my local chapter initiatives like the we build Texas roads program and AGC Texas scholarships are helping attract and train the Next Generation but the need
▶ 1:05:30is urgent in fact my own son is planning to go into the trades rather than attend a university and that makes me a proud dad not everyone is interested in a university education and having the younger Generations be aware of other viable paths to earning a good wage is important for our economy and our Workforce gen Z has been nicknamed the tool belt generation these are positive signs that the shift is happening happening but it cannot happen fast enough yet still with the need for more
▶ 1:06:00workers reckless driving speeding and distractions have made construction work zones more dangerous than ever we support proven strategies to improve safety like requiring work Zone safety courses for new drivers and using speed safety cameras in work zones permitting reform is essential to getting projects off the ground the iig and fiscal responsibility act included critical reforms but their full potential hasn't been realized lengthy environmental reviews continue to delay projects
▶ 1:06:31by fully implementing these laws and limiting reviews to reasonably foreseeable impacts we can reduce cost and accelerate construction without sacrificing Environmental Protection the federal funding provided by this committee plays a critical role predictable for formula funding is key it gives States and contractors the stability and flexibility needed to plan and deliver projects efficiently avoiding delays caused by discretionary processes in addition whatever legislation
▶ 1:07:01that follows the iiga should address the highway trust funds revenue shortfalls and at a bare minimum maintain iiga levels of funding a retraction and funding would be catastrophic to our industry and communities I thank the community for the opportunity to testify today I appreciate its continued efforts to help improve our nation's infrastructure and enact policies that create good paying jobs jobs in America I look forward to working with you to keep America moving I'd be honored to answer any questions
▶ 1:07:32you may have thank you thank you all for your testimony we're now going to turn to questions um from members and I'm going to open with uh Mr Crawford thank you Mr chairman I appreciate the opportunity and as we all know the current authorization for our nation's Transportation programs will expire on September 30th of 2026 um that'll happen fairly quickly I look forward to working with you chairman Graves and of course our ranking member as well and our subcommittee ranking member and all our colleagues in the incoming Administration to advance our shared priorities and reauthorize
▶ 1:08:02our surface programs well ahead of the 2026 deadline Governor Landry welcome back good to see you um I wonder if you could give us a little insight share with the committee the importance from a state perspective of reauthorizing our Highway programs what would be the impact to Louisiana for example and other states like mine in Arkansas if Congress failed to act ahead of the 2026 deadline oh it would be huge I mean look this country moves yes when it can move goods and services and people
▶ 1:08:33um that is probably one of the most important functions that this body has is to be able um to get a stable infrastructure package together where projects can actually be done uh and the way you do it is by streamlining the process it always amazes me as to why each and every one of you would let allow a federal agency to be the gatekeeper between the projects you need in district and the ones that you all fund and the completion of those as well you addressed specifically a a pro
▶ 1:09:03a project that needed some federal help and and I've been down there in Baton Rouge I know what you're talking about um the congestion there and so I wonder if you could maybe expand on that a little bit share with the committee the importance of our core Highway formula funding programs to executing projects at the state level yeah I think when you look when you give States the the flexibility to be able to improve their infrastructure in the areas where they needed the most I mean again when you look at Baton Rouge uh the traffic
▶ 1:09:33there is just horrific and it's because we built an in inate system I think it's the only place that I 10 actually makes almost a 90 degree turn uh in crossing the river and it is it needs to be uh either redesigned or a new bridge would happen but when you think of all of of the industries the manufacturing jobs and the goods that are being produced along that River or being exported or imported out especially up to places like Arkansas as well to move those goods back and forth not
▶ 1:10:03only by water or rail but on Surface um is extremely important to us and I I think that when you look at each one of your States and you address the the the economic formulas that improved infrastructure brings to those States especially States like Arkansas that export a lot um you see the benefit we all America benefits as a whole I understand your your desire for an additional Bridge myself and my colleague Mr Cohen would probably Echo that sentiment that we need
▶ 1:10:33another additional bridge over the Mississippi River uh y can pack them in too if you want if you want to put them in bill as one for Arkansas one for Louisiana yeah there you go we'll just package it all up what for you yeah appreciate it uh let me switch gears here Mr shogan we appreciate you being here today and and let me also say your comments about your son's moving into the trades um support that 100% that we need more young people recognizing the value of the trades and so I appreciate that and those those comments I wonder if you'd be able to share your perspective a little bit on
▶ 1:11:04um you know you're out in the field it's important that folks here kind of understand what this stuff um in the real world I want to discuss an area that I think needs continued scrutiny and that's the environmental reviews U we all know that time is money I appreciated your written testimony calling for reducing bureaucracy not necessarily Environmental Protection but but fast-tracking infrastructure improvements it's important to continue to look for ways to make our limited Federal resources go as far as they can specifically your written testimony mentions
▶ 1:11:34that Texas in which Williams Brothers Construction operates is a NEPA assignment State meaning the state has assumed Federal responsibilities for environmental reviews for projects could you expand on how that designation has benefited projects specifically project delivery timelines and costs while still ensuring that the federal requirements are met sure thank you sir uh I mean really this is probably a better question for our our state DOT lead but uh I'll just give you from my perspective on this um so
▶ 1:12:05that change has reduced the review times from 36 months to 16 months and that is drastic that is incredible and how that helps us is that by Expediting those review times we're able to put the money to work we're able to put the money to projects we're able to bring projects forward the way that they were predicted to be brought forward there aren't any delays and predictability for our state do leads to predictability for Contracting Community
▶ 1:12:35as well I I'll just give you for example in in Texas uh the Texas DOT they provide us a 4-year forecast and this is a list of projects that they intend to put out for bid over the next four years and contractors are able to this and and plan accordingly we're able to make Capital Investments we're able to shift resources we're able to do things that are that allow us to put as many advantages
▶ 1:13:05in place as we possibly can to bid that project to save the taxpayers money and so that's where pred predictability not only does it help the the state dos but it also helps the contracted Community as well thank you appreciated I've run out of time Mr chairman I appreciate it thank you Mr lson thank you thank you Mr chair um Governor Landry again welcome back to to the House Representatives um you said that you know in Louisiana let the good times roll things aren't rolling I think my
▶ 1:13:35statement outlined the fact in fact things are rolling um they're maybe not rolling as fast as people want them to go but certainly rolling a lot better than before we had the b i a or whatever we're going to call it in the future laying out this projects Washington State's received $6 billion in Formula funding Louisiana's uh due for 5 billion in Formula funding over the over the life of the bill as well and I presume you're using that money uh uh for good things down there um in Louisiana and you have things that
▶ 1:14:05you want to do as well I think the the the demand is infinite for transportation projects the need we have to Define for every five years and what can we do over a fiveyear chunk of time in terms of the terms of B but I given that I just want to um understand a little bit more like um k can you elaborate though on the importance of these federal funds that do come to Louisiana um and and how those historic levels have helped you advance some projects
▶ 1:14:35I got a a similar question for council member Fuentes as well I don't think that anyone is complaining about the level of funding that was made it's the question of what happens between of how much are we actually spending to get the project actually done and and where you could almost take uh that money and be able to redirect it take the restricted programs that eliminates the federal bureaucracy I don't think I think any of the Mayors or any of the governors quite frankly on both sides I
▶ 1:15:06would will testify that the amount of bureaucracy that the federal government places on top of us as we move those particular projects is extremely in cumbersome and then of course as you as you layer that bureaucracy uh and administrative process onto it that's time that's money that's what the the the general contractor was talking about and so our plea is to look at at at at the process and see where we can further streamline it so we can actually get the projects to construction
▶ 1:15:36thanks can I just ask when you speak microphone if you can have the microphone right at you because I think we're getting a little feedback it's the side yeah yeah thanks thanks uh for uh for council member ventes welcome uh good to see you again um I wanted to ask you as an elected official and as a regional transportation leader on the Austin Capital Area Mo board bring a unique perspective here can you elaborate on why um it's important to have locals having a voice in shaping Investments um and then as well maybe the importance
▶ 1:16:07of having access directly to Federal funding as opposed to relying on States um all the time I hear this we have this debate like should give more money to the States you do that maybe at the expense of the cities and the counties um who then have to go beg to the states uh as opposed to begging to the federal government I you just if you can help us help us understand that yes thank you that is why the iiga was is such a landmark program for because For the First Time local governments could have access to Federal fundings for that so that we can work together
▶ 1:16:37both federally and locally on projects for our shared constituents projects that matter most to our shared constituents and what we've seen and you alluded to this you mentioned this uh ranking member Larson is that the need the demand that we have for infrastructure projects across our nation is incredibly vast from expanding roadway options improving our roads to expanding Rail options and what this program does it allows local governments to address the challenges of our transportation Network in a way
▶ 1:17:07that is unique and and specific to our community what works in Austin might not work in a city like Liberty in Missouri or perhaps Seattle I mean they are they're incredibly different and that's why having uh funding at the local level is important because local governments know our community best and we can work together with our federal Partners to deliver these projects in a way uh that meets the need that we have just remind uh members as we moving forward we did actually in the a do a lot of streamlining and permitting
▶ 1:17:37reform uh that the this Administration fortunately hasn't been able to implement but the law is there and we expect the next Administration to take the work that we did and actually get it moving maybe not in the ways we exactly want it to do but that's why we're here to oversee um what administrations do so looking forward to that Mr shulan your testimony to call for more surface Transportation dollars to be distributed by formula to States and I'm making the case that there are places where um local governments need to have access directly to dollars I can think of
▶ 1:18:07the county wala wala County in Washington state where they're get $108 million in Direct Federal money for wallula on Highway 12 no one knows where that is except me perhaps but um but that said it wasn't going to happen through the state it happened through federal government uh but it is important um uh to have for uh the formula uh H um have dollars go through formula um if if Congress pushes more money to the states through State formulas how can we locals can get their
▶ 1:18:37infrastructure needs uh addressed because we do have stories of States holding on to Dollars and using them uh to offset other things we also have stories of States who work with local governments to identify projects so I appreciate your your policy point but it's it's not it doesn't end up being consistent state to state so I all I can do is speak uh from from a Texan standpoint wouldn't wouldn't expect would and and I would say that
▶ 1:19:08uh the formula funding has worked extremely well for Texas uh again going back to predictability and and I would encourage all cities to work with their dos as much as possible I think the Texas do does a phenomenal job of working with the cities to meet the demands of not only the local areas but the demands of the entire State it's probably an area we're going to have to explore further as we as we move forward on on the bill but thank you very much and I'll yeld back Mr
▶ 1:19:39Webster thank you Mr chairman for putting this on it's a good good way to start the year it's great find out what the needs are so go Governor good to see you again uh I would uh Louisiana like many states have uh some natural disasters a lot of them and because of that there's uh disruptions at the ports how have you worked with the US Coast Guard to
▶ 1:20:09mitigate those damages or other things that have happened uh and how could they do it better we work well with the US Coast Guard um you know as my time here I served on the coast guard subcommittee with with you all as as well and congratulations I believe you're the chair the Coast Guard subcommittee now um I think the coast guard for a long time has done a great job um of working with the state and local locals in um in areas where there's a Waterway
▶ 1:20:39impediment um of course we have our frustrations uh as we do with with many federal agencies as well but I I I can speak of more times under which the Coast Guard has been flexible enough and worked with us in order to get the waterways open uh than not so the um your state like mine and others uh have a lot of water projects so
▶ 1:21:09forth and uh doing that bill is important it's vital to the state of Louisiana and other states and I was um how do how does water and uh what happens as we as the Army Corps uh tries to implement whatever plan we come up with projects and authorities how to how does that help address your state needs and if I understand the question correctly um
▶ 1:21:40the impact of the army corpes permitting process yeah I look we have some very important projects along the coast of Louisiana as you know we have the biggest um Coastal erosion problem uh in the country uh which drastically affects the rest of the country as well we've got vital energy infrastructure that we protect as well as a huge Fisheries as well as oil and gas um is produced offshore when we try to put projects like the Morganza to the golf project
▶ 1:22:10uh which is used to protect that vital infrastructure those 404b permits get hung up into the New Orleans office because they a lot of other 404 applications out there on the private sector as well by allowing the state to assume that responsibility the same way that the federal government has allowed states to assume some of the permitting say under the Clean Water Act under the Clean Air Act we believe that we can move those permits quicker and be able to get those projects completed
▶ 1:22:40at less cost instead of getting hung up at the core if that's what I understand the was so uh would you say that um uh then increasing the uh the Army corp's responsibilities increasing the State's responsibilities would help your state in 100% it would be the same as as as we we assume the role of EPA
▶ 1:23:11over uh air or water permits as well through our Department of Environmental Quality we um we issue those particular permits on behalf of the federal government by implementing uh those statutes giving us the ability uh to do that under the 404b program we believe would again um be a game changer in many of the projects not only for the problems that we have in Louisiana but for in Texas as well I promise you the mayor knows exactly what I'm talking about um
▶ 1:23:41and I and I just think it would it would help to speed the process up thank you very much thank you all for reping appreciate it you back Mr Nadler and welcome back to the committee by the way thank you before I ask my questions I want to observe that Miss gisha had talked about ports highways and trucking systems and they're all important but she omitted railroads and railroads are more energy efficient per ton Mile and can be electrified and of are our
▶ 1:24:11policy should be to invest in our railroads too and to divert as much Freight as possible from trucks to Railroad to rail uh mayor Fuentes in your testimony you highlighted the significant infrastructure growth in Austin and similar urban areas due to the bipartisan infrastructure funding as you may know since 1982 federal transportation funding has been governed by an 80 by the 8020 split which restricts the federal
▶ 1:24:41department of transportation from spending more than 20% of its Highway trust fund money on Transit projects leaving most of the Federal Highway funding of the federal funding for Highway projects could you elaborate on how additional Federal invest in transit might further enhance public transportation systems in cities Austin thank you thank you for that question Congressman it is absolutely critically important that we continue to have additional funding available particularly for Transit options we know for our growing cities
▶ 1:25:11that this is an a a way that we can not only connect our residents but also ensure that we are getting people to where they need to go whether it be a job School workplace uh Recreation you name it in Austin we have an incredible transit system that our voters approved in 2020 that will bring a new light rail line through our city and I'm very thrilled to sh to share that Aja has been supportive of our project connect line and certainly this is an opportunity for us to continue that investment should Congress eliminate
▶ 1:25:42the 8020 rule I believe Congress should continue to invest in all transit options all Transportation options including Transit but should we eliminate the 8020 rule that says 80% % for highways and 20% for Transit so that we could be more uh flexible as a representative at the local level I'm all for flexibility especially knowing how different our communities are so if there's a way that we can take a look at the funding that allows local government to that flexibility so they can use the funds in a way that matters most to their Community
▶ 1:26:12we are supportive of I'll take that as a yes mayor Fuentes you highlighted the successful implication of federal Partnerships and the bipartisan infrastructure law funding in enhancing local infrastructure projects across various regions including Austin As Cities like Austin and New York face unique challenges related to their size and density what steps could Congress taking the next surface transportation reauthorization to better support complex multimodal projects in urban areas thank you that's an excellent question
▶ 1:26:43first and foremost I'm here to ask for for Congress to not only maintain the funding levels that we've seen through the AA but also perhaps increase it we know that there's such a need throughout our country for us to improve our infrastructure many of our transportation networks are um are are multimodal and have unique needs and local governments have been delivering on meeting the demand that we have on our transportation networks but it's simply not enough and so we need the support of our federal Partners so that we can deliver on those projects
▶ 1:27:13where it matters most thank you and finally again mayor quentes Transportation safety is a top priority as we continue to see a staggering number number of Transportation related fatalities as we saw in the bipartisan infrastructure law Safe Streets for all was an extremely popular program with communities and regions it's been especially critical to enhancing safety and mobility in my own city of New York can you speak to some of the Transportation safety challenges you see at the
▶ 1:27:43local and Regional level and whether Congress should continue to support critical safety programs like Safe Streets or maybe additional programs that's right the Safe Streets program has been incredibly effective in fact it's over subscribed we've seen communities of all sizes towns of all sizes participate over 7,000 in fact and it really highlights the need for us to have Safe Streets continue and the importance that funding is having on our communities in providing safer outcomes uh we know by having programs like Safe Streets we
▶ 1:28:13can have a safer community and especially in Austin we know that we've been able uh to decrease our our crashes by 25% in the last few years um so these programs these Investments are making a huge difference on our communities and certainly want to continue that funding thank you and I have 20 seconds left I'll yield back Mr Perry thank you Mr chairman Governor Landry since 2001 spending from the trust fund has exceeded
▶ 1:28:43deposits I'm sure you're aware since 2008 Congress transferred uh more than a quarter trillion dollars from the general fund uh to the highway trust fund and the CBO estimates that we're going to need an additional 135 over $135 billion is five years after the expiration of the ija we've created a situation where a lot of money's going to noncore projects and some completely unrelated
▶ 1:29:13to highways whatsoever and we've kind of abandoned the and severed the user pay principle um diverted money from actual and uh prioritize special interest above now I'm going to divert from the gentleman right before me regarding Transit productivity because it's been declining since 1960 uh Federal funding from 1960
▶ 1:29:44to 2019 in inflation adjusted dollars and operating costs have more than quintupled while ridership has either largely remained unchanged or constant or since Co actually dropped by a quarter um $ 69.5 billion in emergency supplemental plus funding plus a 67% incre increase in transit funding in the I Aja have not
▶ 1:30:14solved the problem and despite representing 1% of person trips Transit is receiving 15% of the gas tax Revenue in addition to other subsidies and I'm just wondering as a guy's got to State bunch of Highways bridges that you've already talked about cities where Transit is there how does what do you suspect as the answer from our Viewpoint other than just more money that we don't
▶ 1:30:45have I think it's two things um you know my grandfather one day tried to explain to me the difference between wants and right and so um if you're on a boat and it sinks and you can swim you want a life jacket maybe but if you're on a boat and you can't swim and it sinks you need a life jacket right and so I think that part of the problem we have up here and I say that as someone who has served up here is the ability
▶ 1:31:16to differentiate between the wants and the needs and you have to fund your needs before you fund your your wants and then and then if you look at the that inflationary cost look at the level of bureaucracy that is increased in that same time period that you were talking about think about the layers that have been placed upon these projects administratively and in fact I wish I'd had this flowchart that I saw the
▶ 1:31:46other day of of what it takes us to get a federal Pro money from the federal government and through the federal procurement and the project up to completion it can take years not it could take a decade and so I think that if you couple that with determining the needs versus the wants and saying hey let's fund our needs right I mean we have some v i I guarantee Rick if you look at it like there is a demonstrative fact of
▶ 1:32:16of the infrastructure needs of this country the just amount of bridges that just need to be replaced right think about the Aging infrastructure that has served us well right that has aged out if we invest in that and say okay before we do something new before we come up with a new idea let's take care of that infastructure that is crumbling around us that people for decades now have been used to using just my
▶ 1:32:47thoughts well I I tend to agree with you governor of course I'm from Pennsylvania and we've got a lot of structurally deficient ient Bridges and the diversion of funds for lesser and lesser used systems is not a recipe for success and it'd be great to have your continued advocacy I understand gentleman in the other side of the aisle wants to break the 820 Rule and I understand the mayor's uh interest in having um
▶ 1:33:18we've got to be good stewards of the taxpayers money and the and the traveling public especially those who are paying the gas tax taxes want their roads to be fixed want the technology want their Bridges to work and and don't want that money diverted to systems that uh that aren't used and are decreasingly used and so I think we need to have an eye for that and the the argument of needs and wants is is relative with that I yield back Mr chair Mr gindy thank you Mr
▶ 1:33:48chairman thank you uh all the witnesses for the testimony very important and Divergent views on where we are I was pleased to hear that uh fres you said there's some 70,000 projects that have actually been funded out of the iig might keep that in mind Governor Landry as you were talking about all the bureaucracy three years 72,000 projects things are moving along um I'm curious about and
▶ 1:34:19Governor thank you so very much for uh your opening statement and the concern that you have for Los Angeles Los angelinos uh and the tragedies of the fire um there's going to need to be federal assistance through FEMA there's a long history of that support we've seen it recently uh in the two hurricanes and the floods hurricanes in Florida floods and the like uh I'm concerned
▶ 1:34:49that there appears to be a movement uh among members of Congress and Senate and even a are soon to be president that those kinds of that support to rebuild and to provide immediate assistance to those that have been harmed uh in Los Angeles appears to be tied or may be tied to some
▶ 1:35:20other issue in other words there would be conditions placed on the availability the money Governor Louisiana in the last two decades has received over $120 billion do of Direct Federal Aid a lot of it uh with Katrina uh the hurricane rebuilding uh your cities roads do you
▶ 1:35:50believe that the federal that you received and others have received in the case of Los Angeles should be conditioned upon some policy are you saying that Congress is taking a new position of not tying string not giving us strings to the money they give us I mean it's something unfortunately that we've been complaining about for years but
▶ 1:36:20like if we're going to take that approach let's take all the strings off is you know is what I would say look I would tell you that there's no doubt after um quite frankly FEMA could almost set up its headquarters in Louisiana when you count the number of natural disasters that we've had um and and believe you me I um I feel deeply sorry for and and work make calls into the the governors of States who normally don't have those types of disasters like North
▶ 1:36:50Carolina like California uh because I can tell you this is we can spend that money and you if you go down on the ground you'll be able to see ways under which that money could be implemented and FEMA could do that job a lot better with the money that they have already um and have a greater potential impact but when you go back to the igj I think there were 72,000 projects that would approved but 1,500 of those projects are core projects I think about the ratio excuse me Governor
▶ 1:37:21I it's you're testimon is very very important but I want to focus here on the emergency that is AA should be available to the people that have been harmed in Angeles that relief is being discussed to be delivered in a different way it would only be available on conditions that would have to be met by
▶ 1:37:52California uh that many of which are unrelated to the problem your state and you're quite correct FEMA could set up its headquarters you've received over $120 billion dollar over the last two decades none of it conditional correct similarly Florida the two hurricanes North Carolina the floods relief made available unconditional there's a long history here and I want our colleagues to
▶ 1:38:22be aware that by the current discussion going on that the relief for Southern California would be conditional with some extraneous policy that may have nothing to do with the fires there is a road that we should not be traveling uh Governor thank you so very much I would agree with that I mean look I don't think that we should be placing conditions on on on on funding that is um is not attributable to
▶ 1:38:52the disaster in of itself um whether we did it on one side but it should be good for both sides as well thank you very much Governor I yield back Mr Babin yes sir thank you Mr chairman um I want to thank uh our Witnesses here today and I especially like to welcome my good friend Louisiana Landry um really appreciate the good job you've been doing down there and my our heart goes out to you about what happened in in New Orleans
▶ 1:39:23uh um I um I wanted to ask a couple of questions and I'll get back to you Governor I want the first question I'd like to ask is for Mr shulan the Biden Administration just yesterday issued a rulle making eliminating the waiver for manufactured products under the Bild America by America I want to ask you real just a quick answer what will the financial impact be for associated general contractors membership and what imp
▶ 1:39:53impact would it have on construction projects in the terms of timing thank you sir uh my caution is that I hope we have a slow roll out for it we cannot just immediately eliminate the waiver manufacturing needs time we we did a big study on this in in the state of Texas and looked at products that don't have
▶ 1:40:23an alternative to it a domestic alternative to it and in order to ramp up manufacturing and produce those products it was going to take I think at at least two years okay and so we need to be we need to be mindful of how that is rolled out so that it doesn't delay projects again it gets back to predictability and and delaying projects ultimately cost more and we can't have that you bet thank you very much yes sir and now Governor Landry um
▶ 1:40:54transportation funding allocated to States has increasingly become siloed do you believe that it would be more effective if the federal government provided funds to States as a block grant allowing these states and local Partners the flexibility uh to determine where and how to allocate the funding or do you think the current system is working well sh yes you want block yes we want a block granted the more flexibility you can give the states and the
▶ 1:41:24governors to work with their local governments the the quicker we can get those projects completed absolutely thank you very much it has been four years since Democrats passed the iig we've already been asked some questions about this but the infrastructure Bill and their Department of Transportation continues to fall behind and fail to implement this bill in fact the Department of Transportation is still putting out Ru makings that were required by previous service transportation reauth authorization bills dating
▶ 1:41:54all the way back to 2012 we've heard from several states that given its historic size the ija added all sorts of new requirements some of which remain unclear that continue to cause headaches for State Departments of Transportation can you elaborate on your State's experiences with that with the um uh would would the decision to shorten that can you clarify that question for me yeah on the i j
▶ 1:42:25oh yeah right they look again I think that if if you took the i a and you eliminated the restrictive programs that are ended and you went back and you further block granted that money to the states creating the flexibility they needed um it would certainly be helpful in addition to that I know that the there was an attempt to implement the One Federal decision into the igj the problem is is that you shorten the gain time but you lengthen the FI you
▶ 1:42:55know what I mean you what what happened was you you told the agencies listen you have to complete your environmental assessment in two years but they just doubled the amount of paperwork and then when we don't get to the two-year Pro the two when when the clock runs out at two years and we're not there they just pile on more paperwork uh and so again again let me re again we our states are capable and y'all have complete oversight over that the ability to give us the ability to issue
▶ 1:43:25those things and eliminate the bureaucracy place that burden on the state and we wouldn't be complaining about that here and you could just call us when we don't do what we're supposed to do this brings me to my last question you're going to be answering a lot of questions today you already have so I want to give you a chance to speak freely if there's one thing that you'd like for this committee to take away from this meeting today Governor what would that be I think boys just one I think the first thing is to look
▶ 1:43:56closely at the level of bureaucracy that is piled upon the states as you attach strings to the funding that you send us and try to implement Common Sense rather than you know I don't know what's been going on before to be honest Congressman but give us we're responsible the mayor look she gets elected like I like we do as well and we will work to implement the ultimate goal of
▶ 1:44:26driving those economies by improving that infrastructure with your help absolutely thank you so much Governor I appreciate it yield back Mr Johnson thank you Mr chairman and uh ranking member for convening this necessary hearing and I also want to thank the witnesses for sharing their valuable insights with us today infrastructure is the backbone of our nation every dollar we invest is a dollar invested in safety economic growth
▶ 1:44:56and opportunity for every American the infrastructure investment and jobs act isn't just the most historic infrastructure investment in our nation's history it's a Lifeline in 2019 we were spending just 2.5% of GDP on infrastructure a sharp decline from the 4.2% we invested in the 1930s the results were clear Clum crumbling roads s dangerous Bridges and disconnected communities
▶ 1:45:27thanks to the ija the Department of Transportation allocated $388 billion in Grants to rebuild and modernize roads Bridges Transit airports rail rays and ports now over 85,000 projects Across America are underway creating jobs and repairing 196,000 miles of Roads modernizing more than 11,400 Bridges and
▶ 1:45:57supporting cleaner more efficient transit systems abandoning these Investments risk leaving 1.6 million jobs behind delaying progress and endangering the safety of millions of Americans and we can't afford to turn back this is our opportunity to build a stronger safer and more connected America uh councilwoman fente is in your testimony you emphasized the importance of robust infrastructure
▶ 1:46:28investment and the need for continued collaboration between local state and federal governments to address America's infrastructure challenges last year um a um bus driver for our local Transit Agency was tragically shot during a dispute about a $2.50 bus fair in Georgia given that incident how can local and federal Partnerships be strengthened to enhance safety
▶ 1:46:58measures for Transit operators and prevent such tragedies in the future thank you Congressman for that and thank you for highlighting the success of the iiga and the importance of reauthorizing it um certainly we are both committed at all levels at the local at the state and the federal levels to ensure the safety of all of our residents and I believe that through this funding it's a way for us to ensure that we have the programs services and infrastructure needed to ensure the safety of our communities and I think with the Safe Streets program in particular we have been able to
▶ 1:47:28deliver on those safety measures whether it is uh doing a a Citywide lighting study that we're doing in Austin as a result of the safe Street Grant award that we received or if it's installing SE for Crossings there's a variety of ways that we can ensure the safety of our communities but the end of the day what matters is that this is the iiga marked the first time that localities were able to draw down federal funds in a way that maximizes those efforts thank you uh during the devastating weather disasters marginalized communities
▶ 1:47:58are more vulnerable to experience disproportionate harm due to their limited and often inadequate infrastructure in your testimony uh quentes you emphasized the need for a balanced approach that considers the diverse needs of communities of all sizes and ensures that infrastructure projects benefit all residents particularly those in underserved areas uh can you how can we ensure that infrastructure projects are designed
▶ 1:48:28to effectively mitigate risks faced by marginalized communities during weather disasters thank you I think that Congress should watch how funding is distributed in a way to ensure that it goes to the areas where it's needed the most and by again having that local partnership and distributing these funds it's absolutely key to ensure that we are targeting these investments in a way that ensures that no one in our community is Left Behind especially and let me stop you there I want to yield the balance of my time to
▶ 1:48:59uh Congressman uh figures okay thank you I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding uh Governor Landry I wanted to catch you before you you left because I know you're hard pressed for time but uh thank you for your service uh to this country in the military and as a law enforcement officer um I um represent mobile which is birth place of Marty gr so you're welcome and uh we thank you guys for Nick even but the um as a fellow child of the South uh someone who grew up in the South grew up going around the
▶ 1:49:29southern states uh can you talk about the historical impact of the lack of investment in infrastructure that we've had in that region and the importance of this committee pay in particular uh attention to working on uh driving Investments toward the South to infrastructure well I can talk to you just like about SEC football right when you invest in the infrastructure over there you see the results that you get in the football teams right I think that again um certainly the South has lagged in the amount of true infrastructure
▶ 1:49:59dollars uh that can be placed based upon the economic uh activity that is occurring um I I tell people all around uh the country and in around my state when I go places is that there's actually a new industrial sou that has emerged that is bringing great jobs to areas especially the areas that that you serve the ability um to retain and to expand on those jobs and to ultimately improve the wages of those jobs is based upon having good infrastructure
▶ 1:50:30to move those goods and services and to support those economies thank you Governor I yeld back Mr Rouser thank you um Mr chairman um Miss galit I appreciate all of our Witnesses being here but uh I know you've had some direct experience and helping us recover from the very devastating effects of Helen um thousands
▶ 1:51:00of homes were destroyed uh this very Swift movement of goods and services is so incredibly important uh in that particular uh uh situation uh can you talk just a little bit about how Home Depot and similar companies have worked with their Partners in the area to continue the movement of goods and Disaster Recovery recovery efforts and in particular uh from a supply chain standpoint uh can you talk about what we as Congress need to do to help uh assist with that
▶ 1:51:30delivery thank you Congressman for the question uh yes uh we were front and center uh during some those uh during some of that disastrous uh hurricane and a couple of things that that the Home Depot does one is our foundation not only donated uh $2 million to some of the relief efforts but we really partner with our local uh uh uh local local charities that can actually deliver on the ground get people
▶ 1:52:00back into homes and do things like that that is something that we do on a regular basis um in terms of uh some other activities we do things like our Associates will volunteer to come and help clean up we have uh efforts to create uh kits that were actually donated to all of the uh surrounding areas and then we actually had some of our transportation providers some of our carriers volunteer free of charge to deliver those
▶ 1:52:30into the community one of the things that we do is we have a command center that is really focused on getting product before the event that are things that are needed for the community and we will sit in a room with our transportation carriers and everybody else and we expedite as much product as we possibly can to get into those areas as fast as we can so we're partnering with the local and State uh officials and Dot to make sure we know which roads are going to be passable before and after the event
▶ 1:53:01and one of the things that that could help that is on the truck weights we know that there's often some exemptions given to truck weights and hours of service during disasters but sometimes the product is coming from out of state and so it would be really helpful if we had a little bit more consistency of that policy across the board so that way we can stay on the federal interstates all the way from let's say a facility in Georgia all the way to a a facility or to the communities in North
▶ 1:53:31Carolina yeah is there any particular rule or regulation uh that you know you just looked at and said my goodness this makes no sense in this particular case you touched on hours of service and all that but was there one in particular that has hindered your efforts more than more than others I'm not aware of any that have hindered our efforts we we really work with local and State uh officials to make sure that we can get products into the communities as quickly as possible and and we have been successful in doing that yeah well thank you very much
▶ 1:54:01for all your effort obviously it's very devastating situation there and yes unprecedented uh quite frankly and uh it's going to be a long time uh recovery so I appreciate your continued effort efforts absolutely uh Governor Landry uh great to see you and um I really appreciate you being here as well I'm I'm focused on of and in terms of this uh uh question this point of uh uh conversation I want to know how we maximize Energy Delivery uh and what I mean
▶ 1:54:31by that is what are the things that uh we need to repeal what are the things that we need to do in coordination with the states uh to make Louisiana the most one of the most energy dominant States I say one of the most because I got Mr Texas here here to my left and I'm cognizant of that uh but Texas Louisiana all our great dominant uh energy producing states uh what what are the things that Congress needs to do to maximize Energy Delivery Energy
▶ 1:55:02Delivery if you could give me back my gas stove that would be great my tankless gas water heater it'd be nice look I think that um uh that we can have some fun right um look I think that that you're asking a very important question when you look at uh um the direction that that not only uh our nation's economy is driving but the global economy is being driven everyone here
▶ 1:55:32wants to see their economies grow everyone here wants to see wages increase everyone here wants to see the standard of living increased you cannot do any of those things without power and without energy and I think that we're finding out uh that that the direction that we were taking this country in regards to delivering that type of power is really not going to meet the needs of driving that economy uh so I think that anything that you all
▶ 1:56:02can do to look at how we increase overall power output of States not only in Louisiana or Texas or in your state as well um that I would urge Congress to do that again I go back to the permitting process uh I go back to the the level of bureaucracy uh that's out there and I think that when you do that when you reduce that you unleash the Innovation that is pen up here in this country well AB absolutely and I I would ask um and I recognize
▶ 1:56:32I'm a little over time so I'm going to yield here in a second but I would ask that you and your team if you can compile things uh that uh we specifically as a committee can can work on to help on that front whether it be related to pipelines uh the One Federal decision all those things that uh uh culminate in really creating for major headaches and or greater expedition of energy delivery well I can tell you real quick I know you had of time but just on the night gas act like if if we want to place a natural gas pipeline
▶ 1:57:03between us and Texas why should the federal government care that's a decision between us and Texas in other words if we wanted to build pipelines between states as long as those two states agreed why would you care thank you I back Mr Carson thank you chairman uh this question is for everyone regarding infrastructure especially rail uh which uh Indiana beach grow facility for Amtrak is uh housed in my
▶ 1:57:33district uh can you describe some of the more important cyber security and information technology challenges that should be addressed How concerned are you about the previous FAA computer outages and uh the notice of air emission system that went down and the ransomware attack s that have been targeting specifically Municipal agencies what are some of the top priorities in this area uh that we should focus on and why and Are there specific ways
▶ 1:58:03that our committee can provide direct assistance who was that's rock and roll Governor yep look um I think you bring up a great um topic again we go back to aging infrastructure you know have we adequately invested in the technology we need especially with in the FAA right or are we still relying on decades old technology uh to keep our passengers and our planes safe and being able to be on time which
▶ 1:58:33is a problem nowadays I know you know that I would just like to inject one thing when talking about the FAA we've got a problem with drones we do um we in the FAA is is not adequately addressing the ability of states to mitigate a drone activity over critical infrastructure and I would urge this body to weigh in on that um my op what I have heard it they even restrict our
▶ 1:59:03federal agency ability to mitigate drones I'm not talking everywhere I'm talking over vital infrastructure um and so again I think that plays into some of the questions that you asked thank you governor and I will join you on the call to the FAA we certainly encourage the FAA to take in more local input as well uh for this not only with the Drone activity but also for the safety of our airport uh we are dealing with severe Staffing shortages at our airports Across the Nation but particularly in Austin we need more air traffic controllers um
▶ 1:59:34you have such a great question about what more can we be doing to to enh make our infrastructure more resilient and certainly there's a lot we can do on hardening our infrastructure our physical infrastructure but we take a look at the fact that we are in a digital age so much of what we are contending with is around cyber security so you are seeing more and more localities adopting cyber security measures to ensure that all parts of running our local government our state government and our federal government are hardened that we are secure and that we are adapting to
▶ 2:00:04new technologies as it's emerging so I think when you consider when Congress considers reauthorizing the iiga I would hope that there's consideration there for what that looks like for localities in our states and see this as an opportunity to inject additional resources so that we can ensure that we're protecting our communities on all fronts both physically and on both absolutely thank you and for for Home Depot we absolutely leverage rail on a regular basis for our building materials as well as we try
▶ 2:00:34to do take try to take trucks off the road and put them on Intermodal uh so for us two things are really important one is both is the physical as well as cyber security so physical security from a uh a crime and a theft perspective that we know not only our rail providers deal with but are ALS so our domestic Trucking providers deal with and the same thing across all of our modes of transportation we have had several carriers that have had cyber attacks and and it has certainly impacted the ability for them to operate
▶ 2:01:06effectively so believe it or not our roadways are getting smarter also through technology as well and so we are also conscientious about the potential uh cyber hacks and things that may ultimately impact not only the motoring public but also our workers in our work zones that are relying on that smart work Zone device or that smart technology to help keep them safe sir thank you all yel back
▶ 2:01:37chairman Mr Boss thany you Mr chairman you know I'm sure all of you uh know by now there's a national shortage of truck uh parking I was mentioned in one of your testimonies the Department of Transportation study uh the issue found that the truck parking shortages in every state region country and problems uh in the that continues to get worse recent estimates are right now that for every truck out on the every 11 trucks on the road there's one parking
▶ 2:02:09place this puts drivers in a no- win situation uh for those of you that don't know I came from a family trucking business I tell people I ran it for 10 years I loved it for eight and um and Mr Collins also deals with the same business but the drivers like I said are in no win situation and then I've worked ever since I've been here to try to direct towards Trucking for parking for trucks uh govern Landry the port of New Orleans
▶ 2:02:39is one of the nation's largest cargo terminals with a thousand trucks going in and out of the port each and every day how familiar are you with the truck parking shortage issue in your state and if and if the Federal government had a dedicated pot of money to expand parking capacity to help address issues to you do you think that's something that the states and the local municipalities uh in Louisiana would be interested in yes I I am very keenly aware of of of
▶ 2:03:10the problems we have down at Port of Orleans uh in regards to trucking we've got a lot of vehicles as you said going in and out um just to bring goods and services either for export or or those coming in on top of the amount of tourists that are coming in anything that we can do to holistically look at a way to improve our surface transportation and get the movement of goods and services while addressing the needs of of those truck drivers as well I certainly am more than happy to work with you all
▶ 2:03:40on so so another question kind of expanding onto that if we don't have a a a set dollar directed to the states and local municipalities to do that if you're just given your uh M fuel money and everything like that you're not going to put it in parking you're going to put it in highways and bridges and things as you explained earlier correct well it's unfortunate I've got a bridge that y'all took over and won't replace and so I've got to choose between replacing a bridge or giving the truck has more parking that's correct but I think that if you go out
▶ 2:04:10there and you look and say okay you're going to do these particular projects especially and tie in some of the waterways funding as well you know with when we look at the ports it shouldn't be just about the water it should be about about the rail and the surface transportation and do it holistically we'd be more than happy to work with y'all on that you know with the number of trucks uh on the road in in mind it's important to remember that our supply chain needs to Pro uh promote efficiency to get goods
▶ 2:04:40from point to point as quick as possible uh whether it's a terminal or a port or warehouse getting Goods loaded in onto the truck but both safely and efficiently is vitally um Miss gisa can you you both talk or can you talk about uh Home Depot and how are they're increasing efficiency on the load loading to move the trucks faster and then also that same parking
▶ 2:05:11issue yeah thanks for the question uh so on the the efficiency that is something that is near and dear to my heart uh Home Depo wants to do everything we can to Max maximize what gets onto a truck so we've done a couple things over the past few years uh number one is we on our outbound side where we load from DCS to stores we're actually doing those floor loaded because we can get more Cube into those trucks by having them floor loaded so that way the stores are unloading the individual boxes uh and net net it's an absolute
▶ 2:05:41benefit it takes trucks off the road and it also reduces cost and the inbound side we actually have some algorithms and and math that order our inbound product from vendors in truckload quantities and so it it rounds to a truckload on the inbound side as well we do similar things with maximizing Cube on our International containers but when they come to the US we put them into floor loaded 53ft trailers to send them across the country so those are some things that that we have done and continue
▶ 2:06:12to optimize those on the parking piece I we completely agree with you are it's one of the biggest issues from our carrier base and I know you you mentioned the one and 1 to 11 spots we've heard that stat too and and that it takes on average about 56 minutes for a driver to find a parking spot correct we feel like that is critical uh you know having them Park in a safe spot not only protects the driver but it also protects the cargo that that we're seeing rising in cargo theft and so those are really those are both
▶ 2:06:42very important to to Home Depot and and we also hope that there's possibly some sort of national technology that would help drivers find available and be able to reserve parking spots instead of driving around to find those locations thank you thank you all for being here my time expired are you back I'm going to allow um Miss Titus and then Mr Westerman questions with the governor before we let and then we'll let you go Miss Titus thank you Mr chairman
▶ 2:07:13I represent Las Vegas and we don't make a lot there except maybe dreams come true so that's why we're so I'm glad to be on this committee because it's so important for Supply chains we import everything from flowers to lobsters to people so getting them there and moving them around is is uh very important governor my district and New Orleans have a lot in common you know we host big events we depend on tourism and we're subject to extreme weather in your case hurricanes in our case
▶ 2:07:43extreme heat I I'd like to follow up on what Mr garamy was mentioning and ask you what it would mean to a state like Louis iiana in a disaster situation if you had to wait for the vagaries of politics in Washington before you could apply for and get the funding that you need well first of all I just want you to know me and my wife over in your beautiful city uh we not all of our dreams came true but we had a good time well that's the main thing come back again
▶ 2:08:13um look I will tell you as someone who has lived through um and been an elected official through many natural disasters over in Louisiana um that what matters most is the speed at which you can deliver the service that's needed at that time the politics can wait the speed that you need is extremely important um and
▶ 2:08:43and I I can tell you I have lived through maybe and I don't know exactly what Mr Gman was talking about but I'm going to look into it because I don't know that I haven't lived through some of the frustrations maybe that you are talking about it's just that not all of America um has a natural disaster like we have had but I'm sure the folks in North Carolina have have have have seen it as well and so again I would tell you that any way that you can streamline
▶ 2:09:14and give FEMA the flexibility it needs to deliver the services that it needs to those people who are hurting the most I would support I I agree with you I don't think we should hold up funding for some other political reason when people are at their lowest point and they're most desperate uh speaking of extreme weather I'd like to ask you U miss fentis about how we can structure uh future things to take into consideration the impact
▶ 2:09:44of climate change uh we're dealing with extreme drought you see it lead to um Wild fires water is a scarcity that we have to deal with for the future it's tied to lives livelihoods quality of life would you just address that a little bit more so we can keep that in mind as we look at reauthorizing service surface Transportation thank you congresswoman certainly in Austin Texas We have dealt with our fair share of extreme heat and
▶ 2:10:14and know what that contends with in my district we currently have a pilot going on where we have a cooling sealant on our streets and that's important because in an area that is dealing with the heat island effect and being able to utilize new technologies that will lower the temperature will have better outcomes for our residents who live in that neighborhood so I think that reauthorizing the iiga is a great opportunity for us to look at how can we improve the resilience of our cities to withstand extreme weather events uh particularly
▶ 2:10:44when it comes to heat or winter storms or with droughts and this is an a way that all local leaders are looking at and need more funding for when we are thinking about how else might we update our infrastructure I appreciate you mentioning those heat Islands because those are in our urban areas they're most often disadvantaged areas we want to be sure that when we fund these programs that they impact everybody equally not just your more affluent neighborhoods that's right all right well thank
▶ 2:11:14you and I you back Mr Westman thank you Mr chairman thank you to the witnesses for being here Governor thank you for hanging around way over here Bruce Westerman from from Arkansas your neighbor to the north my congressional district is pretty much the whole Arkansas Louisiana state line on the on the South but as we look at reauthorizing the surface Transportation um act this year you it's I think it's good to reflect on our history going back to 1956
▶ 2:11:44when isenhower uh initiated the interstate highway program and to look at the remarkable accomplishments of previous generations where they they built 42,000 miles of Interstate and I believe 32 years and have most of it uh paid for and since then the the last what 34 years that was 35 years they built 42,000 miles the last 34 years we built 7,000
▶ 2:12:15miles and the cost has gone through the sky even uh if you look at the the money spent on the original interstate highway system and the amount of money that was in the uh infrastructure and Bill even adjusting the original amount in for inflation it was less than what was approved in that that infrastructure bill so somehow costs have gotten out of control schedules have
▶ 2:12:45drastically slowed down and Governor as an example Interstate 49 that um originates down in I guess Lafayette goes up through speaker Johnson's District into my district all the way up to to Kansas City that's that's where it's supposed to go to that project was first talked about in 1965 before before we were born and it's still not complete today can you just talk about how important it is to to finish
▶ 2:13:15up these these routes and what Interstate 49 means to to Louisiana and I even asked the the mayor from Texas it could take a tremendous amount of pressure off of trucks moving out of Houston going up uh on that Northern route yeah it's time we stop talking and start doing I think if you look at my staff was good enough to pull the chart that I was talking about this is a dod's project delivery process in Louisiana that's based upon the federal model
▶ 2:13:45and if you follow it from stage zero to Stage six it take you 10 years to complete a project I mean think about that now that doesn't include the funding for the for for the projects because the funding is not always as reliable but I think that goes to show I think we built the Golden Gate Bridge twice as fast as this process and so I think that the the sad part is that we continue to just believe
▶ 2:14:15that throwing money at it is going to fix it and maybe we should look at the things that are not working a liit those things and see what was working in the past and then what you see is instead of the price going up and the miles getting shorter the price will go down and the miles constructed will be longer thank you Governor mayor do you want to talk about Interstate 49 in Texas thank you you know what I would add to this conversation is that what we know is how inner connected our transportation
▶ 2:14:46network is and when we talk about how our goods are moving and through the supply chain delivery and really just how Americans are experiencing their daily life when they are ordering deliveries if you live in a rural part of the area chances are that that that delivery at some point is going to go through a local Road and knowing how important that connection is between our local and federal Partners that's why I think this iiga reauthorization and maintaining the funding levels is so necessary because we're all
▶ 2:15:16committed to ensuring that we're able to get our Goods safely across and efficiently across it it would be good if we actually built built more roads with that funding I'm going to move over to Mr uh shogan you talked about delayed projects um I think the second or the Interstate 45 expansion which began preconstruction in in 2002 my uh staff member for this committee told me that he was only four years old when that started finally
▶ 2:15:46had a groundbreaking just a few weeks ago what's what what's causing the delays you see it firsthand is it permitting is it regulation is it uh unsteady funding how would you rank the problems uh I would say d all the above and I I think we need to figure out ways to streamline a lot of processes to help bring projects forward faster and and then it comes back to the predictability side as well
▶ 2:16:17and if you have a long-term sustainable funding model set up for the Dos to act on to have that predictable funding gives them the opportunity to figure out the needs of their state and apply those those funds where needed thank you you back Mr chairman Mr brownley and before we do that uh thanks for governor for coming um I appreciate it uh I appreciate it
▶ 2:16:47very much and I want to remind the members if you have a question for the governor and we didn't get to you just submit it uh in writing and and uh we'll get uh we'll get that answer for you thanks M brownley uh thank you Mr chairman uh mayor protm fenes um according to the Pew Research Center there are 42 and a half million Americans living with disabilities Americans with Disabilities including many veterans uh with disabilities face significant Transportation challenges
▶ 2:17:17that impact access to employment healthc care and essential Services creating barriers to Independence and freedom of movement a study by the US Chamber of Commerce estimated that at 25% adoption rate autonomous vehicles could increase vehicle miles traveled by individuals with disabilities by 4.6 billion miles annually as well as boost the mobility of older individuals and non drivers furthermore the national disability
▶ 2:17:47Institute found that removing Transportation barriers for individuals with disabilities could result in significant economic growth with potential GDP increases of close to 870 uh billion and the creation of millions of new jobs autonomous vehicles have the potential to revolutionize Mobility for the disabled Community offering new Mobility options and Independence in your role as council member or with the national league of cities have you engaged with
▶ 2:18:18the industry or on the safe integration of autonomous vehicles into our transportation networks it's a great question thank you congresswoman um absolutely in Austin Texas we currently have five autonomous vehicle companies operating in our city and we're seeing that type of innovative technology the impact that it can have both in helping our most vulnerable Road users to be able to get around our city but also working with the companies to have access to their data they have video that's running 247 that's
▶ 2:18:48looking at our roads and they can provide us information when there are obstructions in the roadways or barriers in the roadways that we can then deploy our public works department to come address so it's a great opportunity for local governments to work with these companies to improve the overall safety of the network um certainly we want to ensure that that it's a partnership and it's a collaboration and um that is one way that we are working with autonomous vehicles and integrating AI Technologies into our Network thank thank you for that
▶ 2:19:18uh Mr shren um in your testimon uh you noted the impact of uh impact of inflation is having on the cost of construction so what levels of investment do you think are needed in the next surface surface Transportation reauthor reauthorization legislation and if Congress fails to complete the reauthorization on time or does not ensure the next bill keeps investment levels up what impact do you think disinvestment will have on jobs in the
▶ 2:19:49industry sorry I I think if we do not find a way to maintain a long-term sustainable funding model that it will be catastrophic for our industry and our communities no doubt about it I'm catastrophic in what way layoffs absolutely absolutely if if you have if our industry experiences a retraction to where there's not as much dollars to put forth in projects then by all means you have our companies bidding fewer
▶ 2:20:19projects building less work not needing as many resources it that's the catastrophic side of this no company ramps up the way that or industry ramps up the way that we have to meet the demands of this new market and the new funding levels just to see it hit a cliff and fall off again that's the catastrophic nature of of what we're looking at here uh thank you for that and um last but not least
▶ 2:20:49back to you madam mayor um is uh in terms of the II uh ja if it when an expires and if it is not um reauthorized uh reenacted what what what's going to be the impacts uh on cities uh that are obviously still struggling uh to maintain roads Bridges transit systems and Water Systems thank you for that question we know that economists are saying that if we do not reauthorize at the same funding
▶ 2:21:20level it is A1 trillion mistake on our economy and it would keep $700 in from the pockets of our our residents and so we know from economically uh that there there is a disadvantage here if we don't continue with the funding we also know that iiga presented a tremendous opportunity for us to improve safety outcomes Across the Nation and we've seen for nine executive quarters uh a reduction in traffic fatalities throughout our nation because of these programs so the fact that we now have over
▶ 2:21:5025,000 local governments Regional Partners States all participating in improving and and uh enhancing our multimodal Network all throughout the nation I think that is reason alone why we should continue these important Investments thank you for that and I yield back Mr chairman the chair now recognizes uh Mr LFA for five minutes thank you Mr chair uh as preface one some of the conversation I'm hearing here around the capital is that uh um with California is very
▶ 2:22:21dire very uh tragic fire situation southern cal southern California and happens all the time in my North State part of the the state um that uh there's concern about how the federal government might be sending money to the state of California well we already have an emergency declaration which is helping and in an emergency situations getting the fire out getting people immediate assistance isn't part of the equation we're talking about really to have that bad word conditions applied goes to
▶ 2:22:51the money that would be coming later for rebuilding and things like that so when you look at a track record in state of California where right now the state legislature is working to put a condition on state aid of passing a $50 million package to control president Trump or fight president Trump as he comes in that's their priority right now and they haven't let that go to immediately help fire victims and and do what they can in Southern California they're tying that together so we have
▶ 2:23:21uh a situation where the state has never paid back the Federal Government $20 billion for unemployment benefits that it gave during that covid era instead it doubled the rates for uh employers to pay into the unemployment fund which now makes that more expensive for them and hurts hurts employees as well we had a situation where a tax gas tax was passed in the state of California by the legislature and then affirmed by a narrow vote by the voters under proposition six where as soon as that was
▶ 2:23:51passed they took 30% off the top and did it to other things gave it to other things besides Road working like that for uh buying land for environmental stuff or I think training employees or this or that so uh we have U we have u a giant amount of money for um well many other things for example uh we have things held up for fire suppression we had a a grant grant money held up for
▶ 2:24:21for fire suppression because for a year and a half due to environmental permitting and such it didn't get done and there was a giant fire that was 300,000 Acres because they couldn't do some of the work on the ground and get the grant money out that was given due to environmental issues we have the water supply issues that are held up by environmental issues and so that money sits there we have fire lack of fire Readiness as Gavin Newsome stands now they in the middle a and watches and watches the things that uh should have been done now burning part of of his constituency
▶ 2:24:52we have Sanctuary status for illegal immigrants and all the Myriad of benefits that they're receiving we have our colleagues in North Carolina they're wondering if their people are going to be helped in three mile long lines to get propane and to stay warm during the winter because they haven't had it delivered to them yet so talk to me about conditions now we have finally High-Speed Rail in California which in 2008 was passed as a $33 billion plan to build high-speed rails supposedly from LA to San Francisco well that price has now quadrupled at least to
▶ 2:25:22130 billion it supposed to be completed in 2020 and it'll be at least 2035 if it ever gets done uh it was claimed to be a million Job Program no it's a million job years which is puts it out about 200 years from now so yeah I think people around here are going to be interested on where the money would go if we decide to do federal aid on top of getting the emergency work done I think that's a pretty good question to ask so it's disingenuous to have given the track record of Newsome in California how much money they're
▶ 2:25:53wasting on other things so the question for Mr shulan uh how California's actions to also ban gas powerered vehicles by 2035 uh affecting the highway trust fund so the trust fund seems to be declining over these years the balances will be exhausted in 2028 due to a cine in gas tax revenue which you noted in your testimony under Clean Air Act California s EPA has just approved 100 well many many waivers to set its own standards
▶ 2:26:23for cars trucks and railroads including Banning the gas cars by 2035 usually several other states follow California for some reason on those Rags so they have a compounding effect on the highway trust fund electric cars don't use gasoline so they don't pay into it they're not paying much of anything right now which they need to have their own uh fee system for them so if Congress raised a grass gas tack which I don't think is a good idea that really wouldn't have an impact so question rather than trying to figure out new ways to tax folks to
▶ 2:26:53prevent the highway trucks from from going broke should Congress look at limiting or repealing California's ability and others to set its own car standards and truck and railroad basically to uh only go to electric vehicles wouldn't that help the fund so real quickly I'll just say that in Texas our legislature in the last session passed a bill adding a registration fee for all electric vehicles to help make sure that they paid
▶ 2:27:23some part of their dues in the use of the roadway systems I I would encourage other states to do the same yeah we'll be looking at that here it's only fair thank you Mr Speaker I go back chair now recognizes uh Mr carbajal minutes thank you Mr chairman and thank you to all the witnesses for being here today uh mayor protm of Fuentes uh highways are a critical piece of of our country's Transportation infrastructure system
▶ 2:27:54my district includes a major highway that spans across the Three Counties that I represent Highway 101 is the lifeline for not only cities within my district but many other regions of California other than in Interstate 5 Highway 101 is the only other major route connecting cities between Southern and Northern California it is critical that our nation's major highways like the 101 remain in good condition and have adequate funding to be improved and expanded
▶ 2:28:24to handle increased capacity however these goals are harder reach if revenues continue to exceed deposits for the highway trust fund which we have been discussing all morning can you elaborate how declining Revenue collections for the highway trust fund are impacting cities and what you believe are the most important steps Congress should take to addressing this issue thank you congressman and thank you for your service at the local level appreciate it you know the number one step that Congress could take to help
▶ 2:28:54us ensure that we have the funding to that we need to manage our transportation Network would be to reauthorize the iiga and maintain the funding levels We Know by injecting this Revenue stream that is reliable and dedicated and allows local governments the flexibility to put these dollars where it's needed the most that we can improve our shared outcomes for for our constituents and so we one of the considerations and why I'm here to and proud to represent the national league of cities is is truly that that call uh
▶ 2:29:25to to action and that we we need funding thank you uh following up mayor proen Fuentes can you elaborate how the bipartisan infrastructure law has open more opportunities to leverage local funding and why this has been beneficial to cities and local governments well we've seen counties as well I used to represent County government that's right yes well we've had over 700 new applicants for the Safe Streets program and so we think about who do who all do we have
▶ 2:29:55participating in managing our transportation Network and right now with the funding going to our states we have uh 50 players right uh with the iiga for the first time it unlocked this opportunity for us to have over 25,000 entities our local level our regional partners and our states all working hand inand to fix our nation's infrastructure and that's what I think is the beauty of a and why and the importance of we need to reauthorize it thank you Miss gica ports are essential
▶ 2:30:25for enabling the transport of goods in and out of our country ensuring that our nation's ports are modern efficient and reliable will assure that our country remains competitive in the global marketplace with the Home Depot utilizing many of the ports what specific Federal policies do you believe would make the biggest impact in strengthening our ports infrastructure and reducing supply chain disruptions thank you for the question the biggest
▶ 2:30:55thing for Home Depot and other uh importers of goods is really for the ports to remain fluid and one of the things that we saw during the pandemic when we had significant amounts of volume was pretty much most of our major ports saw major backlogs and that was primarily because they couldn't Flex up and and process more freight with the same infrastructure that they currently had and and so there is some modernization that we feel like Could Happen uh for the port system
▶ 2:31:26that will not only make uh the ability to get product through faster but also to create safer jobs for all of our Dock Workers in addition to that moving product inside and out of the ports is another area that we feel needs some incremental investment there are Railways that leave our ports that do create a lot of congestion because you have two carriers to rail railroad carriers and so it creates some congestion with switching and then on the same
▶ 2:31:56in the same side for trucks in and out of the ports we want to make sure that that is as efficient as possible so they can get in and out and not sit and wait for picking up cargo thank you Miss gallica what supply chain Investments has the Home Depot made in recent years and what have we learned from the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and uh how have your Investments evolved over time thanks for the question so Home Depot has invested over a billion dollars
▶ 2:32:27uh really since 2017 we've opened up a 100 new distribution centers you know during the pandemic and and the volume increases one of the things that we really had to focus on was were things like curbside delivery curbside pickup for our customers because they did not want to leave their homes we we increased our ability to deliver directly to customers homes from our direct fulfillment perspective and that was a huge win uh something that we continue to do now even though more people are actually coming into the stores
▶ 2:32:57some of the other things that we had to put in place during uh the capacity crunch on International was we actually had to put in some prioritization logic where as a company we had to determine what was most important and then we leveraged technology to calculate exactly what's the next thing that needs to get on a ship and we use still use that today on the infrastructure and the distribution side you know we have pivoted a little bit more we still do a lot of direct consumer but now we're focusing some of the Investments
▶ 2:33:28on the direct to Pro and direct to job site and the ability to deliver large quantities of product to pros at a low cost is really beneficial and really is going to help in the long run the communities thank you Miss Gall I'm out of time I yield back Mr chair the chair now recognizes himself for five minutes um Miss gisa I I I'll will get to my question in a second but I just want I want you to I want to preface it this way there there's a few reasons that I came to Congress
▶ 2:33:59and ran for congress so I've been on a mission so people in here are probably going to get tired of me talking about this at some point but I want to I want to start out I I read your testimony and you talked about truck parking you also mentioned it a little bit here and I know Congressman boss brought it up as well but uh I want to hearken back not too long ago being in the trucking business myself for over 30 years you know and and thinking about Trucking and trucking problems this is a recent problem this is not
▶ 2:34:29something that's been around forever and uh when you look back on it probably a decade maybe a decade 15 years ago most of your parking by trucking companies were done at the shiper of the conin a lot of times that's where we stayed overnight it you know it it not only helped give you a a parking place at the dock but it also helped with your hours of service and uh I guess I want to focus the the the the real
▶ 2:34:59problem and the real Crux to the problem of why we don't park there anymore we don't use those those parking facilities and and I think you would probably agree to to why I'm going to say this but it's because of liability and and the fact that we are such a sue crazy country now that if anything happens on anybody's facility other than uh say the side of the interstate and that's not safe that's not safe for the trucking company now or or rest
▶ 2:35:29areas that everybody's going to sued no matter what happens and the main reason one of the reasons I came up here and and Tor reform needs to be on the state level as well but by God we need tort reform in this country to help Rectify a lot of this stuff I don't know if you want to comment ment on the fact that that Home Depot and and I know that firsthand uh with Home Depot uh has eliminated a lot of the
▶ 2:35:59parking so I'll I'll talk through the parking side one of the things that that we really focus on is having secure lots and so when it is possible we obviously would rather have trucks dropped and in our secure Lots overnight at the vendor locations right that is up to them to secure the lot uh we sometimes are space constrained in some of our parking lots but that is our preference for a Home Depot any any truck that
▶ 2:36:29is over the road for a long length of haul right our ask and really requirement is for them to park at their carrier location at a Carrier Terminal where they can have a secured lot I can't speak to the rest of the oran of the of the shippers but I think you would agree though that that that has changed changed over the years for where Trucking used to park and and I would say that that is is the main reason and and I wanted to ask you one other quick thing I'm I'm going to run out of time
▶ 2:37:00um but I want to bring all of this home even even with some of the other comments on on tort reform and what's needed so bad um truck weights uh you know artificial intelligence is really taken off to to create that efficiency that you were talking about I know that you get emergency declarations and we can haul more weight when there's an emergency is declared I know States now on state highways allow more than 80,000 but Federal interstate system is a no uh do you find that Home Depot cubes out or weighs out
▶ 2:37:30first on most of your truck load it it honestly depends on the product category for things like where we have tile building materials that often weighs out first but you would say that weighing out is still a problem before you CU out yeah AB it is absolutely still a problem do you feel that any and I'm I don't have a decision on this yet either on which way I would go but do you feel that shippers would push uh more weight to make cheaper Freight rates or more
▶ 2:38:01hauling we're going to pay the same amount for that truck going from point A to point B per unit or per truck per truck so you're saying it would make it cheaper per unit correct so it would it would make it cheaper and it would take more trucks off the road okay thank you I appreciate that thank you um I'm really running out of time so I I would say that that Mr shogan when you look at stuff especially from a CDL standpoint uh the image of trucking has really been
▶ 2:38:31decimated through even commercials where truck drivers are being sued as well and and I just think that Tor reform is plays a big role in that I'm glad to see that used two truck drivers came along as generational dad drove mom drove Uncle drove but that's not the case anymore it's hard to find them and it's a great job uh with with the way that trucks are so safe the last thing I got to comment on mayor um I've been to a lot of air traffic control Towers you're exactly right we have a bad problem
▶ 2:39:01with air traffic controllers not signing up not wanting to be that and I'm going to tell you the reason that I saw and what I heard is because we are hiring people based not on qualification but based on some sort of Dei initiative and the private sector has gotten goodwi of that you've seen that with everything from Boeing to a just here recently uh public corporations that are moving away from ESG and Dei and I would encourage anybody when you're out there looking at this problem look right back to the federal government we need to hire people based
▶ 2:39:32on qualifications and people are quitting becoming being air traffic controlers because they don't want to be in the room and get blamed when somebody makes a bad mistake who had no idea what they were doing because they got hired from the wrong reasons with that I yield back and the chair now yields five minutes to misses wait a minute I'm sorry I'm sorry misses I'm gonna Dodge you next week uh the chair
▶ 2:40:02yields five minutes to Mr Stanton did I get it right yes you did uh Mr chairman thank you uh very much I was just check and see if congresswoman SES was in a hurry but she says she will listen to my statement at first uh I want to say thank to Chairman and thank you for the witnesses for being here on this critical topic today looks like Governor Landry had to leave but I did want to pass on from the people of Arizona that
▶ 2:40:32the people of Louisiana in our our thoughts and prayers out that the horrific terrorist attack in New Orleans early this month just like the people of Los Angeles are in our thoughts and prayers right now as they are right now dealing with the tragedy of these ongoing uh fires um on the issue of Transportation 2024 was a a huge year for transportation investments in my home state of Arizona not only did we secure $95 million dot grant for major improvements to widen Interstate 10 connecting two of Arizona's largest cities Phoenix and
▶ 2:41:02Tucson for tens of thousands of people who commet along there every day broadening the 26 Mile Stretch along the heila River Indian Community we also brought home more than $250 million in discretionary grants through our state do this year and millions more to cities across the State of Arizona this is money with an important purpose money to keep our street Safe Money to connect our communities and our businesses just last week the City of Tempe in my district received 25 million
▶ 2:41:32to construct the Upstream Dam bicycle and pedestrian bridge completing a missing path that connects residents to Tempe Marketplace M Avenue Mesa Indian Ben Wash greenbell papico Park and towards downtown Phoenix transportation is vital for economic growth and it is happening in my state of Arizona but we have more work to do on this committee this year one of our major tasks maybe our most singular important task before the committee is the surface Transportation reauthorization this bill funds
▶ 2:42:02Federal Highway and public transportation programs along with Transportation research in City passenger Rail and other critically important programs we must build upon the success of the bipar of infrastructure law and keep growing on our investments in our transportation Network these Investments have important Ripple effects investment in transportation is investment in our economy investment in our Workforce as a former mayor myself I know just how vital is for City development and sustainability
▶ 2:42:33losing ground on infrastructure means potentially losing out on trillions of dollars in our communities and businesses and losing millions of jobs and on this committee I'm the only Arizona member one of my priorities is to make sure that our state gets its fair share of federal funding the current funding formula Distributing the highway dollars disproportionately impacts rapidly growing States like Arizona and like Texas uh mayor Fuentes you know that well and
▶ 2:43:03others across the country because it rise on Old census data and traffic volumes from over a decade ago our transportation system needs to work for everyone in the country making sure our neighbors with mobility issues can make it to a public transit Hub with microtransit options or investing in in our rural roads that our tribal Partners have highways that are usable in all weather conditions especially in case of emergencies um and we as was discussed we have these ongoing wildfires in
▶ 2:43:34California emergency transportation emergency routes are top of mine Miss gitaa um I want you to describe from your Vantage Point as someone who works in supply chain the importance of usable and connected roads in case of emergencies what are some of the highway related barriers you face when your company's supplying support in emergency situations thank you for the question it it really is critical for us to be able to get into impacted areas
▶ 2:44:04beforehand to get the necessary supplies that are going to be needed as soon as the uh event is over one of the things that we've been very successful with as well as partnering with our with state and local to get exemption letters so if they've closed down an inter state for example we can actually as an essential retailer we can get into the community when others may not be able to because it is so critical to get those supplies in and so for us having accessibility to those uh highways is always going to
▶ 2:44:34be critical and then working really closely with State and State and local to be able to get in even when a ra a road may be closed temporarily thank you very much mayor Fuentes you mentioned in your testimony um referencing the the American Society of civil engineers 24 Bridging the Gap economic scenario uh and the importance of these Investments as it impacts families the family level and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in that regard maybe go a little more detail
▶ 2:45:04can you describe the cost the cost savings families receive in water energy and transportation based on important Investments thank you congressman and thank you for your service at the local level we appreciate it um yes you know investing in infrastructure has a direct impact on the pocketbooks of our families and by having better infrastructure it changes the way that our families are able to get not only through their communities that they're not stuck in traffic wasting productivity time they have access to Reliable fast internet speed so that they can
▶ 2:45:34work online uh the power is on the water is clean and of quality um those are all thing that things that produce efficiency savings and why we can say confidently that by reauthorizing the ajaa and maintaining the investment levels is a $1 trillion advantage to our nation thank you very much with that I'll yield back with the statement that I did check and Greg casar has nothing but great things to say about you oh good good to see thank you thank you like now to recognize my good
▶ 2:46:04friend from Minnesota Mr Albert thank you very much uh Mr chair uh I wish the governor had uh opportunity to stick around a little longer he talked about permitting reform and the the the duplicative process for permitting I'll just give you an example uh and Mr schen you you understand this in Minnesota our construction season about December it shuts down if we have an issue with the permit or a NEPA reform it shuts down for
▶ 2:46:34about three and a half four months which is hundreds of thousands of dollars and that's happening everywhere mayor everywhere in our country which is taxpayer dollars the governor is exactly right we have to stop the duplication of the process I believe in State's rights I believe that I trust the states I come from local government a small town of Minnesota I was one of the city councilors Hermantown I couldn't stand when St Paul dictated
▶ 2:47:05to us what we needed to do unfunded mandates and I know that St Paul doesn't want the federal government telling him what to do I believe that we can reduce the time frame for many of these projects which will and not cut Corners make it more efficient and we can do that if there's the will and the will has to come from the federal government to allow and give that the states the right to
▶ 2:47:35do their permitting like the fiscal responsibility act one year environmental assessment two years environmental impact statement there's a shot clock right this current Administration publicly said at a hearing that that's just a recommendation No actually that's law so the next incoming Administration will adhere to that law do you know how off uh how long it takes on average to permit a mine in the United States of America 29
▶ 2:48:06years 29 years the only country that takes longer is the country of Zambia in Africa and Mr schen we want bamerican Visions right for for our for our critical minerals for our um charging stations we have to wave it because we we're not mining here in this country we're mining in other countries that use child uh slave labor and it has to do with permitting and having the will to mine here
▶ 2:48:37it's really critically important every one of you Witnesses by the way thanks for your testimony are an important part as we go for permitting reform we have to have you in the game with us talking about examples of a bridge that didn't get or was delayed 3 years you know we just talked about California I wish Mr gar Mendy my good friend Mr gar meny were here because you know what a prescrib burn is right you burn the fuel uh so the forest fire is reduction
▶ 2:49:07reduced the the sides of the road in in in California you try to get a a uh permit Nea reviews three years if not longer to do a prescribed burn and we wonder why we have these uh disasters that that make it worse it's it's because of our uh lack of of putting forth Common Sense efficiency reforms in the process and I think that the three of you here have a
▶ 2:49:37very very respected voice in doing that and I'm going to change gears a little bit um I want you to know Miss uh galica that the Home Depot I am not a veteran myself but my wife is she's an IRA Iraq uh War veteran the discount you give the men and women in the military don't ever change that don't ever change that uh that's that's an the Home Depot is honoring our veterans and I appreciate that
▶ 2:50:08the last thing I'll talk about is we have ports I was just with some of the Minnesota wheat grows in the back back of the room I had a conversation outside the duth Minnesota the port of duth is the most Inland port in this country we have to recognize the importance of ports which will reduce the congestion on our roads so those of you who have ports uh like we do we want to push that investment as well it's
▶ 2:50:38extremely important you want to bring the product uh into this country bring it to the port of duth the heart of the Midwest and we can we we can have it distributed by truck from there so I will just say thank you for for your testimony thanks for answering our our questions and um uh lastly um I I will I will say that we have an opportunity Transportation uh this uh Congress uh and we must not forget other forms
▶ 2:51:08of transportation they're all part of that connection to make our economy work and the efficiency in reforms literally will save the tax taxpayers in our communities hundreds of thousands of dollars and Mr chair yield back thank you thank you and I would like to recognize Miss SES from Ohio thank you Mr chair and uh I first would like to thank you uh chair Graves and ranking member Larson for holding this uh hearing today and kicking off the 119th Congress uh in the
▶ 2:51:38transportation infrastructure committee I appreciate uh both of your bipartisan work in this committee and I'm looking forward to getting uh to work again uh to improve our nation's infastructure for people all across this country and specifically for Ohio's 13th congressional district uh thanks to the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 communities from coast to coast will continue to see over $1.2 trillion dollar in local Investments to improve the reliability resilience and efficiency of America's infrastructure over the next
▶ 2:52:09few years Americans are already seeing tangible differences including improved roads and bridges transit systems airports waterways and environmental infrastructure in Ohio which is home to the nation's fifth largest interstate system and the third highest number of bridges at over 26,000 we are seeing quite a bit uh and in fact the bip Parson infrastructure law has awarded 27 grants amounting to $1.3 billion in funding to improve our state's roads and bridges with more than 6.6 billion committed to State infrastructure
▶ 2:52:39projects of all kinds now last Congress I was the only Ohio and on this committee and we were able to receive so much more so much and now we have a second member so I only expect that we can get double uh what we had last time so uh welcome to Congressman Taylor uh to the committee I'd like to turn our attention to is's 13th congressional district which I am proud to represent uh we have seen more than 116 million of Investments uh for environmental and water projects and 12 million in
▶ 2:53:09Investments for airport infrastructure creating jobs and promoting cleaner Greener safer and more accessible transportation for my constituents and while I know people get very frustrated with detour signs and barrels I would encourage everyone to think that when you see a barrel that is a job uh a long sustaining job in our community uh which we should all be proud of one of the largest investments in my district was to the City of Canton which was reward awarded $46 million to upgrade and modernize the Sugar Creek Water Treatment Plant and
▶ 2:53:39this plant serves more than half of the community's drinking water and has not seen any improvements in over 60 years uh airports roads Bri Bridges all of the infrastructure uh is is really important and particularly for a midsize Midwest Community in the Heartland which often uh don't always get the attention of our larger metropolitan areas the bipartison infrastructure law was significant and impactful uh and really grateful to continue to see more now these are
▶ 2:54:09not possible without help and work with our local government Partners uh and councilwoman Fuentes uh you are here thank you on behalf of the National League of cities and uh I am grateful for your advocacy and grateful for the many mayors in Ohio's 13th who I get the privilege of working with and delivering some of these resources to their communities um but can you talk about how you have seen communities across the country utilize this funding and what it would mean if you all did not have this kind of funding thank you I appreciate
▶ 2:54:40the question congresswoman what we know what we've seen is that for the first time we have communities all over the state who are participating in the programs that are funded through the iiga and that has led to a number of improvements particularly around safety outcomes in Austin alone we've been able to utilize ijaa particularly the reconnecting communities Grant in a way that will be transformative for my community connecting our East Side to downtown Austin uh with a wonderful new park and also spurring economic activity by allowing this
▶ 2:55:10this covering over our interstate and so that's a win-win for us in Austin to be able to deliver new amenities new connections so that every everyone in our community is able to fully participate because we know that investing in infrastructure is investing in the economic strength of America thank you so much for answering that that question we received a $10 million reconnecting communities Grant as well uh and maybe we will connect with you all to see how you are best utilizing it and take some great ideas from you uh in 2021 with the help of the democratic House and Senate the Biden Harris
▶ 2:55:40Administration was able to accomplish what previous administrations infrastructure weeks could never do uh delivering on the promise to provide much needed funding to America's infrastructure uh and the transportation infrastructure committee is expected to reauthorize the surface Transportation Act in the 119th Congress uh a potential bipartisan win for communities all over the country uh we must seize this opportunity and continue to uh find WIS from this current Administration and the next uh and we cannot fall back on our heels uh to allow America's roads and bridges to
▶ 2:56:10be reduced uh to a state of disrepair as we've seen so again uh thank you to the uh Witnesses thank you to to uh the members of the committee I look forward to the work of the 119th and Mr chairman I yield back thank you i' like to now recognize myself as many in this room know the United States is set to host a number of international events that require a large number of infrastructure projects and Investments there will be World Cup uh soccer tournaments through a number of cities next year summer olympics and um Los Angeles
▶ 2:56:40in 2028 and a very very important event 2034 South Lake City Winter Olympics in the great state of these events will only add to the need to address an aging and failing infrastructure across this country uh projects being delayed due to extreme burnison uh regulations Rising project cost and tightening Workforce have all contributed to this important issue that we're discussing today without addressing these issues with real solutions we will continue to threaten America's safety and jobs and
▶ 2:57:11continue to allow cost of everything to increase Mr Shogun uh you address many of these concerns in your testimony uh as a member of both this committee and education Workforce committee I especially understand and value your thoughts on having more young people to join the trades and also really appreciate and commend you on encouraging your own children to enter the trades how do you think the shift on emphasis of of Trades will impact the domestic infrastructure uh process and what do
▶ 2:57:41what what does a congress need to do to help facilitate this I think the answer there is D all the above we'll we'll take whatever help you can give us especially working towards getting these young folks into our industry uh vocational schools uh tuition and uh attendance well let me just say attendance to vocational schools is up which is a great sh which is a great sign I love that uh
▶ 2:58:11you know JZ being called The Tool built generation is another great sign I think we're getting there we're shifting uh we're just not quite there yet there's still more work to do uh but we need all the support that you can give us uh at in Texas uh at our local chapter we've got uh uh we build Texas roads program and that is basically to assist people to get to a website they look at
▶ 2:58:41a map of the state of Texas and it shows what highway contractors are working in what areas or regions of the state they're able to click on those areas link directly to a contractor's website the HR portion of their website to what we're trying to do is streamline the process make it shorter those that are looking for jobs here's the jobs that are available as much as we can we're also including a social media campaign as well uh you know something simple
▶ 2:59:11like uh a a kid playing on a PlayStation uh unit and saying and ditch this and go to this and show them that there's a transition between playing video games and the and the handheld units to operating a heavy piece of equipment with joysticks um you know similar things like that that I think that we need to do a better job across the across the country I would say though that uh I could ask a favor of you uh one of the greatest campaigns
▶ 2:59:42in my lifetime was the gut milk campaign I would love to see a gut work campaign because I do believe that we need to promote work across this country let's get people back to work let's get these young kids into our industry and uh and and help build America if I could add real quick I'm so sorry please do yes please uh I love the topic and and so obviously at Home Depo we're passionate about about the skilled trades uh the one thing that I would
▶ 3:00:12ask uh Congress to to look into is uh some short-term pel grants that we could people can use for driving schools and also potential to leverage the GI bill to pay for trade schools as uh and driving schools as well that would be I think a big help well just know uh this is a passion Workforce and education is a passion of mine I'm on the education Workforce committee so look to hear from us we want to make sure we get as much input from innovators so we know just how to get this done with we have too many so much good talent we have to make sure we
▶ 3:00:42Congressman may I also add just have one more thing to add since we're on Workforce Development and that is a passion of yours in Austin you know we have major infrastructure projects that are happening in our region $25 billion dollar worth of infrastructure projects from expanding our airport bringing a new light rail line renovating our interstate and we did a study and we found that we would need 10,000 skilled workers to be able to deliver those infrastructure projects on time and under budget so our mayor LED an initiative to create the Austin infrastructure Academy it is a
▶ 3:01:12an academy in partnership with our community college board our Workforce development board and our our local business community and through that we're able to fund apprenticeships uh with our Community Partners so that we can get more workers through these programs so that they're available and ready to go to deliver on those infrastructure projects and I I just think it's a great way that localities can take action understanding the need that we have and understanding the workforce need that we have I would appreciate
▶ 3:01:43if you can reach out to my office would love to have a chance to talk to you more about that maybe you come down and visit all right this is a very very important topic and we have so much talent it's and I'm glad our country is waking up to this so thank you so much for that and I'm going to yield back and now I have M Miss Miss Shon uh from M Michigan thank you so much Mr chair and thank you to our esteemed Witnesses for joining us today it feels like the first day of school uh our first hearing of the 119th Congress to discuss the needs of America's transportation
▶ 3:02:13and infrastructure uh system I am so thrilled to be back on the transportation and infrastructure committee uh for a second term we have so much work to do uh from making sure we've got uh functioning roads uh fixing our roads in Michigan many know is is a high priority um High-Speed Rail in improving our air traffic control towers and ensuring that our freshwater systems uh like the Great Lakes can endure uh for generations to
▶ 3:02:43come this year marks 20 years since the Federal safe roots to school program was created uh the safe roots to school program is critical to building Transportation infrastructure to connect Americans across the country to schools and other key destinations as the mother of two school-aged boys this program hits close to home for me the program also generates economic benefits 4.4 times greater than the cost of infrastructure and programming it's incredible maybe
▶ 3:03:14it's uh my Frugal Dutch nature uh but I would love to to see these economic benefits reach even more communities mayor proam frentes uh I see you nodding along here uh also an an Enthusiast for this program can you please speak to the program's broader Community impacts including reduced traffic congestion congestion um boosted economic activity and public health benefits um from your city's perspective thank you yes and you you hit the nail on the head on the economic impact
▶ 3:03:44just knowing that it's four times the amount when you're able to deliver on these safe routes of school projects I currently have six safe routes of school projects underway in my district just highlighting the need that we have particularly in our underserved areas uh what we know and what I can tell you as a local policy maker anytime we deliver on a safe route and we complete a sidewalk connection those are the wins that my community responds to the most they love to see when we have that missing sidewalk finally completed and it
▶ 3:04:14really is all about our kids it's providing the safety for our children ensuring that people are able to get about uh to their school to their park to their place of recreation so I think the safe rout of school program has the highest Roi not only in terms of the economic impact but just from a a being able to deliver for our communities that we are so lucky to serve yeah yeah absolutely um we already touched uh just briefly on Workforce Development another issue that uh is very important to
▶ 3:04:44me uh and my community we see a lot of opportunities to work together across the aisle here in in uh that community and I I thank you I'd love to hear uh more about the awesome infrastructure academy uh I'll have my team reach out um as as you said uh you know Miss fentz it is it's impossible to deliver these projects on time and under budget without having the workforce that we need um our Workforce is also critical to ensuring
▶ 3:05:15uh Supply chains are running smoothly and safely um particularly as we see Trends in genz pursuing more skilled trade something I applaud it is now more important than ever that we uplift this work that we're doing we can fund it um we can you know try to encourage people to go there but until we're truly valuing those types of jobs I don't think we're going to see the types of changes that we need to see I'm the proud co-sponsor uh of a bill
▶ 3:05:45called the honoring vocational education act um which provides greater information on industry specific certificates it helps the United States census both track and make available uh this information so that people can know how their communities are enriched um currently we're only publishing information when you go to a four-year or a two-year college but not necessarily on those who are getting skilled trades and it's not it's not reflected Mr Shan I'm wondering if you can talk
▶ 3:06:15to how we can boost awareness Ness of non-traditional forms of Education to ensure that we have the skilled trades Workforce necessary to accommodate our nation's transportation and infrastructure needs so I think there are a lot of programs out there similar to to what we've heard today what I think that we're lacking is the pipeline of individuals to go into those programs to
▶ 3:06:45get the training I think the training is there I think we're set up we're perfect the problem that we have is that there's not some type of a campaign or some type of movement to attract these individuals to come into our industry unfortunately and I think that's what's desperately needed in this in this nation yeah I I I couldn't agree more uh that's what the honoring vocational education Act is all about making sure that we Elevate and and truly honor this type of work and
▶ 3:07:15education just as much as as as we would have for your college degree thank you so much for for uh being here today and for your testimony I yield back Mr chairman woman yields back uh chair recognizes a gentleman from Tennessee Mr bur thank you Mr chairman uh Mr shulan did I get that name right all right Birch it nobody ever gets it right so don't just want to make sure um I even go when I'm on TV I'll tell them right before it's Birch it Birch like the tree and like I just at breakfast
▶ 3:07:46may never get it right never get it right and nobody's ever confused me for a Frenchman I can assure you I got you I'm a southerner too buddy right on well good then we're the only two up here that that uh don't speak with an accent so it's good to have you on here one concern with infrastructure investment job AES reduced purchasing power compared to when the bill passed in 2022 as you know does a federal government's overregulation lead to longer completion times for projects I'm sorry I ask the question again the door
▶ 3:08:16does the federal government's overregulation lead to longer completion times for projects tough question uh I would say that the regulations that we see predominantly impact us on the planning side in the development of plans and so the impact of the delay that we see is a project that is forecasted to be come to bid let's say two years from now and due to regulations it gets delayed and so now we've planned to bid that
▶ 3:08:46project next year or the following year and suddenly it's two more years out or unknown years out they move it completely off of the four-year forecast that's how that impacts us for the most part right when I was in the state legislature one of my colleagues step butry I believe it was had a bill that forced the Departments all to work together on uh you know the electric people the paving people the irrigation people all had to work together so you wouldn't have to tear up the pavement three times because of the regulations just to do it one time
▶ 3:09:16so um do you agree that overregulation though is partly responsible for the reduced purchasing power of funds allocated by the infrastructure investment jobs act I'm sorry you're GNA have to repeat the question again had gum man I know it interpreter um I'm just kidding do you agree that overregulation is partially responsible for the reduced purchasing power of the funds allocated by the infrastructure investment and jobs act I would say that
▶ 3:09:46if the regulations are impacting projects and delaying those projects then by all means it is costing more delayed projects cost more take that as a yes what changes would you recommend briefly streamline any and all processes that we possibly can all right put the money to work as quickly as possible you agree that more flexibility though in funding would lead to Greater efficiency uh absolutely let's take uh
▶ 3:10:17Tex for example we've got 1,200 people a day moving to Texas our state DOT needs the flexibility to be to be able to use those funds to meet the demands of his State Tennessee has that same problem yes you do formula funding is it better for long-term projects than discretionary grants absolutely it's predictable can the department of how can the Department of Transportation improve the discretionary grant program
▶ 3:10:50uh I would say that I'm in full support of the formula funding program and I'll leave it at that all right another another funding issue is the highway trust fund and the Biden Administration has spent billions of dollars promoting electric vehicles and um very few charging stations I might add have been and a lot of them are just in competition with private Enterprise who've invested their own money and then we tax people and invest their money in these so-called charging stations
▶ 3:11:20which are a nightmare to me because you're going to have to police them in the middle of the night and that bothers me um more government do electric vehicles pay into the highway trust fund no you think they should uh in the state of Texas we passed a bill in the last legislative session that added a a fee to registration for EVS just to try to accomplish that feet does that does that does that cover the cost though I mean you compared to gas you know that was one of
▶ 3:11:50the things in Tennessee when they brought those in you know it was 1 to 2% you know now it just seems to be climbing popularity it is it equivalent I don't know but it's a bite of the Apple it's a what it's a bite of the Apple okay at least it's something would any of you ladies care to comment on those any of those questions no all right thank you Mr chairman I yield back to remainder of my time my 14 seconds good job and I do
▶ 3:12:20understand what you're saying in Texas too yeah I don't need to tell a prompter with him I'm I'm sorry what did you say I gentleman yields the chair recognizes Miss fush from North Carolina thank you to the chairman and the ranking member for holding this hearing and thank you to the witnesses for being here today we know that your time is valuable and so we greatly appreciate you appearing both for us today mayor protim Fuentes I want to ask
▶ 3:12:50you about the bipartisan infrastructure Law's impact on Inter City passenger rail in my home state of North Carolina Amtrak has already experienced an exciting and significant increase in ridership over the last few years even before the B rail Investments come to fruition we've had seven different Inter City passenger rail corridors designed by D for the enhancement or growth including ones
▶ 3:13:20running through my district like the Cora that will extend inter city service from Raleigh through Durham all the way to Winston Salem and an additional larger Cora ID project funded by the B will extend passenger rail service from Charlotte all the way up through Virginia to Washington DC I believe Texas has similarly received a number of corridor ID and planning grants for in City rail so I'm curious can you speak to how
▶ 3:13:51this guaranteed funding from the B has impacted Texas ability to plan for expanded passenger rail service across the state thank you congresswoman for that question you know having this funding available for inner city rail is is essential and we're seeing you know as our country continues to grow just how important having this connectivity having this option is to the people that we represent um you know we can't just the law of physics alone means that we can't just continue to
▶ 3:14:21only invest in expanding airports and highways we have to invest in other options and that includes Inner City passenger rail um we've seen um some some good progress I'm appreciative of the ID Corridor awards that we got in Texas and certainly would welcome some additional support for the Austin and San Antonio connection thank you for that as those of us in this room are all acutely aware funding authorization from the bipar Artisan infrastructure law is set to expire next year this year our
▶ 3:14:51committee will spend a great deal of its time energy and resources figuring out what comes next for our nation's infrastructure and transportation systems so again from your Vantage Point as the chair of the TNI Services committee for the national league of cities what sort of Ripple effects would there be for local governments and communities across the country if Congress chooses not to maintain the bil's programs or their respective funding levels once the
▶ 3:15:21authorization expires in 2026 thank you what we know is if we don't maintain the funding levels it will cost us a trillion dollars in economic impact um it would keep $700 from American family's pocketbooks so it would have a tremendous impact if we don't continue to invest in our nation's Network and finally as you touched on in your opening room remarks thanks to the funding from the B the Department of Transportation
▶ 3:15:52has made historic levels of Investments throughout the country over the last few years in everything from Bridges and highways to public transit and rail from your perspective to what extent have these historic levels of federal investment in our nation's Transportation Systems spurred or leveraged an increase in private sector investments in this space absolutely you know I represent the City of Austin and I'm really proud
▶ 3:16:22to say that we our voters have passed an I think hundreds of millions over 700 million in Mobility bonds of which our local Chambers supported because everyone can agree both our business community and our governmental leaders and our community leaders how important it is for us to invest in a multimodal transportation Network so we've been successful in advancing projects but the reality is that with the demand that we have for infrastructure improvements is vast and I know not just for Austin I sit on our local no
▶ 3:16:52board for the capitol area Metropolitan region and if we take a look at our long-term planning we have identified that we have over $30 billion worth of infrastructure need on our transportation Network just for the central Texas region so I can only imagine what that amount would be Nationwide and so the demand is so great that it would be a huge Miss opportunity if we don't continue this investment thank you Mr chairman your back gentleman gentle lady yields uh chair recognize a gentleman from South
▶ 3:17:22Dakota Mr Johnson uh thank you sir I'm eager to work with the committee to streamline how Freight is H across the country greater flexibility would certainly help in that way with that in mind I'd like to submit for the records sir a letter from the shippers Coalition on some Supply Chain Solutions they would submit for the committee's consideration without objection very good unfortunately our country's had a lot of disasters in the last year I suppose that's always the case now normally when a president declares a
▶ 3:17:53disaster the states are given authority to wave the federal weight rules uh on interstates now that is great very helpful of course sometimes the relief materials are coming from a state that's not impacted by that disaster and that means that uh they they they can't wave those Federal weight requirements that can sometimes slow down delivery because trucks have to repack uh they have to stop they have to reload uh as they move from one weight limit to another
▶ 3:18:23that's obviously not ideal that's why my bill the move act would allow states that are not directly affected to still wave those Federal weight requirements during time of disaster and so I just want to start with you ma'am to get any thoughts or observations you might have on whether or not that because Home Depot doing business in 50 states clearly you have a lot of supplies that can be used during disasters help me understand whether or not that flexibility would be helpful thank you for the question yeah it would definitely be helpful when
▶ 3:18:54when we do have a natural disaster somewhere it is very often that we are shipping product from a different state and so meanwhile if that state has an exemption where the issue is or the catastrophe we still will have to load a lower weight because we're using interstates to get to that Final Destination ways around doing those things mean going off on side roads which is not not something that we would support because we would rather keep the large trucks on the major highways and so it would definitely be a benefit
▶ 3:19:24to the Home Depot and to really anybody providing disaster relief is to have that flexibility to have those higher weight limits at the federal level so that's a really good point I mean the now if we pass my bill then everything's great and perfect and fine but under existing law we are really sending a message to head off on some of these side roads which put a greater Financial burden on States and localities who have more money in maintaining those than they do in maintaining the interstates am I am I reading that right
▶ 3:19:54absolutely yeah well let's help out those States and localities let's make better use of our federal Resources by providing some flexibility during the disaster so uh Mr shulan we've talked a little bit today about how some of the permitting reforms in the f are still not fully implemented like they should be put a little more meat on that bone give me a sense of where we have fallen down on the job I I don't have specific details for you if you'll submit a question for the record
▶ 3:20:24I'll be happy to work with my AGC staff and report an answer back to you sir yeah sure was there anything when you had uh you had it in your written testimony was there anything in particular you had in mind or you just wanted to make sure that was something you wanted to highlight for the committee's attention yes because we need to streamline those reforms we need to get everything shrunk down we need to get projects going we need to get money to projects we need to move this program along and so anything that we can do to
▶ 3:20:55reduce those reforms streamline those reforms while still maintaining the same Environmental Protections I'm all for but we need to reduce that time on the side I mean all the talk has been appropriate in Washington DC for years on both sides of the aisle that we need to do a better job of Permitting and sighting everybody on both sides of the a acknowledges that it makes no sense that the same kind of Transportation project that you can site in Florida or in Italy in two years takes seven
▶ 3:21:25years to get done in America and yet I think we have not made anywhere near the progress we need to make on actually solving the problem and Mr chairman I would hope that over the course of the 119th Congress that we would have special urgency on how we can put into place real measures that would actually in fact reduce this absurd timeline we have to build any in this country I mean part of American exceptionalism has been that we were always willing to
▶ 3:21:55do big projects from the Missouri River Dan to the interstate highway system to rural electrification to Universal service on dial tone you couldn't get any of those projects done today you'd be locked up for 20 years in a court of law before you were able to do any of those the time has come for America to seize big projects again and this committee must play a leading role in that thank you sir and with that I would yield back gentleman yields
▶ 3:22:25back chair recognizes gentleman from California Mr Garcia thank you thank you Mr chairman thank you to our Witnesses and uh this is my first uh Committee hearing of the infrastructure Transportation committee uh I look forward to it I served as mayor of Long Beach for eight years city of about half a million people in California and I have to agree with what my colleague just said um I also believe that America as being the strongest with exceptional country in the world should be be able to do large
▶ 3:22:56big projects and get them done in a way that um isn't tied up in years and years of of lawsuits and and red tape and so I appreciate that I look forward to a lot of bipartisan work um in that space u my district includes at Port of Long Beach the second largest uh container sheet Port uh in the United States we have the Long Beach Airport uh we have uh the Metro System of LA County which is one of the largest metro systems of course also in the United States and uh about 40% of my District's
▶ 3:23:26population is somehow invested in the transportation ports economy and so the work of this committee is incredibly important I also uh will note that um I'm excited to be joining the committee at a time when um the work is going to be really focused on what's next for transportation the reauthorization of course of of all of this opportunity for the country across the country um and in my region of course the LA Olympics are coming in 2028 which is incredibly critical as it relates to transportation and
▶ 3:23:57infrastructure um additionally I I obviously um like many from my state are or a fight about the wildfires and the immense emergency that's happening right now in the region and in California um my heart goes out to everybody back home uh we have as you all know tens of thousands of people that have evacuated and also the work that happens here uh as it relates to our oversight is also really important this committee has jurisdiction over uh the Stafford act which governs disaster declarations and local public Warning Systems
▶ 3:24:28and so what we're seeing back home and in other places across the country um is is really important and clearly there are ways that we can do better we can do better back home in California our public notification system that we implemented in Long Beach also could do better and I think that's probably the case in many of our states and cities across Across America um I want to also just say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle um I I'm a progressive Democrat but I also believe that we have to do a better job
▶ 3:24:58of getting out of the way of allowing um those that are building our infrastructure across the country and be able to do their job and actually get to work workers want to work they want to build our bridges they want to build our roads and want to rebuild our ports and overregulation particularly in States like California um have caused I I think great harm to progress across across the country and so I think those are ways I think that we can we can also uh come together I'll also say that from a ports perspective um and um
▶ 3:25:28we've talked a little bit about about about that uh America's ports uh are incredibly important especially as we know there's going to be a big debate about uh tariffs and about what the future of of imports and exports are going to look like in this country and so America's ports and particularly the California Long Beach Los Angeles Gateway which is 25% of America's goods come in and out of um ensuring that it's strong and that our our network of roads and highways and rail is strong across
▶ 3:25:58the country is also of great interest a great interest to me and when they look forward to uh to partnering in uh lastly let me just let me just add that um as a longtime local government official uh I'm really excited to work with Democrats and Republicans on finding common sense Solutions and I hope this committee on my side of the aisle is willing and looking forward to exploring and having honest conversations about over regul
▶ 3:26:29over regulatory systems that are in place in places like California and others that I think have harmed our ability to build good roads Bridges ports and highways and so with that Mr chairman I yeld back gentleman yields chair recognize the gentleman from New Jersey Mr van Drew thank you chairman um first order of business for me is I want to welcome a friend of mine to this committee she's sitting over there on the other side we served together in the state senate for a good number of years she's a great lady she's
▶ 3:26:59going to be a great member Nelly Poe I look forward to working with you um I guess what I want to start by saying is I I want to associate with some of the things that Congressman stalber said from Minnesota what Congressman Johnson just said here a few minutes ago we're Americans man we do big things we do great things we get them done Jack Kennedy said we're Americans we do the hard things we have burdened ourself with
▶ 3:27:29so much regulation with so much red tape with so much duplicity it's unbelievable I mean we can't Dusty you were exactly right we can't get anything done it's amazing we get done as much as we do and it's about time we realize it isn't how much money you spend only money matters it always matters it matters in everything in life but besides the money because we can allocate an appropriate as much money from here to God's heaven and still not get it done
▶ 3:27:59because we're so twisted up and tied up in all the regulations and all the bureaucracy we put in it doesn't mean you just let anything happen that you don't care about the environment but it does mean that you get the job done and you get focused and we really really really need to do a lot better than that you know I believe in American exceptionalism and americanism damn it how is it the United States of America and it's not only in infrastructure but I'll just mention infrastructure we're number 13 not number
▶ 3:28:29one not number two not number number 13 that's an unlucky number I don't like it we got to do better than that we're number one we're Americans we lead that's what we're about I wanted to talk about something else a little bit too last Congress the FAA re authoriz ation included organizational changes that affected the William J Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace that's a real big deal this is the future and the tech center happens to be in my uh
▶ 3:29:00my community happens to be in my district and it is the largest employer so yes it is near and dear to me and it is important and it's really important to America and the national airspace system we have to work on this this committee has to make the right decision decisions the right decisions for America when it comes to utilizing them to the height of their ability again do the big things do the great things we're 10 years behind on drones does everybody know that a decade
▶ 3:29:30behind China that's not a republican talking point it's not a political talking point it's fact how do we let that happen in America it's critical we do everything in our power by the way to investigate I'm going to segue a little bit here into some some of the Drone sightings they're real it's not crazy stuff Iran really does have drone ships they have three of them we've got satellite imagery of them now it's a big deal it matters I'm not saying that's Iran and America
▶ 3:30:00the drones that have been seen but there's something going on reput reputable people have seen them whether it's the Coast Guard whether it is the nuclear plants that are real concerned they've seen them whether it is those folks working at the airports the air traffic controllers who've reported directly too these are not gadflies they're real people and I look forward to working with my friend over here that I've known for years the new chairman uh of uh Aviation and uh you're
▶ 3:30:30going to do a great job on that subcommittee I'm going to be bugging you um I guess I want to ask a question I have a lot of notes here but I'm already chewed up a lot of my time by the way equality is a great thing it's an American thing and we have to ensure it's there that's different than Equity it is different than Dei which again are more of the regulations more of the boundaries more of the problems that we've created so we don't get
▶ 3:31:00stuff done we believe in meritocracy we're Americans and inflation is the thing I want to talk about it has been horrific over the last four years you know it it's impacted the potency of the bill I was one of 13 people on this side of the aisle that voted for that infrastructure bill because I believed it mattered but man I'm disappointed sometimes in a couple of things one all the regulations we put there and now secondly because of inflation we don't have enough money to get some of these jobs done Mr shulan
▶ 3:31:31I want to thank you for being here uh simple question I think I know the answer but I'm going to ask you you two were able to answer this as well I might not let you off like Dusty did is inflation a big problem has it really created problems with these projects it has for for us we build very large Highway construction projects and where it's impacted us the most are projects that we bid and were awarded preco and so we are locked in at those prices now building a project that has continued
▶ 3:32:01on through those years in this massive inflation so that is where it has hurt us the most as a company and it takes so long to do the inflation affects you even more because you can't even get it done on time because you got all these hoops that you get to jump through some of which are not not necessary nobody's saying you need no regulation real quick you two and then I'll shut up no I I would agree that inflation has certainly impacted our consumer and as well as the transportation carriers that do provide services to us they've obviously seen
▶ 3:32:31increases in their uh whether it's insurance or driver wage things like that that that are costing more money for our carriers as well mayor yes I would agree that we're all dealing with the impacts of inflation going up a yield back thank you chairman gentleman yields chair recognizes a gentle lady from New Jersey Miss po and welcome to the
▶ 3:33:09committee as you can tell it's my very first committee meeting but uh thank you thank you chairman Graves and uh ranking member Larson for holding this meeting um I am uh and I also want to thank my colleague um Mr van Drew thank you so very much I'm so very happy to be here and especially on this very very important uh committee I I am just so proud to be to join the story committee uh maybe no State relies
▶ 3:33:39more on its roads Bridges and public uh Transit than my state New Jersey the most pop the most densely populated in the nation I plan to use my position on this panel to support the Garden State residents in having safe reliable and affordable Transportation options thanks to the historic bipartisan infrastructure law over $1 trillion dollars is being invested Across
▶ 3:34:10America to improve our nation's roads airports railroads rail Railways and ports this includes the largest ever investment in passenger rail since Amtrak was established this funding is providing key resources to the Northeast Corridor allowing Amtrak to update trains and address backlogs of Maintenance work thanks to this law
▶ 3:34:40New Jersey is buying clean energy buses building the Gateway tunnel and continuing to advance the portal North Bridge over the hackin sack rid uh river which is more than halfway complete while this is terrific important progress much more work is absolutely needed our constituents rely on New Jersey transits and highways for work school and Recreation but they regularly
▶ 3:35:10face challenges like expensive commutes and trains that to often are delayed or cancelled that is time spend waiting in the Station instead of time at home having dinner with the family or helping the kids with their homework addressing delays and making Investments to improve our quality of life will be a major major focus on my time on the committee to make sure that our
▶ 3:35:40transit system works for everyone I would like to take uh this opportunity now to just have uh ask a couple of questions I'd like to begin with um mayor protm uh Fuentes uh can you please share from your perspective having uh how having a strong Transportation Network benefits people in our metropolitan areas that's right thank you congresswoman I appreciate the question
▶ 3:36:10and um and congratulations on on joining Congress I the importance of having a multimodal transportation Network and investing in our transportation network is understanding that each of our communities are unique our challenges are unique and for us I uh while I represent the City of Austin I'm here on behalf of the National League of cities and with over 19,000 towns cities and Villages and the needs of our community are such that we want
▶ 3:36:41we're leveraging the federal dollars to be able to respond to those needs so that we can meet the challenges of our shared constituents in Austin we are bringing Light Rail into our city and I'm really proud to have the support of Congress in delivering that project for our community um that's an investment that's going to help our residents get connected to jobs to be able to move efficiently throughout our community and that is one reason why these Investments matter thank you thank you um I I'm very interested and I
▶ 3:37:11know that you probably addressed this during your opening remark but there was some discussion that took place with respect to the traffic fatality um so I'd like to you know the fact that traffic fatality has increased at least by 14% last year in New Jersey um mayor could you please tell me how can investments in infrastructure prevent accidents and save the lives that we are all very concerned about one of the ways that we've been
▶ 3:37:41able to leverage our federal dollars is to take a look at and create a high High injury mapping tool and so we saw which intersections in our city were we experiencing High injuries and and fatalities and by having access to that information we were able to make more targeted and strategic Investments on safety treatment so um improving Crossings you know having a better signaling of of our Network um as well as a number of of other safety treatments hybrid beacons being another one yep thank you
▶ 3:38:11thank you Mr chairman I yield back gentle lady yields back chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas Sheriff Troy Nails thank you Mr chairman uh thank you to all the witnesses being here such great news to share president Trump he put it out there he said a deal has been struck hostages will be released shortly some of them being Americans so uh thank you to president Trump for getting this done before even next what next Monday he's getting it done and I think that needs to be
▶ 3:38:41said today because it's peace through strength and that's what what we've have with Donald Trump that's what we've lacked in our country for the past four years and we've seen the failure in leadership you talk about it Mr schan in your test what you're talking about since 2020 construction materials up 37% be so fuel up 66% we know the inflation the inflation inflation the shortage of workers I don't know if we I don't know anyone if you if our country will ever really truly
▶ 3:39:11recover from covid you just look at the employees today a lot of people want to sit at home they're still believe it or not Tork Tork federal employees what the hell year is it I think it's about 2025 now what are you doing at home Miss Fuentes do does anybody in Austin have to stay at home today tell work because they're concerned about Co Congressman can you repeat your question does do you have people in Austin you represent the Austin area yes
▶ 3:39:42do you have people are people in Austin still staying at home and tella working because of Co there are people who T workk in Austin yes okay what would be the justification for that to the extent that it's related to covid I'm not sure okay well we have them up here we got we got a lot of cleaning up to do up here in the federal government but but my point is is because we have lacked leadership in this country for the past four years we're getting it back we're going to reduce the inflation you're just not going to see it anymore the shortage of workers you've got 2400 workers at Williams Brothers
▶ 3:40:12yes sir uh do you have openings are you having a difficult ult time filling those positions according to the testimony with the uh AGC 94% of the firms are having a tough time fill in the void absolutely so what are we going to do about how do we fix that o uh we we've got to continue to push and push and push we've got a like I said earlier in my in my testimony there are a lot of training programs out there but we need to develop some type
▶ 3:40:42of a campaign to pipeline these folks into those training programs to develop that trained Workforce that we're going to need in the future for one for two let me just add real quick I would love for our industry to shuck the stigma of a male-dominated industry and I would love to find a way to bring more women into construction they are phenomenal we have a number of them that are truck drivers and they are our best truck driver yeah I wanted you to really uh highlight the great work
▶ 3:41:12your company is doing with the the stock uh own ship plan to try to attract new people why don't you spend 30 seconds on that we we do have an ESOP uh Employee Stock ownership plan it is uh one of the benefits within our company uh I will tell you that it is it is very difficult to communicate that not only to your existing employees but those that are looking to hire on with you it's it's very difficult for them to understand it and appreciate it
▶ 3:41:42sure because at the end of the day they're look at their paycheck yeah and what that number is on the far right uh every Friday and so that that is difficult but it's something that once they've been with us for a number of years and they see those ESOP plans sure uh come in and the tickets come in for them uh or the reports come in they understand that that is their retirement how about t how about ever verify I support ever verify I think it's very very important I think Texas has it uh you you participate
▶ 3:42:12your company participates and you verify is that causing you any problems filling your ranks do you feel that e verify is a good program and not so much a good program uh we are required to eify in the state of Texas like it or not that that is a requirement for Texas so uh is it a barrier possibly I don't know uh is there ways that we can meet the workforce needs of this country uh and still you know accommodate ever verify or work through e verify
▶ 3:42:42absolutely we just got to get to work and get it done what's you uh you I think earli say you have a great Rel working relationship with teot no issues there are they helping you with some of the inflationary issues that you've experienced in the past we have yes sir they are uh we we have a very special relationship with our do we we uh we call it partnering within the state of Texas uh and through uh AGC of America I go to a number of different states and and see the the relationships
▶ 3:43:13that other contracted communities have have with the dos and I will tell you that the one that we have in Texas is very special I'm so proud of your company I'm so proud it's it's Texas owned you do all the work in Texas we have thousands of people moving to Texas because we are the Envy of the world let's just call it that and so I look forward to working with you and your team and continue to go out there and do great things for the great state of Texas and our country I you BK gentleman yields chair recognizes gentleman from Mobile Alabama Mr figur
▶ 3:43:44thank you Mr chair I um I want to thank each of the witnesses for for being here I know this is a long process uh so thank you guys and before I go any further I I want to thank my staff who helped get us prepared here uh in particular Yan laik who was here last night till after 10 o'c uh preparing for this hearing as I just officially got appointed to this committee yesterday so um so I want to acknowledge the staff and the entire team um I uh i h from Mobile Alabama proud son of the South and I um
▶ 3:44:14very for to be on this committee uh given its role in so many of the critical infrastructure uh needs that we have I us to spend my summers in the construction industry uh working um on roofs and and uh commercial and and residential construction projects so uh no stranger to it the I want to start with you um Miss gisa Gita gitaa uh I uh am a longtime admirer and uh we have several Mutual uh acquaintances and Teresa
▶ 3:44:44Ro Roseboro uh there with Home Depot who is a uh a former uh DC uh Insider some would say in a previous life but uh can you talk to me a little bit about the impact that the tariffs had and I don't mean this from a political perspective at all I just want to understand the the true impact um that the China tariffs had uh on your ability and then all s same question to you Mr sh so for the the Tariff impact for Home Depot you know everybody was going through it at this
▶ 3:45:15same time and the one thing that we have just an amazing team that really focuses on how we can not only reduce the burden of tariffs if they increase there's other programs that we can uh we can work with uh US Customs to reduce tariffs on other things and so we've proven we can work through it we'll we'll work through the next round still to be determined exactly what those are going to be uh but overall we were able to pretty successfully
▶ 3:45:45uh you know maintain our cost structure and so we aren't passing that burden onto the customers really by continuing to optimize our own internal network uh in the highway construction industry I'm not aware of any products that we buy that come from China and therefore the the tariffs associated with China would not apply and I know uh and thank you both and I know that we spent a lot of time here in Washington discussing immigration um in a
▶ 3:46:16negative light focusing on violent criminals which I think we all agree with should be prioritized in terms of um deportation and and immigration enforcement um but I think what's lost often in that conversation is the vital role that uh legal immigrants are playing particularly uh in Industries in the transportation infrastructure industry and Construction Industries uh can we talk a little bit about Miss FN what you're seeing uh there in Austin as well as you just generally in the construction industry about how important uh migrant labor is given some of the
▶ 3:46:46challenges that we've discussed here today in labor shortages across the uh across the country you know what I would say is investing in infrastructure is investing in America's strength and what we know is that we it's we're all on the same page of wanting to ensure that we're able to deliver these projects on time and we're able to show a real difference for our communities and how they get around our cities and towns uh so when it comes to the workforce certainly that's top of mine how we're
▶ 3:47:16able to deliver these big infrastructure projects uh it's why Austin started the Austin infrastructure Academy to ensure that we have the skilled Workforce needed to uh to move forward these projects um and as it relates to the construction industry and and any industry for that matter to me you know it's important that we have programs in place that follow the values of our city so as a highway contractor in the state of Texas as Congressman Nels pointed out we were required to IR verify so immigration does
▶ 3:47:46not impact us as a whole uh I will add to that that I do believe that immigration reform would go a long way to help meet the demands or the the needs for uh Workforce I'm sorry lastly this is for you Mr shogan uh you made the point in your opening statement about the importance of Trades uh being back in schools um and that is something that I have long heard uh throughout my life much before I got involved in this process
▶ 3:48:16when you talk to people particularly people over a certain age bracket uh they often site to uh the loss of trade education in school programs uh particularly in public schooling programs as a as a sort of Turning Point um in many things and can you just discuss again the importance of that um and any ideas that you have about how we can leverage this committee uh to uh Implement those programs back in uh back in schools across the country so I would say say help influence
▶ 3:48:47that let's get vocational programs back into the schools the high schools even take it into the junior highs and even if it's just as simple as working with your hands it's something that it is a skill that they develop that they ultimately build upon and that makes them productive workers later on in life but we've got to get that back into the schools we we can't have our counselors being graded or evaluated based on the number
▶ 3:49:17of students that they get into universities I would be full fully supportive of those counselors being evaluated based off of the number of students that they get they get into vocational schools nowadays but we have got to get it in back into the school system somehow some way and I would welcome any assistance that we could get from you on that thank you and I see my time has expired Mr chair gentleman yields chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska Mr baggage
▶ 3:49:47thank you chairman uh my first question is for uh councilwoman Fuentes um given the rapid progression of full self-driving mode at companies like weo and Tesla in what ways do you believe this will disrupt traditional Transit and should Transit formula funding be directed to more individualized and granular Transit Solutions like these thank you Congressman for that question what we are supportive of is ensuring that we maintain local flexibility
▶ 3:50:18knowing that in in Austin we do have autonomous vehicles operating in our city is one of the unique challenges that our city is facing but that's much different from a city like bont you know in the rest of our state um so that's why having the funding needed is is specific to that Community um that is an emerging technology that we have in our transportation Network which is why I think reauthorizing iiga and maintaining the funding levels is necessary we want to ensure our country is innovative and at the
▶ 3:50:48Forefront of having a a well-maintained and Innovative Transportation Network and of course autonomous vehicles are part of that thank you um next question uh from Mr shogan um there's a misnomer in government that money is the same thing as results and you mentioned in your testimony this morning that Highway construction cost has risen 70% since 2020 uh in your view now I want to I want to make mention of
▶ 3:51:18that um if construction uh cost has risen by 70% since 2020 that means we can do 41% less work than we thought we were going to be able to do when we passed that bill because of inflation so in your view has the ija's additional incremental spending contributed to the inflationary pressures that we've observed in construction and how could a program such as this have been better developed to reduce these inflationary pressures in
▶ 3:51:48construction cost okay so Co hit in 2020 and everybody stopped working and ija dollars didn't roll out till the end of 21 so the inflation impacts had already started and that was a result of covid and so I don't believe that the I a is creating that issue I think it's just the fact that it started in 2020 as a result of Co covid and we
▶ 3:52:18still haven't gotten back to work yet and those supply chain issues that that occurred back in you know during the covid epidemic uh was simply tied to people not working or not being able to work or not willing to work and so to me that's the issue but to take it one step further I will say though despite inflation you are still making an in an asset that is for generations to come
▶ 3:52:48within this nation I I appreciate that commentary I guess my my question U getting back to the heart of the question really is you know when we've got a limited fixed supply of labor and we've got a limited fixed supply of of hard supplies of hard infrastructure materials that go in you mentioned in in an earlier uh commentary that we didn't have the manufacturing capacity we don't currently have the manufacturing capacity necessary to meet the demand we don't have the labor force necessary to meet the demand when you pour incremental
▶ 3:53:19dollars onto a system that's at capacity wouldn't you expect that inflation would be a natural result well it depends on how far the roll out is on those dollars and so let's take some of the projects that we build we build very large Highway construction projects and the duration for those projects are four five six seven eight years long and so really and truly the way I'd answer that is that it depends on what the the overall time frame is that that money is spread out appreciate
▶ 3:53:49that uh yeld back gentleman yields chair recognizes Mr Garcia from Illinois thank you uh Mr chairman a ranking member and to uh all of our Witnesses I know it's getting late that you've got to be hungry and uh you look a little tired uh since this morning uh but thank you for being here I was of course uh very excited recently to participate in a ceremony where the Chicago Transit Authority receives funding uh from the federal
▶ 3:54:19government uh because of the iig to complete its extension of uh a Transit Rail Line in Chicago very very important it's a promise that's been decades in the making and this extension will help uh connect Chicagoans on the south side to employment opportunities Health Care Child Care education many other important daily needs more than just away from moving of moving people from point A to point B
▶ 3:54:50increase public transp uh Transit options reduce congestion on our roads as well as greenhouse gas emissions uh to the mayor proam Fuentes can you speak about why having a reliable public transit system is critical to working class families in both small and large cities thank you so much Congressman I appreciate the question what we know is that Public public transit is a Lifeline for many in our communities it truly makes a difference in
▶ 3:55:20helping individuals get to their place of work or being able to get to a child care center or being able to get to a park in their area it is a connection point and because of that it's important that we have this funding needed for cities to be able to provide this service I'm really excited to and I've shared with the committee that an Austin we're looking at bringing a light rail line throughout our city which will connect our airport through downtown all the way to our University and those type of Investments matter and they'll make a big difference to the communities we serve thank you uh for that
▶ 3:55:50I'd also like to learn more about uh your city's efforts on Workforce Development through the Austin infrastructure Academy I'm a strong supporter of these programs and we must do everything in our power to address looming uh retirements in our Transit Workforce as well because building a pipeline of recruits to replenish and fulfill projected Workforce needs will be critical in transit agencies around the nation
▶ 3:56:20as well uh mayor proen Pointes can you talk a little bit about the Austin infrastructure Academy what is unique about it and how the federal government can serve as a good partner to local governments creating such programs thank you we know that the demand that we have for infrastructure projects is vast all throughout our country we took a look at Austin to see our big infrastructure projects that we have moving forward throughout the next decade from expanding our airport to renovating our Interstate
▶ 3:56:51uh to Bringing light rail line and and renovating our convention center and when we took a look at those big infrastructure projects we did a study and we found that we would need 10,000 new skilled workers each year uh to be able to deliver these projects and ning that we had a critical Gap in our Workforce uh we worked with our Workforce Development board our our Chambers our unions as well as the um the local Community College District to build out an apprenticeship program to be
▶ 3:57:21able to get the pipe fitters and electricians and everyone that is needed to be able to to work on these projects and so I'm thrilled to have the support of our city moving that along and I think it'll be a national model of which we hope to get congress's support uh it's great to uh hear you uh representing the national league of cities and of course uh uh the City of Austin uh here today and sharing uh all of these insights with us so that we can better prepare for the future our Workforce uh efforts
▶ 3:57:52as well as our hopefully continuing Investments and infrastructure as we approach 20206 and the surface Transportation Bill thank you so much and thanks to each and every one of you gentleman yields chair recognize a from Michigan Mr Barrett thank you Mr chair and uh to our guests thank you so much for being here today I really appreciate your Insight onto a lot of these challenges that we're facing and
▶ 3:58:22uh can you hear me now Mr chairman okay I will I will slide closer to the microphone uh appreciate you being here today and uh thank you for your insight into a lot of these challenges we're facing I uh did a little bit of a back of the envelope math and the uh American Concrete Paving Association says that the first mile of paved concrete road uh was put in uh Detroit Michigan of course Michigan put the world on Wheels we're very proud of that and the first mile
▶ 3:58:52of road uh was built in Detroit in 1909 on Woodward Avenue for a cost of $14,000 if you just uh take the inflationary adjustment of that still less than half a million dollars in today's money uh from there we see that um the cost of a similar road today would probably be in the ballpark of 5 Mill ion dollar or more for the exact same thing um you know I'm just an army grunt but to me we go from half a million dollars in today's money
▶ 3:59:22to five million or more in today's money there's a humongous cost driver of that and it can't just be materials equipment and other things I'm sure there are regulatory issues and other things I was curious to get your Insight on that I know uh probably my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would point to where we need to build more transit or other things like that but even you look at those factors uh um rail construction 50% higher in the United States than it is in other simil similarly industrialized countries
▶ 3:59:53across the world takes one and a half times longer to complete a rail or tunnel project here in our country than in our European Ali countries that would be similarly situated uh you know if we were to have a pie chart for example of all the costs that are associated with a project how much of it would be just the materials the AG the cement the paving materials and the other things how much of it would be the uh design component the permitting the regulatory environment the Environmental Studies that need to be
▶ 4:00:23done the endangered spotted leopard frog that we got to you know protect and you know cuddle and move somewhere else um how much is materials how much of it is Workforce driven uh what about the equipment costs I know collectively each of you have some insight on that um curious to get your thoughts on some of those and how can we provide a better value for the tax that we're spending we're spending more on roads today than probably ever before in our nation's history and yet we're still plagued by struggles with infrastructure
▶ 4:00:54I agree with you uh my my comment to you would be do whatever it takes to reduce delays delays to projects cost money you did the simple math it equates out right let me add to that a little bit I think we need to take the money and do what it takes to add capacity to the roadways take Texas for example 1,200 1,200 people a day move into Texas we need they're not coming by bus they're not coming by train they're not coming by airplane they're bringing
▶ 4:01:24their vehicles and so we need to figure out ways to add capacity to our roadways to accommodate those people and so flexibility for the state dos to use the dollars as best that they see fit I think would be great we've got congestion areas all over the state all over the nation we need to address those congestion areas she's trying to get trucks from the port to the warehouse from the warehouse to the stores but she's having to go through congestion areas as a result that's delays for
▶ 4:01:54her that's adding cost to the materials that she's trying to sell on stores so I think if we can just figure out a way to best use the dollars stop delaying projects yeah get that money out get to building projects add the capacity where needed and let's move America okay thank you and then um um briefly um um Miss uh galiza there was a study done by site selector magazine they're kind of the industry standard of companies where they're locating what reasons
▶ 4:02:24they use and uh mayor you may be familiar with this as well you know States and communities compete against one another often for these Economic Development things uh found that uh transportation and infrastructure needs ranked second only behind the workforce needs I know you talked about Labor shortage and things of that sort um can you explain maybe for the veter of the committee I guess that that piece of economic development that isn't just paying incentives to Big corporations or things like that but
▶ 4:02:55rather doing the things that benefit all of us um that deal with infrastructure that can more appropriately move Goods to Market or more appropriately get the economy moving in the right direction so thank you in advance I would what I would add to that question thank you congressman is by having a complete streets initiatives we have seen that by having our our transportation built out in a way that everyone can get connected it's a way that we're connecting
▶ 4:03:25our people with businesses and so it's a it's a benefit for small businesses it's a benefit for our people to be able to get around our cities and our towns in their preferred method um so the investments in infrastructure are are desperately needed I would also say that local governments have been doing have been doing all that we can to meet the demand that we have infrastructure needs we maintain more than half of the nation's Transportation network but we certainly need the support and assistance of our federal government on that thank you and thank you Mr chairman
▶ 4:03:55gentleman yields chair recognizes our gentle lady from our nation's capital Norton uh thank you Mr chairman I thank the committee for holding this hearing on continuing investment in our nation's transportation and infrastructure uh Mr schan schen uh as States and the federal government consider a transition to a road uses
▶ 4:04:26charge based on distance traveled vehical weight is a potential component for consideration you noted in your testimony that heavier Vehicles cause more wear and tear on the roadways and are more deadly when involved in a in a crash should States and the federal government consider vehicle weight in a
▶ 4:04:58fee I would say as a contractor we are we move a lot of material and moving it across the interstate system is the most efficient way for us to move that material and if we can ha more similar to Home Depot for example if we can Hall more on the interstate system that would be to the benefit of not only us as a construction company but as the industry as a whole as cheaper cost we're getting more per truckload and so
▶ 4:05:28that would be a good thing are there are there measures that need to be made or adjusted uh for crash worthiness of the safety devices out on our projects to accommodate quite possibly and I would welcome welome that to keep not only the travel public safe but also our workers in the work Zone safe as well thank you Miss F fentis uh I appreciated your call for Community focused infrastructure
▶ 4:05:58funding in 2023 the national capital regions that's the region I represent the its trans it's uh Transit Agency the Washington metropolitan area transit authority received a $14 million Grant from the infrastructure investment and jobs act to support its transition to zero emissions buses this investment will improve air
▶ 4:06:28quality and health outcomes for my constituents uh what additional actions can Congress take to empower communities in their transition to more sustainable zero Mission Transportation Systems thank you congresswoman the reauthorization of the iiga also presents an opportunities for Congress to continue investing in programs that improve the air quality that make it easier and
▶ 4:06:58safer for our community and our residents to get around our cities and towns as well as looking at how can we ensure that our cities are are resilient to withstand the next extreme weather event and we want to ensure these Investments are targeted to areas that have been underserved you know we want to ensure that everyone in our community can has access to good well-maintained infrastructure and that everyone can participate in our economy thank you very much and our
▶ 4:07:30back G lady yields chair recognizes Mr BR Mahan from Pennsylvania thank you Mr chairman and I do have to say I appreciate the reference to the red yellow and green uh timing mechanism because of 15 days ago I was a heavy Highway electrical contractor that focused on traffic signals and uh power distribution recovery and uh Make Ready work for various different utilities so also do appreciate Mr schulen the struggles
▶ 4:08:00you go through as a as a contractor but one of our limiting agents that we've always had and barriers to grow were the uh investment into the next generation of Workforce and making sure those pipelines um are fulfilled because we can have all of these wonderful incredible projects but if we don't have people to actually do the jobs uh we are going to run into a pinch point and I know prior questions related to uh the workforce reinvestment and also
▶ 4:08:30in my prior life I sat as a chairman to a Joint Apprenticeship Training committee so I would be interested to hear what you think in employing a sizable Workforce if there's anything specific that Congress can do to replenish the pipelines for the next generation of worker so I I think we need to put everything on the table whatever it takes I think that we need to
▶ 4:09:00change the mindset of Americans that construction is not a dirty job you did it yourself it is a phenomenal job and a phenomenal career and unfortunately the the mind set of not only the kidss but also the parents these days has shifted to where they don't want Little Johnny to get into the highway construction industry or the construction industry as as a whole and so I think that we need to figure out a way to start changing that mindset
▶ 4:09:31um you know I I will in my in my uh oral statement I told you about my son that was going into the trades and uh I'll honestly tell you that that was a b a little bit of a battle with my wife uh she was deadsight on him going to a fouryear university and getting a degree but that's not where he is that's not his passion and so we could force him to do that and it would have catastrophic results right he would fail out of the university and then you know we're we're dealing with that whole deal or
▶ 4:10:01he can go with his passion do what he wants to do go into vocational school and get a certification and and go to work and at some point in time in his life if he decides that he he's done done with that and now wants to go to a four-year University and get a degree it's his decision at that point in time and so the factor of success jumps up you know drastically but I would say as a whole I think that we need to figure out a way to get vocational programs back into the school systems the high
▶ 4:10:31schools the junior highs even into the elementaries at a very minor level we need to promote vocational schools Across the Nation and we need to figure out how to pipeline those kids right from the high schools into those Vo programs better than we are right now there's lots of programs out there we just need to figure out how to get more students into them I I think it really nailed it there and changing the mindset and the interpretation and the uh Persona of you know trade being secondary to uh you know a college
▶ 4:11:01education and specifically within apprenticeship programs you earn while you learn you graduate with virtually zero debt you have a job on day one that will never be replaced by artificial intelligence I mean let's face it we are always going to need CDL Drivers we are always going to need electricians and you want to talk about the significance of electrical infrastructure reinvestment the majority of our systems were built in the 1950s with a 50-year usable life um and you need to be conscientious of ways that we generate power
▶ 4:11:31transmit power and distribute power because we can roll out every incentive for electrification vehicles but if we don't have a way to generate the necessary power to keep up with that demand because we don't have the workforce to make those reinvestments it's certainly going to come become a pinch point and uh Miss Gala I want to say I'm from North Eastern Pennsylvania Scranton PA so I want to say thank you for your investment into one of your distribution uh facilities inside of our district it's I believe it's close to a million square feet it's a great
▶ 4:12:01employment opportunity um in northeastern Pennsylvania within one day drive for a CDL you could reach 60% of the United States population or within uh 200 miles 51 million people my question would be how heavily do you rely on freight rail to utilize um your operations and logistic services thank you for the question we we will absolutely leverage both inter modal when it
▶ 4:12:32is a longer Hall it does have a little bit more variability and it takes longer but for longer Hall Transportation it is absolutely uh the the right decision takes trucks off the road uh for our some of our building materials in Lumber we are actually having those loaded directly at a vendor location we have several facilities that are rail served on our flatbed distribution Network and we bring those directly into the building where they are unloaded directly so it's absolutely something we leverage as a company and
▶ 4:13:02infrastructure needs exist on the rail side as well and so we support those thank you Mr chairman I yield back gentleman yields chair recognizes Mr s from California you thank you Mr chairman I want to thank um all of you for being here this is an exciting um hearing about an exciting period of time we know the huge investment that we've made successfully um with President Biden a trillion a quarter that is the biggest investment in infrastructure since the
▶ 4:13:32Eisenhower Administration um we know the $380 billion that was also uh accomplishment of the Biden Administration to transition our energy and to deal with climate change and climate emergency so this this committee historically has been Prides itself on being the less the least partisan of committees and it shows in our success even though those bills were pared passed uh with they were bipartisan but they were generally supportive
▶ 4:14:02of the administration um Madam protm thank you so much for being here as a former mayor and council member a long time ago in a in an area that's not unlike Austin in the San Francisco Bay Area I represent a district in the East Bay where there's very long commutes um I used to be in the restaurant business I own businesses including in downtown San Francisco a block from the Salesforce Tower and I've watched the change dramatic change particularly since covid um
▶ 4:14:33and the challenges we have in places like Austin and San Francisco where we have all this amazing employers but we're transitioning uh and we've talked about some of those transitions my good friend Mr Nells talked about remote work in California we changed labor laws to do 410 the employer Community contributed to that it was more efficient for everybody and then Co came along and it's facilitated what I think is a general benefit for the pressure on
▶ 4:15:03our infrastructure so the Bay Area Council our biggest business group just at a survey of all of our major employers um heavily Tech very reflective of you uh when we lose a business and it and I ask where does it go in the Bay Area and they say Austin I said that was the same thing we're going to we're invading Texas we're going to change them um and and still adjust to a different culture but having said that my question for you first is on remote work the quality of life in two income households
▶ 4:15:34uh for people in like in my district who have hour and a half two-hour commutes um kids that infrastructure that is not so similar from you where you represent although you represent an urban area mine is urban and Suburban can you speak to that the benefit to everyone for remote work we've generally come around with a business community in the Bay Area that our our challenges around filling that office space are secondary to the potential for being a more efficient
▶ 4:16:04economy by having our Workforce who will stay employed if they can stay home two days a week and it's the nature of the workforce too because because like you they're professionals we can measure their productivity and the employers do so can you speak to that it's not a detriment making people go back to work in in professions that is actually less efficient and is a drag on the overall economy are sort of unique to our areas can you speak to the benefits of remote work in your experience
▶ 4:16:35particularly to infrastructure we can take capacity off and improve quality of life while still having the productivity that our Employers in places like Austin San Francisco demand that's right Congressman remote work certainly helps ease congestion because it gets people off of our roads uh what when we think about our transportation Network it's the way I see it it's about giving people options and of course telea work is one way but we also know that for many in our Workforce they they
▶ 4:17:05don't have that option they're essential workers and they are the ones either filling the potholes or working in Hospitality working in in and jobs were working from home is not is not an option for them so that's why I believe investing in transit has to be part of the conversation as well it's a great way to also alleviate congestion it's a an efficient way to get people in and out and moving around our city and to have folks connected as well as um for employment but also to go Patron a business and so those
▶ 4:17:35um which is why I think it's important that we have this investment at the local level because because each Community is unique you know Austin's not alone in that we are a big city dealing with affordability issues so more and more of our Workforce is having to live further out of our city but they're still driving in to work in our cities that's why we have to have a regional approach to how we manage our transportation Network just briefly FEMA um I'm from Northern California but how do you feel about putting conditions we
▶ 4:18:05vote for FEMA funds for Texas Louisiana Mississippi how do you feel about putting conditions on F fing I don't believe there should be conditions on those funding especially in times of disaster thank you I Y back Mr gentleman yields chair recognize Mr Kylie from California thank you Mr chair I want to take a moment to focus the committee's attention on a particular need uh of my district you know one of the things that I think is
▶ 4:18:36important uh to keep in mind when we're talking about uh uh infrastructure needs across the country uh is how acutely affected growing communities uh are and uh in California actually most places are losing people but my district is an exception uh I represent counties that people are moving to uh plaster county is the fastest growing uh county in California uh and people want to come and live there because of the uh high quality of life that we've built in terms of Public Safety in terms
▶ 4:19:06of supporting small business uh in terms of the values of the area uh and everything else but uh when it comes to INF infrastructure you can in a sense become a victim of your own success because uh as more people come it puts more strain on your your roads and and everything else and uh a particularly clear example of that uh in pler county is the Interstate 80 uh State Route 65 uh interchange which was designed more than 40 years ago uh if you talk to anyone in my area uh they will tell you all about it
▶ 4:19:36uh congestion on eastbound 80 backs up more than eight miles or sorry three miles uh during evening commutes uh the average uh evening commute from I80 at Riverside uh and Auburn Boulevard to Highway 65 at Blue Oaks is expected to more than triple within eight years from 9 minutes to 35 minutes uh so uh the what I will be advocating for and what is needed in order to fix the situation is uh additional Lan lanes and improved ramp configurations to enhance safety and lower congestion
▶ 4:20:06such upgrades are needed in a lot of areas of this country but it's particularly true uh when you have a growing uh communi so just by way of background pler county is the fastest growing County uh in California the population will expand at an annual average rate of 1.4% per year from 2022 to 2027 uh which will result in pler County approaching 445,000 residents uh by 2027 uh from 2016 to 2021 an average of 2200 new homes were started per year in pler County
▶ 4:20:36so we're actually building housing whereas a lot of places in California uh they struggle to do that from 2022 to 2027 housing production is expected to average 2600 homes per year uh Sacramento and plaster County are home to Tech Giant HP Intel aerojet uh rocked Oracle Apple uh and most recently Bosch which is opening a uh a large new manufacturing uh facility job growth will average it's projected uh at least 2.3% between 2023
▶ 4:21:07and 2027 and so all of this uh is going to contribute even more to the congestion that I 80 uh and State Route 65 uh which is a big problem not only for the quality of life of residents but also uh because of the role of this interchange in Commerce where over $4.7 Million worth of goods pass through the interchange every single hour uh so I think uh Mr chair uh this is a very good example of uh the sort of uh project uh that uh this
▶ 4:21:37uh the vision of this committee uh should Encompass uh when it comes to how we can Leverage Federal support in a way where it is most needed where it will make the biggest difference uh and frankly where uh you know our area deserves this support its fair share of federal resources so I look forward to working with the committee uh to make that happen uh in the coming session as well as working with the committee on uh all of the other uh very important transportation and infrastructure items that we've uh discussed in today's introdu introduct hearing thank you and I yield
▶ 4:22:08back gentleman yields chair recognized Miss Gillan from New York thank you chairman uh as a new member of the committee I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do this important work together to benefit all our constituents um thank you also to all our Witnesses here today Mr shulan I represent New York in a suburb of Manhattan um you may be familiar with the new congestion pricing scheme that theyve put into place in Manhattan um if you're not
▶ 4:22:38under this plan not only are my constituents who commute charge $9 per peak hours but large trucks have to $21.60 not only once a day but every time they enter into this Zone as we look at Major multi-year infrastructure projects like the Gateway tunnel that are vital for our region what do you think the impact of charging every large $21.60 cents a trip on the
▶ 4:23:08cost of these projects does this make it easier and cheaper for us to build critical infrastructure or much more difficult so obviously you have a capacity issue that you need to get resolved I have heard of that in the news and I'm sorry that y'all are having to go through that and I'm sorry for all the commuters that are having to pay that now as a result uh I would say that every state is unique every state has uh their own sort of issues uh I stated earlier that Texas for
▶ 4:23:38example has 1,200 people a day moving to the state of Texas and and they're all bringing their vehicles and so you have to accommodate that you have to provide funding to be able to build the capacity the added capacity projects to be able to accommodate the influx of people population vehicles on the roadway in my opinion so I I hope New York can get there as well thank you thank you thank you uh councilwoman Fuentes um like you I come from local government position
▶ 4:24:09to Congress and I know how important the federal dollar coming into the local economy into local projects is um I know that they help improve our infrastructure reduce the burden on our already taxed residents my residents pay among the highest state and local taxes in the country so if you could just briefly describe the impact that gutting Key Programs like Highway P funds in the bipartisan infrastructure law or clean energy programs found in the inflation reduction
▶ 4:24:39act would have on our local uh municipality governments it would have a detrimental impact on our localities you know what we've seen what was such Why the AA was such a landmark achievement is because For the First Time it opened up this new federal funding for localities to have access to to utilize for projects that benefit our mutually shared constituents both at the local state and federal level um so not moving forward with having this reauthorized at the same funding level or even more would be
▶ 4:25:09preferred um would really be a step back and at this point we're all in this for for moving our our infrastructure forward and addressing the gaps that we have in our infrastructure needs this is a time for us to really be doubling down on our investments thank you um and just finally both you uh and the governor um and I believe Mr shulan all spoke about just layers and layers and layers of bureaucracy that delay the progress that delay and increase costs
▶ 4:25:39and could you let us know some of your suggestions on how we can streamline the process thank you one thing that the national leag of cities supports is taking a look at our processes to ensure that they are right sized you depending on the project an area where it might make sense to us for us to have reforms when it comes to our permitting regulations are smaller Siz projects and projects in the right of way in my district we have an old rail Crossing and abandoned uh rail Crossing rail line excuse me
▶ 4:26:10um that is being converted into a pedestrian walkway an incredible new Corridor connecting our east and west side communities that's a great project for us to have but should that be subject to the same regulations and processes is something that's much more intense that um that there are questions on environmental standards so really we have to take a look at the projects and understand where where would it might make sense for us to do those refinements Mr Shon do you have anything to add to that the only thing I'd add is that for us it's more on the planning
▶ 4:26:40side and so anything regulation wise that could be streamlined that could be cut back that could streamline the process and get these projects designed and bid out faster would help us tremendously across the board and you asked for specific details and I'd be happy to work with the agenc uh of America and get details to your office if you'd like those great thank you very much I yield gentle lady yields chair recognized Mr shree from
▶ 4:27:10Indiana thank you Mr chairman and thank you to our Witnesses for sharing with us today um I am uh new to congress not entirely new to infrastructure I live in Indianapolis we hold ourselves out as being at the crossroads of America we've got I 7074 I69 I65 at all crisscross Indianapolis and 465 in the sixth district that I now represent um Indiana is 38th in land mass
▶ 4:27:41uh but 12th in our country in terms of uh interstate traffic that traverses our state I'm proud of that uh we are a fast growing economy um we've got a lot of heavy uh uh uh uh combination truck traffic I think we rank number one in terms of that heavy straight that uh traffic that crisscrosses our state I am not proud of the fact that we consistently come in uh on the bottom half in terms of
▶ 4:28:11uh Lan mile maintenance reimbursement that's something that we will we will work to improve upon in this Congress my question is for uh Mr shulan it's not hard to understand why highways uh can be more or less expensive to maintain in different parts of the country by virtue of of uh climate and and uh other factors but the material input cost uh differs appreciably even across the Midwest um
▶ 4:28:41the dat that I have is a few years old but in Indiana indot is spending around 33,000 uh dollars per Lane mile on maintenance of our interstates uh but the material input cost differs appreciably across other Midwestern states what would be what are most of the drivers on that Delta that one's easy the source of the materials where are they getting the materials how far are they having to Truck those materials or rail those materials to
▶ 4:29:11the plant site location for example and then the other would be how far they having to truck the material from the plant site to the project site as well and so which which of my neighboring states have a location advantage on that front in terms of the the because we've got a number of aggregate sources in and around uh The District in Indiana uh uh H hot asphalt plants which which states uh in the midwest in your experience in in heav
▶ 4:29:42construction have that economic advantage that location Advantage I I could not speak to that I we solely do work in Texas so I can tell you exactly where at Texas but I'm not I'm not familiar with where your quaries are located uh in your region and so I I'm sorry I can't help you there I appreciate you're trying thank you I back gentleman yields Mr mdow from North Carolina thank you Mr chairman and thank you to the W wies
▶ 4:30:12for testifying today we appreciate you being here before I begin Mr chairman in response to miss Norton's comments on raising fees I would like it on the record that I would be opposed to any measure that would raise costs uh to the men and women in my district just because they choose to drive a pickup truck I was sent here to lower costs not to raise them and uh as we seek to reverse the harms of inflation and set our economy on a road to recovery
▶ 4:30:42we recognize that the Integrity of our nation's Transportation network is the foundation of our continued economic competitiveness roads Railways ports and Airways are all essential to transporting goods and passengers in my home state of North Carolina and my district are at the heart of this Mr schan I have a question for you from your perspective why have the rising costs of construction materials so far outpaced the rate of inflation
▶ 4:31:16my personal opinion would be that if you go back to covid and the fact that people just quit working and that cascaded across all Industries right and so it just it was a snowball that started created or that created and started a roll and so in my opinion that's just where it is it it's just the fact that it's harder to get materials now than it was before uh once we get Americans back
▶ 4:31:46to work like we need to uh start filling some of these these positions uh I I think you'll see a lot of that ease good uh sir in your experience how long are projects delayed on average due permitting uh well I cited an example earlier today uh with regards to the state of Texas and uh and NEPA and they went from 36 months to 16 months so if you use that as
▶ 4:32:16a gauge I would say 36 months would be the average delay uh but now they've been able to cut that debt back to 16 months thank you uh Miss galisa for you uh you have a unique perspective on Transportation challenges because you began your current role as the nation bounced back from historic supply chain disruptions due to the covid shutdowns and in your opinion in what ways has the transportation sector bounced back uh the easiest
▶ 4:32:46since 2020 and and what did the Congressional investment uh or intervention play a role in terms of bouncing back I I do think that the uh the ports primarily because the reduction in demand so we saw the reduction in demand the ports got healthy again uh from a domestic Trucking perspective as soon as we saw uh services and travel become more
▶ 4:33:17of the spend of the American Consumer we saw less demand in some of the uh in product categories and so the trucking industry then also had freed up some capacity I think some of the challenges that they faced uh during the the pandemic was we've talked about this the high the cost of uh driver wages right because there's not enough folks who want to drive trucks and it and the therefore the wages that our carriers
▶ 4:33:47had to pay in order to get good quality drivers uh absolutely impacted their ability to to be successful and and in some cases profitable uh so I think those are the the main things that that we saw you know the the Investments that that we've seen really any investment that's going to improve the the roadways reduce congestion are going to absolutely be beneficial to this country and and help out the Home Depot as well thank you thank you all for being here Mr chairman I
▶ 4:34:17yield back gentleman yields chair recognize Mr Taylor from Ohio thank you chairman and thank you uh Witnesses for being here today and sharing your insights on these important issues first I want to mention how honored I am to to Serve the People ofio second district uh like Mr mcdal I'm new to Congress and uh looking forward to the challenges here as a third generation business owner in the concrete industry I I not only saw but uh live transportation and infrastructure issues
▶ 4:34:47every day and excided to get down to work to address the real issues fading facing the district and our country Mr shulan in your testimony you outlined the increase in cost of construction since February 2020 in in many areas from the 70% increase in copper and brass Mill shapes to 47% increases in insulation materials 45 in steel mill products and worst of all 66% increase in the cost of diesel fuel in the rural parts of Southern Ohio where I'm from and where there are rarely any short
▶ 4:35:17drives a 66% increase in diesel fuel is an absolute killer it should be obvious that higher shipping costs mean higher prices for all of us and those prices are a gut punch for my constituents when they go to the grocery store restaurant or live their everyday lives Mr shogan can you talk about how we and Congress and this committee specifically can work to reduce these uh construction costs back to pre-co levels or anything close to levels so I hear you on the diesel prices
▶ 4:35:48quite honestly uh we spend as a company anywhere from a million to $2 million a month in diesel so fluctuations in the diesel price is killer for us uh you know depending on the the fleet that you run I mean that that's a major major cost component within your business and so how many concrete fants did you run I what tiny company we have running 14 trucks there's a small concrete business has five plants I have one
▶ 4:36:18okay right on that's all right hey your service in America though that's right amen that's right thank you excuse me as we are facing inflated prices the Biden Administration has continued to try and force mandates on the American people that only exacerbate the problem the outgoing administration's EPA finalized their heavy duty truck emissions rule that would essentially require 40% of heavy duty trucks to be electric by 2032 this deao electric truck mandate would impact everything from tractors buses semis and even school
▶ 4:36:48buses every facet of our normal lives be affected by this rule that came from bureaucrats in Washington according to a study it would cost nearly a trillion dollars in infrastructure investment alone to fully Electrify the US commercial Fleet and that does not include the price of the trucks this makes no sense in Rural America under this electric truck mandate every one of us will see an increase in grocery prices and utility costs I'm looking forward to working with the Trump Administration to get rid of this mandate Miss Kisa in your testimony you mentioned some of the consequences
▶ 4:37:19of the Biden Administration mandates could you talk about what this electric uh truck mandate would do to the cost of goods for the average citizen and could you talk more about what this mandate would do to companies like yours across the United States yes thank you for the question uh you mentioned the trillion dollars which is an estimate that has been put together that looks at how much it would cost to Prov to put in uh charging stations across the country as well as updating the electric grid to cover that and to your point that does not
▶ 4:37:49include the cost of the trucks a standard diesel tractor today is about $150,000 to buy an electric a battery electric uh tractor it's it's over $400,000 so just that in itself uh the other piece that we don't talk a lot about is really the uh the weight of those so a the weight of a battery Electric tractor is about 75% more than of a diesel tractor and so when we've talked about truck weights on the highways that actually leaves less
▶ 4:38:20room for cargo to put in those trucks which means actually more trucks on the road so you know our hope is that you know this committee Works closely with the with the private Community both Trucking industry and some trade associations to really come up with good solid solutions that are diesel Alternatives that are both costeffective and feasible to implement I appreciate it um one of the bigger businesses in my very poor Appalachian district is Kenworth that builds
▶ 4:38:50about 85% of their trucks there every year so uh we not only see electric electrification of the truck as a hindrance to our our future but our our present as well so thank you for your time and I'll yield back gentleman yields chair recognizes Mr Kennedy from Utah thank you Mr chair Tom it's an honor to be on this committee and thank you to your Witnesses I'm a Doctor by trade and sitting here for four hours I've been in and out of this building uh this room several times
▶ 4:39:20and you've had to sit here and I know what you're going through we all are feeling it anyways bless you and uh it's almost like I want to exactly lunch and give you a bathroom break here but um I I want to yield my time to you people so you can go get a break but uh you're almost done I think you only have a couple more here but uh Mr chairman and my colleagues it's a great privilege for me to be on the trans Transportation infrastructure committee Utah is one of the fastest growing States and in fact in the past 10 years it's the fastest growing state in the country and our aging infrastructure
▶ 4:39:51is now being overtaxed by the fact that people love the state and they want to come in addition to the fact we've sponsored Olympics and we're going to sponsor Olympics again in in nine years and we're totally thrilled about doing that but we need money today so we can start building tomorrow to be ready for that in nine years so so to my Witnesses I'm really grateful to to be here with you today and I'll just say um our I'm a systems-based thinker because of my family doctor training I I believe that our bodies are made of systems and when a system goes down all the systems are
▶ 4:40:21affected I want to point out one example of that it's called the neurovascular bundle actually it's really interesting it sounds like roads in society to me is that is that just like we build roads and underneath those roads we put water we put electricity and we put waste water underneath those roads and they all go together in our own bodies we have a neurovascular bundle the arteries the veins and the nerves all go together to the same locations and when you touch one you're touching the others as well so when a sinkhole develops inside of a road
▶ 4:40:51it damages all of those structures and just like in our bodies if you damage one part you damage all of them we need to make sure that our infrastructure Works our body is full of infrastructure so I'm deeply invested in making sure that this committee works for good people like you and those that you represent to make sure that we are keeping our infrastructure intact in this country because that's what builds our society makes it better in fact Mr schen directly your constituents you represent are actually building America thank you very much and I I'm I've been a representative
▶ 4:41:22local government thank you very much for what you're doing and then Home Depot you train your own people you I my son if he's I do I have an 18-year-old son he could start in Home Depot and have his whole career at Home Depot if you want it without going to college now I think you have college scholarship programs do you have you have additional training could you could you help me on the trades I'm really interested in the trades not everybody's suited for a four-year degree but tell me what Home Depot does to take people in and help them to
▶ 4:41:52have a career if they want it with your with your uh workplace thank you for the question yes Home Depot does pride itself in hiring folks we have so many of our store leaders that are store managers today that started as an hourly associate don't have college degrees but they are incredible people incredible leaders and we take a lot of pride in that and they represent the community which is even better you from a trades perspective Home Depot has spent a lot of time we've invested in a program
▶ 4:42:22called path to Pro and what we do is we try to uh link up people who were interested in in going into a trade with a trade school and we will our foundation will fund some of those uh scholarships you know I mentioned earlier that one of our hopes would be that that Congress could uh look at uh short-term pel grants and things like leveraging the GI Bill for for truck drivers and driving schools uh but the Home Depot's very proud of the of the work that we're doing and
▶ 4:42:53it's amazing to see so many of our leaders our our head of uh stores started off as a part-time cashier and so it's just amazing to see love it I appreciate all you're doing and and when it comes to that please keep up the good work on a local level I came to congress with an intent and it's not a party intent it's not a i ideological intent Beyond I want to make sure that the federal government is getting out of the way of you good people on a local level to be able to do the business that you can do and thank you for all that you've done that way so I'll just finish just by saying
▶ 4:43:23that I'm committed to working with anybody and there's not many people left in the room Mr chair protm thanks for your tolerance of being here and to my colleague off to my right we'll give him in just a second but but I'm I'm excited to work in a bipartison fashion to make sure we can keep United States of America moving forward on big projects and thanks for sticking this whole committee out uh as we have as well it's good to be here I yield back Mr chair proen thank you gentleman yields yes sir uh chair recognize Mr Larson just for a moment who came back to make sure we will still here I'm
▶ 4:43:53I'm so glad to hear I just want to say I think Dr Kennedy might be too smart for this committee and if you could just let us catch up with you before you get too far ahead of us i' appreciate it and with that I yell back thank you gentlemen yelds chair recognizes Mr Andre from Missouri thank you Mr chairman ranking um it looks like I'm bad in cleanup I think Dr Kennedy and myself were saved to last to treat any pressure ERS of blood clots that might have developed here um well thank you um I really appreciate
▶ 4:44:23chairman Graves giving me the O my fellow Missourian the opportunity to serve on this extremely important committee um you know the um I represent Missouri's Third District which was the birthplace of the interstate system a stretch of highway 70 in my home county of St Charles back in 1956 and um you know I70 is one of the major arteries of our of our nation and I'm happy to say that last year in 2024 um Governor
▶ 4:44:54Mike Parson signed a bill by the legislature to invest $2.8 billion dollar in the span of I70 between Blue Springs and onville Missouri but what what Missouri didn't do was invest in the 25 miles that are in St Charles County again my home County which includes a critical bottleneck uh in Wentzville Missouri so I wanted to ask you miss galisa um you mentioned in your testimony the importance or the detriment of bottlenecks to Home
▶ 4:45:24Depot um did you want to expand on that or um or have you Quantified that problem in many ways because obviously U Missouri's Third District isn't unique there so uh a group called The American Transportation Research Institute they have done an amazing study very recently on congestion in general and they always do an annual report on the hundred most congested uh areas based on uh Trucking uh but their
▶ 4:45:54congestion study was the first to uh one of the first to try and uh calculate how much of an impact that has on the economy and in uh 2022 uh the per hour operating cost soared by 21.6% from a then record and to a now a then now a new record high of $90.72 so the cost to the of the N to the nation of congestion uh is about $ 108 billion doar in 2022 which is 15%
▶ 4:46:24higher than 2021 so these figures are staggering uh the the list of the the top congested areas right now I have in front of me the top five uh Fort Le New Jersey two in Chicago one in Houston and one in Atlanta which we like to call a Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta uh those would be the the where I would make sure that we maybe start with Investments because those are the ones that are going to impact all the majority
▶ 4:46:54of trucking across our across our country and the more that they're sitting and waiting the less efficient the less money they make and the the more it's going to cost the consumer yeah absolutely I I agree with you there and I'm committed to working on that issue and Mr shulan my last question in a response to representative bit's question he asked the question if I understood him correctly did the infrastructure Improvement and and jobs act contribute to inflationary pressures
▶ 4:47:25and I I have to say I agree with you it wasn't it wasn't that bill but rather covid or whether I would say the government's response to co between stimulus checks arpa the inflation reduction act I think the result decrease in Workforce participation and of course horrific supply chain issues all were enormous inflationary pressures not our investment in infrastructure um but I think I think what you said later
▶ 4:47:55on in response to another question the key is going to be to get people back to work and I think we talked a lot about training here but I also think measures such as work requirements which in the 1992 welfare reform act did contribute to getting people back to work I think getting both skilled people and and folks with with less skills entry-level workers back to work are going to be a good a big part of the uh of the equation any comments on that no I I agree
▶ 4:48:25with you uh you know we we can train we can train we can train and we can push through vocational schools and that's fine but I'll tell you that well as you well know the real world hit you the day that you left school amen got a job right for sure so same thing applies here as well for sure and so I will say that we have OJT programs or on job training programs uh which help sort of incentivize or add to or
▶ 4:48:55supplement uh I think a lot of those programs that that we can continue to to invest in and I really do think getting people onto that first rung of the job ladder the economic ladder is critical thank you all for coming and uh thank you very much I yield back gentlemen yields but guess what it's my turn and I will go fast even though I talk slow because I am from south Mississippi uh you know I'm sorry that the governor had to step out today but you know during the last Congress and I I just want to thank you all you've been here all day
▶ 4:49:25you've given us some great information and thank you for being here uh last Congress committee focused heavily on delayed projects and supply chain issues the short of contract is available and other problems there's a project that continues to uh significantly affect my district in south Mississippi is a replacement and repair of multiple bridges that carry US Highway 90 over the Pearl River delta these Bridges represent a very critical route for
▶ 4:49:56our rural communities between the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and New Orleans including evacuation routes should a hurricane threaten these cities I know that Governor Landry had to step out but I'd still like to be on record to let the governor know that I stand ready to help with that project in any way that I can help it move forward because one of the reasons I like going to Louisiana is catching all of his fish that he has down there and eating all that wonderful uh New Orleans food so it's it's a
▶ 4:50:26great place to go to and go Outdoors but Mr shigan I want to uh I know you've experienced some of the frustrations of states and trying to complete projects NEPA delays continue to be a major roadblock for contractors working to deliver projects efficiently on and on time uh can you highlight one or two legislative actions Congress can take to streamline NEPA processes reduce delays and improve project delivery timelines I
▶ 4:50:56I don't have anything in particular I would say that everything is on the board y uh let let's just look through the process let's find ways to streamline this thing to reduce that time frame to help get us to build projects faster anything whatever it takes you know and we've heard that all day today everybody is ready to get moving uh people want to work with each other we've heard some great testimony today and uh Miss galiza uh you spoke and your testimony
▶ 4:51:26about modernizing ports uh as we have seen even just a few additional feet of dredging on Terminal expansion can dramatically change a port's productivity uh based on Home Depot's experience are there are some specific examples of Port modernization projects or initiatives that others could uh look to replicate and additionally what would ports be doing with federal assistance to modernize and streamline operations a little more
▶ 4:51:58efficiently yes thank you for the question uh one of the things that we see with our Port infrastructure is really trying to get containers in and out of the port efficiently many of our ports actually have up to 11 or 12 different Terminals and different terminal operators they all have different schedules they all will allow certain containers to be empties to be brought in so there's a lot of complexity that comes with bringing containers in and out of a port
▶ 4:52:29um within the uh the the rail infrastructure as well so there's been congestion even even very recently trying to get containers onto the rail to then move to Inland destinations that's one area that we would like to see some investment in that has caused some delays and then really just making sure that you know with the the labor teams and the port owners and the the usmx that they continue to to talk to each other and have good conversations about where we want to go any sort of
▶ 4:53:00delay or or or you know a strike in in those areas really does impact Home Depot and really any shipper just in in terms of causing delays and causing incremental costs so our hope is that they continue to to partner together to come up with solutions that are good for both both parties continuing uh I understand that Home Depot is very active in disaster recovery and Supply Chain management with your command centers across the country uh can you speak to your Supply Chain management during
▶ 4:53:30disaster recovery and what lessons can the federal government learn from the private sector's approach to streamlining the delivery of essential products during emergencies yeah thanks for the question what what Home Depot does is we open up what we call a command center and that starts for for example for a hurricane that can start up to three days three four days before the event and really the focus is getting everybody in the same room we have our merchandising team we have our our inventory team
▶ 4:54:00Transportation distribution we bring our car our transportation carriers in we have third parties that that consult on the weather and uh road closures and really getting everybody in the same room we're on the phone with the local community our store managers to say what do you need right now and honestly getting everybody together really makes things happen fast and that to me is has been one of the key successes of how we can do a command center and get product as fast as possible to
▶ 4:54:30into the communities and then after the event get the recovery product there and one thing I'd like to add to that as I coming from a law enforcement background as a sheriff we always made sure that our supply trucks our electric truck anybody that needed to get somewhere we we would open the roadway to that I would encourage you to maybe uh incorporate your local law enforcement absolutely so that you can help your folks uh get to where they need to go yeah and with that uh Mr chairman I'll yield back and uh so
▶ 4:55:01are there any further questions from any members of the committee who have not recognized seeing none that concludes our hearing for today I would like to thank each and every every one of our Witnesses for your testimony the committee stands
▶ 4:56:09e for