Secretary Pete Buttigieg Delivers Remarks on RAISE Awards in Orangeburg, South Carolina

Good morning! Thank you so much Congressman. You have been such an effective voice for this entire region. I think you all know this, but you have had a relentless advocate for this project. We are here in so many ways not only because of Congressman Clyburn’s leadership in advocating for this project, but because of Whip Clyburn’s leadership in giving us the ability to have these funds in the first place.  

Remember, this Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the sort of thing that was promised and attempted under previous presidencies and by previous congresses. For years, people said that they were going to deliver landmark infrastructure legislation. And I think that is part of why when President Biden said it was going to be a priority, a lot of people said, “oh well okay, we’ll see.”  

It was declared dead again and again and again, but thanks to the leadership of Whip Clyburn, thanks to the leadership of President Biden, and thanks to the voices of communities around the country saying, “we need this,” we got that legislation through, and we are so much better off for it, so thank you for your leadership, in more ways than one. [applause] 

Thank you, Mayor. As was said before, I come to these questions very much as a mayor, or as a former mayor. I know exactly how it feels to look at the potential of what could be in your community, and to try to rally a community around that vision. I’ll admit, I do not know exactly how it feels to have a cabinet secretary come bring $22 million dollars to help you get that vision done. [laughter] 

I did not have that particular blessing in my days as Mayor of South Bend. But you can feel that pride in your work, your city team, the county leaders who are here, leaders from the universities and around the community.  And I’ll tell you, you can feel all the way out in Washington, you can feel the difference when the community pulls together behind a vision like this. So I want to congratulate this community; I’ll have a little more to say about that.  

To have the university leadership here means a great deal. To have Layla speaking for the students, whose lives and whose studies will benefit from this work, and to put us into touch with that future that you represent is something we really appreciate.  

I want to acknowledge all of the leaders who are here, and our own team who worked so hard to bring us to today. We call it RAISE Day—‘Happy RAISE Day’ is what we are saying to each other at the DOT because we’ve got projects going on across the country—more than 150, which made it a little hard to choose to which one to begin with to celebrate—but I wanted to be right here in Orangeburg. I want to thank my colleagues, including Alvin Brown, who many know is a fellow former mayor of Jacksonville working in our department. [applause]  

And, I would add, he has been nominated by President Biden to serve on the National Transportation Safety Board, whose work has only grown more important in recent times, so glad he could be here and thankful for all of our colleagues.  

And it just feels good to be in Orangeburg—to be back in Orangeburg—because I was welcomed so warmly here before. I had the chance to go bowling with SCSU students. Best bowling game ever, I can’t ever bowl again when people are watching because then people will discover that it was a bit of a fluke that I bowled well that time. [laughter] 

But more importantly, what I got in my visits to Orangeburg was an education about the importance of this community. To say this community is special would not adequately state the case. It would be better to say this is hallowed ground. And it was hallowed, of course, in part, by the blood that was shed in the Orangeburg Massacre—which had to do, in part, with the insistence that there be a better connection, a better relationship between the lives of those on campus and the opportunity downtown. Something as simple as a recreational opportunity to go bowling, and something as profound and connected to that as the economic opportunities, the life opportunities that come with full integration and participation and equality. A struggle which, of course, in some ways goes on to this day.  

But it’s the kind of struggle I reflect on a lot as I think about how the social connection and movement and mobility that was at stake in the Civil Rights movement is often related to the very physical, concrete movement that we deal with in transportation. Transportation is about movement. Transportation is about connection. But even though, by definition, transportation is about connection, we often see how assets having to do with transportation serve to divide. And we see a very stark example of that right at the site of this project, where thoroughfares and a railway divide a campus community from the opportunities that are on the other side of the track.  

It means something that we even have that phrase in our American English language—“on the other side of the tracks.” It tells you a thing or two about the relationship between how transportation can either connect or divide.  

And that’s why we are so glad to be here. Because right now, we have an opportunity to take on more of what we’ve learned from the past. To recognize the relationship between the past, present and the future. And to ensure that this time, unlike with some of the decisions that were made in the past, transportation dollars, federal taxpayer transportation dollars, will be used to connect rather than to divide, to enhance rather than to diminish, to include rather than exclude. That is why we are so proud to award Orangeburg $22.7 million dollars to cover the full cost of this railroad elimination. Congratulations, we are excited. [applause] 

This is a great credit to the community, and we know these dollars are going to go to good use. This funding will go to a new pedestrian bridge over the roads, the highways, and the railroad tracks that have cut the community in two, so that people can easily, quickly, and safely walk or bike from campus to downtown. It includes that new transit hub—featuring a public transit stop and charging stations so you don’t necessarily have to own a car to get from one part of town to another. Transit is not just about moving through America’s biggest metropolitan areas; it connects smaller communities too. And it can be a leveler if there is equal and affordable access to it.  

For those who do own cars, a new public parking area, so there are better places to park, and creating room for better crosswalks and sidewalks along the streets.  

There is a lot to love about this project. The safety implications are especially important right now. Our country is confronting a crisis in terms of roadway deaths, preventable crashes, the greatest sharer of which in terms of the rise have been pedestrian and cyclist deaths.  

As a matter of fact, South Carolina suffers from the second highest pedestrian fatality rate in the nation. But leaders here are not taking that sitting down. They are making the investments that are going to save lives, and this is a great example of that.  

And it means more affordable transportation options for residents who can’t afford a car. And for those who do, less traffic.  

It means that the students and all those who live in this community will be better able to reach jobs and businesses, and access to groceries, doctor offices, government services, family, church—wherever it is you need to be in the rest of Orangeburg. That, in turn, means more business and more jobs for people who work in the area, and stronger economic development for years to come. As we speak, President Biden is preparing to make a major economic address in Chicago, laying out an economic vision we like to call Bidenomics. And while it’s being presented in the commentary as something new, it’s something every mayor understands.  

It is the simple proposition that good, public-sector investments make good private-sector investments possible. That when you choose to invest in the right port, or the right streetscape, all the way through to the right national infrastructure, part of what will come from that is the private sector doing what it does best. And I’ve spoken to local leaders who have an economic vision for what will come next once we get it right in the public sector. 

Now, as excited as we are about this grant, the even better news is that there are 162 grants, just today, that we are announcing through RAISE—formerly known as BUILD, formerly known as TIGER—and they are going to support projects in every state in the nation.  

We are replacing nine outdated bridges in rural Iowa, strengthening the supply chains there.  

We are building new sidewalks, storm drains, and shared use paths in Bryant, Arkansas, helping to save lives there.  

We are investing in a project in Kentucky that, in addition to creating a great transportation and trail asset, is going to help them ward off floods that have been devastating to the community there.  

In Philadelphia, we are adding crosswalks, pavement and traffic signals around a half dozen school, so that children can more safely get to school and get home, just to name a few.  

Some of them are in big cities; some are in rural areas. And as was mentioned earlier, in that 10-20-30 vision, it has been very important for us to make sure that these dollars reach communities where they are going to make the biggest difference, including historically underserved and overburden communities. 70% of the grant funding is going to underserved communities and areas of persistent poverty, because we know how important that is. [applause] 

We know that communities have been trying to realize these plans for years. And now we are finally able to get it done. And again, this is all possible thanks to President Biden’s leadership, thanks to this historic infrastructure law—one that would not be here without the leadership we have had thanks to an extraordinary caucus in Congress, and with Whip Clyburn’s leadership in getting this done.  

I also want to mention that this was a very competitive round of applications. So we are glad to have had a historically large amount of funding to work with—but still, we had to say no to even very good projects so there would be room for the very, very, very good projects that we were able say yes to. We got $15 billion dollars in requests for about $2.2 billion dollars in funding that we're announced today. So the fact that this project was selected is something that this community should take a great deal of pride in, so I want to congratulate you all on that. [applause] 

And there’s going to be more good news where this came from. Since this Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed, we’ve funded over 30,000 projects nationwide. Just this week, 130 projects in over 40 states, including here in South Carolina, to deliver American-made low emission and no emission buses made by American workers, and investing in workforce training to help workers get ready to support those next generation fleets.  

Friday, we opened applications for a combined grant program that is going to support everything from small rural bridges to some of the biggest, most complex projects in the nation. And very soon, we are going to open up applications for the second round of a program we call Reconnecting Communities, which is the first-ever federal program dedicated to projects like this one, that will connect people to jobs, resources, and opportunity where they may have been divided by the infrastructure decisions of the past. 

And we are just getting started.  

We are acting to reverse decades of underinvestment and exclusion in America’s transportation system. That isn’t easy. But we are moving forward by reckoning with the past and preparing for a better future. We are all reckoning with our inheritance of decisions that generations now living did not make, but that generations to come are going to be living with. And what we can control is the next step, the next effort, the next project, what to do with the next dollar.  

We do so mindful for what it will mean for those who come after us: our children and grandchildren and their children. The youngest people visiting this event right now, of whom I’ve been able to see a couple of in the photo line, will be using the infrastructure that we are preparing to create today for the rest of their lives.  

That’s why this matters so much. And that’s why I am so proud to be with you in Orangeburg celebrating this good news. And the only thing, Mayor, that I like more than a grant announcement, is a ribbon cutting, so I hope you’ll send me an invitation when this thing’s all done. Thank you all! 

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