An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations require U.S. and foreign air carriers operating to, from, or within the United States that have at least one aircraft in their fleet with a designed seating capacity of more than 60 passenger seats to: 1) record and categorize disability-...
This spreadsheet provides onboard statistics for November, FY 2024. Demographics are particularly useful to managers in the workforce planning process. This data is also used by Congressional staffers and others who have an interest in the size and makeup of the federal workforce, and by...
This spreadsheet provides onboard statistics for October, FY 2024. Demographics are particularly useful to managers in the workforce planning process. This data is also used by Congressional staffers and others who have an interest in the size and makeup of the federal workforce, and by...
Testimony of Brian Fouch
Associate Administrator,
Office of Federal Lands Highway
Federal Highway Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation
Before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
December 6, 2023
Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s investments in ecosystem restoration, pollinator-friendly roadside practices, and wildlife crossings. I am pleased to be here today with Director Williams.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represents a once-in-a-generation investment in our Nation’s infrastructure, competitiveness, communities, and resilience to climate change. This historic legislation includes the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind pilot program to make roads safer, prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions, and improve habitat connectivity. The program represents an unprecedented effort to make roads safer in local and rural communities while protecting wildlife as it creates a dedicated source of funding for wildlife crossing projects, which traditionally have had to compete with other infrastructure priorities for funding. At the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), we recognize the importance of wildlife crossings projects. Earlier this year, Secretary Buttigieg visited a wildlife crossing in New Mexico, where he announced details for the new Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. Earlier this week, FHWA was pleased to announce award selections for the first round of funding under this program—announcing $110 million in grants for 19 wildlife crossing projects in 17 States, including four Indian Tribes. FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt was in Arizona yesterday to announce the award of $24 million to the Arizona Department of Transportation for the Interstate 17 Munds Park to Kelly Canyon Wildlife Overpass Project. The project will reduce wildlife vehicle collisions along I-17 while increasing habitat connectivity for local species, particularly the elk. The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program is a safety-focused program, with the goals of protecting motorists and wildlife by reducing the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions and, in carrying out that purpose, improving habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species.
SAFETY
Safety is FHWA’s number-one priority and FHWA is committed to achieving the Department’s goal of zero roadway deaths and serious injuries through the Safe System Approach as outlined in the National Roadway Safety Strategy. Each year in the United States, approximately 200 people are killed – and many more are injured – in more than one million collisions involving wildlife and vehicles. By reducing these collisions, the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program will improve the safety of our Nation’s roadways while protecting wildlife. Through this program, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides resources to address this important safety issue, making a total of $350 million available over five years. This investment will help make roads safer by preventing dangerous wildlife-vehicle collisions that can result in injury or death to drivers and passengers and harm or mortality to animals. The projects funded by the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program will improve the overall safety of the traveling public and reduce the economic drain caused by wildlife-vehicle collisions (such as loss of income, medical costs, property damage, and decline in productivity and quality of life), while simultaneously supporting species survival and improving habitat connectivity.
HABITAT CONNECTIVITY
In addition to improving safety for motorists and wildlife, the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program aims to improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species. Roadways that cross wildlife habitats create a barrier for animals and, if they try to cross the roadways, can result in wildlife-vehicle collisions. The grant funding provided through the program will promote more wildlife crossings that are built both over and under roadways, providing more options for animals to cross busy roads without coming into conflict with traffic.
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS
The FHWA is working tirelessly to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law so that we can deliver on the promise of this historic investment. Among the many Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs we have stood up in the past two years, FHWA is implementing the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and improving wildlife crossing safety. In April 2023, the FHWA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making up to $111.85 million from Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 funding available for this program. The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program provides funding for construction and non-construction projects. All projects should seek to protect motorists and wildlife by reducing the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species. Eligible entities for the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program include: State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, units of local government, regional transportation authorities, special purpose districts or public authorities with a transportation function, Indian tribes, Federal Land Management Agencies, and a group of any of these entities.
In response to the first year NOFO, FHWA received 67 applications from applicants in 34 States requesting $549 million in Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program funds. This represents nearly five times the amount available in the first NOFO, and over one and a half times the amount available for the program over the life of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, demonstrating the overwhelming demand for funding of this nature. Yesterday, FHWA announced award selections for this first round of funding. Future NOFOs will provide funding for Fiscal Years 2024, 2025, and 2026. FHWA is incorporating feedback from Tribes and other participants in the development of the next NOFO, for Fiscal Year 2024, with the goal of issuing that NOFO as expeditiously as possible.
As required by statute, Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program projects will be administered by State Departments of Transportation, and by FHWA’s Office of Federal Lands Highway for Tribes and Federal Land Management Agencies. FHWA has a long history of supporting these stakeholders with project delivery through our Federal-aid Division Offices and Federal Lands Highway Division Offices. This experience makes FHWA well-positioned to administer this important program and FHWA looks forward to supporting recipients.
In addition to the new Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, wildlife crossings are eligible under several Federal highway programs, including the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program, Highway Safety Improvement Program, Federal Lands Transportation Program, Federal Lands Access Program, and Tribal Transportation Program, and FHWA has looked for opportunities to highlight these eligibilities, including specifically mentioning eligibility for wildlife crossing structures in the STBG program guidance.
Currently, the Office of Federal Lands Highway is delivering a dedicated wildlife overpass project in Idaho for the Idaho Transportation Department, using Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) funds. FHWA’s Wyoming Division is supporting a wildlife crossings project for which the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant.
WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS
The FHWA has a longstanding practice of engaging with stakeholders across the country, and we have placed an even greater emphasis on these efforts since the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. FHWA developed the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program NOFO after considering input from wildlife conservation groups, foundations, Tribal governments, and other relevant Federal, State, and local stakeholders. FHWA has worked closely and collaboratively with the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to tap its ecological and transportation expertise on wildlife needs and data collection. In the spirit of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach, we have mapped an approach where FHWA can, and will continue to, leverage the Service’s extensive knowledge on habitat connectivity and conservation while also ensuring the integrity of the competitive grant process, considering the Service is an eligible applicant.
FHWA is also working with these stakeholders to develop guidance, metrics, and best practices regarding wildlife crossings and habitat connectivity as required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. FHWA is committed to continuing its robust consultation with the transportation and wildlife conservation community to maximize the impact of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and other activities established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
To allow for a better understanding of the program, FHWA hosted two informational webinars for the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program NOFO providing information to assist applicants interested in applying—a public webinar and a webinar specifically for Tribes. In addition to standing up the new Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, FHWA has been working to make stakeholders aware of eligibility for wildlife crossings under other programs. FHWA will continue its focus on stakeholder engagement as we implement this program.
POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES ON ROADSIDES AND HIGHWAY RIGHTS- OF-WAY
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also established the Pollinator-Friendly Practices on Roadsides and Highway Rights-of-Way program, to provide grants to eligible entities for activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway right-of-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses and wildflowers. Congress provided funding for this new program in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. FHWA is working to implement this program as expeditiously as possible.
CONCLUSION
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
###
Testimony of Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator, NHTSA
United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Good morning, Chairman Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and members of the subcommittee. I am Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on NHTSA’s efforts, under the leadership of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, to fulfill the agency’s important safety mission.
Every person has been touched by crashes on our nation’s roads. Many of us have lost loved ones, friends, or family to a crash, as I have. And virtually everyone knows someone who has been injured. That’s why NHTSA’s work touches every person in the United States every day. NHTSA is committed to making the nation’s roads safer for everyone, preventing crashes, and reducing fatalities, injuries, and the economic cost of crashes on our roads.
Today I’m pleased to share new early estimates of traffic fatalities for January through September of 2023, which project that traffic fatalities declined for the sixth straight quarter. We are projecting that fatalities decreased about 4.5 percent from the same time in 2022.
While we are optimistic that we’re finally seeing a reversal of the record-high fatalities seen during the pandemic, this is not a cause for celebration. An estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first half of 2023, a devastating loss that Secretary Buttigieg has rightly called a crisis on our roadways.
That’s why NHTSA – and the whole U.S. Department of Transportation – is leaning in on the safe system approach and the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
The only acceptable number of fatalities is zero. Getting to zero will require consistent, dedicated focus and work from every level of government, safety advocates, and the private sector.
One way we are working toward zero fatalities is by using the remarkable new resources Congress provided NHTSA through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL. I thank you for increasing NHTSA’s overall budget by more than 50 percent.
BIL also directs us to conduct a number of new research projects and rulemakings. NHTSA continues to work as quickly as possible on these critical projects and rules to save lives and to meet our statutory obligations.
We have issued a proposed rule to require automatic emergency braking, or AEB, and pedestrian AEB in new passenger cars and light trucks. With the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, we have issued a proposed rule to require AEB in heavy vehicles, including tractor trailers. When deployed, these technologies should dramatically reduce rear-end crashes, save more than 500 lives and prevent nearly 33,000 injuries per year.
NHTSA has also proposed significant upgrades to our 5-Star Safety Ratings program, and we completed a BIL directive in February 2022 when we issued our final adaptive driving beam rule.
We are also working closely with the states and especially those communities most significantly affected by traffic crashes. This includes both urban and rural areas. It’s worth noting, for example, that while 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, they accounted for 40 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2021.
Every decision we make at NHTSA puts safety first, and this also informs our approach to emerging vehicle technologies, including automated driving systems, or ADS, and advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, too.
Promoting innovation while prioritizing a strong safety culture is at the heart of NHTSA’s work in this rapidly evolving sector. Innovation and safety must go hand in hand – a robust safety culture builds public trust in advanced technologies and automated vehicles. We are using all of our authorities and research capabilities to ensure that we advance technologies that make vehicles and roadways safer.
Finally, NHTSA takes its enforcement responsibilities very seriously. So far this year, NHTSA has opened 40 defect investigations, closed 28 investigations, and overseen more than 900 safety recalls of vehicles, car seats, tires, and other equipment, as of Monday. Our Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation has opened 13 criminal investigations this year.
NHTSA is a small agency with a big mission, and safety is at the heart of everything we do. I care very deeply about the safety of every person who uses our roads, no matter if they drive, walk, bike, ride or roll. They all deserve to arrive home to their loved ones safe and sound at the end of every day.
I thank the committee for its support of NHTSA’s lifesaving mission, and I look forward to answering your questions and continuing to work with you to save lives on America’s roads.
###
Testimony of Robin Hutcheson, Administrator, FMCSA
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Highways & Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Thank you, Chairman Crawford, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and Ranking Member Holmes Norton for your leadership on this subcommittee. To all committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your ongoing partnership.
When I was confirmed as Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there was an unprecedented spotlight on not only the trucking and motorcoach industry, but the men and women driving that industry – the truck drivers. Coming off the heels of the pandemic, Americans are now acutely aware of the impact of a truck driver’s work – from the long-haul drivers delivering 75% of our goods annually, to the school bus drivers taking our children to school, and to the city drivers picking up our recycling. There’s no doubt that drivers are essential to our daily lives.
Today, I am happy to report that we have kept that spotlight shining on the industry as we carry out our mission—to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Roadway safety affects not only those whose lives were lost, but the family members and loved ones who suffer the grief of loss. We have more work to do, and we can and must do better. The work of FMCSA and the industry is supported by the historic passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to work with you on this unprecedented investment, which has allowed not only FMCSA, but our partners, to carry out safety priorities to achieve our ambitious goal of zero fatalities on our Nation’s roadways and to support the goals of the Department of Transportation – Safety, Economic Strength, Equity, Climate, and Transformation.
We continue to work with our State and Local Government boots on the ground partners across the country on the critical goal of improving safety, leveraging the increased resources in our formula and discretionary grants by prioritizing inspections for high-risk carriers, dedicating resources to high crash corridors and work zones, and closing loopholes to prevent unsafe drivers and carriers from ever being on the road.
Truck Drivers are essential safety partners. Data demonstrates that the safest drivers are those that have been in the industry the longest. We need to understand, “why are drivers leaving the industry?” I’ve rode along with long-haul drivers in the Midwest and municipal drivers in rural Alaska, hosted listening sessions with stakeholders, and asked these questions. We know that drivers need to feel safe, have access to training, and to be well compensated to both enter and stay within the industry. We have taken that feedback and leveraged the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law resources to assist the truck driving profession and our Nation’s supply chain by creating a better, safer pipeline of drivers and improving recruitment and retention in the profession. And, our assistance underscores the Department’s goals, as it sits at the intersection of safety, economic strength, and equity.
We established the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Women of Trucking Advisory Board to understand and address obstacles, including violence, harassment, and discrimination, for women entering – and remaining in – the industry. We have created action items to reduce those barriers, because, the plain fact is, we can’t leave any talent on the table. We have implemented requirements to ensure that drivers entering the industry have had a minimum level of training. We used Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to train veterans and their families, members of underserved communities, and others in safely operating a commercial motor vehicle, so that they may enter the industry. We awarded Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant funding to expedite commercial driver licenses issuances. And, since 2021, we have increased the amount of Commercial Driver’s Licenses by 1,335,850. We’ve also launched initiatives to study compensation, predatory leasing arrangements, and detention time, and work with our Departmental colleagues to address truck parking.
FMCSA has increased efforts to combat commercial operations fraud, bolstering the goals of safety and economic strength. We implemented a Strategic Action Plan to address fraudulent household goods activities, including the launch of the Protect Your Move campaign. The Campaign spanned 16 States and resulted in 700 closed complaints and a 36% reduction in customer reports.
Finally, we have dedicated grant funding and resources to prevent human trafficking, underscoring our safety and equity goals, and we completed 50 outreach events this year.
With our continued Partners’ work, our driver focus on prevention, and your historic investment in safety, we can meet our shared goal of reducing crashes on our Nation’s roadways.
Thank you for the opportunity to share FMCSA’s work – and success – in implementing the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Testimony of Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
Before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Hearing on Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:
Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
10:00am
Chairman Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) represents a once-in-a-generation investment in our Nation’s infrastructure, competitiveness, communities, and resilience to climate change, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides historic investments and new opportunities to build a clean energy economy that creates good jobs and lowers costs for all working families. The dedication of the Federal Highway Administration’s staff in delivering on the promise of these historic investments for the American public is inspiring. I have always said that a transportation agency exists for two reasons: to save lives and to make people’s lives better.
FHWA’s mission begins and ends with safety. Last month, I joined State and local officials at the site of a fire that took place under a section of Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles, resulting in a closure in both directions. Within days, FHWA announced the immediate availability of $3 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief funds for use by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to offset costs of emergency repair work. FHWA offered support to State and local officials and provided technical assistance to help respond to the closure of this vital corridor. Eight days after the fire, I was pleased to join local, State, and Federal officials, including Vice President Harris, as Governor Gavin Newsom announced the reopening of the I-10 Freeway. In June, FHWA provided a similar level of emergency support to help reopen I-95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in record time after the tragic tanker truck explosion which resulted in loss of a life and partial collapse of a bridge.
In addition to safety, FHWA’s work is guided by an initiative we refer to as “DRIVEN for the 21st Century.” There are six aspects to this initiative: Delivery, Resilience, Innovation, Values, Equity, and our Nation. It is this first aspect of DRIVEN, Delivery, that I would like to focus on today. While everyone celebrates receiving a grant award, we at FHWA are committed to turning those awards into successful projects.
Thanks to BIL and IRA, we have the funding necessary to make major improvements in our transportation system. FHWA has taken numerous actions supporting implementation of projects that improve safety and people’s lives, including distributing more than $180 billion in highway formula funding to States, and issuing Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for approximately $14.7 billion in available funds. We are currently administering nearly 1500 grants totaling approximately $10 billion across fifteen discretionary programs, with more on the horizon.
I recognize that inflationary pressures can present challenges for project sponsors, but this is not a unique challenge for U.S. transportation projects. I previously served in a global transportation role, and inflation is a challenge we are dealing with globally. At FHWA, we are aware of these challenges and recognize that time is money, which is why we are committed to helping deliver projects on time and on budget.
The success of the BIL and IRA programs depend, in part, on streamlined delivery of funding to recipients. FHWA stood up a new, permanent team to oversee grants-management matters. We also implemented process reforms across our suite of Federal grant programs. We continue to refine our management of these programs to increase efficiency and transparency, thereby benefitting the Nation via the delivery of new projects.
The BIL is funding projects throughout the country that will deliver results for the U.S. transportation system and Americans as a whole. For example, the Bridge Investment Program Large Bridge Grant Awards FHWA announced in January 2023, included $1.385 billion to rehabilitate and reconfigure the existing Brent Spence Bridge to improve interstate and local traffic flow between the interconnected Kentucky and Ohio communities on either side of the Ohio River. FHWA is focused on strong engagement with States and locals as they deliver the many projects funded by the BIL, ranging from small, routine projects to large, complex projects, like the Brent Spence Bridge. For example, key members of FHWA’s leadership team and I are in regular communication with Ohio and Kentucky leadership to ensure that this critical project stays on track.
As Administrator, I have had the privilege to travel around the country to see and hear the immediate need for safer, accessible, and resilient transportation. The transformational funding provided by this Congress has enabled FHWA, in partnership with States and localities, to create a system that delivers for our economy and all of our people, while getting individuals and goods safely to their destinations. There are no Democratic roads or Republican bridges—transportation binds us all together, which is why we must work with each other to support the common good. FHWA remains committed to this task. Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions.
###
Testimony of Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje Jr
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Oversight of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Modal Perspectives
December 13, 2023
Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chair Crawford, Ranking Member Norton, and members of the subcommittee – thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your support as we continue to work to build a stronger, safer transportation system.
We just experienced one of the busiest Thanksgiving travel periods on our roads and in our skies in recent years. That includes the busiest air travel day ever; TSA screened 2.9 million passengers the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and for the holiday week, the airline cancellation rate remained under half a percentage point, well below the average and a testament to the hard work of countless people across the aviation system including our colleagues at the FAA. The holiday season tests our transportation system and serves as a reminder of how central transportation is to our prized traditions and everyday lives alike.
Last month, the Administration celebrated our second year of implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) through which we’ve already implemented 37 new programs and announced funding for more than 40,000 projects and counting, in every state and territory. The Department has continued its strong history of accountability, responsibility, and financial stewardship. The career team behind DOT’s efforts was one of the recipients of the 2023 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals – the Oscars for public servants also known as the Sammies – for their leadership shaping and carrying out these historic investments in IIJA. And the work does not stop. Just this week, we announced an award of nearly $650 million to 18 projects in rural areas to reconstruct or replace critical roads and bridges, upgrade freight hubs, and expand transit service. Projects like these are generational investments in transportation safety, economic competitiveness and jobs, equity, and climate and resilience.
I’d like to share a few notable examples of how we’re delivering on these priorities for the American people.
Safety is the Department’s top priority and in 2022, Secretary Buttigieg announced the ambitious goal of achieving zero roadway deaths through the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy. The infrastructure law gave us new resources to invest in road safety improvements across the country in pursuit of this goal. Awards under the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program are already benefiting 70 percent of our Nation’s population. Earlier today, Secretary Buttigieg announced another $817 million for 385 projects to continue helping communities deploy proven safety improvements like enhanced crosswalks, roundabouts, and improved lighting. We’re also making our roads and rails safer by improving risky at-grade rail crossings, advancing life-saving technologies like automatic emergency braking, and expanding the availability of truck parking.
We’re doing all of this first and foremost so our loved ones make it to holiday dinners, and to make sure that the simple acts of walking to the grocery store or biking to work are as safe as they can be. But preventing and mitigating crashes benefits our economy as well, complementing Administration-wide efforts to provide American workers and businesses access to resources, markets, and good-paying union jobs. We are strengthening America’s trucking workforce and creating pathways to recruit and train more drivers through apprenticeship programs. Meanwhile, we’re investing heavily in our multi-modal freight network, improving our ports and investing $40 billion to replace and upgrade critical bridges across the country, including the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge right here in DC and the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio – currently the second worst truck bottleneck in the Nation.
Infrastructure investments like these are critical to making our supply chains more efficient, which ultimately cuts costs for consumers and drives down inflation – and will help your holiday presents arrive on time, keep store shelves stocked, and provide access to jobs, schools, medical appointments, and other vital destinations.
As we work to improve the safety of our transportation system and strengthen it as a core driver of our Nation’s economy, we are mindful that the investments must reach everyone, especially in communities that historically have been left out of meaningful investment – often in rural, Tribal and communities of color. New programs created by the infrastructure law will reconnect communities that were previously divided by transportation structures, from capping interstates that currently divide neighborhoods to reconfiguring interchanges and thoroughfares, all so people can get to their school, jobs, doctors’ appointments, and family – safely and easily.
We’re also cognizant that some of the most critical projects are not being funded simply because smaller agencies face a steep learning curve as they navigate the Federal funding landscape. That’s why we’re providing technical tools and organizational capacity – leveraging the expertise of non-profits, academia, and the private sector – to help disadvantaged and under-resourced communities compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects. And we’re not only helping communities compete for funding, but also partnering with federal, Tribal, state, and local project sponsors to speed up project delivery and thereby maximize and accelerate the benefits of these investments.
Through all this work, we’re building a more efficient and resilient transportation system while cutting carbon pollution and creating jobs. For example, we’re investing in modernizing the Nation’s bus fleet, more than doubling the number of zero- and low-emissions buses on America’s roadways, while creating good-paying American jobs in manufacturing and maintenance. We’re also working with state and local governments to create a convenient, reliable, affordable, and equitable national EV charging network, which is already spurring private sector investment.
These generational investments will benefit our entire Nation, from its densest cities to its most remote communities. Whether you walk, roll, ride, or drive, or don’t travel at all and rely on deliveries as a lifeline, we’re committed to making your transportation experience safer, more affordable, and more efficient. And we’re committed to working alongside Congress to deliver on these promises for the American people.
Thank you again, and I look forward to your questions.
###
This consent order concerns violations of consumer protection laws by Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) during and after the operational failures that stranded over two million passengers over the 2022 Christmas holiday and into the New Year. While Southwest has paid consumers experiencing...