House transportation and infrastructure subcommittee. I ask unanimous consent the chair be authorized to declare recess at any time during todays hearing. Without objection so ordered. I ask unanimous consent of members not on the committee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee and ask questions without objection. If members wish to insert documents into the record please also email documents ti mail. Gov. Several other senators and a press release from senator kramer into the record without objection so ordered. I now recognize myself for the purpose of an Opening Statement for five minutes. Good morning and thank you for being here today. The undersecretary and the administrators before us represents the full scope of the jurisdiction in the subcommittee on highway and transit. However despite the long record of bipartisan oversight efforts, weve not had any administrators before us since 2019. Todays witnesses can help provide clarity on issues related to the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act as they and the people in the programs they represent play a pivotal role in the department of transportation efforts to enact the legislation. This last month we marked two years since the passage that provided funding increases for americas infrastructure including over a half a trillion dollars for programs in the subcommittees jurisdiction. I increased funding for existing programs, created new programs with the legibilitys it increased by nearly 500 the amount of competitive Grant Funding. The average provided was the most under the committees jurisdiction and creates approximately 80 compared to the last authorization bills fixing americas surface transportation act. Since i became transportation and Infrastructure Projects into the companies that provide the services in those sectors have not been immune to these costs. The prices of materials with Construction Equipment and labor have all remained high since the passage. In september the federal Highway Administration released updated data for the Construction Cost index with federal highways now in the First Quarter of 2023 the Construction Index reached an alltime high. Further according to the Transportation Bureau of transportation statistics highway construction increased nine of the last ten quarters compared to the last quarter of 2020 the Construction Costs increased 53. 8 . The purchasing power provided therefore greatly diminished not only my concern about the inflationary pressures, but as i have said many times before the administrations focus should be on enacting the legislation is written, not on the progressive policy proposals that didnt make it into the final. The day before thanksgiving when im sure all of us were refreshing the website waiting for an important proclamation, the fhwa announced it had finalized to create a new Greenhouse Gas performance measure to cut the tailpipe emissions stemming from transportation on the national highway system. I understand you have been tasked with tackling Climate Change first in your core measurements against the concern is during the consideration the policy proposal is expressly excluded and the legislation. Theres simply no congressional mandate or provided authority to take this action. Another example dot with direction from the policy offices using the discretionary Grant Programs to layer on the requirements that do not exist in statute and while we received a press release after press release announcing funding rewards these are not legally binding documents. I think we can all agree that it has plenty of Strings Attached by congress. Theres no reason to add even more at the agency level. Im also very concerned at the extremely slow rate they are being negotiated around the parties have signed according to the numbers. They advertise that youre making grants but it isnt going out the door and projects arent being done. I could go on but i would reiterate the message from the stakeholders theres the risk of delaying critical transportation projects that are necessary to move people safely and efficiently through the country even though i did not support, its of the law and i will ensure the resources provided are addressing the most pressing safety infrastructure supply chain needs, which i know is a shared bipartisan goal of all of us in the room today. The bill was not a blank check for this administration to pursue social or Environmental Policies unrelated to the nations Transportation System. The committee will work with dot end of the agencies represented to ensure the dollars are spent wisely and prudently on the Infrastructure Improvements the nation requires. I think the witnesses for appearing today and i look forward to a productive dialogue and recognizes the Ranking Member for five minutes for an Opening Statement. I would like to thank the subcommittee chair for holding this hearing on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act. It was one of the most important bills enacted in last congress and within the subcommittees jurisdiction it provided 365 billion for highways 180 billion of transit, 3 billion for a multimodal grand and 13 million for highway and motor carrier safety. The work of the subcommittee helps set the ball high. Many of the funding levels on inthe Infrastructure Investment and jobs act are similar to what we proposed. Two years and we are seeing this past summer the regions Transit Agency, the washington metropolitan received 104 million over grants to push the zero emissions and convert the Maintenance Facility to Serve Electric buses and training its workforce to operate and maintain electric buses. I think the administrator and the Biden Administration for this investment in good jobs and Clean Air Act for the region. Success stories like this are playing out across the nation. Every member in the room today, whether they voted for the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act or not has at least one project funded in their Congressional District. As implementation continues, our country will see safer transportation, a cleaner environment, and better access for all communities. Much work remains to be done. America is experiencing an epidemic of traffic fatalities that is falling disproportionately on pedestrians, cyclists and communities of color. I look forward to hearing from each of the witnesses about their work we must reckon with the rise of new technology. Such as Autonomous Vehicles and what it means for the workforce. As new technologies become prevalent we must ensure we protect jobs and give workers a seat at the table. We must also work to mitigate the impacts of our Transportation System. The transportation is the largest source of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the United States in our transportation policies and programs must be reformed accordingly. Expanding access, transit, walking and biking infrastructure is a key part of the solution. I also support tracking the highway emissions with plans to reduce them. This requirement is from authority provided by congress in 2012 and is a critical step in the right direction. I also appreciate the department of transportation wide efforts to improve equity and reverse the decades of all caused by the Transportation System and to low income communities and communities of color. Approved by the committee as a part of the Inflation Reduction Act is quickly put to use. Thank you to the witnesses today. I appreciate your diligent work. To implement the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act and the diverse and thoughtful perspectives you bring to the challenges ahead. I look forward to todays discussion. Thank you mr. Chair. Thank you, ms. Norton. I would recognize chairman graves. Hes not able to be with us at this particular hearing, so i recognize the member of the full committee mr. Larson. Thank you, mr. Chair. And i want to thank the chair into the Ranking Member for having the hearing today and i want to welcome all of the witnesses. Thanks for participating in the hearing today about your work to implement. The bipartisan infrastructure law in this hearing today is an opportunity to highlight how these federal infrastructure dollars are benefiting communities and helping us to build a cleaner and more accessible Transportation System the investment level and number of new initiatives with previous transportation bills and congress handed them to a tall order to implement the legislation. The first two fiscal years the department distributed over 180 billion in highway funds and 40 billion in transit funds in states and localities. Its gone out under more than three dozen competitive Grant Programs and more is on the way. Just this morning the department announced the words for the sake of the streets from the Program Totaling 810 million for 385 projects nationwide including, and you will be surprised how many are talking about this, three in my district. Indeed totaling about 1. 4 million to help the city and the county develop action plans and the Business Council to test nine safety demonstration projects. Yesterday the department announced rewards for 18 projects under the Transportation Grant Program which totaled 645 million. The funding would help the communities reconstruct roads and infrastructure to make them safer and more accessible. I highlight these announcements because it clearly demonstrates how communities across the u. S. Are seeing the benefits of the bipartisan infrastructure law and also seeing the benefits by the creation of jobs. This translates into projects on the ground and jobs for American Workers. September 23 we saw this over 60,000 highway projects alone according to an analysis by the american road and transportation builders association. Theres at least one new project underway in every district in the country according. Thanks to the department has awarded a 25 million and raised grants to the county in my district to replace the island very. Projects like this one and others across the country means jobs. Jobs, good wages and working conditions for transportation workers and manufacturers. It means more jobs in the transportation construction transit, trucking, aviation, rail and maritime sectors. Without these investments the economy would be in far worse shape. We are only two years through a fiveyear bill. The department has been investing in projects in the country and theres more to come. Now the job of conducting oversight of implementation efforts by the dot, state dot, project sponsors and industries to ensure they are delivered quickly and effectively the end of the law is implemented in line with congressional intent. Congress directed investments to address many things including addressing Climate Change and reducing Carbon Pollution. We directed investments to improve safety and outcomes on the Transportation Networks. We want more decisionmaking power in the hands that know the infrastructure best. These and other changes are in the hands of dod to execute. I applaud the efforts to date on this front and the steps taken to address the high rate to prioritize Equity Consideration to ensure Disadvantaged Enterprises reap the benefits into the measure and reduce Carbon Pollution from the sources as provided in transportation law dating back decades. I welcome the opportunity to once again acknowledge the infrastructure benefits into the districts and constituents. The committee continues delivering Bipartisan Solutions for all americans. I want to thank the witnesses for their service and guiding the agencies and priorities and for the priorities Congress Asked you to implement. I look forward to todays discussion with that and yield back. Before i proceed i want to welcome the newest member of the subcommittee, the representative from utah. Thank you for being with us and welcome to the subcommittee. Now i want to welcome the witnesses and thank them for being here today. The honorable carlos undersecretary transportation proposals the office of the sec. Of transportation. The honorable shay lean, administrator federal Highway Administration, maria fernandas administrator for the federal transportation administration, robin hutchison, administrator Safety Administration and curls and acting administrator national Highway Safety traffic Safety Administration. Briefly, i probably dont have to go into greater detail, you know how these lights work, green means go, yellow means step on the gas because it is fixing to turn red and you will run out of time. Due to the nature of the Committee Hearings that we have five witnesses we ask you to strictly adhere to the five minutes if you hear this little sound, that means you are exceeding your allotted time and we ask you to wrap up so we can get onto the next witness and member questions. I ask unanimous consent that the witnesses will students be included in the record without objection so ordered. I ask unanimous consent to record remain open at this time the witness provided answers to any questions that may be submitted in writing. Without objection so ordered. I also asked comes in the record remain open for 15 days for any additional questions and comments submitted for the witnesses to be included in the record in todays hearing. Without objection, so ordered. Written testimony has been made a part of the record and we ask again that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes. With that, mr. Undersecretary, you are recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Chairman graves, Ranking Member larsen, chair crawford, Ranking Member norton and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in for your support as we continue to build a stronger, safer Transportation System. Last month of the administrations of the radar second year of implementing the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act through which weve already implemented 37 new programs and announced funding for more than 40,000 projects and counting in every corner of the country. The department has continued its history of accountability, responsibility and financial stewardship. The team behind the dot implementation efforts 182023 samuel j service to america metal. Its the Public Servants and the work doesnt stop. Just this week as mentioned we announced 650,000,018 projects in rural areas to reconstruct or replace critical roads, bridges and upgrade freight hubs and expand services. I would like to share a few notable examples of how we are delivering on these priorities. Safety is the departments top priority and in 2022, the secretary announced an ambitious goal of zero roadway deaths. Through the departments national roadway Safety Strategy, the infrastructure law gave unprecedented resources to invest across the country. Under the safe streets they are already benefiting 70 of the nations population. Earlier today the secretary announced another 817,000,385 projects to continue helping communities with safety improvements like enhanced crosswalks and improved lighting. We are also making the roads and railways safer by improving risky rail crossing advancing lifesaving technologies like automated emergency braking and expanding the availability of truck parking. We are doing all this first and foremost so our loved ones make it to holiday dinners and make sure the simple act of walking into the Grocery Store keep workers as safe as they can be. Preventing crashes also benefits our economy, complementing the Administration Efforts to provide American Workers and businesses access to resources and markets in good paying union jobs. We are strengthening americas trucking workers creating pathways for more drivers through apprenticeship programs. Meanwhile investing in our network improving the ports and investing 40 billion to replace and upgrade the bridges across the country including the Memorial Bridge right here in washington and between kentucky and ohio. The second worst projects in