U.S. DOT Secretary Faces Questions on Administration’s Transportation Budget

What happened: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg April 29 emphasized the importance of Congress fully funding the Biden administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request to fulfill the priorities in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Highlights from the hearing:

• Several senators reiterated the law’s emphasis on state flexibility in use of funds, rather than the administration pushing its own priorities on states.
• Bipartisan senators sought updates on implementation of One Federal Decision, which would speed the project review process. Buttigieg said the agency views this as a priority.
• Senators expressed concern about combining discretionary grant programs because rural communities might be placed at a disadvantage competing against urban areas. The secretary reiterated his support for rural infrastructure investments and pointed to last year’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) awards that provided 44 percent of grant funds to rural areas, above the 25 percent required set-aside.
• Buttigieg had no update on when a Federal Highway Administrator would be nominated.

ARTBA and more than 50 associations and trade groups have urged Secretary Buttigieg to dedicate as much FY2022 discretionary grants as possible to relieve snarls in the domestic supply chain. In an April 26 letter, the groups wrote the agency ‘should focus the $18 billion in INFRA, MEGA and CRISI grant programs put forward over the next five years on making the physical improvements necessary to address these issues.”

The department is soliciting applications for the FY 2022 awards, with selected projects announced over the coming months. ARTBA will continue to push for implementation of the IIJA with its bipartisan legislative intent as the only guideline.