Duffy and Senators Vow Bipartisan Cooperation on Surface Transportation Bill

What happened: In his first appearance before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee April 2, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared the administration’s priorities for road and bridge programs.

“Building big, beautiful infrastructure that Americans are paying for with their hard-earned dollars – that’s a top priority,” Duffy testified. “Let’s do it efficiently. Let’s cut the red tape. We can still protect the environment, but let’s move these projects faster. Lawmakers on all sides of the aisle can agree that infrastructure projects are taking way too long to complete.”

Hearing highlights:

• Funding and Revenue: Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) called for increased funding for highway formula programs in the next surface transportation law, while Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called for a “robust and bipartisan highway bill.” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) raised the issue of electric vehicles (EVs) not paying into the Highway Trust Fund. She is a co-sponsor of the ARTBA-supported Fair SHARE Act that would ensure EVs pay a fee for road use.
• Discretionary Grants: Senators from both parties pressed Duffy on advancing stalled discretionary grant awards. Duffy noted there are 3,200 announced projects without signed grant agreements, but he said the agency is working through the backlog as quickly as possible.
• Permitting: The EPW Committee is working in a bipartisan manner on permitting reform legislation, for which Duffy expressed support. He noted they need to make sure they are “taking the full meaning” of One Federal Decision language included in the infrastructure law and will work to streamline the permitting process even further.

What’s next: The EPW Committee is in the process of crafting a framework to address permitting improvements and plans to turn to a surface transportation bill later this year.