Transportation Secretary Updates Congress on Priorities

What happened: The House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee July 16 heard from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on the administration’s progress, six months into his tenure. He also previewed his department’s approach to a reauthorization of federal highway and public transportation programs noting, “certainty matters, and a multi-year [surface transportation] bill helps accomplish that.”

Other highlights include:

• Surface Transportation Bill: Duffy offered a few priority areas for his department’s reauthorization push including supporting innovation, improving environmental streamlining, and stretching Highway Trust Fund dollars to do more with less.
• Discretionary Grants: While 3,200 grant awards were designated under review in January, more than 1,900 have been cleared to move forward, with the remaining 1,300 expected to be cleared by late-summer or early-fall.
• Private Sector Investment: Duffy is supportive of more private sector investment in infrastructure, but would prefer that it come from American sources of capital.
• Safety: Reducing fatalities on roadways will be a priority focus of the department.

Why it matters: Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) reiterated his commitment to considering a surface transportation bill by the end of the year, and having the administration’s support will be key part to advancing legislation.

What’s next: Secretary Duffy will host key stakeholders, including ARTBA, at a July 17 roundtable session and is expected to announce more details on the administration’s priorities for highway and public transportation programs at the event.