00:00Senator Alsop Brooks. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Secretary Duffy, good to see
00:05you again. You as well, Senator. And enjoyed the conversation yesterday. You know, during
00:11our discussion we talked about our time as county executives, and so you know
00:15that federal transportation programs really are so integral to the success of
00:20our state's projects like road maintenance, bridge repairs, safety
00:24projects, and so I am looking forward to working with you and working with this
00:29committee to craft bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization
00:35bill, but I'm also wanting to ask you just about three questions. One is
00:39regarding construction costs for infrastructure that we know, particularly
00:44highway construction, have increased significantly. And the Federal Highway
00:48Administration's National Highway Construction Cost Index, which measures
00:52the rate of inflation in labor and material costs, increased, we know, 59
00:57percent since 2021, 36 percent between 22 and the first half of 23, and these
01:04costs continue to rise. And so we know that they really, that this will impact
01:08how much infrastructure we can build with allocated funds. So the question is
01:13how will the administration plan to ensure that transportation funding keeps
01:18pace with inflation, so that projects in states like Maryland aren't delayed and
01:23are not downsized?
01:25Senator, I think that's a great question and I appreciated our
01:27conversation yesterday, two former prosecutors, and I appreciate the good
01:32work you've done and all the roles you've had in your public service. But
01:37you're right, we have to do our work in the department to get these projects out
01:43the door, get grant agreements signed, and get new notice of funding
01:47opportunities done as well. So again, we can have a massive infrastructure build
01:52in this country, and the sooner we do it, I think, to your point, the more
01:58cost-effective it'll be, because we get today's costs when we do projects,
02:05not tomorrow's costs if they're delayed. I think also an important part of it is
02:08not just the work that we have to do. I do believe that the Congress has to do
02:13its work on permitting reform, because that is taking a very long time, and
02:18it's not the work that you've done or the department's
02:21done, it's that the process to go through to begin these projects takes so
02:25long, and if they're delayed five, six, ten years, the cost of completion is
02:30significant. And also part of that, we can reduce the cost of the consultants and
02:36the permitting, which means more money will be there for the road or the bridge
02:39or whatever, the rail that we're working on. Okay, and also just, I know
02:44there's been a lot of conversation today about bridges. Maryland happens to also
02:48be very concerned about a bridge, in particular the Francis Scott Key Bridge
02:52that collapsed after being hit by a vessel in 2024, and the collapse
02:58highlighted some vulnerabilities that we have in our Nation's bridge
03:02infrastructure, and particularly around bridges that were not designed to
03:07withstand these modern vessel strikes. And so in response to the tragedy in
03:11Maryland, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation
03:15and issued a preliminary report, which highlighted other high-risk bridges
03:20that are across the country. So the question is whether you will commit to
03:23expeditiously adopting the recommendations that the NTSB outlined
03:28in that preliminary report. I would note I've worked very closely with
03:33the NTSB and their chair, Jennifer. Hamidi has done an excellent job and has
03:39partnered with us very well. I want to take a look at the recommendations, and
03:43again, to implement recommendations on the number of bridges that she
03:48highlighted would indicate a significant amount of money that comes in this
03:52upcoming bill. Again, the resources have to be provided, and you all have to have
03:57the discussion if that's a priority for the Congress. But I'm happy to
04:02engage, and we should have a broader conversation together about what that
04:06priority list looks like. So again, the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the lives
04:13that were lost there, tragic, and we want to make sure that doesn't happen again.
04:16Okay, and just a final question. I know we talked also about transit, and on
04:21average the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, WMATA,
04:25carries over 800,000 passengers daily across rail and bus systems, very
04:30important to the D.C. area and metropolitan area, including Maryland. And
04:36so I want to ask you whether you will, the funding stream has been so
04:40important to us, and I know that the lack of predictable funding really does
04:45harm the safety of passengers. I know we talked a lot about safety on those
04:51transits. So as Secretary, will you work with Congress in supporting long-term
04:55predictable funding streams for transit systems like WMATA and MTA?
05:00I'm happy to have that conversation. I do think that, again, everyone driving in a
05:07car may be challenging if you're coming into a, you know, in Washington, D.C. or
05:10to New York City, and so transit's an important part of it. But we should
05:14expect that if we want people to ride our trains, our trains should be safe.
05:17They should not be subject to violence on our subways or our
05:22trains, and I think that's local communities, and I think the mayor has
05:26been making good efforts in D.C. here, but we have to take steps to make sure
05:30people are safe. And also, I think we have to look at the cost. In New York, I
05:37believe it's the next most expensive place to build subways is
05:43London, and New York is five times more expensive than London. So we got to get
05:48our costs under control as well, because we don't have an unlimited amount
05:52of money. We don't have a money printing machine, though some people might think
05:55that the Congress is a money printing machine. It's not. And so let's use the
05:59money well and make investments that go further for the taxpayer and the
06:02American people, and make sure that they're safe. And I would work with you
06:05on that and figure out how we make those goals a reality.
06:09Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Blunt.
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