During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing last week, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) spoke about infrastructure issues in Wyoming.
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00:00Mr. Tell, first of all, congratulations on your nomination to oversee the Army Corps of Engineers.
00:07In Wyoming, we deal with the Corps so much, we just call them the Corps,
00:11and everybody knows what we're talking about when we talk about the Corps.
00:15And right at the moment, we don't have any front page news projects with the Corps,
00:20like my colleague from Alaska does. Did you call it a glacial outburst?
00:26Yeah, it's a very unique challenge. It's almost like a glacier burping every summer,
00:33and it floods in huge ways. It's a real challenge, and we don't have that in a lot of other...
00:39I don't think West Virginia has glacial outburst issues.
00:42No, it's a spectacular...
00:43We have outbursts, but they're not glacial.
00:45It's a spectacular country in that way, that it's so diverse. But of course,
00:51if you're trying to administer programs at the federal government level,
00:56it creates real challenges because of the nuances and uniquenesses of this great country.
01:02So I'll just let you know that we do have some ongoing Corps needs and some potential projects
01:08in the pipeline, and I'll look forward to working with you on those when they arise.
01:12Senator Lummis, I look forward to it as well. And as you clearly articulate,
01:18the wonderful thing about the position I've been nominated for is that it does reach into
01:24every corner of America, Wyoming, West Virginia, Alaska, and I look forward to working with you on
01:28issues important to Wyoming. Thank you. And now, Mr. McMaster, good morning.
01:35Roads really are the lifeline of Wyoming. We have very little airplane traffic, obviously very little
01:44waterborne traffic. It's a state that is road dependent. And so I think we'll be spending a lot
01:57of time together. And thanks for your willingness to serve in this capacity. It's a critical infrastructure
02:05in this country. The fact that you have Arizona routes helps you understand how vast our distances are,
02:13how challenging our terrain is, how extreme our weather can be. I know that's true in Arizona,
02:21it's very much more true in Wyoming. So I, for one thing, can see that you understand how EV mandates
02:30don't work in Wyoming. Our elevations, our cold weather, and the distances that we have to travel
02:39just make EV mandates unworkable. But there's 450 miles that I travel from my farm to my ranch.
02:51One, I can see the Idaho border from the farm, and I'm very close to the Colorado and Nebraska border on
02:58the ranch. And I travel between them. I can't get between them on an EV charge. And so it is just not a
03:08practical solution for Wyoming. Additionally, you appreciate that Wyoming has a really short construction
03:17season. And that means projects can't afford to wait on federal approvals or disbursements to get
03:24underway. We have this very, very narrow window for a construction season. And it creates a unique
03:33challenge for Wyoming. Even more unique than you might see in our adjacent states of Montana and Colorado.
03:41So there are a couple projects that are very, very front and center. Currently, the Wyoming Department of
03:50Transportation is seeking reimbursements for the Green River Tunnel on I-80. There was an absolutely
03:57horrific crash in that tunnel that did a great deal of damage to the tunnel. And that tunnel is used by
04:09commercial truck traffic in mass every single day of the year. The other one is the Teton Pass issue.
04:16There's tremendous traffic between Driggs, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming. Nobody can afford to live in
04:28Jackson. The millionaires have now pushed the billionaires out of Jackson.
04:34The billionaires push the millionaires. Well, I would have said that, but now the billionaires are coming down to
04:40Star Valley, where I am, because they want to get away from the millionaires. And there are so many more
04:46millionaires, so it's just the nuttiest place. But none of the people that are providing
04:55accommodations and services to these millionaires can afford to live there. So they're driving either
05:03from Star Valley, where I am, up to Jackson on the roads, or they're going over Teton Pass from Driggs,
05:10Idaho to work in Jackson. And that road sloughed off. It just slid away. And we have a temporary fix,
05:22but the permanent fix for Teton Pass will be coming to your attention. And I'll look forward to working
05:28with you on that. Again, I want to commend you for your willingness to serve, your family's willingness to
05:35allow you to serve and support your service. You have a really strong transportation background,
05:42both in policy and administration, that are going to serve our country well.
05:47You've got to work with the states. You've got to trust the states. Our administrators really do know
05:53boots on the ground, what the issues are they have to deal with, and can help guide you in how to help
05:58us, the old help me help you. So I want to ask you if you could take the remaining minute to talk about
06:06your priorities for FHWA. Senator, I appreciated those comments, and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
06:14I look forward to, if I'm confirmed, working closely with the Wyoming Department of Transportation,
06:20but all states around the country. As far as my priorities for the FHWA, I think I look at it in
06:26four ways. The first, and obviously the most important, is to support the Secretary and his
06:32refocused mission on safety. I think that's critical, and I expect, if I'm confirmed, that the Federal
06:37Highway Administration will additionally strongly support that effort in a refocused manner. And the
06:43second priority for me would be to advance expediting project delivery as quickly as possible. It's been
06:49raised multiple times here today, but time is money as it relates to moving projects forward. There's
06:56limited resources available, the longer it takes, the fewer projects we're actually able to realize.
07:01And so I would like to support the Secretary and his efforts to address the backlog initially,
07:07while he's reducing regulatory burden on our project awardees, so that we can realize quicker,
07:15faster, more cost-effective projects, and actually build, rather than say we're going to build and
07:21move paper around. My third priority would be to strongly assist your critical work here in Congress,
07:28as you look to reauthorize the surface transportation bill. I have an acute appreciation for
07:35for what that may require for you all, and I want to make sure that you understand that the Federal
07:42Highway Administration, if I'm confirmed, will be a resource for you, as you consider many different
07:48aspects of what that will mean. And then the fourth component, I think, as a priority for me would be
07:56to make sure that the different viewpoints and the unique needs around this country are well reflected
08:03in the Federal policy at the USDOT. So I look forward to supporting you all. Those would be my top
08:12kind of four areas of priority, but you know it's an honor to potentially serve, and if I'm confirmed,
08:19I look forward to following up with you on those priorities and any other concerns or issues or
08:25or priorities of your own you may have. Well thank you, and I might mention one more priority I have, which is
08:31commercial truck parking. Obviously with the Department of Labor limits on how long you can stay behind
08:38the wheel. 18-wheelers are struggling for places to park when they time out, and so another member of
08:46this committee, the the senator from Arizona and I are working on that together. We'll look forward to
08:55those conversations with you as well. Thank you all panel, appreciate you. Thank you Senator Lummis,
09:01and I want to thank the the panelists, and it's been a busy day in and out, but I know