00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here.
00:04Apparently, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee has some kind of eyes that we don't know about
00:13because he took my first two questions, but as a Marine, I'm going to adapt and adjust, okay?
00:18His second question was about, and I'll explain this, you and I both support American-made goods
00:25and strengthening the supply chain. In the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020,
00:30Congress established a prohibition on the use of federal transit funds to procure passenger rail,
00:38cars, trains, buses, and from Chinese and state-owned support groups like CRRC.
00:48Any expansion to prohibit requires contracts that were signed before 2020,
00:57and no significant modifications can occur according to that law.
01:02The Biden administration provided Chicago Transit Authority with $200 million last year for rail
01:07replacement, and I have concerns that some of those funds could be up and being used to purchase
01:14from CRRC. So my question is, given the requirement of the law, Chinese state-owned rail manufacturers
01:24like CRRC, has DOT conducted reviews of the Chicago Transit Authority to continue that they might be
01:33using these funds illegally?
01:34I am not aware of that. I will circle back with FRA, and I'll get you an answer on that,
01:40but I'll tell you this. I am committed to the Buy American provisions and making sure that we are
01:46not funding Chinese companies to build product in the U.S.
01:50Thank you. Also, both of you and I come from rural America, God's country as we call it,
01:57and I hear from my constituents all the time that repairing rural roads and smaller cities,
02:04small towns are forced to compete for a smaller pie all the time. Mr. Secretary, do you think it would
02:11be beneficial for rural America to have a dedicated funding stream for rural and agricultural road
02:16improvements work to invest in the first mile and the last mile?
02:21Listen, I do think it's important that we pay special attention to rural America. Oftentimes it can be
02:26forgotten, but it's great in this body and with the Secretary who comes from rural America
02:30to understand the hardship even applying for grants, and how do we help them access more
02:36dollars to make sure their infrastructure meets the 21st century.
02:41Well, I want to close out my last few seconds here by simply saying I think you're doing a great job,
02:46and I would want to let you know that in my committee, the VA committee, when Doug Collins,
02:52Secretary Collins gave testimony, I think it's wonderful to watch former legislators deal with
02:57legislators, and I think you're doing a great job.
03:00Thank you, sir.
03:00Thank you, sir.
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