Infrastructure progress focus of House hearing

The implementation of the 2021 infrastructure law will be the focus of a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, March 28.

Holding its first hearing of the 118th Congress, the House Highways and Transit subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. Eastern to discuss the Biden administration’s progress toward following through on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The hearing will be broadcast live.

Witnesses scheduled for the hearing:

• Marc D. Williams, Texas Department of Transportation executive director, on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
• Dwayne Boyd, Cement Roadstone Holdings regional president, on behalf of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association.
• Aric Dreher, Cianbro assistant general manager, on behalf of the Association Builders and Contractors.
• Paula Hammond, WSP USA senior vice president, on behalf of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

 Senate hearing

Last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing to discuss the DOT’s 2024 budget requests.

“Congress in recent years has shown itself capable of delivering a bipartisan infrastructure law that evaded our predecessors for decades,” Buttigieg submitted in his written testimony. “Now we need that same bipartisan strength to sustain those ongoing infrastructure investments – and to make progress on safety regulations that protect Americans driving, flying, walking, riding – and counting – on that infrastructure.”

In addition to budgetary concerns, the hearing also gave lawmakers an opportunity to ask Buttigieg about issues in trucking and other transportation sectors.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., gave attention to the lack of truck parking.

“I’m told that drivers will literally drive around for an hour or an hour and a half to try to find a spot before their hours run out,” Boozman said.

Buttigieg called the lack of parking for tractor-trailers a safety concern.

“I completely agree with the importance of this issue,” Buttigieg said. “When you talk with truck drivers, it’s one of the first things they’ll raise. And it’s not just a matter of convenience. It’s a matter of safety. It means that as a driver is on their route and they see that they are getting close to their limit for hours of service, they are faced with the choice of stopping short and losing income – even if there is an open space close to them – or to park in a place that’s unsafe.”

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., called out the lack of participation in the FMCSA’s under-21 interstate truck driver pilot program.

“Although the pilot program is intended to accommodate up to 1,000 carriers and 3,000 enrolled apprentices at any given time, the initial participation data is just alarmingly underwhelming,” Hyde-Smith said. “At the time of the presentation from FMCSA, only 21 carriers had been approved for participation and four apprentices were in the program. One, two, three, four, and we could take up to 3,000.” LL