Sean Duffy, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, outlined the key reauthorization principles of the Trump administration during a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on April 2.
[Above photo via the EPW committee]
In both his written and oral testimony, Duffy stressed that “making travel by sea, rail, and road more efficient and more affordable while raising safety standards [and] cutting unnecessary red tape” should be the primary focal areas of surface transportation reauthorization from the Trump administration’s perspective.
“Lawmakers on all sides of the aisle can agree that infrastructure projects are taking too long to complete,” he said. “But the recent reconstruction of Interstate 40 – the critical Appalachian artery in North Carolina and Tennessee washed away by Hurricane Helene – demonstrated what’s possible when everyone is working together.”
Duffy explained that, to expedite the re-building of I-40, the USDOT, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and other federal, state, and local agencies “found creative ways to source materials closer to the job site,” saving taxpayers both time and money.
“It is this kind of innovation and problem-solving that will unleash the golden age of transportation and pave over the fractured ruins of government inefficiency,” he stressed.
Duffy also addressed concerns by Congress and others regarding federal funding disruptions for infrastructure projects across the country – an issue the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials addressed in a March 7 letter to the secretary.
“I want to assure you that disbursements for valid reimbursement requests under existing obligations continue as usual and were never paused,” he said at the hearing. “However, this administration inherited a backlog of over 3,200 awarded projects without signed grant agreements in place. We are expediting reviews to ensure alignment with this administration’s priorities so that we can fund projects that deliver the infrastructure America so desperately needs.”
That also includes “realigning” notices of funding opportunity or NOFOs with what he described as “statutory intent” and removing “extraneous, ideologically driven” requirements.
“NOFOs for important programs have been republished or are in the process of being reissued,” Duffy noted at the hearing – with the USDOT re-issuing a $982 million NOFO on April 1 for the agency’s Safe Streets and Roads for All or SS4A grant program.
“This is another great step in our department’s work to refocus on what the American people care about: safety,” Duffy said in relation to this re-issued NOFO.
“DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] and environmental justice requirements for the Safe Streets program weren’t just unnecessary; they were bogging down the system and preventing money from going out to where it’s needed,” he said. “I’m pleased with the department’s effort to update this important program and encourage communities across the country to apply for this funding to reduce road fatalities and make our roads safe again.”
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