Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) during today’s hearing titled, “Oversight of the Department of Transportation’s Policies and Programs and Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request.”
Video of Ranking Member Larsen’s opening statement is here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you for holding this hearing, Chairman Graves.
Secretary Duffy, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule—as the head of two federal agencies now—to appear before the Committee.
The T&I Committee is a workhorse, not a show horse. This Committee has a history, which I appreciate Chairman Graves continuing, of enacting legislation to fund critical transportation and infrastructure projects and to create jobs, working across Administrations to get these investments to our constituents.
I want to continue that partnership.
There is a lot of critical work ahead of us to modernize Air Traffic Control infrastructure and boost controller staffing; to improve rail safety; to upgrade roads, bridges, airports, and ports; and to transform how we move people and goods safely through communities and across the country.
We have a great opportunity to work together on job creating infrastructure investments this Congress, including a surface transportation authorization bill.
But to do any of that work, we must rise above the chaos.
Delaying grants authorized in statute, or conditioning transportation funding on things that have nothing to do with transportation, won’t get us to yes.
DOT is still holding up roughly 1,300 approved grants, and your FY 2026 Budget Request seeks to cancel $5.7 billion in EV charging grants. So, I urge you to get on with the review of the remainder of these grants because we are leaving construction jobs on the table without these grants going out the door.
Holding up grants stalls badly needed job-creating infrastructure investments and jobs.
Firing federal workers who oversee infrastructure or carry out critical safety missions won’t get us to yes. More than 4,100 DOT employees have left the Department and several agencies—including FHWA, FTA, and NHTSA—have seen reductions of more than 25 percent.
I urge you to consider how you are going to expedite project delivery and advance safety with a decimated workforce.
Privatizing Air Traffic Control won’t get us to yes. The 2024 FAA Reauthorization provides a blueprint to make long overdue investment in ATC infrastructure.
My top priorities for ATC modernization are:
- Increasing FAA’s ATC and aviation safety workforce to meet growing airspace demand;
- Expediting deployment of critical runway safety technology; and
- Replacing outdated ATC infrastructure, notably telecommunications—the nervous system of the ATC network.
In the wake of the tragic Potomac mid-air collision and trend of near misses, we have to get it right.
Now that Congress has given DOT $12.5 billion to launch this mission, we need specifics on DOT’s plans to improve our ATC system and ensure the safety of the flying public.
Cutting off critical safety investments won’t get us to yes.
We have a national epidemic of preventable highway deaths. There is a clear federal interest to invest in infrastructure to ensure the safety of all modes of travel, including cars, trucks, bikes, shared use paths and sidewalks.
Congress has enacted programs that make these projects specifically eligible for federal funding.
Unilateral actions by DOT to halt legally dedicated funding—and reaching back to already awarded grants—will make the traveling public less safe.
The Department of Transportation’s job is to implement the laws that Congress has negotiated and passed.
It is every Member of this Committee’s job to hold DOT accountable to that standard—regardless of the party in power, and regardless how much we like the Secretary or not.
So far, this Administration has played a little fast and loose with the division of responsibility between the legislative and executive branches and has given deference to Executive Orders, even if Congress has already passed a law with a very different idea.
You have received a lot of letters and inquiries from many Members on this Committee.
You will collect a longer list of inquiries today. I urge you to respond to each of these requests in a timely manner.
I want to thank you in advance for keeping us informed of the Department’s actions so we can represent our constituents, solve transportation problems, and improve safety.
I look forward to your remarks and today’s discussion. Before we move on, I yield the remainder of my time to Rep. Chuy Garcia.