Washington, DC – After being selected to return as Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 117th Congress, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement:
“From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic seaboard, the work of the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee touches every corner of America. Modernizing our infrastructure is critical to strengthening the economy, creating and sustaining millions of jobs, fostering safer and more resilient communities, and meaningfully addressing climate change, the existential crisis we must take on with bold action at the Federal level.
“But our work is not just about enacting transformational policy. As the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, our efforts in the Committee must be matched by our strong support for the transportation workers who have kept our country moving amid the pandemic—from transporting medical supplies and groceries, to getting essential workers to their place of work. That is why I am pleased our Committee was able to continue producing results despite the obstacles of COVID-19. We wrote key parts of relief bills to help keep workers on payrolls, advanced transformational infrastructure legislation through the full House, passed bipartisan water resources legislation and a Coast Guard Authorization Act, carried out a major investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX, and moved a bipartisan overhaul of aircraft certification through the House, in addition to advancing numerous bills and conducting critical oversight that will help make the Federal government work better for the American people.
“As Chair of the T&I Committee in the 117th Congress, I will continue to be a tireless advocate for commonsense policies that help ensure America’s infrastructure and transportation systems work for all communities, urban and rural alike. I also look forward to working with the incoming Biden administration—and my Democratic and Republican colleagues—to bring America’s infrastructure out of the 1950s and into the modern era, which means smarter, safer, greener infrastructure that cuts carbon pollution and is made to last. And make no mistake, I will continue to balance this with my duty to provide reasonable and responsible oversight over implementation of laws under the Committee’s jurisdiction.
“I am once again humbled by the support of my colleagues to continue leading our caucus on the T&I Committee, and I know that together, we can lay the groundwork for infrastructure investment that delivers for generations to come.”
BACKGROUND
Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has served as the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure since January 2019 and has been a member of the Committee since he first came to Congress in 1987. During his time on the Committee, he has served as Ranking Member of the full Committee, and Chair or Ranking Member of four of the six subcommittees: Aviation, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Highways and Transit, and Water Resources and Environment.
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