Press Releases
T&I Committee Leaders Ask GAO to Review Delays in Delivery of Critical Additions to Coast Guard Fleet
August 16, 2021WASHINGTON, DC-Today, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the significant delivery delays of the Offshore Patrol and Polar Security Cutters, as well as related budgetary issues. The Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet is the largest vessel procurement the Coast Guard has undertaken, and Polar Security Cutter acquisition is the most complex. In a pair of … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
August 10, 2021WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement after the Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill: "Throughout my career, I have consistently advocated for increased federal investment in America's infrastructure. By investing in our infrastructure, we can create good-paying jobs, support American manufacturing, stop sending jobs to China and strengthen the economy. With today's passage of a … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Calls on FAA to Address Surge in Unruly Passengers
August 06, 2021WASHINGTON-Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responding to the dramatic rise in air rage incidents over the last several months. In his letter, DeFazio stated that the dramatic increase in airline passengers assaulting other passengers as well as crewmembers requires a strong federal response. "The violent, disruptive behavior that we've seen on airplanes this year must not … Continue Reading
ICYMI: During CNN Interviews, Chair DeFazio Underscores the Importance of Transformational Infrastructure Policies: Bill Must “Actually Begin to Deal with Current Problems”
August 04, 2021Chair DeFazio joins CNN's Kate Bolduan to discuss making transformational investments in America's infrastructure WASHINGTON, DC- This week, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) joined CNN's Jessica Dean on CNN Newsroom and Kate Bolduan on At This Hour to discuss the need for Congress to include transformational investments and policies in any infrastructure legislation that gets sent to the president's desk. During his interviews, Chair … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Statement from Committee Hearing to Assess the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts
July 29, 2021Washington, D.C. - The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) during today's hearing titled, "Assessing the Federal Government's COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts and its Impact." Video of DeFazio's opening statement is here. More information on the hearing can be found here. Chair DeFazio: Today we will hear about the impact the government's COVID-19 relief funding has had on the … Continue Reading
T&I Committee Advances Multiple Bills During Markup, Including Legislation to Prevent a Race to the Bottom in International Civil Aviation
July 28, 2021Washington, DC - The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a slate of measures during a committee markup today, including bipartisan legislation led by Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) to preclude new foreign airlines from operating to and from the United States that exploit "flags of convenience" to avoid the regulations of their home countries, or otherwise undermine labor standards. The legislation is now ready for consideration on the House floor. "As Americans start to … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio and Napolitano Applaud the Biden EPA’s Move to Strengthen Clean Water Protections Against Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants
July 27, 2021Washington, DC - Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) released the following statements after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would set stricter limits on the discharge of wastewater from coal-fired power plants, which often contains toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury that contaminate lakes, rivers, and streams near … Continue Reading
T&I Chair DeFazio Challenges Proposed Canadian National and Kansas City Southern Railroad Merger Trust
July 26, 2021Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) opposing the approval of a trust for the proposed merger of the Canadian National (CN) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) railroads. In his letter, DeFazio stated that approving the trust is not in the public interest and would reduce competition. "A single holding company responsible for this traffic would likely change rail … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Introduces Legislation to Name the Department of Transportation After Secretary Norman Yoshio Mineta
July 26, 2021Washington, DC-Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced legislation to name the federal building located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue Southeast in Washington, DC, which houses the U.S. Department of Transportation, as the "Norman Yoshio Mineta Federal Building." In introducing this bill, Chair DeFazio said: "Secretary Mineta is a great American patriot who has continuously answered the call of public service. As the longest serving … Continue Reading
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to Hold Markup
July 26, 2021Washington, DC - The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will hold a markup on Wednesday, July 28, at 11:00 a.m. EDT to consider the following measures: H.R. 3095, Fair and Open Skies Act Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) to H.R. 1339, Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act H.R. 3193, E-BRIDGE Act H.R. 3037, Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2021 H.R. 3709, Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2021 H.R. __, to designate … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Announces Committee Hearing to Assess the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts
July 23, 2021Washington, DC- Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced the committee will hold a hearing titled, "Assessing the Federal Government's COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts and its Impact." The hearing will examine the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to provide oversight of that response, areas for improvement, and the impact of pandemic relief efforts on the transportation and infrastructure sectors and their … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Leads 30 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Members in Urging Congressional Leadership to Include Transformational Policies from the INVEST in America Act in Infrastructure Legislation
July 21, 2021DeFazio and Members to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer: "We won't resolve these problems by continuing the status quo and spending more money through a broken and outdated system" Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and 30 Democratic Members of the Committee sent a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to provide House Members with the opportunity … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Carbajal Statements from Subcommittee Hearing to Review Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs
July 21, 2021Washington, D.C. - The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Salud Carbajal (D-CA) during today's hearing titled, "Review of Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs." Videos of DeFazio and Carbajal's opening statements are here and here. More information on the hearing can … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Larsen Statements from Subcommittee Hearing on Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Aviation Workforce
July 20, 2021Washington, D.C. - The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) during today's hearing titled, "Bridging the Gap: Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Aviation Workforce." Videos of DeFazio and Larsen's opening statements are here and here. More information on the hearing can be found here. Chair DeFazio: Thank you, … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Carbajal Announce Subcommittee Hearing to Review Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs
July 16, 2021Washington, DC- Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Salud Carbajal (D-CA) announced the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "Review of Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs." During this hearing, the subcommittee will review President Biden's Fiscal Year 2022 budget requests for the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maritime … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Larsen Announce Subcommittee Hearing on Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Aviation Workforce
July 16, 2021Washington, DC- Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA) announced the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "Bridging the Gap: Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Aviation Workforce." This hearing is an opportunity for Members to learn from key stakeholders about the barriers to entry in careers in the U.S. aviation industry for underrepresented groups, including … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Napolitano Statements from the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment’s Second Hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request
July 14, 2021Washington, D.C. - The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) during today's hearing titled, "President Biden's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request: Agency Policies and Perspectives (Part II)." More information on the hearing can be found here. Chair DeFazio: Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio and Napolitano Statements on GAO Report Finding EPA’s Actions Led to Declining Enforcement of Clean Water Protections
July 12, 2021Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) issued the following statements after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) reliance on flawed or incomplete data resulted in declining enforcement of Clean Water Act protections, specifically for approved state programs. To … Continue Reading
Chair DeFazio Applauds Biden Administration’s Executive Order Confronting Consolidation and Anticompetitive Pricing in Rail and Maritime Sectors and Enhancing Fairness for Airline Passengers
July 09, 2021Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) released the following statement after President Biden announced a new Executive Order seeking to boost competition across the freight rail, aviation, and maritime shipping sectors. "I applaud the Biden administration's Executive Order and support any effort to bolster enforcement activity at the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Maritime Commission," Chair DeFazio said. "If … Continue Reading
Chairs DeFazio, Napolitano Announce Second Hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request
July 09, 2021Washington, DC - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) announced that the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, "President Biden's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request: Agency Policies and Perspectives (Part II)." This is the second and final hearing in a series focused on the Biden administration's budget request and will provide Members with the … Continue Reading