Buttigieg urges big funds as chief of transportation
WASHINGTON – Pete Buttigieg, President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of transportation, was headed down a smooth path to quick confirmation, pledging to senators on Thursday to work with them to carry out the administration’s ambitious agenda to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.
A Senate committee vote on his nomination could come as soon as next week.
Buttigieg, 39, pointed to a “generational opportunity” to create new jobs, fight economic inequality and stem climate change. Often sidestepping specifics, Buttigieg hinted at a broad climate-centric role for the department that will require significant investments in addition to Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan.
“We need to build our economy back, better than ever, and the Department of Transportation can play a central role in this,” Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, told the Senate Commerce Committee.
He indicated he would reverse a Trump administration rollback in federal automotive fuel economy standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, work to stiffen oversight of aviation safety as the troubled Boeing 737 Max makes its return to the skies, and encourage use of electric vehicles, such as by adding a half-million charging stations nationwide.
Buttigieg did not specify where money could come from for big investments in infrastructure, and wouldn’t rule out a tax increase. He raised the possibility of a major change in how highways are funded, such as by converting from the current Highway Trust Fund, which is paid for through the gas tax, to a “vehicle miles traveled” alternative that would tax drivers based on their road mileage.
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chaired the hearing Thursday for a last time as the Senate finalized its transfer of power to Democrats, signaled likely challenges in finding ways to pay for a costly infrastructure overhaul, but said he looked forward to working with Buttigieg.
“I’m quite certain he will be confirmed,” Wicker told the hearing.
Buttigieg, a former Democratic presidential candidate, would be the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post. He was among the first batch of Cabinet selections getting hearings this week as Biden urges the Senate to quickly confirm his nominees.
Buttigieg would take over at a critical time for transportation. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated many modes of transportation, with airlines, city subway systems and Amtrak seeking federal aid to help keep afloat.