Press Releases

Opening remarks, as prepared, of Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Webster (R-FL) from today’s hearing, entitled “America Builds: Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Rail Assistance”:

Most of us are familiar with the unfortunate and unnecessary reputation of our country for building and repairing infrastructure: it takes too long and costs too much.

Many of what we would today call “mega projects,” like the original Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Triborough Bridge in New York, took just a few years to build. The Hoover Dam was completed in just five years.

While delays to large projects garner all the media attention, many of the same laws, processes, and red tape that add years to project completion time and costs also plague smaller projects initiated by both freight and passenger service carriers.

Recognizing the importance of a safe, efficient, and reliable freight and passenger rail transportation system, Congress has authorized several programs to assist those carriers who, owing to their size or market segments, lack the resources of larger operators to invest substantial funds in their infrastructure.

These include programs like CRISI, which serves as a vital source of funding to assist short line railroads to rehabilitate and expand infrastructure necessary for their mission to provide “first and last mile” freight service.

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs is the purpose of today’s hearing and a goal as the Committee works to reauthorize Department of Transportation surface transportation programs.

Additionally, federal infrastructure funding should support core programs and the construction of infrastructure.

The Trump Administration inherited a backlog of more than 3,000 unobligated DOT grants. Responsibly, the Administration took the time to review these grants to ensure the best use of taxpayer dollars.

Today, the Department announced it approved more than 180 grants totaling over 3 billion dollars.

I look forward to working with the Administration to reduce the Biden backlog in a timely manner and ensure that federal grants are focused on improving critical infrastructure.

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