Pete Buttigieg

I will give you just a few examples of the work we are supporting.

Every few days, we have another great announcement: Bridge repair programs that will help us move more goods more affordably and people more safely.

This is also, though, a moment of enormous opportunity, with reason for optimism.

Thanks to leaders like Chair DeFazio, Representative Young, and so many of you, we now have the most transformative transportation investment in most of our lifetimes.

We would love to bring that...

One thing we have been working on with the Department of Energy is better sourcing of some of the elements that go into batteries, for example, ideally in the United States and, if not in the United States, then in geopolitically…

We do think that there continues to be a place for private investment.

Together, we have the opportunity to improve countless lives, support good-paying jobs, strengthen America's manufacturers.

Success means delivering good projects that improve the lives of your constituents.

Thank you, Chair DeFazio, for 36 years of extraordinary service, and to congratulate you on your upcoming retirement.

Nobody I know, certainly not me, thinks that all or even most Americans can easily afford electric vehicles.

Thank you in particular, Chair DeFazio, for your 36 years of extraordinary service.

Transportation produces more carbon emissions than any other sector at a time when the nations of the world are rallying to confront the climate challenge.

Nearly 43,000 people died in traffic crashes last year, each of them a parent or child, colleague or friend.

You have my commitment that smaller and rural projects will not be shorted in the RAISE Program or any other provided under the law.

It is very important to us to make sure that smaller communities and rural communities get support from this legislation and from these programs specifically.

Democracies can deliver for the people that they represent

As a country, we cannot afford to leave any talent on the table. We have to ensure that transportation is an engine of equity.

The President has said that all options are on the table.

We can save the American families 1000s of dollars a year with very specific actions that are absolutely under the control of policymakers in Washington.

The President has asked for sought and exercised options that are making a difference.

States that choose to step up are putting themselves in an excellent position to take advantage of the Federal funding.

America's infrastructure fell into a state of disrepair for decades.

The need for major investment has long been clear.

Thank you for everything you did to craft and to pass this urgently needed piece of legislation.