Chris Van Hollen: “I rise today to express my support for the nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be the Secretary of the United States…”

“I rise today to express my support for the nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation. I believe Mayor Buttigieg's experience serving the people of South Bend, IN, as mayor and his service in the U.S. Navy Reserve position him well to lead the Biden administration's ambitious infrastructure and climate-related agenda at the Department of Transportation. In coordination with Congress, Mayor Buttigieg will face numerous challenges as the Transportation Secretary concerning issues important to Marylanders. We must reauthorize WMATA to maintain and improve metro rail and bus service to Maryland's DC suburbs, develop transit solutions for Baltimore city and other jurisdictions throughout the State, and provide pandemic relief assistance for Maryland's motor coach and transit industries not included in the CARES Act and for whom the most recent bipartisan package was only a down payment. We also should focus on repairing and modernizing our infrastructure, investing in local projects, working with other Federal partners to expand access to broadband, addressing environmental concerns such as air and noise pollution plaguing our communities from air traffic, and connecting communities through the removal of aging infrastructure. As Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg will also play a vital role in implementing Presidents Biden's climate change agenda.…”