Peter DeFazio

He painted a pretty grim picture of the conditions in the maritime industry, the loss of revenues and movement of freight and supplies.

We can also move forward in the very near future to marking up significant legislation that the country needs.

It is a fairly extraordinary day, but these are extraordinary times, and in order to get our work done, we have to take extraordinary measures.

Thanks to you and Bob Gibbs, ranking member, for being willing to conduct the first ever virtual hearing for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Make no mistake about it; our Nation will recover from this pandemic. The fundamental question is: how quickly?

I raised the issue of the Individual Assistance and self-certification consequent to what I had heard in Puerto Rico.

Two and a half years after hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated both, noticeable Federal recovery efforts leave a lot to be desired.

Puerto Rico is still a work in progress, I think, but I think FEMA is trying to get things on track.

I took the committee down to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a few weeks ago.

Congratulations, I guess, on taking the job, and being confirmed. It is a very difficult job, as we all recognize.

Thank you Chair Titus, and thank you Administrator Gaynor for being here today.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks for holding this hearing.

I would just like to know what critical elements you think you can address while still using the tunnels 20 hours a day.

Well, she is delaying the Hudson Tunnel project because EIS is lost somewhere on her desk.

As rail is one of the cleanest forms of transportation, making significant investments in our rail network should be part of our plan.

The fact is, the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and we need to act quickly to reduce carbon pollution.

Climate change is one of the most important battles of our time.

I am monitoring the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19)--and the aviation sector's role in mitigating the disease's spread into the United States.

There are still issues that need to be dealt with for a better passenger experience.

Policies should be developed from knowledgeable people at FAA or DOT, so we can begin to better track passengers.

That hasn't happened. Through two administrations, it hasn't happened, and now it is a little late.

I thank the chair, thank him for this hearing.

I would like to first thank Full Committee Chair Peter DeFazio and Ranking Member Sam Graves...

Congress needs to make protecting and preserving the Great Lakes a national priority--it can do this by authorizing this project through WRDA.

I want to thank Chairman DeFazio for his tireless leadership on this critical issue.