Pete Buttigieg: ‘I Know What’s At Stake Economically For Our Country’

3 months ago

Last month, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) questioned Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on technology innovation in transportation during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.

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Transcript

00:00Recognize Mr. Johnson from Florida. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Great to see you and

00:09you arrived at my doorstep on a high as far as electric vehicles are concerned. I

00:20want you to continue on this streak that you are on right now explaining why it's

00:27important that our economy lead in terms of adopting new forms of clean

00:34renewable energy, automobiles representing a big part of that. Would

00:40you, I want to open the floor to you to kind of talk about why we're heading in

00:46this direction, why it's important that we continue to do so. I appreciate the

00:51question and I want to emphasize part of why I care so much about this is that I

00:54grew up in northern Indiana, the industrial Midwest and the home of what

00:58had been the Studebaker car company, which went out of business 20

01:02years before I was born. And that meant that I grew up surrounded by crumbling

01:07and decaying factories that were a consequence of our automotive economy

01:12and our part of the Midwest not keeping up with the most recent and necessary

01:16processes and technologies. So I know what's at stake economically for our

01:21country in terms of the importance of us leading the EV market instead of

01:26finding excuses to hold on to dirty and expensive fuels and old technology for

01:31as long as humanly possible. I also appreciate the opportunity to return to

01:36one of the important dimensions of the exchange I was just having with

01:39Representative Burleson, which is life safety. ACS data suggests that 29,000

01:46deaths per year are attributable to human-caused domestic omissions,

01:50including 7,700 from truck use and 9,700 from passenger vehicle use. We have a

01:56chance to change that and if there is any problem, safety or otherwise, with any

02:02new technology, that's not an excuse to stop pursuing new technology. It's an

02:07imperative to make sure that that new technology unfolds well, unfolds safely,

02:11and that's what our department has been doing for as long as it's existed.

02:16Yes, our EV technology is world-leading at this point, but it is subject to being

02:25overshadowed by what is taking place in other nations. Can you talk about that?

02:33Well, China has invested hugely in its EV capabilities. I don't believe that's

02:38because the Chinese Communist Party is enthusiastic about the environment. I

02:42believe it's because they perceive the economic and strategic benefits of

02:46trying to dominate that market, which is one of the reasons why the Biden

02:49administration is protecting the U.S. market with appropriate tariffs on that

02:53unfairly subsidized Chinese industry. We face fierce competition from around the

02:58world, just as we did in the first chapter of the automotive industry, but

03:04we're determined as an administration, and I'm determined as a child of the

03:08industrial Midwest, to make sure that America leads the way in the EV

03:12revolution, just as we led the way the first time around in the arrival of

03:16automobiles a little over a hundred years ago. You know, the Biden

03:19administration has been responsible for creating 16 million-plus new jobs during

03:26this three and a half years in office. Can you tell us about the job growth

03:33that is associated with the EV industry? We've seen EV battery and manufacturing

03:40facilities rise across the country, of course in Georgia, in my home state, both

03:46my new home state of Michigan that I married into, and my state where I grew

03:50up of Indiana, and whether we're talking about the battery side or the

03:54manufacturing side, we know that we've got the opportunity to create new

03:58good-paying jobs. Part of what was at stake in the UAW strike and the historic

04:02contract that those workers earned was to make sure that that EV economy

04:06continues to create not just large numbers of jobs, but good-paying jobs,

04:10and that's part of why the president was so proud to be with those auto workers

04:13as they sought that great opportunity. First time a president has been on a

04:18picket line. That's true, yes sir. And I'll note that the union movement has just

04:23exploded since the Biden administration came into office. It's been an

04:29extraordinary time for American workers, historic contracts in many sectors,

04:33including, of course, transportation and manufacturing. Thank you. Let me ask you

04:37this question. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and the Georgia

04:41Department of Transportation applied for the Department of Transportation's mega

04:46grant program for their Georgia 400 Express Lanes project. This project will

04:52combine the Georgia Department of Transportation's Express Lanes and

04:57dedicated bus rapid transit lanes to significantly improve congestion and

05:02transit access to over 120,000 jobs within a mile radius of the five

05:08stations. Can you discuss the strategic timing and expected outcomes of the mega

05:13grant awarded to support this initiative? Thank you. We're working through those

05:17mega grant applications through the course of this year. Certainly

05:21recognize the enthusiasm around this project and I can commit to you I'll

05:24make sure it gets every fair consideration and I'll become more

05:27familiar with the specific project. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you.

Pete Buttigieg: ‘I Know What’s At Stake Economically For Our Country’

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