Washington Update
On January 23, the House T&I Rail Subcommittee held its first hearing of the year titled, “America Builds: Examining America’s Freight and Passenger Rail Network.” The witnesses are: Ian Jefferies, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads; Chuck Baker, President of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; Joe Daloisio, chair of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association; and Jared Cassity, alternate national safety and legislative director of SMART-TD.
On January 21, the House T&I Committee announced the new members, Subcommittee chairs and rosters for the 119th Congress, see more info here. Also on January 21, President Trump announced that Patrick Fuchs will serve as the new Chair of the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
On January 20, President Trump took the oath of office officially making him the 47th President of the United States and marking the official start of his Administration.
On January 15, Trump’s pick for USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy had a nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. The hearing was successful, and Duffy is expected to be confirmed by the committee on January 22 and confirmed by the full Senate as soon as the end of this week. Also, Steven Bradbury was named as the USDOT Deputy Secretary nominee.
On January 14, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) officially withdrew their authorization request to EPA for the In-Use Locomotive Regulation. A tremendous win for the rail industry.
On January 10, U.S. DOT and FRA announced nearly $5 billion in IIJA grants including FRA Rail Crossing Elimination grants and RAISE grants). See more info and award selections here.
On January 7, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was designated as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and several new Senators joined the committee. For more information see here.
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