VIDEO: Capito Participates in THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on DOT Budget

To watch Senator Capito's line of questioning, click here or the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Appropriations Committee, participated in a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss President Donald Trump's Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for DOT, as well as the many priorities of the agency.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE BRIDGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM:

Senator Capito:

"I'd like to talk about highway funding and bridge funding. The bridge investment program. I'm concerned, because there is still more to be done to manage these discretionary programs, one of which is the bridge investment program. I've had concerns because it's costly and time intensive. So, these concerns were underscored when $370 million in contract authority out of the highway trust fund lapsed last year. The biggest driver of that was the protect discretionary grant program, and you and I have talked about discretionary grant programs. Last week, the department published the Second Amendment under your tenure of the Bridge Investment programs, noticed, or NOFO's. These funds have already been NOFO'd before, and states have been waiting years for multiple rounds of amendments and applications. Some project sponsors are now required to reapply. Now, you know the reason I'm asking this questions, because I have three bridges in this program. I don't know, but I have a feeling that they're going to have to reapply after they've been waiting. So, what is the status of this? What is the reason to offer that second amendment to have people have to reapply, and what are you doing to better manage these?"

Secretary Duffy:

"So, I think we do have a NOFO for the small bridges coming out. I don't know if that was yesterday or today it's coming out, that NOFO. But in regard to the protect money, we got that NOFO out [...], a little less than a year ago, but the funds expired at the end of the fiscal year, and we announced the grants, but the grant recipients didn't have enough time to go through the permitting process. That's why that money expired. If this body wants to send that money back to us for those projects, we're happy to take that and make good on those announcements."

ON YEAGER AIRPORT:

Senator Capito:

"I want to talk about Yeager, the air traffic control tower. We are one of the oldest operational, and actually might be now. I think the only one still that is sponsor owned. It is, it's owned and operated by the airport, not by the FAA, or a contract entity, and therefore, it's been ineligible previously for federal grant programs. I'll just tell you, our approach lighting system was commissioned in 1962. Our visual approach slope indicator was built in 1974. Our radar was in 1978. Our tower cab, 1950. We have the oldest glideslope in use. If you've ever gone into Yeager Airport, you want to make sure all these things are working because it's on the top of 3 mountains. I'd like to also highlight that this airport is the home to the 130th airlift wing, which is always deployed at the tip of the spear whenever, globally, and also the Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School. So, we have a lot of students going in and out of that airport, learning how to fly to provide for the next generation of workforce training for future commercial pilots. So, as you're moving forward, I understand now that the sponsor owned are going to be eligible for funding update because they've traditionally been excluded. Is that the case here or are you familiar with this?"

Secretary Duffy:

"I would love to tell you that your story is unique and how old your systems are, but it's not unique. This is the story across districts and states in this country. The necessary investments have not been made. So, the dollars required to get all of our aviation systems up and make them state of the art, is going to cost a lot. But you mentioned your radar. We do have money for radar and radars across the NAS are going to be replaced. We do have our radios coming across the NAS. But if you look at your tower, the resources for towers. We're going through an analysis on impact and age and the limited resources we have, we're deploying those dollars."

Senator Capito:

"I don't want to misquote what the airport manager told me, but the cost of the replacement of the tower, astronomical, in terms of what I would say. Like $80 million or something for a small regional airport that's very critical. So, we can talk on this further, and thank you very much for being here."

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