DOT Secretary Nominee Acknowledges Transportation Challenges During Confirmation Hearing

President Barack Obama's nominee to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation promised to work with Congress to determine out how to fund U.S. transportation needs during a time of tight budgets.

"One of my goals would be to pull together a wide variety of stakeholders, both within the government and outside the government, to squarely address how we can build a consensus" on funding future infrastructure projects, Anthony Foxx, mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, said at a May 22nd Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on his nomination.

During his testimony, Foxx avoided recommending any new revenue sources to pay for highways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure.  He did endorse President Obama's idea of a creating a government "infrastructure bank" to leverage private investment capital. 

To fund the nation’s surface transportation system, Congress relies on the Highway Trust Fund in which revenue is generated via a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel.  As Americans have driven fewer miles over the past five to six years and as vehicles have become more fuel efficient, the Highway Trust Fund is increasingly ill-suited to address the nation’s surface transportation needs.     

If confirmed by the full Senate, Foxx would succeed Transportation Ray LaHood, a Republican and former member of Congress from Illinois.  LaHood will remain as U.S. DOT Secretary until Foxx is confirmed.

"Ensuring that our transportation system is the safest in the world will be my top priority," Foxx said, adding that improving its efficiency and performance will be a second major focus.