S. HRG. 111–31 NOMINATION OF HON. RAY LAHOOD TO BE SECRETARY OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JANUARY 21, 2009 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 50–180 PDF WASHINGTON : 2009 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:53 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 050180 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\50180.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas, Ranking JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada BARBARA BOXER, California JIM DEMINT, South Carolina BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia MARK PRYOR, Arkansas DAVID VITTER, Louisiana CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota MEL MARTINEZ, Florida TOM UDALL, New Mexico MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska MARK WARNER, Virginia MARK BEGICH, Alaska ELLEN L. DONESKI, Chief of Staff JAMES REID, Deputy Chief of Staff CHRISTINE D. KURTH, Republican Staff Director and General Counsel PAUL NAGLE, Republican Chief Counsel (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:53 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 050180 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\50180.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on January 21, 2009 ......................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Rockefeller ........................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Kerry .................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Hutchison ............................................................................ 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 11 Statement of Senator Snowe ................................................................................... 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 Statement of Senator Lautenberg .......................................................................... 15 Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 17 Statement of Senator Warner ................................................................................. 18 Statement of Senator Pryor .................................................................................... 19 Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 20 Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 21 Statement of Senator Dorgan ................................................................................. 22 Statement of Senator DeMint ................................................................................. 23 Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 24 Statement of Senator McCaskill ............................................................................. 54 Statement of Senator Begich .................................................................................. 58 WITNESSES Hon. Richard J. Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois ............................................. 4 Hon. Robert H. Michel, Former U.S. Representative, Illinois ............................. 6 Hon. Ray LaHood, Secretary-Designate, U.S. Department of Transportation ... 26 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 APPENDIX Response to written questions submitted to Hon. Ray LaHood by: Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV ............................................................................ 61 Hon. Daniel Inouye ........................................................................................... 63 Hon. John Kerry ............................................................................................... 65 Hon. Barbara Boxer ......................................................................................... 66 Hon. Bill Nelson ............................................................................................... 68 Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 69 Hon. Frank Lautenberg ................................................................................... 70 Hon. Tom Udall ................................................................................................ 71 Hon. Mark Begich ............................................................................................. 73 Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison ............................................................................. 73 Hon. Jim DeMint .............................................................................................. 74 Hon. John Thune .............................................................................................. 76 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:53 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 050180 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\50180.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:53 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 050180 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\50180.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE NOMINATION OF HON. RAY LAHOOD TO BE SECRETARY OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009, U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m. in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Senator John D. Rockefeller, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA The CHAIRMAN. The meeting will come to—the hearing will come to order. I want to start out my chairmanship by yielding to John Kerry who has a 30-minute, maybe 30-hour or 30-second announce- ment he wants to make. STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN F. KERRY, U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS Senator KERRY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appre- ciate the privilege. I’m managing the nomination on the floor so I need to leave. I just wanted to welcome you as Chairman. We’re delighted that you’re going to be taking the helm of this Committee. We know your passion for all of the issues in front of the Committee. And just personally, as somebody who’s shared this journey with you on the Committee, I’m delighted that you’ve taken on the gavel. And I look forward to your leadership. It’s good to be here with you. I want to welcome our new Senators also. It’s great to have all them here. And I would ask unanimous consent that my full state- ment be placed in the record as if read in full. [The prepared statement of Senator Kerry follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN KERRY, U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS Thank you Mr. Chairman, and welcome Congressman LaHood. In your fourteen years serving the constituents of Illinois’ 18th District, you built a record that has won you the respect of colleagues across party lines for your commitment to pur- suing the best policy solutions regardless of party affiliation. At a time when our physical infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, our crowded skies are in need of a navigation system fit for 21st century air travel, and our collective thinking on transportation policy must account for the increasing ef- fects of global climate changing, I am hopeful that you will bring a breath of fresh (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 11:53 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 050180 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\50180.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE 2 air to an agency that will be at the center of an infrastructure revolution in this country. Despite the onslaught of bad financial news, we all have the privilege to live and work and travel in the most prosperous nation in the world. But travel by train in this country, you’d never know it. Meanwhile, traffic congestion continues to worsen in American cities of all sizes, creating a $78 billion drain on the U.S. economy in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel. In 2007, domestic flight delays cost the U.S. economy $41 billion and consumed about 740 million additional gallons of jet fuel according to the Joint Economic Committee. As part of the upcoming debate on economic stimulus, we’re preparing to make a massive investment in this country’s infrastructure. In my mind, that investment has to come with a commitment to the transportation infrastructure that will help us become cleaner and more efficient travelers in this next American century. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what that commitment should look like. I also