WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee heard testimony from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Sean McMaster today at a hearing discussing the FHWA’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.
Cramer thanked McMaster for his work finalizing West Fargo’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant agreement, which was signed earlier this year for “an important safety project.” The award supports the installation of a road-rail grade separation project complete with pedestrian, bicycle, and ADA accommodations at the intersection of 9th Street NE and an existing transcontinental BNSF rail line.
He also highlighted the need to simplify bureaucratic burdens on state departments of transportation (DOTs). Cramer introduced the Transportation Asset Management Simplification Act (TAMSA) with U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to reduce this burden by eliminating annual implementation report submissions and incorporating them into the Transportation Asset Management Plans submitted every four years. Cramer described the existing system as “a paperwork burden that doesn’t build any roads,” and asked McMaster for his thoughts on TAMSA to streamline existing reporting requirements.
McMaster outlined FHWA’s efforts to cut red tape and expressed support for reforms to help projects move forward more quickly and efficiently, saying, “In this administration, we are laser focused on getting some of the federal bureaucracy down. We talk about regulatory reform a lot. The department issued 52 deregulatory actions, with more than 600,000 words removed. [Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy] issued an [interim final rule] on the [National Environmental Policy Act] process last year. We're working currently to update our NEPA process, Part 771 internally, so we'll see if we have some action on that in the future. We have simplified our notices of funding. We've cut them in half. We're adding a standardized template for applicants to make it easier for them. We are tracking obligation rates and working quickly to try to make sure that the dollars that are awarded get into projects and actually get shovels turning quickly. […] These programs can be overly burdensome at times and anything we can do to move projects more quickly and more efficiently, we are absolutely supportive of.”
Last month, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced and passed the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th (BUILD America 250) by a vote of 62 to 2. The legislation included a proposed fee for electric vehicles (EVs) to ensure EVs contribute to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Earlier this year, Cramer wrote an op-ed in the Washington Times calling for EVs to pay their fair share alongside other road users, stating “Every vehicle in America, from pickup trucks to EVs to hybrid sedans,” should contribute to the HTF.
During the hearing Cramer explained, “It seems unreasonable to think that electric vehicles and others should use the roads without paying into the trust fund. And I don't know what the right formula is exactly, but I would be interested to know if you have an opinion or a suggestion on how we fund the Highway Trust Fund and make sure that everybody that's using the roads are paying for them.”
McMaster emphasized Secretary Duffy’s view, “His belief is that everyone who uses our roads should support the maintenance and operations and enhancement of the roads that they're using. I know this is an area of focus for you, for the Congress, for the House as well. You mentioned the trust fund has some solvency challenges. The secretary believes strongly, and I agree that […] the people who are using our roads should participate in supporting the maintenance upkeep and operations of those roads.”