Duffy Faces Senate Scrutiny Over Infrastructure Project Delays

In what was supposed to be a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing laying the foundations for the next transportation reauthorization bill expected in 2026, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy instead fielded questions from both sides of the dais on the status of infrastructure projects and programs given the administration’s pauses, reviews, and freezes of federal grants since January 20. 

Last month, one of those reviews was instituted on grant awards that included bicycle infrastructure. The League has now gathered over 8,000 signatures on our petition demanding that grants awards for bike lanes and other projects be finalized and that funding flows to the communities. 

And at yesterday’s hearing, bicycling advocates made our collective voices known. In partnership with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, we made it clear that Bike Lanes Save Lives. With eight advocates donning t-shirts emblazoned with our message, we ensured Secretary Duffy and the senators knew how important federal funding is for the safety of people who bike. 

Key Takeaways 

Both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about funding delays on various types of projects, from bridges to ports to multimodal riverfront renewals. 

On the issue of the pause and review of grants, Secretary Duffy was quick to note that his agency is not holding up funding for obligated grant agreements (which is true) and then point to a backlog of over 3,200 grant awards needing finalized agreements that his agency inherited from the previous administration. Awarding grants is the easy part, he indicated, while completing the grant agreement is the more difficult process. 

But by subjecting these awards to further review for bike elements, DOT is simply delaying these grants even more. Delays not only mean streets stay unsafe longer, but they also increase the costs across the board.

As for the reasoning for the review of projects including climate and social justice elements, Duffy said he was simply following congressional intent. Because Congress had debated including those elements in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act but ultimately left them out, removing climate and social justice from grants was in line with the law. While this is true for certain climate provisions, it is not true for bicycle infrastructure and safety measures which were specifically included in multiple grant descriptions. 

When pressed by Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) about when the March memo’s required review of grants with mentions of environmental justice, electric vehicles, and bicycling infrastructure would be complete, Duffy again pointed to the backlog of grant awards and said, “I have a lot of old projects to ‘clean up’.” 

Kelly asked what “clean up” meant, and Duffy pivoted to his talking points about obligated funds being sent out and that grant agreements for unobligated awards will take time because of the previous administration’s backlog.

Without further time in his questioning period, Kelly was unable to follow-up further. 

Did Duffy Mention Bikes? 

Yes, though only in response to a direct question and without his usual polish and poise. Senator Jeff Merkely (D-Ore.) used part of his time to highlight the importance of Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants, which are largely related to people biking and walking and students going to school. “It’s a way for everyone in a car to get to work faster if more people are on bikes,” Merkely said, suggesting Duffy use an autopen to approve the grants.

“Bikes are healthy,” Duffy answered, “and can help many places move people faster.” He affirmed that he would follow the will of Congress on SS4A and was working on getting grants out the door. 

Senate Champions 

In addition to his call out to SS4A, Senator Merkley also gave a nod to the bicycling advocates in the audience and our show of support for these critical projects. In highlighting the congestion relieving benefits when more people can safely and easily bike to work, he recalled his days as a bike commuter in 1980s Washington, DC, when he boasted he’d beat his driving co-workers to the office by biking. 

Like many of her colleagues, Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) had questions about specific projects in her state, though she stood out by asking about the status of a multi-modal project, a $17 million RAISE grant from 2021 that would improve Wilmington’s riverfront with car, bike, pedestrian infrastructure. She reported that grant agreement discussions have not yet resumed and asked Duffy if it was because of the multi-modal aspects. Once again, Duffy put the delay on the previous administration and committed to getting the grant agreement discussions going again. 

Sen. Blunt Rochester also noted her support for SS4A grants and how important it is for people bicycling and walking to be able to get around safely. We also appreciated her acknowledgement of the advocates in the audience both from the dais and after the hearing. 

Other Themes

The status and future of discretionary grants made up a bulk of the hearing, but there were a few other notable themes throughout: 

Safety – Duffy reiterated that the DOT priority is and always must be safety. He offered high praise for Jennifer Homendy and the National Transportation Safety Board she chairs, noting they are following NTSB recommendations on air travel safety. We would love to see more of NTSB’s roadway safety recommendations adopted, too. 

Bureaucratic Inefficiency – There is a bipartisan desire for swifter implementation of infrastructure investments. Whether it’s permitting, the environmental review process, other regulations, the involvement of consultants, or some other boogeyman is where the senators begin to differ. 

Delays are Costly – Not only in terms of monetary cost, but Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) called attention to the human cost of delay. “If we know there’s a traffic safety issue, people die, and it should be fixed quickly.” Senator Adam Schiff (D-Cal.) said delays can kill a project entirely as costs rise due to inflation. 

Staff Capacity – In response to Sen. Schiff’s question about layoffs at DOT impacting delays, Duffy said a loss of personnel hasn’t impacted grant agreements and that the agency has more people now than under the Biden Administration.