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House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Peter
DeFazio said Buttigieg will testify as lawmakers are working on
a "transformational surface transportation reauthorization
legislation".
As a candidate, President Joe Biden pledged to invest $2
trillion in fixing highways, bridges and airports; building
climate-resilient homes; wiring cities for broadband internet;
encouraging the manufacturing of fuel-efficient cars and
installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.
Biden has not offered a specific plan for what he plans to seek
from Congress - and it is not clear if he will make a proposal
before the hearing.
Democrats want to use a infrastructure bill to cut emissions and
boost green transportation, while Republicans are critical.
Senator John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Energy
Committee, said at a hearing Tuesday he is concerned Biden
"wants to regulate the internal combustion engine out of
existence and insist that all Americans use electric vehicles."
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed key Democratic
lawmakers to begin working with Republicans on an infrastructure
package.
One big question remains how to pay for a massive boost
in spending.
Biden has pledged not to raise taxes on families making less
than $400,000. Buttigieg told Bloomberg Radio in February this
"rules out approaches like the old fashioned gas tax."
Congress has not boosted the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal
gasoline tax since 1993.
The federal government has abandoned a decades-old policy of
largely using fuel tax revenue to fund infrastructure repairs.
Since 2008, Congress has transferred about $141 billion to the
Highway Trust Fund. Congress failed again last year to approve a
multi-year surface transportation bill and instead passed a
one-year extension that expires Sept. 30.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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