Nomination of Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Pete Buttigieg's nomination to lead the Department of Transportation.

Whether it is rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, maintaining our leadership in the global mobility race, or improving pipeline safety, there is no shortage of challenges facing our incoming Secretary.

As a fellow midwesterner, as a former officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I can't think of anyone more equipped to take on this challenge than Pete Buttigieg.

He understands the need to revitalize our infrastructure because he has seen it in our neighborhoods and on our roads each and every day when he served as a mayor.

He has a unique understanding of how the Department can be a resource to State and to local governments and what can be done to ensure that the Federal Government supports those State and local governments and make sure that need gets addressed most effectively.

If we are going to build back better, a partnership at each level of government will be absolutely vital. Having someone at the helm who recognizes that that relationship is so important will be an incredible asset to the Department.

I have also had several conversations with Secretary-Designate Buttigieg on the auto industry, which is the very beating heart of our manufacturing economy. And as the industry advances both toward electrification and self-driving technologies, it will be critical that we support these technologies and make sure that they are safely deployed and that they are deployed here in the United States.

We have an opportunity to save lives but also to create jobs and empower our domestic auto industry to take the moonshot for artificial intelligence and spur technological innovation, and I am pleased that Secretary-Designate Buttigieg has committed to working with us as we craft legislation that establishes a Federal framework around these new technologies.

Finally, I am excited to work with Secretary-Designate Buttigieg on improving pipeline safety, especially around the Great Lakes.

We know that line 5, under the Straits of Mackinac, poses a very serious threat to the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are not only an economic driver and natural resource for our country, they are literally in the DNA of every Michiganian.

As a midwesterner and as husband to a Michigan native who was born and raised in Traverse City, Secretary-Designate Buttigieg fully recognizes the need to protect the Great Lakes.

I agree with Mayor Pete's belief that, as he says, ``good transportation policy can play no less a role than making possible the American dream.''

I am proud to support Pete Buttigieg's historic nomination, which has already garnered bipartisan support, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for him.

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