Remarks from Tell City, Indiana | Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Thank you all. Good morning everyone. My name is Chris Cale and I'm the mayor here in Tell City, Indiana and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and say thank you. Thank you to our many guests, dignitaries, elected officials, and friends of the local media. You are with us this morning. Today, events are centered around a fairly recent announcement of a 1.6 million dollar Port Infrastructure Development Program grant awarded to Tell City to allow us to construct a new and much-needed 40-foot pier in diameter. A pier that will be essentially allow increased loading and unloading capabilities of barges. The pier design will allow barging unloading operations regardless of water levels. This grant allows the opportunity, excuse me, this grant opportunity and award would not be possible in our community without the Biden-Harris Port Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and countless and instrumental people who work so hard to make this award a reality in our community. On behalf of Tell City community in Perry County, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who was part of this project. A project that will continue to impact our community long after we are here. Teamwork is most critical piece for any part of a project to be able to succeed and sustain. And Tell City is specifically proud of a relationship we have and been able to build with NDOT throughout the years. Our teamwork and relationship with NDOT has allowed us to progress our community in a direction of continued strength and sustainability. And at this time, I would like to introduce to you a leader and familiar face many who is guiding the continued success of infrastructure throughout the state of Indiana. He is a person of integrity and professionalism and with a professional record of proven leadership. To discuss this project further and many others they are actively working on, please welcome NDOT Commissioner Mike Smith. Well good morning for a few more minutes. It's my first trip to Tell City and I got to tell you I'm impressed with what you guys have going on down here. Just a beautiful community. We saw some great sights and sounds this morning and certainly the port was a fun trip with the exception of a little bit of mud but we weren't getting rained on. So glad to be here with you. On behalf of Governor Holcomb, I also want to welcome Secretary Buttigieg to the great state of Indiana. We've got a Hoosier on loan to Washington D.C. but we're glad to have him back in the heartland. You know Indiana has been known as the crossroads of America for nearly a century now. We earned that motto thanks in large part to our central location in the country. Businesses can expect 80 percent of the country can be reached within one day's trip. So that's that's great in terms of our logistics standing in the country and being able to move freight and all the other things that we do. Transportation infrastructure is vital in capitalizing on our location, right? Vital. On that front we've been gaining both global and national recognition. CNBC for the five years has ranked Indiana in the top five in infrastructure in their list of best states for doing business. We further contribute to that investment with a 60 billion dollar investment over the next 20 years in our roads and bridges, in mobility for all and specifically in programs like community crossings with which the mayor was singing his praises of that program. So a lot to be proud of and what we've done and certainly appreciative of our federal partners of helping just further those investments in the coming year. Additionally we're investing 100 million dollars in the next five years in trail projects so that we can continue to serve on both mobility for those who need to get to that last mile trip where they need to go as well as hopefully getting a little bit of exercise as well, right? In partnership with the U.S. DOT we're making the largest investment in passenger rail up north with the double track of the south shoreline with the extension of the west lake corridor which will just do wonders for economic development and mobility of citizens really across our state but specifically up north and mayor or secretary, former mayor, I think you were familiar with that project, right? The Hoosier State plays a leading role in the movement of freight across our state. We're number one state for pass-through mileage of highways. We're number three for freight rail miles. We're home to the second largest cargo hub in the United States and a thriving inland water port network including the one we saw today. As we build for the future and implement the bipartisan infrastructure law across Indiana and throughout the country I'm honored and excited to work with the secretary and the U.S. DOT team to deliver on that mission along with our local partners. You know anybody who's heard me speak in the recent past knows that we want to continue our investment local so we'll be reaching out to the mayor, to our MPOs, our regional planning organizations, etc. We want your feedback and really we understand at the state level we're just all trying to invest in the communities where we all live and we understand you're a big part of that. And with that, thanks for the time. I'll hand it back to the mayor. Appreciate it. It would be an understatement to say that I'm privileged and honored to introduce to our next guest. He is a native of Indiana, a war veteran, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and former presidential candidate and now the United States Secretary of Transportation. Since being confirmed by the Senate to the Secretary of Transportation and sworn in office February the 3rd, 2021, he has wasted no time in working towards improving infrastructure throughout the United States. And smaller, more rural towns have never been left off his agenda or forgotten. After the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021, our next guest became responsible for overseeing and distribution of 560 billion dollars, specifically to improving and rebuilding everything from tunnels, bridges, roads, to mass transit, ports, and airports throughout the United States over the next five years. He has been and continues to be a personal and professional inspiration to me and countless others. And Tel City is forever grateful to be impacted by his leadership and dedication to improving communities like ours. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming United States Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. Thank you. Thank you. Take a seat, please. Well, thank you so much, Mayor. First of all, thank you, Tel City, for such a warm welcome. It feels very, very good to be back in Indiana. And I'll tell you, as you know, and I was explaining this to my staff in Washington, this is about as far as you can be from my hometown and still be in the same state. You might argue we have a lot of things that are a little different from my part of the state to here, but you have always made me feel at home. And what I really admire and appreciate about the spirit of this community is you've been so welcoming to me now visiting you as a member of the President's Cabinet, but you were no less welcoming to me when I was first turning up here about 10 years ago, trying to get people to care about what goes on in the State Treasurer's Office as a young business guy from the north of the state with a funny name, and you were just as kind to me then. I didn't win or anything, but you were very, very kind to me. And I'll never forget it. I want to thank Commissioner Smith. Congratulations on this leadership role. You've been with NDOT for a long time, but you're taking this job just as I am at what I believe is the most interesting and exciting time in our lifetimes to be doing this kind of work, thanks to the kind of funding that's coming our way. A lot of responsibility for you, for me, but I particularly want to applaud the commitment I just heard to working with local partners because so much of this ultimately happens on the ground, and I know you and NDOT are focused on that. And I want to thank the folks who gave me a tour, the Port Authority President, Alvin Evans, I don't know if Alvin, there you are, and your board members and colleagues who showed me around. I really appreciate the tour, the welcome, and I appreciate you arranging for the rain to take a pause just right about the time I got there. Thank you for that. It's been great to spend time with the Mayor just to hear about the challenges and the opportunities that are ahead for Tell City, so much of which do remind me from home. My understanding is it was the Tell City Chair Company and companies like that that were an economic pillar of the community in the past, employing hundreds of residents for decades and then closed, leading to the fear that the city could empty out. But because of the work ethic of the people of this community, and because of how close it was to a freight rail station, and because of the port, you're able to attract the Wapaka Foundry, which became the largest employer for this area. And it reminds me a little bit of the Studebaker factory we had in South Bend, this giant building that closed 50 years before I even became Mayor. But when I took office, we were still trying to find our new footing after that. And for us too, infrastructure is a big part of the answer, from taking advantage of the high speed fiber that carried internet signals that ran along the train tracks and helped us to attract new business, to the designs that we did, partnering with Indot, among others, on getting our main street to be a little more friendly to foot traffic and to business, all of which helped make our downtown more attractive and drive new investment, new energy. And I guess the reason I bring all of this up is we know that communities rise or fall based on the quality of their infrastructure. And, you know, the economic development that is at stake here goes far beyond the things that are of interest to those of us who spend all our time and attention on infrastructure anyway, because infrastructure at the end of the day, is the foundation on which we build our futures. So I'm here to talk about the future that we're building on the foundation of better infrastructure through the bipartisan infrastructure law that the President signed last November. And through that law, through the efforts of this administration, we're now positioned to do more for infrastructure than at any point in my lifetime, which is a good thing. Because for the better part of my lifetime, that foundation has been allowed to get shaped. And part of why I'm here is that frankly, that has been especially true in more rural areas in our country, which means that a big part of the solution can and must be to make investments in rural infrastructure. You know, one stat that I noticed when I was serving is that rural residents make about a fifth of the U.S. population, but about a third of the U.S. military. Rural communities are used to giving more than they get, even when it comes to protecting and supporting this country. And so the fact that rural communities have been under-recognized and under-resourced for years is something that we can and must do something about. Over 13% of rural roads are in poor condition. There are over 3,000 closed bridges in rural areas, and another 50,000 where you've got weight restrictions due to their condition. And of course, when a bridge is closed in a rural area, or when you've got a load limit and you can't cross it, that means that the length of the average detour is going to be a lot more severe than it is in an area that's concentrated with a lot of alternatives. It can be three times longer than in an urban area, which means people take longer to get to work, businesses take longer to get their deliveries, and the fatality rate on rural roads is about twice as high as on urban roads. So this is part of a broader story. It's part of a bigger pattern that helps to explain why many rural communities have to fight so hard to hold on to their young people. And I'm encouraged to see some young people in the audience today who I hope will be able to build a future in Perry County, in the communities in and around Tel City. My own hometown wouldn't quite stretch, come out, count as rural. That'd probably be a bit of a stretch. Although I will say, if I walked my dogs the long way, we would go through a cornfield before we got home. But what I'll say is I know what it feels like to grow up in a place where you get the message, whether anybody says it out loud or not, that succeeding in making something yourself means getting out. And we've got to do something to make sure that people get a different message. If a young person looks around their community and they see degraded infrastructure, they see that the bridges are out, they see that the roads aren't in good shape, they see that the signs are faded, that sends a message about investment in the community that makes them question whether they should invest their future in where they came from. But after seeing too many generations get out of rural communities, we're getting in, in a very big way. And we're doing it together. Another thing I'm very proud of in this bill is in a Washington climate where most people didn't think you could get a bipartisan anything done. We were able to get this bipartisan infrastructure law done with strong numbers of a lot of Republicans crossing over to join their Democratic colleagues and join the president, coming together to deliver the most significant investment in rural infrastructure since the interstate highway system. And we're so proud of being able to do that together. I would add that we've seen probably the highest compliment I can think of for a piece of legislation, which is a few of the people who voted against it have started showing up to take credit for the outcome. And you know what, that's very flattering. And it's evidence that this landmark legislation really was the right thing to do, and a long time coming. But of course, getting the law passed was just the beginning. Now we've got to use those resources to make sure everyone actually benefits. We've got to do it with geographic equity. We've got to do it with widespread participation. That's what I'm really here to discuss. This is the start of an ongoing partnership, where together we're finding the best ways to use these federal resources to support the local priorities that make life better and create economic opportunity for all Americans. And when we do that, we strengthen the whole country. So let's talk about projects that make it easier and more affordable for people to get to work and for goods to get to market. Better roads and bridges mean less wear and tear on your vehicle, means more peace of mind, also means lower shipping costs. At a moment when we're fighting inflation with everything that we've got, it means more customers for businesses. It means faster movement of goods. And I would add, agricultural exports are just as much part of that as PlayStations on a boat coming in from China. I would argue, perhaps more important for a lot of communities in the heartland. It means lower fuel costs. I know our friends and colleagues at USDA are working, we're partnering very hard with, very actively with Secretary Vilsack on ways to speed agricultural exports. We make the best stuff in the world, we should be selling it to the whole world. And we should make it easy. And I know you're actively involved in that. So in December, we allocated the biggest federal highway funding to states in decades, $52.5 billion to improve roads and bridges. It's often said that there's no such thing as a Republican bridge or a Democratic road. And that's exactly right. We are going to fund projects that make life better, and make our countries stronger in every community where there's a need, and every community where there's an opportunity. Now in March, we opened applications for the Rural Surface Transportation Grants. That's a new program, $300 million to fund road projects that increase access to markets, or make travel safer. Towns can also use those funds for innovative transportation systems, like on-demand transit, bringing a shared ride to you, rather than having to rely on the fixed route bus systems that might make sense in more dense and populated areas. We've seen great results, connecting people to jobs, to doctor's appointments, to community activities and resources, using that on-demand model in places from Vermont to Florida to Georgia and more. We have new programs to fund rural ferries, better train service, better airport service, safer roads, safer railroad crossings. And the safest railroad crossing is when you can eliminate it completely, and I know we're working on some opportunities to do that. And of course, including the perspective of rural stakeholders in everything that we do. And we have already started putting our money where our mouth is. Even before this bill passed, we had the INFRA program, about a billion dollars in funding to go across the country, and the rule was you've got to spend at least 25% of that in rural areas. I'm proud to report that we nearly doubled that, with 44% of that going to rural projects. And that's because we know how important it is and how much of a difference that funding can make in smaller communities. And we've got significant funding going into existing programs, but we're going to run them with a lot more resources, which is great because they've never had enough funding to meet the demand. Last time we had a round on a discretionary grant program, we had about $10 billion worth of applications for $1 billion worth of funding. And I can tell you, there are a lot more than $1 billion that were worth funding. We've been doing rail-to-trail programs. I strongly agree that that's beneficial, both from a commuter standpoint and from a recreational standpoint. We're doing one in the Arkansas Delta right now, where we're going to help a rural area take an old, unused rail line, stimulate business and tourism. And we think that that's the kind of thing that a lot of the communities are going to choose to do with their federal funding that we're making available. But of course, one of my favorite examples, one I'm here to talk about today, is what we just had a chance to look at. This port right here in this community that's needed investment for a long time. The pier there is not able structurally to carry the kinds of loads that it takes to get all of those raw materials to a pocket. And when the waters run too high or too low, it's pretty often you get one or the other, sometimes the loading is restricted or even impossible. Barges will be forced to wait or bypass until the water returns to a more normal level. So the port came to our department for help. And now help is on the way because we have been able to award $1.6 million to improve the Tel City Riverport. And what that means is there can be this new pier so the goods can be moved more often directly barge to truck or truck to barge regardless of the water level. And the port estimates this could increase productivity by up to 60%. Those benefits are going to ripple out across the community, certainly for the Wapaka Foundry, which employs about 1000 people, receiving the pig iron that comes in from the port, and then turning into the brake rotors and the flywheel housings and the crankshafts, all those other vehicle components that are going into an auto industry that is racing to keep up with the demand right now. And they're not just turning that pig iron into automotive parts. They're turning it into prosperity. They're turning it into middle class incomes. They're turning it into sponsorships for the Little League team and dues for the VFW I just paid a visit to. They're turning it into a living. That's what this is all about. That's how infrastructure can create and sustain and protect a whole range. And it's one piece of this administration and this president's broader work to strengthen our domestic supply chain. So we're less dependent and less vulnerable to what's going on with foreign supply chains. We can and should make more of it in America. And that's what a big part of this is. And now I know the conversation on the news is often in the trillions and in the billions. But one community at a time, we see how much one or two million dollars can do. And that's especially true if you multiply it out by the thousands of communities that are ready to put these dollars to good use. In fact, Tel City has a history of building very important pieces of infrastructure for right around a million dollars. I'm told that's what it originally cost to build the flood wall that has protected the city for so long. So that brings me to a second area that is important for us to help with, which is resilience. Making our transportation more resilient against rising water and extreme weather. And reducing the pollution that comes out of our transportation. You know, if you're in agriculture, you're managing uncertainty for a living. You don't need any more uncertainty than we already have when it comes to weather. But there's more where that came from. If you're dependent on one route to get to work, and it's a road that might get washed out or a bridge that might get closed down, you see the exposure to these increased incidences of extreme weather. And now we have the first U.S. DOT-administered program dedicated to making roads and bridges more resilient. We also have funding to reduce carbon emissions or vehicle pollution that our families breathe. Thinking about projects like the one they're working on to build that road directly from the port up to 66th, right? That's going to mean the trucks can move more quickly, and it's going to mean they no longer need to move on those local roads through neighborhoods and communities where kids are playing. We make everybody better off. So to help protect our citizens against the climate crisis, and to make sure that everyone can get the cost savings that are associated with things like electric vehicles, we've seen states with large rural populations, Utah, Tennessee, Alabama, at work building out the charging stations that are needed. And I've talked with county commissioners in rural areas about just how much of a difference it could make if residents can get one of these electric pickups you're seeing those commercials for and know that they're going to be able to charge. And if we get that right, something that's especially important to a place like Indiana, we're building up a U.S.-based automotive industry for the next generation of vehicles, just as we did for the last. And the last thing I want to highlight is not transportation, but more deeply about how infrastructure can improve life and economic strength in America. And that's that there's a lot more to infrastructure than there used to be. By comparison, the old-fashioned secretary working on the trains, planes, and automobiles. But right now, it is just as important to have a connection to the internet as it is to the interstate highway system. You got to have both. And we're working on that too. So the infrastructure law is going to make the price of internet more affordable, and it's going to make sure that high-speed internet is available to every American. I don't need to explain to anybody here how important that is for businesses, for families, for schools. And we're going to make sure that drinking water is clean in every part of this country. One of those most basic things you shouldn't even have to think about. Of course, in municipal government, we think about it so that everybody else doesn't have to. But it's time for the federal government to make it a little easier for those county and local officials working on that to do their job. These are the kinds of investments that can help make sure a new generation of Americans can live and can thrive in the communities where they were raised. There's less pressure to get out of your hometown. When you look around, and there's good-paying construction jobs everywhere, and you can count on that high-speed internet to work remotely for any employer you like. Maybe use it to launch your own big company. When there's better passenger service, better airports around, access to a rail network to a walkable downtown, big or small, with the kind of quality of place that makes you want to spend your time. That's what we can build. Those are the kinds of investments that America ought to have been making all along. We're doing it now. And I'm so proud of how communities that have already been working with generations-old infrastructure have kept the fires lit, have kept these communities going. We deserve more support, and help is on the way. I would add that these investments, and I'll close with this, can be unified in a very, very divided time. Just like the infrastructure law itself united so many people across party lines. It's part of a great tradition in this country of preparing for the future. When we look back at the infrastructure investments that transformed our country, projects like the interstate highway system, the New Deal, all the way back to the Transcontinental Railroad, two things are clear. First, those investments were not just the foundations of job growth and economic success. They actually helped unite the country by literally connecting it up. President Eisenhower said, our unity as a nation is sustained by free communication of thought and by easy transportation of people and goods. He said, without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts. Thanks to the right kinds of connections, we're not just an alliance. We're a people. We're a country. We're a nation united. The second pattern is this. Each one of those big infrastructure investments was fiercely debated at the time, and nobody got it exactly the way that they wanted. But they ultimately made it, and they made it with bipartisan support, and the rest was history. The rest is our American history of economic strength and connectedness and innovation. So I believe that the bipartisan infrastructure law puts us in a tradition with the best of those who came before us and sets the right course for the people that we're serving today, and those will come after us. I actually think the best way that we can honor the tradition of those who came before is to emulate the fact that our forebears were always keeping their eyes focused on the future. And that's what we have a chance to do right now, and that's what I see folks here in our department is supporting this community, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the results. Thank you again for having us. So I think we have a little bit of time for press questions, and Ben in the back is going to quarterback that, so I'll just flip to Ben. So that call comes from TSA, or it's enforced at TSA, but they're going to rely heavily on the recommendations from the CDC. Let me say this. I think we're all ready for the day when we can on from these mandates. I know I am. I flew today, but we have to make sure whatever we do is responsible from a public health perspective. On one hand, we're in better shape than ever before thanks to the vaccinations that have taken place and the boosters that people have got. On the other hand, we have these variants that emerge, and we need to keep a close eye on them. So my hope is that we are on a path forward, ultimately leading us out of these mandates, but I don't have an update for you right this minute. Well, that's part of why there's so many challenges around that policy question. Look, I think every option has got to be on the table when it comes to bringing relief, because we're seeing just how much pain that those prices at the pump are causing, especially with the spike that happened after Putin's invasion. But as not just the federal government, but as the states work through this decision, you've got to balance that against what these dollars go to, which is ultimately our roads. And I think while we ought to keep all options on the table, we've got to really think about the implications of any step that would affect that funding. Yeah, so on the first part, a lot of it has to do with how the formula is set up. By design, the infrastructure law funds projects large and small. And in just about every one of the programs, there will be some kind of structure to it that says not all of the money can be devoured by just a handful of projects. I mentioned that program called Infra, right? 25% has got to be rural. Those tend to be smaller. And again, we beat that. We did 44% last time around, not 25%. And I know that INDOT and the governor are working with communities looking at the range of projects that will qualify for that bridge formula program, for example, right? And there will be a mix of large and small. In terms of making sure that they're well spent, there are basic standards that go into every one of these programs we're putting out. If it's a discretionary program, like the one that led to these port improvements that we're doing here in Tel City, that's one where that responsibility falls on me and my colleagues, and we take that very seriously to select the programs that are the most deserving. And again, there's many, many projects for every one we actually get to say yes to. But I'll also say the role of the state is huge here. So the majority of the funds are formula dollars, and it'll be up to INDOT, it'll be up to the state to make good decisions, informed by their dialogue with communities, and informed by those basic ground rules that we set at the federal level. And I have a very high level of confidence that they're going to make wise choices, and we want to support that. Look, anything I have to say to them, I can call them up and share it personally. Here's what I'll say, though. This is a good policy. This is a good law. And I don't think you've got to be a Democrat to believe in that. I think Democrats and Republicans, out here in the community, I think if you just pull some people on the street and ask them what they think, I don't think it's nearly as partisan as it turned out to be on Capitol Hill. Politics is politics, right? And that's always going to happen. But again, I'll say, I guess two things I would say. One, if any one of those people who voted against it comes around and wants to be there for ribbon cutting, I take that as a flattering indication that we're on the right track policy-wise. But the second thing I'll say is we're not going to hold it against a community that we have disagreements with their representation in Washington. Every time I've been in a room with the president talking about opportunities to expand infrastructure, he's never turned to me and said, well, is that region's member of Congress with us or against us politically? It's about what the need is. And that's why you're going to see us in areas red and blue alike, rural and urban alike, getting these projects done because the American people deserve it, no matter what's going on on Capitol Hill. Sure, so what we saw today when we went down to the port is that they rely on a floating crane to do the unloading. And I met one of the operators, and he does a remarkable job with that piece of equipment. As somebody who's fond of those claw machines in, you know, at the truck stop where you can get the stuffed animals, let's just say it might look like that, but it's a lot more complicated. It takes a lot more skill. They didn't let me try this one out. And look, what they do is made more difficult by the fact that it's a floating pier. That means if the water's too high or if the water's too low, there's a risk of tipping. It gets derated. They can't carry as much load. So the bottom line is this. By supplementing that floating crane with one that's land-based, it means they can process a lot more of the raw material that comes in by barge, pig iron and any of the other things that go onto Wapaka to be processed. And I'm guessing that if Wapaka, and I know their manager's here somewhere, I met her a moment ago, not to single you out, but I'm guessing demand's pretty strong right now for what y'all are producing, right? So I'm guessing the more raw material you can get in, the better. So the more efficiently we can produce what's coming in, sorry, the more efficiently we can process what's coming in, the more efficiently they can produce. And that's supporting those thousand or so jobs that are there at the plant, but it's really supporting the whole region. Yeah. So the president's decision by definition is above my pay grade, but what I'll say is that, you know, it is very important to make sure that we're finding sources of relief given what folks are paying at the pump. It's always got to be balanced against the very important environmental considerations that are part of this. But I do think that the steps that wouldn't normally be on the table have to be considered at a time like this because we're fighting these price increases with everything we've got. And so this measure is going to bring that kind of relief to millions of Americans. Our hope is that the conditions, the extreme conditions that led to this with an oil producing country mounting an invasion and getting into a war are not conditions that are going to exist forever. All right. Thanks a lot.