UPDATED - 11:28 am, Dec. 16:
In respective statements, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) have voiced their support for President-elect Joe Biden's choice of Pete Buttigieg to the post of U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
In its statement, AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon said, “As the former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg understands the vital role that transportation plays in people’s lives. AASHTO’s membership – the hardworking public servants at every state department of transportation in the country – are appreciative of the Secretary-designee’s call for robust investment in our multimodal transportation system and his commitment to improving transportation safety. We look forward to working with him and the administration of President-elect Joe Biden to deliver an integrated, efficient, and innovative national transportation system.”
ARTBA's President and CEO Dave Bauer made similarly supportive remarks, saying, “As a former mayor, Pete Buttigieg has seen firsthand how transportation improvements can improve the economy and quality of life in communities. He put forward a comprehensive and thoughtful plan during his presidential run to make major improvements to highways, roads, bridges and public transit systems, and address the Highway Trust Fund’s solvency challenges. His understanding of the issue will allow him to hit the ground running once confirmed as secretary. The pivot from economic rescue to renewal amidst the ongoing pandemic begins with major new infrastructure investments. We are eager to work with President-elect Biden and Major Buttigieg in early 2021 to build the broad-based support for a multi-year federal transportation investment program that benefit all Americans.”
ACSE's Executive Director Tom Smith had this to say: "We applaud President-elect Biden’s nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the incoming Secretary of the Department of Transportation. We are eager to work with DOT and incoming Secretary Buttigieg to modernize our nation’s transportation systems and to make sustainable infrastructure a central component of our nation’s economic recovery. As one of the supporting organizations for United for Infrastructure, we invited all Presidential candidates last February to our Moving America Forward infrastructure forum in Las Vegas, Nevada, to present their plans for infrastructure and Mayor Buttigieg was the first to confirm. He offered detailed, tangible plans for modernizing our nation’s roads, bridges, and water systems and we wrote about them here. As a mayor, he has definitely seen firsthand how infrastructure investment (or lack thereof) can impact families, businesses, local economy, and quality of life, which we appreciate."
Source: AASHTO; ARTBA; ASCE; image source: Twitter
