DOT’s Duffy ‘Frustrated’ by Grant Process; Outlines Proposed $27B Budget

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated the Dept. of Transportation “can do extra with much less” as he laid out his priorities for a proposed $1.5-billion finances improve throughout a pair of congressional hearings Could 14 and 15. He additionally offered extra perception into DOT’s assessment of backlogged unobligated grant awards. However lawmakers questioned whether or not the choice to assessment already-awarded grants was slowing the method with added crimson tape somewhat than expediting mission funding by eradicating Biden-era priorities comparable to environmental impression or social justice.

President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget request features a 5.8% division finances improve to $26.7 billion, boosting initiatives that embody together with hiring extra air visitors controllers, upgrading aviation security gear, creating ports and shipyards and constructing freeway and rail initiatives.

“Our finances rigorously focuses taxpayer sources on gadgets essential to our most basic mission of security and investing in transportation infrastructure,” Duffy stated in ready remarks.

Nonetheless, lawmakers identified that finances paperwork they acquired suggest $3 billion in will increase to particular DOT applications. The proposal would improve DOT’s finances by $1.5 billion, leaving cuts to be made that haven’t been spelled out but. 

“There’s nonetheless a lot about this request that continues to be unknown as we await the complete fiscal 2026 finances.” stated Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), chair of the Home Committee on Appropriations’ transportation, housing and concrete improvement subcommittee. 

Grant Evaluations

A number of lawmakers questioned Duffy about DOT assessment of a backlog of 3,200 grants he has stated had been awarded way back to 2022, however had not been finalized. The division introduced this week it has to date signed off on 405 of the grants, collectively price practically $5 billion. 

“Nobody is extra pissed off by the inefficiencies of this course of than I’m,” Duffy stated throughout one of many finances hearings.

A part of the difficulty is that DOT makes use of as many as 14 programs to trace grants throughout the division, in keeping with Duffy. He acknowledged that the method “will not be quick sufficient” and will take a number of years to finish on the present tempo. The company is working to consolidate these programs into one dashboard for ease and transparency, and likewise taking a look at AI and different instruments that would assist hasten evaluations, he added, however Duffy couldn’t say how quickly evaluations could also be full.

Beneath the Biden administration, the variety of authorised DOT grants rose from 330 in 2021 to greater than 1,500 final yr, in keeping with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), rating member of the Senate subcommittee on transportation, housing and concrete improvement, stated she was apprehensive DOT “has buried itself in crimson tape” by re-reviewing 1000’s of beforehand awarded grants. 

“There’s little doubt that the months-long effort to re-review grants is slowing down transportation initiatives in each single state,” she stated. “The division can also be struggling as a result of it has misplaced 1000’s of staff via the deferred resignation program. It merely is mindless to create extra pointless duplicative work on grants when you’ve gotten fewer individuals to re-review them.”

The evaluations embody eradicating necessities round variety, fairness and inclusion, social justice and the setting that had been added in the course of the Biden administration however not mandated by Congress once they appropriated funding for the grant applications, Duffy stated, telling lawmakers that the necessities make initiatives costlier and that eradicating them would open funding for extra initiatives. 

DOT will not be merely canceling initiatives as a result of they met necessities round DEI or different Biden insurance policies that the Trump administration has not continued, he said. As a substitute, when crafting grant agreements, the necessities are ignored. 

Gillibrand requested Duffy if he’s dedicated to paying out grants that had been awarded to main transit initiatives— together with LA Metro’s Westside Metro Purple (D) Line Extension part three, Chicago Transit Authority’s Crimson Line extension, the Southwest mild rail mission in Minneapolis, Second Avenue Subway Section 2 extension in New York, Hudson Tunnel Venture between New York and New Jersey and the Lynnwood Hyperlink extension in Washington state. 

Duffy stated he wouldn’t cancel the grant agreements, however whereas answering questions from one other lawmaker, he did word there have been some grant agreements he’s “not going to honor.” He pointed to some canceled college analysis grants for example. 

“I’m not about slashing initiatives,” Duffy stated. “We wish to construct.”