Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) was elected chair of the US House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The committee has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation: aviation, maritime and waterborne transportation, highways, bridges, mass transit, and railroads. The Committee also has jurisdiction over other aspects of our national infrastructure, such as clean water and waste water management, the transport of resources by pipeline, flood damage reduction, the management of federally owned real estate and public buildings, the development of economically depressed rural and urban areas, disaster preparedness and response, and hazardous materials transportation. Transportation-related research funding is also within the jurisdiction of the committee.

While infrastructure investments are widely expected to be a focus of the committee this Congress, DeFazio has emphasized an interest in addressing “smarter, greener infrastructure that helps to reduce carbon emissions” in his statement.