Buttigieg: America “Can’t Do It Alone” on Transportation, Supply Chain Woes
WASHINGTON–When it comes to America’s infrastructure, Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg says help has to come from outside America.
Buttigieg says other countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along with the U.S. He has started what’s called “Momentum.” That is a set of digital resources & toolkits that shares expertise with developing nations. It encourages work to build infrastructure that can help fight climate change and strengthen global supply chains.
“With this, we will help countries around the world learn from our best practices and expertise in planning and modernizing transportation infrastructure,” said Buttigieg in a video on Twitter released earlier this week.
Buttigieg says “Momentum” was created with every American in mind.
“We’re thinking about a worker living in a rural area who can save money on gas or diesel with an electric pickup truck or even use that truck to power their tools while on the job. It’s about a family living near an urban who can breathe cleaner air and worry less about flooding. It’s about anyone in a grocery store who’s going to see lower prices when better supply chains help to bring shipping costs down,” said Buttigieg.
On Thursday, Buttigieg started a $1 billion program aimed at helping reconnect cities and neighborhoods racially segregated or divided by road projects.
It is called “The Reconnecting Communities” program, cities and states can now apply for the federal money. He says it will “rectify harm caused by roadways that were built primarily through lower-income, Black communities after the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.”
New projects could include rapid bus transit lines to link what Buttigieg calls “disadvantaged neighborhoods” to jobs; caps built on top of highways featuring green spaces, bike lanes, and walkways to allow for safe crossings over the roadways; repurposing former rail lines, and partial removal of highways.
