GOP Seeks Answers From Buttigieg on ‘Disturbing’ Failures of Transportation Department

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2022. Win McNamee/Getty Images

GOP lawmakers have asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to provide information related to “a series of aviation and rail safety failures” that have recently taken place across the country.

“These failures indicate a recent and disturbing pattern of failures at the Department” which puts the safety of Americans at risk, Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability wrote in the Sept. 5 letter (pdf). “Therefore, we request a briefing, documents, and communications related to the Department’s efforts to investigate and remediate these issues to protect the safety of all Americans.”

The letter cited a report by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) which highlighted “aviation safety” and “surface transportation safety” as leading management challenges at the department since 2021.

The report stressed the need to “address long unresolved [aviation] safety issues.” The OIG also called for overcoming oversight challenges to reduce “surface transportation fatalities.”

“Despite the OIG’s consistent warnings, it appears that the Department has not addressed these concerns. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data indicate that there were 1,730 runway incursions in all of 2022 while there have already been 1,539 this year as of July 24, 2023,” the letter said.

“Since the beginning of 2021, there have been approximately 2,000 rail incidents reported nationwide, including approximately 1,310 derailments and 146 collisions.”

The letter then listed some of the aviation and rail safety incidents that took place across the United States in recent years.

This includes a plane plunging within 800 feet of the Pacific Ocean in December after taking off from Maui, Hawaii; multiple collisions and near collisions between planes at several airports; the death of a ground crew member in June in an incident involving a plane engine; and multiple freight train derailments that resulted in the release of toxic or hazardous materials.

“Despite these incidents, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) has more than 86 new unresolved recommendations since President Biden took office. According to the OIG, a recommendation is ‘unresolved’ if ‘agency management disagrees with the recommendation or the OIG disagrees with the agency’s proposed corrective actions.’”

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires that recommendations put forward by the OIG be resolved within six months. Proposals include ways to improve the “safety, efficiency, and economy” of several transportation department programs.

“It appears from the OIG’s catalogue of long overdue and unresolved recommendations that DOT’s leadership is not prioritizing Americans’ safety on air, land, and sea,” the letter said.

“These safety failures have eroded the public’s confidence in air and rail safety and necessitates thorough investigation.”

Lawmakers asked for details like documentation summarizing all aviation and rail events that may have or did result in injury, death, damage, or financial damage.

It also sought information on DOT plans to prevent future aviation safety events and documents related to resolving the recommendations provided by the OIG. The documents have to be submitted by Sept. 19.

Buttigieg Under Scanner Amid Transportation Incidents

Mr. Buttigieg’s role at the DOT came under scrutiny earlier this year following his delayed response to the toxic Ohio train derailment incident in February.

On Feb. 3, an eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway train of 151 cars derailed in East Palestine, triggering fear of chemical pollution. The railcars contained vinyl chloride, used to make PVC pipe, and other chemicals like ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene that are used to make plastic products.

The Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous waste that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, here photographed almost a month later, and a rash ope other train accidents this year, could make adopting a bill that would require Congress pass a joint resolution before new regulations and rules go into effect difficult to adopt this year. Alan Freed/Reuters

Between Feb. 5 and Feb. 13, even though Mr. Buttigieg made several media appearances, he did not pursue the topic of train derailment in East Palestine.

He discussed the crash in a Feb. 13 post on X. A day later, he blamed Trump administration policies for the accident, which triggered criticism from Republicans. Mr. Buttigieg then caused outrage for claiming the East Palestine crash was only one of the “roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had called for Buttigieg’s resignation. “Secretary Buttigieg refused to acknowledge the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, until his intentional ignorance was no longer tenable,” he said in a letter.

“Even after acknowledging the tragedy, he continues to deflect any accountability for the safety of our nation’s rail system. The circumstances leading up to the derailment point to a clear lack of oversight and demand engagement by our nation’s top transportation official.”

Mr. Buttigieg also faced criticism following certain aviation mishaps, including a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outage in January that resulted in flight departures getting halted for almost 90 minutes nationwide.

The transportation department had also earlier received numerous complaints about flight delays and cancellations.

A Delta Airlines plane is seen at the gate at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) on Oct. 5, 2020. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

“Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation has been hesitant to hold the airlines accountable,” John Breyault, the vice president for public policy at the National Consumers League told the New York Times in January.

“While Secretary Buttigieg has talked a tough talk, particularly over the past few months, we have yet to see that really translate into action.”

Recently, conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT) criticized the FAA for delaying handing over details of Mr. Buttigieg’s flight logs and passenger records.

APT had requested the records in November as part of investigating the potential taxpayer-funded trips that Mr. Buttigieg took while in office.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Buttigieg for comment.