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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came across as "a little arrogant" as a member of the executive branch addressing the legislative branch when he was responding to questions about federal government spending.
When responding to a question from Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark, during a congressional hearing last week, Buttigieg responded in a way Maloy told the Deseret News was "inappropriate," adding she wanted to follow up with the transportation secretary on areas where his agency isn't being as careful as it could be.
Crawford pressed Buttigieg about how much the department was spending to appeal court decisions blocking an agency rule on lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The rule was challenged by 22 states in federal court.
"You really think it's a good allocation of taxpayer resources to challenge a legal decision for which you have no authority to make a rule?" Crawford asked.
Buttigieg's response? "Yes, anything we do, we think it's a good allocation of taxpayer resources. Otherwise, we wouldn't."
Maloy: After Chevron doctrine overturned, Congress is back in charge
On the same day Maloy spoke to the Deseret News about the hearing, the Supreme Court disrupted the balance of power in Washington with its decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine.
The Chevron doctrine meant judges had to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of the laws passed by Congress, but Friday's court ruling puts the responsibility of passing clear, specific laws on Congress.
Maloy said the hearing with Buttigieg is an example of the flaws in the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.
"We have the Department of Transportation clearly not afraid of Congress," she said. "He was there to account to Congress, and he talked over a lot of the people who were asking him questions, and he was kind of dismissive."
She said elected officials are held accountable by voters, but "someone like Secretary Buttigieg is not accountable directly to constituents, even indirectly" — and the Supreme Court decision changes that.
Rep. Celeste Maloy asks DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to support the Free Act
At the hearing, Maloy also asked Buttigieg for his cooperation regarding the Free Act, which would direct federal agencies to spot areas where the permitting process could be streamlined. The transportation secretary said he'd be happy to.
"When a county is trying to maintain a road that goes across federal lands, taxpayers are paying for both sides of that permitting process. They're paying local taxes to the county and federal taxes to the agency," Maloy explained.
Agencies take years to make decisions. This includes costly and time-consuming environmental studies to assess the project "that everyone already knows is a good idea," she said. "They'd still have to meet all the standards that exist, but it wouldn't take as much time and taxpayer money."
For example, a constituent hoping to pick up trash on Forest Service land should be automatically issued a permit, another area in this wide-ranging bill, Maloy said.
Will federal government invest in Utah's double-track rail?
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, who was also at the hearing, said he appreciated the collaboration between federal and state transportation departments, especially as Utah prepares to potentially host the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.
As one of the fastest-growing states, more than 48% of Utah's population lives along a 100-mile stretch of I-15 between the Wasatch Mountain range and the Great Salt Lake. Utah will put around $400 million toward developing the FrontRunner's tracking in order to double the frequency of trains and promote ridership.
The state is "seeking a collaborative federal partnership to complete this critical, critically important regional project," said Owens. He added the project is in the beginning stage with the Federal Transit Administration's capital investment grant and is listed on President Joe Biden's recent budget request.
He asked if Buttigieg could affirm the Biden administration's commitment to work with Utah. Buttigieg said the FTA has, to date, allocated $494 million in capital investment grants and applauded the Utah Department of Transportation's attention to its growing transit needs.
Rep. Burgess Owens' human rights concerns over EVs
Aside from providing praise, Owens presented his concerns about government interference with the economy. It's the same mistake the country made with cotton gin back in the day, the Utah congressman said.
"Slavery was just not a profitable venture. It was too labor-intensive, it could not scale. The cotton gin allowed it to scale unlimited as long as those pickers were slaves. It took 72 years and over 600,000 lives to change that trajectory," Owens said, before pointing out that the production of electric vehicles depends on mining in foreign countries with lax child labor laws.
Owens, too, posed a similar question as Crawford, about how the administration justifies subsidizing electric vehicles despite the human rights violations. Buttigieg stated the transportation agency doesn't tolerate forced labor of any kind and that EVs will "save American lives."
Technological developments have also adjusted the need for mining. "We believe that 80% less cobalt is now going into today's EV batteries."
Future of climate policy and legal challenges
The Biden administration has championed a national climate policy. But its proposed rules, like cutting emissions from power plants or heavy-duty trucks, have been unsuccessfully challenged in court.
Now that the Chevron doctrine has been overturned, many of the White House's rules are under threat, experts say.
"In the short run, we expect a significant increase in regulatory litigation, including challenges to existing regulations, ongoing rulemakings and existing precedents," said Gordon Todd, who co-chairs the regulatory litigation practice group at the firm Sidley Austin.
Utah and 25 other states are suing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for requiring auto manufacturers to abide by new standards for EV production and that may just be the beginning.
Owens told the Deseret News the country would be served better if the federal agency allowed the free market to make decisions, including with electric cars.
"We have a government right now that has decided what is best for the American people, and therefore they're subsidizing an industry that the American people would not buy on their own," he said.
