April 3, 2025

By Lane Kimble

Most jobs give you a little time to settle in, train, and get up to speed.

Not so for Sean Duffy.  He has a backlog of more than 3,200 potential construction projects across the country waiting for the federal government to sign off and allow shovels to hit the dirt.

The new USDOT secretary isn’t blinking – he’s already rolling up his sleeves.

“I know you all want the projects done, I want the projects done,” Duffy told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Wednesday.

“What’s great is that the president loves infrastructure.  He wants big, beautiful roads and bridges.  And so it’s not just you putting pressure on me, it’s the president who’s going to say, ‘Why aren’t you getting more money out the door?  Get these projects done!’”

Duffy’s testimony this week comes as Congress is starting early work on reauthorizing the five-year Surface Transportation Act.  The latest version, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provided states with more than a trillion dollars for roads, highways, rail, and infrastructure.  It expires in 2026.

BIL, which former President Biden signed into law in 2021, has been fast to announce but slow to actually award grants (which need signed agreements before states can put them to use), creating that “historic” backlog, Duffy says.

“It’s easy to blow the kazoo and send up the balloons when you announce a project,” Duffy told the committee.  “The hard work is actually doing the grant agreement.”

Duffy wants to streamline the permitting process for federally supported large-scale transportation construction work, while ensuring projects aren’t delayed by the addition of rules or orders Congress never intended with BIL.

“Let’s do it efficiently.  Let’s cut the red tape,” Duffy said.  “We can still protect the environment, but let’s move these projects faster.”