WASHINGTON – Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she supports President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, following Chao’s confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Capito, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, asked Chao at the hearing about ways to address the transportation needs of rural areas of the country.
“I’m concerned about how are we are going to be able to incent the private dollars to go to the less-populated, less-economically developed areas of our country, because the investments are just as important,” Capito said.
Chao, who served as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, said the greatest challenges are securing funding and finding the best projects to fund.
“It’s a huge issue that demands the best thinking of all of us,” Chao said. “The executive branch needs to work very closely with the Congress, especially on how to pay for all these projects.”
Capito said West Virginia has been successful in completing projects because of public-private partnerships between the government and businesses, but added creating this relationship can be a challenge for other states.
Capito also asked Chao to consider “dig once” legislation, which would require highway construction projects to install broadband internet lines, as well as ways to prevent impaired driving.
Capito joined the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at the start of this Congress.