US House panel to question Buttigieg at oversight hearing

The House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday said it will question U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at a Sept. 20 oversight hearing. The committee said the hearing will cover the lack of a confirmed head of the Federal Aviation Administration, implementation of a 2021 $1t infrastructure law, supply chain and energy issues as well as electric vehicle infrastructure policies. The White House has nominated a former deputy FAA administrator, Michael Whitaker, to head the agency but no hearing has been scheduled. The FAA has been without a Senate-confirmed administrator since April 2022. Congress is likely this month to pass a short-term extension of the FAA's authority to operate beyond Sept. 30. A bill that would raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65 and make other aviation reforms has stalled due to disagreements on whether to revise pilot training rules. Another House panel last week said it was investigating the Transportation Department's response to a series of aviation and rail safety issues. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee in a letter to Buttigieg said the committee was investigating the department's response to near-miss aviation incidents and train derailments. USDOT declined to comment. The letter cited unresolved safety recommendations made by the department's Office of Inspector General.<br/>