Today, I was honored to be part of an historic occasion – arriving in Cuba on the first scheduled flight from the United States in over 50 years, a JetBlue Airways flight from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara.

In addition, I am excited to announce that Department of Transportation has finalized its selection of eight U.S. airlines to begin scheduled flights to Havana as early as this fall.

Today’s actions are the result of months of work by airlines, cities, the U.S. government, and many others toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to reengage with Cuba.  

Earlier this summer, DOT announced the approval of six U.S. passenger airlines and one all-cargo airline to serve cities in Cuba other than Havana.  The additional carriers are expected to begin flights to those cities shortly.

The airlines receiving the Havana awards include network, low-cost, and ultra low cost carriers – Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines.  The flights will provide service to Havana from Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando, and Tampa.

Following an historic arrangement between the U.S. and Cuba to re-establish scheduled air service, a dozen U.S. airlines applied for the chance to operate scheduled passenger service to Havana.  Collectively, the airlines applied for nearly 60 flights per day to Havana, exceeding the 20 daily flights made available by the arrangement between the two governments. 

DOT’s main objective in making its selections was to maximize public benefits, including choosing airlines that offered and could maintain the best service between the U.S. and Havana.  

In addition, the decision allocates nonstop Havana service to areas with substantial Cuban-American populations, as well as to several aviation hub cities.  

While today’s announcement is an exciting step in the Obama Administration’s historic effort to normalize relations with Cuba, please remember that travel to Cuba for tourist activities remains prohibited by law, and travelers need to fall under one of 12 categories authorized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  

Transportation has a unique role in this historic initiative, and DOT looks forward to the benefits that these new services will provide to those eligible for Cuba travel.

Related Content: 

• President Obama Sends the First Direct Mail to Cuba in 50 Years 
• Ben Rhodes: A Year Later, Changing Course in Cuba
• President Obama: "We've Reached Havana" 
• Photos from the President's Trip to Cuba: Day One 

And check out Air Force One landing in Cuba.

Air Force One makes history. #CubaVisit ✈️ pic.twitter.com/IM4lvhzlos

— Josh Earnest (@PressSec) March 20, 2016

Today, @GinaEPA and @SecretaryFoxx jointly finalized greenhouse gas standards for medium and heavy duty vehicles: pic.twitter.com/6mSqLaTlcY

— EPAair (@EPAair) August 16, 2016

In 2013, President Obama announced his Climate Action Plan, a bold plan that is now on track to reduce emissions from nearly every sector of our economy. Today, we are fulfilling one of the central promises in this plan — finalizing the second phase of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy duty vehicles for model years 2018 and beyond.

The trucking sector is an engine of the U.S. economy. It hauls about 70 percent of all freight in this country, and is also our nation’s second largest segment of U.S. transportation in terms of emissions and energy use.

Today’s final standards will promote a new generation of cleaner and more fuel efficient trucks. That means 1.1 billion fewer tons of CO2 will be emitted into the atmosphere, and operators will save 2 billion barrels of oil and $170 billion in fuel costs. The additional cost of a new truck will be recouped within 2-4 years, saving truck owners more over the long haul.

These standards will not only benefit our climate, but also modernize America’s trucking fleet, cut costs for truckers, and help ensure the U.S trucking industry is a global leader in fuel efficient heavy duty vehicle technology. We developed the standards to allow multiple technological pathways to compliance, so that manufacturers can choose the technologies they believe are right for their products, their customers, and the market.

As with every rule, we relied on the input from the public, industry and many other stakeholders to build something that is both ambitious and achievable. More than 400 stakeholder meetings helped improve this program from the proposal: reducing more tons of pollution, strengthening compliance to ensure that the standards get real emissions reductions and improved fuel efficiency, and increasing flexibility for small businesses and manufacturers throughout the industry. We also continued our close collaboration with our partners in California throughout the process to ensure we finalized standards that will result in a truly national program.

We’ve put in place strong engine standards, which are critical because they help ensure that manufacturers implement engine technologies that continue to improve. Our detailed technical analysis based on the most recent data shows that the required five percent efficiency improvement in diesel engines by 2027 is feasible, cost effective, and will lead to the continued carbon emissions reductions we need—millions of tons of reductions. We heard concerns about the stringency of engine standards, and we took that into account. To ensure a smooth transition, the engine standards are designed with substantial lead times, a gradual phase-in over the course of nine years, and expanded emissions credit flexibilities that allow manufacturers to tailor their own phase-in schedule. All this will enable manufacturers to develop and implement technologies that ensure reliability, and that are sound investments for the trucking industry. And for the first time, the rules will cover trailers as well as tractors—ensuring that innovation will continue into aerodynamic features, next generation tires and other features so that trailers can contribute to fuel and emissions savings.

The rules don’t just cover line-haul trucks. They will ensure that buses that carry school children and commuters, vehicles like snowplows, garbage trucks and delivery vans that travel our city streets, and even heavy-duty pickup trucks and large passenger vans will all be cleaner and more fuel efficient over the next decade.

Medium and heavy duty trucks help drive the American economy. Today we are ensuring that we drive down carbon pollution and save on petroleum costs from freight transport as the trucking industry continues to innovate, and to play their part in protecting the climate for future generations.

To learn more about the final heavy duty standards visit: https://www3.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regs-heavy-duty.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy

Today, DOT is taking another step toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to reengage with Cuba by restoring scheduled air service to the nation’s capital and largest city.

As part of the Obama Administration’s historic efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, DOT proposed to select eight U.S. airlines to begin scheduled flights between Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando, and Tampa and Havana as early as this fall.

Having regular air service for the first time in more than 50 years holds great potential – Cuban American families will be reunited and it will foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes.

Following an historic arrangement between the U.S. and Cuba to re-establish scheduled air service, a dozen U.S. airlines applied for the chance to operate scheduled passenger service to Havana.  Collectively, the airlines applied for nearly 60 flights per day to Havana, exceeding the 20 daily flights made available by the arrangement between the two governments. 

DOT’s main objective in making its proposed selections was to maximize public benefits, including choosing airlines that offered and could maintain the best ongoing service between the U.S. and Havana.  The proposed nonstop Havana routes provide service for cities with substantial Cuban-American population, and to important aviation hub cities with their convenient connections and competitive service.

In addition, the Department aimed to offer the public a wide array of travel choices in the type of airline – such as network, low-cost, or ultra-low-cost – as well as the choice of airport and of non-stop or connecting service.

The airlines receiving the tentative awards are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines. 

Many U.S. airlines are already gearing up to begin scheduled service to Cuba.  Today’s announcement follows the Department’s approval last month of six U.S. airlines’ applications to serve cities other than Havana.

The public can comment on DOT’s Havana route proposal by visiting regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2016-0021.  We expect to reach a final decision this summer, and most of the airlines propose to begin their services in the fall and winter of 2016/2017.

As a reminder, travel restrictions remain for Cuba and travel for tourist activities is prohibited by statute. To learn whether your  travel is authorized, please refer to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) guidance on travel between the U.S. and Cuba.

Taking a step back, it’s no secret that technology has been rapidly changing the world, and that comes with both opportunities and challenges. But this Administration has been forward-looking, working to shape and prepare for technological breakthroughs, so we can harness technology for the benefit of all Americans. For example, we have supported research and development for next-generation technologies across an array of disciplines and applications, like healthcare, clean energy, and national security.

Today’s rule is another step forward. The final “Small Unmanned Aircraft System” rule that the Department of Transportation is releasing today is the first set of nationally uniform regulations for the commercial, educational and public use of unmanned aircraft. Unmanned aircraft will be a transformational technology and a platform for new kinds of services, helping farmers improve crop yields, giving workers tools to more safely conduct inspections of critical infrastructure, and changing how we fight fires, monitor wildlands, and respond to disasters.

The potential benefits of these breakthrough technologies are remarkable – according to one study, the expansion of commercial drones alone could add $82 billion in economic value over the next ten years and by 2025 employ an additional 100,000 Americans.

Farmers will be among the first to reap the benefits of new commercial drone activity, as many of the most important immediate applications for drones are in the agricultural sector. Drones can monitor crop health in real-time for farmers who are trying to manage farms that are hundreds or thousands of acres, increasing crop yield.

Drones will also save lives by helping workers inspect cell phone towers, pipelines, electric lines, and oil rigs. To take one example, more than 12,000 utility line workers were injured or killed last year, making it one of the 10 most dangerous jobs in America. Using drones, workers can inspect power lines and downed electric lines more safely, avoiding injury and death. Or, for example, unmanned aircraft can be used to inspect the 300,000 communications towers in the U.S., thereby avoiding the serious injuries and deaths of workers who fall from these towers.

But the benefits extend far beyond agriculture and infrastructure. Unmanned aircraft can enable operations in remote areas that have never been possible before. Commercial companies are pioneering the use of unmanned aircraft for online retail and food delivery, as well as the delivery of urgent medical supplies like vaccines, medicine, or even blood for transfusion in hard-to-access areas. While these activities are beyond the scope of the current rule, the regulatory regime will continue to evolve to permit more and more applications.

Unmanned aircraft systems are also transforming the ability of local, state, and Federal agencies to respond to and assist in emergencies and disasters, and are enhancing our ability to conduct game-changing scientific research. To-date, unmanned aircraft have been deployed by international emergency response teams in mudslides, wildfires, hurricanes, structural collapses, nuclear accidents, tsunamis, and more, and have improved our capability to monitor wildlife, protect sensitive ecosystems, and to manage and monitor the environment.

The Administration believes that expanded use of drones must be done responsibly, with clear rules of the road that ensure strong safety and privacy protections. The rule includes important safety measures to protect people on the ground and manned aircraft, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will work closely with local and state governments, airports, pilots, and companies around the country in the months ahead to make sure the rule is safely implemented.

In addition, concurrent with the release of today’s rule, the Administration is launching a new privacy education campaign to ensure that pilots, companies and others address the privacy implications of these new technologies. This work builds on a Presidential Memorandum, Promoting Economic Competitiveness While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, under which Federal agencies like the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and Department of Transportation have instituted strong UAS privacy policies to protect the public.

The new rule for drones is just one more example of how the Obama Administration is empowering entrepreneurs and researchers and encouraging innovation across the economy, ensuring that as a country, we can take advantage of new technologies and harness them for economic growth and scientific advancement.

More information is available in the White House fact sheet and FAA fact sheet .

***

Tell us about your work on unmanned aircraft

As this emerging industry develops, new applications will arise that will change the way we live and work. Today, the Administration is putting out a call for private sector and nonprofit organizations to share commitments for new positive applications of unmanned aircraft systems technology or business practices, including steps to advance research and development, protect privacy or enhance public safety. Tell us more about what actions your organization is taking to advance the above goals here.

Jason Miller is the Deputy Director for the National Economic Council.

Ed Felten is the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Michael Huerta is the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Under the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation has been working hard to support communities across the country as they adapt the planning, development, and management of their transportation assets for greater resilience in the face of climate change. And earlier today, I kicked off a workshop to share tools and resources to help states, transit agencies, and local communities do just that.

This was an important workshop — more than 50 people attended in person with another 400 joining us online — and it comes at an important time in the history of transportation in the U.S.

U.S. Highway 90 bridge over Biloxi Bay after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Continued uncertainty and underinvestment at the federal level have paralyzed our transportation system. We know of at least seven states pulling back valuable projects because of federal funding uncertainty.

Yet we also know we’re going to continue growing as a country. Our recent Beyond Traffic report anticipates that we’re going to have 70 million more people in our country over the next 30 years. So we’ll need to find the resolve to maintain our current system — and strengthen it — while adding the capacity we’ll need.

Why do we need to strengthen our current system? Because Beyond Traffic also tells us that another threat coming around the corner is climate change.

Flooding damages bridge in Oklahoma; photo courtesy @OKDOT.

Last year, we experienced our warmest year on record. And the data show this trend will continue — so that by 2050 our temperature will have risen another 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit. In some areas of the country, sea level is projected to rise a full foot by 2045. Both droughts and floods are expected to become more frequent. We might even start to experience major flood events more frequently than in the past.

And frankly, we’ve already seen a preview. I’m reminded of what Hurricane Sandy did to our transportation systems in the Mid-Atlantic and in the Northeast. And this month marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, whose effects are still being felt even a decade later.

Superstorm Sandy flooding damage at transit station in New Jersey.

As we discussed today, the Administration and this Department are taking important steps to respond to these challenges:

Reducing the carbon footprint of our transportation system — it’s good for the economy and puts money back in consumers’ wallets. We’ve established fuel standards for cars and light trucks that will lead to a near doubling of fuel economy by 2025 compared to 2010. We’ve set the first-ever fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2014-2018, leading to more sales. And we’ve recently proposed a second round of those standards that could lower CO2 emissions by approximately 1 billion metric tons, cut fuel costs by about $170 billion, and reduce oil consumption by up to 1.8 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program.

Supporting increased investment in transit and intercity passenger rail.

Launching a national program to make environmentally friendly transportation choices like biking and walking safer and more accessible. We’ve funded projects to develop alternative fuels for aviation and maritime and put more hybrid buses on the streets. And, just in the past month, we’ve announced that we’re allowing DOT employees to charge their electric vehicles in our parking lot.

But the reality is that even with these and other efforts to slow climate change, we still need to protect our transportation systems from what lies ahead. If sea level continues to rise as projected, miles of coastal highways, railroads, and airports may soon become vulnerable to inundation and storm waves. Meanwhile, higher temperatures could cause asphalt to wear out more quickly and rails to buckle more often.

So there’s more than a little urgency behind today’s conversation about how to make our infrastructure more resilient.

Annotated photo showing post-Katrina surge damage.

Now, as we also discussed today, we’ve been moving the dial since Sandy, both through investing in resiliency projects across the country and by developing tools and approaches that can be implemented at scale. We’ve awarded $3.59 billion in grants to 40 transit resiliency projects, and the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration have completed demonstration projects to identify vulnerabilities in our roads and transit systems and to analyze adaptation options.

And just this year, we released our study of the Mobile, Alabama region, called the “Gulf Coast Phase 2” report. This study helped us develop risk management tools that can help states, transit agencies, and communities across the country incorporate resiliency into the strategies they have for planning, designing, and managing assets. As the team explained today, the great thing about these tools is that they are available to anyone! And they can help stakeholders do more with data, to see more clearly where vulnerabilities are and prioritize their work plans.

So, I hope, coming out of today, that folks across the country take what they’ve learned back home, so that we can work together to bring best practices to scale.

But I also know that they’ll be able to apply these tools much more effectively, and build more resilient transportation systems if they have long term funding certainty. Congress recently passed its 34th short-term funding extension, but that doesn’t take us very far. The Senate has advanced a six-year bill, which is a start. But we need to keep pushing for a long-term bill that puts investments in line with our country’s actual needs.

Click here to learn more about the FHWA Risk Management Tools shared during today's workshop.

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx makes a TIGER grant announcement in Asheville, N.C., September 12, 2014. (by Katie Bailey/Asheville Citizen-Times)

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Transportation's blog. See the original post here.

Today, I’m pleased to announce the sixth round of DOT’s TIGER program. We’re making nearly $600 million in grants available, and awarding them to 72 transportation projects across 46 states and in D.C.

Over the last six years, we’ve awarded more than $4 billion in these TIGER grants, but this round of investment is probably the most crucial ever.

Readers of Fast Lane know that we have a huge infrastructure deficit in this country, made worse by Congress’s failure to pass a long-term transportation bill. Americans everywhere are seeing their opportunities limited by this inaction.

People should be able to go to work without wondering whether they’ll get stuck in traffic for hours. And no one should ever have to turn down a job because they can’t get to that job.

Yet these are exactly the issues that many Americans are facing.

That’s why, for this round of TIGER, I asked communities to submit projects that tackle these issues head-on. We said we wanted to see projects that will make people's lives easier and connect them to jobs and other opportunities.

Ruggles Station is one of the projects receiving a TIGER grant this year. It serves the neighborhood of Roxbury in Boston, a community that’s weathered the recession and is ready to bounce back. Over 15.7 million square feet of development is underway near the station, which could create 23,000 jobs.

I say “could” because there’s only one thing standing in the way: transportation.

Right now at Ruggles, capacity is so squeezed -- and so few trains can enter -- that some commuters have to overshoot the station and go to the next stop. Then, they have to double back to find a train that gets them home, adding about 13 minutes to their commute.

In other words, the jobs might be there, but people can’t really get to them.

That's why in this round of TIGER, we’re investing $20 million in Ruggles. We’re going to build a platform that lets more trains -- and more people -- come into the station.

Let me put a finer point on that: By building a 9,600-square-foot platform, we can help generate almost 16 million square feet in new businesses, new classrooms, and new houses.

I think that's a pretty good multiplier, and DOT's TIGER is building stronger communities in this way across America.

We’re also investing $467 million in projects that improve safety, like New York’s Vision Zero for traffic-related injuries.

We’re investing in cities, yes, but also in rural communities. A quarter of our projects this year are in rural places, including one that will help repair highways and replace 18 bridges in Mississippi. Some of these bridges are so weak that school buses can’t even use them.

And we’re investing $138 million in our freight system, too. This year, for example, Charleston will receive a grant to expand its port and allow bigger ships -- capable of carrying more goods -- to dock. That will help the port maintain its competitiveness at the same time that it helps American businesses get their goods more efficiently to global markets.

Every single one of today's TIGER investments is a story worth telling. But the projects awarded grants today are also reminders of the challenges that remain.

For every dollar in projects we funded, there are $15 in projects we could not. In fact, this year's TIGER acceptance rate was lower than Dartmouth’s. And what that tells us is, TIGER alone is simply not enough. America needs a full investment in transportation.

By one measure, we need $2 trillion in infrastructure spending by 2020. And the only way we’re going to approach that number is if Congress changes the way it funds our transportation.

That's why the Obama administration has put forward the GROW AMERICA Act, a fully funded, four-year, $302 billion proposal. This bill would double TIGER funding to $5 billion over those four years.

The kinds of investments we’re announcing today shouldn't be exceptions; let's work together to make them the rule.

We all know the “road to prosperity” is a metaphor, but what if it were an actual road?

The fact is, investing in transportation creates value, and that means it’s a worthwhile investment — for public funds, yes, but also for the private sector. So, with public investments in our nation’s important transportation assets steadily declining, we need to find better ways to partner with private investors to help rebuild America.

And rebuild America we must. The American Society of Civil Engineers predicts that we’ll face a $1 trillion funding gap for transportation by the end of the decade. More than two-thirds of American roads are in less than good condition, and if you lined up all of the structurally deficient bridges in the country, they would stretch from Boston to Miami.

It might save money up front for legislators to ignore our infrastructure deficit, but you are paying the price for this head-in-the-sand approach to transportation every day. You pay it in longer commute times — 5.5 billion hours annually — higher vehicle repair costs, and increased spending on wasted fuel. It’s not small change; the extra fuel and lost hours cost Americans about $120 billion a year. And the businesses of our nation pay as well, in additional freight costs to the tune of $27 billion a year.

Since his first day in office, President Obama has understood the importance of rolling back this infrastructure deficit, and investing in transportation has been a cornerstone of his economic policies.

That’s why earlier this week, along with our partners at the Treasury Department, we held an infrastructure investment summit in Washington, D.C. to mobilize private-sector investment capital, uncover new financing approaches, and accelerate project development. The meeting brought together leading institutional investors, international asset managers, and project developers. Collectively, those gathered represent more than $50 billion in projected capital investment in the U.S. infrastructure market over the next five years.

And I’m pleased to say, we’re off to a good start.

We had productive discussions on a wide range of topics from “Generating a Pipeline: Convincing investors that the Public-Private Partnership market is robust” to “Increasing Efficiency and Certainty around Permitting; Improving Outcomes for Communities and the Environment” to “Augmenting the Role of Pension Funds in U.S. Infrastructure” and “Maximizing use of Federal credit and technical assistance programs.” You can view a full list of sessions here. The sessions sparked a number of important conversations, and I am confident these will lead to lasting and thought-provoking collaborations.

A number of participants identified next steps, and we’ll be excited to keep the lines of discussion open and to hear about their progress. For example, the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation announced that they are coming together to fund joint investment of over $1 million to support innovations in U.S. infrastructure. The new partnership will expand the infrastructure pipeline by incubating innovative public private collaborations, including a predevelopment fund for innovative projects and public-private partnerships. By demonstrating the benefits of predevelopment funding, the partnership will help build the case for increased predevelopment funding from states and from the federal government.

In an exciting step toward developing technology solutions that support intelligent, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure, Carnegie Mellon University announced that it will be creating Metro 21, a consortium of research universities focused on technology solutions for their region’s infrastructure and urban systems.

We are also moving forward on several steps to identify a pipeline of promising infrastructure projects. Treasury announced that they will be commissioning an independent, third-party research report highlighting the country’s top 25 or 50 most economically significant proposed transportation and/or water infrastructure projects, highlighting the importance of a strong national infrastructure for competitiveness and economic growth. Many of these may emerge as good candidates for PPPs. And, this week, I sent a letter to governors, as well as many mayors and heads of metropolitan planning organizations to let them know about the Build America Investment Initiative and to ask them for their help and partnership in identifying specific transportation infrastructure projects that could be good candidates for innovative financing. You can read that letter here.

Of course, the Obama administration will continue acting where possible to address our infrastructure deficit. And the President will continue to call on Congress to bring a renewed measure of strength and stability to the Highway Trust Fund by acting on his four-year, fully funded, transportation proposal that will allow states, counties, and communities to plan the projects we need to begin tackling this critical challenge.

But only together can we lay the foundation for a brighter, more prosperous future.

I hope Fast Lane readers recall my post last month after spending some time with UPS driver Jay Valentin; experiencing our road network through his eyes was a tremendously valuable morning for me. So valuable, in fact, that I wanted to do something similar alongside someone who relies on public transit so I could get a ground-level sense of her experience. And yesterday, I got that opportunity when I joined Lan-Anh Thi Phan in her Takoma Park, Maryland home and accompanied her on her morning commute.

Lan is a nurse -- a patient care manager in the Oncology Ward of MedStar Washington Hospital Center here in the nation’s capital. Lan and the nurses she helps oversee provide care for patients battling cancer. And her reliance on public transit to get to this important job makes it clear: When we or our loved ones depend on dedicated caregivers like Lan Phan, we also depend on a safe, efficient transportation network to get them to work so they can deliver that care.

Fortunately for Lan's patients, she has chosen to live in communities that offer excellent transit access; for 10 years, Lan has ridden transit or walked to work every day. Living in Takoma Park now, she relies on the Montgomery County RideOn bus system and the Metrobus system to get to Washington Hospital Center each day, and each day -- with only a single exception when the systems were shut down because of a blizzard -- she has arrived to work on time. While that's good news for her, it's also good news for the patients at Washington Hospital Center.

For no other reason than simply not wanting one, Lan has never pursued a driver’s license. “I take public transportation by my own choice; I refuse to learn to drive,” Lan explained.

She has always lived in areas where public transportation is available and reliable. Although her mother, Thuan, argues that earning a driver’s license is “one of the learning skills you have to have,” Lan told me she is “very content” with public transportation. And, when colleagues complain about the traffic congestion they face driving each day, she chuckles and reports, “I don’t have to worry about that. I let someone else carry that worry.”

Before leaving on our commute, Lan and I chatted while I ate an apple and she prepared her regular egg breakfast. She and her husband Benjamin are expecting their first child in two months, and Lan maintains a strict nutritional regimen.

I learned that Lan was born in Vietnam, and she and her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was 13. A University of Virginia graduate in Nursing now pursuing a Master's degree in Nursing Administration at George Mason University, Lan says she uses her commute to read books, catch up on work, and talk with other passengers. Riding with her on the RideOn number 12 bus and WMATA's 63 Metrobus, it's easy to see that she has plenty of opportunity to chat with others -- there was a busful of passengers even at 6:45 in the morning!

Although she has to ride two buses operated by two different transit agencies, our transfer from the 12 to the 63 at Takoma Station was pretty seamless. As you can imagine, after a decade of riding, Lan has the schedule down pat. The 12 was due to arrive at Takoma six minutes before we needed to catch the 63, and that allowed plenty of leeway for us to transfer. Many of the Number 12's passengers hopped on the Metrorail's Red Line, while others switched to the many buses that stop at Takoma.

The 63 begins its inbound route at Takoma, so it was not crowded at the start of our ride. Along the way, however, it began to fill up with young children and their parents on the way to school and others on their way to work.

One young girl with a Barbie backpack reviewed her school lunch menu with an accompanying adult. Nearby, a dad with three young children held one daughter who couldn’t stop peppering him with kisses until the bus arrived at their stop and he marched all three kids off to school. And there were other young children, traveling alone, who would seek out and find their friends to sit with as the new school year got underway.

A lot of riders had their heads down, focused on their smartphones -- that's something else they couldn't do if they were driving.

The bus deposited us at our stop -- within about a mile of the hospital center -- and after a 10-minute walk, we arrived at the employees' entrance just before 8:00. Because of her pregnancy, Lan welcomes the exercise her last mile provides.

On the ward, it was my privilege to meet a few of Lan's patients, including Martha, a D.C. resident who is a huge fan of Washington's NFL team. Of all the ways I've adapted to our nation's capital in the past 14 months, however, I remain a die-hard Carolina Panthers fan, so Martha and I agreed to disagree on our pre-season prognostications.

I also met Aaron, a Capitol Heights resident who could not have been more proud to let me know that he had a hand in building DOT's current headquarters nearly a decade ago. Aaron stood up from his hospital bed, strong and tall, to greet me as I entered his room. You could see that he appreciated Lan’s care and attention.

It's people like Martha and other patients who rely on the care Lan and her staff of 66 provide. And the transit network that has enabled Lan to be on time every day for 10 years is one part of ensuring that those patients get the care they need.

I'm impressed by so much of what I saw and learned yesterday morning with Lan, and I can't thank her enough for inviting me into her home, sharing her commute with me, and introducing me to the remarkable patients she and her colleagues serve with such dedication.

It was a strong reminder to me that when we need our caregivers, like Lan, the bus needs to be on time. And, when our loved ones have an emergency, our medical professionals can’t be stuck in a traffic jam caused by inadequate highways. These are the practical realities at stake when we talk abstractly about transportation policy and funding issues. And I hope it serves as a strong reminder to you, too.

Like many Americans, when Jesus "Jay" Valentin – a UPS driver – goes to sleep at night in his New Jersey home, he's got a lot on his mind.

He thinks about tomorrow's deliveries and worries about what the traffic will be like and what the weather will mean for road conditions. He calculates how much next month's mortgage payment will leave his family – his wife Jenny and four kids – for savings. He wonders how he will pay for his daughter Tiffany’s college education – she’s 16 now and thinking toward the future.

Last Friday, I had the chance to meet Jay and some of his coworkers at the UPS hub in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was an eye-opener in many ways.

(Photo via the U.S. Department of Transportation)

Since I read last month about President Obama's visit with Rebekah, a mom in Minneapolis who had written the President about her day-to-day struggles, I've had a visit with those who depend on a reliable, safe, and efficient transportation system in mind.

It's particularly important to me because I've been fighting so hard to get Congress to pass a long-term transportation funding bill; I wanted to connect with the people I'm fighting for to see exactly what's at stake for their everyday lives. For Jay and his colleagues, delivering packages for UPS on time to your doorstep or office means highways can’t be crumbling, choked with traffic, or full of potholes.

(Photo via the U.S. Department of Transportation)

Jay began working at UPS when he was a single dad with a 4-year-old. He was on his way to apply for a job in a grocery store, when he ran into a friend who suggested he look into UPS. Twenty-four years later, he's still there...and thriving.

While at UPS, I was particularly impressed by the safety preparation I saw. Even before they hit the road with the freight that helps keep American businesses and households going, several drivers are on computers taking safety assessments that Jay oversees.

(Photo via the U.S. Department of Transportation)

Then there are the loaders, generally young employees who sort thousands of packages onto the 50-60 vehicles in use each day. That's no picnic, believe me.

After a morning meeting with 50 or so drivers and a handful of management staff, where notes on the day get distributed, drivers do some basic exercises and stretches together. As the photo below will attest, most of them are in a little better shape than I am. Jay, who has chaired the facility's Health and Safety Committee for seven years, says that's no accident. After all, it's a long day of constant jumping from behind the wheel to the back of the truck to America's front doorsteps and back behind the wheel to fight traffic on area roads as they navigate to the next delivery address. If you don't pay attention to your wellness, he says, "You won't last five years."

(Photo via the U.S. Department of Transportation)

Finally there's Jay's pre-trip safety check of the vehicles – loads balanced, tires properly inflated, lights and flashers working, rear door secured, no leaking fluids – before he and his colleagues depart for their routes – priority packages come first, of course, with that 10:30 a.m. deadline looming.

At 9 a.m., making their way along area highways is not easy. With the main arteries congested by drivers heading into New York City, Jay sticks primarily to local roads as he makes his deliveries. It's a route he's driven for 18 years. And he's seen the roads get worse and worse with constant patchwork repairs to aging roads that simply cannot keep up with today’s traffic demands. And with 100 million more people expected to call the United States home in the next 35 years, without a long-term investment now, these conditions won’t get any better.

It's the kind of deterioration we could reverse if Congress would pass a long-term transportation bill like the GROW AMERICA proposal we sent to Capitol Hill last May. According to UPS, if every one of their trucks were stuck in five minutes of traffic, it would cost the company $100 million. And that doesn't account for the cumulative impact on drivers. As Jay said:

The traffic is stressful. In the morning, we sometimes leave the hub later because the trucks haven't been loaded yet. Then, after you finally leave, you hit the traffic. Now, you can't service your Next Day Airs in time for the deadline; I really can't take a deep breath until I deliver the last NDA package.

He also hates it when roads are in poor condition:

UPS spends a lot of money on costs related to road condition, like maintenance and even injuries to drivers. One driver ran over a pothole and hurt his ankle. Because of the roads, we break springs and suspensions and many other parts. It's awful.

(Photo via the U.S. Department of Transportation)

Investing more in maintaining our roads and bridges and building new capacity – the kind of investment GROW AMERICA includes – would allow Jay and his coworkers to make their daily runs with fewer delays and fewer risks to truck and driver.

After all, the most important stop of the day according to Jay? "Your last one – when you get home safely to your family."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanks, Jay, for sharing with me a little bit of what you do and for reminding me who DOT is fighting for.

At the Department of Transportation, we know firsthand the role transportation plays in moving our economy forward. And that’s literally what takes place at the Port of Baltimore every day.

Moving cargo is the lifeblood of our economy. And our ports are essential to growing our nation's exports.

That’s why, yesterday, I joined Vice President Biden to announce a $10 million DOT TIGER grant for the port that will expand a busy terminal and allow the deepening of a key navigation channel to proceed.

Together, these improvements will increase efficiency at the Port, reduce shipping costs for auto exporters; and allow shippers to take advantage of the new, larger container ships that will soon be coming through the expanded Panama Canal.  As the Vice President said, "If we make it in America ... we’ve got to be able to ship it around the world."

Vice President Joe Biden speaks with, from left, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, Jim White, Executive Director, Maryland Port Administration, and Mark Montgomery, CEO and President, Ports America Chesapeake, at the Port of Baltimore – Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, Sept. 9, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

This country will be defined by whether we can connect every American to the 21st Century economy.

And since day one, President Obama, Vice President Biden, and DOT have worked hard to build the roads and bridges, railways and runways that will help do just that.

It’s all part of our plan to secure a better bargain for the middle class – making sure everyone who works hard has a chance to succeed.  And the middle class has no greater champions than President Obama and Vice President Biden.

With our 2013 TIGER grants, we saw firsthand the continued demand for transportation investment across the country.

We awarded $474 million in TIGER funds to 52 projects in 37 states. Competition for those dollars was stiff - we received 585 applications requesting more than $9 billion. 

That’s 18 times the amount we had available.

Every state—every community—in this nation has a transportation to-do list. And they need some help.

The projects we’re supporting at DOT represent the kind of work we should be doing more of. Together, they are the best argument for increased investments in transportation.