I applaud the historic nomination of Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation.

Pete is a strong choice to lead the Biden administration's efforts to 'Build Back Better' with infrastructure plans that not only move our country into the modern era, but also generate the economic activity that this country so badly needs to pull us out of economic recession.

As Mayor, Pete was directly engaged with transportation planning at the local level, which included his push to apply Complete Street principles to downtown South Bend in order to make roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. As a presidential candidate, Pete's infrastructure proposal for the country not only focused on fixing our existing roads and bridges, but also investing in the national passenger rail network, boosting public transportation and investing in rural communities, all while putting an emphasis on 21^st century needs such as broadband internet and electric vehicle infrastructure. With a forward-looking leader at DOT, our Nation has an incredible opportunity to create jobs, support U.S. manufacturing, reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector, and create safer, more efficient infrastructure by investing in transportation.

I look forward to working with Secretary Buttigieg on our common goal of delivering results for all Americans in communities of all sizes.

Peter