HEARING RECAP: Owens Promotes Utah as Model for Transportation Innovation in DOT Oversight Hearing

WASHINGTON — At a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Congressman Burgess Owens (R-UT) spotlighted Utah’s infrastructure success and pressed the Department on future investment priorities. Owens thanked Secretary Duffy for his recent visit to the state and highlighted Utah’s standout transit assets, including the FrontRunner Commuter Rail and a rapidly expanding Inland Port. 

Click here or above to watch.

Owens: “We are rated both number one, the number one state to live in, the best-run state in the U.S. in 2025. We collaborate between state, local, and federal like no other state. We finish our projects on time. We do it under budget, based on our Constitution. We have an inland port and one of the newest airports, which will make us the hub of the West. Test us and we’ll prove ourselves in a big way.” 

Owens advocated for continued support through the Capital Investment Grant program to help double-track the FrontRunner rail line and improve reliability and ridership. He also floated the idea of giving states more flexibility to manage rail and transit projects, similar to the delegation authority they have for highway projects.

Secretary Duffy praised Utah’s infrastructure leadership and expressed openness to working with the state on delegation authority. Owens closed by urging the Department to view Utah not just as a beneficiary of federal programs, but as a potential model for national infrastructure reform.

The full hearing is available to watch here. 

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