Editorial: Let’s Get Started, Secretary Chao

This Editorial appears in the Feb. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

While Republican leaders in Congress seem to be in no hurry to address the country’s infrastructure, there’s an entirely different feeling surrounding President Trump’s pick to be transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, who was confirmed easily last week.

The trucking industry is one of many industry stakeholders that are expecting big things from Chao.

She comes to the job with experience as deputy secretary of transportation under former President George H.W. Bush and has earned a reputation for working with all interested parties to get things done. A native of Taiwan, Chao came to the United States as a child with her mother and two siblings aboard a cargo ship to join her father, James Si-Cheng Chao, a merchant mariner who later founded the shipping line Foremost Group.

Chao has many admirers on Capitol Hill, the most notable of which is her husband since 1993, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear, who worked with Chao during her eight-year stint as secretary of labor under former President George W. Bush, said he looks forward to working with her again.

“Wherever she has gone, Secretary Chao has demonstrated the kind of leadership and vision we need to address our nation’s pressing transportation issues,” Spear said. In addition to her work in government, Chao has served as the head of United Way of America and the Peace Corps.

In her confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Transportation, Chao described the task ahead in simple, honest terms.

“America’s transportation infrastructure underpins our world-class economy and is a key factor in productivity growth, which has provided good jobs for millions of hard-working Americans and a standard of living that is the envy of the world,” she stated. “And while our transportation infrastructure has given us unprecedented mobility for many years, it is increasingly in need of repair and refurbishment. Another challenge facing the transportation infrastructure is how to incorporate new technology and innovations, including drones and autonomous vehicles.”

So what can we expect from Secretary Chao?

We suggest she pick up where the Obama administration left off in its waning days: identifying areas of focus for improving the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

In December, the U.S. Treasury Department listed 40 transportation and water infrastructure projects across the United States with the greatest potential return on investment. The list includes 14 highway, 10 railway and six port waterway projects with total economic benefits of between $700 billion and $1.3 trillion over capital costs of $200 billion.

Now is the time to begin investing in infrastructure, Secretary Chao. Let’s get started.