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Age limits for elected officials: Buttigieg weighs in
Is the US heading for a gerontocracy?
If former president Donald Trump secures the GOP nomination for president, the 2024 presidential race will have the two oldest candidates in US history.
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s recent absence from the Senate has renewed conversations about whether there should be age limits for elected officials. The average age of Congress is older than it’s ever been; the median senator is 65 years old, a record high.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer asked US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg, the youngest current cabinet member, if there should be age restrictions for government officials.
Buttegieg disagreed that age alone should be a factor in determining someone’s eligibility to run for office and pointed to President Joe Biden’s accomplishments as an example of why political experience is an asset for government leaders.
“I think the measure of any administration is what it delivers,” Buttegieg told Bremmer. “This administration was scoffed at for suggesting that we could have anything major done on a bipartisan basis, only to get the bipartisan infrastructure law done.”
Watch the full episode of GZERO world: The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
Who's responsible for the East Palestine train disaster?
It's been nearly four months since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, OH, setting off a public health crisis and sparking uncertainty and fear amongst the residents of this Ohio town. While the national news crews may have moved on, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg insists that the United States government has not. "This is something we need sustained attention on" Buttigieg tells Bremmer in a wide-ranging interview for GZERO World. "Years from now, you could see health effects."
But who, ultimately, is responsible for the disaster? "Norfolk Southern," Buttigieg argues, "has to be accountable for the short-term and long-term consequences of their derailment."
Watch the full episode of GZERO world: The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
US summer travel may be easier than you think, says Pete Buttigieg
Memorial Day weekend signals that the unofficial start of the summer travel season is upon us. And if last year’s travel woes were any indication (paging: Southwest Airlines), we can expect long lines at TSA, full planes stranded on the tarmac, and lots and lots of cancellations. But, according to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, things are not as dire as they may seem.
“The good news is that after a very disruptive year last year in terms of the struggles that the airlines had, things are catching up this year. In 2023, the preliminary data show cancellation rates under 2%.” In an extensive interview with Ian Bremmer for this week’s GZERO World. Secretary Buttigieg pointed the finger at airline companies for many of the travel hiccups that made news last year. Issues like staffing and air traffic control are not the main cause, not even close to being the main cause, of flight cancellations and delays. We've been working with the airlines, pressing the airlines, and they have delivered a lot of improvements with what's under their control.”
And, it turns out, quite a bit is under airlines’ control, including that the law requires they reimburse passengers for canceled flights. If that’s news to you, you’re not alone.
Watch the full episode of GZERO world: The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
Drivers get plugged in from Quebec to Kalamazoo
German engineer Carl Benz designed the world’s first vehicle with an internal combustion engine back in 1885. Since then, we’ve gotten better at making cars, but the vast majority of the 1.4 billion vehicles on the road use engines based on the technology pioneered by Benz a century and a half ago.
Maybe not for long. As countries push for electric vehicles and begin to wind down the production and sale of ICE automobiles, the auto industry is changing, and so is the infrastructure that supports it. Is North America up to changing gears?
Last week, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced a Binational Electric Vehicle Corridor.
Dubbed the first of its kind – it’s not; the West Coast Green Highway connecting British Columbia and California has been around for years – the new corridor is part of a US-Canada push to set shared EV charging standards and further connect the neighbors and major trading partners. The new binational corridor will add substantial electric charging capacity between the two countries, building on the growth already seen in recent years. As part of the U.S. Alternative Fuels Corridors, a series of highways and roads covering 75,000 miles of the country, the latest US-Canada corridor will run nearly 900 miles/1,400 kilometers from Quebec City, Quebec, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, with 215 chargers spaced every 50 miles/80 kilometers. The route makes stops in Montreal, Toronto, and Detroit via one of the continent’s busiest trade routes.
Life is an Electric Highway … in some places
The US Department of Transportation has mapped both ready and pending corridors, which crisscross most states and are growing rapidly. Italian energy company Enel is investing in fast chargers, with plans to nearly double the number of stations along American highways. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation estimates it will spend US$885 million in EV charging infrastructure across states for 2023 under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding aimed at building up to 500,000 public chargers – backed by US$7.5 billion in federal funds.
In March 2023, Canada hit the 20,000 charger milestone, growing 30% since last year. Gas giant and Suncor-owned Petro Canada is building “Canada’s electric highway,” a series of EV charging stations running from the country’s east coast in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the west coast in Victoria, British Columbia. The company currently has at least one charger every 155 miles/250 kilometers along the route, while rival Shell Canada is planning its own major EV charging expansion across much of the country, aiming for more than 500 units by 2025. Both are supported by federal funds.
But is that enough to boost consumer confidence in EVs? Daniel Breton, president and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, says EV charging capacity varies and is uneven. “It depends on where you are in Canada,” he says. “If you are in Quebec or B.C., the pace of deployment of public chargers is going at a fast pace.” The bigger question in those areas, he says, is whether car manufacturers can keep up with consumer demand, not charging station availability. But the same can’t be said of the prairie provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In other words, highway charging is improving, but rural and remote areas are proceeding unevenly.
The same problem plagues U.S. charging infrastructure. Michigan is trying to build capacity beyond common routes. Jeff Cranson of the Michigan Department of Transportation says the state is “in the process of selecting the most cost-effective contractors for installing EV charging stations” and that it aims to get that done with money to spare from its allotment of federal electric vehicle infrastructure funds “so that some of the $110 million in federal funding can be allocated around the state to support EV charging capacity in communities.” No doubt the future of EVs in Michigan relies not only on reliable charging along main corridors, but also in local communities.
ICE vehicles melting?
New EV infrastructure is both responding to and driving the decline of ICE vehicles, which is also getting plenty of help from government mandates. The US Environmental Protection Agency released new emissions standards aimed at boosting EV production, projecting that “EVs could account for 67% of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46% of new medium-duty vehicle sales in MY 2032.” That’s a far cry higher than today’s 7%. The Biden administration is pushing for half of all new vehicles sold to be EVs by 2030.
Some states are doing their own work to eliminate ICE vehicles, with California leading the way, as it has in the past on emissions standards. Last November, the state set its Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, which the California Air Resources Board says “will rapidly scale down emissions of light-duty passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs starting with the 2026 model year through 2035.” By then, the program will require all passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emissions.
The Canadian federal government, meanwhile, plans to end the sale of new ICE passenger vehicles by 2035. With an interim goal of 60% EV sales by 2030, the country registered a national EV market share of 9.6% in Q4 2022. That’s up from 5.3% in 2021.
By comparison, Norway is a world leader, with 80% of new vehicles sold there being EV. It has a goal of 100% zero-emissions sales by 2025.
Will the binational EV corridor build consumer confidence?
The Quebec-Michigan EV corridor will offer integrated U.S.-Canadian infrastructure, with regularly spaced and reliable charging stations along the new route. They’ll include Direct Current fast chargers using Combined Charging System ports, a common type of port. Even Teslas, which feature a proprietary system and their own Supercharger network, can use CCS charging stations with an adapter.
It’s not like there aren’t any chargers along these roads now, but this big project is meant to help build EV capacity – and use. “It has to do with consumer confidence,” Breton says. “Right now, if you have an electric car, you really don’t have much of an issue to be able to travel across Canada or the U.S. on the highways.”
While it’s great that the countries are adding more chargers to heavily traveled areas, it’s essential, he says, that they “show Canadians and Americans that we can travel both sides of the border without having any issues.”
Will the US default on its debt? Ask GZERO World's guests
It's the question swirling around Washington this week (and last week, and the week before, etc, etc). It's of concern to US allies and of great interest to US adversaries: Will the United States government default on its debt for the first time in history? Depending on the day of the week, or the hour of the day, you may get a different answer from politicians and pundits alike.
On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, though, guests from the past few months, including Utah Senator Mitt Romney, World Bank Group President David Malpass, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have struck a common chord: it won't happen, but if it does, we're in for a hurting. Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on public television stations nationwide. Check local listings.
- US debt default would be "destabilizing," says World Bank's David Malpass ›
- Sen. Mitt Romney on DC dysfunction, Russian attacks, and banning TikTok ›
- Pete Buttigieg explains: How the debt limit impacts transportation ›
- Chris Christie weighs in on US debt limit fight ›
- US debt limit: default unlikely, dysfunction probable ›
Pete Buttigieg's lessons learned about parental leave
In the fall of 2021, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, became parents overnight.
After adopting infant twins, Buttegieg became the first out gay parent in the US cabinet. Because of the unique circumstances, Buttigieg was also the first US cabinet secretary ever to take parental leave.
On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Buttigieg spoke about the lessons he’s learned since becoming a parent and the advice he has for other senior government officials and private sector executives who are planning to start families.
“You need to have time, not just for connecting with your child, but also for adjusting your life and supporting your spouse,” Buttigieg told Bremmer, “You should have the policy and the means to be able to take care of your family … and return to the office ready to do your job with a whole new perspective.”
The secretary also spoke about the decision to relocate his family to northern Michigan and whether he’s thinking about political life beyond his role in President Biden’s cabinet. Could the move have anything to do with Michigan’s possible open Senate seat going forward?
Watch the full episode of GZERO world: The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
Ian Explains: Will US infrastructure finally be fixed?
At 6:05pm on a sweltering August evening in 2007, rush hour traffic was crawling across Minneapolis’ I-35 bridge. Then, the bridge began to shake.
Thirteen people died and 140 more were injured when Minnesota’s third-busiest bridge collapsed, plunging vehicles ten stories down into the rushing Mississippi river and leaving one school bus with 63 children teetering against a guardrail. An NTSB investigation later attributed the collapse to 300 tons of construction materials that had been placed on a 40-year-old design flaw in the bridge’s original construction. But while the flaw had gone undetected for decades, inspectors HAD rated the bridge in poor condition for 17 straight years.
The truth is that bridges in America fall down all the time, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
In fact, since the 2007 Minneapolis disaster, at least 21 US bridges have partially or entirely collapsed. A 2022 report found that 43,000 US bridges are QUOTE “structurally deficient.” The report also found that those same bridges are crossed 168 million times a day. At the current rate, it would take 30 years to fix all of the country’s structurally deficient bridges. Do you feel lucky?
Globally, of course, the number of faulty bridges is much higher, but at least here in the United States, things may be starting to change. On November 6, 2021, Congress passed the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion dollars for America’s roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, and ports.
Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called it QUOTE "the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate highway system." But as we all know, allocating the money is only half the battle. Making sure it’s spent correctly is where the...rubber meets the road.
Watch the full episode of GZERO world: The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
The road to repair: Pete Buttigieg & crumbling US infrastructure
There's no sugarcoating it. America needs work. Not just when it comes to the state of democracy, either. A 2022 report found that 43,000 US bridges are “structurally deficient.” The report also found that those same bridges are crossed 168 million times a day. At the current rate, it would take 30 years to fix all of the country’s structurally deficient bridges. Do you feel lucky?
It's not a question Americans particularly want to ask themselves on every morning commute or summer road trip. The richest country in the history of the world should be able to keep its infrastructure updated and its roads intact. Globally, of course, the number of faulty bridges is much higher, but at least here in the United States, things may be starting to change. On November 6, 2021, Congress passed the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion for America’s roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, and ports. On GZERO World, Secretary Pete Buttigieg discusses what he has called "the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate highway system."
As we all know, allocating the money is only half the battle. Ensuring it’s spent correctly is where the...rubber meets the road. In a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer, Secretary Buttigieg addresses pressing news, from the debt ceiling showdown in DC to the latest revelations following February's East Palestine train derailment. They also look big-picture at US infrastructure's role in foreign policy and where China's global aspirations clash with America's manufacturing concerns. Oh, and they talk 2024, of course, and about why the Secretary recently changed his permanent address from Indiana to that swing state, Michigan.
- Hard Numbers: Southwest Airlines facing fines, Ukrainian casualties, Ethiopia-Tigray flights, Iranians facing execution ›
- Podcast: Rebuilding American infrastructure with Pete Buttigieg ›
- Electric vehicle wars ›
- Biden: We must ‘finish the job’ of repairing US economy ›
- Episode 1: What infrastructure spending means for you ›
- Ian Explains: Will US infrastructure finally be fixed? - GZERO Media ›
- Pete Buttigieg's lessons learned about parental leave - GZERO Media ›
- Who's responsible for the East Palestine train disaster? - GZERO Media ›
- US summer travel may be easier than you think, says Pete Buttigieg - GZERO Media ›