{"id":1997180,"date":"2023-08-10T20:16:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T00:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-buttigieg-transportation-racial-equity-token-funding-insufficient-for-activist-groups\/"},"modified":"2023-08-10T20:20:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T00:20:11","slug":"biden-buttigieg-transportation-racial-equity-token-funding-insufficient-for-activist-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-buttigieg-transportation-racial-equity-token-funding-insufficient-for-activist-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Insufficient &#8216;token funding&#8217; for activist groups in Biden-Buttigieg transportation racial equity efforts."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-buttigieg-transportation-racial-equity-token-funding-insufficient-for-activist-groups%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1997180&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Secretary Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s Department of Transportation Struggles to Meet Activists&#8217; Expectations<\/h2>\n<p>Secretary Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s Department of Transportation (DOT) has faced criticism for the slow progress of its \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-virtue-signaling-corporations-trying-to-prove-their-wokeness\/\" title=\"5 Virtue Signaling Corporations Trying To Prove Their \u2018Wokeness\u2019\">racial equity initiatives<\/a> in\u200b conjunction with the rollout of infrastructure projects. \u2063Many\u2062 activists had hoped for more extensive and\u2062 rapid action from\u2064 the administration.<\/p>\n<p>One of Buttigieg&#8217;s key equity initiatives focuses on environmental justice and \u2063addresses concerns that past infrastructure\u2062 projects, such as the Federal-Aid Highway Act\u200c of 1956, were completed \u200din \u200ca\u200c systemically racist manner.<\/p>\n<h3>Challenges and \u200cInitiatives<\/h3>\n<p>The DOT has implemented programs\u2064 like Justice40, which ensures that 40% of DOT grants\u2064 are awarded to &#8220;disadvantaged communities.&#8221; Additionally,\u200c the Reconnecting Communities program aims to rectify historic inequities in \u200binfrastructure. Buttigieg \u2063has taken on the responsibility of addressing the perceived \u200cinjustices of his \u200bDepartment&#8217;s past.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Buttigieg\u200c utilized\u200c the Civil\u2064 Rights Act to challenge the expansion of Interstate 45 near\u200b Houston, Texas. This \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-buttigieg-transportation-racial-equity-token-funding-insufficient-for-activist-groups\/\" title=\"Insufficient 'token funding' for activist groups in Biden-Buttigieg transportation racial equity efforts.\">move tested environmental justice arguments made<\/a> by activist groups like\u2064 Stop TxDOT\u200c I-45, who \u200draised concerns \u2063about the\u2063 displacement\u2062 of over 1,300 homes, businesses, \u200cand houses of worship in predominantly minority areas. They\u200c also highlighted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californians-receiving-unemployment-must-start-looking-for-work-next-month-to-remain-eligible\/\" title=\"Californians Receiving Unemployment Must Start Looking For Work Next Month To Remain Eligible\">potential health risks<\/a> associated with increased pollution in these\u200b communities.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u2062 in March, the DOT published\u200d its \u2062findings, \u2064stating that it did not find any issues with the $9 billion \u200cexpansion \u2063and promising to provide \u2064housing\u2062 for displaced\u2063 residents. Buttigieg \u200bclarified that\u2063 the goal was not\u200d to prevent road expansions altogether, but rather to ensure practical considerations and fairness.<\/p>\n<h3>Activist Concerns\u2062 and Limitations<\/h3>\n<p>Transportation for America, an activist organization, has expressed disappointment with the \u200bBiden administration&#8217;s approach, claiming that \u2062it has\u2064 done \u200blittle to \u200ccombat highway expansions. According to group director Beth Osborne, the shift in tone does not bode well for their cause.<\/p>\n<p>David \u2062Ditch, a transportation expert and \u200dsenior\u200c policy analyst \u2063at the Heritage \u2064Foundation, argues \u2062that \u2063the equity argument has inherent limitations. He suggests that some activists believe injecting race into a debate\u200b automatically \u2064grants them victory and everything they desire, disregarding practical considerations \u2064associated with infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n<p>Ditch acknowledges that activists&#8217; concerns \u200babout past decisions \u200dresulting \u2064in \u2063the destruction of\u200b neighborhoods and urban corridors are valid. However, \u200che argues \u2064that the\u2062 highway system\u200c was a \u200bmassive central planning operation \u2062with unintended consequences, rather than a \u2064deliberately racist endeavor.<\/p>\n<h3>Complex Considerations<\/h3>\n<p>While rectifying past mistakes is important,\u200d Ditch emphasizes that modern considerations for removing highways are more complex than simply correcting historical grievances. He cautions against attempting to \u200brestore the past without\u200d considering present conditions and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-claims-of-gentrification-cannot-stop-new-development-in-south-los-angeles\/\" title=\"Judge: Claims of \u2018Gentrification\u2019 Cannot Stop New Development in South Los Angeles\u00a0\">potential negative impacts<\/a>\u2064 on regional \u200ceconomies.<\/p>\n<p>Buttigieg&#8217;s pursuit of equity initiatives also faces\u200b challenges. Despite\u2063 his efforts, \u2063the \u200b$1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-revamps-infrastructure-messaging-with-build-a-better-america\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Revamps Infrastructure Messaging with \u2018Build a Better America\u2019\">2 trillion infrastructure bill signed<\/a> by President Joe Biden in \u20642021 includes highway expansion projects that involve \u2063the use of eminent domain to remove homes. This contrasts with the Reconnecting Communities program, which allocates $1 \u200bbillion to\u200c address historic inequities through the \u200crebuilding of \u2062main streets.<\/p>\n<p>Ditch views the \u2063$1 billion as a symbolic amount that falls short of activists&#8217; visions. He\u2063 believes that the number of projects and the funding required to address them\u200c far exceeds what can be achieved\u2064 with this limited budget.<\/p>\n<p>The DOT \u2062did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s Department of Transportation is facing criticism for the slow progress of its racial equity initiatives. Activist supporters are disappointed as infrastructure projects are being implemented. Buttigieg&#8217;s focus on environmental justice and rectifying past government projects, such as the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, is not meeting expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1997181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1997180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1997180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1997181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1997180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1997180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1997180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}