buttigieg, deputy secretary works for me for many years. for all their help on this project. why is this project so important? rail tunnels under the hudson river are an essential artery that moves countless people and goods along the entire eastern seaboard. the artery gets back to, the heart of our national economy would cease to pump. america would go into recession overnight. millions of people would lose their jobs, george washington bridge, holland and lincoln tunnel would be jammed with traffic 24/7. pollution would increase exponentially. all too often we as a society fail to look far enough ahead to plan for the worst case scenario in advance and avoid taking real steps to prevent it but in this case thankfully we are looking ahead. gateway is finally coming down the track. my late father passed away a year ago taught me a lot of lessons that stick with me. he's right here right now. the most important was this. if you know what you're doing is right and if you persist and persist and persist, then you will succeed. we have persist