All right. Well, good morning everybody. Welcome to Project Nexus. This is the Texas eVTOL Integration Pilot Program or EIP kickoff event. We're excited to have you here. Thank you for your patience and understanding. It's a Texas September day that feels like July. So, thank you. We're in a hangar and our wonderful host here at Perot Field have done a phenomenal job of trying to get it as cool as we can. So, thank you for your understanding. We're grateful to have you here today. My name is Rob, now from Keller, Texas. I'm used to saying Aledo, Texas, but right here in the Metroplex. I am an air show announcer and super honored to be here with you today. I have the honor of being your MC today and to give you a little bit of a highlight of what we're going to do. We're going to start here this morning with a few opening remarks from some very astute folks that have been the key drivers in pulling this program together for the state of Texas. Not just today's event, but the entire EIP program through all the way from state, local, federal all the way up all together. So, thank you very much to them. You'll hear from them here momentarily. When those finish, we will have a very short question and answer session with some of our media folks that are here and then we'll take a short break as you all transition outside. I'll give you directions to that and we're going to get to see some of these vehicles fly which is going to be phenomenal. So, it's a very, very great day, but we're going to kick it off first with our first speaker as they make their way here to the stage. It's my pleasure to introduce to you Commissioner Steve Alvis from the Texas Transportation Commission. Commissioner Alvis, welcome.
Thank you and good morning everyone. It's a privilege to be here and especially be joined by my fellow commissioner who is also an astronaut. You may not know that about Commissioner Robbie Vaughn from TxDOT. And to be here on behalf of the Texas Transportation Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation. Welcome to the official launch of Project Nexus. Before I begin, I want to recognize and thank Ross Perot for hosting this event with Techtop. And I especially want to thank Governor Greg Abbott. Governor Abbott has been an extremely strong champion of Texas, of business, economic growth, and especially infrastructure. Under his leadership, Texas continues to make historic investments in transportation system necessary to support the fastest growing economy and population in America. In fact, two weeks ago, Governor Abbott and TxDOT announced a new $138 billion 10-year transportation plan. But in Texas, we understand something very important. Money alone doesn't build infrastructure. Leadership does. Decisions do and getting government out of the way when government doesn't need to be in the way. That's why Project Nexus is so important. Project Nexus puts Texas at the center of one of the most significant transformations in American aviation in generations. Advanced air mobility. Working with the FAA, Texas is leading a multi-state effort with Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the Choctaw Nation and some of America's most innovative aviation and technology companies. And Texas is exactly where that work belongs. We have the infrastructure. We have the aerospace expertise. We have the private sector. And perhaps most importantly, we have a willingness to move. And that brings me to our guest today. President Trump could not have selected a more energetic advocate for rebuilding and modernizing America's transportation system than Secretary Sean Duffy. Secretary Duffy, those of us working at the state level see what you're doing. You're modernizing an air traffic control system that desperately needs it. You're pushing the FAA to embrace innovation rather than fear it. And you're working to move transportation projects from planning and permitting into construction. But there is something else you're doing that is especially important to Texas. You're trusting the states. You're pushing the authority and responsibility closer to the people actually delivering these projects. You're stripping away unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication while maintaining safety and accountability. And you're recognizing that when a state has the capability to make a decision, Washington does not always need to make that decision for us. Secretary Duffy, Texas appreciates that more than you know. We believe that decisions should be made at the lowest competent level of government and that the federal government should be our partner, not an obstacle between a good project and the people who need it. That's how America gets built. Build it, modernize it, delegate authority, cut unnecessary delay, and get to work. Secretary Duffy has brought that urgency to highways, airports, and aviation. And Project Nexus demonstrates exactly what can happen when federal government, state government, and the private sector work together towards the same goal. Secretary Duffy, on behalf of the Texas Transportation Commission and TxDOT, thank you for your leadership, your partnership, your extraordinary work ethic, and for trusting Texas to help lead. We are proud to have you here. Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great privilege to introduce the hardest working transportation secretary this country has ever seen, the United States Secretary of Transportation, Sean.
Well, first before we talk aviation, I want to talk Texas for a second because Texas really does set the standard. We want to give more authority to our states and Texas, when we said that, you have raised your hand and we have delegated authority to the state of Texas and you guys do it differently than everybody else. TxDOT is fantastic. And so what we do is we go to other states and tell them why don't you do what Texas is doing? We want to give you more authority. You can actually build faster, build better when you lead some of these projects especially on the permitting front. So, Texas does set the standard and we want everyone to partner with us like Texas has because again, you guys are a big state, and you probably build it better than most. So, by the way, I came to Texas. I thought everyone's going to be in a pair of jeans and cowboy boots, and I'm here with guys in suits and have my jeans on. I guess I missed the requirements on dress codes. I apologize, Joe. You guys look good, though. Listen, this is what an exciting day, right? You look at what we're doing today and the fact that we have a president who understands that if we're going to lead the world globally, we have to set our innovators free. Let the innovators innovate. And so today we're here talking about something very special in aviation. This is one of the biggest days in aviation since probably the jet age. We're going to fundamentally transform the way that people and products move with advanced air mobility. And for the FAA, it's important for us just not to say, hey, you know, it's a free wheelin', you know, build these aircraft and start flying them. No, there's a process because we're driven by safety. We have to make sure that all the aircraft that are deployed meet a high standard on the safety front. And so to think differently about how do we do this? Well, we have to let these vehicles fly. So, we set up the EIP, which is what we're announcing here today, where we let these vehicles fly. We get data off the vehicles, and it's a faster pathway to certification. And I haven't had to drive from Fort Worth or Dallas to Houston, but I heard on a Friday it's pretty rough. You think if you're able to jump in one of these vehicles, whether it's Joby, Beta, Archer, you jump in one of these vehicles, the time that we're going to save you. And the cost component of these vehicles is a game changer for us. So, we're excited about what's going to happen today. We're excited to see the aircraft fly. But even on the personal front, yes, we're going to move people faster. Life-saving missions are going to be much enhanced. The way that cargo is going to move, whether it's Walmart or Amazon or whatnot with regard to the last mile, incredibly important. And so I just want to leave you with the philosophy of DOT under the Trump administration. We do want to lead the world in everything and we have a choice to make. We can set a regulatory structure up where the innovators can innovate here. And we kind of call it our Goldilocks approach. We can't move too fast or we don't get the safety component right. We can't move too slow or businesses will go under or they'll go somewhere else in the world. We have to get the regulation just right. And it's not a science. It's an art. But I want all of the innovators. I want all the technology on these vehicles to be made in America with American workers, with American innovation, and then we want to take these vehicles as we test and certify in America. We want to be able to deploy those around the world. We're the first to flight in America. We are going to continue to lead in America in aviation. But it takes great innovators. By the way, if you think about how long it's taken to come to this day, you know, we're somewhere near a decade. Some might have thought it was $200,000 to, you know, certify one of these, $200 million to certify one of these aircraft and it's a billion dollars to certify an aircraft. Maybe we're at a several billion dollars. Huge money has been invested to bring us to today with these remarkable aircraft. So I want to thank again Beta, Joby and Archer, the innovation that's happening. By the way, they're really competitive too, which is great. Competition is the best in America and they're all hungry. And all innovating differently. I'm going to leave you like four last points. I'm going to shut up in a second. It's way too long. I want to do two things. We wouldn't be here today without Chris Rushel. Chris Rushel worked with us at the FAA. He was the acting administrator. Having great people that you just unleash and they're ferocious. That's what Chris has done. Which is why we're here today. I'd like to take all the credit. Actually, President Trump would like to take all the credit, but Chris deserves a lot of the credit for making sure we continue to push through the bureaucratic blob in government. And it's because of his heart and passion is why we're here. Also, I want to thank Senator Cruz. You guys have a great senator. He has been a wonderful partner in aviation. We got $12.5 billion dollars to build a brand new air traffic control system. Without a new air traffic control system, without software, this is not going to happen, right? We can't use 30-year-old technology and think that you can deploy all these new assets into the airspace. Senator Cruz has led in giving us that first 12.5 billion dollars that's allowing us to do these massive upgrades. All of you guys, mostly Texas here. Okay, good. I want you to all grab Teddy after this and tell him Duffy needs another $30 billion. Okay, 30 billion. Make sure he delivers for us. And he might not have had faith that the FAA could do this before, but what we're doing today, what we're doing in the upgrade, we are showing that the FAA and the government can actually be responsive to the American people. We can deliver on behalf of the American people. And what we're doing, I think, gives faith to your senator. Again, he sits, he's the chair of our committee of jurisdiction. So, I'm serious. Grab him after and tell him how important he is. Listen, we're going to have a great day. So excited to be here. This, we'll look back on this day as one of those points in history that the world changes. The world changes in aviation. Thank you all for being here. God bless and have a great day.
Secretary Duffy, thank you so much. We appreciate that. Well, now it's, as you've noticed, we are on an active airport here at Perot Field. And now it's time to meet our host. It's my pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. Ross Perot Jr., the chairman of Hillwood and the Perot Companies. Mr. Perot, thank you very much.
It is a very exciting day for the Hillwood team and they've worked extraordinarily hard to get us to this moment. And Secretary Duffy, I love your comments because we're adding about a million people in North Texas every seven years. And if you hurry, we still have room for you. Public service. Well, we need you. We need you in Texas to come here and move in with the thousands other people that are moving in. If I was thinking about this moment and Mr. Secretary. This project began under President Reagan and it was Secretary Drew Lewis, Secretary of Transportation and Alan Carter who ran the FAA and it was that public private partnership with the city of Fort Worth, the state of Texas, Tarrant County, Denton County, we came together to build this new airport. And what's phenomenal is that the public sector led this effort. And the public sector, it was their idea to build a new airport to help relieve traffic off of DFW airport. They came to us, they said, 'Would you help?' Being a pilot said, 'Be glad to help.' We formed this partnership and we basically from talking about getting things done. You in early '87 we started to work on it. We broke ground in '88. We opened in '89. Basically, the largest airport in the nation since DFW airport opened at that time. And that's what we can do in a community that has optimism and believes in the future. And at this moment, Texas is on a roll. As you know, Senator Cruz, we are really, because of your leadership. And President Trump, when you look at the legislation that's been passed, we are remanufacturing the United States. And just Alliance alone, in the past 12 months, we've added 10,000 very good manufacturing jobs. And Joe Ben, you're part of that. Thank you for being part of coming into our Alliance program. And companies are coming from all over the world to invest in America. And when they want to invest in America, a lot of them show up here in Texas because we're fast. We can get things done. And they're stunned how quickly and they're stunned with the optimism. Our public sector leaders are optimistic. They believe in the future. They know our best days are in front. And when you have that optimism and that leadership, it is easy to get things done. And so we are fortunate to have the companies moving in, the clients that are moving and to have all of you in this room and this new technology that's here is really going to change all life. And our goal is to make sure most of these new tech companies, new aviation companies that are in this state, this is one of the great aviation states in the union. We have one of the best aviation workforce in the United States. And you'll see more and more of this activity in a day like this which is very special. I hope we're going to have this on a regular basis. God bless you and thank you.
Mr. Perot. Thank you and thanks again for hosting here today sir. Your team has made this wonderful. Well, it's now my pleasure to introduce a gentleman you've heard a lot about already this morning. That's Senator Ted Cruz, the US Senator for our great state of Texas.
Well, good morning. It is great to be with you. Today is a day that is exciting. Today is a day of celebration. Today is a day of innovation. You look at flight that we're soon going to witness. You look at the next generation of air travel. You know, I'm reminded of the tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel who said some years ago, he said, 'We were promised flying cars and instead we got 140 characters or less.' And for those of y'all who aren't old enough to remember the Jetsons, I remember flying cars and we're at the verge of seeing flying cars. We're at the verge of air taxis and drones and transportation being transformed. That is incredible. It is exciting. It is the intersection of technology and a business environment in the state of Texas that is second to none. I will say Texas is open for business. There is a reason this is happening in Texas. There is no place on planet earth that is better to start a business, to grow a business, to create a job. And there's no place on planet earth. There is a reason. For more than a decade, we've had more than a thousand people a day moving to Texas. We are now over 1,500 people a day. There are lots of reasons for that, but the number one reason is Texas is where the jobs are. You know, if you watch the national media, they're fond of saying the economy is terrible, everything's terrible. Well, you know what? We are seeing billions of dollars being invested day after day after day here in the state of Texas. We are seeing millions of high-paying jobs being created here in the state of Texas. And if you create that environment where entrepreneurs can invest capital, it is powerful. I will also say we are fortunate to have a transportation secretary like Sean Duffy. Sean is doing a hell of a job. He didn't dress appropriately for the event. You know, the jeans are good. Now, they're kind of skinny jeans, but you know, look, he was a reality TV star, so he's like, you know, he gets it. And he did complain. He said no one was wearing boots. I will say I do want to point out my boots and showing that in politics, you got to be able to kiss up a little bit. So, Steve, I told you these are not just boots, but these are actually my TxDOT boots. And they have on them, if you couldn't see, they have 'Don't Mess with Texas' on the boots. And you may not know that, but actually TxDOT has the trademark on 'Don't Mess with Texas.' And it started as an anti-littering campaign. Some of y'all may remember back in the 70s, people used to drive down the road and just throw crap out the window. Like you'd have a bag of McDonald's, like an empty bag, and just fling it out the window along highways. And TxDOT began running ads saying, 'Don't Mess with Texas.' And think about how cultures change. Imagine how you would react today if you were driving down the freeway and someone just took a bag of trash and threw it out the window. You'd be like, 'What the hell is wrong with you?' That is powerful. I also want to say something else. You know, Sean is channeling Alec Baldwin's character in Glengarry Glen Ross. And if you remember what he writes on the blackboard, it is ABC, Always Be Closing. So, I'm not shocked that Sean is here asking for $30 billion. The good news is Sean, when we win in November, you're going to get $5,000 from the president. But I will say he has brought energy and vigor to the Department of Transportation. He also, when he came in, so in 2024, Congress passed the FAA reauthorization bill and I was proud to write major portions of that bill. I was then the ranking member of the Commerce Committee. I'm now the chairman. And in particular, one provision that I wrote into that bill was the creation of the Center for Advanced Aviation Technology. And I will admit I wrote that provision very specifically so that the Center for Advanced Aviation Technology could be located one place on planet Earth and that is DFW. The criteria are as precise as I was humanly capable of writing. The statute almost says that it's got to have a football team called the Cowboys. Ross, it doesn't actually say that, but it's close. It's really close. And I will say when Sean was up for confirmation, he was confirmation before my committee. So I was sitting there talking with him and I said, 'Look, Sean, one of the first decisions you're going to have to make is where to base the Center for Advanced Aviation Technology.' I said, 'You can pick any place on planet Earth you want as long as it's DFW, and there ain't any other place that will.' And then Sean proceeded going back to ABC to hire a bunch of my staffers like to come through and just hire him right out of my office. It got to the point I told my team, 'All right, we need to screw the pencil sharpener into the desk cuz Duffy will take it if we don't bolt it down.' But as my staffers were leaving and they were going to senior positions at DOT, I sat and talked with them. And our team is a little bit of a cult. We follow basically blood in, blood out. Flushia, you're not allowed to leave. It's blood out. But I told them as they were going, I said, 'Look, I love you guys. I'm glad you're going off, but you need to understand if the Center for Advanced Aviation Technology is anywhere other than DFW, I will hunt you down and kill you.' And so, I will say it was a few months later when Sean called me and he said, 'I got good news. We've announced it and it is here in Fort Worth.' And the reason that matters so much is it is not accidental that we're doing this launch right here because jobs follow policy. I'm going to make a final point and I'll say you got Joby, you got Archer and you guys. I was just at y'all's factory a couple weeks ago in California and as you know I was like you know everything here can move to Texas. And just two weeks ago I was having dinner with a major CEO of a huge employer in California and actually at that dinner was Ross's son he was there and we were making the case why that company should come to Texas and we don't have an announcement today. But it was funny. He was talking to us and he's like, 'Well, what would it take?' And I said, 'Look, what does it take to move to Texas? Go buy a damn piece of land and build a building.' Like, this is Texas. You don't need permission. You don't need some fancy like government blue ribbon or welcoming. This is Texas. You want to move here, we want you to move here. Invest, create jobs and we are open for business. And so there is a reason this innovation is happening in Texas because that's where the future starts. And so this is exciting and I'll just say God bless Texas.
