Transportation and Infrastructure

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Rep. Bruce Westerman
Democrats may think of themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods--taking from the rich to give to the poor--but as they have their way, Arkansas businesses and families are seeing the equivalency of a tax hike in a very sneaky way: through inflation.
To put it simply, Democrats are on a spending spree that hardworking Americans cannot afford.
If you ever doubt that members of Congress can work together across the political aisle for the betterment of their communities, look no further than an announcement last week from the Biden Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A few months ago, our neighbors in the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, and the Jefferson County Alliance brought to my attention a proposed rule that OMB was hoping to implement. The rule would have doubled the minimum population threshold necessary to define a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
Washington - Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a mark-up of the INVEST in America Act. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ) introduced the High Risk Rural Roads Safety Grant Program Act of 2021. Westerman and O'Halleran issued the following statements:
WASHINGTON –U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), along with U. S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), announce the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded over $4.9 million in federal funds to Texarkana Regional Airport-Webb Field.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton—along with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman—announced the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded $3.4 million to upgrade track and build additional sidings on the Class III Louisiana and Northwest (LNW) Railroad in Columbia County, Ark.
The LNW Railroad has been running a 68-mile track between Arkansas and Louisiana since the late 1890s. Today it transports a variety of freight, including wood products, steel and plastics. The DOT discretionary grant will allow for critical infrastructure improvements.
If you turn on the news, you'll likely hear someone talking about the Post Office. Let's look at the facts. Speaker Pelosi allowed negotiations on another COVID-19 relief bill to stall in Congress, but she called a so-called "emergency session" of Congress to vote on legislation to fund the Post Office. This is nothing more than a political attempt to capitalize on fears that the USPS is somehow in crisis.
You'll be hard pressed to read many headlines on American infrastructure, and I doubt most of us think about it on a regular basis. Yet our infrastructure is what keeps us moving, from the roads we drive to the waterways that transport goods. Without it, our economy would immediately cease to function. As we rebuild after COVID-19, a reliable infrastructure is absolutely necessary.
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act:
These days, we could all use some good news coming out of Washington, D.C. I'm excited to report that on July 15, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the 2020 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. The bill now heads to the House floor for a vote later this month.