Paving the way for American Transportation and Infrastructure

Last week, it was a privilege to attend the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation’s annual summer meeting in Hot Springs. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, it was deeply encouraging to connect the work our committee does in Congress to the needs of our roads and infrastructure projects across the Natural State. This time spent with transportation industry stakeholders provided an excellent opportunity to reflect on the numerous accomplishments made so far within the T&I Committee.

For much of my career in Congress, a top priority has always been championing legislation to bolster our state’s infrastructure and transportation capabilities. In addition to these important initiatives, this year the T&I Committee introduced several pieces of legislation to increase transparency and accountability within government and federal agencies, improve much-needed disaster relief programs for communities across the country, strengthening the U.S. supply chain, deliver more employment opportunities for our veterans, introduced the PERMIT Act, and more. 

Coming down the pike, our committee is gearing up to shift its focus after the district work period to efforts regarding surface transportation reauthorization, which currently expires next fall. To curb a bloated bureaucratic budget, committee Republicans are going back to the basics – putting the focus back on our most fundamental infrastructure needs. A key element to securing this vision is to continue empowering states to make the best judgment call on their individual needs while limiting bureaucratic overreach and obtrusive federal red tape. 

Next year, we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which was signed by President Eisenhower. The Federal-Aid Highway Act came nearly half a century after Henry Ford built the first automobile and addressed numerous public and national safety concerns flagged in the wake of World War II. To this day, our nation’s Interstate Highway System connects Americans with travel and trade opportunities, fostering economic growth and providing rural communities with greater opportunity for easy access to areas that provide critical care and goods. Unfortunately, if this undertaking were happening today, the implementation of this project would be deemed nearly impossible due to frivolous red tape and an outdated permitting process which sets projects like this back decades. 

It is important to reinforce the truth that America is a nation that builds, and when current legislation and outdated processes cut us off at the knees, preventing our nation from the ability to build and usher in modernized infrastructure – which our communities desperately need – America is sidelined, missing out on the opportunity to compete with the rest of the world.

House Republicans and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee must stay the course on paving a way toward a future of greater opportunity not only for the transportation industry, but our rural communities and our nation’s infrastructure. The work is just beginning, and House Republicans look forward to continuing to deliver results for the American people.