By Grace Renderman, Associate Editor
The 118th Congress officially is in session, with some new faces in new roles — including Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the former ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who is now the committee's chair.
With $1.2 trillion allocated to infrastructure upgrades throughout the United States via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the T&I committee will play a key role in determining how and where those funds are disbursed and spent. Graves says he will ensure that every cent is accounted for.
Getting anything done in Congress will be a difficult task, considering how politically divided it is, Graves says. But if anything can unite Republicans and Democrats, it’s the need for better infrastructure to help support the growing U.S. economy, he believes. Solving supply-chain problems also is a concern for everyone in Congress, regardless of political party, he adds.
More than anything, Graves says he wants to keep the Biden administration accountable for its actions.
To learn more about the direction T&I is heading and how Graves intends to lead it, RailPrime submitted questions to Graves via email. His answers follow.
RailPrime What are your top priorities as chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee?
Graves: It’s a great honor to be chosen by my colleagues to chair what I believe is one of the most important and effective committees in Congress. America cannot prosper without a safe and efficient transportation network that meets the economic needs of our diverse states and communities.
T&I will have a full agenda over the next two years, including major bills to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our aviation safety and infrastructure programs. The committee also will address a pipeline safety bill, a U.S. Coast Guard authorization and the Water Resources Development Act. These are issues and programs that have gained bipartisan support in the past, and I intend to work closely with the committee’s Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) to pass good legislation that we can get signed into law.
The T&I committee also will conduct vigorous oversight of the Biden administration’s policies to root out any waste, fraud or abuse — including oversight of the ongoing implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). I’m interested in whether the law is funding actual infrastructure projects that will improve safety, efficiency and capacity. Unfortunately, there are numerous instances where the administration has prioritized its climate goals ahead of traditional modal improvements and expansion.
We also will conduct oversight of Amtrak, which has received record levels of funding, including $66 billion in advance appropriations through the infrastructure law. I have significant concerns about how Amtrak plans to spend these funds. The fact that Amtrak’s top executives received six-figure bonuses in 2021 while the service suffered historic losses of $789.1 million in 2020 and $1.03 billion in 2021 is astounding, and symptomatic of the passenger-rail service’s distorted priorities.
RailPrime What challenges are you anticipating the T&I committee will need to confront this year?
Graves: The reality of a divided Congress and administration is that bipartisanship will be necessary to get anything done. We won’t agree on every issue, but there are many areas where we can find common ground on infrastructure issues that are important to the economy and to everyone, regardless of party. The bills I just mentioned are good examples of where Republicans and Democrats have traditionally worked together in the past, and I plan to keep that tradition.
RailPrime What will T&I subcommittees focus on during the 118th Congress?
Graves: All six of our subcommittees — Aviation; Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management; Highways and Transit; Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials; and Water Resources and Environment — will have active agendas, both in terms of oversight and legislation. I mentioned some of those priorities earlier.
The Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee is beginning work on a bill to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s pipeline safety program. The current authorization, the PIPES Act, expires at the end of September 2023.
I also expect the subcommittee to focus on counterproductive actions by the Biden administration in rail transportation that conflict with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s broader goal of using technology and innovation to improve safety and efficiency. The subcommittee also will continue to examine implementation of the IIJA rail provisions.
T&I Republicans also will work to encourage domestic energy independence and the broader topic of permitting reform, which is vitally important to building transportation infrastructure. We will look to prioritize relevant project permitting streamlining, issues impeding the movement and transportation of energy supplies and more.
RailPrime You've said you want to be sure dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure bill are spent wisely. How will the committee work ensure that they are?
Graves: This law involves $1.2 trillion in taxpayer dollars, and that money should be spent on actual infrastructure and not shoehorned into fitting the Biden administration’s own agenda. For example, members of Congress and stakeholders have called for the administration to rescind a Federal Highway Administration memo intended to delay or deter critical road and highway expansion projects, but those calls have been ignored. The U.S. Government Accountability Office determined that this memo, or “guidance,” constitutes rulemaking subject to the established rulemaking process and the Congressional Review Act. This demonstrates the need to hold the Biden administration accountable and prevent it from overstepping its authority. I continue to urge the administration to pull back this memo, and I will work with my Senate and House colleagues to pursue other ways to address this problem and ensure states have the flexibility to address their infrastructure needs as they see fit.
RailPrime What role can the committee play in helping to resolve U.S. supply chain issues?
Graves: The first rule of getting out of a hole is to stop digging. Unfortunately, this administration continues to dig a deeper hole through its burdensome and counterproductive regulatory agenda. This is especially true in rail. While the USDOT is promoting innovation and technologies with the goal of improving both efficiency and safety in other modes of transportation, it has been doing the exact opposite when it comes to technologies like automated track inspection or the crew-size mandate proposed rule. The committee will push back against counterproductive policies while offering solutions that address actual needs. Last Congress, for example, T&I Committee Republicans introduced legislation that would permit a virtual instruction component for rail employee training, as well as legislation to encourage the hiring of veterans and to allow retirees to receive retirement pay and a paycheck during service emergencies.
Overall, we need to see more progress on addressing supply-chain issues. The T&I committee will continue to gather stakeholder input and look to put forward a package of supply-chain improvements. This has been a priority of leaders in the House, and we will continue working with them to alleviate the supply-chain issues that have been a significant drag on our economy.
