By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves has been appointed chair of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“Very happy with that, that my colleagues on the Republican side decided to choose me to lead the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post in an interview. “So, I’m very excited about that and something I’m very much looking forward to.”
Graves had been the ranking Republican on the committee when Democrats held the majority in the House. Graves says that even as the minority leader on the committee he was able to secure money to repave Missouri highways, expand one-lane bridges, and build a build a new Buck O’Neil Bridge to connect the Northland to downtown Kansas City.
Graves says as chair, he will work with Democrats on the committee to concentrate on doing its work such as reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, pipeline safety legislation, a Coast Guard bill, and the next Water Resources Development Act.
Graves says the committee also will provide oversight on how the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in 2021 is spent.
“We have some situations where the (Biden) administration’s trying to rewrite the letter of the law and we want to make sure that those agencies out there are following the letter of the law. Now that it is the law of the land, we want to make sure it’s being followed,” Graves says. “We’re also going to be looking into the waste and abuse. When you’re pushing $1.2 trillion out the door as fast as they’re trying to push it out, there’s a lot of waste and abuse in that process.”
Graves also wants to give the states more flexibility in how to spend the money.
The infrastructure bill won passage in 2021 over objections made by Graves and other prominent Republicans. It funds roads, bridges, climate control measures, and broadband, among other projects. Gaves contends the bill went well beyond what traditionally is considered infrastructure.
Graves says the committee will provide oversight, not seek any personal vendettas.
“Well, we’re not after any particular agenda or trying to get to any particular individual. We are a work committee. We’re not a show committee,” according to Graves. “And so, we’re just going to make sure all that money that is going out the door is not being abused and is being spent in the proper way.”
Graves says that while some House committees crave media attention, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee works mostly out of the spotlight, doing work vital to the country’s economy.