Highway bill remains priority despite Graves’ retirement

Much of Rep. Sam Graves’ final days in office will be dedicated to getting a highway bill across the finish line.

Graves, R-Mo., announced last week that he plans to retire at the end of the legislative session. However, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman said that won’t stop him from attempting to pass a highway bill before the Sept. 30 deadline.

“Although I have announced that this will be my last term serving as the representative from the sixth district of Missouri, we’ve still got a lot of work to do at the committee,” Graves said. “I was honored by my colleagues with a waiver to serve one more term this Congress as T&I chairman, and I intend to finish strong. Before the end of this year, the Committee must complete a vital surface transportation reauthorization bill to fund America’s roads, bridges, highway safety, transit, and rail transportation systems – a surface bill that will be the most important of its kind in decades.”

Earlier this month, Graves said the T&I Committee was expected to mark up its version of the highway bill in late March or early April.

“We intend to have it off the House floor this spring,” Graves said at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Keep America Moving Summit on March 17. “We’re working hard right now to put the base text together.”

Highway bills are typically authorized for five years, and Graves said the goal will be to pass a more traditional package focused on infrastructure projects to improve the nation’s roads and bridges.

Graves has served in Congress for 26 years and has been a key figure on transportation issues. He is in his second two-year term as House T&I chairman. Before that, he spent four years as the Republicans’ ranking member.

“Chairman Graves has been a respected advocate for small-business truckers and the state of Missouri for over 25 years. Under his leadership, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has operated as a workhorse rather than a show pony,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “He has always prioritized doing the hard work behind-the-scenes and reaching across the aisle to achieve legislative victories. We applaud his commitment to implementing common-sense policies for truckers, expanding truck parking capacity and protecting current insurance minimums.

“We will be working closely with Chairman Graves and his Committee to enact the most pro-trucker highway bill in history during the remainder of his tenure in Congress.”

Graves’ retirement marks a significant change in future House T&I committees. In addition to Graves, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., also recently announced plans to retire. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., died unexpectedly in January. Reps. Mike Collins, R-Ga., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., are running for different offices. All of the above have been heavily involved in trucking-related issues over the years. LL