In The News

Make America Build Again

By: Sam Graves – March 26, 2025

Safe transportation and dependable infrastructure are essential to the American economy, our national security, and the everyday lives of Americans. Simply put, there is nothing in our country that does not rely on it. However, over the last four years, the Biden administration prioritized many of its own wants and initiatives over legitimate transportation and infrastructure needs.

With Donald Trump back in the White House, funding and focus can return to the types of infrastructure projects America truly needs. As Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, I’m ready to focus on improving America’s hard infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, pipelines, and water infrastructure.

President Trump is a builder who will get America back to building real infrastructure. He knows the challenges of trying to keep a major project on schedule and within budget. In that spirit, T&I began the 119th Congress with hearings focused on building infrastructure in America. Under the Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress, now is the time to address the issues that have long plagued major American infrastructure projects.

Too often, infrastructure projects exceed their budgets and fail to stay on schedule. In 2023, the Associated General Contractors of America reported that 72% of contractor firms said their projects took longer than scheduled, and 84% reported going over budget. It’s time to support our builders and workers by giving them the tools they need to complete projects more efficiently and streamlining the project delivery process.

These goals go hand in hand with any infrastructure issue, but especially one of the committee’s top priorities this Congress: legislation to reauthorize our nation’s surface transportation programs, commonly known as the “highway bill.”

This committee will approach the next highway bill in the same way we tackled the FAA Reauthorization Act and the Water Resources Development Act last Congress. Those bills were signed into law after passing the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Similarly, the highway bill will be a collaborative process. Our committee will solicit input from members of Congress and stakeholders, and consider all ideas, but members’ priorities will drive this legislation.

The President and T&I Republicans agree that we should focus on the fundamentals of transportation and infrastructure investing in projects that support the safe and efficient movement of people and goods, ensuring a strong supply chain, giving states the flexibility to build the bridges and roads they need, helping create good-paying jobs for Americans, and cutting federal bureaucracy.

As part of our effort to support American builders and workers, the committee is evaluating current permitting regulations. One of the obstacles for infrastructure projects is the weaponization of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). T&I Republicans have developed numerous proposals to improve the project permitting process while also protecting the environment. Last Congress, the House passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Cost Act, and the T&I Committee’s H.R. 7023, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act, to provide commonsense reforms to both NEPA and the CWA permitting processes that support clean water while reducing regulatory burdens for the approval of energy and infrastructure projects.

We can no longer accept CWA and NEPA abuses intended to block critical infrastructure projects. That is why permitting reform is essential for President Trump’s America First agenda and letting America build again. The president has already taken decisive action to provide immediate relief and certainty regarding federal permitting. On Day One, for example, he declared a national energy emergency, allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to speed up hundreds of new projects.

Under President Trump, the federal government is returning its focus to the home front and prioritizing the taxpayer. At T&I, that means scrutinizing investments and prioritizing traditional infrastructure, ensuring a safe and reliable transportation network, and cutting the red tape that prevents us from achieving those things. We will work not only to pass a long-term comprehensive surface reauthorization bill, but to also reauthorize pipeline safety programs; invest in our ports, waterways, and water infrastructure; ensure the U.S. Coast Guard has the resources to carry out its important border and national security missions; improve the safety of our transportation networks; and get America back to building.

This Congress, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will be focused on the fundamentals of actually building transportation and infrastructure.

Rep. Sam Graves represents Missouri’s 6th congressional district and serves as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Under his tenure, the committee has passed legislation such as the FAA Reauthorization Act and the Water Resources Development Act. Rep. Graves is also a member of the House Armed Services Committee.