The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed a bill that seeks to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 authorizes $287 billion from the Highway Trust Fund over five years in investments to maintain and repair U.S. roads and bridges. The legislation includes provisions to improve road safety, accelerate project delivery, improve resiliency to disasters, and reduce highway emissions. It is the largest amount of funding provided for highway reauthorization legislation in history.
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who’s on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, praised the bill’s unanimous committee passage.
“I have always said there are two main things we should be doing here in Congress, building roads and defending America,” Inhofe said. “I am pleased America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act passed through committee today—true bipartisanship at work. I’m pleased this legislation contains provisions I authored to benefit Oklahomans, including making sure we get our fair share in federal highway funds, prioritizing the repair of our bridges and getting projects off the ground faster by streamlining permitting requirements … It creates meaningful workforce development opportunities to train the next generation of engineers, technicians, and workers to build, repair, and maintain our infrastructure. I’m glad this committee and this administration are taking the importance of funding America’s infrastructure seriously, and I look forward to this legislation’s swift consideration on the Senate floor.”
Inhofe’s provisions would provide funding to prioritize Oklahoma highway projects, using freight dollars to modernize McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, streamlining regulations to get projects off the ground faster and promoting workforce development.
“The historic transportation infrastructure investment level included in the Senate version of the highway reauthorization is absolutely warranted and desperately needed if we expect to provide the safe, efficient and effective transportation system that our future generations deserve,” Tim Gatz, Secretary of Transportation, Oklahoma, said. “We simply have to find ways to increase investments, reduce bureaucracy and expedite federal program and project delivery to the direct benefit of our transportation infrastructure, for the safety and prosperity of our citizens and for the sustainment of a robust economy.”