Surface Transportation Reauthorization

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the importance of the BUILD America 250 Act, the surface transportation reauthorization that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is marking up today during National Infrastructure Week.

This marks 70 years since President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. For Kansans, that anniversary carries special meaning. President Eisenhower understood that a strong transportation network was essential to the safety, commerce, and unity of the United States. His vision helped connect a growing country and gave future generations a highway system that changed the way Americans live, work, and move.

Seventy years later, America's transportation needs have changed, but Congress' basic responsibility remains the same. We have a duty to maintain a surface transportation system that allows people and goods to move across this country safely, efficiently, and reliably.

The entire House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has been hard at work for over a year to ensure the BUILD America 250 Act delivers for American travelers. This is one of the few major bills that we take up on a regular schedule, and it has historically been bipartisan because every district in America relies on roads, bridges, rail, airports, and freight movement. That is especially true in rural America.

In the Big First, our district alone has more than 83,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of railroads, and more than 100 airports. That infrastructure supports the farmers, ranchers, producers, manufacturers, small businesses, schools, hospitals, and families that keep our communities strong. We also have 11,172 bridges, more than any other congressional district in the country. That is why I am especially proud that our legislation provides the largest investment in our Nation's bridges in American history.

When a highway is unsafe, a rural bridge is closed, or a freight route is inefficient, the consequences are real. A farmer may have to take a longer route to get grain to market. A rancher may face higher costs of moving livestock. A manufacturer may struggle to ship products on time. A first responder may lose valuable minutes reaching someone in need.

Transportation policy in Washington has a direct effect on the daily lives of Kansans. That is why this reauthorization must get back to the basics.

In recent years, Washington has created new programs, expanded existing ones, and spent money our country does not have. This surface transportation bill, on the other hand, focuses our limited Federal resources on the fundamental needs of our transportation system: roads, bridges, freight movement, safety, and the infrastructure that helps Americans get where they need to go.

One of my top priorities is maintaining and expanding flexibility in Federal highway programs. States are best positioned to understand their own transportation needs. Kansans should not be forced into the same mold as New York or California. A rural road that carries wheat, cattle, schoolbuses, and animals serves a very different purpose than a major urban corridor. Federal policy should respect those differences.

The BUILD America 250 Act provides States and local communities with the flexibility to direct resources where they need it most. It also helps ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively instead of being tied up in Washington-driven mandates that do not fit local realities.

Finally, we are addressing the long-term solvency of the highway trust fund. The trust fund was created to provide a dedicated revenue source for the construction of the interstate highway system. It was built on a user-pays principle, with Federal fuel taxes serving as the main funding source.

That principle is still the right one, but the current model is no longer sustainable. American vehicles have become more fuel efficient, and some Americans even drive electric vehicles. That is why our legislation updates the highway trust fund, ensuring owners of electric vehicles still contribute to the maintenance of the roads they also rely on.

We are preserving the conservative idea that those who use the system help pay for it, while modernizing the way we keep our trust fund solvent and focus on our core mission.

Mr. Speaker, America is a nation that builds. That spirit helped President Eisenhower, a proud Kansan, leave a transportation legacy that still serves our country today.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is honoring that legacy by focusing on the basics, respecting States, spending taxpayer dollars wisely, and strengthening the roads, bridges, and freight networks that keep America moving. I urge my committee colleagues to support the BUILD America 250 Act going forward.

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