Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) at Heritage Action’s Conservative Policy Summit / K. Harris
Transportation funding reform would empower states to more efficiently complete transportation projects with “fewer Washington strings attached,” Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) said today at The Heritage Foundation’s Conservative Policy Summit.
Graves touted highway program reforms in which authority “would be transferred to the states” through block grants. The states would then expand and improve roads and highways instead of relying on “the bankrupt, messy federal highway program.”
“With less red tape, construction would move faster,” Graves said, noting that better highways would also lead to “access to more affordable housing.”
Last November, Graves introduced the Transportation Empowerment Act “to open up America’s transportation system to greater local control, better targeted projects, and a more efficient way to maintain and improve the nation’s infrastructure.”
The bill would result in “better roads in all states without raising taxes,” Graves said, adding that “we would save $71 billion on the federal level over the next ten years.”
“It’s about making lives better for everyday Americans,” he noted. “It’s not about dollars, debt, and balance sheets.”
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.