Learn more about my role as a member of the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
My priorities on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee:
I strongly support investing in our nation’s transportation system. For centuries, our transportation system has been the backbone of our economy, and we are indebted to the visionaries, like Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower, who recognized the importance of a national transportation plan and had the courage to put that plan into action. Our ability to move goods and people safely and efficiently from place to place has made our economy the greatest in world history. But today that system is aging, reaching the end of its life in many cases or being stretched beyond what was originally intended.
We must act now to meet the transportation infrastructure needs of our cities, states, and nation in the future. This means looking at our system as a whole and how each mode of transportation connects to each other. On a national level, we need to examine our harbors, inland waterway systems, passenger and freight railways, airports, and highways. On a local level, it is important to look at how urban and suburban transit systems connect with roads and airports. By starting with the big picture, we will be able to make better investments in a transportation system that will make our economy strong for generations.
This is why I have supported legislation to create a 21st century infrastructure commission, similar to the ones created by Jefferson and Roosevelt, to set a direction for our nation’s infrastructure investment. As Congress considers efforts to reauthorize transportation programs, I will continue to advocate for a healthy, sustainable funding source for transportation trust funds and mechanisms that ensure that these funds are used to improve our transportation infrastructure as intended. In addition, I will continue to work with state and local officials to provide them with the tools they need to make decisions about transportation infrastructure in Idaho, and I am committed to seeing that important transportation projects throughout Idaho receive adequate funding.
Recent Subcommittee Activity:
On June 10, the House of Representatives passed the FY2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill. The bill included Congressman Simpson's language increasing truck weights on Idaho Interstate Highways to 129,000 pounds. Read more about it here.
Subcommittee jurisdiction:
The subcommittee engages in comprehensive oversight of and writes the annual budget for the following agencies:
