Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., told Newsmax on Thursday that the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill could be the most consequential infrastructure package since the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
“We’ve had 11 surface transportation bills, and I’ve helped write five of them,” said Graves, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on Newsmax’s “Newsline.”
“We have never had a situation where the need is so great, but we have fewer and fewer resources to draw upon.”
The nation’s roads and bridges are aging rapidly, with many approaching or exceeding their intended lifespans.
Meanwhile, the main source of federal infrastructure funding — the Highway Trust Fund — is running low. Established in 1956, the fund is supported primarily by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel.
Those revenues have declined as vehicles have become more fuel efficient and as the number of electric vehicles on the road continues to grow.
“Our highway and bridge system is funded through fuel tax. We pay at the pump — federal gasoline and diesel tax,” Graves said, “but we’re seeing a depletion in that because we have people on the road that simply are getting a free ride.”
The Missouri Republican said that while he’s long opposed higher taxes, he believes in the principle of user fees — the idea that those who use a government-funded service should help pay for it.
“I’m a small-government conservative, and I don’t like taxes,” Graves said, “but one thing I do believe in is if you’re going to use a government service and it’s funded through a user fee, then everyone should have to pay.
“Right now, electric vehicles are not paying into the system — they’re getting a free ride.
“Hybrids are paying much less into the system. That’s got to change.”
Graves said lawmakers are exploring new ways to ensure all drivers contribute fairly, such as mileage-based fees or other mechanisms that account for the rise of alternative-fuel vehicles.
“This is a big bill — it’s going to be a very big bill,” he said, “and President Trump is a builder. He gets it.
“He understands why this is so important. And so, we’re moving pretty hard on it.”
If successful, Graves added, the legislation could redefine how the nation funds and maintains its roads for decades to come — a modern-day echo of the Eisenhower-era vision that connected America in the first place.
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