House Transportation Committee opens 119th Congress with pledge to reauthorize surface-transportation programs

Chair, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, opened the committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress and said one of the panel’s top priorities will be “passing legislation to reauthorize our nation's surface transportation programs.”

The chair said the committee will approach drafting the reauthorization bill collaboratively, modeling the process on recent work on FAA reauthorization and the Water Resources Development Act from the last Congress. “This will be a collaborative effort in which the committee will solicit feedback from both members and from stakeholders,” the chair said.

The chair said members’ priorities will drive what goes into the bill but cautioned that “this doesn't mean that everybody is gonna get everything they want. Our intent is for everybody to get most of what they want.” The committee has set an aggressive hearing schedule so members can “gather information and examine all facets of the infrastructure process,” the chair said, adding that today’s hearing is intended to provide a broad overview of the condition of the nation’s transportation system, areas that are working, where investments should be directed and the potential benefits of streamlining project delivery to allow faster completion.

The chair thanked the witnesses for appearing and recognized Ranking Member Larson for his opening statement.

The comments were introductory and framed the committee’s process; there were no formal motions, votes, or legislative text reported during the remarks. The committee signaled plans for a series of hearings and stakeholder engagement to inform the eventual reauthorization bill.