Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the chairman and ranking member for their ability and, for that matter, all my colleagues on the committee for our ability to be able to work together and come up with what I think is a truly good bill.

I rise in support of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act.

The bill reauthorizes programs within the Federal Highway Administration and provides much-needed investments in our Nation's highways and bridges.

It also focuses existing funding to create a Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program for large-scale projects while making a large number of reforms that will ensure our transportation dollars are put to good use.

These include streamlining the environmental review and permitting process, converting the Surface Transportation Program to a block grant program, maximizing the flexibility for States and local governments, increasing the amount of funding that is distributed to local governments, expanding funding for rural bridges or those bridges that are off the National Highway System, increasing transparency regarding how Federal highway dollars are being spent, increasing the focus on safety programs particularly of rural roads, and encouraging the installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure equipment designed to reduce congestion and improve safety on our roads.

This legislation also reauthorizes Federal public transportation programs and implements reforms that are going to ensure transit systems are safer and more efficient.

The safety of our transportation system must always be at the top of our priority list. By giving States the flexibility to focus on the safety needs unique to each community, we can allow them to take advantage of new technologies that are going to reduce accidents and roadway fatalities across this country. We can maintain a focus on safety without imposing undue and duplicative regulatory burdens on States.

This bill requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to review regulations every 5 years to ensure they are current, consistent, and uniformly enforced, allowing us to focus on policies that save lives and abandon those that do not. It also requires FMCSA to look into the effects of raising minimum insurance standards for truck and bus drivers.

I am proud to have been a part of the development of this bipartisan bill. I look forward to moving forward and going to conference with the Senate.

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