T&I Chair Graves says he won't seek reelection to Congress

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced last week that he will not seek reelection to Congress when his current term expires in early January 2027. When he retires, he will have served 26 years in the House. 

In a prepared statement, Graves said he intends to spend his remaining time in office focused on the committee's agenda, which includes completing a surface transportation reauthorization bill to fund the nation's roads, bridges, highway safety, transit and rail transportation systems. The current law, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, expires Sept. 30. 

Also, the committee is working on the next Water Resources Development Act, bills to reauthorize pipeline safety programs, efforts to cut red tape in the Clean Water Act permitting process, and reform of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, he said. Moreover, the committee last week unanimously approved the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act to address the National Transportation Safety Board's 50 recommendations following the agency's investigation into the January 2025 mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. All 67 people on board the jet and helicopter died in the crash.

"I will remain fully focused on getting these bills and other important legislation over the finish line," said Graves. "Serving as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where members of Congress can and have so often worked together to get things done for all of America, has been a tremendous honor that will drive me until my last day in Congress.”