John Boozman is Arkansas’s senior U.S. Senator and the dean of the state’s Congressional delegation.
A fifth-generation Arkansan, John was raised in Fort Smith and graduated from Northside High School. He went on to play football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks while completing his pre-optometry requirements. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year co-founding a family business with his brother that would ultimately become a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas.
Why it matters: Our national economy thrives in part because of how inter-connected the United States has been throughout its history. The ability to efficiently move goods and services across the country is a critical factor as to why the U.S. has been able to compete and thrive within the global marketplace.
Where I stand: As my colleagues and I on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee develop legislation to address our nation’s infrastructure needs, we are stressing to the administration that it is time to broaden the scope of traditional infrastructure investment.
Ensuring Washington does not lose sight of the fact that our infrastructure needs go well beyond the traditional focus has long been a priority for me. That's why I introduced the Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now (SRF WIN) Act, an innovative approach to helping communities of all sizes, in every state, secure loans so they can improve their crumbling infrastructure. It is also the reason I joined my co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus to press President Trump to include initiatives to promote the deployment of high-speed, reliable broadband for all Americans as part of any infrastructure initiative.
The traditional three R’s of infrastructure must certainly be a major focus of the overall infrastructure plan. There are several reasons for us to invest seriously in our roads, rails and runways in the immediate future.
At the top of the list is safety. Some of our roads and bridges are actually beginning to crumble and deteriorate. We’ve employed temporary measures that have succeeded in repairing and rebuilding many of these deficiencies in the short term, but upgrading and enhancing them is a better and more cost-effective long-term solution. There is also an economic reason as well. The quality of a state’s infrastructure is near the top of the list of factors that business owners consider when deciding where to locate a business or enterprise.
Our infrastructure needs can’t be a partisan issue. Now is the time to push ahead and make sensible, productive investments in our nation’s infrastructure. Doing so now will ultimately save money in the long term. It will also help our economy grow and equip our country to remain competitive in the global economy in the years ahead.