US House transportation panel chair will not seek reelection

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – Veteran Republican U.S. lawmaker Sam Graves, who chairs the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said on Friday he will not seek reelection this year, joining more than 50 other incumbents who are exiting the chamber.

Graves, 62, has represented a Missouri district in the House since 2001. President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans are seeking to maintain their narrow majorities in the House and Senate in the November midterm elections. 

A total of 57 House members – 36 Republicans and 21 Democrats – have announced they will not run for reelection, according to a House tally.

Graves has been a key legislator on aviation matters, including safety legislation that the House unanimously approved on Thursday in the wake of last year’s Washington midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people as well as the 2024 reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration that included safety-related provisions. 

The congressman has been working on a five-year reauthorization of highway spending, expected to be around $500 billion, before the current law expires at the end of the current fiscal year on September 30, though that legislation may be delayed until after the midterms.

Graves this month said he favors an annual fee for owners of electric vehicles to help pay for U.S. highway repairs. Most revenue for federally funded road repairs is collected through diesel and gasoline taxes, but EVs do not use these fuels.

Last year, House Republicans ​proposed a new $250 annual fee on owners of EVs and $100 for hybrid EVs ​but it was not included in the massive tax and ⁠spending bill eventually approved by Congress.

Legislation co-authored by Graves that Congress passed in 2024 aimed to boost U.S. air traffic controller staffing, increase funding to avert runway close-call incidents and speed up refunds for canceled flights.

The 2024 FAA reauthorization measure prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together, requires airplanes to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices, raises maximum civil penalties for airline consumer violations from $25,000 per violation to $75,000 and boosts aircraft production scrutiny.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Will Dunham)