U.S. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) held a press conference following his tour of water and surface transportation projects throughout the state. The press conference focused on President Trump's upcoming infrastructure package, his priorities as the EPW T&I chairman and plans to improve Oklahoma's surface transportation. Inhofe was joined by Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) Gary Ridley and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson. He also highlighted his two major pieces of infrastructure legislation that were signed into law last Congress, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and the Water Infrastructure Investment for the Nation (WIIN) Act and how they will benefit Oklahoma.
Inhofe's tour included a visit to the Port of Catoosa's recently rehabilitated main dock, which was funded by a 2012 $6.4 million Department of Transportation (DOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. He then toured various infrastructure projects throughout the state in his twin engine airplane, landing in Norman, where he held the press conference at I-35 interstate and Highway 9.
"We have a president now who is dead serious about this trillion dollar infrastructure package," Inhofe said at the press conference. "He knows [infrastructure] is a serious problem in this country. The conservative position is to work on infrastructure I will be working very closely with his administration and you can look for very good things to come."