Armstrong Pushes Flexibility, Transportation Permitting Reform During Senate Committee Hearing

Gov. Kelly Armstrong testifies on highway infrastructure. (Screenshot from Senate webcast via the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong highlighted the need for permitting reform and flexibility for states to administer federal transportation funding during a U.S. Senate committee hearing in Washington, D.C.

Armstrong provided a state’s perspective on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, which provides federal funding to states to maintain highways, roads and other transportation projects. The act was funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, and will expire Sept. 30, 2026.

He told federal lawmakers the roads in North Dakota are not only for the use of local residents but the entire nation as the state provides for the agriculture and energy demands of the country.

“The movement of people and goods from the coasts across North Dakota and other rural states benefits people and businesses at both ends,” Armstrong told members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.