American Maritime Officers President Willie Barrere and Seafarers International Union President David Heindel congratulate Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) on his receipt of the Frank Courtenay Salute to Congress Award on May 7 at the Army Navy Country Club.
Salute to Congress Award Presented to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman
The International Propeller Club of the United States recognized the leadership of Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Congressman Sam Graves at the 40th annual Frank Courtenay Salute to Congress dinner on May 7 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.
Rep. Graves is a lifelong resident of Missouri’s Sixth Congressional District. As a small businessman and a sixth-generation family farmer, he spent his life working to make Missouri a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
As chairman, he leads the committee that has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation – maritime and waterborne transportation, our aviation system, highways and bridges, transit and rail transportation, and pipelines. His role in transportation is critical as he works on behalf of Missouri’s 34,000 highway miles and 10,400 bridges needing maintenance and repair, as well as the 6th Congressional District’s two major rivers – the Missouri and the Mississippi.
Rep. Graves is a proven, effective committee leader. From 2019 to 2022, he served as the Transportation Committee’s lead Republican Member. Before that, he served four years as chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and as the ranking Republican member of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. He is also co-chair of the House General Aviation Caucus.
He leads this crucial committee in the 118th Congress as our nation’s leaders work to address growing infrastructure needs, take on the challenges of providing reliable investment in our transportation network, ensure that America’s rural infrastructure needs are not left behind, and harness innovation to more effectively and safely move goods and people throughout the country.
Rep. Graves was born in Tarkio, Missouri. He graduated from Tarkio High School in 1982 and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he received his degree in Agronomy from the School of Agriculture. In 1992, Graves won his first race for state representative. In 1994, he was elected state senator for the 12th Senatorial District and was subsequently re-elected in 1998.