This year marks 70 years since President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. For Kansans, that anniversary carries special meaning. Eisenhower understood that a strong transportation network was essential to the safety, commerce, and unity of the United States. His vision helped connect a growing country and gave future generations a highway system that changed the way Americans live, work, and move.Seventy years later, America’s transportation needs have changed, but the basic responsibility remains the same. Congress has a duty to maintain a surface transportation system that allows people and goods to move across the country safely and efficiently. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am working with my colleagues on the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization. This is one of the few bills Congress takes up on a regular schedule, roughly every five years, that is historically bipartisan because every district relies on roads, bridges, rail, and freight movement. Rural America, urban America, agriculture, manufacturing, emergency services, and families all depend on a transportation system that reliably works.