Upholding states’ rights and local control are worthy causes

Recently some organizations have called on Congress to nationalize a bidding process for local infrastructure projects. This sounds like something that slices at the very heart of conservativism, erasing the gains we’ve made on limiting the role of the federal government to prevent bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., from stomping over states’ rights.

Congress is no stranger to special interests. As lawmakers begin the hard work of creating a legislative package to address shortcomings and necessary repairs to aging infrastructure, groups from a multitude of industries will be jockeying for their share of the pie. There will likely be the same kind of regional cooperation that we see during negotiations for the Farm Bill as congressional delegations promote local and statewide needs. Other massive projects that are a part of critical transportation routes will be highlighted in studies and even media reports. Bridges and highways tend to draw a lot of focus in the infrastructure debate.