Today Houston area Congressmen Kevin Brady, John Culberson, Michael McCaul, Ted Poe, and Pete Olson issued the following statement challenging Speaker Pelosi's visit to the Port of Houston to tout stimulus jobs:
"Today, we welcome House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the great state of Texas. It is sadly ironic that while the Speaker is here to use the Port of Houston as a backdrop to hail the Obama Administrations failed stimulus plan, other great Houston-area institutions stand to lose tens of thousands of jobs as a direct result of the Administration's actions.
"The Johnson Space Center, where our nation's achievements in human space exploration are directed, and BAE Systems' military vehicle production facility west of Houston, together stand to lose nearly 20,000 jobs. The Administration has chosen to effectively end America's dominance in human space flight, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars already invested in the next phase of human space flight, and throwing billions more toward unproven startup operations.
"Similarly, this Administration has decided to shift production of a popular military vehicle to a blue state, awarding the contract to a company that the GAO ruled has inferior production capabilities and that submitted a bid that even the company admits is unrealistically low.
"Finally, the Administration's so called, "cap-and-trade" national energy carbon tax will have a disproportionate impact on the Houston area, the heart of U.S. energy production.
"If Speaker Pelosi is truly concerned about the welfare of our state and our economy, we invite her to visit these fine institutions and meet with their outstanding employees. We are confident she will find they are dedicated to preserving America's leadership in the human space program and maintaining the strongest, best-equipped military in the world. We look forward to showing the Speaker some of the best that our great state has to offer."