Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee addresses the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Full Funding Grant Agreement Signing Ceremony
Statement
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee released the following statement in regards to today's signing of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Full Funding Grant Agreement Signing Ceremony:
"A well-functioning transportation system is critical to the Nation's prosperity. Whether it is by road, transit, aviation, rail, or waterway, we rely on our transportation system to move people and goods safely, facilitate commerce, attract and retain businesses, and support jobs. The President's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget provides $128 billion to support these efforts; including $8 billion in 2012 and $53 billion over six years to reach the President's goal of providing 80 percent of Americans with convenient access to a passenger rail system, featuring high-speed service, within 25 years.
"Such funding is critical for the regional mobility of the citizens of the vast communities within and around the 18th Congressional District. Cities around the country are struggling with a backlog of transportation projects and have difficulty in securing federal, state, and local resources in light of the struggling economy. At the same time, America is facing growing unemployment, particularly in our cities.
"Houston needs this infrastructure to relieve congestion and provide adequate public transportation, but it also needs this because an investment in Houston's New Start Transit Project means jobs for Houston's constituents through the transportation sector in its communities and around the nation. As Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, I understand the vital importance of ensuring we have a developed RAIL and transit system. Houston has been working for over twenty years to bring these New Starts Projects to fruition. Houston is very close to finishing but needs a little assistance to make it to the finish line. I have worked tirelessly to ensure that the METRO RAIL New Starts Project gets completed and gets completed in an expeditious manner.
"I have worked with METRO to secure jobs for local small business and community contractors and to help the broader community hold a greater stake in Houston's mobility project. I believe that the utilization of local, small businesses and community contractors would meet the demand and need for skilled workers and would help to revitalize minority and underemployed communities.
"I am working to ensure that METRO upholds its commitment to the Houston community that would be an economic engine for the entire community. My work with METRO has resulted in their public admission that Houstonians would be employed and that METRO would create opportunities for small and local contractors in the community. This is important because Houston has a large labor force. As of September 2011, Houston's unemployment rate was 8.9 percent which translates into 143,000 unemployed workers seeking jobs.
"In partnership with Houston METRO, I worked hard to ensure that HOUSTON METRO launched a Job Training Initiative so that local communities could take advantage of the opportunity to gain valuable skills they need to enter the workforce. As METRO continues to expand its metro rail, there will be a demand for skilled workers to help with METRO Construction projects. This Job Initiative aims to lower the April 2011, Unemployment rate, in Houston and prepare and encourage individuals to seek jobs that the METRO project will bring to the local economy. The Job Training Initiative places the highest emphasis on reaching faith-based institutions, neighborhood, and community and union groups to recruit individuals for training for skilled and high paying jobs. I worked to do this, to ensure that people from all walks of life in Houston would benefit from this major multi-million dollar mobility project. The Initiative will include students, recent grads, and individuals that are unemployed, including Veterans."
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