Rubén Hinojosa: “this week, the business periodical INC.com named the McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr region in my congressional district in Texas…”

“this week, the business periodical INC.com named the McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr region in my congressional district in Texas as its second hottest mid-size metropolitan area in the country. When I first came to Congress nearly 10 years ago, this area was one of the poorest, economically deprived and most neglected regions of the country. It was plagued with three decades of double digit unemployment rates. I made it one of my primary goals to help curb these trends, and I am thankful to have seen that dream come true in 2006. Today, the area is booming. The population has increased by 48 percent in 10 years. Creation of new jobs is up substantially, and the unemployment rate is now below 8 percent. Children are graduating from high school and accessing higher education, and more students are seeking advanced college degrees. I have seen the increase in Federal resources, investments in human capital and infrastructure. Thanks to business investment, job training programs and open markets, McAllen, Edinburg, and Pharr are models of achievement for the rest of the country. The successes experienced in this region are the results of a collaborative effort by community leaders and a tremendous amount of hard work. I congratulate all those involved in so many of the projects, conversations and planning that we had along the way. We must continue our collaborative efforts to improve the quality of life in South Texas. ____________________”