Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the critical investments coming to my home State of Texas. This week, the President signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This bipartisan bill is bringing over $35 billion to Texas for important projects that will rebuild our communities. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that this is long overdue. When I was a Harris County commissioner, I built a few roads. I saw firsthand how badly our roads and bridges had deteriorated. We regularly scored Cs and Ds on infrastructure that my precinct relied on every day, creating extra costs and putting lives in danger. In fact, roads in terrible condition have forced Texas drivers to pay over $700 in extra costs each year. Since 2011, Texans have seen their commute increase to about half an hour because our roads haven't kept up with our growth. In that same time, Texans were hit with 60 extreme weather events that cost taxpayers over $200 billion. More than that, crumbling infrastructure has taken the lives of thousands in our great State. Just this February our electric grid nearly collapsed, and over 200 people--many of them seniors--froze to death in their homes. We are past due in the work to improve our State's infrastructure. That is why I am proud to have voted for this jobs bill and for all of the investments coming to Texas. The bill that we passed is over $3.5 billion to weatherize our grid and prepare it for future crises.…”