Congressman Troy Carter’s 2021 Districtwide Tour Highlighted New Infrastructure Law Funds for Minority-Owned Businesses, Bridges, Transit & Rail

BATON ROUGE, L.A. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. concluded the first installment of his districtwide ‘Building a Better Louisiana Infrastructure Tour’ celebrating the real-life impact that investments from the Infrastructure Law will bring to Louisiana’s Second Congressional District.

During his four events, he highlighted $41.6 million for the IWGO Green Bridge in New Orleans East, $30 million for the Gramercy Veterans Memorial Bridge connecting St. James and St. John the Baptist Parish, $108 billion for public transportation investments nationwide, up to $102 billion for passenger rail projects nationwide, and $110 million in annual funding for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) through 2025. At these events he was joined by dozens of public officials from the state and local level.

Based on data from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, there are at least 10 bridges and 41 roadway improvement projects in the Second Congressional district that without funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, would not have been sure to have been slated for action in Fiscal Year 2022. These projects represent a total investment of at least $335.5 million in Congressman’s Carter congressional district just for road and bridge projects that are scheduled for letting dates next year. In all, Louisiana can expect at least $7 billion in investments from the Infrastructure Law.

In 2022 Congressman Carter will continue his announcements and celebrations of projects that Infrastructure Law will bring to life in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District. Photos from the first leg of the tour are available here. Videos of the press conferences from each event are available upon request.

In Baton Rouge today, Congressman Carter emphasized the benefits that the bipartisan Infrastructure Law will bring to Louisiana’s minority business community and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

“By passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, President Biden and Congress are recognizing the role minority-owned businesses play in building a stronger and more equitable economy, and investing in their long-term success,” said Congressman Carter. “We need economic development that lifts all boats, and that’s why the Infrastructure Law makes the MBDA a permanent part of the Department of Commerce and more than doubles its previous yearly budget. This long-term investment will allow the agency to expand, innovate, create partnerships and reach more people.

“But the Infrastructure Law doesn’t stop there,” the Congressman continued. “Historically, minority-owned businesses have been systemically excluded from securing lucrative contracts for infrastructure work. The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act also includes provisions to give our minority-owned and local businesses an opportunity to participate in the rebuilding of their communities.”

At this event, the Congressman was joined by Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Louisiana MBDA Business Center Director Charletta Fortson, State Senator Regina Barrow, State Representative Edmund Jordan, State Representative C. Denise Marcelle, State Representative Barbara Carpenter, Councilwoman Chauna Banks, Southern University Chancellor John Pierre, Louisiana MBDA Center staff, and Louisiana MBDA Center clients.

Federal agency officials also weighed in on the significance of the Infrastructure Law’s investments in the nation’s minority-owned businesses.

“I want to thank Representative Carter for his hard work passing the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “For too long, we’ve neglected investments in critical areas that directly impact American workers, American businesses, and American families. One historic achievement in this bill is the codification of the Minority Business Development Agency at the Department of Commerce, which is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the economic development of minority businesses. This historic provision establishes MBDA as a vital resource to minority businesses and the nonprofits that serve them—assisting in their formation, access to capital, and growth. America’s road to economic recovery runs through minority businesses, and our country will never fully recover without them. Thanks to Representative Carter’s tireless effort, Louisiana’s minority businesses have a full partner in MBDA.”

“I am glad that Congressman Troy Carter is highlighting these important provisions within the bipartisan Infrastructure Law and their positive impacts on the people and businesses of southeast Louisiana,” said Miguel Estien, MBDA’s Acting National Director. “This law elevates the status of the Minority Business Development Agency, making it permanent. This is a very, very exciting time for MBDA and all minority businesses. Let me put the importance of this legislation in perspective. Empowered with permanent Agency status, the MBDA will have a substantial enhancement of delivery capabilities with respect to every service we provide.

 Director Estien continued, “The law assigns an Under Secretary for the Agency, a mandate to launch Rural Business Centers, the authority to serve as the point agency within the federal government in matters concerning minority businesses – and a host of other consequential changes in the structure of MBDA. These monumental changes at MBDA will in turn open more doors, shatter glass walls and ceilings . . . and properly position the MBDA to play a major role in leveling the business playing field.”

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