Congressman Troy Carter Statement on Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s Visit to New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, L.A.  – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. joined Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on his visit today to New Orleans, in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District. Together, they participated in a roundtable discussion on investing in and improving conditions in the resilience worker and restoration economy at Delgado Community College. Following the visit, the Congressman shared the following statement:

“The strength of the American economy depends on the strength and resiliency of our workforce. We must ensure that as we grow our economy, we empower and invest in our workforce to include more diverse voices and welcome workers and businesses from all constituencies into critical, growing sectors.

“Here in Louisiana, a large sector of our economy that is built around responding to and rebuilding back from natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. We must do more to ensure that our small and local businesses and workers from historically marginalized or underemployed communities are given opportunities to participate in the rebuilding of their own community. This is a key step to a stronger recovery and building stronger communities.

“It takes all hands on deck to recover from a disaster, but in order to enhance equity instead of expanding inequities, we have to be strategic and bring more communities into the sector ahead of the event with efforts such as growing workforce development programs.

“It is great news that President Biden and his Administration have recognized the importance of small, local business involvement in federal contracting. In 2021, they directed federal agencies to increase contracting with businesses that fall in the category of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) – a critical step in the right direction.

“I am grateful that Labor Secretary Walsh and Deputy Labor Secretary Su were able to come to New Orleans today to discuss these issues and more in the community directly. We were able to highlight a model example of increasing inclusion into the resilience economy through Resilient Force’s efforts to employ historically marginalized or under-employed communities with good-paying jobs.

“I look forward to working with Secretary Walsh and his Department in the future, and will continue to support the PRO Act and other pro-worker and good job creation legislation.”

Photos from the day are available here.

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