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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5746, the NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2021 on a voice vote. Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. was an original co-sponsor of the bill and spoke in support on the House Floor.
The Congressman floor speech is as follows:
“NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Eastern New Orleans, Louisiana is known as ‘America’s Rocket Factory.’
For over 55 years, Michoud has manufactured large vehicles and components for NASA – from the Apollo Program, to the Space Shuttle, to the Space Launch System, or SLS.
Michoud is the main manufacturing and assembly site for SLS, which will take us to the furthest reaches of our solar system.
The site employs approximately 3,500 people, and supports more than 6,000 jobs nationwide.
This includes government civil-service workers, contractors, and staff of other government agencies and commercial firms.
The National Center for Advanced Manufacturing—a partnership between NASA, the state of Louisiana, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and the University of New Orleans—also calls Michoud home.
The total economic output of Michoud is over $830 million.
All this to say, Michoud is an indispensable part of the New Orleans community and our nation’s space program.
Sites like Michoud would benefit greatly from the passage of H.R. 5746, which would reauthorize the enhanced use leases needed to keep up production.
I’m proud to be an original co-sponsor and to support this bill. I urge an “aye” vote.
I yield back.”
A video of the Congressman can be found here.
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NEW ORLEANS —
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $275 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan to the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans to "modernize the city’s aging and storm-damaged sewer system."
“Earlier this year, President Biden visited New Orleans and heard firsthand about the challenges with water infrastructure. Today, we are proud to partner with the city through WIFIA,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “This low-cost loan will save the city money while supporting critical upgrades to bolster climate resiliency and better protect vulnerable communities."
“This is great news for the city and people of New Orleans,” said U.S. Rep. Troy A. Carter Sr., who represents much of the city in Congress. “Here in Louisiana, we depend on our critical water infrastructure to keep us safe and healthy, especially when the storms come. It is long past time that we invest in the safety, longevity, and resiliency of our water and sewage management systems, and I am proud that the federal government is a strong partner on this critical issue."
“New Orleans is a historic city on the front lines of climate change, and this investment is a milestone that was initiated two years ago,” said Sewerage and Water Board president and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “The city of New Orleans has demonstrated time and time again that we are well-equipped to activate the federal resources flowing to our city, and no city is better prepared to put this funding to use than New Orleans. The work we complete with this loan will make New Orleans both more resilient and more equitable.”
According to a news release, the EPA’s WIFIA loan will help finance the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans’ comprehensive Sewer System Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program that will undertake over 160 projects to modernize aging and storm-damaged sewer pipelines throughout the city.
The projects are reportedly designed to be climate-resilient.
They will reduce inflow and saltwater infiltration, prevent breaks and leaks in sewer lines, and help maintain existing infrastructure during wet weather events.
Together, they will vastly improve the city’s sewer system infrastructure to help protect nearby water bodies and reduce the risk of flooding in neighborhoods.
As a result, the city’s sewer system infrastructure will "better protect historically underserved communities during storm events."
“With the help of this WIFIA loan, we are already modernizing aging and storm-damaged pipelines. Over 160 projects will benefit, and thanks to the EPA, our customers will pay less for the repairs. In a city where one in five faces poverty, that’s critical,” said Ghassan Korban, executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. “With so many projects in need of funding, we stand shovel-ready to harden our city’s infrastructure.”
The $275 million WIFIA loan will reportedly finance nearly half of the $561 million project costs. Project construction and operation are expected to create an estimated 1,800 jobs and construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
NEW ORLEANS, L.A. – Today, representatives from Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr.’s office joined an event announcing a $275 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) to modernize the city’s aging and storm-damaged sewer system. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and other city and state officials were also in attendance. With EPA’s WIFIA financing, this project will help protect historically underserved communities from the impacts of storm events and climate change.
“This is great news for the city and people of New Orleans,” said Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr., who represents much of the city in Congress. “Here in Louisiana, we depend on our critical water infrastructure to keep us safe and healthy, especially when the storms come. It is long past time that we invest in the safety, longevity, and resiliency of our water and sewage management systems, and I am proud that the federal government is a strong partner on this critical issue. With this $275 million WIFIA loan along with the critical funds from the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can make the needed investments for lasting improvements in our water infrastructure.”
Congressman Troy Carter was proud to vote for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – the infrastructure package – which President Biden signed into law last month. In the next few weeks Louisiana will already see results from that policy, as $101 million dollars will soon come to the state for drinking water system improvements. This funding accounts for fiscal year 2022, and Louisiana can expect to receive similar amounts of funding for water infrastructure annually over the next four years.
EPA’s WIFIA loan will help finance the SWBNO’s comprehensive Sewer System Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program. This program will undertake over 160 projects to modernize aging and storm-damaged sewer pipelines throughout the city.
“Earlier this year, President Biden visited New Orleans and heard firsthand about the challenges with water infrastructure. Today, we are proud to partner with the city through WIFIA,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “This low-cost loan will save the city money while supporting critical upgrades to bolster climate resiliency and better protect vulnerable communities. This project illustrates the critical water infrastructure improvements that will be achieved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
These 160 projects focus on climate resiliency and flood control, particularly reducing inflow and saltwater infiltration, preventing breaks and leaks in sewer lines, and supporting existing infrastructure during weather events. Together, these projects will vastly improve the city’s sewer system infrastructure, help protect nearby waterbodies and reduce the risk of flooding in neighborhoods – especially historically underserved communities.
The $275 million WIFIA loan will finance nearly half of the $561 million project costs. Recognizing both the need for critical infrastructure investment and the water affordability challenges facing the community, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans took advantage of the WIFIA program’s flexible repayment terms to save approximately $100 million. Project construction and operation are expected to create an estimated 1,800 jobs and construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
A fact sheet about this New Orleans loan is available online. More details about the WIFIA program here.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. introduced the No Double Debt for Disaster Survivors Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill would protect people with student loans who survive a natural disaster. After disasters, SBA loans are a lifeline to help people rebuild. However, for many who already have student loans, that additional debt burden makes it hard to recover.
“The country is battling the worst pandemic in history,” said Congressman Carter. “We also face increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters.I have seen and heard firsthand from individuals who have lost everything, either due to COVID, flooding, or a hurricane. For many, these combined disasters have resulted in the need to take out one or more SBA disaster loans. The last thing people need when trying to get back on their feet is another loan weighing them down. Coupled with the fact that nearly one-third of all American students go into debt to pay for college, this double debt burden hurts our economy and additionally burdens those struggling to recover from COVID-19 and natural disasters. The people need relief.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, in the United States, 42.9 million borrowers owe $1.59 billion in federal student loans. The average borrower has $36,510 in federal loans.
The No Double Debt for Disaster Survivors Act takes the following actions to help lift the burden of federal debt for disaster survivors:
- The bill authorizes the Secretary of Education to cancel outstanding student loan debt for SBA disaster loan borrowers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or a natural disaster.
- The amount canceled would not exceed the amount of the SBA disaster loan, and it would only eliminate the student loan debt, ensuring that no additional debt is created.
- The bill cancels outstanding student loan debt for those needing to take out SBA disaster loans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Creates an annual report to provide feedback to Congress, including the number of individuals with canceled loans and the total dollar amount of the canceled loans.
Studies show that canceling student debt would substantially increase Black and Latinx household wealth and help narrow the racial wealth gap, provide immediate relief to millions of Americans during the pandemic and recession, and provide massive consumer-driven stimulus to our economy.
“The people of Louisiana and America shouldn’t be doubly punished after a disaster simply because they sought more education,” said Congressman Carter. “At a time when we are faced with intersecting crises, we need to give the people a chance to thrive without loan debt weighing them down. The No Double Debt for Disaster Survivors Act will reduce the burden of loan debt and bring a much-needed boost to our economy.”
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NEW ORLEANS, (BATON ROUGE)- U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district has release the following statement in the trail of William Bryan, Travis and Gregory McMichael for the slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
“Ahmaud Arbery should still be here today. People who murder others must be held accountable. Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan unjustly killed Ahmaud Arbery after they racially profiled him and deserve to be punished. Too many people have attempted to slander and victim-blame a young man whose only crime was jogging while Black.
One day I hope that we are a nation where Black people can jog, play, protest, and exist without fear of hatred or violence. I will not stop fighting until that day is a reality. Today’s verdict was a step toward accountability and a justice system that extends equal protection under law to every American.”
NEW ORLEANS, LA - Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. released the following statement after the guilty verdict announcement in the trial of the William Bryan, Travis and Gregory McMichael for the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery:
"Ahmaud Arbery should still be here today. People who murder others must be held accountable.
Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan unjustly killed Ahmaud Arbery after they racially profiled him and deserve to be punished.
Too many people have attempted to slander and victim-blame a young man whose only crime was jogging while Black.
One day I hope that we are a nation where Black people can jog, play, protest, and exist without fear of hatred or violence. I will not stop fighting until that day is a reality.
Today’s verdict was a step toward accountability and a justice system that extends equal protection under law to every American."
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NEW ORLEANS — Auranyd Alvarado is not the type to shy away from hard work.
“I’m from Puerto Rico. I moved here in 2014,” said Alvarado.
But she did not expect, as a single mom with a master’s degree in business, she’d end up working three jobs and barely sleeping to pay the bills.
“I did Uber, I did Lyft, and I sold coffee on the West Bank,” she said. She found her third job, at Tulane University, through a temp agency.
Less than a year later, Tulane took her on full time. It’s mostly kept her on her feet.
“It’s difficult to be by yourself and try to accomplish everything,” she said. “Like right now, I live paycheck to paycheck.”
She’s certainly not alone in her struggle. Nineteen percent of Louisianans live below the poverty line. Across the country, prices and paychecks have seemed increasingly out of sync.
There were 25 states that raised their minimum wage in 2021. Louisiana wasn’t one of them, but there’s talk of more than doubling the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
So what does that mean for workers in Louisiana who make just slightly more and are struggling to pay the bills?
“The prices of everything else has keep increasing, increasing. So at the end of the day, the people are getting less and less and less money to what they need to do,” said Alvarado.
Amid a staffing crisis, big companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Target have implemented $15 minimum wage.
Costco and Ben and Jerry’s are even higher, starting their employees at $17 and $18, respectively. Those wages bring their pay close to or above some workers with very big jobs.
For example, according to the Plaquemines Parish pay plan booklet, EMTs start at just $16 per hour.
The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office website boasts that it has one of the highest-paying starting rates for deputies in the state. The office confirms that new deputies who finish training start at just $17.88 an hour, or $37,200 per year, including the state’s supplemental pay.
In Jefferson Parish, the pay plan lists drainage pump operators as starting at $15.19 per hour, or $31,586 per year. Teachers in the Head Start Program for preschoolers begin at $12.49, and even juvenile probation officers start at just $15.86 per hour.
Congressman Troy Carter, from New Orleans, believes it’s time for a raise.
“We need to have a redo, if you will. To recognize that teachers are grossly underpaid. police, fire, and first responders are grossly underpaid,” Rep. Carter told Eyewitness News in an interview over Zoom.
Carter is cosponsor of a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. The Raise the Wage Act would gradually raise the pay of 17 million workers nationwide, according to a Congressional Budget Analysis.
That same analysis, and Carter, forecast it would also give a boost to the wages of 10 million more people making just above the new minimum wage.
In total, that makes up about thirty percent of Louisiana’s workforce.
“It can’t be sufficient when you look at all the other necessities of life. Not even luxuries, just necessities. Child care is through the roof. Transportation is through the roof. Gas prices, through the roof. The price of eggs and milk and bread, through the roof,” said Carter.
“When you pay a higher wage, people earn more money, they spend more money. So kind of economics 101.”
Not all economists agree, though. The congressional analysis reports the Raise the Wage bill could reduce hiring by about one percent, or 1.4 million jobs.
Tulane University, Alvarado’s employer, raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in October. While it didn’t bump her pay, because she makes just above that wage, she’s more motivated than ever to give her 11-year-old son a better life.
“We have to keep going. We have to keep working. Because if we stand still, we won’t make it,” she said.
The Raise the Wage Act is currently being debated in committee. All of the 201 sponsors of the bill are Democrats.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. issued the following statement regarding the Rittenhouse Trial verdict:
“Today’s verdict confirmed what we already know, and what has been proven time and time again; America’s criminal justice system is deeply flawed.
This verdict is a reminder that we are not a nation where every American is treated with fairness and dignity under the law, because the law was not made to ensure equal treatment.
In August 2020, members of the Kenosha community were peacefully protesting following the shooting of Black community member, Jacob Blake, by a white officer when Kyle Rittenhouse crossed the border, killed unarmed Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, and today walks away free. Today, the system failed to deliver justice to those that assembled in protest of that act of police brutality and those that lost their lives at the hands of a dangerous and reckless Rittenhouse.
Lenient self-defense laws, and a courtroom overrun with highly concerning actions, resulted in a lack of accountability and sends an unacceptable message that celebrates vigilantism.
The stark contrast in the outcomes of this case and in cases were Black and Brown people are in similar circumstances is a reminder that we have a long road ahead to ensuring that every American is treated equally and with dignity by our justice system.
Every day we do not act to advance criminal justice reform is another day that we stray further away from ensuring justice for the American people. In Congress, we have the opportunity to reform the policies and take common-sense steps to save lives and ensure justice and accountability. It is time for the Senate to pass legislation the House passed months ago to strengthen our nation’s gun laws such as H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act. These, two bills would make necessary changes to protect our communities from life threatening and reckless actions like those of vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse.
Passage of these two bills will not on their own solve this complex issue., They represent another step in the journey toward preventing gun violence, ensuring accountability, and condemning the actions of armed civilians that incite violence and use that danger to justify their wrongdoings. We cannot sit idly by and wait for change. We must choose to act. I choose to make a difference and will work in my role as a member of Congress to take action to advance criminal justice reform. It is long past time.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. stood with the American people and voted to pass President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act out of the U.S. House of Representatives. This package provides $1.75 trillion to uplift working families, lower everyday costs, cut taxes, fight the climate crisis, and create good-paying jobs. The programs in the Build Back Better Act are fully paid for, and a full analysis conducted by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office prior to House passage showed that this legislation even reduces the deficit by more than $100 billion over the first ten years.
“President Biden’s Build Back Better Act will reshape the American story for the better,” said Congressman Carter. “This bill aligns our nation’s budget with our values, finally investing in the well-being of working families and in solutions to the big issues America faces today. From affordable health care, to childcare, to housing, to tackling the climate crisis, each one of these dozens of policies individually is historic. Together, they are life-changing.”
A summary of the current version of the bill was published by the House Rules Committee here. A White House analysis estimated some Louisiana-specific benefits here, including:
- The Build Back Better Act will enable Louisiana to provide access to child care for about 300,000 young children (ages 0-5) per year from families earning under 2.5 times the state median income (about $198,667 for a family of 4), and ensure these families pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care. The plan will cover the families of 9 in 10 young children in the state.
- Only about 43% of the 3- and 4-year-olds in Louisiana have access to publicly-funded preschool, and it costs about $8,600 per year for those who can’t access a publicly-funded program. Build Back Better will enable Louisiana to expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 54,505 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year and increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled.
- To help unlock the opportunities of continuing education beyond high school, Build Back Better will increase maximum Pell Grant awards by $550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, supporting the 88,062 students in Louisiana who rely on Pell.
- The Build Back Better Act will ensure that the nutritional needs of Louisiana’s children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an additional 51,000 students during the school year and providing 599,955 students with resources.
“I am proud that House Democrats debated, compromised and worked together to ultimately support this bill,” continued Congressman Carter. “Passage of Build Back Better less than two weeks after the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act shows that Democrats continue to deliver results for the American people. Lowering costs, cheaper insulin, and universal preschool shouldn’t be partisan, but House Republicans all decided to put politics over people.”
“It has been a tough time recently for Louisiana and the entire country. However, with Build Back Better on the horizon, I’m confident that there are brighter days ahead. Now, the Senate must finish the job and act swiftly to pass this critical legislation.”
Congressman Carter delivered a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives ahead of the chamber’s vote and released a video statement following the bill’s passage.
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