Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research hosted a virtual Breakfast Briefing with newly elected Louisiana Congressman Troy Carter. He discussed “Legislative Priorities for Louisiana’s 2nd District,” which he represents. Following his remarks, Congressman Carter answered questions from the audience. BGR is grateful to IBERIABANK | First Horizon for making this event free to citizens.
Click below to watch the video of the event:
Congressman Carter began his talk by encouraging BGR, other organizations and citizens to remain engaged with government leaders and lawmakers on public policy issues. He emphasized that engagement is especially important as the nation combats the COVID-19 pandemic and searches for ways to ease its public health and economic impacts. He then highlighted several aspects of the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed earlier this year, including its health care initiatives and the Child Tax Credit that many families in Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District are eligible to receive. Mr. Carter explained that the credit has the potential to lift more than 22,000 children out of poverty in his district alone.
He then turned to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill the Senate passed last week. He noted the significant investments it will bring to Louisiana’s infrastructure, including highways, bridges, water systems, and broadband internet. He also discussed the bill’s potential to address rapid rail transit between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and improve the Sewerage & Water Board’s systems. Congressman Carter sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which will consider the bill.
In his remarks and the Q&A session that followed, Mr. Carter shared his perspective on a number of other topics. These included legislative priorities that could influence Louisiana’s public education outcomes, the redistricting process and the redevelopment of Lincoln Beach in eastern New Orleans. Finally, he addressed the need for more bipartisan legislation in Congress and pledged to build relationships to accomplish that goal.
“We’ll always have issues that we have differences on. That’s the nature of a representative form of government. That’s the nature of people coming from different places. That’s OK. What’s not OK is when we put our personal beliefs and philosophies ahead of the needs of the people that we raise our right hands and swear to serve,” Congressman Carter said. “I will continue to preach that every chance I can. I’ll continue to attempt to be that bridge of reasonableness, that bridge of fighting for common-sense, practical solutions to problems that oftentimes are stymied because of personality. We can’t afford that. That’s not a luxury we have. People send us to Washington — or send us to city halls or to legislatures or to school boards or to parish governments — to make their lives better. To fight for them, to make things better. And I wake up every day with that effort in mind.”
The event was virtual via Zoom Webinar.
BGR Breakfast Briefings give citizens of metropolitan New Orleans the opportunity to hear experts and decision-makers discuss major public policy issues facing the local community. To find out about future Breakfast Briefings and receive notices about new BGR reports, our periodic PolicyWatch newsletter, other BGR events and more, sign up for our email list here.
BGR thanks everyone who attended today’s event. Our Breakfast Briefings are free to the public thanks to the generous sponsorship of:
