MISSION, RGV – Three members of Congress from Texas will participate in a fact-finding meeting on transportation issues in Mission on Monday.
The congressmen are Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, and Roger Williams, R-Austin. Organizers had hoped U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Houston, would be able to attend but a scheduling conflict arose.
It will be Williams’ second visit to the Rio Grande Valley in recent months. He met privately with the Rio Grande Valley Partnership on his last visit.
“The purpose of the fact-finding meeting will be for Texas House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members to hear from local South Texas transportation leaders on their local projects and their priorities for the upcoming Highway Reauthorization bill set to be marked up later this year,” said Cuellar’s office.
The meeting is not a congressional hearing per se. However, the members of Congress present will take back information gathered to their colleagues in the U.S. House. Farenthold and Williams are members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The meeting takes place from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Monday at the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce offices. The meeting is open to the public.
Among those slated to give presentations to the members of Congress are:
• Sam Vale, past chair of the Border Trade Alliance
• Pete Sepulveda , executive director of the County Regional Mobility Authority
• Pilar Rodriguez, executive director of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority
• Eddie Campirano, port director of the Brownsville Navigation District
• Andrew Canon, executive director of the Hidalgo County Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Ivan Jaime, director of border policy and community affairs for Union Pacific
• Barry McClure, executive vice president of Ironhorse Resources, Inc., which operates short line rail
The above will not be allowed to give power point presentations and will be limited to ten minutes each. However, they can give power point presentations to the members of Congress to take back to Washington, D.C.
State legislators have been invited to attend, including state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, state Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, Sergio Muñoz, D-Mission, and R.D. ‘Bobby’ Guerra, D-McAllen. Martinez and Guerra are members of the Texas House Committee on Transportation. State Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-San Benito, has confirmed his attendance at the meeting.
