Hoyer Joins Maryland Leaders to Celebrate $25 Million RAISE Grant for Investments in Regional Trails
Expansion of Federal RAISE Grant Program Supported by Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
LARGO, MD – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Congressman Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, and other local leaders celebrated the $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This grant is projected to enhance both recreational and economic opportunities in the region, provide non-motorized commuting options to the 53,000 workers and improve outdoor recreational access for nearly 300,000 residents.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries created the Regional Leadership Council in January 2023 and appointed Congressman Hoyer to serve as its Chair. In addition to Congressman Hoyer, the council consists of twelve Members who each represent one of the United States' twelve regions. The council is working to ensure that Americans in every corner of the country and in every zip code can access the opportunities created by the historic policies that Democrats secured in the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Honoring Our PACT Act, and many others.
Below are excerpts of Congressman Hoyer’s remarks:
“Administrator Bhatt, we're glad to have you here. We're even more pleased to have your money. Not that that means everything, we understand that, but it certainly helps. As I was sitting there, Mr. Administrator, I was thinking about the ceremony that I attended just a few weeks ago in a neighborhood that was not such a hot neighborhood, not too many years ago. Now, this is my neighborhood, folks. If you walk that way, really neat trail, about two miles, you're going to end up in a different type of parking lot, where Steny Hoyer grew up and went to Suitland High School, not too far from here either. So I am really pleased to be here and I'm really pleased to see this picture. The regeneration of a neighborhood, investment in people, investment in families, investment in community.
“That's what Angela Alsobrooks has been about….Just as Joe Biden has been investing in America. As a result of that Infrastructure Bill, there are now 35,000 infrastructure programs in the pipeline, some ground broken, some planned, some approved. Thirty five thousand projects. If you look at the map, there are black dots all over it. It looks black. Why? Because there's so many dots. This is one of those dots. Now, RAISE. I don't know if anybody's told you what RAISE means. We had TIGER Grants, had other grants. RAISE means: Rebuilding American Infrastructure in Sustainability and Equity.
“This neighborhood has been overlooked from time to time. When we got information about this grant, I called Angela, talked to Wes Moore and Aruna Miller, and they responded, yes, we want this done. And they supported this project. And I am very pleased that the two United States Senators, Ben Cardin is a national treasure. I don't mean just for Maryland, a national treasure. One of the great United States Senators, Chris Van Hollen, his partner, as able a Senator as there is. We have two partners in the United States Senate that are unsurpassed in their ability to fight for our state and for our county and for our communities. And so I thank them very much.
“Equity, investing in places that can be better. And because they're better, their communities are better, their families are better, their children have a better life. So I'm pleased to join Angela in this accomplishment. We are Team Maryland. Surely we all work together. But we also know we have two leaders on this project. One is our Governor and one is our County Executive, and we thank them both. And Aruna, thank you for being here. And to Paul Wiedefeld, thank you. Dorothy Bailey is going to be the closing act. She's the clean-up hitter. She's the one that's going to make it all make sense.”
