**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

December 14, 2023

Contact: Emilia Rowland  emilia.rowland@mail.house.gov

WATCH: Lee Delivers Remarks on Delivering Nearly $1 Billion to Western PA and Other Achievements in First Year, Proving Progressives Get the Job Done

(Washington, D.C) –  Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12) delivered remarks delivering nearly $1 billion to her Western Pennsylvania district in spite of Republican chaos. 

Lee said, ““Despite Republicans’ disfunction, we haven’t stopped fighting even for a second and are proud to have delivered nearly $1 billion in federal investments for infrastructure, including $50 million for affordable housing in the historically divested Hill district, and millions more for STEM innovation, clean air, and good paying jobs–because the people of Western PA and across the country deserve leaders in Congress who’ve lived their struggles and work as hard as they do.”

You can watch her full remarks here.

 

Full remarks below: 

“Madam/Mr. Speaker

“I stand here today because we are just one month from another government shutdown and Congressional Republicans have demonstrated, once again, that they’re more concerned about satisfying their right-wing base than actually addressing any of the problems their constituents’ face.

“But that hasn’t stopped us  from delivering for our district. I’m here because the everyday working-class people of Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties came together to say everybody should have a livable wage, clean air and water, affordable housing, decent transportation, and health care. The people I represent resoundingly rejected the status quo and decades of corporations leaving us behind and polluting our communities with no accountability. They demanded political representation that will actually try to solve the problems we face and not play political games with their lives.

“Our movement’s detractors, including many in Congress, will try to make you believe that people from working-class backgrounds representing working-class districts, are too consumed by fighting “national political battles” and don’t do enough to deliver to their districts. Let’s be clear: key priorities of the Biden Administration like the Inflation Reduction Act would not have happened without progressives here, fighting tooth and nail to ensure that our communities had what they needed to thrive.

“Despite Republicans’ disfunction, we haven’t stopped fighting even for a second and are proud to have delivered nearly $1 billion in federal investments for infrastructure, including $50 million for affordable housing in the historically divested Hill district, and millions more for STEM innovation, clean air, and good paying jobs–because the people of Western PA and across the country deserve leaders in Congress who’ve lived their struggles and work as hard as they do. Whether it was delivering $400 million from the Department of Energy clean financing program to fund EOS, a battery storage manufacturer that will employ thousands of workers in PA-12, or the over $150 million to improve transit in Pittsburgh, our movement in Pennsylvania is delivering on priorities that won’t just improve our communities, but the lives of people across the country. We’re demonstrating the power we can recognize when communities that have been left behind elect leaders that have actually gone through what they have.

“Throughout history and particularly over the past four decades, working-class people, disproportionately Black and brown, have been told that our priorities are too radical, our needs too unrealistic, and that our lives are expendable. Our movement stands in direct contrast to that–standing up to monied interests and fighting for our communities to be healthier, stronger, and more resilient. The wins we’ve secured that I’ve talked about today represent just a small part of what our movement has done while in office, and you can be sure we’re not done yet.

“On the other side, Republicans are demonstrating that they are fundamentally unserious when it comes to addressing the problems that their constituents face. Now, Republicans are fighting battles so they can reconcile their internal struggle between satisfying their right-wing cable-news culture warriors, and their ultra-wealthy corporate donors. They are an embarrassment, and their constituents will remember. 

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Since taking office in January, Lee, who serves on the House Oversight Committee and Space, Science and Technology Committee, has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $870 million brought back to Western PA, including over $200 million for infrastructure, over $50 million for affordable transit, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 1,380 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.

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