Advocating for American maritime means showing up wherever transportation policy is being shaped. That is why Transportation Institute Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Fuentes joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and transportation leaders from across the country for a roundtable on the infrastructure challenges facing Latino communities.
About the roundtable
The discussion, hosted by CHC Vice Chair of Policy Rep. Rob Menendez of New Jersey, brought together nine members of Congress, including the Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, alongside policy experts and advocates from organizations spanning research, labor, construction, aviation, and maritime.
Participants focused on the need for reliable, accessible, high-quality transportation and on making sure infrastructure investments reach every community equitably. The conversation also addressed infrastructure resiliency in the face of extreme weather and the importance of protecting the workers who build and operate these systems every day.
Why TI was at the table
Maritime is transportation infrastructure. America’s ports, harbors, and inland waterways move the fuel, food, and goods that communities depend on, and the industry employs mariners, shipbuilders, and shoreside workers in communities across the country. The maritime perspective belongs in every serious conversation about the nation’s transportation future, and TI was glad to bring it.
The industry also has a workforce story to tell. American maritime offers stable, well-paying careers with clear paths for advancement, at sea and ashore, and expanding awareness of those opportunities in underrepresented communities strengthens both the workforce pipeline and the communities themselves.
Transportation Institute has represented American maritime in Washington since 1967, and conversations like this one are part of that work: making sure that when policymakers talk about transportation, maritime has a voice in the room.
Read the full announcement from Rep. Menendez’s office: https://menendez.house.gov/media/press-releases/menendez-congressional-hispanic-caucus-host-roundtable-transportation-and