[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     INVESTING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Vasquez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly announce that two 
of my communities in various parts of southern New Mexico will receive 
$63 million in Federal investment to construct two medium- and heavy-
duty commercial electric truck charging stations along Interstate 10 
thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law.
  Lordsburg, in Hidalgo County, is home to only 2,300 people, and Vado 
in Dona Ana County is home to nearly 3,000 people.
  This type of investment in these small, rural communities will spur 
economic development in these places for generations to come.
  While we talk about these new electrification opportunities across 
the country, I am always asked: What jobs will this bring to the rural 
communities like mine?
  This $63 million award coming to New Mexico is the largest award in 
the United States and will go a long way to not just helping us 
transition to cleaner trucks and transportation but it will also boost 
economic development in rural communities.
  Larger metropolitan areas continuously benefit from Federal 
investments, so this is why I fight to make sure that towns like 
Lordsburg and Vado are not being left behind by the decisions here in 
Washington.
  The construction of these new charging centers will provide critical 
resting places along the I-10 corridor, a route that facilitates the 
transportation of millions of dollars in goods from the Ports of Los 
Angeles through New Mexico and through the rest of the country.
  Along with this project comes new jobs and other investments like 
lodging, food services, and fuel stations that will serve the truckers 
who are utilizing the new center.
  This critical funding is also helping grow American manufacturing, 
including in my district in New Mexico. In fact, in September, Hota, an 
auto parts maker, announced that they are opening a factory in Santa 
Teresa that will support 350 new jobs building these parts for electric 
vehicles.
  I am committed to growing the rural economies in my district, whether 
that is supporting new manufacturing jobs or establishing new charging 
hubs along I-10. This shows that we can work together in a bipartisan 
way and deliver for the American people and for our rural communities.

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