{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/6/rep-sewell-welcomes-transportation-secretary-pete-buttigieg-birmingham", "Rep. Sewell Welcomes Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Birmingham to Announce Program to Reconnect Communities", "2022-06-30", "2022", "2022-06", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined Mayor Randall Woodfin to welcome U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to Birmingham, Alabama. During his visit, Secretary Buttigieg announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is now accepting applications for the first-of-its-kind Reconnecting Communities program. Created by President\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the $1 billion pilot program will help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. As the only member of Alabama\u2019s congressional delegation to vote in favor of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Sewell fought to ensure that equity was a central focus of the legislation.\n\nThursday morning, Rep. Sewell hosted a roundtable discussion with Secretary Buttigieg, Mayor Woodfin, and community stakeholders to give local officials the opportunity to speak directly with federal leaders. They then embarked on a bus tour to give the Secretary a firsthand look at the Birmingham Xpress Bus Rapid Transit service, a program that will soon connect residents from 25 communities to jobs, schools, and healthcare.\n\n\u201cI think it\u2019s critically important that we bring together our local and federal officials for a chance to speak directly about the needs of those we serve,\u201d said Rep. Sewell.\u201cConversations like these really help strengthen our partnership on behalf of the people of the 7th Congressional District and move our communities forward.\u201d\n\nRep. Sewell joined Secretary Buttigieg and Mayor Woodfin for a press conference announcing the new Reconnecting Communities Program, a $1 billion, first-of-its-kind initiative from President Biden\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated to reconnecting communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by highways and other transportation infrastructure. Reconnecting a community could mean adapting existing infrastructure\u2014such as building a pedestrian walkway over or under an existing highway\u2014to better connect neighborhoods to opportunities or better means of access such as crosswalks and redesigned intersections.\n\n\u201cThe Reconnecting Communities program will help right the wrongs of our past by connecting neighborhoods that were previously divided by highways and other infrastructure,\u201d continued Sewell. \u201cThis is about making sure that people can live where they want to live more affordably while accessing the jobs, schools, and services our city has to offer. I applaud Secretary Buttigieg and the entire Biden-Harris Administration for making these investments which harness the power of transportation infrastructure to connect our communities and build a more equitable future.\u201d\n\n\"Transportation can connect us to jobs, services, and loved ones, but we\u2018ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,\u201d said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. \"Using funds from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are proud to announce the launch of Reconnecting Communities: the first-ever dedicated federal initiative to unify neighborhoods living with the impacts of past infrastructure choices that divided them.\"\n\nSecretary Buttigieg also visited the 16th Street Baptist Church to connect with other community leaders and learn about the church\u2019s history and role in catalyzing the Civil Rights Movement.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:13:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/6/rep-sewell-welcomes-transportation-secretary-pete-buttigieg-birmingham"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7630148902535439, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}