Pou named to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) has secured a seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where two North Jersey members have recently left to take seats on the Energy and Commerce Committee and a third died in office last year.

“No state in our great nation relies more profoundly on its roads, bridges, and mass transit than the Garden State, so Transportation and Infrastructure is the perfect committee assignment to support the Ninth District,” said Pou.  “I will use this post to advocate fiercely for North Jersey’s interests.”

Pou’s predecessors have long been interested in transportation issues: Robert Roe (D-Wayne) brought massive amount of federal dollars back to his district as a member, and later as chairman, of the committee; Bill Martini (D-Clifton), spent his two years in Congress on the panel; and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson) served on Transportation for a decade before moving to Ways and Means.

“We know about our desperate need for better roads and bridges, but I will also prioritize funding for our decaying water systems, flood management projects, as well as public transit service, especially the completion of the Portal Bridge,” stated Pou.

Pou has also been assigned a seat on the House Homeland Security Committee, another panel that Payne had served on.

“I look forward to advancing policies that enhance public safety and protect our nation. House committees are the laboratories and classrooms of our democracy and the important work of these panels will have my full attention this Congress,” she said.

Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) is the only Republican on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Donald Payne (D-Newark) was the chairman of the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee when he died last April.  Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) and Robert J. Menendez (D-Jersey City) spent their first terms on the panel, and both moved to Energy and Commerce.