WASHINGTON, DC. – U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, will serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and House Agriculture Committees for the 119th Congress.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made the announcement Tuesday. Rep. Figures told Alabama Daily News he is excited about getting to work on two committees that are vital to communities in Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
“Both of them are phenomenal committees that give us an opportunity to do a lot of good,” Figures said. “(We’ll) get to work on a lot of things that we learned about and things that we talked about throughout the campaign.”
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee oversees all types of transportation, such as roads, railroads, ports and mass transit. It is also responsible for water and wastewater management.
Figures said he looks forward to working on infrastructure projects at the Port of Mobile and the Bayway Bridge project.
“We have areas that need new water infrastructure,” Figures said. “Some that need help with power infrastructure and we are just really looking forward to being able to get to work on that.”
The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over agriculture issues, nutrition and forestry services.
Figures said the rural parts of his district tend to feel left behind when it comes to investment and hopes to be able to help them with these assignments. He said he also wants to bring support to rural hospitals.
“We are on pace to literally lose nearly every hospital in our district that’s not located in Mobile or Montgomery and that’s a problem,” Figures said. “That’s an economic problem, obviously, it’s a health care access problem as well.”
Figures is the only Alabama lawmaker on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, is also on the House Agriculture Committee.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will have an organizational meeting Wednesday followed by its first hearing for the 119th Congress titled “America Builds: The State of the Nation’s Transportation System.”
