U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, and educator who is continuing her career of service as the first woman ever to represent Pennsylvania's 6th District in Congress.
Chrissy is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who came to America with nothing. She grew up in a military family; her parents met when her father and grandfather flew P3s in the same Navy squadron. She earned her engineering degree from Stanford with an ROTC scholarship that launched her service in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves, and later earned her M.S. in Technology and Policy from MIT.
An efficient, reliable infrastructure that safely moves people, goods, and information is the bedrock of our society. As an engineer and entrepreneur, I know firsthand that jobs are created and improvements are made to our communities when we invest in our infrastructure. Regrettably, far too many of our roads, bridges, tunnels, and pipes have fallen into a state of disrepair.
I recently announced my infrastructure priorities for PA-06 alongside state and industry stakeholders at Reading’s Penn Street Bridge, a “poor-rated” bridge that carries traffic over the Schuylkill River. This local landmark is currently undergoing a rehabilitation project, 80% of which is federally funded. I urged Congress to take swift action to repair our staggering inventory of structurally-deficient bridges, improve the accessibility of our public transportation options, restore the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, and fully fund federal-state partnerships like the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
The time to act is now. It has been far too long since Congress has advanced something as essential as the infrastructure that binds us together as a nation. I see the tremendous economic potential in repairing, upgrading, and greening our aging infrastructure. As your Representative in Congress, you can count on me to advocate strongly for our infrastructure.