U.S. Rep. Dale Strong visited Athens First United Methodist Church on Thursday to speak at an Alabama League of Municipalities event, in a series of Congressional luncheons hosted by the group to bring local and federal leaders together. Rep. Strong (R-Monrovia) spoke to a wide range of policy and political topics he’s working on in Washington.
As a freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Strong says he’s focused on leveraging his office to advance legislation and relationships that benefit not only his constituents in Alabama’s 5th District, but also the state as a whole. Among those projects include the Port of Mobile in South Alabama.
“Submarines and ships, all of a sudden, we got to get them to Virginia,” said Strong. “We got to get them to California. I said, why not Mobile, Alabama? You know how far it is to take a ship to Virginia or to California?”
Strong referenced the major dredging project in the Port of Mobile that was ushered initially by former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. “Get ready. It’s going to create thousands of jobs for Mobile, and it’s good for Alabama.”
Strong received applause when he described the number of federal dollars he’s managed to bring back to the 5th District. “In a matter of weeks. I got up there, we had weeks to present this,” Strong said. “We brought back $18.5 million for the 5th Congressional district. You look at the other thing we did, we had some of these transportation projects and other issues with colleges and universities, $181 million back to our district.”
RELATED: Rep. Dale Strong secures $18.5 million for North Alabama projects
Strong made clear that federal earmarks, specific allocations of government spending directed by Congress members to their home districts, are deserved by Alabamians, especially given the state’s contributions to key sectors of the American economy, from aerospace and defense to agriculture and manufacturing.
“Let’s just get it straight. The people of Alabama pay as much tax as anybody else. If you got any congress member that doesn’t want their earmarks, I’ll take mine and theirs, too,” Strong said. “That’s the way I feel about it.”
Strong pledged a continued commitment to supporting the small, rural areas within his district, which can be challenging to securing federal funding for without a proactive, informed approach.
“I had a fire department in Hytop submitted and said, ‘we’re not sure how to do this.’ I said, ‘let me get somebody to help you.’ They needed air packs for probably one of the smallest fire departments in the state of Alabama. Running a handful of calls, didn’t have air packs. Got them $115,000. They’d never received a government grant in the history of the fire department.”
Strong concluded by elevating the significance of a comprehensive transportation plan for supporting workforce development in North Alabama.
“You look at what we’ve done with research, development, transportation. We can’t do it unless we all work together,” said Strong. “You look at the workforce research park at Redstone. It comes from a 17-county region. That’s why we’ve got to have a good transportation plan. 17 counties in North Alabama and Southern Tennessee is what makes that happen.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
