By Catie George, Director, Communications & Storytelling
The Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) hosted its 19th annual Congressional Forum, presented by Ryan LLC, Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. In a lively panel discussion, two Republicans and two Democrats shared the federal perspective on the future of Texas with an audience of more than 300 business and policy leaders.
Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, Congressman Keith Self, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, and Congressman Marc Veasey discussed infrastructure, inflation, workforce, and North Texas’ growth.
Read the key points from the bipartisan discussion, hosted by Sewell Chan, Editor in Chief of the Texas Tribune, below.
The Dallas delegation is on the world stage.
Congresswoman Crockett’s appearance at the DRC’s event came fresh on the heels of her role at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as the first Black female freshman member of Congress allotted a speaking spot during the convention. As the Forum concluded, Congresswoman Crockett was named national co-chair for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
Shortly after the Forum, Congresswoman Van Duyne was selected by the Texas GOP as the 2024 Victory Chair.
The discussion centered around North Texas: our progress and our challenges.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Region, there has been record growth in recent years, with North Texas set to become the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by 2028.
“In the nation, McKinney is the number one real estate market. Frisco is the number two real estate market. Allen is the number nine real estate market in the nation,” said Congressman Self, who represents Collin County.
While this growth is welcomed, it also causes some growing pains.
“We have this region that is one of the fastest growing in the entire country,” said Congressman Veasey. “But a lot of the challenges that we face around transportation, around affordable housing, around quality education, all of those are going to be very real, and we’re going to have to figure out how we want to rise to the occasion because I don’t think the work is going to stop anytime soon.”
Issues like the electric grid, transportation, and housing were all raised as areas to address.
“You continue to add people to the state who are demanding more energy on this broken grid that still is not fixed,” said Congresswoman Crockett. “That is actually a really big problem.”
Specifically, some of these issues were also discussed within the context of the high inflation people are experiencing, with Congressman Self stating that housing costs, both renting and buying, are “a reflection of the inflation.”
“My focus has been on economic development, providing opportunities for our residents and making sure people have the best opportunities for the future and the safest community possible,” said Congresswoman Van Duyne, adding that inflation “is crippling” North Texas businesses.
Amid an election season that national storylines have dominated, the conversation became animated at times when touching on topics such as immigration and spending as lawmakers sought to balance their party’s positions with the needs of their constituents. Immigration particularly sparked passionate exchanges, with stricter enforcement of the border and the need for comprehensive legal immigration reform to address labor shortages taking center stage.
“I don’t know anybody in this room who is not for immigration,” said Congresswoman Van Duyne. “What we don’t want is we don’t want to see illegal immigration, where we are putting a burden on communities that already cannot handle what they have.”
The Dallas Region is thriving in life sciences and CHIPS Manufacturing.
Positively, the panel discussed DFW’s many wins in the life sciences and biotech spheres, specifically regarding the ARPA-H’s selection of Texas for its Customer Experience Hub and the site’s physical location at Pegasus Park in Dallas, partially due to the DRC’s involvement in the process.
“Most people don’t fully understand the impact of [the hub],” said Congresswoman Crockett, whose district is home to Pegasus Park. “The reason that it matters is because… this is all about research and biomedical and engineering, all things vital… Almost the entire North Texas delegation, Democrats and Republicans, came together to make this happen. We are talking about jobs, and we are talking about increasing access to health care.”
Part of the reason Texas was awarded the ARPA-H Hub is because of regional talent.
“I think that what we’re seeing is that we have the knowledge base right here in North Texas that is integral to making sure that we can work specifically in these STEM spaces,” said Congresswoman Crockett.
Dallas was also chosen as the site of the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub. More recently, Texas Instruments (TI) was awarded a $1.6 billion CHIPS grant. TI and other Dallas-based companies are instrumental in the continued vitality of Dallas’ life sciences and CHIPS manufacturing industries.
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Ryan LLC, Media Sponsor KRLD, Gold Sponsor American Airlines, and Silver Sponsors Amazon, Southwest Airlines, and Lockheed Martin.
To read additional coverage of Congressional Forum, visit the recaps by NBC, WFAA, KRLD, and KERA.
To learn more about the work the DRC’s Public Policy team is doing, visit our website.