Issue Position: Economy

Issue Position

It is time for Prince George's County to stop relying on low economic drivers, such as retail, to grow our local economy. Such development only served to provide low-wage jobs and serviced our communities with crime and instead of healthy growth.

Over the past several years, we have seen thousands of people, particularly millennials, flock to Washington, DC and Northern Virginia, but not to Prince George's County. In order to attract the millennial generation and ensure the economic prosperity of our County for the future, we need to revive our housing market, partner with growing industries, and promote transit-oriented development.

At the height of the housing crisis, Prince George's County had one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the United States. In order to revive our neighborhoods, I proposed the Residential Revitalization Tax Credit to encourage new families to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes, and thus, stabilize our neighborhoods.

Additionally, we must partner with growing new industries and attract them to our County. Currently, the University of Maryland University College is a true leader in the field of cybersecurity. This burgeoning field will be an essential piece to our local economy, and I have been excited to promote legislation aimed at growing this industry in our County.

Finally, it is essential that we ensure that the new FBI Headquarters is housed in Greenbelt. Not only will relocating the new headquarters to Greenbelt bring thousands of jobs to our District, but its proximity to the Greenbelt Metro will contribute to smart, transit oriented growth. I have been proud to support and will continue to support state budgets that allocate funding for the potential relocation of the FBI Headquarters to Greenbelt.

Source