Mrvan discusses infrastructure, women's rights at forum

Issues ranging from supporting infrastructure and economic growth in Northwest Indiana to women’s reproductive rights have been on the plate of U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.

National Indivisible Guide’s local chapter, Indivisible NWI, held a public forum on Aug. 14 at the La Porte County Public Library, where Mrvan, D-Highland, discussed topics of importance for both Northwest Indiana and the country.

Mrvan, who is seeking reelection, said he supported the South Shore Line’s Double Track NWI, which added a second set of tracks and station improvements along a 26.6-mile stretch from Michigan City to Gary.

According to Mrvan, more than $600 billion worth of investments are underway in Michigan City.

Citing Chicago’s Crane Magazine, Mrvan said, “the hottest real estate market in the Chicagoland area was Michigan City.”

Double Track NWI, Mrvan said, allows for businesses’ continuous investments in the Michigan City area.

“So, there is what they call transit-oriented development or, to put it simply, tax breaks or incentives to bring businesses in,” Mrvan said.

“That’s what’s allowing for the tool to bring these businesses into Michigan City that can develop and create a more robust economy, and allow for smart growth, and allow for the industries to be able to profit,” he added.

Additionally, Mrvan said Double Track NWI will have a positive environmental impact.

“More people ride the train, less people driving in their cars, less carbon in the world,” he said.

Michigan City, Mrvan said, also benefited from his and Congress’s focus on Community Funded Projects when the city’s police department was one of more than 10 to receive license plate readers.

“We have worked with police departments to give them this technology that they need to be able to be the eyes and ears of the street,” he said.

The license plate reader, according to Mrvan, is what they consider a “force multiplier.”

“What that means is you have a labor force of 20 officers, but when you have technology, that is able to magnify the force and multiply the force to be able to make sure people are following the law,” he said.

Mrvan said he was also able to help Michigan City receive funding to help “the developmentally disabled to be able to provide the support services.”

For Lake and Porter Counties’ Fair Haven, a sexual assault crisis center, Mrvan said he helped secure $1 million to help care for and support sexual assault victims, human trafficking victims and children who have been sexually assaulted.

As for women’s reproductive rights, Mrvan expressed discontent with the status of women’s rights, or lack thereof, in Indiana.

“When have we ever had an election where we know a president has put together a Supreme Court that took away rights that have been in existence for 70 years?” Mrvan asked regarding the United States’ presidential election.

Questioning the federal government’s implications on women’s reproductive rights, Mrvan said Indiana was one of the first states to enact laws stripping away rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022.

“In Indiana, which was one of the first states to be able to take those rights, what we learned is the attorney general went after one of the physicians who took care of victims of rape …,” Mrvan said.

“The attorney general was proud of it,” he added.

With the threat of losing their medical licenses, insurance claims and being sued, Mrvan said physicians will start to question what medical interventions are worth the stress.

“Healthcare for women is literally at risk,” Mrvan said.

“As a member of Congress, I want you to know that I had ... supported the woman’s right to choose. I have made sure that I am on bills, I have showed up for rallies, and I have made my position very clear,” he added.

Along the lines of healthcare, Mrvan said he helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will allow for negotiations regarding drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

“It allows the federal government or Medicare to negotiate to bring those prices down,” he said.

The $300 billion in savings, Mrvan said, goes toward the deficit.

“If we can lower the deficit, which is the issue, then we are moving in the right direction to continue ... to lower the inflation,” he said.

His plans for economic freedom, Mrvan said, will focus on creating work and wealth throughout Northwest Indiana [NWI].

Mrvan said during his current run in office, he has supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, as well as served as the cochair of the Steel Caucus, which helped protect, advance and make the Northwest Indiana steel industry thrive.

“So, the ... 10,000 employees that we have in Cleveland Cliffs, U.S. Steel and all the other plants, they continue to have work, wealth, health insurance and pensions,” Mrvan said.

In addition to steel workers, Mrvan said contractors, labor unions and neighboring trades of the steel industry are also protected.

“When we talk about creating work and wealth and being able to provide for those individuals, again, there are choices,” Mrvan said.

“We want to make sure we prioritize workers. We want to make sure we give our children opportunities to go to college, and also, to learn a trade,” he added.

The infrastructure bill, according to Mrvan, which is one of seven throughout the nation, contains plans to build a hydrogen hub in Northwest Indiana.

Constructed by BP, Mrvan said the hydrogen hub will create 12,000 new, good paying construction jobs, with pensions, healthcare benefits, the opportunity to establish pensions through unions and reasonable workable hours.

Most importantly, Mrvan said, the hydrogen hub will have a positive environmental impact, where currently there are only seven similar places nationally.

“There will be an ability to capture carbon, so we have cleaner air, cleaner water, create jobs, give longevity to the steel industry and make sure that we are creating working wealth in the area,” Mrvan said.

Another section of the infrastructure bill, Mrvan said, is the investment in Northwest Indiana’s sewer systems, which has been a topic of discussion throughout La Porte County.

“Investment in sewers makes us a better ... community,” Mrvan said.