U.S. Senate candidate and state Rep. James Talarico published a video highlighting Alpine’s water infrastructure problems and arguing that federal politicians have failed to provide communities with the funding needed to maintain basic services.
“People in this Texas town can’t access water,” Talarico says in the video. “Not because there isn’t enough, but because D.C. politicians have failed them.”
Talarico, a Democrat seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate, described Alpine as a beautiful West Texas community where deteriorating infrastructure has placed residents under strict water advisories during a brutal Texas summer.
He also warned that residents’ utility bills could increase to cover the cost of repairs.
“Local leaders are doing everything in their power, but politicians in Washington have left them behind,” Talarico says.
Talarico said Alpine’s problems are part of a broader water infrastructure crisis affecting communities across Texas.
“It’s not just Alpine,” he says. “This is happening all over Texas.”
He criticized federal spending priorities, arguing that the government repeatedly finds money for military spending, corporate assistance and tax breaks for wealthy Americans while failing to adequately fund essential infrastructure.
“There’s always enough money for bombs, for bailouts and billionaire tax breaks, but never enough money to fix basic infrastructure and keep utility bills down,” Talarico says.
Talarico said he fought for water infrastructure investments in the Texas Legislature and pledged to seek additional federal funding if elected to the Senate.
“In the Legislature, I fought to invest in water infrastructure,” he says. “In the Senate, I’ll fight to secure the funding these communities need so no Texan has to worry about their taps running dry.”
