Representative-elect Elizabeth Esty (shown at left) will serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee when her first term as Connecticut's Congresswoman representing the 5th Congressional District begins next month.

 The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation: aviation, maritime transportation, roads, bridges, mass transit, and railroads.  It also oversees other aspects of the nation's infrastructure, such as clean water and waste water management, the transport of resources by pipeline, flood damage reduction and the activities of the Army Corps of Engineers and the various missions of the Coast Guard.

 The Committee is one of the largest in Congress, according to its website, with 59 members and has six subcommittees. Those subcommittees are:

• Aviation
• Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
• Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
• Highways and Transit
• Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
• Water Resources and Environment

Esty said that while campaigning for office, the people of the 5th District told her "that infrastructure and transportation needs are critical to long-term growth in Connecticut."

"Serving on this important committee will provide me with the opportunity to advance a comprehensive transportation plan to help keep down commuting costs for workers, help small businesses and manufacturers save money and create jobs, and promote new industries while providing the necessary infrastructure to ensure their success," she said in a written statement.

Esty will get a second Congressional Committee assignment that hasn't been announced yet.