E-Newsletter

Statement

Legislation to Expand Protected Watershed
This week, I introduced legislation to expand the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation for the White Clay Creek watershed. In 2000, I introduced the bill that originally designated this watershed which spans Pennsylvania and Delaware. The new bill would add nearly ten miles of streams in both states to bring the total steam miles protected to nearly 200. My bill is cosponsored by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) and there is companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Sen. Edward Kaufman (D-DE) and cosponsored by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).

Republican Leader Pushes for House Rules Requiring 72 Hours to Read Bills
In the past couple of years, Members of Congress have had very little time to consider substantial legislation before the House votes on it. The more than 1,000-page cap and trade bill considered last year had 300 pages added just hours before passage. When the House considered the healthcare reform bill in the fall and again in the spring, Members had less than three days to review the final copy of the bill. This week, Republican Leader John Boehner renewed his call for a House rules change requiring a bill to be available online for at least 72 hours before it can be voted on.

Pennsylvania Unemployment Stagnant in June
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment in Pennsylvania remained steady between May and June at 9.2 percent. This is just under the national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. While the rate stayed the same, the total number of people in the state with jobs decreased by 25,000. I'm concerned that we are not focusing enough on growing private sector employment. Last week, I released a detailed memo on what I think we should do to grow our economy and kick start job creation.

Thomas Jefferson Award
The International Foodservice Distributors Association presented me with their Thomas Jefferson Award this week. The awards are given to Members of Congress who have demonstrated a commitment to smaller government and free enterprise. I'm concerned that many of the new, expensive regulations passed in this Congress will make it more difficult to hire new workers. We need to regulate wisely and punish lawbreakers, but we also need to make sure that businesses aren't spending more on paperwork and taxes than on growing their business and creating jobs.

Stimulus Waste Watch
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is spending $762,372 in taxpayer Stimulus funds for a project called "Dance Draw" at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dance Draw involves students attaching wireless mice to their chest and wrists and dancing to form abstract geometric shapes on a computer. NSF awarded the grant because they considered it, "computer science research." Source:www.wcnc.com.

Op-ed of the Week: A Plan for Jobs
Spanning the border of Pennsylvania and Delaware lies 107 square miles of streams and creeks that comprise the White Clay Creek watershed. The watershed is rich with plant and wildlife. When my son was growing up, the two of us would fish for trout in one of the many tributaries of White Clay Creek.

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