Carney Year in Review

Statement

CARNEY YEAR IN REVIEW
Legislative Accomplishments from 2007

One year after taking office, Congressman Carney issued the following statement regarding his legislative accomplishments from 2007:

"I was pleased that our office was able to hit the ground running after being sworn-in last January. We brought on a capable, bipartisan staff, including our highly effective Director of Constituent Services, Joe Fabricatore, who served the 10th Congressional district under our two previous Congressmen. I wanted the best people on the job to work for the people of Northeast and Central Pennsylvania—people committed to working in a bipartisan matter to get things done.

"One of my proudest moments as a Member of Congress was seeing education benefits for National Guard and Reservists become a reality. Working with Senator Bob Casey, we created legislation that became a part of the National Defense Reauthorization. Because of our work, tens of thousands of Guardsmen and Reservists now have the opportunity to receive a college education.

"This issue was brought to my attention by an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran working in our office—Joseph Toth. He knew firsthand that Guard and Reservists do not receive the same benefits as our active duty soldiers—even though they are playing an increasing role in our combat operations. This legislation gives our Guard and Reserve the benefits they have earned. It also gives more of our brave men and women the opportunity for a college education. I was proud to see it pass Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, in what was truly one of our greatest legislative accomplishments this year."

Congressman Carney received recognition from local newspapers for bringing back unprecedented federal investment to Northeast and Central Pennsylvania. "Our office worked extremely hard to secure funding for northeast and central Pennsylvania. We secured education investments for College Misericordia in Dallas, Lackawanna College Susquehanna Center, Bucknell University, and the Northern Tier Industry and Education Consortium in Susquehanna County. We secured funds for our local National Guard Unit for the Wilkes-Barre Readiness Center rehabilitation project in Kingston, Pennsylvania. We also worked to improve our emergency response by securing funding for the Wayne County Emergency Operations Center and Communications Center which was ruined by the June 2006 floods.

"One of my goals in Congress was to create jobs and bring economic development to our region. Federal investment was secured for Gentex Corporation in Carbondale to develop and test advanced helmet mounted display systems for the United States Air Force; Vital Probes, Inc. in Mayfield, Snake Creek Lasers in Hallstead, the Barnes-Kasson County Hospital in Susquehanna, the Nicholson Borough Water Authority, and the Honesdale Main Street Economic Development."

In addition, federal investments were secured for: the Scranton Ammunition Plant, Noble Biomaterials, Beaver Springs, Lycoming County Department of Planning, YWCA of North-Central Pennsylvania, CAPPA in Williamsport, The New Hope Academy in Factoryville, and the Berlin Township Community Center in Beach Lake.

"I'm working to secure our border," said Congressman Carney. "As Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight, I have held hearings to troubleshoot problems on our border and see what we can do to keep our borders secure. I hear from people all over our district that illegal immigration is a significant problem and more needs to be done. This is why I traveled to our border to see firsthand what U.S. Customs and Border Protection is doing and how we can improve the situation."

"I have maintained my commitment to be a fiscal conservative," said Congressman Carney. "I was proud to vote for tax cuts for our small businesses and to protect middle class families from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). As a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, I will continue to fight for lower middle class taxes and keep the federal government accountable for its spending."

"Finally, we were able to keep our commitment to hold a town hall meeting in each of our 14 counties in northeast and central Pennsylvania. My goal was to be accessible and available to people on the local level. People expect to be able to talk to their Congressman about issues that matter to them. I will always do the right thing for our district and I look forward to another year of accomplishment and successes," concluded Carney.

Source