I visited the Meals on Wheels program today in Waterford. My staff and I talked with the program administrators and volunteers to learn more about their efforts to assist seniors in Oakland County. We helped prepare the meals and then we hit the road to deliver lunch to seniors. It was a great time. I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate in this great program.  It was clear today that it’s the volunteers who really make a difference for the seniors participating in the Meals on Wheels program. They are doing great work by helping our seniors with this very worthwhile program.

Click here to view the photos from my visit to the Meals on Wheels program in Waterford.

The Oakland Press had a great story in today’s paper about GM reaching out to schools in Pontiac to show grade schoolers how math and science apply in the real world. It is critically important that we put a greater focus on math and science education. China is graduating nearly 10 times as many engineers and technology people as we are.

Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to provide a $5,000 annual scholarship to students who graduate high school with a 3.5 grade point average or higher and agree to study math, science, engineering or health care in college. My legislation is designed to encourage our best and brightest minds to go into the math and sciences in hopes of nurturing the innovators who will drive our economy forward.

 It is also very important for our children to get turned on to math and science at an early age. That’s why programs like GM’s are so important. It’s also why I have worked to secure funding for the Science Center in Detroit, and why I have supported legislation to recruit more math and science teachers.

Math and science are the building blocks of the new Michigan economy. Here’s to GM and the Pontiac Schools for developing an innovative partnership that shows our kids the practical applications of math and science.

Click here to read the Oakland Press story on the GM program.

My office recently handled a case for a family in West Bloomfield that was having problems with the IRS and an estate matter. Dealing with the federal government can be confusing and frustrating. My office is here to help.

We successfully manage hundreds of cases every year for constituents.

Below is a letter from the Milmet family in West Bloomfield thanking my office for our help with the IRS:

Dear Congressman Knollenberg,

This letter is to tell you how much I appreciated your help. It goes with my heartfelt thank you. I tried going through all the steps, but never got anywhere. Now, the estate is closed and my son, Leo, and I are forever grateful.

I know that one person alone cannot do all the work, so I offer a special thanks to your kind and dedicated staff.

Sincerely,

Sarah Ronayne Milmet

The Detroit News has a feature on its Web site that allows readers to pay tribute to the 144 soldiers with ties to Michigan who have died in service to their country in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Click here to view this special page that honors Michigan’s fallen soldiers. The families of these brave soldiers are in my prayers during this Memorial Day weekend.

I have also been working with an outstanding group in Michigan that is dedicated to helping the families of wounded and fallen soldiers. The organization is the Fallen and Wounded Soldier’s Fund. It’s a non-profit that is helping to raise scholarship funds for the children of fallen soldiers among other activities. To find out more about this wonderful group, please visit www.fwsf.org.

Laura Amatulli is a 6th grade teacher in the Avondale Schools in Rochester, Michigan. I recently had the good fortune of meeting Laura when she was in our nation’s capital to receive a prestigious award from Honeywell and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Laura was honored for her efforts to protect students from child abduction and sexual exploitation. Laura was one of only five teachers nationwide to receive the Got2BSafe Award for her efforts to teach students about the importance of being safe on the Internet and avoiding dangerous people.

As a grandprize winner, Laura will receive a $10,000 classroom makeover from a top designer in New York City. During my meeting with Laura, I also learned of her distinguished record of military service to our country.

Laura Amatulli is a great teacher and a great citizen who is committed to making her school, our community, and the United States better places to work, learn, and live.

I celebrate Laura’s accomplishments and the national accolades she is receiving for her commitment to the safety of our children.

Click here to view the picture of Laura and me taken in my Washington, DC office.

Below is a congressional record entry I submitted today in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the City of Berkley:

Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the City of Berkley, in Oakland County, Michigan which is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this week. This city’s rich history and enduring perseverance serves as a shining example of the mettle of all Michiganians.

Before being established as a village in 1823, Berkley was part of a vast forest and swamp teeming with quicksand and other perils. Despite these hardships, settlers pressed on through the wilderness outside of Detroit to stake their claims in Berkley. By 1832, the burgeoning number of settlers arriving in Detroit warranted a stagecoach route that ran through Berkley on the way to Pontiac.

Berkley, along with many other communities, suffered through many adversities during the Great Depression. However, the village met those challenges head on and established a pay-as-you-go plan, spending only what it took in, in order to continue to govern responsibly. Many of the residents became active in local politics, and upon learning of the benefits of becoming a city, the discussion commenced.

After a year of debate and preparation, the residents of Berkley adopted a city charter, and elected a mayor and six commissioners. On May 23, 1932, now with a population of 6,000, the City of Berkley was established. With Detroit opening up its factories to produce materials at the onset of World War II, the residents of Berkley joined in the war effort. In 1946 Berkley had spent more for constructing new facilities and factories than any other city in Oakland County.

Madam Speaker, today Berkley is a vibrant community in Oakland County that is home to over 15,000 residents, a state of the art library, and a bustling downtown district. I congratulate them on their 75th anniversary and wish the residents many more years of prosperity.

Two of my colleagues on the House tax writing committee, Congressman Sander Levin and Congressman Dave Camp, recently introduced legislation to permanently extend the research and development tax credit and to make the tax incentives stronger for investments made in America. This legislation is critical to our economy and Michigan manufacturers, and I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this bill and look forward to voting for it this year.

Businesses in America spend more on litigation every year than they do on research and development. This trend cannot continue if America hopes to remain an economic superpower. Making the R&D tax credit permanent is a big step in the right direction. GM, Ford and Chrysler are the largest investors in R&D in the country. Collectively, the Big 3 carmakers spent $16 billion on R&D last year, which is more than the pharmaceutical industry. The Invest in America Act will benefit the Big 3.

In addition to providing tax incentives for R&D investments, we need to restore some sanity to our courts and rein in the excessive damage awards that enrich trial lawyers at the expense of employers and their workers. Lawsuit abuse is a big cost impediment to American businesses. It negatively impacts their ability to compete in a global economy and it soaks up resources that otherwise could be invested in new technology and jobs.

Located in Troy, Michigan, Automation Alley is at the forefront of economic development in Oakland County and Southeast Michigan. This organization is bringing innovative thinkers from industry, small business, government and academia together to help chart a brighter future for Michigan. I have had the good fortune to work with Automation Alley’s Executive Director Ken Rogers and his team of professionals on several different projects. I am proud to have been able to secure federal funding to help construct Automation Alley’s headquarters, which is located on Big Beaver in my district. I am also proud to have offered my support to an innovative partnership between Altair Engineering and Automation Alley to develop technology that will make transit buses more durable, fuel-efficient, and cost-effective for public transit authorities.

Automation Alley is a hub of innovation that is making a big difference in our region. For more information on its great work, please visit www.automationalley.com.

As we get ready celebrate Memorial Day, I want to alert all my constituents to a great project the Library of Congress has spearheaded for some time. The Veterans History Project is an ongoing project that allows veterans to record their stories from their service and have those stories archived as an official part of U.S. history. There are over 45,000 veterans in the 9th District, including myself, and all of them have a story to tell. I encourage everyone who reads this to tell a veteran about this project and encourage them to participate in it. The stories of our veterans deserve to be remembered. This is a great way to accomplish this.  Here is a link to the Library of Congress’s website on the project:

This morning, I had the good fortune to receive a briefing from my friends at the Traffic Improvement Association and the Oakland County Road Commission on new Internet-based technology that compiles traffic information to reduce fatalities in Oakland County.

I was able to secure funding for this state-of-the-art technology, which is known as TCAT, and am glad to see that it is being put to good use.

Thanks to the innovative work that is being done by the Traffic Improvement Association and the Road Commission here in Oakland County, we have seen a dramatic reduction in traffic fatalities since 1967. 

Oakland County is a world leader in using technology to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and reduce accidents. The TCAT Web-based system is just the latest innovation from the leading edge traffic management professionals here in Oakland County.

Click here to view photos from my visit to the Oakland County Road Commission.