Facility Would Be Built on Land Owned by Earth Conservancy, which Kanjorski Helped Found
WASHINGTON - Congressman
Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) announced that the U.S. Department of State (DoS)
and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) are looking for a location
to build a new facility to train about 10,000 diplomatic security trainees
annually, and property in Luzerne County is receiving serious consideration for
the site. If the local site is chosen
for the project, the facility could bring 1,000 jobs to Northeastern
Pennsylvania and greatly impact economic development locally through the
creation of new jobs and growth of small businesses. Currently, such training occurs at 19
different locations throughout the country and DoS is looking to consolidate
these efforts into one facility. Today,
Congressman Kanjorski led a tour for officials from DoS and GSA around the
location under consideration in Conyngham Township. The potential property was bought years ago
by Earth Conservancy, which Congressman Kanjorski helped found. Congressman Kanjorski had the foresight years
ago to realize that one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's greatest resources is
its land. Now that land is available for
use and DoS is seriously considering developing it for a new training
facility. Earth Conservancy works to restore
and reuse mine-scarred land for recreational, industrial, and residential
purposes.
"Northeastern
Pennsylvania is under serious consideration for a project that could bring
1,000 jobs to Northeastern Pennsylvania and significantly promote economic
development throughout the area by benefiting local businesses," said
Congressman Kanjorski. "Since I first joined Congress, one of my top
priorities has been to save and create jobs in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Especially during these difficult
economic times, it would be particularly advantageous to have such a boon for
area residents and our local economy."
Congressman
Kanjorski added, "Since I helped start Earth Conservancy in 1992, the
organization has done a tremendous job working to reclaim mine-scarred land in
the area and put it back to use to help with economic development in Northeastern
Pennsylvania. This project would
highlight exactly how Earth Conservancy has been so successful. By preserving this 2,300 acre parcel, Earth
Conservancy has made it possible to locate a large job creating project such as
this one. I am pleased that that
property is now available for use, and I greatly hope that the Department of
State will choose to build its training facility there."
"As one of the founders of Earth Conservancy, Congressman
Kanjorski has always supported the organization's efforts to revitalize the
environment and economy of this region," said Mike Dziak, President/CEO of
Earth Conservancy. "This project would only help further Earth
Conservancy's goals which are to reclaim mine-scarred land and ensure that it
can be put back to use to help foster economic development locally.
Congressman Kanjorski has worked diligently with Earth Conservancy on these
goals, and now he is working to bring a substantial project to the area to use
the land as we envisioned. We are grateful for his support in getting the
Department of State to consider this area for such a large project. The
location of this training facility in the area could help to bring much needed
jobs and economic development to our regional community and would reclaim a large
area of mine-scarred lands."
What This Means for
Northeastern Pennsylvania
If DoS and GSA, which is responsible for providing
workplaces for federal employees and managing federal properties, choose to
build the training facility in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the region will reap
the economic rewards. The training
facility would bring up to 1,000 permanent jobs to the area, plus between
350-550 construction jobs just for the initial phase of the project. DoS would need to hire many new jobs at the facility
for buildings and grounds, range operations, emergency medical services,
administrative, custodial, vehicle maintenance, security, telecommunications,
and food service.
The training facility would bring about 10,000 trainees to
the area each year which would greatly benefit small businesses, hotels, and
restaurants as they would receive an exponential increase in business. Currently, DoS books about 25,000 hotel rooms
each year for existing training programs.
Finally, DoS would likely need to contract and subcontract
with many local businesses particularly during and after the construction to
help create the facility and provide services to it.
About the Foreign Affairs Security Training
Center (FASTC)
The
FASTC would provide up to 10,000 students with state-of-the-art training to effectively
and efficiently train DoS' Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) employees. DS is
the security and law enforcement arm of DoS and works to protect people,
property, and information at U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the
world. In the United States, DS protects
the Secretary of State, who is currently Hillary Clinton, conducts visa and
passport fraud investigations, and provides protection for some visiting
foreign dignitaries
A May
2008 report to Congress identified the need to create a consolidated facility,
rather than have 19 locations spread throughout the country, to improve
training efficiency, decrease operating costs, and ensure that the training
facility meets current agency standards.
The
training facility would include classrooms, simulation labs, administrative
offices, a fitness center, dining facilities, on-site emergency medical and
fire services, driving tracks to replicate normal and emergency driving
conditions, mock urban environments including streets buildings and facades
designed to simulate a variety of urban scenarios, firing ranges, and storage
facilities.
For
more information about FASTC, visit its website at http://www.state.gov/recovery/fastc/.
Click here to view an informational packet on the potential FASTC project.
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