In This Week's Edition of E-News…

Murphy Calls On President To Review 911th Decision

Congress Votes to Hold China Accountable and Support American Manufacturing

Congressman Murphy Keeps the Focus on Access to Quality Healthcare

Westmoreland Officials Share Concerns With Rep. Murphy on Road Projects

Murphy Calls On President To Review 911th Decision

The fight to save the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township is far from over, said Congressman Tim Murphy at a press conference this morning in downtown Pittsburgh.

At job fair, Murphy updates SWPA vets on efforts to save the 911th

Murphy attended the “Hiring Our Heroes” veterans job fair sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce this morning, after which he was joined by Congressman Mike Doyle, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and State Representative Mark Mustio, to give an update on congressional action to maintain the 911th as well as the 171st Pennsylvania Air National Guard.

Murphy also publicly released a copy of a letter sent to the President today in which the delegation asked him to personally work with the area’s lawmakers in reviewing the data put forth by the Air Force upon which the decision to close the facility was made.

The letter goes on to highlight numerous concerns with the Air Force’s attempt to close the 911th Airlift Wing and remove four KC-135 refueling tankers from the adjacent 171st Air National Guard station (read the text of the letter here). The Air Force proposal is part of the President’s budget for fiscal year 2013.

“Our sense is the Air Force went for the easy decision as opposed the most economical decision. The economical decision is to keep the base open. The easy decision is to not have to go through Congress,” said Rep. Murphy before all three local television stations (WTAE, WPXI, and KDKA) this morning.

“If they have more than 300 employees they have to come back to us, the House and Senate, and ask us to review this. We still want to have a review. The taxpayers deserve to have that review. The region deserves to have that review.”

Murphy noted he is not backing down and is enlisting the support of House Armed Services Committee Chairman “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) in reviewing the Air Force’s plan.

Murphy recently sat down for an interview with Comcast Newsmakers to discuss the strategic value of the 911th and the reasons why it is one of the most cost-effective bases in the region. To watch the interview, click here.

To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on efforts to save the 911th Airlift Wing and 171st Air National Guard station, please click here.

Congress Votes to Hold China Accountable and Support American Manufacturing

America’s trade deficit with China is on pace to reach a record high of $312 billion in 2012, according to an announcement by the Commerce Department today. In the last decade, the massive trade imbalance has played a significant role in sending 1.6 million American manufacturing jobs to China. The trade deficit is partly the result of illegal trade practices by China. While low labor costs are a factor, China’s manufacturing advantage is also significantly boosted as a result of unfair trade practices that are illegal under international trade law.

To hold the Chinese government accountable for subsidizing exports and violating international trade agreements, Congress approved legislation with Congressman Murphy’s support on Tuesday. The bill (H.R. 4105), which passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 370-39, is in response to a recent federal court case that determine Congress needed to clarify existing law regarding penalties on subsidized imports from foreign nations. The court ruled the Congress needed to further clarify in law that the U.S. Commerce Department has explicit legal authority to impose countervailing (or anti-subsidy) duties on goods from “non-market economies” like China.

Unlike the United States — where the economy is driven by free market principles of supply and demand with minimal interference or manipulation by the central government — China is a non-market economy because its government centrally plans how many and what goods are to be produced. Then, the communist Chinese government gives state-owned manufacturers hefty subsidies to make products destined for the U.S. market.

For domestic steelmakers and traditional manufacturers in our region, this legislation ensures international trade agreements will have teeth and be fully enforced with a mechanism to hold foreign exporters like China accountable. The bill passed the Senate and now awaits the President’s signature.

In a Key Vote Alert sent out by Mr. Murphy early this week, thousands of constituents responded in support of the bill. 88 percent backed the legislation while six percent were opposed. Another six percent were undecided. Many of those sending in comments urged Congress to go even further and strengthen Buy American rules when it comes to taxpayer dollars. Murphy has supported Buy American provisions in federally spending bills that ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent on foreign produced goods when domestic products are available for public works projects.

As the co-chair of the Steel Caucus, Congressman Murphy has been working to hold our foreign trading partners like China accountable. Part of that policy agenda includes legislation Murphy introduced called the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 639), which would treat currency manipulation as an illegal trade subsidy.

Share your views on international trade, please click here.

Congressman Murphy Keeps the Focus on Access to Quality Healthcare

From L to R: Elizabeth Polsinelli (Hempfield), Anna Jonas (LECOM Seton Hill Univ.), and Kaitlin Mainwaring (Hempfield)

The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a workforce shortage of 91,500 physicians by 2020. Fewer doctors means greater demand for services from the market, and, therefore, higher costs for patients. On Thursday, Congressman Murphy sat down with medical students from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) at Seton Hill University in Greensburg to discuss a potential workforce shortage in medicine. The conversation quickly grew into a larger discussion on the role of federal government in establishing healthcare policy and the practice of medicine.

Murphy talked about recent approval in the Energy and Commerce Committee of legislation to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-member appointed board created by the 2010 healthcare law. The IPAB would be tasked with setting price controls on care and procedures within Medicare. To date, more than 300 healthcare organizations from around the country have called for eliminating the IPAB.

Expansion at Jefferson Regional brings operating and procedural rooms to twenty

During the committee’s review of the bill, Congressman Murphy said the IPAB was another unaccountable federal bureaucracy that would limit decisions by physicians and patients. “We have already witnessed a remarkable assault on religious liberty through government action in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. If we ignore the assaults on liberty and faith by a similar panel of Washington experts, what can we expect to happen to seniors?”

Later in the week, Congressman Murphy was on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of six new operating rooms at Jefferson Regional Medical Center. Hospital employees and executives invited Congressman Murphy to attend in recognition and gratitude for his support of the hospital and healthcare interests of the region. Each year, more than 10,000 surgeries are performed at the hospital from hip replacements to complex heart surgery.

To share your views on healthcare reform with Rep. Murphy, please click here.
 
Westmoreland Officials Share Concerns With Rep. Murphy on Road Projects

Murphy – seated with officials from PennDOT – updates local officials on highway bill

Township supervisors in Westmoreland County gathered for their annual legislative summit on Friday to discuss the needs of local communities with Congressman Murphy and other lawmakers. With federal, state, and local governments paring back significantly on spending, elected officials discussed how to maximize available resources to address the needs of their constituents and communities.

Asked if the federal government would be providing money to pay for local road and bridge repair, Murphy shared the latest news on what Congress has been doing to invest in road and bridge repair. In the coming weeks, the House of Representatives will debate legislation to extend federal transportation programs for highways, rail, and mass transit. Stay tuned for an upcoming ‘Key Vote Alert’ and transportation bill summary so you can share your thoughts on highway programs.
 
Federally funded transportation projects are financed with an 18.4 cent per gallon gasoline tax. But with higher gas prices and vehicles increasingly becoming more fuel efficient, the gasoline tax revenue does not bring in the money needed to address all of the nation’s infrastructure needs.

Mr. Murphy discussed his legislation, the Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act (H.R. 1861), that would dramatically expand offshore oil exploration and dedicate new revenues to help pay for the repair of the nation’s aging roads, bridges, locks, and dams. The American Energy Alliance estimates Murphy’s plan would spur $8 trillion in economic output and create 1.2 million new jobs. The bill doesn’t add to the debt, borrow from China, or raise taxes.
 
To share your views on infrastructure repair, please click here.