Senator Bob Mensch & Senator Lisa Boscola
Co-Chairs
Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus
JOINT HEARING
Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus AND Manufacturing Caucus
Wednesday, September 28 at 9 a.m.
East Wing, Hearing Room 8E-B
Topic: Reshoring/offshoring, and automation, industrial robotics and 3D printing in relation to the manufacturing industry
Harrisburg – Senator Bob Mensch (R-24) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D-18), co-chairs of the Economy, Business and Jobs (EBJ) Caucus, are hosting a Jobs and Employment for Veterans event on Tuesday, November 10 at 10am at PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley – Resource Room 555 Union Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18109. Information on the panel and the job fair are provided below.
Panel 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley – Resource Room
555 Union Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18109
PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley
John T. Haupt, CareerLink Administrator
Bureau of Workforce Partnership and Operations
Sam Jones, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Representative
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
John Blaxland, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
Braun Medical Inc.
Patricia Hartwell, Director, Corporate Human Resources
Job Fair 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley – PPL Room
555 Union Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18109
Employers
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Veteran Service Providers
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CONTACT: Sarah Rasmussen srasmussen@pasen.gov (215) 541-2388
Harrisburg –Co-Chairs Senator Bob Mensch (R-Berks, Bucks, Montgomery) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D- Lehigh, Northampton) held a bi-partisan Economy, Business, and Jobs (EBJ) Caucus meeting to hear testimony from members of Pennsylvania BIO and Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA.
The EBJ Caucus seeks to examine ways to break down barriers that hinder economic expansion within the Commonwealth. Senator Mensch and Senator Boscola believe that only with a better understanding of what shapes Pennsylvania’s economic climate, encourages investment and which factors enable continued workforce development, can Pennsylvania unlock its true economic potential.
During the meeting, speakers from PA Bio and Life Sciences presented members with a legislative update on behalf of the life sciences community in the Commonwealth. In addition they reported on employment, economic development and job creation in their field, as well as the industry’s current strengths and challenges.
The speakers included:
– Mr. Christopher Molineaux, President and CEO, Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association (PA BIO)
– Dr. Mel Billingsley, Ph.D., President & CEO, Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania
– Mr. John W. Manzetti, President & CEO, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
– Dr. Shahram Hejazi, Ph.D., Venture Partners, BioAdvance
– Ms. Stephanie Reisinger, Vice President, Technology Solutions, Evidera
– Dr. Hank Safferstein, CEO, Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
– Dr. Bernardo Cordovez, Ph.D., Co-founder & CEO, Optofluidics
Since 2002, the Life Sciences Greenhouses (LSGs) have worked through their portfolio companies to envision and develop a broad variety of life-saving drugs and devices, tools and technologies. The three LSGs in Pennsylvania play a crucial role in: funding early-stage companies, creating thousands of jobs, and attracting billions of dollars of capital into the Commonwealth.
PA Bio, founded 25 years ago, seeks to ensure Pennsylvania is the United States hub for the life sciences by creating a business and public policy environment which fosters life sciences growth and success. PA Bio has grown to represent the entire life sciences industry – medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, investment organizations, academic institutions, and myriad service industries that support the life sciences in Pennsylvania.
Contact Information:
Senator Mensch: Tera Barone, (717) 787-3110, tbarone@pasen.gov
Senator Boscola: Julie Carraghan (717) 787-4236, JCARRAGHAN@pasenate.com
Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus
Monday, April 13, 2015
11:30 a.m.
Room 14 East Wing
Pennsylvania BIO and the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA will present to us a legislative update on behalf of the life sciences community in the Commonwealth. They will report on employment, economic development and job creation in their field, as well as the industry’s current strengths and challenges.
Since 2002, the Life Sciences Greenhouses (LSGs) have worked through their portfolio companies to envision and develop a broad variety of life-saving drugs and devices, tools and technologies. The three LSGs in Pennsylvania play a crucial role in: funding early-stage companies, creating thousands of jobs, and attracting billions of dollars of capital into the Commonwealth.
We encourage you attend this important and informative event. RSVPs are being accepted by:
Senator Mensch – Tera at 787-3110 or via email at: tbarone@pasen.gov.
Senator Boscola – Julie at 787-4236 or via email at: jcarraghan@pasenate.com.
Harrisburg – Pennsylvania’s competitive position has improved in recent years but work remains according to a new model developed by the Pennsylvania Business Council (PBC). The new model was presented today to the Pennsylvania Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus (EBJ Caucus) at the capitol news conference.
The bi-partisan EBJ Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Bob Mensch (R-Berks, Bucks and Montgomery Counties) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D- Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton Counties) underlined the importance of the model and accompanying analysis to supplement and inform the deliberations of their General Assembly colleagues.
“This is very valuable information,” said Mensch. “The Pennsylvania Business Council briefed our Caucus several years ago and their data provided useful tools as we look for ways to create more jobs for Pennsylvanians.” “The goal of the EBJ Caucus is to bring more good-paying, family-sustaining jobs to Pennsylvania, while keeping the jobs we already have. This report outlines a blueprint and measureable goals for that work.”
Boscola said, ‘I appreciate their analysis of Pennsylvania’s economic development climate, and I view their model as a very accessible tool to study and analyze. We as policymakers are faced with a number of pressing issues, and working with transparent and accurate research allows us to make the most appropriate decisions. The members of the Pennsylvania Business Council have partnered together to sponsor research that can be shared and discussed in a civil dialogue.”
Pennsylvania Scorecard project chair and former PBC Council Board Chair John T. Tighe, III, Founder and CEO of TMG Health, explained, “This is a unique project. Groups in other states do something like it, but never before have Pennsylvania policymakers, media, and the public been provided with a collection of objective and transparent data to form a picture of the state’s business climate.”
The Pennsylvania Scorecard performance measurement tool is web-based and available to everyone at www.pascorecard.com. The website uses a database of 47 metrics to assess state competitiveness on the six factors of economic development; taxation; legal and regulatory climate; quality and sufficiency of infrastructure; availability/affordability of natural resources and energy; availability of well-educated and trained workforce; and quality of life. The PBC plans to update the database annually.
Among the highlights from the PA Scorecard: Pennsylvania is on a solid fiscal foundation compared to most states with very low state spending relative to gross state product (the sum of economic activity in the state, comparable to gross national product) and the Commonwealth compares very favorably to other states on many factors of education, graduation rates, and degree attainment.
Please direct any questions to:
Senator Mensch – Matt Azeles at 717-787-3110 or via email at: mazeles@pasen.gov.
Senator Boscola – Julie Carraghan at 717.787.4236 or via email at: jcarraghan@pasenate.com.
Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus Meeting
PA Business Council’s Pennsylvania Scorecard
October 7, 2014
11:00 am
Capitol Media Center, East Wing, Harrisburg
Harrisburg – Senator Bob Mensch (R- Montgomery, Bucks, and Berks) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D – Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton) are pleased to announce that the next meeting of the Economy, Business and Jobs (EBJ) Caucus will take place on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 11 a.m. and will feature the PA Business Council (PBC). The meeting will take place in the Capitol Media Center, Rm. 1 in the East Wing.
The PBC will present their comprehensive data tracking project known as the Pennsylvania Scorecard – a performance-based measurement tool that ranks states’ competitiveness. Using a database of 47 different metrics, the scorecard system examines and compares key factors for economic development using up-to-date and objective analyses.
The PBC will be represented by Dave Patti, President & CEO. He will be joined by Pennsylvania Scorecard project developers Michael E. Greenber, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Shippensburg University, and Kathy Woolever, CAE, founder and president of Datalytics, Inc.
The bi-partisan EBJ Caucus was born from an interest to grow jobs and strengthen Pennsylvania’s economy. The Caucus examines ways to break down barriers that hinder economic expansion within the Commonwealth. The goal of the Caucus is to bring more good-paying, family-sustaining jobs to Pennsylvania, while keeping the jobs we already have.
Media are invited to attend.
Please direct any questions to:
Senator Mensch – Matt Azeles at 717-787-3110 or via email at: mazeles@pasen.gov.
Senator Boscola – Julie Carraghan at 717.787.4236 or via email at: jcarraghan@pasenate.com.
Harrisburg – The Economy, Business and Jobs (EBJ) Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Bob Mensch (R-24) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D-18), recently held a meeting and tour on Tuesday, May 14th which underlined the importance of rail in Pennsylvania’s economy.
Danielle Spila, Executive Assistant to Toby Fauver who is the Deputy Secretary for Local & Area Transportation for PennDOT, Sarah Gulick, Rail/Freight/Aviation Director for PennDOT, and William Goetz, Resident Vice President NYC-NJ-Philadelphia for CSX Transportation, all gave remarkable presentations on transportation and how rail affects our economic climate. In addition, they focused how rail creates investment and enables continued workforce development.
Senator Mensch and Senator Boscola were pleased to have representatives from both PennDOT and CSX for the meeting. William Goetz from CSX discussed their capital intensive industry and explored their siding merchandise network, carload-transload network, unit train network and intermodal service. CSX plays a significant role in our Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure. They operate nearly 2,000 miles of track and maintain more than 1,100 public and private grade crossings in Pennsylvania. In 2011, they handled nearly 1.8 million carloads of freight in the Commonwealth and reported nearly $73 million in compensation for employees in Pennsylvania. Sarah Gulick and Danielle Spila from PennDOT discussed Rail Freight Assistance Program and the Rail Transportation Assistance Program which spurs job creation and assists in reducing the amount of wear on road infrastructure from trucks.
“Since the founding of our nation, Pennsylvania’s location has been vital when it comes to transportation infrastructure, as evidenced by our ‘Keystone State’ moniker. Rail is the cornerstone of that infrastructure vitality”, said Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton/Lehigh/Monroe). “Our rail system enables our manufacturers to get their products to market at an affordable cost, enabling them to provide family-sustaining jobs. I’m proud of the fact that Pennsylvania is a premier state for rail and I’m thankful that its importance was highlighted for us in detail.”
Following the meeting, a tour was held at Norfolk Southern’s Train Dispatching Room that afternoon by David Gooden, Division Superintendent/Transportation Department, Ryan Scacco, Assistant Superintendent Dispatch, and Rudy Husband, Resident Vice President–Pennsylvania & New England. Norfolk Southern operates approximately 20,000 route miles of track, serving every major container port in the eastern United States. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.
“Rail is an extremely important component to Pennsylvania’s economy, and it is often overlooked when looking at the general scope of transportation. Rail provides safe, reliable transportation of goods which translates into job creation and strengthening businesses. I’m glad we had the chance to learn more about the dynamics of rail and their positive effect on Pennsylvania’s economy,” said Sen. Bob Mensch (R-Northampton/Lehigh/Montgomery/Bucks).
Mensch and Boscola co-chair the caucus, which examines ways to break down barriers that hinder economic expansion in Pennsylvania. They said their goal is to unlock the state’s economic potential by gaining a better understanding of what shapes the state’s economic climate, encourages investment and enhances workforce development.
CONTACT:
Sarah Stroman sstroman@pasen.gov
(215) 541-2388