Innovation in our Community

Dear John,

This month, southeastern Pennsylvania earned federal designations as both a Precision Medicine Tech Hub and a Hydrogen Hub! What exactly does that mean? In short, it means good-paying jobs and federal investments are on their way to our community. I know some of you might have questions about what specifically these hubs mean for you and your family, so I’m going to dive deeper into these exciting developments.

Before I do that, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that the U.S. House of Representatives elected a new Speaker – Mike Johnson. Transparently, my voting record looks very different than his. Despite our differences, however, I will continue to do what our community sent me to Congress to do: reach across the aisle, find common ground, and build consensus. Read my full statement on his Speakership here or watch my comments on C-SPAN here.

Now, more on the investments coming to Chester and Berks Counties!

Greater Philadelphia Region Leading the Nation in Biotechnology

The Greater Philadelphia region has been designated as a Precision Medicine Tech Hub – just one of five biotechnology regions chosen across the country! The tech hub is an economic development initiative aimed at driving regional innovation and job creation in health care. These new jobs will be in biotechnology working to modernize our health care systems and provide advanced care to Pennsylvanians. Not only will this improve access to advanced health care for families like yours, but it will also advance our businesses’ competitiveness on a global scale.

The bottom line is: our community will be on the frontlines of researching, designing, and manufacturing innovations in health care. This designation will create thousands of good paying jobs and strengthen our economy by investing in local businesses.

The funding for this project was made possible by the CHIPS and Sciences Act, which I proudly voted for and President Biden signed into law last year.

And Leading on Clean Energy

Houlahan speaks at a clean energy independence press conference in May 2022.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, southeastern Pennsylvania was recently designated as a Hydrogen Hub, specifically the MACH2 (Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub), by the Biden Administration. This means our community will be at the forefront of making hydrogen fuel from renewable sources and advancing our domestic energy production. As the co-chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, I’m incredibly excited about how the MACH2 Hub will support our economy, our national security, and our environment.

Only seven Hydrogen Hubs were designated across the country and two are in Pennsylvania. That’s right. Pennsylvania is the only state to receive TWO Hydrogen Hub designations. This is a testament to our Commonwealth’s innovation and promising economic future.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Hydrogen Hub program, the Department of Energy recently hosted a briefing. You can watch a recording of the briefing here, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions.

The funding for this project was made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which I proudly voted for and President Biden signed into law last year.

READ: Reactions from Local Experts, Higher Education Institutions, and Businesses

To underscore how exciting these investments are for our region, I reached out to prominent community members so you can hear from them, too.

“Greater Philadelphia has long been a center for biotech innovation, featuring business leaders and scientists who are developing life-enhancing and life-saving treatments,” said Main Line Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Bernard Dagenais.

“The funding made available through these programs advances our region's economic competitiveness by creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and delivering innovative breakthroughs to the world from our nationally recognized energy and precision medicine industries," said Chellie Cameron, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.

“We look forward to partnering with labor unions, businesses and industry to bring our decades of expertise in workforce and apprenticeship training to bear to meet the needs of the region's clean energy and rapidly growing, high-tech, life sciences industries,” said Delaware County Community College President Marta Yera Cronin, Ed.D., chair of the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce & Economic Development (CCWED).

"Pennsylvania has been built by skilled labor. We look forward to our involvement in building these incredible projects to make our economy stronger and strengthen our national security,” said Bill Adams, President and Assistant Business Manager of IBEW Local 654.

As I talk to Pennsylvanians like you across Chester and Berks Counties, I will continue to highlight exciting developments like these that might not make it into your inbox. As always, our office will continue to keep you updated as these investments progress to next stages.

. . .

Serving as our community's representative is the honor of my lifetime, and I hope to hear from you soon about any issue that concerns you.

As always, please contact my office if you need assistance.

Be well and see you soon!

Chrissy Houlahan

U.S. Member of Congress