This Week in Delaware

Increasing Middletown’s Wastewater Infrastructure Services

I joined Mayor Kenneth L. Branner, Jr. and Dr. Kevin Spence with the Delaware League of Local Governments for a tour of a Middletown wastewater treatment facility. That facility is being updated with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which I was proud to champion in Congress.

Middletown’s population has more than tripled since 2000, and with that rapid growth comes the need for an increased capacity to better serve this growing community and attract economic development. With this ARPA funding, Middletown is working towards increasing its wastewater treatment capacity - which will in turn help grow the economy, protect public health, and improve residents’ quality of life.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester with Middletown leadership at the wastewater treatment facility.

While in Middletown, I had the opportunity to visit a new, family-owned small business, Birdie’s Links and Drinks. Small businesses are the economic engine of our state, and I was glad to see first-hand what Birdie’s has to offer - especially its virtual simulators and indoor golf experience!

Left to right: Co-Owner Dylan Hannum, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Middletown Mayor Kenneth L. Branner, Jr.

Left to right: Middletown Town Manager Morris Deputy, Co-Owner Dylan Hannum, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Middletown Mayor Kenneth L. Branner, Jr.

Announcing Investments in Affordable Child Care in Wilmington

As Delaware continues to face a shortage of child care providers, it’s never been more important to do all we can to invest in the child care facilities that are the lifeline for so many working families across Delaware. That’s why, this week, I was proud to announce that, alongside Senators Carper and Coons, I secured $1 million in Community Project Funding for St. Michael’s School and Nursery in Wilmington’s East Side. Founded in 1890, it is one of the oldest early childhood education programs in the nation. The funding will go towards making critical updates to St. Michael’s facilities, including creating two new classrooms and a Community and Workforce Development Support Center. This investment will help increase access to affordable child care in Wilmington’s East Side, increase capacity for St. Michael’s to serve more working families, and grow Delaware’s workforce.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester speaks with children at St. Michael’s School and Nursery.

Lowering Insulin Costs for Seniors in Smyrna

I stopped by Atlantic Apothecary, an independent pharmacy in Smyrna, to speak with local pharmacists and community members about how the Inflation Reduction Act is lowering health care and prescription drug costs for Delaware seniors, specifically through the law’s historic $35 per month cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries. The Inflation Reduction Act has helped significantly in reducing insulin costs for individuals with diabetes living in Delaware. This includes 26,000 who require daily shots of insulin. Over 6,000 Medicare beneficiaries across Delaware who rely on insulin are saving on average $420 annually.

Since I came to Congress, I’ve heard from Delawareans up and down our state and at roundtable convenings about the need for improved access to and affordability of life-saving medicines. It’s why I have been focused on working in a bipartisan way to lower health care and prescription drug costs. A special thank you to our local pharmacists who serve as trusted health care professionals and to the community members and partners for sharing their experiences with me.

For additional information on how seniors on Medicare can save on their prescription drug costs through the Inflation Reduction Act, check out Medicare’s website here.

Left to right: Dr. TaQuina “Tee” Warren, RPh, Owner/PIC, Focus Pharmacy, LLC., Sharon Wright, patient, Kevin Musto RPh, owner of Atlantic Apothecary, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Hooshang Shanehsaz, RPh, Director of Pharmacy, Delaware Hospital for Chronically Ill, Reverend Rita Paige, and Dr. Kimberly Robbins, Executive Director of the Delaware Pharmacists Society.

Investing in Affordable Housing in Harrington

Along with FHLBank Pittsburgh and local stakeholders, I was pleased to be in Harrington for the announcement of new investments in safe, stable, and affordable housing. We toured renovations of Diamond Court Apartments and highlighted new grant funding from FHLBank Pittsburgh to improve affordable housing access, including the expansion of West End Neighborhood House’s Life Lines program to Kent and Sussex Counties. This program serves unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, a majority of whom were previously in foster care, have one or multiple mental health disabilities, and LGBTQI+ youth.

We know that housing is the foundation for safe and prosperous communities, and I’m proud to support efforts to increase our affordable housing stock across our state.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester tours the Diamond Court Apartments with Harrington Mayor Duane Bivans and Withrop Watson, President/CEO of Federal Home Loan Bank Pittsburgh.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester at the check presentation during the event with FHLBank Pittsburgh and local stakeholders.

Fighting Hunger in Our Communities

This week I toured the Food Bank of Delaware’s newly opened Milford facility to announce over $84,000 in Community Project Funding for the Food Bank to build a Hunger Relief Garden. In Delaware, nearly 100,000 people are facing hunger and over 30,000 of them are children. Additionally, in 2023, the Food Bank of Delaware’s Healthy Pantry Centers in Newark and Milton recorded a 76% increase in visits. The more than three-acre wide garden will provide an opportunity for the Food Bank of Delaware to grow more produce on-site, helping to increase access to healthy food and provide educational opportunities to Kent and Sussex County residents.

We know that too many families across our state are food insecure. That’s why the Food Bank of Delaware’s services, which provide individuals and families across Delaware with access to fresh produce, are so important. Additionally, the Food Bank is focused on generating revenue through its cafes as well as investing in workforce development through education and training — from culinary arts and farming skills to logistics.

I am sure the Hunger Relief Garden will go a long way toward combatting hunger, increasing access to healthy foods, and yielding positive health outcomes for their customers and neighbors.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Food Bank of Delaware President, and CEO Cathy Kanefsky, Food Bank of Delaware Vice President of External Affairs Chad Robinson, and Food Bank of Delaware employees stand in part of the space that will become the Hunger Relief Garden.

Federal Updates

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program Pause

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program allows those in public service fields to have their student loans forgiven after 10 years of payments. Between May and July of this year, the processing of forms for the PSLF Program will be paused as the U.S. Department of Education will be making updates to its system. During this pause, PSLF forms can still be submitted at StudentAid.gov, but they will not be processed until July.

SBA Disaster Loan Assistance Available

As a result of the recent, tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience has declared impacted areas eligible for federal disaster assistance. That includes businesses in Delaware. This means that businesses struggling with economic losses due to the bridge collapse can now apply for low-interest disaster loans to help them recover. Specifically, the loans can help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. The deadline to apply for these loans is December 30, 2024.

Applications for disaster loans may be submitted online using the MySBA Loan Portal at lending.sba.gov or other locally announced locations. Please contact the SBA’s Customer Service Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-659-2955 for further assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Below are some helpful resources for you:

NEW: Delaware Taxpayer Assistance Center Reopens in Dover: The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the reopening of the Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) on S. Dupont Highway in Dover. All IRS TACs operate by appointment. To schedule an appointment at the Dover TAC, call 844-545-5640. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To view services provided at this office and to get directions, click here.
Lower Energy Costs: Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act that I helped pass last Congress, there are more opportunities than ever before to lower your energy costs through tax credits and rebates. Check out energy.gov/save to learn more.
Look Before You Book: Are you thinking about booking a trip? Before you do, you should ensure that your passport is up-to-date! You can go to travel.state.gov to check your passport expiration date, apply for a new passport, and more.
Need a Passport Appointment?: The Department of State is encouraging travelers to go to passportappointment.travel.state.gov to schedule passport appointments within 14 days of their date of travel. You can utilize this resource until September!
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988, the 24/7, free and confidential support Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
Delaware 211: Delawareans in need of emergency housing, utility assistance, food assistance, and more, call 211, Delaware’s free, confidential resource hotline.

This week’s constituent corner celebrates Hologic, Inc., a Newark-based manufacturing company whose product was recently named The Coolest Thing Made in Delaware by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce! The winning product was their 3D Mammography System which has been manufactured in Delaware since 2011.

It was my pleasure to visit Hologic in Newark in 2022 to see the innovative work they do. We discussed supply chain challenges, such as the semiconductor chip shortage which can impact the production of critical medical technology like theirs. I also had the opportunity to hold a semiconductor chip for the first time! I’ll continue my bipartisan work to strengthen our supply chains so that businesses like Hologic can continue their life-saving work. Congratulations to Hologic on being honored in this way!

Above: Rep. Blunt Rochester holds a semiconductor chip during a tour of Hologic’s Newark, DE site.

Yours in service,

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member of Congress