Dear John,

With over 150,000 seniors living in Northeastern Pennsylvania, I understand the importance of hearing first-hand about how I can best represent their needs in Congress.

While in East Stroudsburg, I had a great time meeting with members of The Older Adult Learning Center, who expressed concerns regarding the solvency of the Social Security program.

Over 40% of Social Security recipients in our region

look to those checks as the only means visible means of support that they have.

However, this past March the largest caucus of House Republicans released a budget plan to raise the retirement age to 69 and make $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security benefits.

Raising the retirement age and cutting benefits is a betrayal of our promise to the Americans who paid into this system their entire working lives, and that is unacceptable.

Rather than cutting benefits, Democrats have a plan to protect and enhance Social Security. It’s a plan to put people over politics and to make good on our promise to put American seniors first.

Social Security is the bedrock program for seniors, survivors and the disabled. For decades it has remained strong and provided a vital source of income for middle class Americans.

That's why I'm proud to co-sponsor the Social Security 2100 Act, which will both improve benefits for seniors now and ensure Social Security for generations to come without adding a penny to the national deficit.

As your Representative in Congress, I will continue to fight on behalf of our seniors in Northeastern Pennsylvania who depend on monthly Social Security checks.

Last week, hundreds of members from our communities throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania gathered in Hazleton to celebrate the kick-off of the Hazleton Integration Project's Eradicating Food Insecurity Initiative.

As part of my Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding appropriations request, I'm proud to have secured over $1 million in federal tax dollars to provide this student-driven initiative with the computers, cameras and software they need to take direct, meaningful action.

Through food availability programs and more, this food insecurity initiative will help to ensure that no one in our community will be unsure of where their next meal is coming from, and that no child has to go to bed on an empty stomach.

On behalf of a grateful community, I want to thank Joe Maddon, Bob Curry, Elaine Curry, Rossanna Gabriel, students of HIP Corp United and all of the HIP volunteers for the important work you are doing in our communities.

To learn more, click here.

We have a sacred duty to care for our veterans who raised their hand to serve our Nation in defense of our liberties and freedoms.

That's why I was thrilled to take part in the grand opening of the Pike County Veterans Affairs Office in Shohola, which will help connect veterans to the programs and resources they earned.

Thanks to this new office, our 4,000 veterans living in Pike County will have access to assistance with state and federal benefits, including real estate tax exemption programs, assistance with homelessness, cemetery flags, filing of claims such as disability, service-connected deaths, dependent and indemnification, pensions, Veterans Temporary Assistance Grants and more.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this office opening a reality, and for inviting me to take part in the grand opening ceremony.

We are so grateful to everyone who dedicates their time and energy to caring for our veterans and their families.

To learn more, click here.

I was honored to take part in a very special day on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol to memorialize the important work being done by NASA through its Artemis Missions.

On Tuesday, we gathered to dedicate a seedling for the American Sweetgum tree, which flew on the historic Artemis I mission around the moon in November 2022.

At the dedication, I was joined by my congressional colleagues and fellow co-chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Hal Rogers (R-KY), NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and the brave astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission who will be the first humans to visit the moon in over 50 years - Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

This "Moon Tree" planting serves to commemorate the Artemis missions still to come. These missions represent everything great about our country – our ingenuity, our perseverance through adversity, and our ability to work together, despite our differences, to meet the challenges before us.

As the Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee - which funds the entirety of the NASA program - I am grateful to have a role in this next generation of American discovery.

I look forward to working alongside my congressional colleagues to provide NASA with the support it needs to continue building upon its remarkable legacy and important work of inspiring future generations of leaders in the STEM fields.

To learn more, click here.

Be safe and well,