Dear John,

I am feeling hopeful after the American Rescue Plan was passed in Congress and signed by President Biden. After a year of pain, loss, and hardship brought on by this pandemic, this is the long-overdue, comprehensive national plan for beating this virus and getting our economy moving again. 

This plan delivers on the promise we made to the American people to get shots in arms, money in pockets, children in schools and people in jobs. 

Take a look:  

This pandemic has disrupted Northeastern Pennsylvania students’ learning for too long.

I pushed hard to include more funding for local school districts in the American Rescue Plan because they need the money. Some of our local school districts have been able to reopen, but it isn't easy and it isn't cheap.

Northeastern Pennsylvania's schools are estimated to receive $270 million to help more of them reopen safely, keep them open safely and make up for time lost out of the classroom.

Help is also finally on the way to protect our public services and the frontline workers who carry them out. The American Rescue Plan is expected to provide an estimated $300 million-plus to support our police departments, first responders, municipal waste collection, street and road repair, and the whole range of local government services we depend on. I pushed for this relief because the pandemic created shortfalls in the revenue that normally pays for all these things.

This week, I introduced legislation with the support of a group of Democrats and Republicans to reauthorize and accelerate federal funding to reclaim abandoned mine lands in Northeastern Pennsylvania and across America.

This is a big issue for our area, because this funding has helped our area's drinking water, environment and economy over the years, but we still have over 300 dangerous and blighted abandoned mine sites that still need to be reclaimed. And the program that helps us do it would expire at the end of September if we don't get these bills passed.

Ensuring mine reclamation can continue will:

1. Create good paying jobs
2. Pave the way for new economic growth  
3. Clean up our waterways

Click the image below to watch my conversation with Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15), a sponsor of these bills, and two of my other partners in this work:

I have heard from constituents that they’re not receiving bills in the mail on time, resulting in late fees and other penalties; families and seniors are going weeks, even months, without receiving life-saving medications; and small businesses have had to refund orders and now cannot rely on the USPS for their business.

I took your concerns directly to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and questioned him during a Committee hearing on Thursday. Here's what I asked him:

1. Why are you doubling down on moves that have led to service failures? 
2. How are you fixing the problems you created?
3. After all these problems have occurred as a result of your leadership, why are you still qualified to be in charge of the USPS?

Watch the Postmaster's response below:

To be sure, this will not be the last time I speak with the Postmaster General. I'll be watching his future actions closely, and to see if USPS service in Northeastern Pennsylvania improves as he says it will.

This week, I sent a letter to Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director with the support of 14 state representatives and two state senators from the Northeastern Pennsylvania area urging the agency to set up mass COVID-19 vaccination sites in the region as soon as possible.

The sooner we can get these vaccines into arms, the sooner our community can recover and rebuild.

Mass vaccination sites will help our region do so. 

Be safe and well, 

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