Dear John,

We've been making good progress in our economic recovery from the pandemic, and I continue to work to get more people back in good paying jobs so we can get our economy on even stronger footing. Another federal investment I recently announced is going to help with that.

Last week, the Outreach Center for Community Resources in Scranton received a $700,000 federal grant to expand their job training offerings and meet our urgent workforce development needs.

Rep. Matt Cartwright with Outreach Center Executive Director Linda Ciampi as taken at the Outreach Center’s Community Celebration on Sept. 15.

For months, I've been hearing from employers in our area that they have lots of job openings, but there aren't enough qualified people to fill them. I was proud to advocate on behalf of the Outreach Center for this funding so they can keep connecting people to good jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.

Right now in Washington, we're working on major legislation to create more jobs, cut taxes for the middle class, and lower the high costs of the things that keep Americans up at night -- like prescription drugs.

In 2021, drug companies carried on their annual tradition of hiking up the prices of the medicines people rely on every day. Just this year, the prices of over 1,000 drugs have gone up. I know this is a huge concern for Pennsylvania seniors. I joined AARP for a telephone town hall yesterday to talk about what we're working on to change that.

As part of this legislative push, I'm fighting to allow Medicare to use its massive buying power to negotiate and secure lower drug prices for its beneficiaries, as well as people with private insurance. This solution could save patients, and the government, hundreds of billions of dollars – which can be reinvested in other health care priorities.

This is a long overdue reform that would enhance the quality of life of older Americans, and I'm working to get it enacted.

We were also at work this week in Washington advancing our annual defense budget to invest in our servicemembers, our alliances and technological innovation. 

I was proud to help pass it, and even more proud that it includes my bill to close the unfair pay gap among workers at military installations like Tobyhanna Army Depot, for the second year in a row.

Tobyhanna Army Depot

Unfortunately, up to now we have been unable to get this through the U.S. Senate, but I’m not done trying. Tobyhanna workers are at the forefront of preparing our military with state-of-the-art equipment for their missions, and they all deserve to be paid fairly for their work – whether they are paid a salary or hourly. Advancing this bill has been an uphill battle from the start, but I’ve never stopped fighting for this pay gap fix year in and year out because it is what these workers deserve.

This week, House Democrats took the responsible step of passing legislation to keep the government open and ensure it can continue paying its bills. Democrats and Republicans normally come together to fulfill these basic duties of governing, because failing to do them would send America’s and the world’s economy into a tailspin.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell knows this, yet he seems intent on voting to default on the national debt. I want to be clear: If McConnell allows a default, it would cripple the U.S. dollar, destroy Americans’ hard earned retirement savings, and break promises we made to Social Security recipients and veterans, among other disastrous consequences. This is not a game, but McConnell is treating it like one.

In the House, we passed legislation to honor the full faith and credit of the United States, keep the government open as we work to finalize fiscal year 2022 government funding, and support the Afghan allies who helped us throughout the Global War on Terror. I urge Mr. McConnell to stop this dangerous stunt, and work with us to pass these measures. It's our job, and it's what I know people like you expect us to do, John.

You can count on me to fight to protect the progress we've made in our recovery and avoid irreversible economic harm to our nation and its people.

Be safe and well,