Dear John,

I just wrapped up another busy month of legislative action in Washington, DC and now that I’m back home in PA, I wanted to share some important, landmark bills (nearly all bipartisan!) signed into law recently that will impact many of us. Given all the other news dominating the headlines, it’s easy to miss these:

• Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 
• Honoring Our PACT Act
• CHIPS and Science Act
• Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
• Inflation Reduction Act
• Invest to Protect Act

We are a purple community here in Chester and Berks Counties, which is why our team pursues bipartisan, common-sense legislation that reflects our values. I am laser-focused on delivering results for Pennsylvanians, and I’m pleased to share with you a few examples of this recent legislation:

The scourge of gun violence is tearing apart too many communities across the country. After tragic shootings like we saw in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, Congress passed the most comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation in decades. This legislation is a tangible and lifesaving step forward that will combat the horrific trend of gun violence and better protect our children and all Americans.

This legislation will:

• Amend current law to clarify who needs a federal license to buy and sell firearms
• Establish an enhanced background check review process for those 21 and under, including a review of juvenile mental health records
• Close the "boyfriend loophole," prohibiting individuals convicted of domestic violence from purchasing or possessing a firearm for at least five years
• Support Anti-Violence Community Initiatives by providing $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives
• Invest in Children and Family Mental Health Services, improving access to mental health services for children, youth, and families

With the signing of this law, our country took an important step towards a future that will continue to respect responsible gun owners and ensure the safety of our loved ones and the peace of mind of our children.

This summer, I hosted Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo for a tour and roundtable at Vishay Intertechnology in Malvern in response to the global semiconductor shortage. These semiconductors, also commonly called computer chips, are needed to power items we use every day, and this shortage is leading to product scarcity and higher prices for us all.  Our district is proud to be home to this semiconductor manufacturer, and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act will make our supply chains more resilient, lower costs, expand jobs, and help us become less reliant on China.

This legislation will:

• Lower costs for American consumers by funding the production of more critical semiconductors here at home AND helping end the shortage of chips
• Create 100,000 new good-paying jobs by building high-tech manufacturing facilities here in America
• End our dangerous dependence on foreign manufacturers by bringing critical semiconductor manufacturing back to America instead of overseas
• Expand cutting-edge research and development through the National Science Foundation
• Grow our STEM workforce through diversifying and expanding the innovation workforce

As a third-generation veteran, I take our responsibility to serve the veterans who have served us very seriously. For many years, our military disposed of plastics, medical waste, and other garbage by burning it in pits. We now know that burning this waste releases toxic chemicals, threatening the health of anyone with prolonged exposure.  For too long, veterans and their allies have been fighting to get their medical care for treating these related illnesses covered by the VA. That fight is finally over. 

This legislation will:

• Expand and extend eligibility for Veterans' health care 
• Add more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures
• Improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures

As our representative in Congress, I will continue to work bipartisanly to ensure veterans receive the benefits and access to the health care they need and deserve.

For so many of us, our daily commute has been impacted by decaying bridges or road conditions and underfunded public transportation. I recently saw exactly how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directly benefits our community at both the Paoli and Coatesville Train Stations.

This legislation will:

• Allocate over $550 billion in new federal investment for roads, bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, broadband, and more
• Include $280 million each year for five years for existing sewer overflow and stormwater reuse municipal grants program with 25% set aside for projects in financially distressed communities
• Add $50 million for stormwater control infrastructure projects
• Expand Buy America provisions to ensure that American businesses, big and small, play a key role in manufacturing and construction for these investments
• Provide around 2 million jobs per year over the decade
• Fund upgrades to our nation’s ports which will help address the post-COVID supply chain disruptions
• Reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector as well as local water and air quality challenges.

This bipartisan package represents a long overdue investment in our Commonwealth’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, and much more. 

This summer, I attended a ribbon-cutting event for a new microgrid in West Grove. As highlighted in the Philadelphia Inquirer article above, the expansion of this Chester County business was possible because of the Inflation Reduction Act. Beyond helping tech manufacturers build more in America and increase energy production, this legislation will:

This legislation will:

•  Save Pennsylvania families an average of  $2,400 on their health care premiums
• Cap seniors' annual prescription drug costs at $2,000 and the price of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare recipients
• Ensure corporations making over $1 billion annually pay their fair share and sets a 15% minimum corporate tax
• Lower energy costs by $1,800/year on average for families through direct rebates and tax credits
• Not raise taxes on families making less than $400,000 a year
• Modernize the IRS and replace outdated systems for faster processing of tax returns and refund money back to hard-working American families and business owners
• Invest in clean energy, reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, and better protect our community from extreme weather events
• Assist farmers with investments in updated equipment and the largest investment in soil preservation since the Dust Bowl to continue domestic crop production

I held multiple town halls regarding our economy and the Inflation Reduction Act specifically, which you can find here.

It's much too hard for smaller police departments (with limited staff) to compete for grant funding necessary to keep our communities safe. To change that and make the grant process fairer, I helped pass the Invest to Protect Act. In case you missed it, I wrote a local op-ed encouraging our community members to contact our Senators for their support so this important legislation can become law and fund smaller police departments as we have here in Chester and Berks Counties. As this bill now officially heads to the Senate, I hope you'll consider reaching out to express your support.

This legislation will:

• Invest in programs to keep community members and law enforcement officers safe and de-escalate violence 
• Improve mental health care intervention resources
• Boost recruitment, retention, training, and accountability of local law enforcement

This bill will make critical, targeted investments in law enforcement and public safety to protect our community and communities across the country. In the same way, we support our troops who serve and protect our nation, we must support our police who serve and protect our communities - I am proud that I helped push this forward.

When I was serving in uniform in the Air Force, we treated all people with respect because we knew every person in the room was a patriot and loved this great nation. I carry this same belief with me in the Halls of Congress.   

To my core, I could not be prouder to represent the people of Berks and Chester counties down in Washington D.C., and I look forward to continuing to fight for our community.

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

Be well and see you soon!

Sincerely,