General

Lehigh Valley Health Network’s neonatal intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and the intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg will receive $4.5 million of state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants for support and expansion of capacity. The grants were secured by Browne, Boscola, Mackenzie and Jeanne McNeill.

ArtsQuest announced recently that Senator Pat Browne secured $500,000 of the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funding to support the construction of a $22 million ArtsQuest Community Cultural Center to replace the Banana Factory, south Bethlehem.

State senators Lisa Boscola and Pat Browne

Boscola and Browne announced the following Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program beneficiaries/projects: Northampton Community College East 40 Experiential Learning Center, Bethlehem Township ($500,000); Collaboration 3, LLC, Goodman Building, Bethlehem City ($500,000); Lehigh Valley Health Network, LVH-Muhlenberg Intensive Care Unit, Bethlehem City ($1 million); Lehigh Riverport Invertors Fund, L.P., Riverport Public Market, City of Bethlehem ($500,000);and the National Museum of Industrial History, Second Floor Expansion, Bethlehem (City $1 million).

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency approved $564,231 in grants to Lehigh Valley local governments and organizations for purpose of violence prevention, law enforcement assistance and children’s advocacy initiatives. Funding awards, approved through the STOP Violence Against Women Act Funds, Federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grants and Children’s Advocacy Center Funds, include County of Lehigh – Lehigh County STOP Violence Against Women - $375,000; Federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grants / Funds: Salisbury Township – Innovative Policing Initiative - $57,908; and Children’s Advocacy Center: Lehigh Valley Hospital – Improving CAC Services and Accreditation Readiness: $46,883

State Senator Lisa M. Boscola

The Department of Environmental Protection) has awarded a total of $463,625 in Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants program funding for the Bethlehem Parking Authority Electric Vehicles Project: BPA approved for $24,500 for the purchase of four Chevy Bolt EVs.

Twenty-six fire departments and emergency medical services providers in the Northampton and Lehigh County portions of the district will be awarded $368,695 through the 2021-22 Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service Grants, which are administered by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner. They include Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company – EMS - $8,325.05, – Fire - $15,000; Bethlehem City – Fire - $15,000, EMS - $8,158.45; Dewey Fire Company No 1 - $13,240; Freemansburg Volunteer Fire Company No 1 - $15,000; and Lower Saucon Fire Rescue - $32,310; Fountain Hill Fire Department - $15,000; HanLeCo Volunteer Fire Co 1 - $15,000, and International Association of Fire Fighters Lehigh-Northampton Airport - $15,000.

$1,562,500 in grant funding has been awarded by the Commonwealth to aid small businesses in the Lehigh Valley that have experienced an interruption in their operations, supply chain and workforce. The funding through the Community Development Block Grant-CARES Act has been approved to the Lehigh University Small Business Development Center for grants up to $100,000 to businesses in Northampton and Lehigh Counties.

State Rep. Jeane McNeill

A veterans’ outreach specialist is available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at McNeil’s district office, 11080 Schadt Ave., Whitehall. For information, appointments: call 610-266-1273.

The state awarded $1 million to the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Muhlenberg location, for a project that will expand and improve patient access to critical and trauma-related care. Provided by the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the funding covers 52 percent of construction costs and 50 percent of overall project budget.

Two hospitals in the 133rd District will receive more than $11.5 million in funding to support the health care workforce needs of health providers. More than $7 million was allocated to Lehigh Valley Hospital, with $4.5 million in funding allocated to St. Luke’s Hospital. According to McNeill, the funding represents a portion of $225 million in federal funding distributed under the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding will provide critical reinforcements to health care professionals who have been working at facilities with exceeding capacities and intensity of immediate patient need. Further details on facilities and hospitals receiving funding allocations are available on DHS’s website.

State Rep. Bob Freeman

Permitting the State Workers’ Insurance Fund to sell health insurance would make health insurance more affordable, under House Bill 2168 legislation introduced by Freeman. No tax dollars will be used; paid with premiums to health care subscribers and a loan from the SWIF Fund, which would be paid back.

New state tax incentives would be created to promote redevelopment and reuse of derelict factory or mill buildings in Pennsylvania municipalities under legislation H.B. 2280 would establish three types of tax incentive programs: 1: a 25% tax credit for the rehabilitation and reconstruction costs incurred by the owner; 2: a business tax credit equal to the salaries and wages paid to full-time employees, up to a maximum of $5,000 per employee; and 3: an interest income tax credit of 10% on the interest from loans for the expenditures within the building. The limit would be up to $10,000 per taxable year. The loan holder also would be eligible for a 100% tax credit, up to $20,000 per taxable year, on interest from loans for substantial rehabilitation.

State Reps. Robert Freeman and Barb Gleim will introduce legislation that would support math fluency for all kindergarten through fifth-grade students statewide with the First in Math initiative. The legislation would require the state’s Department of Education to establish a statewide First in Math initiative and encourage its usage by educators.

State Rep. Steve Samuelson

Income limits for the PACENET prescription drug program was increased by $6,000 under a new law signed recently by Gov. Tom Wolf and co-authored by state Rep. Steve Samuelson.

The law increased enrollment for the state’s Prescription Assistance Contract for the Elderly Needs Enhancement Tier (PACENET) by about 20,000 people and raises the income limits to $33,500 for a single person and $41,500 for a married couple.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure

Northampton County officially acquired and permanently conserved 110.08 acres in East Allen Township. This marks the 21st county park and conservation area in the 2,221 acres Northampton County Park, Trail, and Open Space System. The total purchase price of $2,69 million is based on a fair market appraised value of $24,000 per acre to retain the rural character of the land and deter warehouse proliferation. This acquisition was made possible through the Northampton County Livable Landscapes Grant Program.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild

Representatives Susan Wild and Cindy Axne sent a letter to President Joe Biden and leadership in the House and Senate to urge preventative action against harmful cuts to Medicare reimbursements. They were joined in sending the letter by Representatives Colin Allred, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Angie Craig, Sharice Davids, Anthony Delgado, Lizzie Fletcher, Steven Horsford, Andy Kim, Conor Lamb, Susie Lee, Lucy McBath, Tom O’Halleran, Chris Pappas, Mikie Sherrill, Tom Malinowski and Haley Stevens.

Wild (PA-07) and Representatives Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Katie Porter (CA-45), and Angie Craig (MN-02) led 35 other members of the House in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to finalized their work to close the “family glitch” ahead of this year’s ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, which would open access to affordable health care for more than 5 million Americans, most of whom are children. Rep. Wild has introduced legislation to fix the family glitch both in this congress and last congress. In 2020, Wild’s bill passed the House. The “family glitch” is a gap in access to actually affordable health insurance coverage for working families and affects an estimated 5 million people. Regulation implementing the Affordable Care Act currently defines “affordable” in a way that bars many low-income families from receiving financial assistance in the Marketplace, instead forcing families to retain more expensive “affordable” employer-sponsored health insurance that is often almost three times more expensive.

Senator Bob Casey

More than $70 million in funding has been allotted for 62 airports in Pennsylvania. The funding comes from the Airport Infrastructure Grants in the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill. It includes $3,556,614 for Lehigh Valley International.

Casey and Reps Susan Wild and Chrissy Hooulahan announced $327.2 million to fix bridges in Pennsylvania for fiscal year 2022 under the infrastructure law passed last year. The state will receive additional bridge funding for four additional years.