On my way from Scranton to Washington this morning, I stopped in Folcroft, Delaware County to tour LithChem, a small business doing great work with new energy technology. They are on the cutting edge of research and development of new batteries for national defense, solar panels and recycling of hazardous materials.
In addition to giving me a refresher course on physics and chemistry, the LithChem team said that they're ready to create new jobs and expand their business. As a company of eight employees, LithChem has faced many of the struggles that all small businesses have been up against during these tough economic times, but they are looking to the future and are ready to hire.
As I talked with Novis Smith and other LithChem employees, it became clear that their company is a great model of how my Job Creation Tax Credit proposal can help small businesses. My proposal will give tax incentives to encourage new job creation, which will ultimately lead us out of this recession. LithChem's management told me that they are looking to expand to 35 employees and my proposal will help them accomplish their goal.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at LithChem and wish them and all of our small businesses in Pennsylvania the best of luck.
Continuing my discussions around the Commonwealth on jobs, on January 6th I met with local leaders in business, education and government from across Northampton County. The focus of this meeting was to discuss plans for creating jobs in the region. During the discussion, held at C.F. Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth, I heard good, common sense ideas about how we can continue to rebuild the economy and get more Pennsylvanians back to work.
Also, today I met with community leaders of the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Berks Economic Partnership to hear their strategic plan for the region and discuss how we can work together to explore ideas to create jobs and drive economic development.
As I return to Washington this week, I look forward to turning those ideas into action. That is why I am proposing a job creation tax credit to help employers hire workers, put money back into local economies and spur economic growth. While we have made progress responding to the economic crisis, more needs to be done to increase job growth in the short-term and the long-term. To learn more about my proposed credit, please see my press release.
At the end of December, I held two video conferences on Pennsylvania jobs. The first event took place in Bradford at the University of Pittsburgh. Local business, education and government leaders from McKean, Warren and Elk counties gathered to share their views on the local employment situation with me. I held a similar meeting with representatives from Huntingdon, Mifflin and Juniata counties, who convened at Juniata College. Through these meetings I get a clearer picture of the challenges facing Pennsylvania families and communities and hear common sense suggestions for how we can put more Pennsylvanians back to work and create family-sustaining jobs in the Commonwealth.
We must all work together to pursue ideas for spurring job growth in the short-term and building a foundation for a stronger, more stable economy in the long-term. These video roundtables were the first in a series of such job conferences that I am holding as I continue to listen to workers, small business owners and local leaders on the best ways to create jobs and boost our economy. I want to help turn their ideas into action when I return to Washington.
In August, the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania reached 8.6%, which reflects a total of 540,000 Pennsylvanians without jobs. By the end of the year as many as 70,000 Pennsylvanians will exhaust their unemployment benefits. To respond to their needs, I am cosponsoring S. 1699, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009. This bill would provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits in states, such as Pennsylvania, with unemployment rates at or above 8.5%. Recently, similar legislation overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives, and I am hopeful that the Senate too will take quick action on this bill. I encourage you to follow the progress of this bill at THOMAS.gov, legislative information from the Library of Congress.
If you need immediate assistance with applying for unemployment insurance, please contact my Harrisburg office by calling (717) 231-7540 or writing to 22 S. Third Street, Suite 6A, Harrisburg, PA 17101.
This past Monday, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the positive influence of clean energy jobs in Pennsylvania. Visiting the Exelon-Conergy Solar Energy Center, I toured one of the largest solar electricity generation plants in the country. I am pleased that this company chose to locate in Bucks County, and I am hopeful that more companies will follow this example.
Exelon-Conergy Solar Energy Center, located on a tract of land adjacent to Waste Management's GROWS landfill, can produce enough energy to power 500 homes in Pennsylvania. Clean energy jobs are not a hazy concept of the future -- in Bucks County, and across the Commonwealth, these jobs are already providing paychecks to American workers, re-energizing the manufacturing sector, and transforming the economy. I will continue to support clean energy job creation in the Senate to ensure that many more Pennsylvanians have the same opportunity.
