an Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, H.R. 5865, would direct the President to submit to Congress and make public a strategy to promote growth, sustainability, and competitiveness in the nation's manufacturing sector, create well-paid, stable jobs, enable innovation and investment, and support national security.

For more information on this legislation, please visit: http://critz.house.gov/press-release/critz-house-passes-american-manufacturing-competitiveness-act-legislation-requires.

The awarding of today’s Congressional Gold Medal is a tribute not only to his golf talents, but to his service within the Coast Guard and his work as a humanitarian, businessman and philanthropist. Arnie is an inspiration to many, and I congratulate him on being awarded the highest honor Congress can bestow, the Congressional Gold Medal.

For additional information, please visit: http://critz.house.gov/press-release/critz-statement-arnold-palmer-being-awarded-congressional-gold-medal.

uing Resolution are provisions restricting the Department of Defense from its ability to 1) retire, divest, realign, or transfer aircraft of the Air Force; or 2) disestablish or convert any unit associated with aircraft of the Air Force or any unit of the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve.

Congress has made it clear that the Air Force’s unilateral restructuring decisions didn’t take into account the widespread impact on our overall military readiness and on our local communities. I’m pleased that this Continuing Resolution restricts the Defense Department from shuttering Pittsburgh’s 911th Airlift Wing and the 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron in Johnstown, as well as preventing the retiring of any KC-135 aircraft from the 171st Air Refueling Wing of the Pennsylvania National Guard. This six-month pause will allow the Department to more fully examine the Air Force’s proposals, while the entire western Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation continues the fight to demonstrate our region’s strategic importance and proud history of military service.

Visit my website for additional information: http://critz.house.gov/press-release/critz-six-month-continuing-resolution-restricts-air-force-restructuring-plans.

for the highest level of educational achievement. I’m proud of the teachers, administrators and students at Windber Elementary School. Their hard work and dedication to learning is a shining example not only in our region but now across the United States. Congratulations, Windber Elementary School, and keep up the good work!

For additional information, please visit my website: http://critz.house.gov/press-release/critz-congratulates-windber-elementary-school-2012-national-blue-ribbon-designation.

eport, released last week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), “Between 2001 and 2011, the trade deficit with China eliminated or displaced more than 2.7 million U.S. jobs, over 2.1 million of which (76.9 percent) were in manufacturing. These lost manufacturing jobs account for more than half of all U.S. manufacturing jobs lost or displaced between 2001 and 2011.” In Pennsylvania alone, 101,200 jobs were lost, including 4,400 in the 12th Congressional district.

One of the principal reasons for this staggering job loss is China’s undervalued currency. Currency manipulation, which keeps the value of foreign currencies artificially low compared to the U.S. dollar, undermines our manufacturing sector by making Chinese imports cheaper and U.S. exports more expensive.

The bipartisan Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, H.R. 639, will help American businesses compete on a more level playing field by treating fundamentally undervalued currencies as a prohibited subsidy, allowing the U.S. to take action to counter this unfair trade practice. The U.S. Senate passed legislation to address currency manipulation in October 2011, yet Republican leaders continue to block the bill from moving forward in the House of Representatives.

In July 2011, I filed a discharge petition that would force the House to immediately consider the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act – and to date, the petition has 178 of the 218 signatures required to advance.

Despite bipartisan support for legislation that will fix this trade imbalance, the House Republican Leadership refuses to move forward on currency reform. Every day that we put off addressing this issue, more and more American jobs are lost to countries like China. Let’s stop playing political games and do what’s in the best interest of American workers and businesses – let’s bring the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act to the House Floor for immediate consideration.

The Economic Policy Institute also reports that if the Chinese Yuan were revalued, U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would increase as much as $286 billion, creating up to 2.25 million American jobs and reducing the budget deficit by $71 billion per year.

When we compete on a level playing field with China, we prove time-and-time again that American workers, American businesses and American products are the best in the world. Passing currency reform legislation will level the playing field, give American workers a fair shot at manufacturing again, and create jobs all across Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.

To read the report: http://www.epi.org/publication/bp345-china-growing-trade-deficit-cost/