In this week's edition of e-news...

Murphy Focuses on Local Manufacturing

911th Gets Reprieve from Pentagon

Congress Weighs in on UN Treaty Negotiations

Murphy Focuses on Local Manufacturing

Transformers are an essential component to the electrical grid, efficiently converting and distributing electricity across different voltage systems.

Murphy overlooking the production floor at  ABB in Mount Pleasant

Since the early 1900s, Westmoreland County has been building electrical transformers that power America. Today, that legacy continues with ABB in Mount Pleasant, which produces advanced transformers that send large amounts of electricity across long distances. ABB products are used across the world in places like China and Iraq.

This week, Representative Murphy toured the ABB factory to discuss with workers how policies he’s working on in Congress, like trade and domestic energy production, will impact local manufacturing job growth.

Global demand for power is expected to grow by 39 percent by 2030. China is building an average of one new coal plant every week. Meanwhile, the slowdown in the US economy has reduced energy consumption and researchers at the Department of Energy project there will be no new coal plants built in the United States this decade. For local companies like ABB, access to the global marketplace becomes that much more important to stay economically viable.  

As chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Rep. Murphy has been working to ensure our local manufacturers have access to global markets with trading partners that follow the rules. Stolen patents and currency manipulation are just a few of the many ways other countries break the rules to have a leg up in the international trading market. Trade violations have a direct impact on domestic manufacturing. According to the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, the economy has shed 599,000 manufacturing jobs since January 2009.

Recognizing the important role domestic manufacturing plays in Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy, Rep. Murphy signed onto a congressional resolution this week to support the designation of the first week in July as “Buy American Week.” This resolution encourages consumers to support local businesses and American jobs by purchasing products that are “Made in the USA.”

Buy American Week comes as the Labor Department reported more bleak news about the economy today. The unemployment rate is unchanged at 8.2 percent because the economy added only 80,000 jobs last month. And over half of America’s recent college graduates (1.7 million each year earn a bachelors disagree) are either unemployed or working in a job that doesn't require a bachelor's degree, according to the Associated Press.

Murphy said increased production of domestic natural gas will help to spur resurgence in the region’s economy,  provided the federal government doesn’t stand in the way. Ten federal agencies are attempting to impose new regulations on natural gas development. This will lead to higher energy prices for chemical companies and steel manufacturers, which are the two largest industrial consumers of electricity.

“With plentiful resources and know-how in coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy, Southwestern Pennsylvania can lead the nation in an economic revival,” said Murphy.

Murphy, who also co-chairs the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, said the Caucus would soon be convening a hearing to look closely at these issues. The Caucus works to promote responsible exploration, safe transmission, and expanded use.

To share your views on domestic manufacturing and job growth, please click here.

911th Gets Reprieve from Pentagon

On Monday, Congressman Tim Murphy announced the 911th Airlift Wing would remain open and operational under a directive from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (read more in the Beaver County Times). The decision to wait until Congress approves budget bills for the Department of Defense to close the 911th Airlift Wing, which employs 300 civilians and houses seven C-130 transport planes, will give the region more time to continue working on permanently saving the base.

“This is welcome news for our region’s military families and an important recognition of the role Congress must play in authorizing base closures and major changes to our military’s structure,” said Rep. Murphy who has championed House efforts to save the base.

The 911th is one of the most cost-effective bases and regularly exceeds recruiting targets. In recognition of the 911th’s value, the Pentagon has invested $58 million in the base over the last eight years. Now, the Navy Reserve intends to build a new $13 million operations and support center on the grounds of the 911th, and a new commissary is in the works for local military families.

After discovering the Air Force had failed to undertake a cost-benefit analysis to justify the closure of the 911th, Rep. Murphy introduced legislation (H.R. 3911) to stop any transfer of planes from the base. His language was later incorporated into House defense budget bills.

“The Secretary’s decision to delay any aircraft transfers or retirements until Congress acts is also an acknowledgement of our efforts to expose the flaws in the initial Air Force structure recommendations. I urge the Pentagon to use this time to undertake a genuine cost benefit analysis comparing the 911th against other military installations with similar missions.”

Murphy and the rest of the delegation also successfully attached an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that stops the Pentagon from using a loophole to close military bases like the 911th. Under current law, the Pentagon does not have to get congressional consent to close bases unless there are more than 300 civilian workers. Under the Murphy amendment, any future base closures impacting more than 1,000 military personnel would have to be included in the President’s budget request and include a thorough cost and strategic impact analysis (the 911th has 1,126 reservists). Thus, Congress would have the final say in future years on whether to provide funds for a base closure.

“Even with this decision, our efforts are not finished, and I’m going to keep working to save the 911th — one of the most accomplished and cost-effective bases in the country,” said Murphy.

Additional information, including a copy of Secretary Panetta’s letter, has been posted at Murphy.House.Gov/911th.

To share your views on saving the 911th and 171st , please click here.

Congress Weighs in on UN Treaty Negotiations

This month, representatives from across the world are meeting at the United Nations in New York to complete a treaty that would regulate international weapons trade. Supporters argue the treaty will help to stamp out the illicit sale of firearms by unscrupulous dealers. These surplus weapons have ended up arming violent criminal gangs and rogue paramilitary groups in unstable countries.

However, the treaty as currently drafted could regulate private gun ownership and undermine the rights of American citizens to keep and bear firearms.

Rep. Tim Murphy has been working with 130  fellow lawmakers to ensure the treaty is rejected or rewritten to protect rights enshrined in the Constitution. Last week, Murphy signed onto a bipartisan letter that was sent to the President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom support the treaty, expressing strong concerns with the current text of the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Specifically the letter stated “the U.S. must not accept an ATT that infringes on our constitutional rights, particularly the fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms.”

Murphy also said the treaty should not restrict America’s ability to protect allies like Israel. Some countries are trying to ensure the treaty empowers the Palestinian Authority to import weapons and raise an army.

In addition to sending a letter to the President, Murphy is a cosponsor of H.R. 3594, which would cut off funding to the United Nations if the U.S. agrees to any treaty restricting or infringing on the rights of American citizens to possess a firearm, ammunition or abridge any other constitutionally protected right.

For the ATT to be enforceable, the United States and other countries must approve it unanimously, so any one country can effectively veto a deal. Treaties must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which has yet to consider the UN Small Arms agreement.

To share your views on the United Nations, please click here.