Tuesday, August 4, 2009

H.R. 3326 Passes the House by Ovewhelming Margin - Could Mean Jobs for PA

July 31, 2009

H.R. 3326 Passes the House by Overwhelming Margin – Could Mean Jobs for PA

Washington, D.C.
– The Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2010 passed the House of Representatives 300-40 on July 30, 2009.

Should this bill pass the Senate, and be signed into law by the President, several communities in Pennsylvania’s 5th District will benefit, thanks to the hard working efforts of Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-Howard.

Congressman Thompson is hopeful that job creation and positive economic conditions will result.

Thompson included $2 million in Research, Test, Development and Evaluation funds for the domestic production of nanodiamond by NanoBlox of Clarion. NanoBlox estimates this will create 10 new jobs.

Current sources of the nanodiamond material are available in China and Russia. “These funds will allow the United States to continue to be an independent producer of the nanodiamond material. We cannot be dependent upon the goodwill of other nations when it comes to materials for military applications; the military will be well served by creating a domestic source of this strategic and tactical material”, said Thompson.

Nanodiamond is a diamond material that originates from a detonation. “NanoBlox of Clarion will be a great addition to the local economy and will help attract other technology related businesses to the County,” Commissioner Donna Hartle said.

Another city in the 5th Congressional District to benefit from the passing of HR 3326 is Bellefonte. Thompson announced that $500,000 in Research, Test, Development and Evaluation funds for Piezo Resonance Innovations, Inc. (PRII), to further develop a battlefield ready feeding tube cleaning device.

Currently, PRII is using a National Science Foundation Grant. “These funds will allow further development of a practical application to help save the lives of our injured soldiers”, said Thompson, a former rehabilitation therapist.

PRII will work in conjunction with Penn State School of Nursing Experts and the US Army Medical Department (AMEDD).

“The US Military will be well served with the development of this device and I am glad a local firm will be on the forefront of this cutting-edge technology. I applaud the team at Piezo Resonance Innovations for their dedication to advancing medicine and as a father of a wounded soldier, I know these funds will be put to good use” said Thompson.

This technology is important to our military because injured soldiers are started on feeding tubes to keep nutrients in the body. In field units, tube clogging is a problem, and during air transport, changes in air pressure create additional strains on the injured soldier.

A feeding tube cleaner will decrease medical issues including infection, punctured lungs and possibly death.

Additionally, H.R. 3326 includes $2 million for KCF Technologies of State College to further develop and commercialize self-powered prosthetic limb technology.

The invention of computer controlled knee joints has dramatically improved lower limb prosthetic technology. A major downfall of these prostheses is the limited battery life. This funding will allow KCF to develop an energy harvesting device that will automatically recharge the batteries during normal walking and running activity.

Production will take place at KCF Technologies and will be directed by the Army. Penn State’s Biomechanics Laboratory, along with Otto Bock, a world leader in prosthetic technologies, are also partnering in this effort.

“These are the types of partnerships that can spur great economic development. The fact that the research, development and subsequent production will be done right here at home is frankly what we need a lot more of during these tough economic times”, said Thompson.

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Letter from the Congressman, August 09

Dear Friend:

Would you believe me if I told you our nation’s most important laws are created by a handful of elite liberal politicians and most Members of Congress never read them before voting?

It’s true: legislation is often produced in secret by a handful of liberal leaders and handed to Congress without anything close to enough time to read it in full.


I will never vote to pass a new law without reading it first. If liberal leaders insist on producing 900 page bills in secret and give us less than a day to read it before we have to vote, I will vote NO every time.


The so-called Cap and Trade legislation is a good example of this drive-through legislative process. In the middle of the night, liberal leaders presented Congress with an enormous bill we had no time to read in full, but even a cursory skim showed they were advocating massive tax increases that would raise energy prices by as much as 30 percent on families and small businesses. Their plan would have cost Pennsylvanians as many as 66,000 jobs when we already are in the worst recession in a generation.


I’ve done more than oppose Cap and Trade; I’ve offered a solution – an “all of the above” energy plan I introduced with colleagues in June. This plan gives incentives for renewable and alternative energy sources and builds 100 new nuclear reactors in the next twenty years. It encourages exploration and development of offshore oil and natural gas resources and puts some of the federal revenues from those resources to help develop and use new, clean energy technologies.

The current situation cannot stand – we need a comprehensive energy solution, and one that protects jobs while lowering the prices of gasoline, home heating oil, and natural gas for families, farmers, and small businesses.


An even bigger issue is one I am very familiar with – health care reform. As a recreational and physical therapist for 28 years, I am well-acquainted with the challenges our families and health care providers face and am committed to finding a solution where everybody wins.


Currently, elite liberal leaders have presented a plan that creates a government-run health care system that could lead to tens of millions of Americans losing their coverage, rations care (especially for senior citizens), taxes individuals and small businesses at a punitive rate, and will add hundreds of billions of dollars to our enormous national debt.


The liberal plan does not meet the criteria I have set for health-care reform including better access, better quality, patient-centered care, and choice. I will vote against it in September.

I support a plan that increases access to insurance and health care for small businesses and families, implements comprehensive medical liability reform, provides government with additional authority and resources to stop waste and abuse (when they are not causing it), reduces the number of uninsured Americans by at least ten million, and most important, expands choice and quality of care.


Even though I am only in my first year in Congress, I believe my efforts have had the effect of changing the debate on these two issues. Pennsylvanians want change, but they want the kind of change that leads to jobs, energy security, and family security, not debt and bureaucracy.

I will continue to fight for those changes, and, I assure you, I will read every proposed law before I vote to pass it.


Before long, the next election will be upon us. Already, I have seen signs special-interest groups who support the kind of elitist legislation I described above are working to defeat me. The only people on my side are families and small business owners like you.


You have already done so much to help me; can you do so once again?


Please send your contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, or $25 today to “Friends of Glenn Thompson" by going to www.friendsofglennthompson.com and contributing online.

You can also learn more about what I am doing and offer suggestions by visiting and registering for updates at www.friendsofglennthompson.com.

Thank you again for your support.