In the News

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt today announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) will provide $32,171,975 to Pennsylvania in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation grants, to clean up and repurpose abandoned coal mines. More than $170 million in AML Reclamation funding will be available to states and tribes in FY…

In September 2014, my life changed forever when my 2½-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Despite our private insurance plan, the pharmacy bill for his insulin was outrageous. Though insulin was invented in 1922, its inflation-adjusted per-unit price tripled, at least, between the 1990s and 2014, and insulin costs per patient nearly doubled from 2012 to…

Evidence of the days when coal was king linger throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania in the form of culm banks. The job to rid those piles of waste is in dire need of funding. Now, two local lawmakers in Washington aim to keep the work on track. The work you see is an ongoing project, nine months and counting. With each truckload, crews are cleaning up what was the old Harry E. coal…

If U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright D-8, Moosic, gets reelected, he will have enough seniority to get more money to Northeast Pennsylvania. The congressman told those who attended a “Coffee with the Congressman” evening at the Hazleton One Center on Wednesday night he will be lined up to chair one of a dozen subcommittees on appropriations in his next term. “The Appalachian…

Congressman Matt Cartwright (D-8) took some time to enjoy a cup of joe and some conversation with his constituents at the Bushkill Volunteer Fire Company on Tuesday evening. Crowds of people from Pike County and beyond stopped off at the fire hall for Cartwright’s “Coffee with your Congressman” event to discuss matters near and dear to their hearts. Cartwright spent…

The cold and snowy weather certainly did not deter any residents or local political figures from supporting women during the fourth annual NEPA Women's March in Wilkes-Barre. It was hard not to see the passion today at Millennium Circle on the Wilkes-Barre Riverfront. "I think it's important that we march each year. We need to empower and inspire women. We need to do more and one of…

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, last week voted to pass the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. “Rising living costs are putting pressure on older Americans to extend their careers longer than ever before,” Cartwright said. “At the same time, many are being pushed out of their jobs before they are financially secure enough to retire. This bill…

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright visited the Gino J. Merli Veterans’ Center in downtown Scranton Friday afternoon to give four area veterans some long overdue recognition. The quartet were presented with the Korean Ambassador for Peace medal, an award jointly given by the United States and South Korean governments in recognition of U.S. servicemen who served during the Korean War. The…

Luzerne County Head Start received a $4.69 million federal funding grant this week, according to U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic. The grant, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will provide 50% of the funding for the agency’s annual operations, according to Lindsey Fredericks, a Head Start community advocate. The agency provides assistance to hundreds…

On Monday, Congressional leaders voted to approve two federal spending packages for the 2020 fiscal year. One of them includes $24 million to be spent on grants and programs to control polluted stormwater runoff in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region. “I will do everything I can to reduce the local burden,” said U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who fought for the…