WASHINGTON, DC – In a rare occurrence for a Congressional freshman, Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-17) was elected to serve as the Ranking Member of a Subcommittee Cartwright will serve on the Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee for the 113th Congress. This post places Cartwright as the top Democrat on the subcommittee which is part of the larger Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Per the Committee, the subcommittee has “oversight jurisdiction over regulatory affairs, impediments to economic growth and job creation, monetary policy, banking, infrastructure, and tax policy. The Subcommittee also has legislative jurisdiction over federal paperwork reduction, data quality, and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.”
“I am honored, as a freshman, to serve as the Ranking Member of a subcommittee with such a critical jurisdiction. Accelerating our economic recovery and increasing the rate new jobs are added to the economy should be Congress’ top focus, and it is my highest priority for the 17th District. I intend to be a loud voice in Congress economic expansion and jobs in all of the communities I represent,” said, Cartwright.
Cartwright continued, “As Ranking Member, I will stand up for fair wages, enforcement of labor and worker safety laws, environmental protection, consumer and investor protection, and tax fairness. Further, I hope to explore and highlight what I see as the long-term value of grants and seed money for local economic projects. I’m very interested in the link between infrastructure improvements and sustained, local economic growth.”
Congressman Cartwright, through his congressional office’s operations, is already planning to take a direct role in the continued revitalization of central Easton. Cartwright is renovating and opening a congressional district office at 436 Northampton Street, in the vicinity of (same block as) the State Theater Center for the Arts. (Congressman Cartwright’s Easton district office will operate out of temporary space in City Hall until the 436 Northampton Street project is complete.)
“When I ask people in Pottsville, Wilkes-Barre, Palmerton, East Stroudsburg, Scranton, Easton and elsewhere across the 17th District what’s needed most, the answer is, most often, ‘Help bring in more companies, more well-paying jobs’,” Cartwright concluded. “I intend to use my position in the House and on my committees to push for exactly that.”