Cartwright promotes local environmental, economic accomplishments

NANTICOKE — U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright was the keynote speaker Thursday night at Luzerne County Community College, allowing him to articulate his support for the Biden administration’s environmental and economic accomplishments. The event went off without a hitch, save for a single, pro-Palestinian protest midway through Cartwright’s remarks.

Cartwright was joined in speaking at the event by a number of labor leaders and environmental advocates, each with their own projects that have been directly or symbolically supported by Biden’s environmental agenda. Each speaker highlighted the ways in which these federal initiatives have impacted their local community, including Cartwright’s 8th congressional district.

“Nanticoke and Scranton were among the first school districts across the country to benefit from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, which will provide $5 billion over the next five years to replace existing school buses with zero emission and low emission models,” Cartwright said.

The Clean School Bus Program had its first wave of funding in 2022.

Cartwright expressed his admiration for the event’s host and organizers, noting that conversations like the one held Thursday evening are important tools for inspiring new economic opportunities in his district.

“As a U.S. Rep., it is my role to make sure the conditions are right for our area to further prosper,” Cartwright said, before being interrupted by the shouting of a solitary protester. Among a number of pleas, the protester called for Cartwright to support a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

According to Cartwright’s Communications Director Wendy Wilson, the unidentified male protester has become something of a regular outside of Cartwright’s residence and at his public appearances, as well as those of U.S. Senator Bob Casey. On Thursday evening, the protester was escorted out by a number of security officials who, per Wilson, were prepared for his presence and eventual interruption.

Cartwright’s office was allegedly in contact with the protesting individual about a potential meeting, but Wilson said communication ended after Cartwright’s office suggested dates and times for such a meeting to take place.

“Occasionally I do things that are controversial, and they stir up controversy,” said Cartwright, before continuing to speak on the event’s relevant content.

Cartwright noted that his inspiration for running for office in the first place was in part to support one of the event’s major themes: economic opportunity. These economic opportunities, according to Cartwright, have sprouted up in lock step with some of his other legislative emphasis points, specifically renewable energy sources and union job creation.

Cartwright referenced Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act by name, and how it can have a direct impact on Northeast Pennsylvania businesses and families.

“[The Inflation Reduction Act] also provides incentives for firms to locate the next generation of renewable energy manufacturing in Northeastern Pennsylvania, an area whose history was fueled by coal and is now poised for the next generation of manufacturing,” said Cartwright.

According to Cartwright, the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the transportation advancements associated with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will aid the region in gaining industrial prominence on the national scale. Cartwright projected that the acts will reduce commuter drive times (significantly reducing the number of gas-guzzling cars on the road) and create union jobs for area residents.

Before ending his remarks, Cartwright showed his support for the hemp growers and entrepreneurs in the audience, whom he collectively referred to as “the hemp boys.” Cartwright touted hemp as a carbon-based crop with massive manufacturing potential in future construction, energy and land remediation projects.

State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler

Remarks from state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, who represents the 184th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the South Philadelphia area, preceded Cartwright’s. Fiedler, who was raised in Bloomsburg, discussed the Solar for Schools Act, a program that she feels especially passionate about, considering both of her parents were public school teachers.

“[Solar for Schools] would create a state grant program within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that would simply help schools and colleges install solar panels on the roof of their building, on their grounds. And then the schools would save millions of dollars” said Fiedler. “I have yet to meet a superintendent or school administrator who says ‘Millions of dollars? No, I don’t need to save those.’” Fiedler noted that between 30-percent and 50-percent of Solar for Schools’ cost, on the district level, would be covered by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Other speakers

Other speakers at the event included Luzerne County Community College President Thomas Leary, who kept his comments for the crowd deliberately brief. The student base at LCCC, which Leary noted was the largest for a college in Luzerne County, will see 600 graduates walk across the stage next month. Many of those students, Leary asserted, will remain in Luzerne County after graduation.

Molly Parzen, executive director at Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, and Tony Seiwell, of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, were the event’s leading environmental and organized labor speakers, respectively. Each of them brought to light how efforts by the Biden administration and the officials in attendance have provided aid to the communities they serve and beyond.

At the conclusion of the speeches, attendees were invited to take a ride on an electric school bus and discuss the potential of hemp in further detail, providing more practicality to the policies described by the speakers.