Media Availability with House
Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha and HASC Chairman Ike
Skelton at Sestak Business Procurement Summit
MEDIA,
PA —On Monday,
December 3, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) will be holding the
Seventh District’s first Business Procurement Summit. The Business
Procurement Summit will include keynote addresses by House Defense
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-PA) and House Armed
Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO). There will also be media
availability with both special guests.
The Business Procurement
Summit, which has drawn a standing room-only crowd of over 300 registered
participants from across the District and Philadelphia region, will be held at
the
Springfield Country Club (400 West Sproul
Road, Springfield, PA 19064) on Monday,
December 3, from 8:00AM until 4:30PM. Registration begins at 7:00AM.
Contracting
officers from over 40 major corporations and federal agencies will be in
attendance to discuss contracting opportunities for small business owners.
Biography of John P. Murtha
U.S.
Rep. John P. Murtha has dedicated his life to serving his country both
in the military and in the halls of Congress. He had a long and
distinguished 37-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring from
the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1990; and he has been serving
the people of the 12th Congressional District since 1974, one of only
131 people in the nation's history to have served more than 30 years in
the U.S. House of Representatives and one of only 224 Members of
Congress who have served 30 or more years.
Congressional Service
Congressman
Murtha has worked hard to bring thousands of long-term,
family-sustaining jobs to Western Pennsylvania. With the disappearance
of the coal and steel jobs that for more than a century were the
lifeblood of the area, he pushed the region in a new direction, intent
on diversifying the economy to help insulate it from future shocks. In
the early 1990s, new companies in an industry unfamiliar in Western
Pennsylvania - defense - began to spring up, bringing more than 5,000
jobs to the district he represents. He founded the House Steel Caucus
and has brought millions of dollars to the United Mine Workers to
retrain displaced miners and train new miners.
He
fights for policies that help people, including a patient's bill of
rights, prescription-drug benefits, a better minimum wage, and
protecting Medicare, Social Security and veterans' benefits. For
example, when Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
was about to be killed by federal regulations, he convinced the White
House to be more flexible and saved the program. When EPA said the
six-county Pittsburgh Air Basin would get no permits for industrial
growth, he inserted language allowing time to finish a balanced,
community-based plan. When Medicare refused to pay for preventive
health care such as mammograms and flu shots, he included language in
an appropriation that convinced the agency to provide coverage. He has
twice saved the health care program of retired miners.
His
crusade to improve the health and well-being of Pennsylvanians could
benefit people across the nation. Determined to reverse the diabetes
epidemic in Western Pennsylvania, he has directed funding to UPMC's
Diabetes Institute for diabetes prevention, education and outreach, and
to Children's Hospital for a project on Type 1 diabetes. He has forged
partnerships between Western Pennsylvania hospitals and world-renowned
institutions such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval
Hospital, one of which has led to research that could revolutionize the
early detection and treatment of breast cancer and significantly
advance efforts to eradicate the disease.
He
has played a major role in tourism development in the region, starting
the National Heritage Area program, which includes two areas in
Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Rivers of Steel, dedicated to preserving
the history of Big Steel, encompasses 3,000 square miles in Allegheny
and six surrounding counties; and the Path of Progress winds through
500 miles in nine Southwestern Pennsylvania, linking heritage sites
that pertain to the westward expansion of the early U.S.
His
countless honors include the National Breast Cancer Coalition
Leadership Award, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry's
Government Leader of the Year, Pittsburgh's Riverperson of the Year and
Pennsylvania's two highest honors, the Distinguished Service Medal and
the Meritorious Service Medal.
Military/defense service
Congressman
Murtha is so well-respected for his first-hand knowledge of military
and defense issues that he has been a trusted adviser to presidents of
both parties on military and defense issues and is one of the most
effective advocates for the national defense in the country. He is the
Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, a Vietnam combat
veteran and a retired Marine Corps colonel with 37 years of service, a
rare combination of experience that enables him to understand defense
and military operations from every perspective.
He
learned about military service from the bottom up, beginning as a raw
recruit when he left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join
the Marines out of a growing sense of obligation to his country during
the Korean War. There he earned the American Spirit Honor Medal,
awarded to fewer than one in 10,000 recruits. He rose through the ranks
to become a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for
Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. He then was assigned to
the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1959,
Captain Murtha took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company,
Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after
his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for Vietnam in
1966-67, where he served as the S-2 intelligence officer for the 1st
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division and received the
Bronze Star with Combat "V", two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross
of Gallantry. The official notification of award
for his Bronze Star and Purple Hearts are available to view here. He
remained in the Reserves until his retirement. This first-hand
knowledge of military and defense issues has made him a trusted adviser
to presidents of both parties and one of the most effective advocates
for the national defense in Washington. At the request of Presidents
and Speakers of the House, he served as chairman of delegations
monitoring elections in the Philippines, El Salvador, Panama and Bosnia.
He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by the Marine Corps Commandant when he retired from the Marines.
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