CHESTER and BERKS COUNTIES, PA – This week, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan toured her community to check in with a variety of industries, workers and more. She heard directly from constituents about the state of PA’s economy, the job market, small business revenue and more.

“This week, I got to meet with retailers, manufacturers, artists, small business owners and workers, farmers and more across our community,” said Houlahan. “Our economy is continuing to thrive, and while there remains work to be done, I am so proud to see this enormous progress in just the past few months. The American Rescue Plan has been a huge help to our community, and I will continue to work in Congress with both Democrats and Republicans, with the Senate and with President Biden to make sure our small businesses, our manufacturers, our farmers and more have the resources they need to continue this upward trajectory. Our economic recovery starts and ends with the countless small businesses right here in Southeastern PA."

Below is a sampling of Rep. Houlahan’s week out and about in Chester and Berks Counties.

In Valley Forge, Rep. Houlahan led the Girl Scouts of Eastern PA in a STEM activity. She highlighted how important it is for young girls to develop an appreciation for and excitement about STEM and STEAM. Photo credit: Marco Calderon Photography.

“We are very grateful to US Representative Houlahan for sharing her engineering expertise with the Girl Scouts at Camp Valley Forge,” said Jennifer Allebach, Chief Mission Delivery Officer. “As an Air Force vet, entrepreneur, former science teacher, and now a Congresswoman, Chrissy Houlahan is a phenomenal role model for the next generation of leaders and certainly impressed the girls.”

Rep. Houlahan visits Fox Theatres, a cultural institution in Wyomissing. Houlahan recently led a successful, bipartisan effort to help secure funds for Fox Theatres and other small venues in Chester and Berks Counties. These funds helped ensure businesses like Fox Theatres could stay open. From left to right: Director of Finance and Operations Wendy Schaffer, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, General Manager Chad Grate.

Rep. Houlahan visits Albright College’s Science Research Institute in Reading. In the recent Appropriations package that passed the House, Houlahan secured $1.5 million for Albright College to support the Science Research Institute (SRI). These funds will be used to help connect Albright students with children of Reading who can be exposed to STEAM learning so that they might fill these highly desired jobs of the future. Here, she adds to a section of a mural that will be installed in downtown Reading.

Albright’s SRI students from the STEAM Theater program perform a song they wrote for Rep. Houlahan.

At September Farm in Honey Brook, Rep. Houlahan gets a first-class cheesemaking tutorial. She spoke with workers about the current state of agriculture in the District, the agriculture workforce and more.

Rep. Houlahan meets with health care workers at Encompass Health’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Reading. CEO Judy Parker and Area CEO Mathew Gooch provided a facility tour and discussion of our community’s rehabilitation needs.

Rep. Houlahan meets with manufacturers at Arkema in Birdsboro to hear about their operation, how they’ve managed the pandemic, and the next steps in creating new job opportunities for Pennsylvanians.

“We are very thankful for Congresswoman Houlahan’s time and attention during her visit to our facility and we greatly appreciate her ongoing support for manufacturing,” said Ken Sweeney, Plant Manager, Specialty Polyamides at Arkema. “Our employees are justifiably proud of their work and of the innovative and cutting-edge products, processes and materials that they help develop and manufacture, and the Congresswoman’s interest means a lot to us.”

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Small Business Committee.