On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) held a briefing to emphasize support of small businesses before President Trump rolls out his reciprocal tariffs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00All right, Jeff, you're up.
00:12Good afternoon, everyone.
00:13Thanks for coming out.
00:14I want to thank this governor's team for coming here and picking the Brew Works as a location.
00:20Also want to thank today we have Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, State Representative
00:28Josh Siegel, State Representative Gene McNeil, and State Representative Steve Samuelson,
00:35as well as State Senator Lisa Boscola and Bethlehem Mayor Willie Reynolds.
00:40So thank you, everyone, for coming out.
00:42The Brew Works was established in 1998.
00:45We've been here, we're about to have our 27th anniversary, and we're right here on Main
00:50Street and we picked the Main Street because of the simple flow of people coming through
00:57the town.
00:58It's an awesome historic downtown.
01:00If you've never been to Bethlehem before, we have a historic hotel that is phenomenal.
01:06There is places to get ice cream, you name it, but it's super walkable, beautiful downtown,
01:11and that was the main reason that we picked here.
01:15Obviously there's some great concerns with what's going on right now with the economy,
01:19the future of the economy, and specifically these tariffs, which are a concern for small
01:23businesses like myself and for many.
01:28And it's a big unknown as to what's going to happen, how that's going to affect them.
01:30We have ingredients that come from Canada and other things that are sourced that potentially
01:36are going to be increasing overnight, and I'm glad that the Governor is here to speak
01:42about that because I know it concerns him.
01:44He was just speaking about it yesterday.
01:47So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Governor Shapiro.
01:50Thanks, Chair.
01:52Thanks, Greg.
01:54Thanks, Chair.
01:56It's great to be in Bethlehem.
01:59It's especially great to be at Fegley's.
02:02And Jeff, thank you for welcoming us.
02:04Thanks for building just an incredible Brew Works here, a place that is a destination
02:10for tourists, a place that is a destination for locals, and a place that has strengthened
02:15our Main Street here in Bethlehem.
02:19And I know we're going to, we appreciate your voice, and we're going to hear from Beau in
02:24just a moment from Sherman Street Beer Company, a guy who got his start right here at Fegley's
02:30and has continued on this great tradition.
02:34I too want to thank the representatives and the Senator for being here.
02:38I'm very grateful for the partnership that we have to help move Pennsylvania forward.
02:44And I always think of my buddy Willie Reynolds when I'm on Main Street in Bethlehem.
02:49This guy has done an unbelievable job as mayor of Bethlehem.
02:54We've known each other for more than a decade.
02:56I'm so proud of his leadership and proud of what he has built and what he continues to build.
03:01So Mr. Mayor, thanks for welcoming us back into your hometown.
03:06It is always good to be back at a bustling brewery, one of the incredible businesses
03:11right here on Main Street in Bethlehem.
03:13And one of the things I love most about Pennsylvania is that no matter where you go, rural, urban,
03:19suburban communities, every community's got a Main Street.
03:23Sometimes those Main Streets have real tall buildings, sometimes they're single-story,
03:27sometimes it's real long, sometimes it's a little shorter.
03:30But the beating heart of our communities across Pennsylvania, well, they are our Main Streets.
03:37And I think the economic strength of our towns and cities is directly tied to small businesses
03:43like Fegley's and others that line our Main Streets and give people places to go and give
03:49them purpose in their communities.
03:52You know, as your governor, I've made a point to visit Pennsylvania's Main Streets and not
03:56just talk to those business owners, but invest in those business owners to strengthen our
04:02Main Streets, especially right here in Bethlehem.
04:06Last year, my administration launched, with the help of each lawmaker who is here, the
04:11Main Street Matters Initiative, with an historic $20 million investment to support the businesses
04:19and the communities that depend on these Main Streets.
04:22This was built on the successful Keystone Communities Initiative.
04:27And those grants are helping cities and towns across Pennsylvania upgrade the facades of
04:33old buildings, repair sidewalks, make safer streets, and invest directly in our Main Street
04:41businesses.
04:42In 2024, I know the mayor will talk more about this, Bethlehem City received two Keystone
04:48Community Grants, one to repair building facades right here in the historic downtown
04:53district and another to repair a blighted building to give it new life and new purpose.
05:00Even businesses along this corridor who don't get a direct funding from the Commonwealth
05:06still benefit because I believe a rising tide lifts all boats along our Main Streets and
05:13Bethlehem is a great example of that.
05:16Now my administration has a very strategic approach when it comes to creating economic
05:21opportunity in every community across our Commonwealth, rural, urban, and suburban.
05:27And that approach is guided by the Commonwealth's first economic development strategy in more
05:32than 20 years, economic development strategy that focuses heavily on our Main Streets.
05:39Let me give you an example of where our Main Street businesses, our manufacturing sector,
05:45and our ag sector, three areas that we highlight in that economic development strategy.
05:51Let me give you an area of where they all intersect.
05:54Well, right around local craft breweries like this one.
05:59Craft brewers often line Main Streets like right here in Bethlehem and they purchase
06:04supplies like cans and kegs from Pennsylvania manufacturers and ingredients like malt and
06:11hops and fruit from local Pennsylvania farmers.
06:15They take in all of those ingredients and equipment and they create some incredible
06:20beer like right here at Fegley's.
06:23And then they go on to sell that beer in tap rooms, in restaurants, and in our grocery
06:29stores.
06:30As part of our economic development strategy, my administration is helping grow industries
06:35like craft brewing compete and win on a national level.
06:41In fact, craft brewing contributes $5.4 billion to the Pennsylvania economy every year.
06:49We are home to 530 craft breweries across Pennsylvania and we produce more than 3 million
06:56barrels of beer each and every year.
06:59That puts us as second in the nation.
07:03Now I am competitive as hell.
07:04I would like us to be first in the nation and I believe we can be if we continue to
07:10invest in our breweries and we continue to invest in our Main Streets.
07:15Last year, we invested a half a million dollars into research and marketing grants to boost
07:20sales and production of Pennsylvania craft beer and malt beverages.
07:25And I want to say thank you to the representatives and the senator who are here who funded that.
07:31Remember, we've got a divided legislature.
07:33For us to be able to pass any of this funding requires votes from Democrats and Republicans
07:38and every single one of your representatives and your senator have lined up to support
07:43initiatives like this that support communities like Bethlehem.
07:48I think standing up as they have, as I've tried to do, for our Main Streets, for our
07:52small businesses is particularly important, especially right now.
07:58I'm mindful that we are here today in Bethlehem on the same day that the federal government
08:04is about to impose massive tariffs across the board.
08:08And I'm worried about the impacts on Pennsylvania businesses once those tariffs hit and other
08:14countries then hit us back with retaliatory tariffs.
08:18Listen, this is not hard to understand.
08:22You do not need a degree in economics in order to make sense of what is about to occur.
08:29A tariff is a tax and it increases the price for consumers and for businesses.
08:38Let's take aluminum, for example, the aluminum that the beer comes in, in that can.
08:45The Trump administration has already implemented a 25% tariff on aluminum that comes from Canada
08:52and other countries.
08:53The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said these tariffs will lead to higher costs for American
08:58businesses and consumers that use that aluminum.
09:03But again, you do not need an advanced degree in economics to understand that Trump's tariffs
09:09are just a tax on consumers and the businesses that need that aluminum to package their goods
09:17like the beer here at our craft brewers.
09:2075% of craft brews are sold in aluminum cans.
09:26So when aluminum is harder to find or more expensive to buy, that drives up the cost
09:33of producing your favorite local beer.
09:36And it's not just the can that that beer comes in.
09:39It's how the beer itself is made and brewed.
09:43The vats that are used in order to process that beer, well, they're made of steel.
09:48Steel is now subject to additional tariffs, additional tax.
09:53Many of our small craft brewers source their malted barley from Canada.
10:00And the cost of that malt barley has gone up because of these tariffs, and it's made
10:06it harder to source it domestically, primarily because the big purchasers, the big beer companies
10:13gather most of it, but also because of the market forces that are being changed from
10:18this tariff war that the president is putting in place.
10:22So whether it is the malted barley, whether it is the vats where the beer is made, or
10:27the aluminum cans that you drink the beer out of, all of it is going to cost more.
10:33And ultimately, it forces people like Jeff and Bo to unfortunately have to pass that
10:39cost on to consumers.
10:41They don't want to do that.
10:42They don't want to raise prices.
10:43They want to actually cut their prices.
10:46But the federal government is now making it harder for them to get by and forcing them
10:52to have to pass these costs on to consumers.
10:56And because of President Trump's tariff war, it is going to make it more expensive for
11:01them to do business and for consumers to enjoy their delicious beers and their wonderful
11:06food.
11:07So for all of the talk coming out of Washington, out of this administration, about bringing
11:12companies to the United States, we are here in Pennsylvania with a local small business
11:20that sources their materials locally, that sells locally, and they're still going to
11:26be faced with higher costs.
11:29And people are going to suffer because of these tariffs that the president implemented
11:34last month and he is going to expand upon later today.
11:39I'm not sure why the president of the United States wants to do this to our small businesses,
11:43wants to harm our main streets.
11:45But here in Pennsylvania, I want you to know that I give a damn about our small businesses
11:50and I give a damn about our main streets.
11:54And I am trying, together with these lawmakers, to make life easier for our small businesses,
12:00to make life easier and more profitable for those businesses that line our main streets.
12:07We're going to continue to invest in our main streets and we're going to continue to cut
12:12costs, as we have in the past by cutting taxes for our small businesses, to continue
12:17to cut costs and cut taxes for our small businesses to help them get ahead.
12:23I just wish the president wasn't working against us as recklessly as he is.
12:30This tariff war that he is starting, this button that he is pushing, is going to have
12:36one effect, and that effect is to drive up costs on consumers and businesses throughout
12:43Pennsylvania at a time where we can't afford that.
12:47And it's going to make our lives way more difficult and it's going to make it harder
12:51for us to be able to cut costs for our small businesses that I know could use a break.
12:57I want to thank Fegley's for welcoming us here today, for showing us what it means to
13:02have a dream, a dream to build a small business on a main street right here in Bethlehem,
13:08to give people an outlet to come together and enjoy themselves, to eat great food and
13:13drink great beer and enjoy one another.
13:17Unfortunately, costs are going up because of decisions in Washington.
13:21It's not the folks here at Fegley's fault, it's Donald Trump's fault, and we're going
13:25to do everything we can in Pennsylvania to continue to invest in our main streets, our
13:30businesses, and push back on this policy coming out of Washington, and meet this disastrous
13:36reckless policy with more common sense here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
13:42So right now, it's my pleasure to invite Bo up to share a little bit about Sherman Street
13:48Beer Company, his vision, what he learned here at Fegley's, and what he's been able
13:53to build in his small business.
13:55Bo, the floor is yours.
13:58Thanks everybody for coming out.
14:03Let's see if I get this right.
14:06They bring a brewer in to talk about beer.
14:10That's the hard part.
14:11The talking.
14:12If you put a beer in my hand, I'm much better.
14:15But I'll try to get through it.
14:18I'm good for now.
14:19We'll get through it.
14:20But as I said, my name is Bo Baden, I'm the owner of Sherman Street Beer Company over
14:25in East Allentown.
14:27We're a mom and pop operation.
14:30Myself and my wife run it day to day, and we've built a great community over there in
14:37our neighborhood, and we're a great meeting place for folks.
14:42We love seeing people come in daily, talking to folks of all different kinds and everything
14:46like that.
14:47We've been in business for four years, we've navigated plenty of challenges over the years,
14:54we're facing a new hurdle with the tariffs now.
14:57This new hurdle is going to affect us a bit.
15:02It's going to add some cost on our end.
15:06Our suppliers are going to be passing on the cost of them to us.
15:12Cans are a big portion of our business.
15:14Beer has to go into a can or a keg or something else.
15:19So we've got to figure out what we're going to be doing to offset that.
15:25It's either we eat the money on our end, we're a small business where profit margins are
15:32very tiny, in the 5% to 10% range.
15:35It's very small, so we have to figure if we have to pass it on to a consumer who are also
15:40price sensitive right now, it's a big, difficult decision to make.
15:46We want to be in business for as long as possible and keep growing and expanding.
15:50If we have to buy more tanks, there's obviously a cost on to that.
15:56On that note, I know there's a lot of other small breweries out there, a lot of owners
16:00out there hoping to sustain this hurdle.
16:04I just want to thank the governor for having us out and everybody here today for coming
16:07out and having us here.
16:11Thank you guys.
16:18And up next is the mayor.
16:19Yes, I want to speak.
16:22Thank you, Bo.
16:23It is an honor for the governor to come here to the great city of Bethlehem to talk about
16:30the effect of the consequences of these tariffs going forward, but also to allow some of our
16:34small businesses to tell that Bethlehem story.
16:38The Bethlehem story is not a Democratic or Republican story.
16:41It's an American story.
16:42And the BrewerX has been a key part of that city of Bethlehem comeback.
16:46I think everybody across our country, across Pennsylvania knows Bethlehem Steel declined.
16:52Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was at a crossroads.
16:53And I remember I was saying when I was in high school, too young to come in to have
16:56a beer, when the BrewerX came to Bethlehem in April of 1998, it was a symbol.
17:02It was a symbol that Bethlehem was on its way back.
17:05And what we've accomplished as a community over the past 25 years is nonpartisan.
17:10It's bipartisan.
17:11We've been able to attract new investment, new families, people that want to live here,
17:15people that want to move here, people that want to send their kids to school here.
17:18And the backbone of that has been jobs.
17:20In 2008, we had about 28,000 jobs.
17:23Now we're up over 42,000 jobs in the city of Bethlehem.
17:27That American success story has come down to the fact that we have governors like Governor
17:32Shapiro, we have state representatives like Representative McNeil and Samuelson, State
17:37Senator Bascola, who come and they listen.
17:40And they listen to our businesses and they go back to Harrisburg.
17:44Contrast what we're doing in Pennsylvania on economic development with what's going
17:48on in Washington.
17:49The governor launched a year-long listening tour where he took his staff to every corner,
17:55I think he probably went to all 67 counties, and heard from our business community.
18:00What do you need to create jobs?
18:02What do you need to bring people to Pennsylvania?
18:05I am old enough to remember 20 years ago when the plan was, how do we hold on to our
18:09young people?
18:10How do we hold on to our 20-year-olds, our 30-year-olds, our 40-year-olds in the state
18:14of Pennsylvania?
18:15This governor, this legislature has done that, and those investments have worked in places
18:19like Bethlehem.
18:20I do a lot of getting out in the community, a lot of knocking on doors.
18:23There's a couple things I know.
18:25People like where Pennsylvania is, they like where Bethlehem is, and they're real scared
18:29and uncertain about what's going on in Washington.
18:32It's the instability that is not what you want as a family, it's not what you want as
18:36a business.
18:38The Fegleys are a success story here in the city of Bethlehem.
18:40They're about to celebrate 27 years of success here in one of the most prominent corners
18:45we have in Bethlehem.
18:47And when they came and they invested their hard-earned family dollars, it allowed the
18:51city to invest money, it allowed the state to invest money.
18:54And looking at what's going on in Washington right now and what those potential threats
18:57could be, it scares all of us.
19:00So I want to thank the governor for coming today, for choosing Bethlehem, choosing to
19:05magnify our success story, because what we've been able to do is add those jobs, become
19:10the safest city in Pennsylvania, top 100 place to live over and over and over again across
19:16America.
19:17And we've done that because we cooperate, we work with our private sector, we work with
19:21our state and federal leaders to be able to drive investment and let people follow the
19:25American dream and accomplish those goals like the Fegleys, like Bo and so many others.
19:30So we stand here concerned about what's going to happen at 4 o'clock and later on today
19:34in the coming months.
19:36Bethlehem will have the Fegleys back, we'll have your back, Bo.
19:39Any time you want to come back here to Bethlehem, we've got a space for you.
19:42And I know our state legislator and our governor will have our back.
19:46And with that, I'm going to turn it over to my great friend, Senator Bascola, to make
19:49some comments.
19:52Well, thank you, Governor Shapiro, for being here once again, again.
20:00He's been here so many times.
20:02And I can tell you, I've been in office for 30 years.
20:05I've never seen a governor be in the Lehigh Valley as much as this governor has.
20:09And he's only been here two years.
20:13Yeah, that's amazing.
20:14And I know he is competitive.
20:17And that's why nationally, he's all over the news as well.
20:20He's just such a great governor for Pennsylvania.
20:23And now when you heard him speak, you can see why.
20:26Anyway, I want to talk about, like, 30 years ago, when you walked down Main Street in Bethlehem,
20:31you would have wondered if the city would survive, right?
20:34Because the largest employer, Bethlehem Steel at the time, had closed due to globalization
20:40and competition.
20:41So the Hotel Bethlehem was on the verge, and that's down the road of closing, and the community
20:46was deeply concerned about its future.
20:48That was 30 years ago.
20:50This very building was once a Woolworth's.
20:54Does anybody know what a Woolworth's was?
20:56Anyway, it was a five-and-dime store, a relic of another era.
21:00And back then, I'm pretty sure no one even heard of what a microbrewery was 30 years
21:05ago, let alone even imagining one thriving here like it is today.
21:11So when discussing the impacts of tariffs, you have to fundamentally understand the impact
21:17on an overall business.
21:19The president says 25 percent, although pick a number, I don't know, 10, 20, 50.
21:24He goes back and forth all the time.
21:26But what does that mean?
21:27So despite the number, what does that mean?
21:29Well, here at this brewery, your malt and barley has to come from somewhere.
21:34You have to buy it.
21:35There's no avoiding it.
21:37There's no avoiding it.
21:38So businesses like this can't absorb the increases without taking a hit to their bottom line.
21:45And what are their choices?
21:46You either have to raise prices, or you have to absorb it somehow.
21:50Not a good scenario.
21:51So Bethlehem is a community that knows all too well how the global trade can decimate
21:57an industry.
21:58When Bethlehem Steel shut its doors, it wasn't just the factory that closed.
22:03It was thousands of jobs, generations of pride, and the backbone of the city.
22:09Outside the Steelworkers Hall, and you know this, there was an I-beam with a simple message
22:14that was welded into it that said, stop illegal steel dumping.
22:19It was a visual reminder of what happens when foreign competition undercuts American workers.
22:27And yet, Bethlehem and its resiliency did not give up.
22:32This city has thrived in decades since the steel mill closed, thanks to the resilience
22:37and vision of families like the Fegleys.
22:4027 years ago, the Fegley family took a chance on themselves, on Bethlehem, and on a little
22:47known concept, a microbrewery.
22:50And today, microbreweries are a commonplace.
22:53They become a cornerstone of the main streets, like the governor said, throughout the commonwealth.
22:58And this certainly wasn't the case 27 years ago.
23:01The craft brewery industry has had a tremendous, positive, such a positive impact on our communities
23:06across the commonwealth.
23:08And today, in the Lehigh Valley, it's home to over 20 craft breweries.
23:12However, like so many of the restaurants and taverns, craft breweries are still attempting
23:17to recover from the pandemic.
23:20And now we're adding tariffs on top.
23:22I don't know how you're going to handle this, but I can tell you, the governor and I and
23:27our legislature are here to try to figure out how we're going to help you during this
23:30turmoil.
23:31And like I said earlier, the proposed tariffs will impact aluminum, malt, barley, which
23:37will have a clear impact on our craft brewing industry.
23:40So we need to stand with this industry and what it has done to rebuild our main streets
23:45across Pennsylvania.
23:47Consumer data does show that with tariffs looming and concerns over increased prices
23:53across the board, consumers are already cutting back on items, including craft beer.
24:00People when they're unsure about the economy, they're going to spend less, or they're not
24:03going to spend their money.
24:04It's just a fact.
24:06And the tariff on Canadian barley and malt will affect all breweries.
24:11Even those that don't use imported grain will feel the impact, as the increased demand for
24:16domestic ingredients will significantly rise prices for American barley and malt.
24:21And once the beer is brewed, the cost of steel for kegs and aluminum for cans have already
24:26been impacted by the 25% tariff currently in place for all foreign metal imports.
24:34Then you add country's boycotting to the mix.
24:37Pennsylvania breweries are already seeing lost revenue as Canadian imports of craft
24:41beer have begun canceling orders and pulling U.S. products off their shelves.
24:47Small businesses are the key to job creation, and craft breweries such as Fegley's will
24:52be significantly impacted by these tariffs.
24:55And while the governor and I cannot stop Washington from imposing these horrible tariffs, we as
25:03policy makers need to figure out how we can help you, how we can help small businesses
25:07like this when this uncertainty continues to drag out.
25:12We can highlight the impact these policies will have on Pennsylvania businesses so everyone
25:17is aware, and we can pledge to do all we can to let business owners know that we're certainly
25:24committed to helping them survive through these uncertain times.
25:28The Fegleys took a huge risk by investing in Bethlehem long before it was a sure bet.
25:35And I want you to know that we will stand by you and help you weather this storm and
25:40try to figure this out in Harrisburg.
25:42Governor, one way we can help is join the Mug Club.
25:45It's a big thing here.
25:49It is a big thing.
25:54Our state representative, Steve Sammy Samuelson.
25:59From right here in Bethlehem, as the senator said, it's really an honor to have Governor
26:04Shapiro back in Bethlehem yet again, really appreciate all your support for our community
26:09and our Lehigh Valley in so many ways, week after week, month after month.
26:15We can count on Governor Shapiro.
26:17We stand here in the vibrant downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
26:22As the mayor said, our downtown is thriving.
26:26And that is because of a supportive community, but also the investment of business people
26:32like Jeff Fegley.
26:33Just think about what we heard that Jeff started here 27 years ago, 1998.
26:40Started here in Bethlehem, nine years later, expanded to Allentown.
26:44There's an Allentown Brew Works.
26:46And today, two successful businesses.
26:49There are 75 employees who work in downtown Bethlehem, downtown Allentown, thanks to the
26:57Bethlehem Brew Works.
26:58That investment and the investment of all of the other businesses here in Main Street
27:02and our downtowns are really what makes our community thrive.
27:07It is so disappointing to have a president of the United States who seems to want to
27:12hurt small businesses, who seems to want to hurt consumers.
27:17The decisions that he's making, day by day, hour by hour, who knows how he thinks.
27:22But my goodness, imagine you're in a situation like Jeff or Beau here, and you want to expand
27:29your business.
27:31First of all, you want to maintain your business and grow your business.
27:34And you have costs.
27:35You have payroll costs.
27:36You have loans.
27:37You have raw...
27:38You have energy costs.
27:39You have ingredients.
27:41If you want to expand, Beau and I were talking about he wants to expand.
27:44I think the mayor has a good location for you.
27:47You have to buy a fermenter or a steel tank or more cans.
27:53To have the president of the United States increase your costs by 25% all at once, almost
27:59on a whim, that's crazy and it's anti-business.
28:03It's anti-small business.
28:05That policy should be rejected.
28:07I want to also say that we are trying to invest here in Pennsylvania.
28:10Governor Shapiro has shown tremendous leadership all across our state.
28:15The business, $500 million for investing in businesses all across Pennsylvania, that was
28:22a huge commitment, and it was enacted into law last summer.
28:27The $20 million for the Main Street Matters program, that was a significant increase over
28:32previous programs, and that funding is going to have an impact all over Pennsylvania.
28:38We're going to also try to keep that going in this budget and next budget and the one
28:42after.
28:43Also, targeted investments like the $500,000 for marketing and sales for craft breweries.
28:50We have a very successful craft brewery industry all across Pennsylvania.
28:54Let's continue to support that at the state level, and let's speak up and speak out against
28:58these terrible policies in Washington that are out to hurt small business.
29:06I'd like to introduce my colleague from the legislature from the 133rd District, Jeannie
29:12McNeil.
29:13She represents Bethlehem and the heart of the Lehigh Valley.
29:17Thank you, Rep. Samuelson.
29:22I want to thank Governor Shapiro for inviting me, but I also want to say thank you for almost
29:26coming to my district.
29:27It's like 100 yards.
29:28100 yards away.
29:29Yes.
29:30Hopefully, you'll put that on your bucket list for the future.
29:33As someone who grew up in Bethlehem, it's always great to come back.
29:37Many craft brewers, like the Faglies from Faglies Brew Works and Matt Rice from Hawk
29:42Mountain Brewery and so many others in the Lehigh Valley, make and sell their craft beer.
29:47They will be strongly affected, making costs rise to them and then to the consumers.
29:53Most of the craft brewers in this area are what we like to call mom-and-pop shops that
29:57start their own business and work really hard to grow and promote them.
30:02These tariffs will likely not hurt the countries that these products come from, but will hurt
30:06our local businesses and cause a deeper dive into the pockets of all who patronize these
30:11fine establishments.
30:13What this president is doing is hurting all of us, and the long-term effect will get worse.
30:19However, we must stay determined and continue our efforts to reduce the effects of these
30:23tariffs on small businesses like Faglies and Hawk Mountain Brewery and so many more.
30:29We must continue to encourage our federal policy makers to consider the impact that
30:34it's having on our area and so much more.
30:38Thanks, Reb.
30:40Thanks, Reb.
30:41And again, I want to thank Representative McNeil.
30:47I want to thank Representative Sammy Samuelson, Representative Siegel, and of course, Senator
30:52Bascola for their work.
30:54They really deliver for the Lehigh Valley, and I'm grateful that they're here.
30:59And with that, we're happy to take a few questions.
31:01Hey, Lauren.
31:02Governor, the president has named different goals in the different tariffs that have been
31:03rolled out.
31:04In some cases, it's the border.
31:05In some cases, it's bringing manufacturing and business to the U.S.
31:06What if it works?
31:07What if it helps with the border?
31:08What if it brings more manufacturing to the U.S.?
31:09What if these work?
31:10Yeah.
31:11Well, first, let me just say in general, I hope the president's policies work.
31:12Because I'm always cheering for America, and I want to see America succeed.
31:33I want to see Americans be better off.
31:37But what I've seen over the first 70 days of his administration is chaos that has resulted
31:43in higher prices, fewer rights, and more worry from so many people that I meet all across
31:51Pennsylvania.
31:52Just yesterday, I was in Mifflin County, which looks a whole lot different than where we
31:57are here in the Lehigh Valley, a rural area in Pennsylvania where hardwood is the biggest
32:03industry out there.
32:04In fact, Pennsylvania is number one in hardwoods in the entire country.
32:09We're proud of that.
32:10They dealt with these tariffs four years ago, pardon me, back in 2018 when President Trump
32:17was first in office.
32:18The entire hardwoods industry lost, as a result of these tariffs, a billion dollars.
32:25They haven't climbed back from the hole that President Trump put them in, and now he's
32:30going to hit them with even more significant tariffs.
32:35So while, of course, I'm rooting for America to succeed, I'm rooting for our president
32:39to succeed, because that means we all succeed.
32:42We have seen enough from him over his first four years, and over these first 70 days,
32:49the chaos, the confusion, the higher prices, to know that the direction he's heading in
32:55right now is really reckless and really dangerous.
32:58My job is to protect the good people of Pennsylvania.
33:01I'm doing my best every single day.
33:03I wish I had a partner in the White House who wanted to do the same for our small businesses,
33:08our students, and everybody in between.
33:10There are so many people here who have mentioned that steel is one of the things the president
33:14said he wants steel manufacturing back in the United States.
33:17Do you think these tariffs can be effective in bringing steel back to the U.S.?
33:23I'm sorry, I didn't hear the end.
33:26Let me give you a real-life example, right?
33:29I was at Voith, which is a company in York, Pennsylvania, which manufactures the turbines
33:36used to produce hydroelectric power.
33:39They're not just any company doing it.
33:41They are the largest manufacturer of these hydroelectric parts in North America, right?
33:50They source all of the steel, which is the primary material used to build these turbines,
33:55they source all of that steel from America, from domestic sources, not from Canada.
34:02And yet they're seeing their prices go way up because of the chaos that Trump has injected
34:08into the marketplace.
34:10I'm all for bringing jobs back to Pennsylvania, back to America.
34:14We work hard to do that every day, and we're showing victories there every day.
34:20But unfortunately, what we're seeing is a White House that's now actually making it
34:24harder to accomplish that.
34:27I've seen the devastating effect of trade deals that were bad for Pennsylvania, bad
34:32for America in the 90s and the early 2000s.
34:36But just by slapping across the board 20, 25 percent tariffs, as the president's doing
34:41in such a reckless way, that's not going to spur American manufacturing.
34:46I'll tell you what will spur American manufacturing, investing in businesses here in America, not
34:53cutting money that's supposed to go to them and raising their costs.
34:57I'll tell you what else is going to make us more competitive in America, investing in
35:01our schools and STEM education.
35:03I'll tell you what else is going to make us competitive in America, being healthy and
35:08not eviscerating the Department of Human Services and making it harder for people to be healthy,
35:14making it harder for us to stop diseases, whether in humans or in birds.
35:19I'll tell you what else is going to make us more competitive, investing today in our
35:25workforce so more people learn how to be welders and more people learn the skills that they
35:31need to do the jobs of today and tomorrow.
35:34All things we're doing in Pennsylvania and all things the federal government is walking
35:39back on.
35:40You want to know how to beat China?
35:42Invest in our workforce for tomorrow.
35:45Invest in American excellence.
35:48Instead, we've got a president who's hollowing out the skills that we need, divesting from
35:54business and raising costs on consumers.
35:57That's a surefire way to fall backwards when it comes to the world order, and it's a surefire
36:03way to not be as competitive as we've been historically.
36:07I have a question that's a little bit off topic, but it's not a great consequence to it.
36:12I had a great deal of news this morning.
36:14There was an announcement that the Homer City Power Plant, formerly the largest coal-powered
36:18plant in the state, is going to reopen as a gas-fired plant that will generate electricity
36:25for data centers and A-ops.
36:27Recently, we had an announcement about TMI, TMI-1 is going to reopen.
36:31It's also a famous power plant here in the state.
36:33We're going to sell electricity to Microsoft.
36:36Should everyday Pennsylvanians be concerned that powerful entities are getting first dibs
36:44on big new sources of electricity?
36:47I think in general terms, and I'll just make a general comment about Homer City, because
36:52obviously a lot more details have to come out, and then let me answer the crux of your
36:57question.
36:58I've made clear Pennsylvania is an energy leader.
37:01We are a net energy exporter, and I made clear through my lightning plan that I put
37:06forth that we need to generate more energy here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
37:11It is essential for our state's economy, and I believe it's essential for our national
37:16security.
37:18My administration has obviously been engaged with folks at Homer City, and we are pleased
37:24to see a project go forward.
37:26There are obviously a lot of questions that still need to be answered, a lot of permits
37:30that need to be received, and I'll reserve the balance of my comments when there are
37:34more details that we can share on that.
37:37In general, to the heart of your question before, I want to make sure that we win the
37:45battle on AI here in America, and we don't let China beat us on that front.
37:51Pennsylvania is going to have something to say about it, because we have energy that
37:55can be used to power these data centers, that can be used to power the Gen AI models
38:00that we're going to need in order to win.
38:03Now, what we have to do as we generate that power, and as power is used by the AI industry,
38:10is to ensure that it does not result in increased costs for consumers.
38:16And the way we do that is by generating more power than what we have now, constructing
38:21power purchase agreements that work for both the data center and work for local communities.
38:27And I'm confident that we can do that by all working together, the energy companies, the
38:32data companies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and our local communities.
38:36Governor, I have a very off-topic question.
38:38Can I ask you after you answer now?
38:39Yeah, let me just see if there's more on this, okay?
38:41Anything else on this?
38:43Okay, good.
38:44Morning call, good?
38:45Okay.
38:45There's been some concern raised over the transparency in the process of the opioid
38:50trust.
38:51Just curious how you think it's going so far?
38:54You know, I worked hard as attorney general, together with initially three other attorneys
38:59general from across the country, it was two Democrats, two Republicans, to ensure that
39:04we were able to recoup the ill-gotten gains from the pharmaceutical companies and bring
39:10them back to our respective states to help people who are suffering the disease of addiction
39:16get the treatment that they need.
39:18I'm proud of the work that I did as attorney general, which resulted in over $2 billion
39:23coming back to the Commonwealth.
39:24Part of what we constructed in that settlement was that 85 cents of every dollar, 85% of
39:30the money that would come back to the Commonwealth, would go to our counties and have county
39:35governments give those dollars out, appropriate those dollars in a way that ensured the maximum
39:42benefit from those who are suffering the disease of addiction.
39:46I expect counties and the 15% that the state doles out, which we do through our appropriations
39:52process.
39:53I expect counties to be open and transparent in how they give out the money.
39:57I expect the entity that delivers the money to the counties to be open and transparent
40:02about that.
40:02And I expect the money to go to treatment and related services as required by law under
40:09that settlement agreement.
40:11Okay?
40:11I'm curious in particular about the trust itself, what they need behind closed doors.
40:15It's not open to public input, so...
40:17I expect those dollars to be given out in accordance with the law, and I expect transparency
40:22in that process.
40:23How do you define transparency in that process?
40:25I expect the dollars to make their way to the community in the way in which the settlement
40:31agreement was constructed.
40:33Those dollars to make it to counties, 85% of it, and for the counties to provide it
40:37for treatment and for related services as according to the schedule that's affixed
40:43to that underlying agreement.
40:45Thank you all very much.
40:46Appreciate it.