00:03 - Good afternoon.

00:04 - I'm Doug Furness, and welcome

00:05 - to this episode of the Public Affairs Forum, sponsored by Capital Blue Cross.

00:09 - Capital blue cross as a regional blue Cross plan, serving approximately

00:13 - 800,000 members in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

00:18 - I want to thank PCN, our long time partner in these broadcasts, for the commitment

00:23 - to the program and to the relationship it has with Capital Blue Cross.

00:27 - We look forward to continuing that relationship for many years to come.

00:31 - Our format today is familiar to many of you.

00:34 - Our guests will make a brief presentation followed by a question and answer period

00:37 - moderated by me.

00:39 - If a member of the audience of the live audience wants to ask a question,

00:42 - please submit it through the Q&A function and I will ask it of our guest.

00:46 - The whole program should last about an hour.

00:50 - Our guest today

00:51 - is is a friend of the program, a repeat guest

00:55 - and former Pennsylvania Senator Ryan Allman from Lancaster County.

01:00 - Ryan is currently the Pennsylvania

01:03 - state director for our newly elected

01:06 - US Senator, Dave McCormick.

01:09 - Ryan is an eighth generation Pennsylvanian from,

01:12 - Lancaster County, built his, career in public service grounded in his military

01:18 - experience, educational background, and commitment to conservative values.

01:22 - Went to Simulink High School, graduated in 1985, and then went to the Citadel

01:28 - in South Carolina, where he graduated in 1999.

01:33 - After.

01:34 - After his studies, he served as a captain in the U.S.

01:36 - Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom, receiving the Bronze

01:39 - Star, the Army Commendation Medal, and an Army Achievement Medal

01:42 - in recognition of his leadership and combat and social affairs roles.

01:48 - After leaving the military, he entered public service

01:51 - at the local level, was elected to borough council and then serving as clerk

01:55 - of Courts for Lancaster County before being elected to the Pennsylvania House

01:59 - from the 41st District in Lancaster County in 2010,

02:02 - and then served, as I mentioned, the Pennsylvania State Senate.

02:06 - He was elected in the Senate to the Senate in 2014,

02:10 - and they served there until

02:12 - leaving that office to go to work for our current U.S.

02:15 - Senator, Dave McCormick.

02:17 - He's a friend of the program.

02:18 - Personal friend, great person, smart guy.

02:21 - Please welcome Ryan Olmert as our guest today.

02:26 - Great.

02:26 - Thank you so much. So much.

02:28 - Thank you for that kind introduction.

02:30 - And, Doug, it's good to be back with you.

02:32 - And and, have the opportunity to dialog,

02:36 - with you all this afternoon.

02:38 - First of all, I'll only correct one part of your bio.

02:41 - You said I graduated from Blanco High School in 1985.

02:44 - It was 1995 and then graduated from The Citadel.

02:47 - Then four years later in 1999, before going on active duty.

02:51 - While I, my children remind me daily

02:53 - how old I'm getting, I'm not a 1985 high school graduate.

02:57 - Little, little younger than that.

02:59 - But, it's so good to be with you.

03:00 - And I think the last time that I was on this program, I was a member

03:04 - of the Pennsylvania State Senate, where I had served for ten years.

03:09 - Served for four years prior to that in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

03:12 - And, and loved my time in the General Assembly.

03:14 - I enjoyed working as the, Senate Majority Whip,

03:17 - and I love working with my staff and my colleagues.

03:21 - And I have to tell you, last December, nearly a year ago,

03:25 - when Senator McCormick, asked me to take on this role

03:28 - as his state director, it was not something I was expecting.

03:32 - It was not something I was contemplating.

03:33 - I wasn't looking to make a career change.

03:36 - I wasn't planning on leaving the General Assembly before my term representing

03:40 - the residence in northern Lancaster County in the 36 to 36 district was was up.

03:45 - But it was a easy, yes.

03:48 - For Senator McCormick when, when he called me, though unexpected, I was busy. Yes.

03:53 - I had a chance to get to know

03:55 - him, on the campaign trail when he was running for the U.S.

03:58 - Senate in 2022.

04:00 - Stayed in contact with him after that campaign and then, of course,

04:03 - supported him and spent a lot of time with him on the campaign trail in 2024.

04:07 - So I got a chance to see him and see him up close and get to know him

04:11 - and his wife, Dina, and hear of his vision,

04:14 - for Pennsylvania, for

04:15 - our country, and respected the way he spoke.

04:20 - How thoughtful.

04:21 - Solutions oriented he is.

04:24 - And believed then and believe now that he can be

04:27 - and will be a transformational leader here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

04:31 - and will have a tremendous impact on the future of of our country.

04:35 - And so it was an easy yes.

04:37 - When he asked me to take on this job, I then, announced

04:41 - that I was resigning my state Senate seat, which I did at the end of December.

04:44 - And then I assumed this new position with him

04:47 - starting on January 3rd.

04:50 - Really?

04:51 - He asked of me three things initially.

04:53 - The first was to,

04:56 - build his team, build his state team.

04:58 - We had seven offices across the Commonwealth,

05:02 - four regional directors, two regional manager, seven offices.

05:06 - I'm today in our office here in Harrisburg,

05:10 - which is my home office that I spend a decent amount of time on the road.

05:13 - We have offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Erie

05:17 - State College, Scranton and Allentown.

05:20 - We have an outstanding team of, field reps,

05:23 - regional directors and caseworkers.

05:26 - So step number one was to build the team, recruit the team, and,

05:30 - build a culture here in the state and ensure that we were delivering

05:34 - high quality constituent service for the residents of Pennsylvania.

05:38 - So our staff stands ready, to, to assist, the residents of Pennsylvania.

05:44 - The second task was to be his, eyes and ears

05:47 - to ensure that the policy priorities in Washington, his policy priorities

05:53 - reflected the priorities of the people of Pennsylvania, that his agenda reflected

05:57 - the important, priorities of the residents of of this Commonwealth.

06:02 - And then, third is to,

06:05 - service his ambassador when he's in Washington, DC.

06:09 - And the scheduled Washington has been intense this year.

06:13 - I have the opportunity to represent him

06:16 - in every corner of this Commonwealth, the meetings that he would like to take.

06:19 - But he can't, because in Washington, those are often, assigned to me.

06:24 - And I have the opportunity to travel, and to, to tour

06:28 - and to provide an update to folks as to what's happening in Washington, DC.

06:33 - It's been incredibly rewarding, incredibly fulfilling work.

06:37 - Folks asked me if I if I missed the General Assembly.

06:40 - There's some, some folks I miss and some aspects of the job,

06:44 - but I'm absolutely loving this opportunity to have, an impact,

06:48 - on the entire state and to serve, side by side

06:52 - with Senator McCormick on behalf of Pennsylvanians and, shaping,

06:56 - an agenda during an exciting time in, in our country.

07:00 - Just a couple of policy priorities I'd like to mention.

07:02 - And I'd love to have, a question and answer in the dialog with you

07:05 - and make sure we're talking about issues that folks are interested in.

07:09 - As I'm sure many who are listening are aware,

07:13 - Sam McCormick has talked quite a bit about the AI data center revolution.

07:19 - And we held a exciting summit on July 15th in Pittsburgh,

07:23 - the Energy and Innovation Summit, where we announced, over $90

07:27 - billion of investment here in Pennsylvania in the,

07:31 - innovation, the AI data center and energy space.

07:36 - It was an exciting event to be part of.

07:38 - The president was there.

07:39 - We had a number of CEOs.

07:41 - It was a bipartisan events under Fetterman.

07:44 - Attended portions.

07:45 - Governor Shapiro was there to participate in a, fireside

07:49 - chat with Senator McCormick.

07:51 - It's been a bipartisan effort, and this is an exciting time.

07:55 - There are a lot of challenges, and I know a lot of concerns among residents

07:59 - of this Commonwealth in terms of what the impact is on electricity prices

08:02 - and the demand on the electricity grid, on water consumption, on land usage.

08:07 - But this is a revolution that that is coming.

08:09 - And the question is,

08:11 - is China going to win this race, or is the United States going to win this race?

08:15 - And is North Carolina and Virginia?

08:17 - Are these jobs, these opportunities

08:19 - going to go elsewhere in the United States,

08:21 - or are they going to come here in Pennsylvania as Pennsylvania lead?

08:24 - Or is Pennsylvania going to follow?

08:26 - And so this is an exciting time.

08:27 - And so we are committed, certainly, to ensuring that Pennsylvania takes

08:31 - full advantage in a responsible way in the I,

08:35 - energy data center revolution.

08:38 - Second, Senator McCormick has prioritized permitting and regulatory reform.

08:42 - This is certainly an issue I confronted during my time in

08:45 - the legislature was a high priority.

08:47 - The Senate Republican Caucus,

08:48 - as it continues to be in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

08:52 - And so, Senator McCormick has certainly been an advocate

08:54 - for permitting and regulatory reform at the state.

08:56 - But certainly at the federal level.

08:59 - Third, Mr.

09:01 - McCormick has prioritized

09:03 - and I think you'll hear more about this in the years to come.

09:06 - Defense, free industrialization and shipbuilding,

09:09 - ensuring that as we increase, our, defense capabilities, as we increase

09:14 - investment in, national defense, Pennsylvanians should, benefit from that.

09:20 - Pennsylvanians should benefit that. And we should see,

09:24 - increased economic opportunities for Pennsylvanians or relates

09:26 - to the defense industry and shipbuilding and then finally, life sciences.

09:31 - Just prior to the federal government shutdown,

09:33 - we were anticipating having a visit.

09:36 - By the NIH director, both in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,

09:39 - to talk about reform at the NIH, reforming invest,

09:44 - reforming the mechanism for funding for life sciences,

09:47 - but calling for increased investment in the life sciences tremendously,

09:51 - not just in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, certainly Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,

09:54 - but opportunities throughout Pennsylvania to benefit tremendously,

09:58 - from from the life sciences.

10:00 - So you'll certainly be hearing more about,

10:03 - those issues in the in the coming year.

10:06 - From Senator McCormick again.

10:08 - I know he would want me to extend to you his best wishes.

10:12 - It's an honor, as he says.

10:14 - And every Benny's

10:14 - action to represent Pennsylvania ends in the United States Senate.

10:18 - And our office stands ready to, to assist you.

10:21 - If we can be of of assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out.

10:25 - And if you have input, feedback on anything, the center McCormick

10:29 - has said, or anything we discussed today, but please don't hesitate to reach out.

10:32 - Doug, thank you so much for having me.

10:35 - I know that was a bit of a, a quick 32nd or a quick 30,000ft view.

10:41 - But I look forward to the discussion.

10:44 - Thank you for that.

10:45 - Before we get started, I apologize.

10:47 - When I sent 85, I have it 95 on my, my notes.

10:51 - So that was a verbal typo, and I apologize for that.

10:53 - Well, I made the bio made sense, and you are?

10:56 - You weren't aging me too quickly.

10:58 - But like I said, my my kids already think I'm aging.

11:01 - I think subconsciously, I made you about my age.

11:04 - Oh, I, I, I apologize for that.

11:08 - Two other things before we get started.

11:11 - Your Citadel grad, my brother just assumed,

11:15 - the superintendency at VMI they played last week.

11:18 - So, you know, that was a heck of a game.

11:21 - Who won that football game?

11:23 - I was getting texts through it that that would have been their first win.

11:26 - They were up 21 to nothing and lost like 42, 24.

11:30 - That's yes, I did.

11:31 - So, great. Great schools both.

11:34 - I was it's interesting.

11:36 - I was this close to going to VMI.

11:40 - I'd applied to both the suit, VMI.

11:41 - I thought I was I visited loved the campus there in Lexington, Virginia,

11:47 - and then got the acceptance letter to the Citadel as well.

11:49 - I thought, well, I better go visit, check it out, make a decision.

11:52 - So people ask me all the time how I ended up there.

11:54 - And it was really a shallow, as you know, an 80 year old high school

11:56 - student leaving Lancaster County in February, landing in Charleston,

12:00 - seeing the Palmetto trees and 75 degrees.

12:03 - I thought, this is where I want to be.

12:05 - But it was a great school, great experience.

12:07 - That sounds, you sound like, when I talked to your,

12:12 - your fellow colleague Scott Martin, and he talks about kids leaving the state,

12:15 - and you sit there you go.

12:16 - And these kids are all going south because college seems to be a little bit,

12:20 - more enticing when you're someplace warm than it is up here.

12:23 - And any of that.

12:25 - The last thing I want to say before we get started is,

12:28 - your boss, Senator McCormick.

12:29 - Obviously.

12:30 - Home run hire by hiring you, it's like getting Mario Mariano Rivera,

12:33 - to finish the game when he can't be around.

12:36 - Because now you're on the side of the stat, you know, a staffer.

12:39 - Now, and not not all staff can speak with the the depth

12:43 - on these issues, and the variety of issues that you face as you can.

12:47 - So that's a home run heart for him.

12:48 - So congratulations to him.

12:50 - You know, I,

12:51 - I told him when we had that initial conversation that the one concern was

12:55 - that I had been I had been a principal, so to speak, for 14 years,

12:59 - and it had been a long time. So I've done staff work.

13:01 - And so I was just very transparent about them that I was, for him one,

13:05 - to make sure that he was totally confident that I could do staff type work.

13:09 - And he said, I absolutely am.

13:10 - However, the fact that you were an elected official are an elected official

13:15 - and had been a principal

13:16 - is actually what's so appealing in terms of what I envision for the job.

13:19 - So I'm grateful these sort of giving me the opportunity to do it.

13:22 - It's been a little bit of a learning curve for me going back to,

13:25 - you know, early on I was having to manage my own schedule

13:28 - for the first time in 14 years, and I was horrible at it.

13:31 - So, you know, it's been a bit of a learning,

13:33 - but it's been also it's been exhilarating.

13:35 - The challenge that's been been energizing.

13:37 - Outstanding. Now,

13:40 - we're a health insurance company, you know that.

13:42 - You probably know where my first question is coming from.

13:44 - And it's it's kind of like a two part question.

13:46 - It's obviously the,

13:48 - the the current,

13:50 - federal government shutdown one

13:52 - as it relates to the renewal or the expiration of the enhanced

13:57 - premium tax credits,

14:00 - that people that are on the Obamacare exchange

14:03 - can get to help them afford

14:05 - the products that my company sells.

14:08 - Another companies. So on those exchanges.

14:11 - So the question is, what, you know,

14:15 - do you have any insight on to, into when we might see a break in the action

14:19 - down there and, and, and a movement towards reopening the government?

14:24 - One, two.

14:26 - What do you what do you think?

14:29 - Or what does your boss think?

14:31 - About the extension of the tax credits.

14:33 - Where is he on all of that? And can you,

14:36 - get your crystal ball out and tell us

14:38 - and tell the folks that I have on, that are watching this live?

14:44 - Is that something we could see,

14:46 - by the end of the year, a renewal of those tax credits?

14:48 - Or are they gone forever?

14:50 - Well, I was not even when I was a member of the General Assembly,

14:53 - very good at forecasting what the General Assembly was, was going to do.

14:56 - So the crystal ball is a bit of a challenge, but,

14:59 - what I will say is Senator McCormick has been very consistent

15:03 - on priority number one is reopening the Senate.

15:05 - He and Senator Fetterman, in a bipartisan way, have consistently voted time

15:09 - and time again, to, to adopt a continuing resolution

15:13 - to reopen the government, to fund the government.

15:15 - But that's first and that's the first responsibility.

15:18 - And that any conversation with regards to the enhanced tax credit

15:21 - must come after, after there's an agreement to reopen the government.

15:27 - What he what Senator McCormick has said.

15:28 - And I was just with him yesterday in Washington, is that he certainly

15:32 - he would have to say the details.

15:34 - He's open to a conversation around the tax credit, would have to see the details,

15:39 - and weigh that out before he's going to make any commitment on that.

15:42 - But again, first priority must be adopting the continuing resolution,

15:47 - reopening the government.

15:48 - There's a real consequence to all of this.

15:50 - We see now

15:51 - the impact it's having on air traffic, air traffic control and air travel.

15:55 - We're heading into Thanksgiving.

15:58 - My mother is very eager to travel to see her grandchildren in South Carolina.

16:03 - And so that's repeated all over, all over this country.

16:05 - We've seen the impact on on, the supplemental nutrition program snap.

16:10 - And so there's a real consequence to this. And so,

16:14 - so again, the priority

16:14 - has to be reopen the government and then, weigh the options

16:19 - and make a smart decision on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania with respect

16:23 - to enhanced tax credit,

16:24 - in terms of where we're at now, there does it does seem to be

16:27 - there's been some positive movement in the last 24, 48 hours.

16:33 - There's been a lot of speculation heading into the election on Tuesday

16:37 - that once, once we got to the other side of the election, that, that

16:41 - there might be an openness to, coming back and voting on the continuing resolution,

16:47 - unfortunately, you've seen some folks, I think, attempting to play politics

16:50 - and strengthen their hand, strengthen their position

16:53 - based on their interpretation of the election

16:56 - results, on, on Tuesday.

17:00 - I think that's starting to shift.

17:01 - So, we're planning on having Senator McCormick here on the stage.

17:04 - I'm excited to have him.

17:06 - We got a number of stops all over the week.

17:08 - Next week, for Veterans Day, a number of exciting Veterans Day.

17:11 - But but certainly there's a very real possibility

17:14 - that he'll be in Washington this weekend or in the next week,

17:17 - hopefully to to cast yet another vote to, to reopen government and,

17:21 - and that they'll get the 60 votes they need.

17:23 - As you know, Doug, the Senate rules are such that,

17:27 - require 60 votes to cut off debate.

17:29 - So, all 53 Republicans, can vote for it.

17:33 - You still need seven Democrats

17:34 - to cross over to close off, debate, debate and get to the 60 votes.

17:38 - So, we're, we're cautiously optimistic

17:42 - that things are trending in the right direction.

17:44 - Well, I tell you what, you can tell

17:46 - you've done this once or twice because you anticipated my question.

17:48 - I was going to give you, have you give, the, the viewers

17:52 - a civics lesson on Senate rules, and you did that before I asked.

17:56 - So thank you for that.

17:58 - You said your boss is going to be in town next week.

18:00 - Can you tell the audience this will be broadcast?

18:03 - Obviously, on PCN, where he might be in the event that,

18:07 - if any of those events are public, they wish to attend.

18:11 - Yeah. That's right.

18:11 - So he's going to be on the in the Lehigh Valley on, Sunday evening and, Monday

18:18 - and then, back in Scranton, on Wednesday.

18:23 - There's a prayer breakfast, that, that morning,

18:27 - the Veterans Day event in Berks County on Thursday.

18:31 - And then we have a Veterans Day event,

18:33 - I believe that's open to the public that he's speaking at it in Redding.

18:36 - And then Friday, an event in Philadelphia.

18:39 - So a number of veterans Day events

18:40 - and they speaking Senator, state Senator Tracy Penicuik has a veterans

18:44 - event on Saturday morning that he's going to be attending.

18:48 - So we have a full week mostly in the eastern part of the state between

18:51 - Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, and Scranton,

18:56 - and then the following week, he'll be in Adams County.

18:58 - We're going to, visit the Gettysburg Battlefield

19:01 - and then also downtown Gettysburg, to talk about,

19:05 - some of the tourism, the impact of tourism on the infrastructure and,

19:09 - the borough of Gettysburg. So, great week.

19:12 - Plus that, again, reopening the government's an important priority.

19:16 - I'm hopeful maybe they can do it. Be great.

19:17 - If they could do that this weekend.

19:18 - And we keep the schedule next week, right?

19:21 - Right.

19:21 - So, folks, if you, if you live in, any of those areas,

19:25 - please check your local media and if, any of those,

19:29 - programs are public,

19:31 - maybe you want to go out and see our, our senator, Senator Dave McCormick.

19:35 - Let's, transition off the health care thing.

19:38 - Obviously it's, it's very real for us as a, as a, as a company,

19:43 - we we insure about 50, 51,000 Pennsylvanians on the Obamacare exchange.

19:48 - So that's, there is a, there is an interest on our part for that.

19:53 - Some would say, you know, we're not a we're not an unbiased,

19:58 - party in that, but,

20:00 - we think we, we provide quality products for those folks.

20:03 - And, and so whatever we can do in that space is obviously something

20:08 - we want to want to do.

20:09 - So, but if we could transition.

20:11 - You had mentioned one of your bosses signature,

20:14 - initiatives, and that's on a, and,

20:19 - and I know that you personally, you know, student A history

20:22 - and you understand all that and the,

20:24 - you know, the technological revolutions we've had in this country

20:27 - from the beginning, whether it was the steam engine to I,

20:33 - have all pushed

20:36 - this country forward to where we are now, but they've all come

20:41 - not without significant pay, too.

20:43 - Yes. And, and and I think

20:47 - what some folks are seeing

20:49 - or hearing is, is all of the positives.

20:53 - And, you know,

20:56 - unfortunately, I think there's going to be some,

20:58 - some challenges to that in terms of job loss.

21:01 - And, and it's, creative destruction and capitalism that,

21:05 - that, that's at play here.

21:07 - I'm curious if there's a, if there's a conversation or a recognition,

21:12 - in those, at those highest levels in, you know, in government

21:17 - in the US Senate, and the administration to know that, you know, as we move forward

21:23 - here with AI, there are very well may be people left behind.

21:27 - Yes. And and, you know, what are we going to do with that?

21:31 - You know, are we going to, you know, we saw it and globalization,

21:35 - you know,

21:36 - I live in Chambersburg and, we saw some,

21:39 - apparel manufacturers leave and move, overseas.

21:44 - And, you know, you saw it with globalization and,

21:47 - you know, the idea of AI, you know, that could happen as well.

21:51 - You saw, Amazon. What did they announce?

21:53 - 14,000 job losses, or a job, a reduction in force kind of thing.

21:59 - I'm curious what the what's your boss think about that?

22:02 - Have they talked about that?

22:03 - Are we, are we putting, programs, policies in place to,

22:08 - to either cushion the blow for folks that are,

22:12 - are left behind or somehow

22:14 - find themselves on the outside looking in to the AI revolution.

22:18 - And it's this is such an important issue.

22:20 - And I can tell you that Senator McCormack is talking about

22:23 - our team is talking about this this regularly.

22:26 - Again, I repeat something I said earlier.

22:28 - It's not there's no holding back the revolution.

22:32 - It's it's coming.

22:34 - It's a question as to whether or not we're going to lead,

22:36 - whether we're going to follow,

22:36 - whether we put thoughtful policies in place to respond to it,

22:40 - or we're going to be reactionary, which is going to be far more harmful.

22:45 - I think long term division.

22:46 - I, I think the future is bright.

22:48 - I think the future is bright for Pennsylvania.

22:50 - I think the future is bright for the country.

22:51 - And I'm I'm an optimist. I'm an optimist.

22:53 - So we're going to fully leverage the technology in a, in a, responsive way.

22:57 - And we're going to see tremendous economic opportunity, economic growth

23:00 - result on it.

23:02 - Having said that, there will be near-term disruption.

23:06 - There's no question about it.

23:07 - And so we do need to be open about that.

23:10 - We need to be transparent about it, not run from that.

23:13 - And we need to be thoughtful about it.

23:14 - And so I think there are a number of things that we should be doing.

23:18 - I think first and foremost is this is an opportunity for our education system.

23:22 - There's an opportunity for our K through 12 and higher education.

23:26 - Frankly, the higher education space,

23:28 - which in Pennsylvania has which in many respects in some quarters

23:31 - has been, has been struggling because we've seen declining, enrollment.

23:36 - I think there's gonna be an opportunity here not only to train,

23:39 - K-12 into higher ed folks for the coming revolution

23:43 - and to have the skills necessary to, to, to work,

23:49 - various opportunities in the industry in the field,

23:52 - but also to be able to, rapidly change careers.

23:56 - But it's an option for the higher ed, I think, of our community colleges in Maine.

23:59 - We're already doing this,

24:01 - developing programs to help individuals retool,

24:04 - helping those that are have been disrupted where there's been disruption

24:07 - and there's been lost, to gain the skills they need, to remain employable.

24:12 - So I think it's a tremendous opportunity for a partnership.

24:15 - And, you know, when I was in the legislature,

24:17 - I would call for essentially a blueprint, strategic plan for K-12 higher education

24:22 - to better align, to be on the same, did more effectively be on the same page.

24:26 - And and with that comes, the building construction trades, organized labor.

24:31 - We all have to be in this working together,

24:34 - and bringing forth, the best ideas.

24:36 - But, just repeat, it's going to be disruptive.

24:39 - We have to be open and honest and transparent about that.

24:41 - Thoughtful about it.

24:43 - I think there's opportunity.

24:44 - I think there's opportunity, as I've said in the,

24:45 - in the education of particular higher education space here,

24:49 - I 100% I think, I think the challenge with this, and I guess it's

24:53 - the challenge with any kind of revolution is you've got two ways to look at it.

24:58 - You obviously identified the educational opportunities

25:01 - which generally are aimed down at the, at the younger generations

25:05 - that are going to come in and, and staff this, this

25:08 - revolution, at the lower end,

25:12 - the other side of this is somebody who's got a few of these

25:17 - who is sitting there looking at, you know, I thought I had a pretty good gig going,

25:21 - and now somebody can get on ChatGPT and make me irrelevant.

25:26 - And what does what do I do

25:29 - if I'm ten years, 15 years from retirement

25:33 - and, and all of a sudden, I'm destabilized?

25:38 - What can we do for that population?

25:41 - No, it's a great question.

25:43 - And again, I do think it's an opportunity.

25:46 - For higher education.

25:47 - I do think, like, I think the old model of,

25:50 - like my experience of going to a K through 12 system

25:54 - and then getting a grad, an undergrad degree,

25:57 - I went into the military and into public service, but many folks

26:00 - then they go to graduate school or get additional education.

26:03 - They go into the workforce.

26:04 - They progressed to the workforce their entire career.

26:07 - That clearly is is is changing.

26:10 - And so we need a plan to be able to address that where

26:13 - the reality now is, individuals who graduate from,

26:18 - from a community college, they'll get a, get a, a bachelor's degree

26:22 - or get a certificate or go right into the workforce.

26:25 - And then they're going to continue to encounter educational opportunities

26:29 - throughout their entire career.

26:30 - The likelihood is now they're going to change careers multiple times,

26:34 - change designation within career fields multiple times,

26:38 - and they're going to need varying degrees of, or varying levels of education.

26:42 - It may just be a certificate,

26:43 - a certificate type program to be retooled and to go back into the workforce.

26:47 - And so I think it's an opportunity.

26:50 - And sometimes I'm concerned that higher ed k-through-12 education

26:54 - is it nimble and flexible to adjust that, the rules and regulations around,

26:58 - how we award degrees and certificates sometimes isn't, quite flexible enough.

27:03 - But I think that I think that's, that's a piece of it.

27:06 - But it's that that's only a piece.

27:08 - They're certainly

27:09 - going to get to your point, folks who are further along in their career.

27:13 - It gets more and more challenging, based on, you know, 40 years,

27:18 - of having a certain skill set to then be able to adapt.

27:22 - So it's, it's challenge, no question.

27:23 - And we have to be open and honest about it.

27:25 - And we need to be working with with labor, with higher ed, with K through 12,

27:31 - working with the industry to develop policy solutions to, to and

27:35 - government to address that.

27:38 - Thank you.

27:39 - I think the

27:41 - where I went ahead is just on a segue into the educational pieces,

27:44 - because I know education is is a passion of yours.

27:48 - It was when you were in the state Senate and we've had conversations about this

27:52 - and, and you and you mentioned it, you know, education needs to be nimble.

27:57 - And I'm curious, and this is this is probably an unfair question

28:01 - because in some ways it may be easier,

28:04 - in your position because you're not running for election.

28:08 - And, and it may be harder because you obviously work for somebody who is.

28:13 - So I understand that and I reason I said that is, what the folks

28:17 - who are watching to, to recognize,

28:20 - that issue is if you were king for a day

28:23 - in the educational system, both high, basic and secondary,

28:28 - and higher ed, what

28:32 - changes would you make

28:34 - that would that you believe,

28:37 - would make the system

28:40 - more nimble to meet the challenges faced by this new revolution?

28:45 - And, well,

28:48 - the I'm the only because you sort of set me up with this, and

28:51 - I can't help it if I were king for a day, and I can make any change.

28:55 - Folks may be shocked when I say this in the education space.

29:00 - I think is critically, critically important.

29:03 - It would be taking these things out of school,

29:07 - going smartphone free

29:09 - belt about in the k-through-12 space and probably higher education,

29:15 - technology offers tremendous opportunity,

29:19 - however tremendous distraction.

29:22 - And there is clear emerging, very good data

29:28 - that points to the mental health crisis among adolescents,

29:33 - and the declining academic performance, the loss of focus,

29:37 - the loss of attention span and the inability to communicate.

29:41 - And the resolve conflict as a result of the rise of smartphone

29:46 - access and social media access among among adolescents.

29:50 - So if I could be king for a day and do anything

29:51 - that I think would have a dramatic change of both,

29:55 - educational outcomes,

29:57 - as well as a mental health crisis, it would be to go bell

30:01 - to bell, smartphone free.

30:03 - I think we can do that responsibly. We can do it safely.

30:06 - And I think schools that are doing

30:07 - it are already seeing the positive impact of it.

30:10 - And it doesn't go directly to your,

30:12 - question, but that was something I was passionate

30:14 - about when I was in the legislature.

30:15 - I'm still talking about Senator McCormick supports it.

30:17 - So I'm completely comfortable in my new role talking about that.

30:20 - My colleague Devon Robinson, out of the state

30:23 - Senate has a bill that we just do that I think it's critically important.

30:26 - Two, related is,

30:30 - really focusing on literacy

30:34 - and structure, literacy and teaching phonics.

30:37 - We have seen a tremendous decline.

30:40 - There's a number of reasons for it in reading proficiency.

30:44 - At the third grade, the number of third graders who can read

30:47 - proficiently and eighth graders who can read proficiently.

30:51 - There's a tremendous impact on the entire education process

30:54 - because, as you know, in your early years in school,

30:58 - you learn to read and then you read to learn.

31:02 - And so if you miss that first critical step, your ability to learn

31:05 - and your ability to adapt to change in the workforce and be reeducated

31:09 - with tools and, are absolutely are absolutely compromised.

31:13 - So that's to the third.

31:15 - And that comes more directly to your question.

31:17 - And I was trying to work on this as a state Senate, but I frankly, I ran

31:20 - out of time is bringing,

31:23 - bringing the private sector to the table

31:27 - when we're talking about the future of education, both k-through-12

31:31 - and higher education, the private sector has to be an active participant

31:35 - in what

31:36 - the education system needs to look like, so that our young people

31:39 - have the skills they need to be successful and experienced.

31:42 - Economic opportunities.

31:46 - My my idea,

31:48 - my idea was to, to form a commission.

31:52 - And I know when folks start hearing legislators

31:54 - talk about commission like, oh, geez, you're never going to do anything,

31:56 - you know, talk about this to death.

31:58 - But I didn't really know another way to do this, but to bring the public sector

32:02 - here at K through 12, the private sector,

32:05 - all at the table to develop essentially a blueprint

32:09 - for the redesign of our education system in, in, in Pennsylvania.

32:13 - I think that's, that's critically important.

32:16 - And then a final thing I'll say, and I know I said I stunned.

32:18 - I can't let this one go without mentioning it.

32:21 - Performance based funding for higher education, ensuring

32:25 - that the taxpayer investment in higher education is related to outcomes.

32:30 - And the taxpayers can be assured that the investment

32:33 - that they're making is is, is is,

32:37 - there's a there's a positive outcome, to the benefit of the Commonwealth.

32:41 - So graduation rates, debts, job placement rates.

32:46 - We'll work with higher ed, by the way.

32:48 - I'll mention I'll give a plug. Doctor.

32:49 - Newly been deputy at Penn State.

32:51 - The first time I met her, she said yes, we should do that.

32:53 - We should be held accountable. Which was so refreshing.

32:56 - So refreshing for me to hear a leader in higher ed talk about this.

33:00 - They should.

33:01 - Higher ed should work with us and determine those metrics.

33:04 - But the idea that we're just giving increased higher ed without any thought

33:08 - to the results of what that system is producing is, is, is foolish.

33:15 - Kind of.

33:16 - It's the reason I ask you the question. I knew you couldn't.

33:18 - You could I couldn't help I'm sorry.

33:20 - I couldn't help yourself, but that's, Seriously, I hope.

33:22 - I hope Senator McCormick

33:23 - doesn't have to distance himself from anything I just said, but I think I.

33:26 - I was thinking,

33:29 - Okay, well, we'll put we'll put some kind of disclaimer on that comment.

33:33 - These, these these comments don't necessarily.

33:36 - Anyway, but I appreciate that.

33:38 - I think the one thing and you and I, I think I've talked about this

33:41 - at different points is all of that

33:46 - is 100%.

33:47 - But how do we incentivize kids

33:50 - to engage

33:53 - in and take advantage of the educational opportunities

33:56 - that we present, that we make historic investments in their education?

34:00 - And yet some and a growing number of

34:05 - don't achieve

34:07 - how do we how do we

34:09 - how do we can we, create an environment?

34:13 - How do we stimulate that environment?

34:15 - So kids say, yes, education is important to me.

34:19 - I'll put the phone down and do my trick homework,

34:23 - or I'll study my AP history or whatever,

34:27 - or my basic English composition, whatever.

34:30 - How do we do that?

34:31 - Because I fear 20 kids

34:34 - don't see value.

34:36 - Well, I think first and foremost is the important role that the family plays.

34:40 - Ensuring that parents are, are listened to

34:43 - and are an active participant in the education of a child.

34:47 - It's partly why over the years, I've been so supportive of school choice.

34:50 - Not because I not only because I think kids

34:53 - should have the opportunity to attend a school that meets their needs.

34:57 - But parents, regardless of income, should be respected by the system,

35:01 - should be listened to by the system, and should be an active participant

35:05 - in the choices that are made,

35:07 - with regards to their child's education.

35:09 - And so I think that's, that's an important that's an important component.

35:12 - I further believe that the school leadership and the quality

35:16 - of a teacher in the classroom is so critically important.

35:19 - The number one in-school factor school factor, certainly the time

35:23 - the most, the most important in-school factor to a child's academic

35:28 - success is the quality of the teacher standing in the classroom.

35:32 - And so I just I've been an advocate for ensuring the best and brightest

35:35 - go into education, that the best and brightest are supporting education,

35:39 - but that we're also holding educators accountable,

35:42 - holding teachers accountable for results.

35:44 - That's not been without controversy.

35:46 - But I think that's an important part of the conversation.

35:49 - School building, leadership, empowering, empowering teachers to make decisions in

35:53 - the classroom is is so critically important for teachers,

35:56 - school building principals, school administrators are are changing lives.

36:00 - And so I think,

36:02 - giving

36:02 - parents a real seat at the table in terms of decision making and then giving,

36:07 - making sure we have the best,

36:08 - the brightest going in education and giving them the tools they need,

36:12 - will have a tremendous impact on academic outcomes and students

36:16 - fully leveraging the opportunities they have in our schools.

36:19 - Outstanding.

36:20 - Outstanding 100%.

36:22 - Couldn't agree more.

36:25 - Let's transition if we can.

36:27 - You mentioned back to your day job now.

36:30 - Yeah, I'll get back to your day job.

36:32 - You mentioned seven, seven district offices, around the state.

36:38 - Quickly.

36:38 - Can you tell the audience where they are and if they're close by,

36:41 - if they need to come and see, a member of your staff? Yes.

36:46 - Happy to do so.

36:47 - So, we have seven offices.

36:50 - Harrisburg.

36:52 - Philadelphia. Pittsburgh.

36:55 - And then we have a, office at the Federal Building in Erie.

36:58 - We're in State College, a small office there, and State

37:02 - College, and then, Scranton and Allentown.

37:06 - I have four regional directors, two regional managers.

37:10 - The only distinction there is the size of the region.

37:13 - Chris Quinn, you may remember from the Pennsylvania General Assembly,

37:18 - it's a long, I don't know, a long time, but but, sir, for a number of years

37:21 - as a Pennsylvania state House member, is our regional director in the southeast.

37:26 - He's from Delaware County. He's in our Philadelphia office.

37:28 - Nate Grace, who served as a district director for Congressman

37:31 - Dam user, is our regional director in the northeast.

37:35 - He he oversees both the Scranton and Allentown offices.

37:39 - Sam DeMarco is in Pittsburgh in southwestern

37:43 - Pennsylvania and, in the northwest.

37:46 - She Alistair. It and then two regional managers.

37:49 - Logan Hoover is here in Harrisburg.

37:51 - And then, Julie Harshbarger is in State College.

37:56 - They have a number of caseworkers that are part of our casework team.

37:59 - Beth Connor is in Philadelphia, oversees or outstanding constituent services

38:03 - casework team.

38:04 - And so please visit Senator McCormick's website for specific information

38:09 - as to how you can contact us, where each office is located.

38:13 - And so the services that we, the we can provide.

38:16 - So we would be eager to meet with you,

38:18 - and eager to, to respond to, any inquiries you have.

38:22 - I will tell you,

38:23 - there are times this is just the reality where the phones are overwhelmed.

38:27 - There, certainly as as there are,

38:30 - votes that are of some consequence that are moving through the process.

38:34 - We've

38:35 - numerous times it's very difficult to get through by phone.

38:38 - So if you're able to email or send a contact to the website,

38:42 - we'll make sure somebody gets back to you or leave a voicemail message.

38:45 - We'll make sure we get a response to you.

38:47 - But don't be surprised.

38:48 - There are where call volumes can be high just because,

38:51 - it's a state of 13 million people.

38:53 - And, there are times that that the volume is quite high,

38:57 - as depending on what's happening in Washington,

39:01 - ten months in.

39:02 - What kind of questions are you?

39:05 - What are you hearing from residents of the Commonwealth?

39:07 - What are you know, what what are the issues that are important to them?

39:12 - And, if you can share one of the more a new

39:15 - do you have any unusual, requests that come your way?

39:18 - I usually do that was one staff or two.

39:20 - And sometimes you you just you get one of those calls and go, what?

39:24 - Yeah.

39:24 - Well, that one reminds me, I remember I was a very new state House member

39:28 - when I got a call in my office over in Columbia Avenue in Lancaster County,

39:32 - that there was a dead groundhog on, Columbia Avenue. And,

39:36 - yes, I was

39:37 - supposed to go and clean that up or make sure that got that got done.

39:41 - So, yeah, you never know what, what the incoming is.

39:43 - So, you know, it's interesting the most

39:46 - the two, comments that I received the most

39:50 - and both are really rewarding the first day and summer.

39:53 - McCormick is everywhere. You know, we're seeing him everywhere.

39:56 - He's he's in the stage.

39:57 - We see him on television.

39:59 - That energy innovation summit.

40:00 - There was so much energy and buzz out of that and his ability

40:04 - to pull that together in the first, first.

40:07 - Well, that point six, seven months in, in office.

40:10 - So that's the first comment.

40:11 - We're just seeing Senator McCormick everywhere.

40:13 - And he is he's busy. He's working very, very hard.

40:15 - I don't know how he does what he does.

40:17 - Well, receiving three 400 meeting requests a week, there's only a small percentage

40:21 - of those that he can do.

40:23 - But he's he's when he's able to be back in the state when he's not in

40:26 - Washington, he's here and he's hustling all over all over the state.

40:30 - So I hear that from folks, and that's that's that's, affirming.

40:33 - That's reassuring. And I know it means a lot to him.

40:35 - And we have more work to do, certainly to cover more ground in the state.

40:39 - But he's just been, incredibly energetic and doing a phenomenal job.

40:43 - The second comment I hear is, is how,

40:48 - inspiring folks find the John Fetterman Dave McCormick relationship.

40:53 - And so that is typically what I hear, folks, I will ask me,

40:57 - about their partnership, their relationship,

41:01 - and that, frankly, they're a demonstrate they're an example of how a bipartisan

41:05 - how bipartisan cooperation, our bipartisan relationships should work.

41:10 - And what I'll tell you, first about that is it's it it's as it appears.

41:15 - It's very real. It's very genuine.

41:17 - There's there's a genuine friendship,

41:19 - tremendous respect that they have for one another.

41:21 - Their wives have for each other.

41:23 - Their families get along tremendously well.

41:25 - And as you may recall, Senator Fetterman campaigned aggressively

41:29 - for for Senator Casey.

41:30 - He campaigned aggressively against,

41:32 - Senator, Senator McCormick, you go back and look at the social media.

41:36 - But what he did, after the election was reach out

41:39 - and and to extend the hand of friendship and say, let's get together.

41:44 - And they did.

41:45 - And they came to an agreement very early on that when, when they can work together

41:49 - for the benefit of Pennsylvanians, they're going to do that.

41:53 - And, I think the Commonwealth is benefiting.

41:55 - And frankly, it's example, as I've said to the rest of the country

41:58 - and where they disagree, they're going to disagree productively.

42:01 - They're going to disagree.

42:02 - Well, and we're not going to read about it on the front pages

42:06 - of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

42:07 - That's not where the disagreements are going to play out.

42:09 - And so that's been it's it's been thrilling for me to watch.

42:13 - Of course,

42:13 - I work closely with Senator Fetterman when he was lieutenant governor here,

42:17 - in the state Senate, I've always had a tremendous respect regard for him.

42:21 - Our politics obviously very different.

42:23 - Our style is obviously very different.

42:26 - But he's real.

42:27 - He's genuine, and he's not afraid to express an independent view.

42:32 - And neither a Senator McCormick.

42:33 - And that's that's, that's as a as it should be.

42:37 - So that that has been, that's that's what I,

42:40 - what I hear

42:40 - in terms of issues, what I'm hearing, we've actually touched on a lot of them,

42:44 - you know, the, the disruption over the opportunity and the disruption

42:49 - with the coming I, revolution, energy, the cost of electricity and ensuring that,

42:55 - the grid remains reliable, that Pennsylvania

42:59 - continues to be an all of the above and maintain

43:02 - all the above energy mix of natural gas, coal, nuclear

43:06 - power, alternative forms of energy that were maintaining that,

43:10 - so that that ranks high the cost of living.

43:12 - We certainly hear about the cost of living in crisis,

43:14 - in controlling inflation and bringing down the cost of living.

43:18 - Immigration certainly continues to rank high in terms of what people bring

43:21 - to our attention.

43:23 - Pennsylvania's demographics, folks look around and they see that,

43:26 - small towns, cities need revitalized.

43:30 - We need all that renewal.

43:31 - We Pennsylvania needs to be a place where young talent

43:35 - restates that that our outstanding, youth,

43:39 - not only attend our outstanding institutions of higher education,

43:42 - but then they stay here and they form families here,

43:44 - and they experience economic opportunity here.

43:46 - But in addition to that, we're a magnet for talent

43:48 - from all across the country, all across the world

43:50 - to want to want to be here, to work here, to experience economic opportunity here.

43:54 - So I that's that's probably what I hear most.

43:58 - And, I'm

43:59 - curious, you know, the bipartisanship

44:02 - because we've all noticed it between your boss and Senator Fetterman.

44:05 - How do you bottle that?

44:06 - And and and and, share it with everybody else?

44:10 - Because it seems to be

44:13 - we're, you know, we're almost in a toxic, partizanship type of environment.

44:18 - And, you know, is there secret sauce in that, or is it just

44:21 - two men of goodwill have decided this is how we're going to do it.

44:26 - We are partizans in our own right.

44:30 - Well, I mean, yeah, I well, first, I do think

44:34 - it speaks to the character of, of, both men.

44:38 - And, but I,

44:40 - but I do think it can be replicated,

44:44 - I, you know, I can, I can talk about politicians,

44:47 - I guess, because I used to be one and I've been observer one for some time.

44:52 - You know, many elected officials simply respond

44:55 - to what they believe the electorate wants, what the electorate is demanding.

44:59 - So, if the electorate responds and the electorate rewards,

45:06 - that those types of relationships, then I think we'll see more,

45:10 - but if if elected officials believe that,

45:14 - what the public demands is

45:17 - division is conflict is negativity,

45:22 - then I think that's going to be that's going to be, reflected.

45:26 - My hope is and I think the pendulum is swinging on this,

45:29 - is that the electorate is looking

45:30 - for those types of relationships, that the electorate is looking for,

45:34 - those who are, thoughtful, those that are focused on ideas,

45:39 - those that are problem solvers and going to, advance

45:43 - the agenda on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the country.

45:46 - I think that's what more and more voters are saying they want.

45:50 - But again, elected officials are in many regards are going to reflect

45:54 - what they believe, the, the voter the voter wants.

45:58 - So I'm hopeful that the

46:00 - the relationship between Senator Fetterman and Senator McCormick is, is rewarded.

46:04 - What I do know, because the character of both men,

46:07 - they're going to do it regardless because it's it's who they are

46:10 - and they believe it's the right thing to do.

46:13 - That's great to hear.

46:14 - That's great to hear.

46:15 - If you don't mind, we're going to keep switching around a little bit.

46:18 - Some of the things you mentioned, you mentioned permitting reform and

46:22 - and regulatory reform and things like that.

46:25 - I'm curious if you can suggest

46:28 - or mention a couple of low hanging fruit,

46:32 - type of, of, of issues in those big buckets

46:36 - that you, that your boss would like to attack first.

46:39 - And does he have any, does he have any,

46:42 - immediate plans along those lines?

46:46 - Well, I'll tell you, in the early stages,

46:49 - we spent a lot of time traveling the state, talking to, business

46:53 - leaders, talking to labor, our friends in the building trades

46:57 - and and really trying to understand the depth, and the root of, of the issue.

47:02 - Because as as many folks know, there are numerous layers to this challenge.

47:08 - There's, there's local government that have a significant say in, in permitting.

47:14 - There is, a state role, a DEP role.

47:18 - And then, of course, there's a, there is a federal depending on,

47:21 - on the scope of the project.

47:22 - And so understanding exactly where the issues are,

47:26 - what's holding Pennsylvania back.

47:29 - And how do we go about resolving out, resolving those issues.

47:32 - So we spent a lot of time on that.

47:34 - And you know, those conversations, those conversations continue.

47:37 - There's a really important role, here in, in Pennsylvania's issue, that

47:41 - in a bipartisan way, both the governor and members

47:44 - of the general Assembly have talked about.

47:45 - And so, you know, I'm hopeful they'll continue to adopt legislation

47:48 - to move to, to, ensure the permitting process is moving faster.

47:54 - The I think

47:55 - one of the key issues early is to identify,

47:59 - and this is specifically

48:00 - big projects in the energy space and the I get data center space.

48:04 - It's not exclusive to that, but it's it's really critical here is that we identify

48:09 - across the state sites that are ready or sites near readiness.

48:13 - So that we are ready to move on an opportunity and move on a project quickly.

48:18 - And that,

48:20 - provided that environmental, that it's environmentally sound.

48:24 - And those checks are, those checks are met,

48:28 - that we move quickly, that we're not getting lost in the bureaucracy

48:32 - and we speed up the timeline for approval because particularly as it relates

48:36 - to the AI data center, revolution, the key is speed.

48:41 - The key is, is flexibility.

48:43 - The issue isn't capital.

48:44 - We're not really going to be attracting

48:46 - new development here based on some new exciting

48:49 - tax credit program, because capital is really not the issue.

48:53 - What is the issue is our ability to move quickly.

48:55 - And that's why we're losing what we're losing to Ohio

48:57 - or losing to Virginia or losing North Carolina is they have sites.

49:01 - They have sites that have been identified. They have sites that are ready.

49:04 - And their permitting process, they can expedite and move much faster than we can.

49:08 - So I think that's I'm not naive that that's easy to accomplish.

49:12 - But I do think that is, to the degree there is low hanging fruit.

49:16 - It's, that's, that's there.

49:19 - And it's certainly the most, I think, most critical steps that we take.

49:22 - The reason I ask is, you know,

49:24 - people are watching this and they hear this thing and, you know,

49:27 - the complexity of the issues that you're talking about today

49:30 - is above a lot of people, most of us actually.

49:34 - And so, you know,

49:35 - we try to, you know, you're like, put a face with the name kind of thing.

49:38 - Try to put a put a face with what this is,

49:42 - this is going to look at and you've mentioned this a couple times

49:44 - and I know how interesting, it is,

49:48 - for you is the energy stuff and, and, you know,

49:51 - Pennsylvania is, is kind of like right there at the crossroads of all of it.

49:56 - And, and and the question is, and you mentioned it,

49:59 - the next 50 years are all going to be about power.

50:03 - It's got to be, you know, and where you get it.

50:06 - And whoever can find the most of, and,

50:11 - most of it and as cheaply as possible

50:13 - is going to win a lot of this,

50:17 - you know,

50:18 - what are the conversations in Washington with your boss and administration

50:22 - officials and state officials, in these different states?

50:27 - On how we can do this

50:30 - without this becoming a mind numbing

50:34 - political partizan conversation about it.

50:37 - But let's, you know, how are we going to move forward on the power issue?

50:43 - So that, you know, when I go and ten years

50:46 - when I'm 71 and I flip on the the switch, the light comes on

50:51 - and that my cell phone can be powered,

50:55 - and my laptop and old variety

50:57 - of other electronic gadgets we're all going to have.

51:00 - What? Where does that go?

51:03 - The next five, ten years?

51:05 - For most of us, that's probably all we can we can actually think of.

51:09 - Yeah.

51:10 - You know, it's it's remarkable because when I first started

51:12 - to get involved in energy policy,

51:14 - when I was in the state Senate, it was as a result of the premature,

51:18 - retirement of Three Mile Island, the nuclear power plant

51:21 - just at Middletown, just outside of Harrisburg.

51:23 - Now, Three Mile Island was not within, my Senate district, but the overwhelming

51:27 - majority of employees, did live in my state Senate district.

51:31 - And so, I was hearing from employees who were concerned about their jobs.

51:35 - And so I first sort of got involved in this because of the economic concerns,

51:38 - economic impact, the premature retirement of that facility.

51:41 - Now, there were unique,

51:43 - unique pressures with one unit reactor on on Three Mile Island.

51:47 - And the legacy issues that were there certainly were a challenge as well.

51:51 - But as I when I first got involved in this and was advocating

51:55 - not just for preventing the premature retirements

51:58 - or but of other nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania,

52:02 - and in fact, being an advocate for for more,

52:04 - for nuclear power being, a more significant part of our grid,

52:08 - because it's highly, highly efficient, highly reliable,

52:13 - and zero carbon emitting and, so I certainly saw the benefits of it.

52:17 - It's costly, but we saw the benefits of it at the time.

52:20 - This is going back to 2016, 2017.

52:22 - It's fascinating to think the projections were

52:25 - that demand was actually going to stay relatively stable.

52:29 - And so the grid could withstand the premature retirement

52:33 - of baseload power, not just nuclear, but, natural gas plants, coal plants.

52:37 - We could withstand the premature retirement because demand wasn't going up.

52:40 - Well, obviously, that projection, was wildly wrong.

52:45 - Projections have dramatically increased.

52:47 - So what we what we've been experiencing is, is the retirement of baseload power,

52:54 - fossil fuels and the so the ramping down

52:57 - of reliable sources of electricity, while we're dramatically increasing demand

53:02 - and public policy is pushing towards increased demand.

53:06 - That's a math problem that is not going, and it just doesn't work.

53:09 - And so I think folks are waking up to this and the conversation around data centers

53:14 - and I are certainly elevating, escalating the importance of this conversation.

53:19 - So we're having this conversation.

53:20 - And the good news is the good news for Pennsylvania's, we are exceptionally

53:24 - well positioned to manage and the lead in this effort

53:28 - because of the diversity of our, of our, of the grid,

53:32 - the diversity of the portfolio here in Pennsylvania, the,

53:37 - our outstanding institutes of higher education that are working

53:39 - in this space from a technological, standpoint, to advance the technology

53:43 - around small unit reactors, around alternatives, forms of electricity,

53:48 - the abundance of natural gas that's here in Pennsylvania.

53:51 - We are exceptionally well positioned if we fully harness it.

53:56 - And if I can make maybe one political point on this,

53:58 - if we set aside reckless policies of prematurely retiring baseload power,

54:04 - and we've and this whole dance with the Regional Greenhouse

54:08 - Gas Initiative with Reggie,

54:10 - it needs to stop.

54:12 - We need to move on, and we need to focus on powering Pennsylvania to,

54:17 - to power our economy and to protect consumers.

54:21 - Yeah, absolutely.

54:24 - And we've got a couple I think we've got a few minutes left.

54:27 - So, I'm going to ask another thing.

54:29 - You know,

54:31 - your your boss represents 13 plus million,

54:36 - Pennsylvania's four Corners.

54:39 - You represented

54:41 - quarter million Lancaster County canyons.

54:46 - And in a county that over the last

54:50 - ten, 15, 20 years has exploded,

54:54 - has been has been the,

54:58 - you know, not just Lancaster County, but a part,

55:02 - you know, that part of the state has been like, wow.

55:07 - I would imagine development, growth, energy

55:12 - rivals areas in southern states

55:15 - that have exploded in, in, in growth.

55:19 - Now you're working for Senator McCormick.

55:21 - You're seeing four corners of the state, and that's not the case everywhere.

55:26 - That I asked you this question when you were a state senator.

55:30 - You know, how do we box that?

55:32 - How do we box that up?

55:34 - You know, and and and send it

55:38 - outside Erie.

55:39 - You know, between Erie and Pittsburgh or between,

55:43 - you know, I live in

55:44 - Chambersburg, between Chambersburg and Pittsburgh.

55:47 - You know, that whole that, you know, Westmoreland County, Johnstown,

55:53 - Altoona, all of that.

55:56 - You know, a lot of communities in those areas are struggling

56:01 - and are seeing

56:03 - population decline, etc., etc..

56:06 - So how do we do that?

56:10 - How do we replicate

56:11 - what Lancaster County got right now, if you can,

56:16 - in all parts of state?

56:17 - Well, well, I think, maybe a couple of things on that.

56:20 - The, I think the lesson out of Lancaster County, in terms of our growth,

56:26 - and economic prosperity in Lancaster County,

56:29 - central, that really has been, I think, a very unique partnership between

56:32 - the private sector or the public sector, between, local governments,

56:36 - between our legislative delegation, between our federal partners.

56:40 - That's that's been critically important to be on the same page,

56:44 - to be pulling and pushing in the same direction.

56:47 - So that's going to be and by the way, in a bipartisan way,

56:51 - you know,

56:51 - much of the progress in around Lancaster, for example,

56:54 - and the revitalization of downtown Lancaster, we've had success.

56:58 - And Democratic mayors in the city of Lancaster.

57:00 - Mike Sterling was a long time, state House member.

57:03 - Is that long time state House member.

57:05 - On many of these issues, we cooperated and worked together,

57:07 - even where there was disagreement elsewhere.

57:09 - We were we were agreeing on the growth and opportunity and what was best,

57:14 - for the for for, Lancaster County residents.

57:18 - And so I think that there is a model there that can be that can be replicated.

57:22 - That's critically important.

57:23 - We're certainly to it.

57:24 - We're certainly committed to it.

57:25 - The partnership between our office, between,

57:29 - urban urban communities where there's a need

57:30 - for real urban renewal from rural communities,

57:33 - with their leaders, with the private sectors, with community groups.

57:37 - That partnership is is critically important.

57:39 - That's what, the second thought is, is were as we're talking about

57:42 - and I mentioned some of the, some McCormick's,

57:44 - priorities, over the next year from, shipbuilding defense

57:48 - industrialization to life sciences to the AI data center revolution,

57:53 - where we've been very intentional, the conversation we've had to make sure,

57:57 - that this investment is occurring all across Pennsylvania

57:59 - and all Pennsylvania communities, have the opportunity to benefit.

58:03 - And we've been quite intentional about going into areas, quite frankly,

58:06 - that have struggled over the last generation to ensure that there's

58:10 - opportunity, that there's opportunity there and making sure that investors,

58:14 - those would have interests doing this in Pennsylvania, are aware

58:17 - of the tremendous opportunities and those those communities.

58:19 - So that's something we've been quite intentional about and will continue to be.

58:25 - Thank you for that.

58:26 - Now, I always give our guests, as you know, the last word.

58:29 - So, you're obviously speaking to employees of capital BlueCross,

58:33 - right now, and, and afterwards, a statewide audience.

58:38 - What's the message that, you want to leave from Senator

58:41 - McCormick to the residents of Pennsylvania?

58:44 - Well, I know what he would want to share,

58:46 - and I would certainly express as well, but, express on his behalf.

58:51 - It is an honor, to serve Pennsylvanians.

58:53 - It's an honor for him to serve as as,

58:56 - as United States senator and to represent all of Pennsylvania.

59:00 - You know, he won a very narrow one by 15,000 votes as he's,

59:04 - and so, every, every little effort on the campaign trail mattered.

59:08 - But in a, in a state like Pennsylvania,

59:11 - we're reminded constantly that, it's a diverse state,

59:15 - diverse communities all across the state

59:18 - and that we have a responsibility ensure every resident in the state feels

59:22 - as though they're they're well represented or certainly there.

59:25 - And so that, that, that means that citizens need to reach out

59:29 - and, and, express their concerns, express their views.

59:33 - And so please don't hesitate to reach out again.

59:35 - The website's a great way to do that.

59:37 - I invite an open dialog to reach out, to have a conversation

59:41 - with the members of our staff.

59:43 - We we make sure your views are I reports on McCormack

59:46 - every week on what I'm hearing from Pennsylvanians.

59:49 - So expressing your views, expressing your concerns, it's

59:52 - critically important we invite you to that relationship.

59:55 - It's an honor to serve.

59:57 - 827 And, I've been very grateful for the, the conversation today.

01:00 - 03.030 Thank you.

01:00 - 03.697 Thank you for that.

01:00 - 06.166 And I'll leave you with, a couple things.

01:00 - 08.902 First, we want to thank Ryan Olmert for being our guest today.

01:00 - 10.103 He's one of the good guys.

01:00 - 11.605 I mean,

01:00 - 15.575 we miss you in Harrisburg, and that's selfish on my part, but I miss you.

01:00 - 20.247 But, our loss is the Commonwealth's gain because,

01:00 - 25.052 I think, Senator McCormick in a home run here with you and, and that,

01:00 - 29.289 that and I think the rest of us are going to benefit from that.

01:00 - 31.425 So thank you for him.

01:00 - 33.961 And I'd like to extend an invitation to your boss.

01:00 - 38.465 You and your boss come in to Capitol at some point to meet our team and our CEO,

01:00 - 43.337 and our our executive team would love to sit down and talk to your boss,

01:00 - 48.408 on what it means to be a regional Blue Cross plant in 21 counties.

01:00 - 52.346 And, and so with that, I will thank you again.

01:00 - 54.948 And this ends the Public Affairs Forum.

01:00 - 57.718 Please stay tuned for the next episode

01:00 - 00.787 of the Public Affairs Forum, which will occur next month in December.

01:01 - 04.558 And Will and our guest will be, the secretary, the Pennsylvania

01:01 - 07.561 Secretary of Transportation, Mike Carroll.

01:01 - 08.895 Thank you again.

01:01 - 11.064 And everybody, have a good day. Thank you.