PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 30, 2008

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Friends for Judy Hirsh Pennsylvania Senate Campaign today released the following statement: "I am saddened to learn that unemployment rates last month have risen again in Central Pennsylvania. According to state labor officials, the unemployment rate rose almost 1 percent to 4.4 percent in the Harrisburg area. It is time to reverse this trend of job loss and to revitalize our local economy.

"As a businesswoman and working mother, I know that our Pennsylvania economy is headed in the wrong direction. As I work hard to make sure that the employees in my small business have family-sustaining wages, I know that many Pennsylvanians are struggling to support their families, especially when jobs are leaving our area and our Commonwealth.

"Unfortunately, Senator Jeff Piccola sat back and watched as our jobs disappear. On his watch, Hershey is sending more jobs to Mexico, Earthlink shut down their call center, Bethlehem Steel shut down their Steelton plant, and Nationwide cut around 200 jobs earlier this year.

"As our working families struggle, Piccola made it even tougher by voting against an increase in the minimum wage and voting to shut-off utility customers who haven’t been able to afford their skyrocketing bills. At the same time, Piccola has taken over $25,000 from utility companies over the last four years to fund his campaigns.

"It is time for leadership who understands the demands on a working family in the 15^{th District. We need to ensure that our community is a place where our kids will want to live, work, and start their families.}

"To support working families in Central Pennsylvania, I will promote an economic strategy that will:

• Invest in human capital, including basic education, higher education, vocational education, and other job-training programs.
• Work towards stabilizing our local property taxes.
• Offer tax incentives to manufacturing businesses to keep and create jobs in Pennsylvania.
• Offer more vocational development and support for people who have lost their jobs due to out-sourcing or an ever-changing work environment.
• Support the efforts of The Task Force for Working Families including the implementation of an Earned Income Tax Credit for Pennsylvania which would help over 765,000 Pennsylvanians to pay for groceries, utility bills, and other basic needs.
• Reform our health care system to take more of the burden of health care costs away from small businesses to allow more employees to receive better, more affordable health care.
• Encourage public and private investment in alternative energy and renewable fuels in order to create new "green collar" jobs.

Judy Hirsh is a Democrat from Susquehanna Township and has been a community leader for over 20 years. The married mother of three children, she is also the owner of a family-owned small business in Harrisburg.

For more information about Judy Hirsh, please visit ^{www.judyhirsh.com.}