The PA Chamber held a statewide media call last week to discuss the second phase of its dynamic economic resurgence initiative, ‘Bringing PA Back.’ The first phase of the initiative focused on the short-term needs of employers operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping businesses navigate challenging and often unpredictable mitigation orders. The next, and current, phase – ‘Rise to the Challenge’ – focuses on creating a framework for Pennsylvania that will promote long-term economic growth and opportunity. The media call featured remarks by PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr and PA Chamber Board of Directors Chair and The Giant Company President Nicholas Bertram.
Over the past year, the PA Chamber has engaged in extensive conversations with industry stakeholders, business leaders and local chambers to determine what is needed to drive the Commonwealth’s post-pandemic economic recovery. This ongoing dialogue helped to identify three core areas of focus – improving the state’s competitiveness, infrastructure and workforce – all of which are essential to igniting Pennsylvania’s economic renaissance and creating equality of opportunity for every resident.
The “Rise to the Challenge” phase will create a guidepost for policymakers and elected officials – identifying benchmarks to chart how Pennsylvania ranks compared to other states and opportunities for improvement. This information and data will be compiled into a dashboard with illustrative metrics to chart the state’s progress moving forward. “Rise to the Challenge” will culminate in a dynamic and bold policy agenda that will put Pennsylvania on the path towards long-term economic growth.
“It’s not enough to simply bring Pennsylvania’s economy back to what it was pre-pandemic,” Barr said in a press release issued following the event. “We need to seize the opportunity before us to make our state a beacon for innovation and investment. Now is the time for bold and decisive action to harness all of the resources we have to offer and set Pennsylvania on a solid path toward long-term prosperity. The second phase of our ‘Bringing PA Back’ initiative lays the groundwork and creates a road map for achieving these goals.”
Several media outlets covered the media call, including Central Penn Business Journal, Lehigh Valley Business, Capitolwire, Pittsburgh Business Times, Pottstown Mercury, ButlerRadio.com and WGAL.
More information on the ‘Bringing PA Back’ initiative can be found online.