WATCH: New Video from Governor Shapiro Highlights How Pennsylvania is Competing Again, Making Historic Investments to Spur Economic Growth and Create Jobs Across the Commonwealth

“We are now in a position to take dirt like this and turn that into real freedom and real opportunity. To take dirt like this and put people to work, not just erecting a building, but providing family-sustaining jobs on that ground, and give us something we can look at with a promise to a brighter future.”

This year, Governor Shapiro secured historic investments in economic development and attracted billions in private investment — creating thousands of good-paying jobs and benefiting communities in rural, urban, and suburban areas alike.

Harrisburg, PA – This year, Governor Josh Shapiro worked to make Pennsylvania more economically competitive, attracting more businesses and creating good-paying jobs. The Governor has delivered on that by making securing more than $3 billion in private sector investments to drive growth in key industries like agriculture, energy, life sciences, manufacturing, and technology.

In January 2024, the Governor launched the Commonwealth’s first Economic Development Strategy in nearly two decades, establishing a bold ten-year plan with goals to spur innovation, invest in growth, and open doors of opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.

In the 2024-25 bipartisan budget, Governor Shapiro accomplished one of his top priorities: securing more than $550 million in new funding for economic development, including $500 million for site development, $20 million for the Main Street Matters program to support small businesses and commercial corridors, $20 million in state funding for small minority-owned businesses in Pennsylvania, and $15 million for tourism marketing to boost our economy, attract more visitors, and support good-paying jobs

The Shapiro Administration’s streamlined approach to business development has also cut permitting and licensing times thanks to the launch of the PA Permit Fast Track Program and supported over 400 transformative projects across the Commonwealth with $600 million in funding through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). These efforts have revitalized rural, urban, and suburban communities alike, ensuring broad economic benefits for all Pennsylvanians.

Watch Governor Shapiro’s new video on how his Administration has positioned Pennsylvania as a national leader in economic growth, ensuring that Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed, or read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

“Listen, I get the privilege of traveling all across Pennsylvania, and no matter where you go — rural, urban, or suburban communities — the terrain may look really different, but folks kind of basically want the same four things.

They want really good schools for their kids and grandkids. They want to make sure that they’ve got safe communities to live in. They want economic opportunity. They want the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed no matter where they are.

This budget that we passed delivers on all four of those basic Pennsylvania principles.

Today, I want to just focus on one, though, and that is our strategy when it comes to economic development. I knew — after I got elected — that we needed to hit the ground running. Then I knew we had to have a strategy. We haven’t had an economic development strategy in 20 years in Pennsylvania. And then finally, we need the dollars to compete.

Pennsylvania wasn’t losing the game when it came to economic development — we never made it out on the field. Part of the reason for that is we weren’t competing with our neighbors — New York, New Jersey, and Ohio — and we saw that there were some critical areas where we needed to invest. We needed to invest in our Main Streets. We needed to make sure that we turned these historical sites into new opportunities for vibrance. We knew we needed to invest in site development, because, after all, we didn’t have places across Pennsylvania we could bring would be employers to and say, ‘Here’s where you should locate.’

All of that changed in this bipartisan budget, where we were able to bring Republicans and Democrats together to get stuff done for the good people of Pennsylvania. We are now in a position to take dirt like this and turn that into real freedom and real opportunity. To take dirt like this and put people to work, not just erecting a building, but providing family-sustaining jobs on that ground, and give us something we can look at with a promise to a brighter future.

This is an area where we needed to invest, and now we’re in a position to do just that.”

For more information about the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Governor’s Office, ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov, 717.783.1116
Penny Ickes, DCED, dcedpress@pa.gov

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