HARRISBURG, June 6 – Lehigh Valley International Airport today was approved for more than $6 million in state aviation grants, according to state Rep. Dan McNeill. Read more

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution ( H.R. 270 ) sponsored by state Rep. Daniel McNeill, D-Lehigh, designating May 13, 2017 as National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day in Pennsylvania. McNeill said Saturday will mark the 25 th anniversary for Pennsylvania and the nation’s largest single-day food drive. Letter carriers will collect nonperishable food donations as they deliver mail along their postal routes. “These donations provide a critical increase in supplies for food banks, pantries and shelters for the summer months when supplies are low and school lunch programs are not available for children,” McNeill said The drive is led by letter carriers who are represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, rural letter carriers, other postal employees and other volunteers. The drive has delivered more than 1 billion pounds of food the past 24 hours. “In order to donate people can place a box or can of non-perishable food next to mailboxes before the letter carrier delivers mail this Saturday,” McNeill said. Nearly 1,500 NALC branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved. The National Rural Letter Carriers Association, AFL-CIO, Feeding America, United Way, Valassis and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems are all supporting this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food Read more

State Rep. Daniel McNeil, D-Lehigh, said he is pleased the Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted H.R.271 that designates May 2017 as Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month in Pennsylvania to show support for victims, families and caretakers of this disease. McNeill said Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain leading to the deterioration of a person’s physical and mental abilities. “I became aware of the disease when a constituent’s wife was stricken with the disease and I thought we needed to continue to raise awareness because there are approximately 30,000 people in the United States who have symptoms of the disease and more than 200,000 people at risk of inheriting the disease,” McNeill said. “The sad part of this disease is that every child of a parent with Huntington’s disease has a 50/50 chance of carrying the faulty gene” McNeill said symptoms of the disease usually appear in individuals between the ages of 30 and 50 and include personality changes, mood swings, depression, forgetfulness, impaired judgement, unsteady gait, involuntary movements, slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing and significant weight loss. The Lehigh County lawmaker said the symptoms are known to worsen over a 10- to 25-year period, eventually making the person totally dependent upon others for his or her care. Read more

Harrisburg, PA – In response to several Pennsylvania counties grappling with the effects of winter storm Stella, Governor Tom Wolf announced his administration will make emergency declarations to provide schools in Northeast Pennsylvania that were forced to close last week with options to otherwise satisfy the 180-day requirement. Read more

Check out Rep. Dan McNeill's Spring 2017 newsletter Read more

You can use the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's online interactive trout stocking schedule page to find out when your favorite streams will be stocked. Click the link for the website. Read more

Get more info on what you can do now that several Unemployment Compensation Service Centers have closed and longer wait times are being experienced by those looking for help. Read more

HARRISBURG, Jan. 3 – During a ceremony at the state Capitol, Rep. Dan McNeill today was sworn in to begin his third term fighting for the residents of Lehigh County. Read more

All dogs three months or older must be licensed by Jan. 1 of each year. Violators can be cited with a maximum fine of $300 per violation plus court costs. An annual license is $8.50 and a lifetime license is $51.50. If the animal is spayed or neutered, the annual fee is $6.50 and lifetime is $31.50. Discounts are available to older adults and people with disabilities. The small license fee helps the millions of dogs in the state by funding the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Dog licenses are available from your local county treasurer and other licensing agents. Reasons for dog licensing: It’s the law. All dogs three months or older must have a current license. If your dog gets lost, a license is the best way to get him back. A license helps animal control and shelters identify your dog and get him back home safely. The cost of a license is less than the penalty for being caught without one. Owners who fail to license their dogs could face a fine of up to $300 for each unlicensed dog. License fees support animal control. The annual fee you pay to license your dog helps keep shelters running and supports the work of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, which is responsible for ensuring the welfare of dogs, regulating dangerous dogs and overseeing annual licensing and rabies vaccinations. Read more

WHITEHALL, Oct. 13 – Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s recent call for the General Assembly to act on legislation to help combat the growing heroin and opioid crisis in Pennsylvania, state Rep. Dan McNeill held his fourth town hall meeting Wednesday to address the overwhelming epidemic. Several parents brought their children to the Salisbury High School auditorium to hear from officials and experts about the dangers of drug use. Speakers included: Joe Stauffer, chief deputy district attorney of Lehigh County and supervisor of the Narcotics Unit; Joe Martellucci, Lehigh County assistant administrator for Drug and Alcohol; Bill Stauffer, executive director, Pennsylvania Recovery Organization–Alliance (PRO-A); and Donna Jacobsen, leader, Lehigh Valley Parent Group. Martellucci said more must be done in Pennsylvania to treat people who are addicted to heroin and opioids. “You don’t treat a cancer patient for only 30 days, so why do we treat those suffering from heroin and opioid addiction for 30 days?” noted Martellucci. Jacobsen recalled the story of her daughter’s battle with addiction and her struggle to finally get clean. “I never thought I would be the parent of a heroin addict. Her doctor prescribed Xanax for her anxiety but guess what? She ended up addicted to heroin,” Jacobsen said. “She comes from a loving, hardworking family. It could happen to anyone; it could happen to you.” In addition to Read more