State Rep.

Frank LaGrotta

, D-10th, this week announced he is co-sponsoring legislation to give greater collective bargaining power to public employees by requiring employers to recognize unions supported by a majority of their workers.

"It is essential that public employees are offered a fair and democratic means to organize and negotiate as a group," LaGrotta said. "If the law grants them no power for joint action then they will continue to be at the mercy of employer intimidation."

The legislation would create a system in which public employees would sign a card expressing support for the union. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board would then check the cards.

If a majority of employees supported the union, the employer would be required to recognize that union and bargain with workers over wages, benefits, job security and other issues to create a contract.

In commemorating an important event in Pennsylvania history, the state House of Representatives this week recognized Butler County and its Washington 1753 Commemoration Committee through a resolution.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep.

Dick Stevenson

, R-8th, was unanimously adopted Tuesday.

In 1753, 21-year-old Maj. George Washington left his home in Virginia and traveled hundreds of miles through Indian-occupied wilderness to deliver a diplomatic message to the French military encampment at Fort Le Boeuf, south of Lake Erie, ordering the French to leave the Ohio River Valley region.

The French refused to leave, causing Washington to embark on a perilous return trip to take the news to Virginia Gov. Robert Dinwiddie in January 1754.

This incident was one of the final events leading up to the French and Indian War, a pivotal conflict in the history of the American colonies.

The conflict helped shape the character of Washington and prepared him for his appointment as commander of the Continental Army and his election as the country's first president.

Butler County President Judge

Martin O'Brien

and the county commissioners in 2000 established the Washington 1753 Commemoration Committee to commemorate Washington's historic mission.

The committee, to increase awareness of this important historic event, installed signs marking Washington's route through Butler County and dedicated the trail in 2003 - the 250th anniversary of Washington's mission.

State Rep.

Guy Travaglio

, D-11th, recently announced that Butler County will benefit from a grant that will boost recycling efforts in the county.

The $90,768 grant awarded from the Department of Environmental Protection will be used to purchase curbside containers, home composting containers and collection vehicles, as well as to fund community education programs.

DEP awarded 230 grants worth $30 million to help finance municipal programs that give more than 10 million Pennsylvanians access to recycling.

State Sen.

Mary Jo White,

R-21st, has been appointed to a panel to provide input on the operation of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg appointed White, a member of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, to the post.

Each school and academic center at Pitt has a board of visitors comprised of prominent individuals from education, industry, government and the community. The boards provide university officials with advice on education and research programs, and offer suggestions on planning.

U.S. Sen.

Rick Santorum

, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, announced last week that the Senate reached an agreement on proceeding to consideration of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

The action allows the bill to be brought to the Senate for a vote.

"I am pleased that this legislation is finally being allowed to come up for a vote." Santorum said. "The federal law should reflect what an overwhelming number of Americans recognize: when a pregnant woman and her unborn child are attacked, there are two victims."

"I am confident this act will receive the same broad support in the Senate that it received when it passed the House of Representatives in February."

The measure would establish legal consequences if an unborn child is killed or injured during the commission of a federal crime of violence.

The bill would allow prosecutors to charge criminals with a second offense for the assault on the baby. Currently, federal law only recognizes one victim, even when the criminal purposefully targets the unborn child.

The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Sen.

Mike DeWine

, R-Ohio. U.S. Rep.

Melissa Hart

, R-4th, sponsored the House-approved legislation.

The state Senate this week adopted a resolution recognizing the 125 years of service by the 28th Infantry Division introduced by Sen.

Don White

, R-41st, chairman of Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

"At its heart, the 28th Infantry Division is comprised of citizen-soldiers, our fellow Pennsylvanians who take time from their families and their civilian lives to serve," White said.

"We thank them and all of the men and women who have worn the 'Bloody Bucket' (Red Keystone) patch over the past 125 years, along with those who served before."

The 28th, based in Indiantown Gap, has units in Connoquenessing Township and Grove City.

The 28th Infantry Division maintains armories in 84 cities throughout the commonwealth and includes a complement of more than 15,000 soldiers.

The state Senate Education Committee on Wednesday approved a bill sponsored by Sen.

Bob Robbins

, R-51st, that would help state veterans homes in their efforts to recruit and retain nurses.

The measure would provide student loan forgiveness to nurses who become employed at Pennsylvania's six veterans homes.

The legislation, if passed, will provide newly hired nurses at the veterans homes with reimbursement equal to the cost of tuition at the State System of Higher Education universities. Nurses, in turn, would be required to work in a state veterans home for at least five years.

As a leader in the fight to get China to stop manipulating its currency, U.S. Rep.

Phil English

, R-3rd, joined congressional colleagues in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary

John Snow

asking him to clarify his analysis of Chinese currency practices.

The Treasury Department, as required by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, five months ago reported to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate policies.

"Last October, Secretary Snow told Congress that 'China has pegged its currency since 1994 at 8.28 to the dollar,' yet concluded that this practice did not meet the criteria in the Trade Act to warrant formal sanctions," said English, a member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.

"My colleagues and I would like Secretary Snow to detail for us the 'technical requirements' used to determine if China was in violation of American law."

Some economists estimate that the Chinese Yuan is undervalued against the dollar by as much as 40 percent. Essentially, this amounts to a 40 percent discount on all Chinese exports to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on all U.S. exports to China.

English's CHINA Act would direct the Treasury secretary to, within 60 days of enactment, analyze and report to Congress whether China is manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage.

If the secretary finds that China is in fact manipulating its currency, then within 30 days after sending the report to Congress, the secretary is required to levy tariffs equal to the percentage of manipulation found.

State Rep.

Frank LaGrotta

, D-10th, assured Pennsylvania residents recently that state law guards against incidents such as a Detroit mishap last fall when a 4-year-old girl caught a glimpse of a pornographic film being displayed on a TV inside a nearby car.

The incident was reported in a recent Associated Press article,

which

briefly mentioned that most states have laws governing the use of television sets in automobiles and public display of pornographic materials, but did not go into specifics.

"After reading that article, many Pennsylvanians are probably wondering what sort of regulations we have pertaining to the public display of pornographic materials," LaGrotta said.

"I think it is important for families and other residents to know that state lawmakers already have provisions in place to ensure that unfortunate incidents like the one in Michigan do not happen here."