{"id":280030,"date":"2026-09-06T02:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/280030\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T02:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:30:10","slug":"capitol-roundup-chobanis-1-2b-investment-in-lehigh-valley-plant-a-vote-of-confidence-in-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/280030\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Roundup: Chobani\u2019s $1.2B investment in Lehigh Valley plant a vote of confidence in Pa."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, this week welcomed Chobani\u2019s $1.2 billion investment in a 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Upper Macungie Township.<\/p>\n<p>The plant will bring 900 full-time jobs to the Lehigh Valley over the next five years and open new markets for more than 4,000 Pennsylvania dairy farmers.<\/p>\n<p>This investment is expected to create the largest increase in demand for Pennsylvania dairy in the Commonwealth\u2019s history. Once fully operational, the facility is projected to process more than three billion pounds of Pennsylvania milk annually, which represents about 30% of all milk currently produced in the state.<\/p>\n<p>McCormick said he has known Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya for years, and has long admired his vision, his commitment to doing well by doing good, and his willingness to invest for the long term. That relationship, paired with months of work by the Governor\u2019s team alongside Chobani\u2019s leadership, helped move this project from early interest to a finished deal in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen an innovative company like Chobani chooses to invest in Pennsylvania, it\u2019s a vote of confidence in our workers, our farms, and our manufacturing strength,\u201d McCormick said. \u201cIt will mean good jobs, new opportunities for our dairy farmers, and more economic growth in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This Upper Macungie Township facility will add to the Lehigh Valley\u2019s manufacturing base with production, maintenance, and logistics jobs, plus construction work as the plant comes online. Those paychecks, in turn, will support the restaurants, suppliers, and small businesses around them.<\/p>\n<p>$370M secured from Burlington Stores Inc. <\/p>\n<p>Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger this week announced the Commonwealth has secured a $370 million investment from Burlington Stores Inc. to relocate its corporate headquarters to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>The Commonwealth is investing $30 million in the project, which will create at least 2,000 new jobs over the next five years.<\/p>\n<p>The company is purchasing property at 3151 Market St. in West Philadelphia that will serve as Burlington\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPennsylvania is competing to win \u2014 and today, we\u2019re delivering a major win for Philadelphia and our Commonwealth,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cBurlington is a fast-growing Fortune 500 company, and they have committed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in our economy and create 2,000 new jobs in our Commonwealth as part of the largest headquarters relocation to the city in years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBurlington\u2019s decision to make Philadelphia its new corporate headquarters is a powerful vote of confidence in Pennsylvania and our economic future,\u201d Siger said.<\/p>\n<p>Coordinated by the Governor\u2019s BusinessPA team, Burlington Stores Inc. received a funding proposal from DCED for a $20 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant and a $10 million Pennsylvania First grant.<\/p>\n<p>Burlington Stores Inc. is a nationally recognized off-price retailer and one of the fastest-growing retailers in America. The company is proud to give back to the communities it serves, and operates 1,300 stores in 47 states, including more than 43 in the Philadelphia designated market area (DMA), as of August 1, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Meuser votes to condemn socialism<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week voted in favor of H. Res. 1490 \u2014 a resolution condemning and denouncing socialism and opposing the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Meuser said the resolution highlights how socialism and the policies of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) seek to fundamentally change America\u2019s elections and political system. He said it cites how the DSA called for the abolition of the U.S. Senate, nationwide ranked-choice voting, and changes to voting eligibility, which would weaken the integrity of the electoral process.<\/p>\n<p>Further, Meuser said the resolution reaffirms the House of Representatives\u2019 support for free, fair, and secure elections. It also calls for the enactment of proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote in federal elections.<\/p>\n<p>Meuser said a vote on this resolution was made possible after Rep. Marie Gluessenkamp Perez of Washington and Rep. Jared Golden of Maine \u2014 both Democrats \u2014 broke from their party to vote in favor of a key procedural motion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis resolution put all Members of the House on the record and showed that there is unfortunately no room for independence and compromise from the socialist agenda within today\u2019s Democratic Party,\u201d Meuser said.<\/p>\n<p>Meuser said H. Res. 1490 was agreed to by the House of Representatives on Sept. 1 by a vote of 220-192, with 2 members voting present.<\/p>\n<p>Deluzio: Pennsylvanians spending more<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pittsburgh, this week released new data from the Joint Economic Committee Democrats showing that American families have had to spend an additional $4,200-plus on goods and services since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder the Trump Administration and full Republican control in Congress, the cost of gas, healthcare, housing, and groceries are all rising \u2014 with no end in sight,\u201d Deluzio said. \u201cTrump\u2019s Iran War and reckless tariffs are jacking up costs and leaving hardworking families struggling to cover life\u2019s necessities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deluzio said other takeaways from these new reports include:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Housing: Pennsylvania families have had to spend an additional $924 on housing costs like rent and mortgage payments since President Trump took office.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Energy: People across PA\u201017 have spent an additional $124 million on gas since the beginning of the Iran War, costing the average family in PA\u201017 an additional $408 in gas costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Health care: Monthly ACA premiums rose more than 50% on average in 2026 compared to last year. Meanwhile deductibles surged to record highs.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 300px; margin: 5px auto -5px; display: block;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788661810_425_slj-article-box-img-1.webp\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 9px 3px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;\">Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"slj-article-box-btn\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-size: 16px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesleader.com\/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click for subscription offers.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Reach Bill O\u2019Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, this week welcomed Chobani\u2019s $1.2 billion investment in a 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-280030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}