U.S. Rep.

Phil English, R-3rd, in a letter this week, urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to address current U.S.-China trade challenges and act on China trade legislation before the conclusion of the 110th Congress.Highlighting the growing U.S.-China bilateral trade deficit and China's illegal trade practices, English said it is imperative for Congress to act and level the playing field for American employers."If we want to sustain our standard of living, we have to end the bias built into our economy which encourages imports and disadvantages domestic production, including exports," wrote English, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee."Nowhere is this issue more obvious than with our trade relationship with China."Last Congress, English became the only member in the U.S. House of Representatives to successfully push a China focused trade bill through the chamber.The Trade Rights Enforcement Act, which passed the House in July 2005, sought to increase access to all of the tools in the trade remedy arsenal to help fight illegal trade more easily and effectively.Although legislative action on the bill was stalled in the U.S. Senate, House Democratic leaders, at the time, signaled a strong interest in wanting to address the challenges of U.S.-China trade.———U.S. Rep.

Jason Altmire, D-4th, last week voted to temporarily release 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gas prices.But the proposed measure that supporters claimed would lower gas prices failed to pass the House by a vote of 268-157.Altmire noted President Bush, President Bill Clinton and the first President George Bush each tapped or suspended shipments to the reserve.He said the action resulted in a 33 percent drop in oil prices in 1991; a 19 percent drop in 2000; and a 9 percent drop in 2005.Altmire vowed to continue to seek ways to cut gas prices. He reaffirmed his support for the construction of new nuclear reactors and additional funding for clean coal technologies to make America more energy independent and boost Western Pennsylvania's economy.———Pennsylvania taxpayers, under a new law, can now access state contracts worth $5,000 or more via a searchable online database, state Sen.

Jane Orie, R-40th, announced last week.Under Act 3 of 2008, the Pennsylvania Treasury maintains a Web site with a "contracts search" function that enables citizens to locate contract summaries, contracts, and other documents, such as purchase orders and amendments., Orie said.Contracts can be searched by agency, contracting party, amount, date, subject matter and contract number.All of these state contracts are spending taxpayer dollars, and citizens have the right to see them.The web address for the database is http://contracts.patreasury.org/search.aspx. The site includes a link to a "Help" page that tells users on how to conduct searches.———The nation's 73 million recreational boaters will no longer have to worry about buying unexpected costly, federal permits for normal, recreational boat water discharge, said U.S. Rep.

Phil English, R-3rd, Monday in Erie.English, joined by boating enthusiasts, touted the Clean Boating Act of 2008, legislation to restore the longstanding exclusion for recreational boaters and anglers from federal and state permitting requirements.The requirements under the act, English said, were designed for land-based industrial facilities and ocean-going commercial ships.The bipartisan legislation, which cleared Congress last week, has been sent to the president to be signed into law.———The United Steelworkers and the Erie-Crawford Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, recently announced their endorsements of Democratic candidate

Kathy Dahlkemper for the U.S. House of Representatives' 3rd District in the fall election.She is running against Republican Phil English.———The annual

Butler County Republican Picnic will be at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Kiwanis Shelter at Alameda Park.The cost is $15.50 per person. Those interested in attending are call Mary Jane Double at 724-445-3836.