Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Mike Fitzpatrick, and I represent Congress and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am very pleased to be here in beautiful Beijing and Shanghai. My colleague Pat Deon will introduce the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and a very important project within my district. The Delaware Valley Regional Center and Worldway will work together to promote our project.
Today, first, I will introduce the importance of Pennsylvania; second, I will introduce a transportation infrastructure hub project that has already broken ground. This project is not only very important to Pennsylvania but also to our country, and it relates to national security; third, I will briefly introduce the significance of this project to Congress.
I represent the U.S. Congress, which is the legislative branch of the United States. Over the past week, the United States just concluded its midterm elections, in which I was victorious, winning my fourth consecutive term as a Congressman to continue representing my district. Six hours after the election, Mr. Deon, Mr. Manheim, and Mr. Pan boarded a plane to begin our trip to China because this project is very important.
As I just introduced, the district I represent is part of Pennsylvania. If Pennsylvania were a country, its economic strength would rank 20th in the world. Pennsylvania was founded approximately 320 years ago, and its founders hoped to build it into a commonwealth where people of different cultures could coexist, prosper, and share freedom. Pennsylvania has 67 counties, of which Bucks County is the oldest. From 1995 to 2005, I served on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, served as chairman three times, and was elected to Congress four times.
Deon and Mr. Pan will discuss more project details with you. Here, I will briefly introduce the two main intersecting highways in the United States: one is the Interstate 95 highway that runs north-south, and the other is the oldest toll highway that runs east-west across Pennsylvania, which is the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The two highways intersect in my home of Bucks County, so this transportation hub project is very important to Pennsylvania. This project is supervised by the federal government and partially funded by the federal government, with the hope of fully connecting Interstate 95. The project is being completed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which is a government department of Pennsylvania.
Finally, I will introduce my role in Congress. In the recently concluded midterm elections, the party I represent won a majority of votes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress will work with the President to advance immigration programs. The most important work for today's Congress is to develop the economy and create jobs, especially by launching long-term, sustainable projects like the highway project.
The EB-5 project we are promoting today is a very important combination of immigration issues and job creation, bringing benefits to highway construction. The project is supported by the federal government. Over the past 30 years, Pennsylvania's EB-5 projects have been successfully carried out, and Pennsylvania was also one of the first states to utilize EB-5 financing. In the past, the federal government and the Pennsylvania state government have had successful experience in jointly promoting EB-5 projects. Deon's Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission manages the project, which not only meets federal government requirements but also creates jobs, relieves traffic congestion, and is more environmentally friendly, thus receiving strong support from the government.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Delaware Valley Regional Center and Worldway for their efforts on this project. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today, and I look forward to answering your questions.
