Cal U to receive grant
U.S. Rep. John Murtha announced the approval of cost-sharing Department of Defense grants totaling nearly $470,000 to help two organizations in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District procure defense contracts. The grants are as follows:
– Johnstown Area Regional Industries (JARI), $292,500.
– California University of Pennsylvania, $176,835.
“Defense programs are playing an increasingly important role in our economic revitalization, and grants like these bolster our continuing efforts to attract defense contracts to the district,” said Murtha, noting that an estimated 5,000 jobs have been created throughout the region by defense and government contracting.
“The Government Agency Coordination Office (GACO) at California University of Pennsylvania has been assisting businesses in western Pennsylvania with government contracting since 1985,” said Debbie Wojcik, GACO director at Cal U.
“During the past 21 years, companies in our area have reported receiving more than $1.7 billion in government contracts. The continued support we receive from Congressman Murtha is important to our program and to the businesses in this area.”
“I am very pleased by the receipt of this grant and we are grateful to Congressman Murtha for his assistance in securing it,” said Angelo Armenti, president of California University of Pa.
“These funds will enable California University to help even more local and regional businesses succeed. This, in turn, will do much to improve the economy and the standard of living of the people of this region.”
Linda Thomson, executive director of JARI, said, “JARI has been privileged to work with Congressman Murtha for the past 15 years to promote procurement opportunities, and it continues to pay off. We’ve gone over the billion-dollar mark in Cambria and Somerset counties, so there’s been an obvious significant impact. We’re privileged to make such an impact in the partnership.”
The grants are Department of Defense Procurement Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreements awarded through the Defense Logistics Agency.