TROY, NY -- U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko welcomed President Barack Obama to the 21st Congressional District September 21, calling the president's address to students and community leaders at Hudson Valley Community College a terrific opportunity to show off how the region has earned a national reputation as a leader in advanced technology and clean energy development.
 
“I am thrilled that the president chose to speak at Hudson Valley Community College, which has pioneered green energy and high tech training programs that are getting students ready for the jobs of the future, at such places as Global Foundries in Malta and General Electric in Schenectady,” said Rep.Tonko. “President Obama recognizes that community colleges will serve a critical role in helping ready our workforce for the new jobs that will grow out of the push to develop renewable energy sources and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. In our region, we have leveraged public investment in partnership with academia and private industry to grow a high technology and green energy corridor that could be a model for other communities across the country to follow.”
 
Rep. Tonko continued, “I am proud to be working with my colleagues in Congress and with the president to make the investments that will spark an innovation economy that will not only lead to a better energy outcome for our nation and the world, but enhance our national as well as our economic security.”