Holiday shopping season is upon us, and I am encouraging my fellow Pennsylvanians to buy Pennsylvania-made products when possible. By doing so, we can help our economy.

I am hopeful that we will soon have a program in place that will make it easier to identify products made here. The House Commerce Committee has voted out my legislation, House Bill 180, that would establish a “Made in PA” program. I am working to secure a vote on my bill by the full House of Representatives.

“Made in PA” would build on the state Department of Agriculture’s successful PA Preferred program that promotes food and agricultural products grown, produced or processed in the state. It would establish a new “Made in PA” logo to include a broader range of products that are not covered by the blue-and-gold PA Preferred label.

The bill also would establish a database on the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development website to help buyers identify products, locations and sources of made-in-Pennsylvania products.

I firmly believe this program can help our state.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous holiday season.

Neal P. Goodman

State representative

Mahanoy City