The threatening letter sent to the Lehigh County Board of Elections this week by state House Republican Leadership is another attack meant to undermine the public’s confidence in Pennsylvania’s election system and is an overstep of our role as state legislators. Read more
House Democratic leadership today released the following statement upon unveiling “Propel PA,” a plan to make Pennsylvania more attractive to businesses and more supportive to workers:“Pennsylvania is currently facing the unique opportunity to not simply recover from this pandemic, but to rethink how our economy operates and bring forth pioneering approaches to build a stronger business atmosphere that attracts and rewards both employers and employees. Read more
As winter approaches and we prepare to spend even more time indoors, utility bills are only going to get more expensive. Additionally, we know that the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn have made it difficult for many to keep up with home energy bills. No Pennsylvanian should ever have to worry that their heat will be shut off during the coldest and darkest months of the year. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federally funded program administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) that provides assistance for home heating bills so Pennsylvanians can stay warm and safe during the winter months. Assistance is available for both renters and homeowners. LIHEAP helps some of the commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens — children, older Pennsylvanians, people with disabilities, and low-income families — make ends meet. Anyone who may need help, or anyone who has loved ones or neighbors who could benefit from this program, is encouraged to apply for LIHEAP today. APPLY FOR LIHEAP LIHEAP FACTS How do I apply for LIHEAP? Depending on preference, different options are available to apply for LIHEAP: Apply online: Pennsylvanians can apply at www.compass.state.pa.us . Paper applications: Call the LIHEAP Helpline at 1-866-857-7095 to request a paper application. Paper applications can also be downloaded from the DHS LIHEAP web page . County Assistance Office (CAO) services are available if clients Read more
State Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila., House Democratic Whip, announced today a $200,000 grant from the Department of Human Services to The Wardrobe, a Philadelphia area nonprofit that fights clothing insecurity for people experiencing barriers to employment.“Helping formally incarcerated individuals get off to a good start is essential to reducing recidivism, and employment is key to creating a sustainable foundation to re-entry,” Harris said. “The Wardrobe has done outstanding work helping Philadelphians and residents in surrounding counties fight clothing insecurity and break through barriers to employment and independence. It’s essential to a person’s self-esteem to look like the person they want to be, and The Wardrobe helps set them on that path.” Read more
House Democratic leadership issued the following statement today calling on legislative Republicans to drop their radical anti-health agenda and come to the table for an honest discussion on helping Pennsylvanians recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.“Pennsylvania is currently experiencing a steady increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations with a positive testing rate that indicates substantial or high community spread of the virus. Our hospital system is strained and emergency rooms in both central Pennsylvania and southwestern Pennsylvania recently have been forced to divert ambulances simply because they couldn’t accept additional patients. Read more
Infrastructure is about equity, and as our federal representatives spend the next several weeks in Washington working on President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, equity must be at the forefront of the discussion on the infrastructure agreement and the budget blueprint, commonly referred to as reconciliation. Writing not only as an elected official but as a citizen who wants to see the economic and social vitality of my community strengthened, I strongly urge Pennsylvania’s entire congressional delegation to support the infrastructure bill and reconciliation for the good of all working people — regardless of what they look like or where they live — across our state. Read more
House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton, D-Phila/Delaware, Whip Jordan Harris, D-Phila, and Legislative Black Caucus Chair Donna Bullock, D-Phila., issued the following statement today after an elected official trolled social media for attention by comparing Black lawmakers to the insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Read more
When the economy began to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Black businesses were hit disproportionately hard. Between February and April 2020, they declined 41 percent, in comparison to 17 percent for White-owned businesses, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.David Dix, CEO of a Harrisburg-based government relations firm called Luminous Strategies, and Marcia Perry Dix, CEO of Harrisburg public relations firm Perry Media Group, decided to create the Pennsylvania Chamber of Black-Owned Business. Read more
The General Assembly has sent Gov. Tom Wolf a $39.8 billion budget that boosts spending for education and transportation but doesn’t spend much of the $7 billion provided to the state through the federal American Rescue Plan.The plan boosts K-12 education funding by $300 million — including $100 million designated for the state’s 100 poorest school districts. The budget also increases the amount of available tax credits for donations to scholarship funds for private school students by $40 million. Read more
Make no mistake, there was more good to be done in this budget. While some will call this historic education funding, we don’t need historic, we need transformative funding. Rather than hide this surplus in the Rainy Day Fund, we should’ve used it to help our school districts where it’s already been pouring for far too long. Read more
George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin one year ago today. It has been a year of hurt, anger, protests and the beginning of change.His murder is also highlighting very important conversations about being Black in America. Read more
Members of the Edinboro University community told the House Democratic Policy Committee Thursday that consolidating six state schools, including Edinboro, into two would result in a loss of identity, place local communities at risk, and fail to address the core problems facing higher education. Read more
On this week's Face the State, Ryan Eldredge welcomes Representative Seth Grove (R-York) and Representative Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) to talk about the impact of new Pennsylvania constitutional amendments, and possible election reform following state primaries. Read more
STATE COLLEGE, May 11 – The workers who have been hit hardest by the pandemic need support. The PA House Democratic leadership team is hosting a rally Wednesday to make the case for workers’ rights to a fair wage, hazard pay and paid family and sick leave and how the PA Rescue plan would do just that. The rally will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 12 at The Borough Building, 243 S. Allen St., State College . The media is encouraged to attend. The PA Rescue Plan includes more than $1.5 billion for job training, hazard pay, wage boosts for direct-care workers and job creation efforts to kickstart the economy in communities across the state. The PRP aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
HARRISBURG, May 5 – After weeks of gathering public support for the Pennsylvania Rescue Plan to invest federal dollars to do the most good for working families, the House Democratic Leadership team released the following statement on the next steps to discuss the plan and how it would help us recover, restore and reimagine a better future coming back from COVID-19. “Next week more than $7 billion is coming to the Keystone State as part of the American Rescue Plan, and we have to make sure that money is invested properly, not hidden away in a government vault for a rainy day – because it’s hard to imagine a storm that could hit harder than COVID-19. People need help now. “As USA TODAY network coverage noted, House Democrats have a plan that helps schools, workers, businesses, families, renters, landlords and more while Republicans have no plan to distribute the funds. We urge the majority party to get on board and do the right thing for people everywhere. “We’ve received an overwhelming response to the PA Rescue Plan so far, and next week we’ll be taking the plan to the people with a statewide tour – starting Monday in Philadelphia and Reading talking about investing in infrastructure and rebuilding our downtowns, continuing Tuesday in Pittsburgh and Erie discussing housing, Wednesday in Harrisburg and State College talking worker pay, and finishing up on Thursday in Scranton and Allentown to discuss helping Read more
The guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin following the murder of George Floyd is once again spurring calls for police reform across the nation including in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, a group of democratic PA Representatives introduced legislation that seeks to outlaw the use of the standard chokehold during arrests, including the same chokehold used on George Floyd. Read more
Following previous grant amounts totaling over $2.2 million, state Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila., House Democratic Whip, announced another grant for completion of the Schuylkill River Trail from the Commonwealth Financing Authority aimed at completing the Christian to Crescent segment of the trail. Read more
Pennsylvanians looking for relief from the hardships of the past year can look to the House Democrats’ Pennsylvania Rescue Plan for solutions that do the most good for the most people. The House Democratic Leadership team released the following statement on how the plan would strengthen communities, help working people and support businesses and families: “We have a unique opportunity to drastically improve the lives of millions of Pennsylvanians with smart investments in people, businesses, health care and our workforce. The Pennsylvania Rescue Plan does just that by directing federal funds to help businesses get back on solid ground, invest in our frontline workers who were essential to getting us through the pandemic, repair our crumbling public schools so students can learn and teachers can teach in a non-toxic environment and strengthen our workforce through training tomorrow’s in-demand employees. Read more
For Pennsylvania state House Rep. Jordan Harris, a Philadelphia native, politics is personal. “I represent the hood that I grew up in, so this is different for me,” Harris said in an interview with students in Professor Amy Worden’s “Journalism in the 21st Century” class. “My constituents are my cousins, my mom, my uncles, the folks that watched me grow up. I have a different responsibility to them,” he added. Read more
For weeks, Tyrique Glasgow heard the stories of vaccine frustration from fellow members of the Black community in South Philadelphia:The clinics that were too far away for someone without a car. The sign-up websites that wouldn’t load fast enough for someone with limited internet access. The appointment slots that were snapped up by people outside the city. Read more
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