Blue Pennsylvania: Don't Forget the Problems Closest to Home

There are political activities galore throughout the Delaware Valley.  You can rally against the machine tomorrow - Friday - at the Flourtown Shopping Center from 4 – 5 pm.  On Saturday, you can get an early start to celebrate Juneteenth in Pottstown.  You can join a banner contingent in Kennett Square on Sunday, and every Monday at 11 am you can protest ICE at their headquarters. 

Also, a number of Indivisible groups are urging their members to call their U.S. senators to protest the appointment of Bill Pulte as the head of National Intelligence.

All of these efforts are noble, and those of us with the energy and the inclination should participate in as many of these activities as is possible. 

But while we are fighting the good fight at the national level, let’s remember that there is another front that is a lot closer to home. 

The state budget is due at the end of June.  The Pennsylvania House approved Governor Shapiro’s budget proposals in April.  While the PA House version will not prevent the nearly 144,000 Pennsylvanians from losing their SNAP benefits, or the 310,000 state residents who from being dropped from Medicaid, there are provisions in governor’s plan that will prevent further erosion of these services in the commonwealth.

In his budget, Shapiro also included the third installment in a nine-year process designed to make underfunded school districts in Pennsylvania whole by 2031.  Last week, the public education advocacy coalition, PA Schools Work, released a report of how previous installments have made a favorable impact on those districts receiving these supplements.

These budget items are not frills.  There is a good chance that someone you know will benefit from the Medicaid funding in this budget, and since many school districts in southeastern Pennsylvania depend on property taxes when the state underfunds them, the cost of living in our homes increases when proper funding for public education is eliminated from the budget.

So, what you can do?

First, if you have not already done so, you can send a letter to your state senator to tell them to work immediately on a fair budget by the June 30 deadline.  If you change the text (and we hope you do), please use the following guidelines:

1.   Using your own words;

2.   Personalizing the email.  Why is a timely budget important to you?  Will it affect your property taxes, or will a family member lose income, or something else;

3.   Considering the following topics:

a.   Last year’s budget was late, and people lost their jobs, and school districts and nonprofits needed to take out loans, sometimes very steep loans;

b.   The Governor has already proposed a budget for next fiscal year, and the PA House has already approved it.  The State Senate, however, has done nothing;

4.   Requesting, not demanding a response;

5.   Being concise.

Meanwhile, let’s make sure that we have a General Assembly that will pass future fair budgets on time.  Let’s support these candidates (below) that have a good chance of coloring both houses of our state legislature a nice shade of blue.

PA Senate

Candidate (Democrat)	District	Count(y/ies)	Incumbent (Republican)
Eileen Harnett Albillar	SD-6	Bucks	Frank Farry
Mark Pinsley	SD-16	Bucks/Lehigh	Jarrett Coleman
Chris Thomas	SD-24	Berks/Montgomery	Tracy Pennycuick

PA House

Candidate (Democrat)	District	Count(y/ies)	Incumbent (Republican)
Kristin Egan	HD-142	Bucks	Joe Hogan
Jeff Warren	HD-137	Northampton	Joe Emrick
Elizabeth Moro	HD-160	Chester/Delaware	Craig Williams

One Last Thought

The last Blue Pennsylvania communication highlighted the difference between Brian Fitzpatrick and Bob Harvie with regard to health care.

That is hardly the only difference between these two candidates.

On February 6 of this year, Commissioner Harvie, along with his Democratic and Republican colleagues issued a resolution opposing the conversion of industrial warehouses into facilities for the processing or imprisonment of ICE detainees.

This past Tuesday, the U.S. House voted along party lines to provide $70 billion, without conditions, to fund ICE and the Border Patrol over the next three years.  ICE agents may therefore continue to enter homes without a warrant and to operate masked, and without identification.  The final vote was 214-212.  Brian Fitzpatrick voted with the majority.

Thanks,

Coleman