News & Brews April 9, 2021
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Lawmakers: Wolf admin using scare tactics to sway vote on amendments
In a virtual news conference yesterday, Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said if Pennsylvania’s emergency disaster declaration were to end, the state would lose $100 million per month in federal funds for food assistance. PennLive reports that GOP lawmakers saw Miller’s press conference as an attempt to sway people into opposing the proposed constitutional amendments regarding emergency powers. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward said, “Weaponizing federal funding as a way to scare the people of Pennsylvania is just one more example of the Wolf Administration’s mishandling of the COVID pandemic, and reinforces the need to bring the balance of power back to the people by including the General Assembly in any emergency declaration that extends beyond 21 days.”
Gov. Wolf really doesn’t like transparency
After the Wolf administration refused a request from Spotlight PA to release details surrounding wasted COVID-19 vaccine doses, Sen. Dave Argall (Berks and Schuylkill counties) plans to introduce legislation requiring transparency. “I understand it’s a small percentage of the overall number of vaccinations,” Argall said, “but I still think that that information should be released to the public, and if the governor and his appointed officials won’t do it voluntarily I’m prepared to move legislation forward as the chairman of the State Government Committee to do just that.”
Dems ‘betting millions’ on flipping PA senate seat
Bloomberg Government reports that Pennsylvania remains a top target for Democrats, and they’re setting their sites, and their dollars, on flipping one of our U.S. Senate seats blue in 2022.
Shapiro goes after major PA construction company
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose gubernatorial aspirations are well-known, has long used his office to go after natural gas companies. Are construction companies next? Yesterday, he announced criminal charges against a State College construction company which he accused of taking millions of dollars in retirement and health benefits from its employees, Spotlight PA reports. Shapiro touted this case as “the largest prevailing wage criminal case on record.” For its part, the company, Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc., said it believes it has “always acted in accordance with all state and federal laws” and said it’s “cooperated fully” since becoming aware of Shapiro’s investigation.
Op-Ed: Don’t take sports away from women
With several PA lawmakers recently introducing the Protect Women’s Sports Act “to protect opportunities for women and girls in athletics by ensuring women are not forced to compete against biological males playing on women’s sports teams,” the Pennsylvania Family Institute’s Emily Kreps penned an op-ed reflecting on her time as a competitive swimmer in college. Kreps writes, “Any one of our male distance swimmers would have been faster than all of the women had they identified as a woman. Considering the limited space on these teams, the question becomes, how many women who want to compete should we effectively ban from high school and college sports to make room for trangendered women?”
On May 18, VoteYesPA to save lives and livelihoods
On May 18, voters can approve two proposed constitutional amendments that would restore a legislative check and balance on Gov. Wolf’s (and any future governor’s) emergency powers. Check out VoteYesPA.com, which has resources including link to request a mail-in ballot, a VoteYesPA sign you can download and print, a sample email businesses can send encouraging others to vote yes on May 18, and more.