News & Brews March 3, 2025
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Lawmakers float Pa. DOGE
As the Federal Department of Government Efficiency triggers apoplexy among the spending-and-waste-loving Left, the anti-Trump Inquirer reports that “State Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R., York) and Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin) are preparing to introduce two separate pieces of legislation with different visions for what a ‘Pennsylvania DOGE’ should look like.” Mastriano’s version “would create a bipartisan oversight committee made up of two lawmakers, two legislative leaders, representatives from the state auditor general and treasurer’s offices, and two Pennsylvania residents.” Phillips-Hill’s proposal—which she’s introduced every session since 2015—would “create a department that would review all of Pennsylvania’s more than 162,000 regulations on the books, and advise the legislature and governor on where overly burdensome regulations are hindering state growth.”
GOP must ‘learn government unions can’t be trusted’
In the wake of Utah’s historic move banning public-sector collective bargaining, Utah state Rep. Jordan Teuscher, the sponsor of the bill, explains in the Wall Street Journal how unions who pretended to want compromise with lawmakers broke their word time and again. “If unions in Utah—where collaboration is a core part of our political culture—were willing to stab lawmakers in the back, they’ll do the same anywhere,” he writes. “They aren’t interested in protecting taxpayers or empowering workers, and no partnership with unions will help Republicans advance these principles.” We hope certain Pa. Republicans are taking note.
Fetterman on being ‘loneliest’ Dem in D.C.
Wall Street Journal Editorial Writer Barton Swaim has a great interview with Democrat U.S. Sen. John Fetterman covering a range of topics, with the central theme being how Fetterman fits (or doesn’t fit) into the Democrat Party today. “The senator still holds solidly Democratic views,” Swaim writes, “But the hoodie and the tats, which progressives took to signify revolutionary zeal, align him more closely with Walmart shoppers than with the Congressional Progressive Caucus or the Squad.” His unwavering support for Israel makes him “an outlier in his party, only about 33% of which view Israel favorably.” Another way he differs from his party is his ‘lost appetite’ for ad hominem attacks against his political enemies following the stroke that nearly took his life.
Pa.’s biggest non-governmental employer reports huge losses
The Post-Gazette reports that “UPMC reported a loss from operations of $339 million for 2024, 71% higher than the $198.3 million loss a year ago…. Last year’s loss — the equivalent of $929,000 a day — included $128 million in restructuring costs.” On the revenue side, “UPMC Insurance Services generated $15.1 billion last year — $2.9 billion or about one-third more than the health system’s net patient service revenue of $12.1 billion.“ Meanwhile, “With a payroll of about 100,000, UPMC is Pennsylvania’s biggest non-governmental employer.”
Pa. budget hearings continue today
Lawmakers will hold their third week of state budget hearings this week, with the Pa. House Appropriations Committee hearing from the Department of Corrections Board of Probation & Parole at 10:00 a.m. this morning (watch here) and from the Public Utility Commission at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon (watch here). The Senate Appropriations Committee, meanwhile, will resume its hearings tomorrow. See the full schedule here.