News & Brews August 5, 2025
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‘A school-choice test for Josh Shapiro’
“School choice evangelist” Corey DeAngelis of the American Culture Project writes in the Wall Street Journal of the new school choice program in the One Big Beautiful Bill. “This initiative will give more parents access to schools that best fit their children’s needs,” he explains. “But there’s a catch: Governors must opt in to allow their states’ families to access this scholarship funding.” This presents a “golden opportunity” for governors like Josh Shapiro and Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, “both of whom supported school choice during their 2022 gubernatorial campaigns…. If they opt in, they could inspire other blue-state governors to follow, expanding a nationwide movement for school choice.”
This Pa. DOGE project is ‘full steam ahead’
Although we’re not hearing as much about DOGE these days, as the media has moved on to the next shiny thing to get angry about, POLITICO reports that at least one DOGE project “is thriving.” Specifically, “The effort to digitize the federal government’s paper-based retirement system … is progressing steadily ahead of what is expected to be an unusually busy season.” The reasons? “This project is widely supported across President Donald Trump’s administration. That’s thanks to both an impending flood of retirement applications and the absurdity of the current system, which relies in large part on Iron Mountain, a decommissioned limestone mine in western Pennsylvania, to store records.”
Pa. public schools support school choice (sort of)
The Inquirer reports of “secret settlements” that Pennsylvania school districts are paying “to place children in private schools and compensate families for insufficient programs.” Wait, what? You mean public schools can’t meet the unique needs of every single child? It’s almost as if public schools are … wait for it … supporting school choice.
Editorial: No pay for politicians in budget impasse?
As we’re now in the second month of the state budget impasse, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review Editorial Board asks if Harrisburg would pass a budget if Pa. leaders stopped getting paid. “The Pennsylvania General Assembly is among the highest-paid legislatures in the country … with a salary over $106,000.” (And by the way, this is rank and file lawmakers. Leaders get paid more.) “Likewise, Pennsylvania’s governor takes home more than most other top state executives…. At $229,642, Gov. Josh Shapiro makes more than California Gov. Gavin Newsom…. That much taxpayer money in an elected official’s pocket should merit a basic level of return. Do the job the people require. And yet Harrisburg finds that too much to expect.”
Are big health insurance rate hikes ahead?
WESA reports that Pennsylvania health insurance rates “may see the biggest hike in years,” although the proposed increases “must be approved by the state Insurance Department.“ As of now, “Tentative 2026 health insurance rates for individual plans show a 19% average increase and small business group plans show a 13% jump, according to Pennsylvania regulators.” The public can submit comments on the proposed hikes through September 2 at ra-in-comment@pa.gov.